Two Washington Park community groups are hoping to revive the Garfield Green Line stop, hoping to transform the historic station into a library and community center to serve Washington Park and the surrounding area. more ›

There's fire department activity along the Green Line right now, which has shut down service for the following Lake Street elevated stations: Garfield Park Conservatory-Central Park, Pulaski, Kedzie, California and Ashland. Shuttle buses are running between the affected stations right now. more ›

It has been over a month since we last heard about the shiny new CTA rail cars that would eventually replace the currently used rail cars (which are thirty to forty years old). If you aren't familiar with the changes made to the rail car design, the new rail cars feature a sleeker interior design that has seats lined up against the walls of the cars to create more standing room for passengers. In addition, the new cars feature fancier amenities like electronic route maps. more ›

Those shiny new CTA cars that everyone has been getting all worked up about have been temporarily pulled from service. The reason? An issue with the brakes that requires some modifications. While there haven't been any reports of brake failures thus far, part of the system could be affected by vibrations. Per the Sun-Times: more ›

After testing out the new 5000-series rail cars on the Red Line for the past month, the CTA has decided to move on to the Green Line, debuting the new train cars this Monday. Throughout the rest of the year, the CTA plans to test the new cars on all eight rail lines. The new train cars must complete their testing successfully before the CTA can finalize their remaining order of 396 rail cars. more ›

• Chicago had almost as many murders in 2009 as New York did.
• Two young boys were killed yesterday in a fire in suburban Lansing.
• The University of Illinois is preparing to institute unpaid furlough days in the wake of the state budget crunch.

Four workers have been suspended without pay for last weekend's Green Line derailment, including the lead car operator. According to ABC 7: "The CTA says the operator of the lead car in Saturday's derailment blew past a red stop signal. Her union says she simply wasn't familiar with the route. She was filling in for someone who was sick and had never worked it before." The Trib reports that the rear operator then "powered up the train and pulled it back in the other direction, apparently in a bid to fix the problem" but was unsuccessful. The rear operator was also suspended, as were a tower man and a supervisor but CTA officials wouldn't elaborate on those suspensions. more ›

This weekend's Green Line derailment that resulted in 14 people being hospitalized is now being blamed on "human error." An official with the CTA told CBS 2 that the "initial investigation does have many human errors." The operator of the train at the time of the derailment is reported to have over five years of experience. more ›

A CTA Green Line train derailed earlier this morning, sending 14 people to local hospitals with minor injuries, the Sun-Times reports. The train derailed as it turned to go north at "59th Street junction, where the Ashland Branch meets the east 63rd Branch," the report said; out of six cars, only one went off the track but remained upright. While investigators are still unsure what caused the accident, sources told the Sun-Times officials were looking into switching problems as a potential culprit. more ›

The CTA has firmed up construction information regarding the long-awaited West Loop CTA stop that's going in at Lake & Morgan as part of the Green and Pink lines. The total cost for the station is between $35 and $40 million with at least $8 million coming from federal funding and the rest from TIFs. The CTA is aiming to begin construction on the new stop later this year with the station opening in 2011. The new station will be located between the Ashland and Clinton stops which are separated by more than a mile. We're curious to see if Oprah will ride the train to her Harpo, Inc. studios. more ›

A man carrying, among other things, a loaded gun and a fake security badge was arrested yesterday by police at the Central/Lake Green line stop. The badge had a fake business and phone number listed on it. Police made the discovery after conducting an interview with the man and asking for proper identification that would allow him to carry the loaded weapon at the train stop. From NBC 5: more ›

A new Green Line station is coming to the West Loop at Morgan Street even though studies showed it would be better for a stop at Western. The station will cost between $35 and 40 million and construction will start next year with an eye on a late-2010/early-2011 open. CDOT spokesman Brian Steel defended the decision to the Chicago Journal, saying the numbers that supported a Western stop were outdated: "Since that time, the area around the Morgan station has seen big jumps in residential and commercial development...[The 2002 study] was based on 2000 census numbers. This is 2008. Clearly, the Morgan station has seen significant growth, much more than the area around Western. Another thing that led to the decision was in 2006, the CTA introduced the Pink Line service, which goes through the corridor the Morgan station will serve." Other studies are examining the feasibility of additional Green Line stations at 18th or Cermak in the South Loop and potentially Damen. [via Gapers Block] more ›

One woman was killed and three others injured early this morning when the car she was driving struck a pillar supporting the elevated Green Line in the 3700 block of West Lake Street. [Trib, S-T] more ›

In what is now a weekly right of passage, the CTA is doing all kinds of stuff to the train lines this weekend. Which is fine, because there's really not much going on this weekend besides all the street fests, Blues Fest, Printers Row Book Fair, the Sox home games, and all the tourists in town. We know it's all for the greater good and many of the reroutes are during off-peak hours, but that doesn't mean it won't affect anyone. Here's a quick summary of what's happening with each line this weekend. more ›

The CTA is blaming operator error for this morning's Green Line derailment. According to CTA officials, the operator ran through a red signal light and also overrode an emergency system that would have prevented the derailment. The motorman has been a CTA employee for 31 years and has no recent records of safety violations. more ›

Breaking news: A Green Line train derailed near the 55th/Garfield stop, and preliminary reports indicate that several people were injured but none of them critically. According to CBS 2, "One train car continued due south, while another decoupled and veered off to the west." And the Trib notes that "the derailment occurred on elevated tracks, but the cars did not fall to the street," which is now our new nightmare. more ›

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,... more ›

During Kumail Nanjiani’s (all-too-short) set Friday night at the Vic, the comedian had a couple of woo-ers. Not suitors, per se, but people doing shout-outs to basically anything he mentioned. The most notable “Woo!” came when he started a joke about waiting for the train, which caused him to reflect that he’d never heard anyone give interjectoral props to the CTA in his life. After incidents like last Tuesday’s hour-long shutdown on the Green Line and Saturday’s cluster on the Red, our understanding of Kumail’s statement has increased tenfold. more ›

We didn't attend the fireworks display downtown Tuesday night. But we did see waves of humanity flocking to the lakefront as early as noon flowing off the trains with their coolers and lawn chairs, staking their claims to Monroe Harbor like it was the Oklahoma land rush. We wonder what time most of those same folks made it back home Tuesday night, because the elevated tracks were shut down for over an hour. The shutdown... more ›

Chicagoist loves parenting in Chicago; we’re happy for now to give up the sprawling lawns of suburbia to enjoy all the city has to offer in the summer months. Recently, we discovered a new favorite: “Niki in the Garden,” an exhibition of sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle at the Garfield Park Conservatory. more ›

This week's theme: soul food, y'all. We ate enough of it last week to pine for the days of Ms. Biscuit on South Chicago Avenue (located next door to Mr. Biscuit's Hand Car Wash and Auto Detail). Here we go. City Mouse: Chef Gilbert Langlois (Rushmore, SushiSamba Rio) describes his new North Center-based concept Chalkboard as "new American cuisine," drawing inspiration from French country, classic Southern, and the less spicy elements of Creole for his... more ›

Same-sex couples will be allowed to be joined in civil unions under legislation approved by the Illinois House Committee. Cliff Floyd will start with the Cubs when the season begins. Jimbo's may reopen. The Chicago Dancing Festival is a free, one-night-only (Aug 22 @ 7:30 p.m.) event that is a grand showcase of performers from 7 major international, regional and local companies. Reminder: The Color Purple opens at the Cadillac Palace in a few... more ›

The Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, a nonprofit, community-run and driven advocacy organization that served as a watchdog for myriad public works, has ceased operations due to lack of funding. more ›

Cold and crime and Bears, oh my! Three teenagers were killed and another injured in a fatal car accident on the West Side early Sunday morning. A 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix carrying the four slammed into a CTA support at a high rate of speed near the Cicero Green Line stop (the Trib says Blue Line, but considering the info provided, that doesn't add up). Two of the passengers were thrown from the car. The... more ›

Ogilvie Transportation Center is being evacuated as we speak. At around 3:15, at least one person was shot. NBC 5 says that it could be a possible hostage situation. Traffic outside the Chicagoist office, which is across the street, is being rerouted as well. All we can hear is sirens. Update - 4:02 p.m.:The DHL guy just came into the Chicagoist office. He was on the 36th floor at Ogilvie when the incident occurred.... more ›

We aren't. We thought it was pretty cool when we got on the Milwaukee bus for the first time ever and walked onto a holiday* wonderland of music, lights and decorations galore. We knew there was a holiday train that the CTA pimped out and sent around to different lines throughout the holiday season, but we had no idea that there were holiday buses. more ›

A weekend sampling of gobbling-induced madness: more ›

Yesterday, the Trib profiled a street musician by the name of Albert Griffith who performs on the Green Line. Since we ride the Green here and there, we've never come across his particular brand of music that reporter Jonathan Briggs describes as "booming reggae-style rap in sync with a chorus of finger snaps, hand claps and foot stomps." more ›

The fire at the Dexter Wirt building will continue to indirectly mess things up for Orange and Green Line CTA riders, Columbia College students, the homeless and anyone trying to get a drink at George's. CTA officials want to make sure the rail structure is safe before allowing train service to resume between Roosevelt and the Loop. In addition, the burnt structure now needs to be torn down so that pieces of the formerly historic... more ›

Yesterday’s fire in the South Loop had an impact on the present and took away a part of Chicago’s past. The building that caught fire was the Witt Dexter Commerical Loft Building at 630 S. Wabash. Firefighters battled the blaze into the night, the CTA’s Loop elevated trains were shut down, and nearby buildings were evacuated. Here’s what you need to know for your morning commute: Green Line and Orange Line service is currently... more ›