CHICAGO — Adella Bass stopped taking in-person college classes because it was too difficult to get there from the South Side of Chicago, where the city’s famous elevated train does not operate. And it can take nearly two hours for her to get to the hospital where she is treated for her heart condition.
But things are looking up, and bright red signs throughout the area boldly proclaim, “Ready, Set, Soon!” Next year, the city is poised to begin fulfilling a decades-long promise to connect the most isolated, poor and polluted areas with the rest of the city through public transportation.
The Biden administration notified Congress last week that it would commit $1.9 billion to a roughly $5.7 billion project to add four new L stations on the South Side, the largest expansion project in Chicago’s system history. The pledge, which the Federal Transit Administration is expected to formally sign before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, essentially secures current and future funding.
Still, Bass is concerned that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration may try to derail it.
Bass, who is raising three young children and researching health equity issues affecting residents of a large public housing development near her South Side home, said there are plenty of signs to reassure residents that the project is “moving forward.” “But you don’t know anything about Trump.”
The $1 trillion infrastructure plan Biden signed into law in 2021 focused much more on public transportation than anything his predecessor advocated for. That’s why there’s a scramble to finalize some transit subsidies before Biden’s term ends, including last week’s promise to speed up transit upgrades in San Antonio and Salt Lake City.
Yonah Freemark, a fellow at the Urban Institute, said Trump unsuccessfully encouraged Congress during his first term to pass a budget that would eliminate funding for some new transit projects that failed to secure grant contracts. However, it is virtually unheard of for a government to withdraw a project after obtaining final approval.
Steve Davis, who directs transportation strategy at Smart Growth America, said President Trump may try to redirect future competitive subsidies to prioritize highway construction over alternative modes of transportation such as public transit. He said President Trump’s Transportation Department could potentially slow some allocations for infrastructure projects already approved, but would have difficulty stopping them altogether.
“If you’re doing a massive $2 billion road expansion, you have to realize that you can make money in four or five years and there’s nothing a hostile administration can do to stop it,” Davis said.
One of the communities the new Chicago L station will serve is Roseland, a once thriving black business district. It has been hit by a loss of manufacturing and a surge in crime.
After spending years in and out of prison on gun charges, Jervon Hicks turned his life around and became a mentor to at-risk youth. He said the new station could help accelerate the same transition for others.
“Roseland needs a makeover,” Hicks said. “There are not enough pet stores. We had a theater. “Take some of those abandoned buildings and turn them into job opportunities.”
Unlike the busy “Magnificent Mile” shopping district on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago’s Loop, the business district on South Michigan Avenue in Roseland has fallen from more than 90 percent occupancy a few decades ago to about 10 percent today.
Among the surviving businesses is Edwards Fashions. Owner Ledall Edwards hopes traffic will encourage more returns.
“I don’t think we’ll ever get back to where we were in the 1970s, but I think the environment will improve because of accessibility,” he said. “It will be able to attract people here. It’s much faster in this area.”
Rogers Jones, who has run the Youth Peace Center next to the future train station for 30 years, said he was excited about the changes.
“It will change the community,” Jones said. “It’s going to be a vibrant community and people are going to be excited. I know I’m excited.”
Former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley told residents of Roseland and surrounding areas in 1969 that the L would eventually expand there.
Tammy Chase, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, said the cost at the time would have been $114 million, compared to about $5.7 billion now, and that figure would continue to rise as construction delays.
The agency hired a construction company, opened a Roseland office in a former paint store and began boarding up homes that would be demolished to make way for the tracks. Chase said construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees transportation spending, points out that Chicago’s transit system has survived wars and recessions. He also said it would be able to withstand a pandemic and a presidential administration with different priorities.
“Large infrastructure projects can stand the test of time,” Quigley said. “We have to adapt to these ups and downs, but we know that transit always comes back. When it doesn’t come back, it hinders future opportunities.”
