The CTA Does Its Part For Katrina Evacuees

By Scott Smith in News on Sep 7, 2005 12:15PM

If your CTA bus was a little late this morning, don’t be too angry: the city’s favorite whipping boy was busy pitching in to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Yesterday the city of Chicago opened two of what it calls "welcoming centers" for evacuees (or is it refugees?) of Hurricane Katrina. The centers are part of a city and statewide effort to help up to 10,000 people displaced from their homes along the Gulf Coast. So try and keep the state clean while we have company, hmm? We don’t want our genteel southern neighbors to think we’re slobs.

Chicago plans to assist between 1000 and 2000 evacuees. Up to 700 people will be flying to Peoria later this week from the evacuated areas. Springfield, Alton and Rockford will also be hosting the evacuees. Welcome centers have also been set up at three state airports: Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, Mid-America St. Louis Airport and the Greater Rockford Airport. The centers are offering housing and job assistance, food, water, counseling services and a free monthly pass for the CTA to evacuees.

In addition to the free passes, the CTA is also busing persons to shelters in the city and suburbs. A source within the CTA told Chicagoist that around 40 buses would be taken out of service to help transport between five and ten thousand people to temporary housing. These transport buses are spares so the maintenance department needs to work extra-hard to keep what's on the streets in good condition. The buses were waiting at one of the centers with the words “Chicago Is My Kind Of Town” displayed across the top.

Damn. We’re kinda crushing on you, CTA.