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Friday, January 15, 2021

Chicago Tribune: Authorities investigating ‘suspicious package’ at Far South Side Metra facility

I'm checking the Metra website and see no mention of any service updates with regards to this. Trains were stopped during rush hour, however, nothing that shows definitively that service has been continued.

This was the story from the Tribune as of 4:30 Friday evening.
A Far South Side Metra facility was evacuated and Metra Electric District trains were halted Friday afternoon after an employee noticed a suspicious package, Metra officials said.

The package was reported at a maintenance facility at 12301 S. Indiana Ave. in the West Pullman neighborhood, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said. As of about 4 p.m., Metra Electric trains were still stopped, and authorities continued to investigate the threat.

The trains were halted around 3:20 p.m. “out of an abundance of caution” because the line passes near the facility, Gillis said.

Thursday, January 14, 2021

#tbt Chicago History Today: Then and Now, Torrence-112th

112th & Torrence in 1947

 A bit outside of the scope of this blog, however, this shows a different scene from what's at this same location just last year. This photo and the 2020 photo is seen at Chicago History Today blog which shares:
In 1947 the Wisconsin Steel plant dominated this section of Torrence Avenue. Here, at paper-112th Street, was the southern terminal of the South Deering streetcar line. By then an off-street turn-around loop was already in place—the tracks are visible at the bottom of the older photo. However, most of the double-ended cars still changed directions the old-fashioned way, parked in the middle of the street while the seats and trolley poles were flipped.

Buses replaced streetcars on Torrence Avenue soon after the 1947 photo was taken. Today those buses use that off-street loop. Wisconsin Steel closed in 1980. The drinking fountain that guy in the older photo was using is gone, too,

Thursday, January 7, 2021

High-Low Foods on E. 111th Street #tbt

Via Pete Kastanes of Vanished Chicagoland. This store was located at 409 E. 111th in the Roseland neighborhood. This is the corner of 111th & King Drive and the building itself is still standing, the business itself is still a neighborhood corner store.
Here is a Google Streetview look at the same location in 2019

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

IL driver services facilities are reopening today

 

[VIDEO] This was reported not long after the new year on WBBM-TV, however, it's worth sharing with you that secretary of state driver's services facilities will reopen today. Of course we're still in a pandemic so perhaps what you experienced during the summer last year before they closed down facilities again will still be ongoing.

Check out WBBM's Jim Williams for more details for example:

Extended to June 1st are expirations of driver's licenses and I.D. cards

Also it's advised that you visit cyberdriveillinois.com for renewals of license plates, driver's licenses, and I.D. cards.

BTW, Happy New Year's. I hope it was both safe and enjoyable.

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Historic Pullman on Christmas Eve 2020

 

[VIDEO] It's a bit snowy in Pullman isn't it. As depicted in these scenes uploaded this morning as we seen in this video of the historic planned company town/Chicago neighborhood, now a national monument.

I hope you all have a safe, festive, and happy holidays this year.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Tribune: COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers

 Check out this graphic from the Chicago Tribune with regards to where the different regions of this state are as far as positivity rates and hospitalizations. If you're looking for Chicago & Cook County note that theyre basically considered separate "regions" as far as assessing positivity & hospitalizations.


Update

 I'm looking to start opening up comments on this blog. To start there are two pages here where comments should be opened our Free Expressions & Gun Rights pages. I hope those two pages will be great resources here, especially the gun rights page.

My goal would be to update that with info on the extent of gun rights in the city. You should be able to know what types of firearms you're about to own at home in this city.

Perhaps with free expression - or free speech - we should know those limitations as well although those aren't as clear. People often speak up on things that they really shouldn't, however, depending upon who you speak about that can be risky anyway.

There will be updates once comments on those two pages are finally opened.

Monday, December 21, 2020

WTTW: Lightfoot Quietly Extends Stay-At-Home Order Until Jan. 10

 The key word here is quietly:

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday quietly extended the advisory that urges Chicagoans at stay home in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 through Jan. 10 — the day before the first Chicago Public Schools students are set to go back to in-person class.

Lightfoot announced a 30-day stay-at-home advisory on Nov. 12, saying that Chicago was facing a sustained and dire second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The advisory took effect on Nov. 16.

To combat the second wave, Gov. J.B. Pritzker imposed statewide restrictions on Nov. 20 that closed museums, casinos and theaters while limiting the capacity of most stores to 25%, while grocery stores can operate at a maximum capacity of 50%.

Indoor gatherings within private residences are limited to six non-household members but are strongly discouraged, according to the advisory.
...
While Lightfoot can order tighter restrictions than the governor for Chicago, she cannot ease his rules, making the stay-at-home advisory, which she extended for 21 days on Sunday, redundant.

Chicagoans should only leave home to go to work or school, to seek medical care or to shop for groceries or take-out meals, according to the stay-at-home advisory.

Alongside Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public of Health, Lightfoot warned Nov. 12 that if Chicagoans did not quickly change their behavior and cancel plans to gather in person for Thanksgiving, another 1,000 Chicagoans would die from COVID-19 before the end of 2020.
I can't wait till life starts to get back to some semblance of normal with this vaccine in 2021....

CPS Holiday Meal Giveaways

The below image is from state Sen. Elgie Sims email blast. Regarding CPS Holiday Break Meal Giveaways. Want to know locations visit www.cps.edu/mealsites or call 773.553.KIDS (5437).

Before Christmas you can pick up your meal kids on Monday thru Wednesday or December 21st thru 23rd this week from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at a mealsite near you.

These are a few nearby mealsites:

  • BENNETT -10115 S PRAIRIE AVE
  • BROOKS HS - 250 E 111TH ST
  • BURNSIDE - 650 E 91ST PL
  • CORLISS HS - 821 E 103RD ST
  • CULLEN - 10650 S EBERHART AVE
  • DIXON - 8306 S SAINT LAWRENCE AVE
  • FERNWOOD - 10041 S UNION AVE
  • GARVEY - 10309 S MORGAN ST

 

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Second City Cop: Batten Down the Hatches...Again

 While this post at Second City cop is very political, it's a fascinating look at the politics of what happened with Anjanette Young as the police wrongfully served a warrant on her residence. So the windy city cop blogger notes that there is a lack of warrant training among police officers. And then the fall out of this news - which actually happened February 2019 - has reached the mayor's office. And just today a corporation counsel for the city has resigned their post.