Everything Closed
All of Lake Shore Drive was shut down as of 7:50 p.m. due to safety concerns over the weather, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication.
Officials want to clear the drive of all traffic in order to plow and salt the entire roadway.
They hope to have it reopened sometime tonight, according to the OEMC.
There will be a snow day Wednesday for more than 410,000 students at Chicago Public Schools.
The nation’s third largest school system announced late Tuesday that it was canceling all classes
Wednesday at its more than 700 schools out of an “abundance of caution.’’
Midway, but not all of O'Hare:
In anticipation of the incoming blizzard, operations at Midway Airport have been shut down for the day Tuesday and most airlines at O’Hare Airport -- where more than 1,300 flights have been canceled so far -- have indicated they will have limited or no operations on Wednesday, according to the Chicago Dept. of Aviation.
For those flights still operating in and out of O’Hare, as of about 1:30 p.m. airlines were reporting delays of approximately 30 minutes, according to a release from the city Dept. of Aviation.
- State Police are reporting that I-80 will soon be closed, from Morris west to Ottawa, because of “impassable” blizzard conditions.
The interstate will be closed as soon as the Illinois Dept. of Transportation can get the barricades up, said Joliet District State Police Sgt. Chris Paluch, and the road will remain closed all night.
Thanks goodness we have all those brand new 4-wheel-drive Tahoes to drive the snow covered streets and respond to emergency situations! Oh wait....
Labels: we got nothing
posted by SCC at 12:05 AM
119 Comments:
you've got to be kidding me!!!!!???? CPS (chicago public skools) is closed!!!!! wft!!!! who will babysit my 8 kids and feed em 3 square meals????? my gawd lawdy lawdy
The geniuses in charge should have closed LSD down much earlier.
Got two emails today from favorite restaurants saying "We're open!" Pretty impressive. I'm guessing the owners just aren't going home at all tonight, and maybe sleeping in the place.
Much safer, considering driving conditions.
Courts closed too.
DID CPD GET ANY SNOW MOBILES?
CMON J-FLED U CANT USE ALL THOSE HOMELAND CONNECTIONS U BRAG ABOUT ALL THE TIME TO ROUND UP 100 SNOWMOBILES.
ONCE AGAIN A MAJOR EVENT OCCURS IN CHICAGO AND THE MASTER OF ABS IS SILENT!
PLEASE USE ALL UR VACATION DAYS AND OVERTIME AND QUIT EARLY BEFORE U R FIRED!
AND DONT TRY A HUBERMAN U KNOW STEALING A PENSION AT UR SALARY.
Another brillant move by Tom Byrne. The LSD should have been shut hours earlier. Way to micro-manage Tom.
To the poster who asked 'what do I do to prepare for this' -
First, you're way late. They were predicting this a week ago. Most of us don't even think about it; we just adjust our shopping habits and make a note to pick up a few extra things.
You should already have: flashlights and batteries, bottled water, a shovel or two (one for the trunk of the car is smart), extra salt (one for the trunk, again, too), a fully charged cell with an extra battery, candle and matches (use extreme caution if you need to use them, though), extra prepared food, toilet paper and a contingency plan to relocate elsewhere, if you need to.
If your electric goes out, your HEAT goes out. Forced air heat can't blow. Radiators run on an electric-based thermostat, so that heat won't work, either (though radiators will continue to throw heat for a few hours, as they cool down). My heating guy rigged something for me so the radiator heat will still work if I lose electricity.
If you plan to use your kitchen stove for heat in an emergency, remember new stoves have an electric starter. Your stove won't fire up without electricity. Keep a burner or two on low, if safe (think about small kids in your household) to do so. You can turn the burners up and throw some heat temporarily, if you need to. Be mindful of carbon monoxide, though. Same with those ventless fireplaces. No point killing yourself and leaving a warm corpse.
I walk around my house with a flashlight and my cell in a pocket. Lights have been flickering all evening and I want to be able to find things in the dark if I lose power.
Make sure you can locate carriers for pets, if you have to move to another location. Make sure you have a heavy coat, gloves, flashlight, keys, and a packed 'go bag' all in one place.
In the car, keep a blanket or two, gloves, hat, power bars, a flashlight you can shake for power (batteries fail when they get too cold), a $30.00 power converter you can plug into the lighter (for netbook, phone charging, etc., and a shovel and salt. Make absolutely sure your car is filled with fuel at every opportunity and your windshield fluid and coolant is topped off.
Gather a couple of good books, a few dvds, some decent popcorn and a good camera to take snow pix. These are the once-in-a-lifetime days you'll talk about for the rest of your life. Have a little fun with it.
Those trucks are #$%^@&*% useless. I had to help push 6 of them out of the lot before checkoff.
Not to mention the 50 CFD snowmobiles that they just purchased at a cost of 10k each. Where did that money come from? And I'm sure they were purchased in an "emergency" (aka no bid contract) from Vaneko Sport Center.
All night they were getting calls of pregnant women stuck on the drive. Where were the snowmobiles?
CPD wanted to close LSD off at 1600hours.
little boy tommy byrne got egotistical and demaned it stay open 'until he says to shut it down'
It was shut downj at 2000 hours, AFTER the traffic backed up and weather got dangerous.
GOOD JOB TOMMY BOY
......tonight was a real trip allright dealing with the most stupidest of the people in Chicago I tell you. You can't imagine how many people were out driving in this blizzard and for what? You know it's bad out and the dumbwads are out in full force. There was really no reason for anyone to be out on the road. And the media really plays it up too. They had their camera trucks on the road reporting on the dumbwads that were driving in the blizzard. Check this out. We did a traffic stop,an expired plate..of course...I mean does anyone have a legit plate these days with the economy the way it is??? Anyway we smelled weed and it turns out the driver and passenger smoked their blunt already. Here's the kicker, the driver had the new sticker in the glove compartment. He put it on the plate during the stop. Now the driver says okay I got the sticker on the plate, I got a valid drivers license and I'm all out of weed. So I tell him well You are a DUI. DUI?, he says. And I say yep. According to the statute you are impaired....it's in your blood. Off to jail he went. Do you realize how many DUI's are out on the street if you smoke weed???? Dumbwads.
circuit court of cook county closed Wednesday except for bond court
Everything closed...but one thing still rolling no matter what.
I have managed to piece together from multiple fragmentary news reports that the city has rented 50 snowmobiles from an outfit called ""Schomer (sic?) Rental," according to the sticker on the windshield. These are for the use of CFD paramedics; understand Engine 91 has already made a run with one (too tired to look up the house). I saw a clip of a snowmobile leaving a firehouse on a run; it had the yellow fiberglass Stokes basket strapped alongside it, not in the way at all, but the plan was to transport a patient with it by towing it along if necessary.
In 1979 -- a real waist-deep affair -- I saw snowmobiles being operated (carefully) "on the public way" at State and Pearson. Turned out that it was two volunteers delivering blood from one hospital to Northwestern Memorial nearby.
Ever since then, it's been in the back of my mind as a good idea. Glad to see that it's being implemented; as usual the CFD "Is There When You Need Us," and this could save a life.
Way to go! That's a genuinely awful storm out there; we can all feel a little safer knowing that emergency medical help can still get through.
Oh -- here's a fine black-and-white (remember that?) photo album of the 1967 Storm -- which may well be surpassed by this one when the totals are in. I was there. Worth taking a look at.
God bless all this terrible night (I've heard thunder and seen lightning twice, in the middle of all this); stay warm, stay safe, and see ya on the other side.
And hey, Byrne -- WHERE ARE THE PLOWS? You got arterial streets out here a foot deep and getting rutted up. Jeez. It's not like there's any traffic in your way.
*
Oh, well -- as Mayor Daley said on TV yesterday, snow "doesn't matter."
What's with streets and sanitation supervisors in their Ford Escapes driving around in pairs with red and blue lights in their rear windows? They have powers of arrest only when there's a lot of snow?
Hahaha. What an impressive night! Fun and excitement filled the until and few minutes and spin-outs and having bystanders push the police out of the snow! I'm exhausted from driving tonight. Stomach in knots and visibility was zero. Maybe if we had 4x4 and working windshield wipers the night wouldnt have ended with most cars for Midnights stuck.
WOW!! What a night so far. On 3rd watch before it even got real bad the Tahoe's were getting stuck like crazy. The fleet should be almost crippled by morning. Be safe out there!
Nice Tahoes LOLOLOL
glad I'm off
If you have to be out in the nightmare, please be careful driving.
dam, how about all those people stuck on LSD? Listening to the radio and hearing these people calling in. I just can't believe it. I'm guessing someone's head is going to roll for that fiasco!
Heads are going to roll for the LSD mess hundreds of cars stuck for over 9hrs in the same spot.
Oemc screwed up big time know that LSD wad going to be a problem they even said it on the morning news they were going to close it.
001, 018, 023, etc commanders get ready for a ear full because LSD was not ramps where not close.
Dick Daley: we are ready for this storm. LMFAO
Daley and J-Fled you guys SUCK!!!!!
Reminds me of 79 when Bilandic couldn't get the streets plowed. With all of that modern equipment it should have been a breeze. Too bad I didn't see 1 plow out there. NICE JOB ASSHOLES!!!
HOLD ON, I'M STUCK....
Tahoes SUCK!!!!!!!!!! Whose dumbass idea was it to buy those things?
0244 and still at least 70 cars stuck on the drive, between 800n-1400n.
I am getting slizzard in dis blizzard yo!
I hear they are working on the ribbon for surviving this horrible disaster. The blizzard of 2011 will be forever be in the minds of the survivors. How citizens drove in this horrible weather and survived. That with this great leadership the citizens of Chicago were kept safe from being stranded on LSD for 5hrs.
Real Chicago Mayoral candidates would of been out on a snowmobile running up and down LSD with donuts and hot coffee for their constituents.
These people are all a bunch of phoneys.
Don't come out when it's all over with and feign interest in the welfare of the people.
Chicago Street and Sans emergency plan was a FAILURE!
We had CFD stations snowed-in unavailable because streets and sans sets the priority to plowing around schools.
Seriously??
Office of Emergency Management Communications FAILED!
You know we keep hearing all this B.S. about hiring tech savvy police officers.
How about some tech savvy mayors, some tech savvy alderman, A TECH SAVVY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATIONS. A tech savvy Streets and Sans department!
The OEMC has a web page does anyone their know how to use it?
The Department of Streets and Sans had no comments no communications.
You sure the hell can't blame that there's no money in the city budget for equipment to communicate with the public in an emergency.
You have Facebook and Twitter and Foursquare. You have Google Maps and Wordpress and Blogger LEARN TO USE IT before you preach to the public about tech savvy police offices.
Not that we would not benefit from tech savvy cops -- it's that I fear that the people running this city wouldn't know what tech savvy is if it hit them square in the face. How can you preach about being tech savvy?
I'd hate to see these leaders mess if we were under a terror attack.
It's embarrassing really.
I'm not blaming you guys on the street. You do the best you can with what you're given but for crying out loud some of these city departments are a joke!
Wasting fire equipment to push around and follow ambulances because they keep getting stuck in snow drifts while streets and sans is clearing the streets around schools as their first priority?
I mean what the hell is that. If the first responders can't get out of the garage what kind of plan is that?
OUT WITH THE CLOUT PEOPLE -- we can do better -- we deserve better.
RDO
At about 2 am Lake County declared a civil emergency via the EBS system.
Re-elect Jane Byrne for Mayor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No plow no work lol. I made it 10 feet and have 4wd
We have been stuck in our Tahoe for 3 hrs, the snow has reached the side step of the truck and is still coming down. Just hope we don't run out of gas b4 they pull us out!
Anonymous said...
CPD wanted to close LSD off at 1600hours.
little boy tommy byrne got egotistical and demaned it stay open 'until he says to shut it down'
It was shut downj at 2000 hours, AFTER the traffic backed up and weather got dangerous.
GOOD JOB TOMMY BOY
2/02/2011 12:51:00 AM
Not to worry, Tommy Byrne will be removed from S&S and given another top job at the same or higher pay soon enough.
Once again, the average district cop could have managed things better.
Anonymous said...
CPD wanted to close LSD off at 1600hours.
little boy tommy byrne got egotistical and demaned it stay open 'until he says to shut it down'
It was shut downj at 2000 hours, AFTER the traffic backed up and weather got dangerous.
GOOD JOB TOMMY BOY
2/02/2011 12:51:00 AM
If CPD wanted it close, they close it! Pretty simple! If anyone interferes they lock them up. Get a clue you are the police!
Saw a new ford f-150 4x4 crew cab pick-up with streets and san stickers on the sides... glad to see they wont get stuck.
What a f...ing joke with those tahoes, they are pieces of shit! Nice big SUV without 4x4, wtf! My anxiety level is through the roof right now, unplowed police lots, an hour just get out of the lot, power outages, no visibility, tahoe getting stuck at every corner because streets aren't plowed, wipers suck, dispatcher stacking jobs and asking "are you there yet?", nowhere to park useless tahoe after tour, personal vehicle buried in snow because police lot still not plowed. This city really does have it's priorities all screwed up. Fire and police can't get to their jobs because S&S is busy plowing schools! WTF! Good luck out there and stay safe!
Every big city in the country has a Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) to plan scenarios and work out any kinks PRIOR to an event except 1---------which one could it be? Well it is led by 42 extra short.
Whatever you were driving, if it didn't have 4WD, you were going to get stuck somewhere. Deal with it.
I can recall one night when it snowed real bad here many years ago; my partner and I just took out his personal vehicle, an Isuzu Rodeo SUV with 4WD and handled all of our assignments in it.
None of our bosses complained, and we were even able to get to our co-workers and help them free up their Crown Vics which got stuck all night long. Gas wasn't so expensive then as it is now, and we were careful not to get into any crashes.
Already I am sick of hearing about the "Great Blizzard of 2011"
"Record setting"
"Life threatening"
"Top snowstorm of ALL TIME"
"Never before in the course of human events..."
Fucking blow me already, 15 inches of snow and some wind. That's all. Big fucking deal.
WGN this morning was struggling to find enough superlatives to describe this alleged cataclysmic event. It got up to Major Major Storm before I had to vomit. Maybe they will add a third Major on there before noon.
They panned endlessly on the cars marooned in the life threatening wilderness of.... Lake Shore Drive, a mere few feet away!
Then they found two people stumbling and falling and getting up and stumbling some more and zoomed in on them. Were they the latest to be miraculously rescued from death's door in this unholy Perfect Mother of Storm of Storms?
No, they were just another news crew, cameraman and junior junior anchor with microphone in hand attempting to jump the fence onto LSD (Byrne's Alley) to interview some "survivors" of the Blizzard of Blizzards.
Were any still alive? Had they started eating each other yet? How many dead were in those cars? What heart rending tales could they tell?
Who knows, who cares?
They were busy making stories of each other covering the MegaStorm of the Millenium.
Get a life. Storm of '67 still rules, '79 is close second, '99 was worse than this.
Another cup of coffee and then back to nap time and then I will watch the Godfather trilogy. I haven't seen that since I had the flu a few years ago. And after that, the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western trio, and no I am not talking about former Italian American Streets & San Department Heads.
As far as storms go, I wouldn't put this in the top ten. In hype, yes, it is at the top, Numero Uno in Bullshit.
The wind whistles, the coyotes howl, the couch calls out it's seductive siren song...
Reminds me of 79 when Bilandic couldn't get the streets plowed. With all of that modern equipment it should have been a breeze. Too bad I didn't see 1 plow out there. NICE JOB ASSHOLES!!!
----------------------------------
Around where I live the counties and municipalities gave up even trying to plow about 8:00 last night.
Several counties closed ALL the roads in their counties. Not sure what that means as a practical matter, but it is a strong statement that they just can't keep the roads passable.
I saw on the news that Lake County was one of the counties that closed all their roads last night.
Snowmobiles were rented.
We actually had a plow in the district lot at checkoff last night. It was nice to see until he plowed our personal cars in. WTF
I pity those fools who were out there driving sports cars in the snow. Had a few chuckles watching those "fast and furious" cars getting stuck.
Along with the snow, it was sooooo windy that at the Farm in the Zoo in Lincoln Park Zoo I saw a chicken lay the same egg twice!
Around 5pm yesterday cars were getting stuck at 68th and South Shore (which is what LSD turns into for you non south siders).
LSD should've been closed much much earlier!
Is the flight to Flordia ass gassed up and ready to go? I'll be right there.
Tommy Boy, Double Dipper. Let's see if our new mayor dumps this hack. If he wanted to keep working he should have stayed here. How much is he making Double dipping? I think all those people stuck on the drive should sue his ass...
Anonymous said...
What's with streets and sanitation supervisors in their Ford Escapes driving around in pairs with red and blue lights in their rear windows? They have powers of arrest only when there's a lot of snow?
2/02/2011 01:17:00 AM
Fucking impersonators... They will trick some citizen into believing they are the Police or Fire.
Going to watch SHREK today in honor of LITTLE TOMMY BYRNE.He is the real life LORD FARQUAAD!
I guess all of those people complaining about the Tahoes would have rather been out there in a Crown Vic or Impala.
Streets & San should have had plows and salt on Lake Shore Drivc at 3:00 in full force. That would have at least been a start, or they should have shut it down altogether. It was scarry. There were three cars stuck on the drive, and two on the ramp at 39th north bound. Granted not the mess in 001 or 018 but still they wanted to leave it open. And yes, everyone who was out and didn't need to be...is an idiot. Tahoes suck.
Channel 5 playing it up on how the city really worked together and did a good job rescuing the motorists stranded on LSD. They should have never been allowed on LSD. We have known about this for weeks. The after the fact response was lame.
Da Mayo knew he was going to have a Balandic event because he looked in the Almanic and saw that before the election there was going to be a massive storm. That along with his 23% approval rating made him opt out for the battle. No Guts and Evil!
im glad this wasnt a terrorist attack!
THE STATE DIDNT CLOSE THE EXPRESS WAYS
THE CITY HELD OFF CLOSING LAKE SHORE DRIVE
THE CPD HAS TAHOES NOT MADE FOR SNOW!
BUSES ARE STILL ACTIVE CLOGGING UP STREETS
OEMC.......... SO MANY EXPERTS OF NOTHING.
LETS SEE HOW LONG IT TAKE TO GET TRAFFIC MOVING AGAIN.
/-/
As I thought, the City is searching to lay blame and they have found the culprit who screwed up and that culprit is... US!
I should have known, it is our fault for driving LSD when we should have known is was supposed to be closed! Stupid citizens!
---
from the Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-lake-shore-drive-closed-due-to-blizzard-20110201,0,347680.story
All stranded motorists have now been rescued from Lake Shore Drive – but they probably shouldn’t have attempted to travel on the major thoroughfare in the first place, city officials said.
Hundreds of motorists and CTA passengers were trapped on the drive for six hours or more Tuesday night. Many were not rescued until early this morning, as rescue workers battled white-out conditions, 70 mph wind gusts and waist-high drifts to provide help.
City officials, however, said they had cautioned people in news conferences earlier Tuesday to avoid using the drive and had repeatedly warned that massive waves along the shoreline could cause extremely icy conditions. Authorities, however, did not officially close the road until 8 p.m., nearly an hour after a series of accidents caused motorists and several CTA buses to become stuck.
---
See? As I correctly predicted, the City of Chicago has effortlessly sidestepped any blame and found appropriate fall guy(s), the blame is on US.
WE are at fault for daring to try to get home. Not the City Officials who negligently failed to close Lake Shore Drive until hours after the CPD recommended it be closed. And then Tom Byrne only because it was a wall to wall parking lot.
What say you Tom Byrne? I haven't seen you reading from your prepared script this morning, why not?
Do you think Richie's bodyguards shovel his sidewalks?
The asshole FED makes $300,000 and he couldn't figure out that you need 4 wheel drive vehicles for our fleet. DALEY AND WEISS ARE FUCKING IDIOTS!!!
And thanks for taking care of the neighborhoods that first responders live in!! Streets and Sans you guys SUCK TOO!!!
"it's. oh. so quiet
it's oh. so still
you're all alone
and so peaceful until..."
It was great getting to work today.
Tahoes suck. Everyone was stuck and yet people were still shooting at 108th and Calhoun in the blizzard. Jeesh...
Dear City Hall,
Yeah 4WD would be nice. So would snowmobiles.
However, how about issuing a set of tire chains?
Can the city afford that or does the "tech savvy" management down at city hall believe that it's better and more cost efficient to have fire engines following ambulances around just in case they get stuck in a snow drift?
Oh let's not blow out the budget with a set of tire chains in the trunks of all the first responders vehicles now. Can you people even think at city hall? Can you?
Oh yeah, you had the advanced notice of this disaster too so there was no reason that at least a few cars per district were not equipped with tire chains either. Better then nothing.
How about some traction mats too.
Everyone had some of those in their emergency preparedness kits right? Yeah right.
A few front mounted electric winches could of greatly expanded your response capabilities.
This city is not prepared for sh**
Hours and hours go by to get people off LSD. I'll tell you what if this city ever gets hit by a terrorist strike there will be no 48 hour notice to prepare a response and just look at how well this one was handled.
Our first priority is concentrated on the streets around the schools says Streets and Sans. WTH is that?
The first responders can't get out of the firehouses and you have Streets and Sans working on the schools. Seriously?
The OEMC is a joke. The Office of Emergency Management Communications.
Do they even know what that last word "Communications" means? You people are stuck in the 20th century. Hey, here's a news flash - IT'S 2011 PEOPLE! There's an enormous number of people that don't depend on broadcast TV as their primary source of information today can we get with the times please!
They have no Facebook account, no Twitter account, no Foresquare account, no Youtube account, no sign-up for sms messages or email subscription services.
These clout connected workers do not want the taxpayers to have those lines of access because they may be held accountable to the taxpayers for what's going on.
Oh no we can't have that. That's why we have aldermen surrounded by layers of security costing hundreds of thousands of dollars too don't ya know.
Which brings up another point.
Where are the mayoral candidates tech savvy Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or personal websites do they have any? How about the tech savvy Alderman?
These are all civil servant positions are they not? So why no access to the taxpayers eh? Maybe it's because they don't give a damn about us.
I don't know. Maybe I'm way off base here and some of these people are using the communication tools that are already out there. If they are it's not well publicized that's for sure.
We need to "get the clout out" and start empowering leaders that will listen and communicate to the people that pay them. And by communicate I don't mean barking out staged b.s. from a pulpit. Communications is really only effective when there's a two-way exchange of information.
From the governor on down these people need to start communicating and be held accountable for their actions instead of putting up bureaucratic firewalls of security and isolation themselves.
Similar LSD closures in the past. Call was made by Traffic Section Supervisors,,often a sergeant,,you know, the guys that have been thru this stuff many times before but as is the current trend, the micro managing, double dipping midget egomaniac just can't let that happen. The Joke that is the command staff of this dept and city continues...police can't police, supervisors can't supervise.
what a joke! tahoes...seriously? Sorry city of chicago but we police can't even get to you if you live on a side street. We got stuck 5x's last night and gangbangers helped push us out, priceless
Oops! Forgot to put up this link to an album of 1967 snow pix.
http://www.chicagotribune.com
/news/chi-110131-snowstorm-
1967-pictures,0,6416952.photogallery
22 inches at O'Hare, I'm hearing -- it's "on the books" in the Top 5.
"DID CPD GET ANY SNOW MOBILES?
"CMON J-FLED U CANT USE ALL THOSE HOMELAND CONNECTIONS U BRAG ABOUT ALL THE TIME TO ROUND UP 100 SNOWMOBILES."
--2/02/2011 12:17:00 AM
I saw several news stories that said "50 snowmobiles" for CFD -- about one for every other firehouse.
"Not to mention the 50 CFD snowmobiles that they just purchased at a cost of 10k each."
--2/02/2011 12:50:00 AM
The ones I saw on TV had a "Schomer (sic?) Rental" sticker on the windshield.
WHERE WERE THE PLOWS LAST NIGHT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
HUGE difference in S & S between Picardi and Byrne -- any politics aside, just on this one issue, I saw Picardi crack the whip real good on much less snow than this. Plows staged before the snow even hit...
"Snow...doesn't matter." -- Richard M. Daley
It was kind of funny (okay, not really) when I kept hearing...XXXX we're stuck....XXXX we're stuck citizens helping to get out....XXXX we're stuck. Then the district requested that S&S come plow the district parking lot's...they say...not our job!! Call General Services! Me as a citizen thinks that is really crappy!! S&S should of been making clearing district parking lots a priority (at least once or twice last night) so you guys could at least get in and out. The city that works "not my job!"
Hopefully no one trys coming down my streets...they are all snowed shut w/ 4' drifts in the intersections! We'll see how long it takes to get it cleared out.
CPD wanted to close LSD off at 1600hours.
little boy tommy byrne got egotistical and demaned it stay open 'until he says to shut it down'
It was shut downj at 2000 hours, AFTER the traffic backed up and weather got dangerous.
GOOD JOB TOMMY BOY
THAT'S CLOUTED BS LEADERSHIP FOR YOU He would have been relieved in Iraq
Lake Shore dr. has always been a problem with bad weather. However, Commanders DO NOT have the power to close the drive, the orders always come from down town. I remember when a few years back, a Sgt. by the lakefront tryed to close the drive because of the snow. A few minutes (yes, minutes) later, some big hat from downtown called the Sgt. into a new a**hole, and ordered him to re-open the drive back up. We work the streets, and we know the danger, but the people sitting in the nice, warm offices downtown are clueless!
Just want to say thanks to the copper from who picked us up for the shift at an airport then charged us all 5 bucks each real class! You know who you are!!
I saw Jfled at a press conf. He was asked about the Tahoes. He said 2 wheel drive is fine for law enforcement and they are used by other departments where is snows.
I wish the reporter would have asked Jfled why his truck is 4 wheel drive with super sized snow tires?
Anonymous said...
Hahaha. What an impressive night! Fun and excitement filled the until and few minutes and spin-outs and having bystanders push the police out of the snow! I'm exhausted from driving tonight. Stomach in knots and visibility was zero. Maybe if we had 4x4 and working windshield wipers the night wouldnt have ended with most cars for Midnights stuck.
2/02/2011 01:17:00 AM
Goudie is grilling jfled on this his response "The tahoes are all police packages and have hevy duty axles"! Yea jagoff but not 4WD! Cannot wait till your gone you know nothing!
".....tonight was a real trip allright dealing with the most stupidest of the people in Chicago I tell you. You can't imagine how many people were out driving in this blizzard and for what? You know it's bad out and the dumbwads are out in full force. There was really no reason for anyone to be out on the road. And the media really plays it up too. They had their camera trucks on the road reporting on the dumbwads that were driving in the blizzard. Check this out. We did a traffic stop,an expired plate..of course...I mean does anyone have a legit plate these days with the economy the way it is??? Anyway we smelled weed and it turns out the driver and passenger smoked their blunt already. Here's the kicker, the driver had the new sticker in the glove compartment. He put it on the plate during the stop. Now the driver says okay I got the sticker on the plate, I got a valid drivers license and I'm all out of weed. So I tell him well You are a DUI. DUI?, he says. And I say yep. According to the statute you are impaired....it's in your blood. Off to jail he went. Do you realize how many DUI's are out on the street if you smoke weed???? Dumbwads."
---Holy shit, you are awesome! what happened Next?
Tommy Thumb @ His finest. Hopefully Rambo will launch that Runt @ the first opprtunity.
"We had CFD stations snowed-in unavailable because streets and sans sets the priority to plowing around schools."
12 Firemen couldnt shovel in front of their station? That definitely explains alot.
Are courts gonna be open tomorrow Thursday??
Whats up with the side streets?
Fuck!
City of Chicago news conference on now -- found myself cleaning the toilet rather than listen to these sick-looking people drone on and on.
Too many agencies, too many little Napoleons with their own custom-screen-printed logos on their shirts and caps and underwear. Even Ray Orozco, the Mayor's chief of staff, has to have a city flag patch sewn to his sweater sleeve.
I see these people grocery shopping sometimes, and they still have their work ID hanging around their neck, special jackets, etc. You still have to wait in line like everyone else. Grow up.
Mayor Daley nowhere in sight. "Snow...doesn't matter."
Damn, but that Richard Rodriguez, the latest interchangeable CTA president, can talk the limb off a dead tree. "We were providing regular service...providing regular service...providing regular service...monitoring everything...monitoring everything...monitoring everything..."
Close your eyes and clench your little fists and keep repeating and repeating and repeating yourself until it all comes true.
"When you wish upon a star..."
"The articulated buses had operated on Lake Shore Drive before."
Yeah, just not in the middle of The Groundhog Day Blizzard Of 2011.
They're still talking. I guess I'll go do the dishes next.
Daley's chief of staff, Ray Orozco, just said on Channel 7 News that "the post-September 11 world we live in" somehow granted him the expertise and authority to declare that Lake Shore Drive would remain open for last night's rush hour.
It wasn't a real clear explanation...
"Real Chicago Mayoral candidates would of been out on a snowmobile running up and down LSD with donuts and hot coffee for their constituents.
"These people are all a bunch of phoneys.
"Don't come out when it's all over with and feign interest in the welfare of the people."
--2/02/2011 03:49:00 AM
I don't think you'll see any of them for a week.
During one of the recent East Coast storms, the mayor of Newark, N.J., was out shoveling snow and helping people push their cars out for a few nights running. Sure, it was a photo op -- but when the cameras left, he stayed and kept shoveling.
During this time, across the river, Mayor Bloomberg talked. And talked.
There seems to be an exodus of businesses from NYC over to Newark...
The clueless ones are the political hacks appointed by Daley. As a first responder for Chicago, I could see at 1:30pm that the drive should have been closed by the START of the storm (3pm).
The blowing snow at 1:30p was beginning to cover lanes in several areas of north Lake Shore Drive. Traffic was light at 1:30p but drivers were forced to slow well below the speed limit do to the strong wind.
If the light traffic was affectd, then what did they (public saftey bosses} expect for rush hour in the brunt of the storm?
So insted of making excuses, it would be refresshing to hear these department heads tell the truth, that the ball was dropped, and we will know better next time. But insted they all fear the tiny mayor's wrath and fall back to CYA mode.
As for the public that was stranded, you had 4-5 days notice and didn't take proactive measures to not be caught in the mess.? Be smart enough to plan ahead and stop blaming others. You could have stayed home, taken public transportation, or even car pooled. Instead you wound up stuck. You rolled snake eyes.
To all first responders in the field, Great Job!
Anyone know if JFled's SUV is 4wd/awd?
Let's buy more Tahoes!!!!!!!!!!
What pieces of shit. They were worse than the Fords.
Can you believe these OEM&C press conferences? Everyone of them are fucking illiterate--even the Dept of Health doctor. It's embarassing!! I'm serious...these are people making $100-$150k that can't FUCKING READ!!!!!
Instead of cars and drivers for these Big Shots; buy them "Hooked On Phonics".
Who will have to fall on the Mayor's sword after the screw up on LSD, Tom Byrne or Raymond Orozco?
Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But SCC is quite delightful
and it's plain no one was running the show
'cause JFLED blows, JFLED blows, JFLED blows!
What about the moronic citizens who did not heed warnings provided by media, both in print and on air, about staying away from Lake Shore Driver once the storm began. How many do u think just went for a ride hoping to hit the gravy train. The lawsuits will follow mentioning pain, suffering and mental anguish and they will be laughing all the way to the bank. Sometimes accoutability goes both ways and this is one of those times.
Byrne is trying to come back as Police Supt; he's doing a General Alexander Haig during these bullshit press conferences!!
"All's well; I'm in charge."
"Saw a new Ford F-150 4x4 crew cab pick-up with Streets and San stickers on the sides... glad to see they won't get stuck."
--2/02/2011 07:07:00 AM
Those are for S&S supervisors to drive around in the summer, terrorizing housewives to take their garage sale sign off the light pole on the corner NOW!!!!
Garbage man with a f***ing badge...
If this department had any sense they would have stuck with front wheel drive. At least traction is improved somewhat. If the idiots stay with rear wheel drive, they are idiots. Sorry answered my own comment.
Channel 2 News says that about 100 police and 150 firemen were needed to deal with the Lake Shore Drive mass casualty situation.
Yup. "Mass casualty." Over 450 people transported to St. Joseph hospital alone. Most just needed to warm up, but a transport is a transport.
Hell of a disaster drill, for not being a drill.
GOOD JOB, EVERYONE!
Interchangeable Orozco there said that nothing in his thirty-plus years could have prepared him for this. Never had a bad storm here before...what does the weatherman mean when he says "hitting around rush hour?"
He also told a different reporter that September 11 prepared him for this. You figure it out.
God, to think that we had 1967 just fine without an OEMC to help at all...
Anyway, even Jay Levine said that the Mayor should have the decency to come out of wherever he's hiding and say something.
After all these years -- the art of sudden invisibility is still Daley's brand of "leadership."
The rat that runs under something the fastest is the one that survives.
Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor?
See? As I correctly predicted, the City of Chicago has effortlessly sidestepped any blame and found appropriate fall guy(s), the blame is on US.
WE are at fault for daring to try to get home. Not the City Officials who negligently failed to close Lake Shore Drive until hours after the CPD recommended it be closed. And then Tom Byrne only because it was a wall to wall parking lot.
What say you Tom Byrne? I haven't seen you reading from your prepared script this morning, why not?
2/02/2011 10:40:00 AM
You know, the funny thing here is, they're right, and wrong at the same time.
Right, because only fucking morons would have taken LSD during a FUCKING BLIZZARD.
Wrong, because they've always benefited from encouraging and enabling as many citizens under their rule to BE FUCKING MORONS.
So, the only truly honest response from them would have been, 'we know those who got stuck are fucking dumber than dirt, because we've worked very hard to ensure that a majority of our fine citizens are dumber than dirt. Sorry if we underestimated just how thorough a job we've done, getting all you fine citizens to depend on us doing all the thinking for you. We didn't really understand how effective we've been at doing that.
Our bad.
Now, make sure you vote, and vote a straight Democratic Ticket!'
Along with the snow, it was sooooo windy that at the Farm in the Zoo in Lincoln Park Zoo I saw a chicken lay the same egg twice!
2/02/2011 08:39:00 AM
who are you, the chicken's OBYN?
Funny how Orozco fell on his sword to protect Tommy Byrne. All the nation news shows are cars left abandones on LSD. I guess the Mayor was too busey to show up at the briefings.
Is that you little Tommy,We cant see you behind the snow drift on n/b LSD.
Get a life. Storm of '67 still rules, '79 is close second, '99 was worse than this.
The wind whistles, the coyotes howl, the couch calls out it's seductive siren song...
2/02/2011 08:05:00 AM
'67 was the bomb.
side streets weren't clear to the pavement until the spring thaw cleared them.
at least a week went by with absolutely no sounds of traffic.
if you weren't an adult, it was heaven on earth.
OUT WITH THE CLOUT PEOPLE -- we can do better -- we deserve better.
2/02/2011 04:13:00 AM
you got 2 out of 3 right.
Another brillant move by Tom Byrne. The LSD should have been shut hours earlier. Way to micro-manage Tom.
byrne doesnt and cannot make that call... thats on orozco. know what your talking about when you post something.
"City officials, however, said they had cautioned people in news conferences earlier Tuesday to avoid using the drive and had repeatedly warned that massive waves along the shoreline could cause extremely icy conditions."
--2/02/2011 10:40:00 AM
Orozco said the exact opposite tonight, talking to Jay Levine, pooh-poohed the whole notion of ice, said it was nothing to be concerned about, everything was goin' 40.
These people will say absolutely anything one minute, and the exact opposite the next minute.
I live right behind Taft and I can tell you, not only has my power been out since 8:30pm on the 1st (it's now 7:30pm on the 2nd and it's still not back on) s&s hasn't plowed by me.... Com-Ed said since ONLY 130 customers are without power in that neighborhood, it is estimated to be restored at 11:00pm on the 3rd. So if you weren't smart enough to leave right when you're power went out, you'll be snowed in without power in -30 degree weather until com-Ed gets around to fixing it.
I do know that s&s has plowed side streets in mt greenwood, Beverly and Bridgeport though
"Thanks goodness we have all those brand new 4-wheel-drive Tahoes to drive the snow covered streets and respond to emergency situations!"
What can you say about a person whose first Chicago winter panicked him into ordering a new fleet of two-wheel-drives?
The average SUV only "looks tough." Bunch of plastic. Can't turn off a plowed main street into an axle-deep side street. Just can't make it. Watched a bunch of 'em try today. FWD, REV, FWD, REV, FWD, REV...
It's starting to get dark...
If the City cannot handle LSD during an emergency with a week warning what confidence can we have that they can handle an evacuation in an emergency with no warning.
@anonymous with 8 kids, go axe you babie's 8 daddies.
If CPD wanted it close, they close it! Pretty simple! If anyone interferes they lock them up. Get a clue you are the police!
2/02/2011 06:29:00 AM
You need a clue. Locking up streets and sans bosses is...DUMB.
The idiot who said the 99 storm was worse??? Are you kidding me?! This storm crushed it! There were not 4 and 5 foot drifts on every block and alley! You're just nuts.
The Tag Team Midgets, Daley and Tom Thumb Byrne, really dropped the ball on this, as usual. Once again, incompetent Democrat Political Hacks will cost the taxpayers millions in lawsuits.
When you have no leadership you get no leadership. Political hacks hello public your safety and trust has been placed into the hands o fthe CLOUTED. Hey ray rozco your judgement SUX . BTW What is your training and background???????? Military Fed Govt No BS Politics!! Resign. Do the right thing. HELLO Public wait until there is a terroristy attack; you are FUKED!!!
We need 4 wheel drive about one or two times each year. This time, major arterial streets are open already. side streets are still a mess.
I wouldn't buy all 4WD Tahoes either. A few, definitely, a couple per district, nut surely not the whole fleet. No need.
I guess all of those people complaining about the Tahoes would have rather been out there in a Crown Vic or Impala.
2/02/2011 09:44:00 AM
Yes asshat, you can push a crown vic or an impala, good luck pushing a Tahoe. Hope you stocked up on hair gel before the storm.
Wheel Gun Police
Here is how it works when you don't live in the ghetto.
On my block, the whole street was impassable this morning. All cars were snowed in, drifts etc. were all over 2 feet, some 3 to 4 foot drifts.
Then the whole block went to work, all teenagers (no bangers here) and the younger residents mostly, a couple of graybeards like me, and tonight the entire block is snow free.
The street and the spaces between the cars and all sidewalks and all cars are snow free. And all shoveled by hand or removed by privately owned Toro snowblowers.
And no complaints that "the 'guvment got to help us" or any such nonsense. it is done with no muss, no complaint, no expectation of payment or reward. One guy, older than me, refused offers of gas money for his snowblower as he cleared the space between cars for many residents.
That's how it is done. All clear. Snow gone.
Where is this block? No way! I'm not giving up my great block! Find it yourself. No chairs or such stupid shit either.
Tomorrow, we will all do the alleys.
Here is a few hints: not a LINK card in the bunch, no baby momma, no parolees, no dope slinging punks, just people looking out for each other.
Like they're supposed to.
I do know that s&s has plowed side streets in mt greenwood, Beverly and Bridgeport though
2/02/2011 07:31:00 PM
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Not the westend of the 023rd Ward!!!!
But I am sure that Zalewski and Lipinski got thier blocks and alleys done!!!!
Get rid of all these incumbent hacks!!!!!!!
Maybe its in here already, but why are we feeling bad for all the brain trusts that decided to take LSD or just go out on the night the news predicted a HUGE snowfall? They are not the victims here! You dont want to listen to the news? Fine. You think that you're gonna be ok out there? Fine. But when it hits the fan, now these people are like, "OMG what am I supposed to do?" I don't know douche bag, maybe not be out? Or like that one guy who was on the news, "The city isnt doing ANYTHING to help us!" Well, sir, you can't fix stupid. You rolled the dice, and crapped out. Sucks to be you.
All the people that got stranded on LSD should be charged for the time and manpower that CPD and CFD took to save their dumb asses. They are not the victims, the people who actually needed the police and fire last night are.
I live on a corner in edison park and neither street has been plowed as of yet.
We need 4 wheel drive about one or two times each year. This time, major arterial streets are open already. side streets are still a mess.
I wouldn't buy all 4WD Tahoes either. A few, definitely, a couple per district, nut surely not the whole fleet. No need.
2/02/2011 09:31:00 PM
Yeah maybe just a few 4*4 chairs behind the desk you mush
Anonymous said...
Maybe its in here already, but why are we feeling bad for all the brain trusts that decided to take LSD or just go out on the night the news predicted a HUGE snowfall? They are not the victims here! You dont want to listen to the news? Fine. You think that you're gonna be ok out there? Fine. But when it hits the fan, now these people are like, "OMG what am I supposed to do?" I don't know douche bag, maybe not be out? Or like that one guy who was on the news, "The city isnt doing ANYTHING to help us!" Well, sir, you can't fix stupid. You rolled the dice, and crapped out. Sucks to be you.
All the people that got stranded on LSD should be charged for the time and manpower that CPD and CFD took to save their dumb asses. They are not the victims, the people who actually needed the police and fire last night are.
2/02/2011 10:18:00 PM
The people who got stuck on LSD got on it early on, 4pm-5pm, and never got past Belmont. Once snarled, that was it, Tommy couldn't get plows on it and that was that. Those were just working people trying to get home, there were no reasonable surface street alternatives.
The City lost the Drive early. Not the driver's fault, sometimes it just sucks outside.
Re: Richard Rodriguez
On Wednesday, February 3, CTA's website posted only a few updates (if any). Looking outside of my window, I noticed no #80 Irving Park and #54A N. Cicero buses. My dad's physical therapist said "#152 Addison buses only ran eastbound.".
During a blizzard, I expect some/most (?) buses to be late or not appear. I don't expect a mostly static website and "lies" by Richard Rodriguez. Like always, CTA's email list was dead too.
Unlike CTA, Pace and Metra updated their websites. Pace sent three e-mails too.
Everything was closed all right.
At least our Boss brought in a crockpot of tomato soup, chedder cheese and bread and butter.
Very nice to have late that night.
Thanks Boss
Post a Comment
<< Home