Visit Mouse City at O'Hare

By Chuck Sudo in Food on May 6, 2008 12:18PM

WGN didn't lead off last night's 9 p.m. newscast with more Clinton/Obama drama. Instead, they started the newscast with Jackie Bange's discovery of an advanced rodent civilization in Terminal 1, Concourse C of O'Hare Airport.

We're prone to hyperbole. Actually, it's just a pretty serious infestation centered around the terminal's food kiosks. The report, highlighted by video of WGN camera crews setting up cookies like a game of Jenga at a key party for the mice to grab and rush back under their dens, was brought to Bange's attention when one of the many passengers stranded at O'Hare during the spring break snowstorms, woke up in the middle of the night to the excited squeals of her kids feeding mice popcorn.

Combating the infestation is further complicated by bureaucracy. The city Department of Aviation is responsible for maintaining the concourse walkways; concession management companies are tasked with pest control around their operating stations; the boarding areas are supposed to be maintained by the individual airlines. Mice and rats were found at all three spots. The Department of Aviation released a stock statement touting their (not so) "very aggressive pest control program in and around the terminals and grounds of O'Hare." All the same, eat before you head to the airport for now.