These days in Chicagoland, neighborhood objectors are objecting to almost everything.
Consider:
The President of River Forest, Cathy Adduci, had this to say about the O’Hare Flyer: “The village has already reached out to our state legislators and those proposing it, and expressed vehement opposition to it, since it would be on a train line that runs entirely through our village.”
Never mind that this train would be transformative for Chicago air travelers and move traffic from the Kennedy Expressway. Never mind that it is battery powered and whisper quiet, and the operators plan to move some of the existing track above grade. Never mind that neighboring Forest Park is expected to get a station cutting travel time to the big airport to just a few minutes. Never mind that the train has to go somewhere. Adduci clearly will do all in her power to stop it.
Or consider the announced plans by Amtrak to create a Midwest Maintenance Facility in Bridgeport, thus unlocking an existing plot of land that might make it possible for a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox within the parcel known as The 78, located directly across from the new stadium for the Chicago Fire, building a new sports district that will be a jobs machine. Amtrak’s plans, funded by a massive federal grant, will take over an existing rail-yard owned by Union Pacific Railroad. But you would not know about the existing yard if you read the communications of the objectors. Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) and Cook County Commissioner John Daley are doing all they can either to slow or stop the move; one potential tactic would be to try and tie it up in endless environmental reviews.
More Top Picks Hon Ignition 2 0 Task
Or consider the Quantum Campus. South Side residents calling themselves “South Side Together” held a meeting last month calling on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to pull permits and put an immediate stop to the construction of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP), a $9 billion development rising on the long-dormant, 440-acre U.S. Steel South Works site in South Chicago. No thought given, apparently, to the benefits of such a high-tech operation on the South Side, allowing young workers to build a potentially lucrative career in their own neighborhood.
Or consider the flap over the attempt by the Emanuel Congregation to develop a small group of desperately needed residential buildings, including a new home for itself, on North Sheridan Road in an area already dominated by high-rise apartments.
Editorial: A whiff of antisemitism permeates Edgewater high-rise debate
We’re not done yet. Evanston and Wilmette residents almost torpedoed the gorgeous and highly innovative new football stadium at Northwestern University. And while it’s hardly news that Evanston residents object to everything, we’ll add that a group representing Downtown Evanston residents reportedly plans on opposing a proposed 26-story building at 900 Clark St. in the Near North suburb, a building that would offer 360 new apartments. Among the issues cited: wind impact and traffic. Evanston Now noted that 70% of downtown Evanston residents basically opposed new the construction of any and all new high-rise residential buildings, even though two-thirds of them actually live in high rise apartments themselves!
It is a wonder anything gets built, ever. It is no wonder that we have a housing crisis.
We’re not saying here that communities do not deserve a say in developments that impact their lives or that they do not have the right to make their objections heard. We are all for compromises that result in a more harmonious outcome.
It’s just that in many cases, these objectors are unwilling to look at the broader picture and propose solutions that don’t result in canceled projects or that result in massive delays as objectors leverage the easily exploited regulatory process for their own ends. And, although it can be painful to appreciate, some (not all) of these objections are the equivalent of someone in a skyscraper with a nice view demanding it remain unscathed, even though they have no ownership rights of the privately owned land in question and that views are never promised for eternity.
In some cases, the good of a city, the good of a region, has to take preference over the unreasonable objections of a few people, especially when their objections are likely to be based on imagining worst-case scenarios that don’t actually come true.
To his credit, Johnson did not promise to pull the Quantum plug and Evanston Mayor Dan Biss cast a tie-breaking vote to move the stadium along. Similarly, we don’t think our desperately needed express train to O’Hare should be done in by those who object merely to its all-electric presence on an existing railroad right of way.
But the main issue here, as we have said many times, is housing. The net end result of all these objections invariably turns out to be fewer units, more parking spots even in transit-friendly developments and a less dense urban environment, which can sap the vitality of the city.
More Top Picks Colored Overlays Vs Tinted Glasses Pros And Cons
So by all means, developers should hear the objectors out. But needs beyond the neighborhood matter, too.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].
Editors note: This editorial was updated to reflect that the O’Hare Flyer plans to move some trackage above grade in River Forest.