Englewood Railway Coalition fighting to save homes and history

Steven Rogers
Published: February 1, 2015

Call it a David vs. Goliath battle.

Since 2011, the Englewood Railway Coalition (ERC) has stood up to represent homeowners in the Englewood community against the attempted hostile takeover of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC), a $34.5 billion company headquartered in Virginia.

A powerful corporate entity with annual revenues of $11.2 billion, and a CEO, Charles "Wick" Moorman (pictured, on CNBC's "Squawk Box") whose total annual compensation is nearly $10 million, Norfolk Southern is trying to force hard-working Englewood families out of their homes to make way for an expanded freight yard. This expansion will add millions to the company's profit, even as, according to the Chicago Tribune, the expansion adds toxic diesel and other industrial pollutants into the Englewood neighborhood. NSC also "enjoys" the dubious distinction of owning the most rail lines in America that were built with slave labor.

ERC, a nonprofit community organization dedicated to preserving the history and dignity of its 22 homeowners, has vigorously engaged Norfolk Southern as well as Chicago and Illinois civic leaders to ensure that the civil and property rights of these Black Englewood citizens are respected.

Our coalition members are proud, hardworking Chicagoans who have retired as, or who are presently working as: a librarian, public school teachers, university professor, school bus driver, nurse, pharmaceutical sales manager, police officer, licensed carpenter, entrepreneurs and elevator maintenance engineer. We have owned our homes an average of 34.7 years and are not interested in selling them.

In response, Norfolk Southern Corp. has threatened to take our homes via eminent domain lawsuits against us. The corporation wants our homes for the sole purpose of increasing its profits from the expansion of an intermodal freight yard, which is located in our community.

ERC's objective is to work constructively with Norfolk Southern to find a fair solution to this conflict, a solution that respects the deep roots, tradition and history of Englewood homeowners past and present.

Learn more by "liking" Englewood Railway Coalition on Facebook at: http://tinyurl.com/l9uqcme

Listen to our Coalition members tell their stories on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/lx3vv3d

Keywords: Black history, community activism, eminent domain, Englewood, homeowners, Norfolk Southern, Property in Englewood