Trying to get around Chicago this weekend? It will be more complicated than usual with some pretty massive transportation infrastructure projects kicking off and winding down. But events in D.C. threaten to make it worse. more ›

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

Here's a warning to anyone flying out of Midway over the next couple of days: allow extra time if you're taking the Orange Line. It seems that branch of the CTA has received the dreaded "Slow Zone" designation meaning trains will travel along at a max speed of 35 mph while repairs to its signal system are made. In a statement, CTA President Richard Rodriguez said, “The Orange Line has been safely and reliably serving CTA customers for 16 years, we’re just taking a proactive measure to ensure an added layer of safety while we address this issue. While there had been no signal problems, our inspections have suggested the potential for a false indication under certain conditions. We’re working closely with the system manufacturer to develop both short-term and long-term solutions.” There's no set timetable for the slow-zone; a CTA spokesperson gave WBBM the totally not vague at all estimate of, "a number of days." more ›

• According to the Trib, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is accompanying President Obama on the quick trip to Copenhagen. We're guessing they sneaked out before Sen. Burris knew they were gone.
• Speaking of Obama, once tomorrow's Olympic announcement is out of the way, he'll send Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to follow up on the Derrion Albert attack.
• We're not the only ones going all-in on the 2016 announcement; our pals at The Reader have a lot of great coverage of their own.

• The CTA Board approved plans to extend the Red, Orange, and Yellow Lines, but we'll believe it when we see it.
• U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky's son-in-law died while snorkeling during a family vacation in Mexico.
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois is cutting 650 jobs.

The CTA staff is expected to present a recommendation today to the CTA board today that would call for the extension of the Red, Orange, and Yellow lines. Per WBBM: more ›

If you plan on using the CTA tomorrow, be sure you're aware of some re-routes happening. more ›

If you use the Clark/Lake station as a mini-hub to catch the Blue Line to O'Hare or the Orange Line to Midway, you soon will be able to get up-to-the-minute flight information on display boards. Mayor Daley introduced the intergovernmental agreement at Wednesday's City Council meeting — the city has agreed to buy the boards, install them, and maintain them, and the CTA will cover the cost of electricity. Daley wants install similar display... more ›

Good news for all those "L" riders whose trips to the Admiral Theater were curtailed since the closing of the Kimball station back in September: get your dollar bills ready because the stop re-opens this Friday at 4 a.m. The re-opening is three days ahead of schedule, leaving Montrose, Addison and Francisco closed to use due to Brown Line reconstruction. To track which Brown Line stations are open, closed or otherwise affected by construction, we... more ›

The Orange and Green line trains are "back to normal" this morning. With yet another crisis is behind them, the CTA needs to start demonstrating that it’s acting in the best interest of its riders. more ›

We woke up this morning to news that the CTA’s Orange Line train is running in the opposite direction around the Loop, which strikes us as so ridiculous that we’ve decided to finish the rest of this post in limerick form. The Orange line is all loosey-goosey Or so says its Prez Frank Kruesi A defective switch Has caused the glitch Screwing rush hour for all that you see After Roosevelt, toward Adams you’ll travel... more ›

The words "Chinese" and "takeout" seem to fit together like a hand in glove. Like Mexican and Italian food, your Chinese options in the city spread across a wide array of options. Yang Restaurant is a relatively new alternative in the South Loop. Located next door to Bongo Room's (formerly Room 12) Roosevelt Road location, Yang has been giving South Loop residents their Kung Po fix for close to three years now. One look at... more ›

Just as our friends were getting used to avoiding the suspension of the Green and Orange Line service between Roosevelt and the Loop, they get the good news that service has been restored. At 8 p.m. last night the CTA resumed the service that was disrupted earlier in the week by the fire in the Wirt Dexter Commercial Loft building. 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 ›

CTA Run Numbers? more ›

Venture to the Southwest side enough and one will find that Mexican restaurants pop up like the ragweed we’ll be pulling from sidewalk cracks come spring; some of those serve food that doesn’t taste much better. And so it was that Chicagoist’s Bridgeport Bureau Chief found himself hopping on the Orange Line Monday, camera in tow, to find one that stood out. Luckily we didn’t have to go farther than Las Islas Marias at 5401... more ›

Ready for a Silver Line? The CTA is chopping off the Cermak Branch from the Blue Line and will be calling it something else, tentatively the "Silver Line," starting this summer. It's hard to describe what they're doing with words, we've gotten all confused trying to figure it out, but we think we finally have this graphic right. So just look at it to see the changes. more ›

The intersection of Cermak Road and Canal Street is a sort of no-man's land. Warehouses in various stages of occupancy and disrepair dot the landscape; the Chicago River, Amtrak, and Orange Line tracks run parallel for a stretch; bridges allow the intersection to serve as a shortcut into Pilsen, Chinatown, Bridgeport, and downtown. Most of us wouldn't think of this area as a place to get some good fish. Yet that's just what Lawrence's... more ›

The Orange Line is quite possibly our favorite train line in the “L” system. Towering high above the southwest side it cuts a swath across several working-class neighborhoods before reaching its final destination at Midway Airport. Furthermore, with the right conductor you can get from downtown to Midway in twenty minutes- sometimes a ride on the Orange Line is more thrilling than a roller coaster at Great America. With dining and nightlife so focused on... more ›

We have two weeks before summer officially begins and- if this recent run of hot, muggy weather is any indication- we’re in for one uncomfortable season. The Mister Softee trucks have been doing great business this week on our block, but Chicagoist is sometimes a bit too self-conscious to run after the dulcet chimes of the ice cream man with his good lemonade, Dixie Cups, all flavors and Push-ups, too. Instead, we head west down Archer Avenue to Lindy’s Chili/Gertie’s Ice Cream. more ›

Back in May Chicagoist reported that the CTA was testing some strap-hanger, New York City style subway cars. And now the Trib is reporting that the CTA will be buying 700 of the bad boys. Chicagoist prefers the cars with the side-facing seats instead of the front/back-facing seats because it's easier to sit down. No trying to pile over someone to get in and out when you're in the seat closest to the window. Also,... more ›

A study released today found that the CTA serves rich people better and more frequently than it serves poor people. File under: no one is surprised. See also: schools, TIFs, libraries, roads, waste management, police presence, government in general. more ›

The CTA is nine kinds of fucked right now. They have apparently put together two budgets, one that includes additional state subsidies and one that doesn't. Aldermen got advance warning yesterday of what the no-subsidy plan looks like, and it's pretty terrible. The plan would eliminate all-night L service completely—eliminating Red and Blue Line service from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. and Brown and Orange Line service from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. We know that traffic on the L is really light overnight, but 10 p.m.? more ›

Looks like we're going to need those Dunkies on the L�you can get a ticket for falling asleep on the train. Guarav Bhatia was handed a $50 ticket for dozing off on the Orange Line on his way to Midway, but it's not totally clear exactly why. A CTA spokeswoman told everyone's favorite liberal propagandist John Kass that more ›

After months of whispers that he was planning to do so, Southwest Side Congressman William Lipinski announced today that he will resign his ballot position for reelection, and then retire from Congress at the end of his term. His replacement? None other than his son, and University of Tennessee political science professor, Daniel Lipinski. Rep. Lipinski has pulled off an incredible bit of jujitsu. By timing his announcement for today, it is too late for... more ›

The CTA is considering constructing a Silver Line that would connect the Blue and Green Lines. The proposed line would run between the Ashland stop of the Green Line, and the Harrison junction, where the Forest Park and Cermak Blue Lines meet. There�s not a station there, so it sounds like they�d put one in. Other proposed Silver Line stations include a stop at Madison for the United Center (good call) and one on Van Buren. more ›

Rumors have been circulating for a while that 11-term veteran Congressman Bill Lipinski (D-3) is planning to resign his post and retire. Lipinski, a member of the Chicago Old Guard, has been 23rd Ward Democratic Committeeman since 1975, and has since been an alderman, Chicago Park District administrator, and more significantly, a high ranking member of the House Transportation Committee. Ol� Bill�s the guy who got the money to build the Orange Line down to Midway, push for the vaporware Peotone Airport, and more recently push for an Odgen Avenue trolley. more ›