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CTA Red Line trains along the Dan Ryan Expressway filled with local residents on the way downtown, to look for a job. | John H. White/Sun-Times
A pair of South Side aldermen demanded Monday that the Illinois Department of Transportation clean up the embarassing mess left behind on the shoulder of the Dan Ryan Expy. by motorists who cavalierly toss their trash out the window.
Ald. Mike Zalewski (23rd) and Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) said the southbound Ryan in particular is a pigpen that provides an ugly impression of Chicago, even though the city is
powerless to stop it. That’s because the expressway is IDOT’s jurisdiction and the state’s responsibility to keep clean.
“Southbound all the way from the Loop to 95th Street, there is just an excess amount of debris on the road,” Zalewski said.
“It’s not the Department of Streets and Sanitation’s or the city’s responsibility. It’s more the (Illinois) Department of Transportation’s responsibility. But the perception is you’re in the city and there’s garbage out there. People don’t know the difference.”
O’Shea’s far Southwest Side ward is home to scores of police officers and firefighters.
He noted that the shoulder of the Ryan was noticeably clean for last month’s funeral procession for slain 18th District Police Commander Paul Bauer.
But once that somber ceremony was over, it was back to being a cesspool again.
“It’s despicable that a world-class city like Chicago looks that way. That our own citizens would throw garbage out the window like that to the point where from the roadway up the embankment, it’s filled with debris and garbage,” O’Shea said.
O’Shea referred to Chicago’s $2.25 billion bid for Amazon’s second world headquarters and the city’s quest for similar projects by Google and Apple.
“We’ve got some major companies looking at us. I hope they’re not coming down the Ryan. The impression is this is a dirty city,” O’Shea said.
IDOT spokesperson Gianna Urgo said a “massive litter removal operation took place in District 1” during early March as soon as “there was a lull in winter weather.”
“During that operation, all garbage was removed from Chicagoland expressways. Any debris on the shoulder or side of the road now is new garbage as of March 15,” Urgo wrote in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Other sources noted that IDOT has 23 maintenance yards in District 1, which includes Cook and collar counties, that are responsible for snow removal, pothole patching, guard rail repairs and litter pickups on state highways.
During snow and cold winter months, their primary responsibility is to keep expressways “safe, clear and passable.” Litter pickup takes a back seat.
“We are committed to providing a positive impression of Illinois throughout the year by keeping our roadways as clean and clutter free as possible. Our job is certainly easier (and less costly) when the public is properly disposing their trash,” Urgo wrote.
O’Shea acknowledged that it’s “a lot harder” for IDOT to “keep up” with trash removal during cold and snowy winter months. But he said, “We haven’t had snow in a couple of weeks. Get some crews out there.”
Five years ago, South Side Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) proposed stiff fines and vehicle impoundment for Chicago motorists who open their car and SUV windows, dump their trash and turn Chicago streets into a dumping ground.
Brookins was promptly accused of giving police “another tool to demonize, imprison and punish black men.”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel subsequently got behind the crackdown, but only after Brookins watered it down considerably.
Instead of towing every vehicle used for the driver version of fly-dumping, the softer ordinance gave Chicago Police the “discretion” to tow instead of penalizing every single litterer.
And instead of dramatically increasing the fines — to $1,500 a pop — Brookins agreed to raise the minimum fine from $50 to $150. The maximum fine was raised to $1,500, but that stiff penalty was not imposed on every trash-dumping motorist.
On Monday, O’Shea and Zalewski said there’s no use getting tougher on motorists because it’s too difficult to catch them.
“It’s like graffiti. You’re never gonna catch the people. You’ve just got to get it cleaned up. If you leave graffiti out there for more than a day, it makes an area look gang-infested. This just makes the city look dirty,” Zalewski said.
Streets and Sanitation spokesperson Marjani Williams said newly appointed Commissioner John Tully agrees with the alderman and has “expressed our concerns to the Rauner administration.”
“It is the state’s responsibility to maintain the expressways. We have helped them perform the work at times, though doing so is not ideal or sustainable,” Williams wrote in an email.
Jeez,I was wondering when Matt was going to climb out from under the rock he's been hiding under the last couple of months it seems. There for a while Matt was making some type of new every other day and lately pffft!! I'm guessing he was told to stand down until the election was over.Me thinks Matt wasn't in JB's camp
ReplyDeletewho knows, who cares. the guy is out there everyday.
DeleteWhats orange and sleeps four? A Department of transportation truck.
ReplyDeleteBut besides that lets face it anyone who says they "stays" somewhere rather then use the term lives at when referring to their home is nomadic and doesn't give a shit about the neighborhood they live in and therefore has no problem in throwing their trash out the window, after all when it gets bad they just move.
The alderman needs to worry more about the traffic gridlock in his own ward and less about what happens on the Ryan.
ReplyDeleteI’m with you. He needed some attention so this is how to get it.
DeleteI for one think Matt does a better than average job for the 19th ward and when I look at what is representing some of the other wards I'm glad we got him. But Matt should realize that they'd have to have trash pick-up crews out there every day just to keep up with the trash that gets heaved out of car windows on that stretch of road
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad we got Matt.
DeleteI agree. Matt doesn’t have a second job, and he is a constant presence at all of the neighborhood’s functions. I’ve lived in other wards, and the aldermen were nowhere to be found. You couldn’t pay me to do his job, as I’m sure he gets an earful everywhere he goes. He loves the neighborhood and it’s clear through his actions.
DeleteI also agree that as an Alderman Matt is better than before. But there are a lot of problems in our Ward that seem to be getting little attention. Trains, and what about that car wash on Western? It is ridiculous. Going to Beverly Park or leaving that area has become a cluster. Cars taking over the walkway and now the people are in the street on 101st just off Western drying their cars at the light. Not to mention the back up at 101st St. I have NOT seen Matt there and he seems totally uninterested in correcting this problem. Why? Could it be because of who generally frequents this car wash? Someone is going to get hurt too
DeleteTony Martin for Alderman
ReplyDeleteWho dat?
Delete