Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Two CTA trains collided on Chicago’s North Side Tuesday morning, halting Brown and Purple Lines during the morning rush hour.”
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“A Chicago police officer was hospitalized as a precaution after a hazardous materials response at the CTA Grand Red Line station that temporarily rerouted subway trains to the elevated tracks during Tuesday’s morning rush.”
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“The Chicago Transit Authority announced plans for a nine-day suspension of Blue Line service between the O’Hare and Rosemont stations this month.”


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The Pink and Yellow Lines had no comment.
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Alarming Police Reform News
“The city of Chicago has failed to meet at least a third of the deadlines in the first six months of the legally-binding police reform plan being overseen by a federal judge,” WBEZ reports.
Yeesh. This is Lori Lightfoot’s bailiwick. She has to get this right.
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“Among the missed deadlines are a requirement that the Police Department post monthly information on shootings and other incidents of police force, a deadline to ‘develop and implement a policy that prohibits sexual misconduct’ by officers and a promised overhaul of the field training program for officers fresh out of the academy.”
So the misses are substantial, not picayune.
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“In one instance, the city misrepresented its progress to the judge overseeing the reform plan, which is laid out in a legal agreement called a consent decree.”
Okay, red alert.
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“In a written statement, Chicago law department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said the city is committed to implementing the police reforms ‘in a thoughtful and timely manner.'”
Unlike the manner in which McCaffrey is delivering this statement.
Also: Oh for fuck’s sake.
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“Northwestern law professor and MacArthur Justice Center attorney Sheila Bedi agreed it is not uncommon for deadlines to be extended. However, Bedi said she is ‘alarmed at the pace of consent decree compliance’ and with the ‘lack of transparency’ coming from the city. She said if deadlines need to be extended to get reform right, the public needs to be told why it’s happening and the new deadline.”
Can we put her in charge?
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“While it is behind in many areas, records show the city has mostly lived up to its obligations when it comes to community policing, including the creation of a ‘community-driven’ annual strategic plan for each police district.

“The Department recognizes that meaningful engagement with the communities it serves is a critical component to success,” the city wrote in its status report. “CPD has worked during the past six months to strengthen its community engagement processes.”

“However, Bedi said the city’s community outreach has ‘lacked engagement’ and integrity.”
So even when the city is meeting a deadline it’s doing so badly.
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Edison Out
“Six years ago, Chicago opened several new alternative schools aimed at serving students who had dropped out of high school but were eager for another shot at a diploma,” Chalkbeat reports.
“The country’s third-largest school district had previously relied on alternative schools run mostly by a nonprofit with deep community ties. But the new schools were run by out-of-town operators, including for-profit companies that leaned heavily on an online curriculum.
“For years, advocates and journalists have raised questions about the quality and business practices of these high schools, documenting students left to Google answers to tests and the schools’ aggressive marketing tactics. Earlier this year, a scathing review by district officials of one provider, EdisonLearning, concluded that students weren’t receiving enough in-person instruction and that its online curriculum offered mostly low-level tasks. One district reviewer balked at what Edison charged its schools to use its own software, calling the setup a ‘money factory.’
“Over the last few months, Chicago has shut down all four of EdisonLearning’s schools.”
Click through for the details.
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The Building I Live In Just Sold For $2.2 Million

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New on the Beachwood today . . .
Rahm’s Dirty Air
He’s poisoning us from the mayoral grave.
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Court Rejects FCC Attempt To Scrap Media Ownership Limits
“In Monday’s ruling, the judges characterized the FCC’s analysis as ‘so insubstantial that it would receive a failing grade in any introductory statistics class.'”
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California’s College Athlete Plan
Endorsements, yes!
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ChicagoReddit

Sorry Bill Murray, we allllllmost forgot about that time you agreed to voice Garfield because you thought it was a Coen Brothers movie: from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram


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ChicagoTube
ONE MAN BAND CHICAGO (Cuban Cespedes) “OBSESIÓN”

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TweetWood
A sampling of the delight and disgust you can find @BeachwoodReport.
Extraordinarily awful.


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The Beachwood Trip Line: Watch your step.

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Posted on September 24, 2019