Today’s Headlines for Wednesday, May 13
• Active Trans: “The bill to stop super speeders has successfully passed in the Senate Transportation Committee… his will soon head to the full Senate for a vote.”
• CPD: Man kidnapped female CTA bus driver, 57, at knifepoint today around 2:40 AM at Belmont/Pulaski, operator escaped at 900 block of N. Clark, suspect arrested (ABC)
• “‘Major delays’ on CTA Blue Line as person on tracks near Grand brings service to a halt” (NBC)
• ‘CBS: “CTA revises 2025 ridership figures upward”
• Swift thinking! “Skokie mayor floats ‘preliminary talks’ of CTA Yellow Line extension” (Tribune)
• Could commuter rail between the Loop and O’Hare become extraORDinary? “Metra Studying Chicago To O’Hare Express Service” (Journal & Topics)
• Tribune Editorial Board: Won’t someone please think of the long-suffering Naperville car commuters who have no choice but to drive to Loop jobs? (Redemption in last sentence.)
• “Halsted Street Viaduct Progress From The Air” (Chicago YIMBY)
• “Reconstruction Of 4 Montrose Harbor Bridges Nearly Finished” (Block Club)
• Letter from traffic safety lawyer: “Steer away from self-driving cars, for now” (Sun-Times)
• Fun: Someone used one of our images for an Arc GIS Story Map about the Archer Avenue traffic safety project controversy
• WBEZ: “The Balbo Monument [on the Lakefront Trail, named for a fascist leader ] is in rough shape. What should we do with it?”
• “The Return of the Crosstown Classic! Take the CTA to the Red Line Rivalry to Watch the Cubs Vs. White Sox”
• Chicago-Milwaukee-Chicago 300K ACP Brevet, a prep ride for Paris-Brest-Paris, leaves this Sat. 5/16, 5 AM from the Lakefront Trail at Monroe St., returning around midnight
• Chicago, Bike Grid Now! celebrates the 5th birthday of the never-opened Wells-Wentworth Connector, this Sun. 5/17, 3:30-5:30ish, 1700 S Wentworth
On November 12, SBC launched our 2026 fund drive to raise $50K through ad sales and donations. That will complete this year’s budget, at a time when it’s tough to find grant money. Big thanks to all the readers who have chipped in so far to help keep this site rolling to the end of 2026! Currently, we’re at $32,749 with $17,251 to go, ideally by the end of May.
If you value our livable streets reporting and advocacy, please consider making a tax-deductible gift here. If you can afford a contribution of $100 or more, think of that as a subscription. That will help keep the site paywall-free for people on tighter budgets, as well as decision-makers. Thanks for your support!
– John Greenfield, editor
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