John Greenfield

On Thursday, I heard the tragic news that groundbreaking singer-songwriter Jill Sobule had passed away at age 66, in a house fire early that morning while she was visiting the Twin Cities. Among many other great folk and pop tunes, she was known for her 1995 hits "I Kissed a Girl," the first LGBTQ-themed recording to make the Billboard Top 20, and "Supermodel," which appeared on the soundtrack for the movie "Clueless." She had been booked to perform in her hometown of Denver on Friday evening, but instead the venue hosted an impromptu memorial.

Read the Tribune editorial here.

• Axios: "Chicago transit leaders say $1.5 billion could avoid "drastic service cuts"

But according to HOLS member Rony Islam, out of 1,400 survey respondents, "69 percent... strongly support a greater role of pedestrianization on the 4700 block."

• From the generally car-centric Tribune editorial board: "Chicago’s transit agencies want you to panic. They don’t explain the whole truth."

The proposal calls for converting one curbside parking lane to make room for PBLs, which has worked well on streets like Milwaukee and Clark.

• RTA: Send a letter to your State legislator "advocating for additional funding to ensure our transit system can not only survive, but thrive."

Tragically, early this morning, a female driver, 21, who was reportedly intoxicated, fatally struck a woman, 25, on the sidewalk in North Lawndale.

• SUV driver, 21, arrested after jumping curb and killing woman, 25, Tuesday around 4:15 AM at 13th/Lawndale Ave. in North Lawndale (Sun-Times)

As SBC recently discussed, many folks who use sustainable transportation in Lincoln Square are thrilled by the current pedestrianization of Lincoln Avenue between Leland and Lawrence avenues for construction on Leland. That project is creating a new plaza by the Western Brown Line station, as well as a two-way raised bike lane that will add the missing link to the Leland Greenway bike-ped-priority route.