Public transit users be advised: the Orange Line has been temporarily suspended between Western and Halsted due to equipment problems. more ›

WBEZ is reporting that a fire broke out this morning between the North/Clybourn and Clark/Division subway stations on the Red Line. If you're taking the Red Line, plan accordingly for delays. more ›

CTA is having problems with the Red and Blue Lines today. The Blue Line is reported to be operating on one track between Cumberland and Harlem, and from Belmont to California, due to problems with the third rail. CTA is running shuttle buses between the Jefferson Park and Rosemont stations to alleviate the situation. more ›

The CTA has announced that there could be "minor" delays this week on the Blue, Brown, and Red Lines due to maintenance and repair work. As a result, the CTA is advising that riders allow for extra travel time when using any of the aforementioned train lines. more ›

Rains from overnight and early this morning caused traffic havoc all over the city and even with some CTA lines. The Blue, Pink, and Orange lines all dealt with delays due to some flooding. The above photos were taken by a reader earlier this morning at the Austin Blue Line (and some including the closed down, inbound Ike). Shuttle buses were used earlier today, but according to the CTA's website, there are no delays or reroutes with any train or bus lines as of post time. The Tribune has more, including updates on any interstate closures. more ›

• There could be some slow jams this summer at O'Hare and no, we don't mean the good, Teddy Pendergrass kind.
• Fatima Mohammadi, the Chicago woman who was captured during the flotilla raid near the Gaza Strip, has returned home.
• Signs of hope for the local economic recovery.

While we have a soft spot in our heart for most things from Iceland, this cloud of volcanic ash is kicking up some trouble even over at O'Hare. The eruption of a volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland has sent a cloud of ash into the atmosphere that's currently causing all kinds of air traffic havoc over Northern Europe, completely shutting down airports across Scotland, England, and several other countries. And while our magnificent skies are clear of ash, there some residual delays that are reaching their way across the Atlantic. Karen Pride, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation, told the Tribune of delays at O'Hare, "There are a few flights that are starting to be impacted. There have been a couple of delays and flight cancellations because of the the volcanic ash." So far, there've been no reports of problems at Midway. If you have a flight you think may be affected, be sure to check with your airline and you can also keep track via the Aviation Department's online flight system. more ›

Red Line rush hour commuters hit a wrinkle in their trip home yesterday when a robbery suspect's exploding bag of money temporarily shut down Red Line service. The suspect tried using the Red Line as his get away after making off with a bag of money but a dye pack in the bag exploded, ruining the money and causing a foul odor to waft through the station. The alleged robber was trying to make his get-away via the Chicago Red Line stop but Chicago Police officers were able to descend on the suspect quickly - he was the one with dye all over him - and made the arrest. But that wasn't the only reason the Red Line was snarled yesterday evening. It seems a small fire broke out on the tracks just a stop away at Grand. There's no word on what caused the fire but a CTA employee managed to put it out. more ›

Numerous snow events are being blamed for the poor on-time departure rankings for the city's airports in January. Of the country's 29 busiest airports, O'Hare ranked 26th for on-time departures (74 percent) while Midway ranked last (69 percent), according to the the U.S. Department of Transportation report. As for arrivals, the two fared a bit better: Midway was 19th overall with 78 percent of arrivals on time and O'Hare was 23rd place with 76 percent of flights arriving on time. Number one overall? Seattle-Tacoma where 89 percent of departures and 86 percent of arrivals were on time. Yeah, but do they have life-size statues of the Blues Brothers? Didn't think so. more ›

There were fewer trains and buses and the ones that did run were more crowded, but CTA President Richard Rodriguez called the first full work day with reduced CTA services a "typical Monday" and the CTA reported "no major delays." more ›

Even as one of the busiest airports in the country is in the thick of its busiest week of the year, there's actually some good news to be had about O'Hare and delays. The new runway at the airport is being credited as part of the reason that delays are down and on-time flights are up to 80 percent (from 66 percent in the first nine months of 2008). Of course, there is another reason: there are seven percent fewer flights overall thanks to the tanked economy. Still, as some of us pack our bags to take flight this weekend, at least we know that maybe, just maybe, there's a chance that delay won't be as bad as it used to be. more ›

We got some tips from readers of major delays on the Blue Line. The Trib is reporting a person was struck by a train and killed this afternoon at the Monroe station, leading to trains operating on a single track between Grand and Racine while bypassing the Monroe stop altogether. more ›

Bad news for Metra commuters on the SouthWest Service line: a freight train derailment today will more than likely cause some delays tonight. No one was hurt in the derailment but fluids leaked from the train into the Chicago River, resulting in a hazmat response. Metra has already canceled some afternoon trains and it may take as long as 12 hours to completely clear the scene. more ›

We're beginning to sound like a broken record, but it seems like aerospace giant (and Chicago-based) Boeing has run into another problem with its 787 superliner. Per the Tribune's report: more ›

Seems United has got things churning again out at O'Hare as the check-in kiosks are back online. But it'll take some time to untangle from today's earlier mess so we still highly recommend you check your flight status online if you're flying the friendly skies. [CBN] more ›

The timing couldn't be worse: as people prepare to leave town for the holiday weekend, a computer glitch has left United Airlines at a standstill at O'Hare. The glitch is preventing passengers from checking in and keeping flights grounded. A spokeswoman has said that United flights are landing but taking a while to proceed to the correct gate. A WGN helicopter flew by and the news crew estimated a line of around 2,000 passengers extending outside the United terminal. On their website, United has issued the following statement: more ›

Just in time for rush hour on a Friday! It seems some equipment malfunctions have caused the shut down of the Brown and Purple lines at Merchandise Mart, causing major delays. We're not sure what's up but several readers have reported several fire trucks at the Merch Mart location. According to Chicago Breaking News, shuttle buses are transporting passengers between Clark/Lake and Armitage. Adjust your Friday afternoon escape plan accordingly. more ›

• As the Tribune Company works at reorganizing in the wake of their bankruptcy filing, Sam Zell could find himself now longer in control.
• An interesting Chicago-centric take on Obama's speech in Cairo.
• Beware the Blue Line: delays and boarding changes have now made the move to mid-week.

This weekend’s weather is wreaking havoc all over the place. More than 100 flights at O’Hare were cancelled due to the weather. Delays averaged more than two hours yesterday. As of this morning, the Aviation Department had not reported any delays for today. more ›

• Today's "totally not a surprise" headline: "O'Hare remains worst for on-time departures."
• In the wake of job and budget cuts, the ER at the University of Chicago Medical Center is about to get a little more selective in who it takes in.
• The man who killed himself after a police chase in L.A. last night has been identified as former Chicagoan Mustafa "Moe" Mustafa.

Debris on the tracks halted Red Line trains for a spell and even though they're moving again, we're getting word from readers that there are heavy delays heading Southbound from the Howard stop, where the incident occurred. Monitor the situation at the CTA website. Thanks for the tip, Lee! more ›

After an icy day and foggy night that saw hundreds of flights canceled, the transportation mess is slowly beginning to untangle itself this morning. Both O'Hare and Midway have seen some cancellations this morning, mainly stemming from "out of position" aircraft due to yesterday's extensive cancellations. Still, both airports were reporting few delays. Be sure to call ahead to your airline to check the status of your flight before heading out this morning. Not that you'd do much better driving today with all the flooding. more ›

In case you're out and about this morning, here are some delays to be aware of due to the weather: more ›

As if balls falling out of the ivy at Wrigley weren't enough, Wednesday's Sox-Indians game was delayed...by a rogue squirrel. This is exactly what we need around lunch time on a Friday. I, for one, welcome our new squirrel overlord. I shall name him Scrappy. [via the incomparable Awful Announcing via denseland] more ›