Red Line rehab will affect 98,000 CPS students’ ...

[Passenger]

The Sun Times stirs the sh*t just a little.

Red Line rehab will affect 98,000 CPS students’ commute to school

I characterize the comments as racist-apocalyptic.

[justalurker66]

It is a crying shame that the CTA didn't tell anyone about the shutdown until the last minute.

Oh wait, this has been in the news for a long time.

[Passenger]

A more accurate headline would be
"Reporter finds a few kids with bad attitudes. Makes a big deal out of it."

[Tadman]

I’m not walking a couple of blocks to take a bus. I’m just going to have someone pick me up.”

That's the spirit. Remind me to hire this kid in a few years...

[Chicagopcclcars]

Maybe because I live south....but my first thought was NOT that these high schoolers had an attitude or were lazy or whatever other negative.....it was to recognize how even a few blocks walk to a different bus stop might be dangerous! It used to be only two or three major gang factions, but that has broken down and with Chciago being divided into half section streets, every four blocks means a different gang and even though they all might have a similar name, they hate each other so much so that they shoot indiscrimanently. Example..... Most of you know Chicago Vocational High school.....CVS is only operating today at 26 percent capacity. It's 74 percent EMPTY.

DH

[justalurker66]

I’m not walking a couple of blocks to take a bus. I’m just going to have someone pick me up.”

That's the spirit. Remind me to hire this kid in a few years...

In that neighborhood perhaps he has a better chance of surviving if he waits for a ride? Unless he's complaining about walking the same couple of blocks to the a closed Red Line station to take the free shuttles. A snob who is too good to ride a CTA bus but can ride a CTA train?

[Chicagopcclcars]

I’m not walking a couple of blocks to take a bus. I’m just going to have someone pick me up.”

That's the spirit. Remind me to hire this kid in a few years...

In that neighborhood perhaps he has a better chance of surviving if he waits for a ride? Unless he's complaining about walking the same couple of blocks to the a closed Red Line station to take the free shuttles. A snob who is too good to ride a CTA bus but can ride a CTA train?

So you don't think there's any chance that dangerous conditions could have affected this?

[justalurker66]

So you don't think there's any chance that dangerous conditions could have affected this?

If the dangerous conditions are INTRODUCED by the temporary service I can see the point. But I don't see any proof that this child is in any more danger riding a shuttle bus between stations than they were riding the train.

[Passenger]

Maybe because I live south....but my first thought was NOT that these high schoolers had an attitude ...

DH

If that's the case, then The Sun Times is doing something rather worse than just stirring the sh*t.

It wouldn't surprise me.

[justalurker66]

Here is the bad information in question (a previous paragraph identified this student's CTA station as 63rd St):

“I’m not going to be able to take the bus. The bus doesn’t go my way,” said Walker, 16, who lives on the Southeast Side. “I take the Red Line to 79th, then take the bus to Jeffery. . . . I’m not walking a couple of blocks to take a bus. I’m just going to have someone pick me up.”

This student can still walk to his CTA station (63rd St) and take a shuttle that goes his way to 79th St (it is a lie that the bus doesn't go his way). And then he can take his normal bus from 79th to Jeffery. No change except he will be on an express bus from 63rd to 79th instead of a train.

If the story focused on the three stations NOT getting a replacement shuttle (35th, 47th and 55th) perhaps the Sun Times could raise an issue. But their examples are poor (and the example of a student who will cope with not having the 55th St stop was reflected as positive ... no big deal ... as compared to those who have replacement service and are whining).

The next story will be about some passenger wanting to take the Green Line to Ashland/63rd being forced to change to a Red Line train.

[Tadman]

For the record, according to the gang maps at the WBEZ radio's website (made by CPD, not the radio station) the two gangs in the area of 63rd are Gangster Disciples and Black Disciples, affiliated groups.

http://www.wbez.org/programs/afternoon- ... hey-102612" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I could spend hours looking at these maps, I used to do a lot of business on the south side and drove through many of the areas. There were only a few places I really felt unsafe, most were ok as long as you mind your own biz and stuff.