Chicago to East Coast: Your Snow Removal Sucks

By Prescott Carlson in News on Feb 16, 2010 10:30PM

With a bit of Chicago braggadocio, Bob Richardson, Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Street Operations -- the department responsible for snow removal -- said that the recent massive snowfalls on the East Coast wouldn't phase him or his crew one bit, calling it "nothing." He told the Associated Press that "[He would] take [his] plow drivers and put them up against anyone in North America." (While we don't doubt Chicago would beat Mexico, the Canadians may have an edge.)

Richardson said the city's available 500 plows and 1,000 snow removal workers are ready to take on how ever much white stuff Mother Nature throws their way. The quasi-libertarian Illinois Policy Institute seems to agree, giving Chicago an "A grade" for how the city handled snow removal last week.

But while that all sounds good, last week's snowfall accumulated gradually, making plowing easier. And the crew hasn't had to deal with a blizzard in over 30 years -- and we know how well that last one went. Another reminder that Richardson might not want to be so cocky is just over a year ago Ald. Tom Allen (38th) slammed the city for not properly taking care of side streets after a large snowfall after Mayor Daley cut back on snow removal man hours. While Daley did an about face and not only went back to the regular snow plow plan but also approved overtime for this winter, Richardson is still under the Mayor and his budgetary whims.

And of course, all those trucks don't do any good if there's nobody around to drive them.