CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[Handro]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Another one bites the dust

Ald. Roberto Maldonado Drops Out Of 26th Ward Race

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/01...election-race/

News of Maldonado being under federal investigation in 5…4…3…2..

[moorhosj1]

John Cantazara singing your praises is a negative in my book. Just like I view the CTU endorsement as a negative for Brandon Johnson.

WTTW story

Vallas’ candidacy got a boost late Friday with the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, the union representing more than 8,000 rank-and-file officers in the Chicago Police Department. Wilson and Vallas were the only candidates to seek the union’s nod, union President John Catanzara said in a video posted to the union’s Facebook page.

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by moorhosj1

I don't disagree with your points, but it does feel like we have prioritized "keeping downtown healthy" for me entire life. Will it ever be healthy enough for us to focus on the neighborhoods (where people actually live)?

Quality of life starts and ends in the neighborhoods, I would love a mayor to focus wholly on those parts of the city. We are already talking about a giant pot of money to help developers turn old Loop office buildings into apartments. Why can't downtown be subject to market forces like the rest of the city?

So I'm not saying we should neglect the neighborhoods - don't think this is a zero sum game either - but I think the Loop and adjacent downtown areas should most definitely be prioritized (full disclosure - I live in the Loop)

The city dropped the ball on crime during the lead up to covid and the Loop was very much affected. . . it's the city's front yard and it's where every tourist - international or domestic - is going to take their impressions home with them. . . aside from the riots, we had drug dealing on the streets in front of the hotels on East Wacker drive that resulted in multiple shootings. . . many times throughout the summer nights the Riverwalk was basically a mob of people where the cops were unprepared to disperse the crowds, and we still have problems with street takeovers that happen every weekend on the lower level streets (not to mention the other groups of motorized vehicles - street legal or otherwise - that feel they have impunity to drive wherever they want) and finally I'd like to see more enforcement during the weeklong Mexican independence celebrations as well. . . there's really no need for it to become as disorganized and unruly as it has this past year. . .

The CTA is a fucking joke. . . I won't ride it and won't recommend anyone ride it until someone gets serious about cleaning up the homeless, open drug use and criminals. . . I don't ever remember it being this bad in my lifetime. . .

I should have also noted that O'Hare should be on that priority list and they should get rid of all the homeless there as well. . . it's an absolute mess these days and I can't for the life of me understand why we tolerate it as a society!

I don't care about that FOP endorsement. . . that doesn't mean anything to me. . . yeah the guy is a jerk, but whatever. . . something needs to be done and whatever LL is doing now - whatever it is, I don't know because I don't see it - is clearly not working. . .

. . .

[Chisouthside]

the cta has improved imo compared to last winter. service on the weekends can still be better. the only line where i really see vagrants and weed selling is the red line but the red line is usually crowded the times ive ridden it recently. brown and orange line havent really ran into alot of issues recently either. clark and lake too has been way more calm compared to this time last year.

[Tom In Chicago]

^The Blue line has got to be worse than the Red line. . . and from my last trip through O'Hare it appears as though the CTA is forcing all the homeless off of the trains and out from the platforms where they congregate in and near the baggage pickup areas. . . this is a relatively new phenomenon that should be dealt with. . . if Daley were still mayor he would have handled it much more expediently. . . for better or worse!

. . .

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

The CTA is a fucking joke. . . I won't ride it and won't recommend anyone ride it.

i'm probably just a spolied brown line brat, but i still routinely ride the el, even with my young children, just as i have all throughout the pandemic, and just as i will in a couple hours to take my son to a doctor's appointment over in lakeview.

YMMV.

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i'm probably just a spolied brown line brat, but i still routinely ride the el, even with my young children, just as i have all throughout the pandemic, and just as i will in a couple hours to take my son to a doctor's appointment over in lakeview.

YMMV.

Yes. . . the Brown Line - and possibly the Orange Line & Skokie Swift - is/are the shining examples of how the CTA rapid transit should operate. . .

. . .

[tjp]

I commute on the red line a few times a week and its usually fine.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

^The Blue line has got to be worse than the Red line. . . and from my last trip through O'Hare it appears as though the CTA is forcing all the homeless off of the trains and out from the platforms where they congregate in and near the baggage pickup areas. . . this is a relatively new phenomenon that should be dealt with. . . if Daley were still mayor he would have handled it much more expediently. . . for better or worse!

. . .

I disagree with this as someone who takes the Blue Line from Logan Sq. downtown and back often. It's worse than the Brown line, but definitely better than the Red Line.

Not saying CTA doesn't have issues, just saying I don't view the Blue Line quite the way I view the Red Line. In any event, I agree that the CTA should do more to tamp down crime on the routes. This is where I wish I could take Valles's stance on crime and combine it with Buckner's transit enthusiasm.

[CrazyCres]

Do yall know if there are any debates scheduled?

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by CrazyCres

Do yall know if there are any debates scheduled?

Crain's has a "Candidate Forum" on Feb. 1st. Although Lightfoot hasn't confirmed and Wilson has declined to participate.

[jtown,man]

I was in the Jackson tunnel about 9 months ago and a guy was sitting down smoking crack (or something out of a glass tube). It was around 6 and the tunnel was packed and it also has cameras in it.

Yet this man is comfortable enough to smoke crack in front a camera and hundreds of people. That says a lot about how much enforcement there is.

[Rizzo]

Some of the CTA’s problems are by design, and I feel bad for employees that have to put up with this nonsense. There’s nothing they can do, or anything a small security staff can do. When I visit other cities, their turnstiles are substantial. They aren’t easy to get around. Granted some people will always find a way, and the worst few need to be stopped and arrested. So I take a lot of the “increase security” promise with a grain of salt.

I do feel like the situation has improved overall though. And I recall the conversation here of people traveling back to Chicago and getting on the blue line. Before Christmas, before the storm it was totally different for me and a few friends. Blue line was fast and clean. Probably the fastest CTA ride I’ve ever been on. There weren’t vagrants to be seen anywhere. There was a few CPD officers at ohare and operations were smooth at the airport.

I think it may have just been more travelers helps to reduce crime. As ridership climbs, my hope is that problems will decrease on their own on the CTA but I still think there needs to be a design or engineering solution.

[Tom In Chicago]

^There are countless posts on Chicago Reddit and CTA Fails Twitter that have stories similar to this. . . the last time I took the Blue Line towards O'Hare there was a contingent of homeless bums doing drugs on one end of the car. . . at one point I could see this kid shooting up. . . he the proceeds to get up and walk up and down the car begging for money while his pants were down to his knees. . . the car was about 75% full of passengers. . . noone seemed to think this was abnormal or appear to acknowledge the problem. . .

We don't seem to treat this as a health problem, and the lack of any action from our public officials in charge of this mess just incentivizes the bad behavior. . . it's the same with the lack of punitive penalties for those who commit violent crimes in the city. . .

If I were to run for mayor I would find a way to physically move the homeless off the CTA and put them into some sort of treatment facility. . . I would also incentivize the police to go after and arrest the kinds of bad behavior that is visible on the downtown streets. . . finally I would make O'Hare a priority and hire a team of people to shoo the homeless out into busses that drive them out into the desert. . .

If all that fails, then I'll make it my mission to fund the construction of a giant hole which I will just throw anyone in that I find offensive and smelly or that I even mildly disagree with. . .

. . .

[Randomguy34]

With how badly Lightfoot has been handling the campaign email asking students to volunteer, in addition to the recent poll numbers, I imagine many donors that were on the fence of supporting her are going to be looking for someone else. It's looking more likely that Lightfoot will not be making it to the runoff.

[CrazyCres]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

It's looking more likely that Lightfoot will not be making it to the runoff.

I hope so

[Steely Dan]

^^ yeah, how brain-dead is Lori's campaign staff?

No one on her team thought about how bad the optics would look of the sitting mayor asking CPS teachers to recruit students as campaign volunteers?

Even if it the plan wasn't hatched with any specific kind of nefariousness, how could no one stop and think "hey, wait a minute guys, this could be a potential PR landmine"?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Rizzo

Some of the CTA’s problems are by design, and I feel bad for employees that have to put up with this nonsense. There’s nothing they can do, or anything a small security staff can do. When I visit other cities, their turnstiles are substantial. They aren’t easy to get around. Granted some people will always find a way, and the worst few need to be stopped and arrested. So I take a lot of the “increase security” promise with a grain of salt.

As ridership climbs, my hope is that problems will decrease on their own on the CTA but I still think there needs to be a design or engineering solution.

What other cities have "more substantial turnstiles"? Chicago's (which are the same as NYC) are already very substantial with the top bar over every turnstile.

Also, the problem is rarely the turnstiles themselves but the emergency exit gates, which are often propped open. I don't think they can change the design of those without violating fire code. You can put an alarm on them, but it doesn't stop the fare evaders and eventually the alarm wire just gets cut, either as vandalism or by the station agent themselves so they don't go nuts hearing the alarms.

[Steely Dan]

^ the handicapped access gates are ridiculously easy for fare evaders to hop over.

Yeah, station attendants are supposed to monitor them, but they can't have their eyes on them all the time.

[Rizzo]

I was recently in Boston and Atlanta and they had these taller panels that make it difficult to jump over. Not impossible, but any reduction helps. I believe Muni is installing them now too. NYC is rolling out “saloon style” handicap gates that are tall. Am I missing something? A small metal bar provides no challenge to evaders who will either push and lift themselves over like using a triceps machine at the gym or just duck under the bar. Building codes and security are often conflicting. Good thing is engineers always manage to find solution and the investment is well worth it since a system’s equipment will eventually require replacement.

I don’t expect any attendant to put themselves in danger of confronting a potentially dangerous individual. That’s the job of security or the police. I just believe there’s a combined design solution and personnel solution to lowering crime on the cta.