Douglas Park

[Note: This Chicago Reader article lies a bit outside Streetsblog Chicago's usual wheelhouse of transportation and livable streets topics, but since it covers an important local public space issue, I thought it might be of interest to Streetsblog readers.]

Robert Vais, 54, an administrator at Stroger Hospital, is charged with a felony aggravated DUI and two misdemeanor DUI charges after he fatally struck cyclist Hector Avalos, 28, with his van Friday night. Avalos, from the 1800 block of West Cermak, was biking back to the Southwest Side after leaving his job as a cook at a Mexican restaurant in River North when Vais, a Riverside resident, struck him with his van on the 2500 block of West Ogden at about 11:50 p.m., police said.