Amazon

The facility was supposed to open in late 2022 but was pushed back, frustrating neighbors eager for the hundreds of promised jobs. One neighbor is suing in a last-ditch effort to block its opening.

Organizers said the building should be used to benefit the community if Amazon is going to let it sit vacant. Amazon officials said the warehouse will be operational by the fall.

The West Humboldt Park distribution center was supposed to create hundreds of jobs, but those plans are on hold as the mega company closes or postpones other centers.

A lack of transparency surrounding the development at 4800 N. Western Ave. kept the ward’s community zoning process from moving forward. Last month, the deal was scrapped.

New hires at the warehouses will now earn $18 an hour, up from $15.80.

The starting wage for workers at the Gage Park and Cicero delivery stations is nearly $3 less than what employees get at other area warehouses, an organizer said.

Big, colorful bags left in apartment corridors and on street corners have confused and fascinated Chicagoans. But many, including delivery drivers for other companies, have started repurposing them in creative ways.

Chicago Animal Care and Control is partnering with the Amazon Pop Up in Chicago and the BISSELL Pet Foundation to find homes for dozens of dogs this weekend.

"They want to promote pretty grass and trees on the corner of Division and Kostner as community benefits?" one neighbor asked.

In a news release titled, "What People Are Saying About Amazon Lockers," the Park District highlighted five supporters. Meanwhile, a South Side alderman has joined others in blocking them in her ward.

"It is not enough to justify having branding in our parks. It is absolutely not enough," Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) said. "I think this is a slap in the face."

After lockers were placed on walking paths, the Park District is working "to ensure that they are installed in areas that are not obstructing pathways or restricting access to park activities," a spokesperson said.

Amazon yanked lockers from Brands Park and the Forest Glen Playlot, and promised to review others around the city.

"It just looks crazy. I don't even understand how someone could've thought that was an OK place to put it," said Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez, who immediately contacted the Park District to get it moved.

Amazon's facility is one of three large projects planned for the long-neglected West Side neighborhood.

“The lack of concrete information or willingness to communicate without being coerced is troubling," one neighbor said.

The purchase would be the retail giant's second site in the neighborhood. They leased a distribution facility last summer at 3507 W. 51st.

The developer says it can't reveal its tenant because of a non-disclosure agreement. The lack of information has frustrated neighbors, who worry the grocer could be an Amazon Fresh.

The Amazon plan on the Chicago River will bring jobs to the area, aldermen said, but neighbors and activists worry it will bring fleets of polluting delivery trucks, furthering environmental degradation on the Southwest side.