Eboni Senai Hawkins

The CPD says it uses bike ticketing as a strategy to conduct searches in communities of color. A Black bike advocate claims officers are also targeting African-American men on Divvies in other parts of town.

A group of African-American bike advocates says they want to do whatever it takes to make sure more black Chicagoans have a chance to enjoy the health, economic, and social benefits of cycling. They've called for the city and state, as well as other advocacy groups, to commit to a more equitable distribution of bike facilities and education to low-income, African-American communities on the South and West Sides.

Not long after Gabe Klein reported for work as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation on May 16, 2011, there was speculation that he wouldn’t stick around long. Klein’s wife was remaining in Washington, D.C., where he had previously run the DOT. As an ambitious guy who had worked in several different fields, including the bicycle and car-sharing industries, it seemed likely he’d stay long enough to accomplish certain goals and then move on to his next endeavor. And, following five different CDOT chiefs in five years, some of whom seemed indifferent to sustainable transportation, a bike-riding transportation czar who voiced a commitment to "complete streets" seemed too good to be true.