Friday, Jan. 24 Update
By Jakub Rudnik and Mike Reilley
@RedLineProject
Posted: Friday, Jan. 24, 2014
1. Whole Foods to Lincoln
Park?
Twitter was buzzing Friday afternoon about the
possibility of Whole Foods moving into the abandoned Dominick's location at
Fullerton and Sheffield avenues near DePaul University. A Lincoln Park Chamber
of Commerce source confirmed Friday that an announcement about the location
could come as early as late Friday afternoon. We'll update throughout the day.
Related: Dominick's closes
2. I-94 Cleared After Devastating
Pileup
A Thursday afternoon pileup that
involved 46 vehicles on I-94 roughly 60 miles west of Chicago was finally
cleared Friday morning. According to the
Chicago Tribune, three people were killed, including one Chicago
resident—Jerry Dalrymple from the 9000 block of South Bell Avenue. Sudden
whiteout conditions are considered to be responsible for the accident that sent
as many as 20 additional people to hospitals.
3. A Higher Percentage of Murders
Solved in 2013
According to
DNAinfo Chicago, CPD detectives brought charges in or cleared 126 of 415
murders tallied in Chicago last year, or a 30 percent rate. That’s a 5 percent
improvement from 2012 and the best rate the city has seen since 2012. In 2013,
72 new investigators were assigned to investigate shootings.
Also: Jan. 29 marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Hadiya Pendleton in a shooting on Chicago’s South Side. The 15-year-old student was shot just three weeks after she performed with her school choir in Washington, D.C., for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. The Red Line Project has taken a look how far Chicago has come in handling gun violence and homicides in the past year and has a map of all of Chicago’s homicides in 2013.
4. Monday Metra Commute
Delays
After cancelling
more than 40 trains during the Jan. 6 polar vortex (#Chiberia), Metra has
already warned customers to expect delays during their Monday commute, reported
the
Chicago Sun-Times. Slower train speeds and increased boarding times are
expected to cause slower travel. Current forecasts from The Weather Channel
project the high temperature Monday to be 2 degrees, with a low between minus 9
and minus 11 and winds of up 21 mph.
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Thursday, Jan. 23 Update
By Emily Brosious
@RedLineProject
Posted: Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014
1. Red Light Camera Bribe
Scandal
The
Chicago Tribune reports that a fired executive of Redflex Traffic Systems,
Chicago’s red light camera operator, alleged the company gave out bribes and
gifts to dozens of municipalities in 13 states. The executive said he is
cooperating in an ongoing federal investigation into Redflex’s business
practices. This comes on the heels of Redflex’s explosive admission last year
that it paid out $2 million in bribes to build its flagship camera program in
Chicago.
2. Derrick Rose to Play for Team
USA
Bulls guard Derrick Rose plans to
play for Team USA in the World Cup of Basketball this year, according to
ESPN.
Rose, who won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2010 World Championship, will
join 27 other players in this summer’s competition in Spain. Rose has been off
the court since tearing the medial meniscus in his right knee on Nov. 22. He
also missed the entire 2012-13 season following ACL surgery. Bulls coach Tom
Thibodeau said he is hopeful Rose will be healthy enough to represent his
country and play in this summer’s competition.
3. More Arctic
Weather
Chicago is in the midst of
another subzero temperature blast and it’s not letting up anytime soon.
According to the Chicago
Weather Center computer models, the “clipper pattern” responsible for
recent arctic conditions will continue and even strengthen during the next 10
days. Expect more subzero temperatures and periods of snow. This blast comes
less than two weeks after polar vortex storms that turned Chicago into #ChiBeria.
4. The Biebs Gets
Busted
We couldn't resist. Justin Bieber
was charged with drunk driving, resisting arrest and driving without a valid
license early this morning. CNN reports
that the pop star was pulled over in a yellow Lamborghini by Miami Beach police
for street racing in a residential zone. According to police, the star was
uncooperative and repeatedly swore at officers, saying “What the f*** did I
do?” Beiber, 19, was booked into a Miami jail after failing a sobriety test. He
was released this afternoon on a $2,500 bond. Read the arrest report.
Photo: Miami Beach police
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Wednesday, Jan. 22 Update
By Lindsey Murphy
@RedLineProject
Posted: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014
1) Extra Alarm Fire in
Cicero Destroys Two Buildings
A
five-alarm fire destroyed two buildings in Cicero last night, before the flames
were contained around midnight,
according to the Chicago Tribune. A Water Department worker driving by
notified the Fire Department before the flames spread. Frozen hydrants and
water mains inconvenienced firefighters.
2) Sears Flagship Store
Closing Downtown
In an effort to
focus more on online retailing, Sears Holdings Corp will be closing its
downtown flagship store in April. A Sears spokesperson
told the Huffington Post that the store has lost “millions of dollars”
since opening in 2001. Sears has closed down nearly 300 stores since 2010, due
to shoppers placing more orders online.
3) Murder in Mundelein being
Investigated
A 14-year-old girl is being
charged with first-degree murder after an 11-year-old girl was found deceased
in a home in Mundelein. Local school were shut down after police arrived at the
home, but restrictions were lifted soon after,
reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
4) EveryBlock is
Back!
After a year of being shut
down, EveryBlock, a local news site that hosted community conversation
block-by-block, is returning Thursday -- with some changes. After a stormy
ownership deal with NBC, they closed the site due to “increasing challenges to
building a profitable business”,
reports the Sun-Times Voices blog. The site launched in Chicago at the
height of the "hyperlocal" media trend and spread to several other cities. It
was known of its innovative use of "scraping" and automated archiving of public
documents, real estate listings and social media sharing. The relaunch of the
website marks the six year anniversary, to the day, of when web developer
Adrian Holovaty founded EveryBlock. He says it is “a coincidence.” The
site's teaser page:
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Tuesday, Jan. 21 Update
By Lindsey Murphy
@RedLineProject
Posted: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014
1) One Dead After Shots Fired at
Purdue University
After a school shooting
occurred at Purdue University this morning, authorities have taken one person
in custody, it has not been reported if anyone has been injured. The shooting
took place at the University’s electrical engineering building on campus,
reports the Chicago Tribune.
2) Sex Abuse Files from Archdiocese
Go Public
After many allegations of
sexual abuse cases involving members of the church, the internal documents from
the Archdiocese of Chicago have gone public. The documents were released
through settlements between attorneys for both the archdiocese and the victims,
reported the Huffington Post. The documents offer a broad look at how the
dioceses responded to the scandals.
3) Divvy Bikes Supplier Files for
Bankruptcy
This broke late yesterday, but it's worth
mentioning: The Public Bike Company has sought protection from creditors.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the company, also known as Bixi,
supplies bikes, docks, stations and software to Divvy. It received a $108
million bailout three years ago from the city council in Montreal, where the
company is based. The latest financial news comes after Mayor Rahm Emanuel
announced in November that $3 million in federal grants would go toward the
expansion of Divvy stations in the city.
4) Chicago Stumbler Sidewalks
Update
Drivers will find potholes hidden under frequent snowstorms, but what about
broken sidewalks covered up by the snow? The Chicago Stumbler blog has been
udpated with dozens of sidewalks around the city in need of repair. A
few of the worst:
This sidewalk is located near the southwest corner of Archer Avenue and Cermak Road. (Photo/Amy Notestein)
Busted sidewalk at 3842 N. Seminary Ave. (Photo/Jessica White)
Still commuting? Read more news from our Twitter feed, RebelMouse page or subscribe to our mobile text news alerts. Or suggest an idea to us @RedLineProject.
Monday, Jan. 20 Update
By Jakub Rudnik
@RedLineProject
Posted: Monday, Jan. 20, 2014
1) Two Stabbed on the Northwest
Side
According to
DNAinfo Chicago, two people in Portage Park were stabbed around 6 a.m.
today and were hospitalized in serious-to-critical condition. A 17-year-old
girl and 20-year-old man were in an apartment when they were stabbed by two
men. They were able to escape and call police from a McDonald’s at 3650 N.
Cicero Ave. A Chicago Police Department spokesman said that two suspects are in
custody, and one was taken to a hospital with injuries.
2) More Snow on the
Way
A lake effect snow warning for the
Chicago area has been issued by the
national weather service starting at 11 p.m. and going until 9 a.m.
Tuesday. Six to 12 inches of snow are expected, with northern Indiana likely to
be hit hardest. That will add to the 38.9 inches of snow the city has seen this
winter, already above the 36.7 inches it sees in an average winter, according
to the
Chicago Tribune. See our Storify on the first set of winter
storms. Or watch the WGN forecast.
3) Chicago Libraries Best in the
U.S.
A study by a German university has ranked Chicago’s public libraries as the
best in the United States based on its core services, according to the
Los Angeles Times. Of the 31 international cities in the study,
Chicago ranked No. 3 and ranked ahead of cities such as London, Singapore,
Beijing and Hong Kong. Vancouver and Montreal ranked Nos. 1 and 2,
respectively.
4) Hey, What’s That Smell on My CTA
Train?
A report in the
Chicago Tribune says that reports of feces on CTA trains have been
happening more regularly recently. A CTA spokesman said that this is a result
of the recent cold snap (and another is on the way), as many homeless people
are using CTA services to avoid the harsh conditions. The spokesman said that
an additional 15 rail car servicers have been hired to clean cars when they
reach the end of the line, but that hasn’t been so obvious with the recent
state of some Red Line cars.
In the past week, here are photos off some of the Red Line trains that our reporters and readers have documented:
Trash on the Red Line on Monday morning. (Photo/Jakub Rudnik)
Trash on a Red Line train last Wednesday morning. (Photo contributed by
@sputnikthedog)
This Red Line train was full of papers and trash last week. (Photo/Emily Brosious)
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Twitter
feed, RebelMouse page or subscribe to our mobile text news alerts.
Or suggest an idea to us @RedLineProject.
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