Chicago’s ‘Superstation to Nowhere’: The infamous Block 37, how Elon Musk is connected, and why it's been dubbed an ‘abandoned money pit’ after costing taxpayers more than $400 million

A project left in limbo

The idea for the superstation came about two decades ago when the city approved the construction of Block 37. City officials figured that if the project was going to feature a retail hub above ground, it made sense to have a transportation hub built underneath.

David Greising, president of the Better Government Association, is a former news reporter who once got to go underground to see the superstation for himself.

“It did speak to this notion in Chicago of big ideas, and it was a big idea,” Greising shared with NBC 5 Chicago. “But just like Block 37 defied redevelopment for many, many years and decades, [the superstation] has also defied conclusion, although we have spent a substantial amount of money getting it started.”

When NBC 5 Chicago investigated the superstation 10 years ago, it found that taxpayers had contributed more than $400 million to fund its construction, not to mention interest on the bonds and loans that were used to bring the project to life.

And that was just for the station itself — the cost of creating the high-speed railway to shuttle passengers to Chicago's airports was estimated at another $1.5 billion. Struggling to come up with the money, the city effectively scrapped the project in 2010. But in 2018, there was renewed interest in finishing the superstation’s construction.

“We, as journalists, get summoned to a press conference in the megastation that is in mothballs,” said Greising. From there, then-mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city had reached a deal with Elon Musk and his Boring Company to finish the job.

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Elon Musk attempts to save the day

"There's the potential here for a revolutionary transport system," Musk said at the time.

The idea for the superstation was that passengers would board glass pods that would slide through underground tubes at about 150 miles per hour, reaching the airport in roughly 12 minutes. Musk even promised he'd build it all in three-to-four years, while also stating that he wouldn’t spend any public money to complete the project.

But as Greising shared with NBC 5 Chicago, “It had the feel of a pipe dream.”

Greising followed up with the city after Musk laid out his proposal, but the former reportedly “never saw any evidence that there was anything serious underway.” Once Emanuel left the mayor’s office, his successors apparently had no interest in the project. Meanwhile, Musk had already moved on to other ventures — like buying Twitter — effectively leaving the superstation abandoned once again.

NBC 5 Chicago reports the city might still owe money on the project, since it used federal grants to pay off the loans it took out to build it. The U.S. government stated that the underground structure must eventually be used for transportation and if not, the federal government has the right to take that money back. However, no one has tried recouping that money to date.

How government spending impacts taxpayers

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that in the 2024 fiscal year, the majority of the $6.9 trillion that the federal government spent went toward federal programs. Of that, $4.9 trillion was financed by federal revenue, including taxpayer dollars.

But that doesn't mean taxpayer money is always put to good use. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that in 2023, the federal government spent about $236 billion on what it calls "improper payments." In the 20-year period prior, improper payments amounted to $2.7 trillion in total.

Of course, there’s a big difference between improper payments and simply not finishing up key projects like Chicago did with its superstation. However, Illinois Policy accuses the state of blowing $54.2 million on wasteful spending between 2015 and 2018, including allocating $25,000 to monarch butterflies. The group does not call out the abandoned superstation specifically, but the failed project is another clear example of letting taxpayer dollars go to waste.

All told, when governments waste money — whether at the federal or state level — it's taxpayers who get hurt. In Chicago, the money spent on the superstation could've been used to fund other essential public projects, such as cleaning up parks or fixing damaged roadways. Instead, the money is effectively sitting in an underground lair rotting away in the form of an abandoned transit project.

Furthermore, when taxpayer money is wasted and local budgets get squeezed, lawmakers often respond by raising taxes, which only burdens taxpayers even more.

What can people do about it? For one thing, you can demand more accountability from local officials, such as district representatives. The more people who ask pointed questions, the more compelled lawmakers might feel to be more cautious in how taxpayer money is spent.