[ardecila]

It's rare for an alderman to oppose a transportation improvement, but the train station use will require a rezoning of private land because of the layout of the tunnel. Dowell has leverage over the zoning change.

The stated reason of most Dearborn Parkers for opposing is that they didn't want Cottontail Park torn up... now that Related is offering a different plan that avoids disruption to the park, watch for their real reasoning to come out - they are scared of Red Line riders and don't want low-income people to have a conduit to their neighborhood. They've worked hard to maintain that fortress atmosphere around the Roosevelt stop, after all.

Seems like somebody like Walter Burnett, who grew up in public housing, identifies far more with transit riders than someone like Dowell who likely grew up in a middle-class family that shunned the CTA and looked down upon transit riders. Burnett's not a squeaky clean alderman, but he is definitely willing to call out his constituents when they show racist attitudes, and he has consistently supported new train stations on the Green Line.