Another public meeting Thursday on Amtrak, White Sox Stadium plans

A public meeting on Thursday night will further discussions on a proposed Amtrak project on the South Side. 

The plan calls for a new maintenance facility that would run about two miles from just north of Cermak Road to 38th Street, part of Rate Field, and several homes. 

Train tracks already exist in the area, but Amtrak wants to install a 138,000-square-foot building that operates 24-7.

The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the state agency that owns Rate Field, held a board meeting on Wednesday.

Board members listened to concerns about a possible new ballpark for the White Sox. The team's minority owner, Justin Ishbia, is considering a move to the South Loop along the river near the Chicago Fire Stadium.

Ishbia is a shareholder of a company that's under contract to buy the land. That lot is where the current Amtrak maintenance facility sits.

This interconnected proposal is raising concerns from residents. 

Ishbia and Amtrak officials plan to be at Thursday's public meeting. 

The Chicago Federation of Labor, which represents thousands in the transportation sector, released a letter of support for the Amtrak move.

The statement said in part, "Amtrak's existing Chicago maintenance facilities are aging, undersized, and fragmented." They said this makes jobs harder and the new facility would make workers' jobs "safer, more modern and more effective."