Pullman would get national historic park status under Rep. Jackson proposal

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Updated: February 2, 2012 8:00AM

The Historic Pullman Site on Chicago’s far South Side could become Illinois’ second national park under a bill Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-Illinois), says he will introduce in Congress.

Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield is the only site in Illinois that currently has national park status, under the auspices of the National Park Service.

Jackson’s bill would authorize the secretary of the Interior to study the possibility of conferring similar status on Pullman, the neighborhood built as a town in the late 1800s to house the workers and executives of the Pullman rail car factory.

The well-preserved vintage homes and buildings there have serves as a backdrop for movies including “The Untouchables” and “Road to Perdition.”

Jackson, a Chicago Democrat who’s been a congressman since 1995, is running for election and faces former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, a Democrat from Crete, in the March 20 Democratic primary election.