Death of state trooper on Dan Ryan ruled a suicide

Sun-Times:

The death of an Illinois State Police trooper found Friday on the Dan Ryan Expressway has been ruled a suicide, according to autopsy results released Saturday.

Gerald Mason, 35, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The incident happened around 1:45 p.m. in the inbound lanes of the Dan Ryan at 43rd Street, state police said in a statement. A passerby came to his aid and police drove him to a hospital where he died.

...

During a news conference hours after the shooting, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said his troopers may “seem like superheroes on many days, but they are not immortal.”

“They are not indestructible. They are humans with hearts, minds and souls, as fragile as the next person,” he said. “They have a breaking point.”

I don't want to add anything more to this. Very tragic and again condolences to Trooper Mason's family. 

State trooper dies on the Dan Ryan

I want to share a portrait of State Trooper Gerald Mason before we get to what was reported about his death. It's just amazing that he loses his life after the state police's starts to escalate their presence on Chicago area expressways.

Tonight, our state is grieving the loss of @ILStatePolice Trooper Gerald Mason.

He was a member of our Illinois community and had loved ones who cared for him. Bryan and I are praying for their strength.

May all who grieve find peace during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/s2sdXKIvKN

— Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton (@LtGovStratton) October 2, 2021

CBS Chicago: Drivers who regularly take Dan Ryan say it's dangerous but have no choice

 

[VIDEO] This story from WBBM-TV was uploaded to YouTube on Friday discussing commuters who are concerned about the shooting incidents that often occur on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Noted was a fatal shooting on a Red Line train near Garfield on Thursday which trying to get home then was something of a concern although thankfully after some delays I got home. Also noted was that the State Police are installing license plate reading cameras which hopefully will enable authorities to get a handle on some of these incidents.

Anyone here want to talk about their commutes on the Dan Ryan? Any incidents you've seen that have left you concerned? Let us know.

The Magiskist Carpet sign that once stood near 87th & Dan Ryan #tbt

The Magikist sign was a childhood landmark for myself until it was dismantled in 1992 according to Pete Kasantes of Vanished Chicagoland. I'm sharing this with you as the Chatham neighborhood was home to this recognizable landmark for many commuters going into the city on the Dan Ryan Expressway. I was disappointed to see it was gone at some point in the 1990s, however, the memories remain.

Dreadhead Cowboy's horse is fine

I just wanted to share this update with you all, if you're at all concerned about the condition of his horse who authorities suggested could be euthanized due to her grave condition. Here's what Sun-Times' Michael Sneed states in her column

Where is NuNu?

Sneed has learned the injured horse nearly ridden to death by the “Dread Head Cowboy” in an anti-violence protest on the Dan Ryan Expressway, is safely on the mend and on her way to recovery since being moved to a horse farm in the south suburbs.

“She’s rallied,” said Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), a strong advocate of humane animal care who works closely with the city’s Animal Care and Control Department.

“But I’m told it should never be ridden again,” he said.

Also and this is more shocking:

But Sneed also hears Hollingsworth — who has been seen at protests riding horses around the city this summer — was “already on the city’s Animal Care radar months ago for riding a horse near the expressway,” Lopez said.

“This is not the first time,” Lopez said, even before Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office tapped the cowboy to do outreach for the U.S. Census. “We had videos and pictures of him multiple times before the mayor hired him to be her census outreach person/cowboy.

“We were trying to find out where he lived before the mayor hired him,” said Lopez, who has frequently sparred with Lightfoot during her administration. “We were actually on the hunt for him due to concern about how his horse was being kept.”

The city might send an invoice for the cost of NuNu’s care to Hollingsworth. A GoFundMe Hollingsworth launched earlier this year — with the goal of opening a horse barn in the city — has raised more than $88,000 as of Friday, with many donations pouring in since his highway ride.

I wanted to share this with you from 2nd City Cop. They were on the case of a horse being kept in an Englewood backyard. I wonder if Ald. Lopez had this on his radar.

Sneed notes that Hollingsworth keeps his other horses at a farm in Dyer, Indiana

WGN: Dreadhead Cowboy speaks out after expressway horseride

 

[VIDEO] It's been quite a delight probably for many of you who've seen him in person on the south side. It's been a delight to see any posts of him out there in unexpected settings a man on his horse on the south side. And then this latest stunt to protest gun violence by riding his horse on the Dan Ryan on Monday has opened up another charge, animal cruelty.

In recent reports it was noted that his horse was very exhausted and allegations that the horse was whipped to keep it moving forward. The Dreadhead Cowboy it has been noted is trying to find his horse. Authorities who are now concerned about the condition of the horse which reportedly may cause it to be euthanized.

Earlier this summer Adam Hollingsworth was among the action in downtown Chicago the last week in May where the most violent riots occurred in the wake of George Floyd's death. He had to fight allegations that he stole his horse - I don't know if it's the same horse he rode on the Dan Ryan with, however, the horse he had isn't the type of horse used by police. His car was even vandalized accordingly by people who probably don't care about the horse.

Regardless the recent charges of animal cruelty has only served to cause people to believe he treated his horse Nunu (sp?) inhumanely. I hope finds Hollingsworth finds his horse still alive.

What happened this weekend with the Dan Ryan protests

On Saturday morning, I wrote a post about a planned protest on the Dan Ryan. I reminded everyone about the Dan Ryan protest held further south near 79th street back in 2018 which was held without incident though controversial as this one was more controversial considering the times we're living in right now.

We have a pandemic going on and not only that the week before downtown Chicago and 87th street evidently had events of mass looting. Then we still have unrest around the nation especially since the death of George Floyd which largely hadn't settled down and every urban area has experienced some form of civil unrest.

Thankfully there was no protest on the Dan Ryan which would've started near 47th Street on Saturday. I wrote that post assuming many of you read the blog before you do anything else in the AM, although I don't always post in the morning though my goal is to post at 8:30 AM when possible.

According to this report from CBS 2, protesters didn't have the turnout they expected to hit the Dan Ryan on Saturday. Instead they marched through the Bronzeville neighborhood and found their way to Grant Park downtown where clashes between these so-called protestors and police happened. [VIDEO]

There were videos of people trying to get to their homes in Bronzeville, but not allowed to walk down their street due to the police presence. The language here in coarse so it's not safe for work of some Bronzeville residents going back and forth with a wall of state police blocking their street.

Dan Ryan demonstration on Saturday

This had already been announced before today, however, if you're traveling on the Dan Ryan going towards downtown today then you might want to adjust your route accordingly. Expect stop and go traffic and delays.

Via WGN

Demonstrators planning to protest on Dan Ryan Saturday https://t.co/2yjgyio3nO

— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) August 15, 2020

Demonstrators are planning to shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway on Saturday with a Black Lives Matter march.

Organizers have been meeting with law enforcement for weeks to coordinate the march.

The demonstration will start at 12 p.m. Saturday at Robert Taylor Park, near 47th and Federal, before heading north on the Dan Ryan.

...
It’s anticipated that the marchers will head north to 43rd Street. Officials have plans in place that the protest will eventually end at Grant Park.

Rabbi Michael Ben Yousef is one of the organizers. He said this has been in the works for weeks and they’ve been in contact with Illinois State Police.

“If they’re looting, we do not want the looters in our demonstration,” he said. “That is against our mandate, our mandate is non-violence.”

Here's hoping this remains a demonstration and there won't be any odd incidents between a "demonstrator" and a vehicle.

Like I said if you're headed towards downtown on the Dan Ryan on Saturday consider taking a different route to get to where you're going and be careful out there.

BTW, this is nothing new as there was such a demonstration conducted on the Dan Ryan over two years ago. Some of the leaders were different back then with a different governor and a different mayor. However, we're in different times with various forms of unrest around the nation. So I'm a tad worried, however, here's hoping it remains a peaceful demonstration and every goes home.

How many of us depend upon the Dan Ryan?

[VIDEO] Well it's no big statement to say that the Dan Ryan Expressway is a major highway through Chicago's south side. Sometimes I wish we could have the traffic that currently runs on the expressway even during normal times.

We see artistmac doesn't see much dimished traffic on the expressway and notes some damage done on 47th by careless drivers.

Update to the fatal chain-reaction crash on Dan Ryan early Saturday morning

The Chicago Tribune has more on that early morning wreck near Garfield Blvd that happened Saturday morning during the AM commute on the Dan Ryan Expressway. One woman dies in a chain wreck crash that involved five vehicles and resulted in injuries to four other drivers although in this article their conditions weren't reported.

Be careful out there!

Yes this is a rare Sunday post.

CBS Chicago: Off-Duty CPD Officer Injured By Suspected Drunk Driver On Dan Ryan

[VIDEO] You might have seen this on the CBS 2 over the weekend. An off-duty police officer in a car accident on the Dan Ryan near 79th Street. The driver that hit him was charged with DUI, you will see him in this report struggling with a sobriety test.

CBS Chicago: Carnival Set Up Near Dan Ryan Expressway Causes Safety Concerns

[VIDEO] While this carnival will be leaving on July 2nd, we see a local resident concerned enough about the closure of Lafayette Avenue and the clearance for traffic going onto the Dan Ryan Expressway. We also see some aspects of the measures made by the company Modern Midways to insure the safety of those who choose to patronize this carnival.

Woman struck and killed by train at 69th

[VIDEO] This incident happened earlier today and you might have seen some tweets about it especially an article about this from the Sun-Times and some CTA updates about the commute on the red line. It's interesting to see CTA only refer to what happened as a medical emergency, however, the news media refer to the real details of what happened.

Gun fire at West Chatham theater

I hate to hear about things like this in the general community. It's awful that you can't even enjoy a visit to a movie theater with a violent incident taking place. This report from the Chicago Sun-Times was interesting.

At 11:17 p.m., a group of people who were “possibly teenagers” started fighting at the cinema in the 200 block of West 87th Street, according to Chicago police.

Part of the crowd, likely three males, sprinted out the entrance, police said. At least one of them turned around to fire gunshots at the theater, striking the doors.

No one was shot or injured during the altercation, police said. As of Thursday morning, no arrests were made.

A similar short article about this was found at the Chicago Tribune also. What's interesting is there's really only one movie theater in West Chatham or even in the few block west of the Dan Ryan expressway. No one mentions that it's the Studio Movie Grill at 210 W. 87th Street neither the Sun-Times nor the Tribune. I found that interesting.

I do hope that we won't hear about any further violent incidents at a later hour at our local movie house.

BTW, I first got wind of the Tribune story in a comment to a post at 2nd City Cop with regards to state's attorney Kim Foxx recusing herself from the Jussie Smollet investigation.

Status - 79th/State #6WardChicago

Photo taken in October 2009 - 79th/State

You know perhaps I should dust this post off, the vacant lot on the southeast corner of 79th & State Streets has been mentioned by Worlee Glover on Nextdoor. Allow me to share that post with you and then link to a post which was one of the first times we've mentioned this corner.

• Several weeks ago their was a post on Wendy’s that digressed to a discussion on 79th State.   In the post there was a discussion on a proposal to purchase/lease the vacant property at 79th State to build a Culver’s restaurant. 
  
  Statements were made suggesting that the city initiate imminent domain proceeding on the site which would force Carter Temple church to sell the property to the city. 
  
  The church board met this past weekend and decided that they needed to bring in a consultant to evaluate proposals and internal plans and make a recommendation on which was in the church’s best interest. No time frame was given in when a decision will be made. The church board includes local residents State Senator Elgie Sims and businessman Paul Williams. 
  
  Carter Temple which has been in the community for 40 + years purchased the property at 79th State approximately 20 years ago after a long fight with the property owner who had let the property diminish and become a nuisance in the community . The church had a vision to redevelop the building that was presented but found it too costly. The church has indicated they want to build a senior living facility with retail in a multistory building. Subsequently, the pastor at the time Henry Williamson was promoted and left the church. Over the past 15 years the church has had a string of pastors and the there has been differences of opinion within the church about the property. 
  
  The church has sought to stabilize the leadership team with the Rev.Joseph Gordon and board member Sims.
  
  As information comes forth will update.

PHOTOS: 79th & State Street with vacant lot and abandoned building from October 2009

And perhaps it's time to go to that corner and take some updated snapshots, almost 10 years later. Perhaps when the weather warms up or when the snow melts...

Wendy's is hiring

The Wendy's being built in the outlot of the parking lot on 87th/Dan Ryan shopping center where the Jewel-Osco is located is now hiring. Worlee Glover shares a link on Concerned Citizen's of Chatham.

https://careers.wendys.com/

Wendy's is coming to 87th/Dan Ryan...

Within the last few weeks I tried to leave Jewel/Osco's parking lot on 87th and the Dan Ryan through the usual exit that's closest to the one towards the expressway. One minor problem however I couldn't leave that way. To leave the Jewel parking lot - or the shopping center that contains a variety of stores including Burlington or Rainbow or a jewelry store - I'd have to go down to the old Best Buy/Toys R Us store.

One time a guy when down to that exit from the parking lot and then went north on Lafayette to get to the expressway entrance. A risky move to be sure.

We as of late the parking lot has experience some construction starting with a Chipotle's right on the corner of 87th and now per Worlee Glover of Concerned Citizen's of Chatham, a Wendy's. Alright no more trips to 87th and Stony or 99th and Western - and those probably aren't the only ones closest by. Either way it's interesting that the shopping center that hosts Jewel/Osco on 87th is experiencing something of a building boom in its outer parking lot!

#tbt 95/Dan Ryan - 1971

Before sharing with you a CTA's ig post from earlier this week I wanted to give you all a history lesson. Many of you who read this blog may already know this if you've been riding the CTA's Dan Ryan branch for its 49 years of operation.

So the Dan Ryan branch of what we now call the CTA red line was opened on September 28, 1969. Originally this route was connected with the Lake Street branch to Harlem/Lake via the 18th Street connection and eventually along the south side mainline through the Loop elevated. On February 21, 1993 the Dan Ryan branch would be redirected to the Howard branch through a tunnel into the State Street subway created the red line as we know it today!

In 1971, the trains you see at 95/Dan Ryan in post below with one departing and the other arriving are on what they would call the west-south (aka Lake-Dan Ryan) route. With all the changes to the Dan Ryan due to various construction projects especially the 5 month shut down of the Dan Ryan (aka red line south) and the current reconstruction of the 95th terminal it's cool to see this look back to when it was like new.

View this post on Instagram

In this 1971 photo, a Lake-Dan Ryan A train of 2200-series cars departs 95th/Dan Ryan with open track ahead alongside bumper-to-bumper traffic on a weekday morning. To the left, a train of 2000-series cars arrives in the terminal station. The Dan Ryan line turned 49 on Friday! When the line first opened, the West-South Route (Lake-Dan Ryan service) went between Harlem/Lake and 95th/Dan Ryan via the north and east sides of the Loop while the North-South Route, or Howard-Englewood-Jackson Park service) used the State Street Subway. The south portions of these two routes were flipped in 1992 with the opening of a new, short segment of subway in anticipation of the Orange Line coming, creating the modern Red and Green lines' routings. #cta #chicago #oakpark #forestpark #transit #traffic #rapidtransit #trains #railway #tracks #railroad #publictransit #expressways #freeways

A post shared by Chicago Transit Authority (@chicagocta) on Oct 1, 2018 at 1:00pm PDT

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• Old Dan Ryan line photos found on Flickr 
• Back In The Day BW Dubs CTA "L" South Side 

87th/Dan Ryan mall parking

I'm sharing this for those of you who have been affected by this and for those of you who patronize the shopping on the west side of the Dan Ryan to beware. I will share first Worlee Glover's post from Concerned Citizens of Chatham looking for people affected by the towing of legally parked vehicles.

Also a post at Nextdoor regarding this. 

I am at the Staples mall protecting my people

That predatory tow truck company got 1 van under my watch. I met another victim who owns a pickup. He had to pay $1,500 to retrieve his truck. It cost more for pickups! I filed my paperwork. This is a job for Ald. Brookins to address. He is going to hear from me.

A bit more detail

Ash Said is the owner of Rapid Recovery, which received an "F" from the Better Business Bureau.

 I recommend you sign up for nextdoor to get involved in the discussion or get in touch with Worlee or share a comment here on this blog about what your experience as far as the parking in the shopping areas of 87th/Dan Ryan.

Hey perhaps we should get the Parking Ticket Geek involved! Though I recognize he doesn't specialize in towing of legally parked vehicles from privately owned parking lots.

Cost of Father Pfleger's expressway shutdown to protest gun violence in July

While the Dan Ryan march happened in July and another march is being planned to disrupt traffic on Lake Shore Drive, we're looking at the costs of the earlier march led by Father Pfleger.

As Chicago prepares to handle another protest that could shut down a major roadway, the total cost of the last big demonstration has hit at least $323,000.

That’s the bill that taxpayers are footing for the Dan Ryan Expressway march earlier this month.

The cost so far — $323,229.33 — includes nearly $1,000 in fuel costs for state Department of Corrections vehicles, nearly $200,000 in state police pay and benefits and $52,000 in state Department of Transportation equipment costs, according to department records.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said they helped state police with 911 calls during the Dan Ryan march, at a cost of about $3,000.

As of Monday afternoon, the Chicago Police Department had not provided an estimate of their protest-related costs. Neither had the Chicago Transit Authority, though it was unclear how the march could have had a financial impact on that agency. Even State Police said they’re still calculating their final costs.