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.

VIDEO: Dan Ryan Expressway Father Pfleger Peace March Shutdown #DanRyanshutdown

[VIDEO] It's rare as of late that I do Sunday posts here however since Saturday's peace march on the Dan Ryan Expressway is still fresh on everyone's mind I wanted to share this video from Artistmac. He didn't participate in the march himself but got footage of the march as it happened. And audio of others who are pontificating on this.

We would see that at first police blocked two lanes and ultimately protestors which included not only St. Sabina's Father Michael Pfleger also Rev. Jesse Jackson. There were pics that showed them negotiating with authorities especially Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. Though I found a pic where he was marching with the protestors on the Dan Ryan via the "Sheriff Blog".

BTW, I feel the need to share this post from Newsalert the last posted yesterday about the Ryan march: Amid #DanRyanShutDown, Rauner slams Rahm, protesters on Twitter: "Unacceptable. We had clear parameters that allowed the protestors to be heard while respecting law and order. Instead, they chose instead to cause chaos..."

What are you thoughts on this march?

So what happened to this much humbler mayor...

[VIDEO] Before the recent runoff and after we heard about Emanuel becoming much more humble and cooperative. And then we see the Mayor's vehicle blowing through those dreaded red light cams. Those cams were a campaign issue during the municipal races this year.

Chicagoist shares a post from Crime in Wrigleyville & Boystown with videos such as the one above showing the Mayor's vehicle running red lights and recorded on those threaded red light cams. This isn't entirely humble...

Sun-Times: Red-light cameras coming down at 18 Chicago intersections

Sun-Times photo

Recently I took a shot of a speed camera being erected at Abbott Park near 95th & Michigan. And that figures in this latest piece:

City Hall is removing 36 red-light cameras at 18 intersections where cameras have succeeded in reducing right-angle crashes caused by running red lights.

That will leave Chicago with 348 red-light cameras at 172 intersections.

“Automated traffic enforcement, whether through red-light or speed cameras, is about changing drivers’ behavior,” Emanuel was quoted as saying in a press release.

“Cameras at these intersections are now showing a low level of crashes and dangerous angle crashes, which means an enhanced level of safety.”

The 18 intersections where cameras are being removed either experienced no “right-angle crashes” or only one in 2012. They also have a “total crash rate” — calculated by dividing annual crashes by average daily traffic counts — of less than one percent, according to Illinois Department of Transportation statistics provided to the city last week.

The 18 intersections where red-light cameras will be removed are: Osceola and Touhy; Kedzie and Devon; Harlem and Higgins; Sheridanand Hollywood; ustin and Belmont; Cicero and Belmont; Halsted and Belmont; California and North; Wells and North; Kostner and Division; Clark and Cermak; California and 35th; California and 47th Street; Pulaski and 71st; Wentworth and 65th; Racine and 79th; 79th Street and Cottage Grove and Stony Island and 89th.

Cameras at all 18 designated intersections should be removed by Jan. 31, according to City Hall.

I hope you all are continuing to be safe drivers whether or not there are cameras around or not!

Tribune Breaking news: Cop hurt in hit-and-run crash in Chatham neighborhood

Chicago police at the scene of a hit-and-run accident that left an officer injured. (WGN-TV / September 13, 2012)

A police officer was injured just past midnight this morning.

Here's the story from Chicago Breaking News

Please be careful out there -- and be very watchful.

Fuel spill temporarily closes Dan Ryan

Tribune:

At 3:13 a.m., a semi carrying a food shipment crashed into a concrete barrior on I-94 northbound at 87th Street, causing the fuel tank to rupture, according to an Illinois State Police master sergeant.

The semi was the only vehicle involved in the crash and the driver suffered minor injuries, the sergeant said.

Traffic was diverted off the Dan Ryan at 87th Street and immediately allowed back on, but the spill was cleaned up within an hour and a half and the Dan Ryan completely reopened.

At least it didn't affect the morning commute from what I can tell.

Family: Bowen student fatally hit by up to 3 vehicles

More details on that hit-and-run on that 15 year old girl:

Chicago police said Raymond was struck by a driver who was driving under the influence of alcohol. She then was thrown into the path of a second vehicle and hit again, police believe. Detectives are following up on whether a third car was involved.

Raymond had just stepped onto East 87th Street near King Drive about 11:15 p.m. Saturday when the collision occurred, authorities said. She died Monday morning at Advocate Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled her death an accident after an autopsy on Tuesday found she died of multiple injuries.

The driver of the first vehicle to strike Raymond was ticketed for striking a pedestrian and a plate registration violation, in addition to DUI, police said, adding that the crash remains under investigation. The second driver wasn't ticketed.

Family members said Raymond was on the phone seconds before the collision and was being harassed by at least one man on the street, but police said that could not be confirmed.

The family is imploring anyone with information on the crash to come forward.

Just terrible!

US Grant Memorial Highway

Had no idea 95th Street is also a memorial highway named for famed Civil War general and 18th President of the United State, Ulysses S. Grant. The US Grant Highway with a sign here located near 95th & State is designated through the state of Illinois as US Route 20. This press release is possibly why there is a sign here.

One dead after CTA bus, van collision on South Side

Sun-Times:

A Far South Side woman has died early Wednesday and 9 others were hospitalized when a van rear-ended a CTA bus in the South Side Chatham neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.

Patricia Blackburn, 62, of the 12900 block of South Normal Avenue, was pronounced dead at 3:32 a.m. at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Blackburn was a passenger in a motor vehicle involved in a crash at 83rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Authorities indicated Blackburn was most likely inside the van when the crash occurred.

CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said a southbound No. 4 Cottage Grove bus was stopped at the intersection of 83rd Street and Cottage Grove when it was struck from behind by a van about 4:40 p.m.

More info from Chicago Breaking News:

Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez said the driver was tailgating the bus. The driver of the van received multiple citations.

Perez said there were 13 people on the CTA bus, and at least one of those people was among the injured.

If you read the blog and are into prayer, they are certainly needed here!

TRAFFIC ALERT for SATURDAY: 76th to 79th, State to Cottage

Just saw this poster.

Gathering for this parade starts at 8am, and begins at 10am. I would imagine it would go until 12 noon or so.

It starts at 76th & Cottage Grove, and continues to79th & Cottage Grove, then from 79th to State Street, up State to 76th, and back to 76th & Cottage Grove. I haven't seen any CTA updates, so it might be a walking parade.

In any case, please make appropriate preparations (i..e probably aviding those areas by car during those times, but stpping by the area & take photos).

Prominent voices for Wal-Mart

Two local business owners who just so happen to be members of our local chamber of commerce, Chatham Business Association, discuss the Wal-Mart issue last month at the Farmer's Market at the Chatham Market Shopping Center in videos from the Wal-Mart Chicago Website.

Two vids should be your focus for this post, Traffic and Politics.

Joseph Caldwell is the owner of Tailo-Rite dry cleaners and is a board member at Seaway Bank. He was in both of the videos that you can see over at Wal-Mart's Chicago Community Action Network website. In the Politics video, he refused to address the political aspects of this issue. In the Traffic, vid he spoke as a businessman,discussing some positives he could find in the issue of a potential increase in traffic.

So it could be the thorn in the side for those who are concerned about Wal-Mart coming in (the theory that Wal-Mart puts small businesses out of business). Perhaps his comments prove that bringing in a Wal-Mart could be more of a benefit than a detriment. Especially if local business people are able to adjust to the new environment.

William Garth owns The Citizen newspaper group. He also talks in the Traffic vid about the traffic that could result from a Wal-Mart. Most of what he said isn't much different than what was said in those arguments in support of a Chatham Wal-Mart such as people won't have to leave the neighborhood to visit another Wal-Mart.

Cliff Kelly is a radio host at WVON-AM. He mentioned explicitly in the Politics vid, that it was wrong to not allow Wal-Mart into Chatham, but force everyone on the south side to go just across Chicago's city limits to visit the Wal-Mart in Evergreen Park on 95th & Western.

What do you think about the comments made by these gentlemen?

A bridge over the Dan Ryan at 85th

A posting over at the Concerned Citizens of Chatham Facebook page:

Alderman Brookins is requesting a bridge crossing the Dan Ryan at 85th Street. Do you support a bridge at this location?

Hmm, it could work. It could give people an alternate route to shopping and the movie theaters on both 87th & at Chatham Market. What do you think?

1 dead, 6 hurt in Dan Ryan crash

Tribune:

One person was killed and six others were hurt in a traffic crash this afternoon on the Dan Ryan Expressway on the South Side.

The six survivors were all taken in serious-to-critical condition to Stroger Hospital and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, said Fire Department Chief Joe Roccasalva.

The crash happened about 2:30 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the highway at 96^th Street, just north of where the Dan Ryan connects to the Bishop Ford Freeway, said Illinois State Police and Chicago fire personnel.

Red-light camera should capture right car with right plate

An article from the Naperville Sun.

I'm sure many of us have experience some type of frustration now that Chicago has employed the use of red-light cameras to catch people in the act!

This was the story of a woman who was nowhere near the location a camera caught her at. She got a ticket in the mail and she decided to contest this. She had to cough up some money to even protest this red light ticket and had to appear at the Daley Center three times before a license plate was produced.

That license plate was key to getting her case dismissed. Why?

After all the dust had cleared and the expenses were paid by this tenacious senior citizen, including time, parking fees, tolls as well as anguish and distress, the case was dismissed.

It was dismissed simply because, after investigation by this lady, it was discovered that two vehicles registered in the state of Illinois can have the same identical plate number. The only difference is that one is a vanity plate.

A case of mistaken identity! Especially since this woman drives a Buick and the car that was caught on camera was a Chrysler van.

Via Instapundit!

Our ward has the city's worst intersection

According to this report by WBBM-TV:

The worst intersection in Chicago for pedestrian accidents is King Drive and 79th Street, with 13 accidents over a two-year period ending in 2005. That's followed by 79th and Ashland (11); North and California (10), and Madison and Cicero (9).

Well how is that?

Chicago motorists who barrel through intersections and fail to yield for pedestrians had better be prepared to pay up. They might get stopped by an undercover police officer posing as a pedestrian -- and playing for keeps.
...
Last year, there were more than 3,000 pedestrian-related accidents on Chicago streets. More than 50 of them resulted in pedestrian fatalities, an average of one a week.
...
"A motorist driving a two-ton auto is a lot more dangerous than a pedestrian crossing the street" while texting, talking on a cell-phone or listening to an iPod, Steele said.

How is this being resolved?

The first two-hour sting will take place April 20, with at least two a week through the end of this year.

Transportation Department spokesman Brian Steele refused to reveal the locations, but said they would be publicized in advance to give motorists fair warning. Most, if not all, will be at intersections with no traffic signal or stop sign.

Each of the city's 25 police districts will get at least two stings at crosswalks near schools, senior housing and commercial districts. Most if not all of the locations will be "at or within a few blocks" of the site of a pedestrian crash in 2006 or 2007.

It's all part of a nearly three-year-old campaign known as "Safe Streets for Chicago," designed to improve pedestrian and traffic safety through: technology, such as countdown signals; infrastructure investment, such as marked crosswalks, and education.

So what's going on at 79th and King Drive? Why is it the worst intersection in the city?

No messing around when it comes to Obama motorcade

Shouldn't be a big surprise to most of us. I've heard some stories about impatient drivers attempting to pass the motorcade only to be suddenly stop by police. Be careful out there folks and on top of that read this piece by Jon Hilkevitch:

A few incidents have occurred in which Chicago drivers failed to yield properly to Obama's heavily armed caravan of Secret Service and Chicago police black SUVs and other vehicles ablaze in flashing lights.

It can lead to trouble. And offenders should not count on receiving a presidential pardon.

On Saturday night, the motorcade carrying the president-elect, his wife, Michelle, and a friend, Marty Nesbitt, was headed north on Lake Shore Drive en route to dinner at the Frontera Grill on Clark Street downtown.

A car pulled alongside the convoy south of McCormick Place, according to a pool report filed by a news reporter assigned to the Obamas. A Chicago police car quickly intercepted the vehicle and pulled the sedan to the side of the road.

It was not immediately known whether the driver was ticketed. But the incident serves as a warning that invading what security officials consider presidential personal space could be a fatal mistake.

"The security of the motorcade is paramount for us, so drivers should take these suggestions to heart: Slow down and avoid aggressive maneuvers, such as not acting courteously and attempting to get close to the vehicles and gawk," said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren in Washington. "The challenge that driving in an aggressive manner poses to us is that we don't know if it is intentional or just curiosity."

In fact, the need for drivers to show deference to the presidential motorcade is more of an issue in Chicago than it is in Washington. That's because in the nation's capital, streets are completely cordoned off for the presidential motorcade, officials said. Other cities have different security protocols.

"Here in the district, the motorcade is the traffic. If the motorcade is moving, the traffic ain't," said Officer Andre Singleton of the special operations division of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington. "No one has access to the street the president is on except the president."

Cameras are good -- at stopping up budget holes

A Daily Herald piece written by Mathew Hoffman who is a traffic-case attorney in both Lake and Cook counties who is opposed to stop-light cameras. Via The CapFax Monday morning shorts!

Skyway considers open-road tolling

Sun-Times:

Drivers who save time and money by using open-road tolling on the Illinois Tollway might someday enjoy the same benefits on the Chicago Skyway.

The Spanish-Australian consortium that's paying the city $1.83 billion for a 99-year Chicago Skyway lease is laying the groundwork for open-road tolling.

Chicago Skyway Concession Co. is asking the Illinois General Assembly to authorize camera enforcement and administrative adjudication of Skyway toll violators.

The company, which uses gates to stop toll cheats, would be responsible for installing surveillance cameras and mailing violation notices. But drivers who refuse to pay or contest their tickets would be processed through the city Department of Administrative Hearings. In exchange, the city would assess and pocket a yet-unspecified fine.

If I recall correctly there's only one toll both on the road just before 87th. Continue east on the Skyway the next toll booth is just as you cross into Indiana. I don't see an advantage to open road tolling here to be honest.

CTA bus slams into pole in Avalon Park

This story actually occurred on Friday afternoon. You can reach this thru the Tribune crime blotter with a link in the must reads section of this blog.

The No. 79 bus crashed about 1:35 p.m. at East 79th Street and South Avalon Avenue, police said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Eight adults and three teens were taken to area hospitals in good condition, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.