An 18-year-old man was arrested for standing completely naked on the Howard red line el platform in Rogers Park on Wednesday evening. more ›

CTA will use the money to upgrade its bus fleet, renovate the Wilson Red Line “El” stop and fund a study to improve lakefront bus service. more ›

A man was stabbed in the back in a fight by the Belmont station. more ›

Early this morning a man was struck by a car and critically injured on the Dan Ryan Expressway as he was fleeing from police after a car crash. Around 6:20 a.m., police received a call about a hit-and-run crash in the 5800 block of South Wentworth Avenue, which described a man's vehicle hitting a parked car, said Chicago Police Officer Robert Perez to the Chicago Tribune. The 911 caller directed police to the suspect, who they found at 50th Street and the Dan Ryan, where he got out of his car, ran across the northbound lanes of the expressway, and scaled a fence to get to the Red Line CTA tracks, Perez said. The man ran north along the tracks to 46th Street, and then tried to run back across the Dan Ryan, when he was hit by a northbound car. Perez told the Tribune that the man was taken to Stroger Hospital and he is in critical condition. more ›

It's no secret the Red line needs a lot of work beyond the improvements to the Belmont and Fullerton stations. Track repair and modernizing stations for wheelchair access is slated to cost CTA $4.2 billion. In their efforts to modernize the century-old, nearly 10-mile stretch of the Red and Purple Line routes that run from Belmont to Linden in Evanston, CTA is proposing to close five stops on that stretch: Lawrence, Foster, Thorndale, Jarvis and South Boulevard in Evanston. Maybe some of the money saved in closing those stations can go to more frequent bleachings of the perpetually piss-soaked Wilson station. 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 ›

After 40 years of planning and promising to extend the Red Line further south by five and a half miles, it seems the wheels are finally in motion to do so, according to a report by Jon Hilkevitch in yesterday's Tribune. more ›

As differing accounts of this weekend's police-involved shooting on the Red Line emerge, so, too, does a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victim's mother. Police responded to a call of an armed suspect on board a Red Line train early Saturday morning, boarding the train at the Garfield stop. According to police, the suspect, 19-year-old George Lash, tried to fight with the arresting officers and pointed a gun at them, prompting them to shoot Lash, ultimately killing him. But accounts claiming that Lash was unarmed and handcuffed at the time of the shooting surfaced as well and now Lash's mother has filed suit. From the Tribune: more ›

It was reported yesterday that a man brandishing a gun was apprehended and shot by Chicago police on the Garfield/55th Red Line stop which occurred around 1:40am Saturday morning. Now, several witnesses to the event are disputing the police account of what happened at the CTA station. In the police account, the offender began to fight with the police and point a gun at them, which prompted the police to shoot the man. But some witnesses state that the police account is inaccurate, saying that the offender actually appeared to be unarmed and that the shooting was unjustified:

"I didn't see a gun at all," said Natalie Bruce, who said she was on her way home from church when the shooting occurred. "The officers put his hands behind his back. They seemed like they were patting him down, and they tussled a little bit, but they had him pinned against the wall." more ›

Chicago police shot and killed an armed man on the CTA Red Line train at the Garfield/55th Street Red Line stop this morning. Police responded to a call about the suspect around 1:40 a.m. When the police approached the Red Line station, a train conductor gave the police a description of man with the gun and also directed the police to where the suspect was last seen on the train. After the police located the man, they confronted him: more ›

• According to a new report, the Mag Mile is seeing its lowest vacancy rate in seven years.
• One hard-working pooch for the Chicago Customs and Border Protection office sniffed out 23 pounds of opium last week.
• A CTA Red Line conductor is under scrutiny for pulling his train into a smoke-filled station during Sunday's track fire.

The investigation continues this morning into a subway fire late yesterday afternoon that sent 19 people to the hospital. The fire occurred just southeast of the Clark and Division Red Line stop just before 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon. As a result, 19 people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and other respiratory complications. Over 100 firefighters responded and by 6:18, the fire was under control. Red Line and some bus service were temporarily rerouted but full service was restored by 8 p.m. While the cause is still under investigation, the early speculation is that railroad ties caught fire, something that's not entirely unusual in the summer even though yesterday's temperatures were the coolest in several days. From the Tribune: 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 ›

On Saturday afternoon, power was temporarily disabled from the Red Line tracks at the Chicago Avenue station after a person in a wheelchair accidentally fell onto the northbound tracks. According to Fire Media Affairs Chief Joseph Roccasalva, emergency crews responded at 1:35 p.m. and the person was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition. The age, gender, and extent of their injuries were not known. CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski reported that the power was only cut from 1:30 p.m. to 1:43 p.m. and the person did not make contact with the third rail or with the train. [Chicago Sun-Times] more ›

Three men accused of attacking another man on the CTA Red Line probably thought they were home free after a judge at Cook County Criminal Court dismissed their misdemeanor assault charges yesterday. Instead, it turned out their troubles have just begun -- upon leaving the courtroom, the trio were re-arrested for the attack, but this time they were charged with felony hate crimes. more ›

Two men suffered minor injuries when a Red Line train derailed near the Roosevelt station in the wee hours of Thursday morning. According to CBS 2, "The train jumped off the track following a track switch at the State Street station...one of the cars on the train rode up just a few inches to breach the top of station platform, and got hung up on top." The two men were transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition. The derailment happened around 1:20 a.m. and service on the Red Line subway resumed around 6 a.m.; overnight, Red Line trains were diverted to the Loop. more ›

A Rogers Park man who'd come to the aide of another passenger being hassled on the CTA Red Line was brutally attacked early Sunday morning, sustaining injuries that landed him in the hospital, the Trib reports. more ›

• Things got heated at today's Cook County Commission vote on the tax roll back and WBEZ has the sound bites to prove it.
• The CTA is investigating rider claims that a door on a Red Line train stayed open as the train moved from the Addison to Sheridan stops just after midnight Sunday morning.
• A deal has been reached between the University of Illinois and striking graduate assistants.

And so it begins. Apple, the supermegaultra computer/tech company, is looking into a deal with the CTA that could bring the cash-strapped transit agency some much needed money while opening up an advertising smorgasbord. The Sun-Times reports that the CTA has confirmed they're in talks with Apple for something that would amount to "station domination." Essentially, Apple would pay for refurbishments to a train station in exchange for "first dibs" on any and all advertising that would go up at the station. Not surprisingly, the station being discussed is North/Clybourn on the Red Line; construction is already underway on a new Apple store nearby. (Apple decided on that location for its new store after its much-publicized split with the Block 37 project.) One thing the deal, which could give the CTA up to $4 million in funding for the refurbishments, will not do is hand over station naming rights. more ›

What at first seemed to be a bad situation getting worse for morning traffic is slowly clearing up. Yesterday afternoon, a "pavement failure" on the Kennedy Expressway prompted IDOT officials to caution motorists to avoid all downtown expressways for 24 hours. Then, this morning, Red Line service in the Loop was cut when a man fell on the tracks at the Jackson Red Line stop, forcing Red Line trains to the elevated lines. more ›

• 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 ›

Another beautiful spring weekend, another weekend of CTA work. Not only will the Blue Line be shut down between Clark/Lake and Western/Milwaukee (again) and served by shuttle buses, but the Red Line will be rerouted along elevated tracks for the stretch between Fullerton and Cermak/Chinatown. Well, that makes sense, because there's nothing going on this weekend. Check out the CTA's Alerts page for full details. [via CTA Tattler] more ›

A man was seriously wounded after being stabbed multiple times on-board a CTA Red Line train this afternoon as it traveled north from the Roosevelt stop. A DePaul student sitting nearby, Jamie Huberty, witnessed the attack. more ›

• The Sun-Times looks at Amber Cremeens, the McHenry native killed last week by her ex-boyfriend Tyler James Martin, who shot himself after a stand-off with police in Logan Square on Friday.
• State Attorney General Lisa Madigan is prepping a lawsuit against Caterpillar, Inc. over the huge oil sludge spill from earlier this month.
• The Arlington Heights-based company responsible for Golden Tee is gambling on a new slot machine.

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 ›

Work on the CTA Red and Blue Lines is happening this week, so be sure to plan accordingly. Work on the Sheridan Red Line stop will change where passengers will board and exit trains; the work will be from Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. As for the Blue Line, trains will run on a single track between Rosemont and O'Hare from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m., starting tonight and finishing Friday morning, to continue work on eliminating slow zones. more ›

A CTA train derailment in the Howard Red Line rail yard temporarily interrupted Red Line service and has indefinitely shut down Yellow Line service. The #97 bus is offering service for Yellow Line riders until further notice. Southbound Red Line trains between Howard and Thorndale were temporarily suspended but service has since been restored and the CTA is saying to expect only minor delays on the Red and Purple Lines. The derailment occurred around 9 a.m. and there's no word what line the derailed train was associated with. Update: Service has been restored to the Yellow Line. more ›

Things should be flowing again on the north side. All four tracks of the Red, Purple and Brown Line routes are now open as of today at Belmont. Fullerton returned to four-track service last month. more ›