March 02--The neighborhood around Steven Rogers' house in Englewood has been transformed. The few houses that were on his block have been demolished and much of the community looks like a construction zone. Piles of dirt rise on fenced-off vacant lots and many of the street signs are gone.
But even as Norfolk Southern Railway Co. has filed a lawsuit to take Rogers' property and the properties of the remaining homeowners to build an 84-acre freight yard, Rogers is vowing to continue to fight. Now, he's one of only five residents who have not sold and are pressing against construction of the freight yard.
"I don't believe it is the American way for someone to come and take your property at their price because they want to build a freight yard," Rogers said. "Our coalition has fought this for four years. They thought the people of Englewood were powerless. They thought they were dealing with people nobody cared about. We won't let them take advantage of us."
Norfolk Southern's lawsuits were filed last month in Cook County Circuit Court seeking the titles for five parcels of property it needs to complete the $285 million project. Two of those eminent domain lawsuits name Rogers as a defendant.
"We're still hoping to reach a resolution with the remaining homeowners," said Susan Terpay, a spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern. For its freight yard project, Norfolk Southern targeted property bounded on the north and south by Garfield Boulevard and on the east and west by Steward Avenue and Wallace Street. Terpay said Norfolk began construction south of Garfield Boulevard in February and plans to finish that phase of development by the end of the year.
Rogers is an unlikely holdout; he's a Harvard Business School lecturer who splits his time between Chicago and Cambridge, Mass. The house he owns was first bought by his grandparents and he was raised there. Although the house is now in a troubled neighborhood, it has sentimental value and represents his family's legacy.
Still, when Rogers started the Englewood Railway Coalition to push against the freight yard, there were more than 60 members. Most of them are gone.
Rogers believes other owners wanted to stay but were financially vulnerable and had personal circumstances that made them sell and leave. As more families packed up to go, the community came to resemble an urban prairie.
"If someone came to take your house, what would you do? How would you feel?" Rogers asked. "It's no different just because it's Englewood."
lbowean@tribune.com
