South Chicago Heights on Board with New Rail District

The Village Board unanimously approved an ordinance Monday that makes South Chicago Heights part of the new Southeast Commuter Rail Transit District.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill that created the district this past spring. The rail district paves the way for communities to help build the Southeast Service Line, a proposed Metra line that would connect South Chicago Heights and other communities with downtown Chicago.

"It's fairly straightforward," Village Attorney Parker Johnson said at the May 16 meeting. "I've reviewed the statute and it’s imperative that the village gets a seat on that board."

The district's board will oversee all activities related to building the line. As a member of the district, South Chicago Heights will have a seat on the board.

The board will have the power to "acquire land, construct buildings, enter into contracts, raise funds and take other steps necessary for the creation and operation of commuter rail service from downtown Chicago," the village’s new ordinance noted.

Participating municipalities will also be able to apply for public and private funding. The project got its start in 2005, in the federal transportation bill. Metra completed studies on the proposed line in 2010.

Officials estimate that it will cost $778 million to build 33 miles of track.

South Chicago Heights already has a plan in place to build its own Metra Station in the area of Sauk Trail, East End and Chicago Road.

The station is the centerpiece of a Station Area Master Plan completed in 2009 by Houseal Lavigne Associates. This plan envisions, among other things, mixed-use development and multi-family housing being built around the station. The plan also calls for pedestrian crossings on Sauk Trail at East End Avenue and Chicago Road and a civic campus for the village hall/police station/fire station.