Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Much of Chicago is shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a North Side company with a long history of pollution problems is still shredding flattened cars, twisted rebar and used appliances every day,” the Tribune reports.
“Neighbors are livid.”


As they should be.
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“[Neighbors] have been complaining for years about metallic odors from General Iron Industries, a scrap yard sandwiched between the densely populated Bucktown and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. With Chicagoans under orders to stay home until at least April 7, many are worried their exposure to air pollution could make people more susceptible to a dangerous coronavirus that attacks the lungs and upper-respiratory tract.”
This is, obviously, infuriating.
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What’s more:
“Heightened concerns about the scrap shredder come as the Trump administration relaxes enforcement of environmental laws in response to the pandemic, a move that allows industries nationwide to determine for themselves if they are able to monitor and report the release of hazardous air pollution.”
In response to the pandemic, the Trump administration is making it worse for those who may be struck by the pandemic.
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“Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration agrees that scrap yards can stay open, even though the city has cited General Iron with health code violations seven times since December.”
Why? The Trib doesn’t say.
But General Iron does:
“The facility’s new owner warned last week of ‘dire consequences’ if General Iron stopped shredding scrap metal, including a surge of appliances piled up in alleys and the lack of a market for low-income peddlers who line up daily next to semitrailers carrying wrecked vehicles.

“GII’s products are necessary raw materials used by steel manufacturers and iron and nonferrous foundries in the production of all manner of metal goods,” Steve Joseph, the chief executive of Ohio-based Reserve Management Group, wrote in a March 24 letter to the city’s assistant health commissioner. “Limiting the supply of raw materials will result in a corresponding reduction of overall manufacturing capacity.”

The presiding alderman, Brian Hopkins, calls bullshit:
“It shouldn’t even be a point of discussion given what we already know,” Hopkins told the Trib. “There is plenty of capacity for metal shredding in the Midwest. The truckloads of scrap coming into our neighborhood every day can go somewhere else where people don’t live close by.”
There’s more; go read it.
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Who’s Gouging Who
“The City of Chicago has received 235 complaints of price gouging since March 15,” WGN-TV reports.
“About one-third of those reports came during a recent five-day span.
“The city received just two calls about price gouging in 2019.”
That’s pretty much the whole report. So much for “WGN Investigates.”
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The biggest unasked/unanswered question: Were those complaints validated?
And if so, have fines been levied?
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“One grocer is accused of asking $80 for a pack of one-ply toilet paper rolls.”
If true, name that fucking grocer.
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Name all the gougers.
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Construction Junction
“Following outcry from workers, Gov. Andrew Cuomo nixed most residential and commercial building projects in New York City – but that’s unlikely to happen in Illinois, officials say,” Block Club Chicago reports.
“At the moment, construction projects in Illinois are considered ‘essential business’ during the state’s stay-at-home order. Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday that’s unlikely to change.”
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“The federal government hasn’t issued specific mandates to the construction industry, so states and cities are enacting their own policies,” Curbed reports in a deep dive into policies around the country.
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New on the Beachwood today . . .
Boeing vs. Public Broadcasting
“The media have been engaged big time in the ‘numbers without context’ game.”
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The John Oliver Coronavirus Chronicles
Journalism done right.
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Sim Game: Blackhawks vs. Oilers
“It looked like we were headed to overtime, but a late face-off win and a beautiful set play clinched the win for the . . . ”
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A First: Comic Book Industry Shut Down
“This week, for the first time, no new comic books will ship to shops, and production is on hold into the foreseeable future.”
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Chicago Drill vs. Brooklyn Drill vs. UK Drill
With Queenz Flip, Young Chop and Jojo Capone.
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Testing The Chicago Electric Drill Bit Sharpener Against Its Competitors
Yeah, not so good.
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ChicagoReddit

Look at @thefifty50group on IG for more info — Group is hosting 2 food relief programs, one at The Fifty/50 for the community and one at West Town Bakery for furloughed service industry employees from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram

View this post on Instagram

Moonwalk 👨‍🚀 (March 2020)

A post shared by Madison Borth (@madisonborthcollages) on


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ChicagoTube
1991 McCormick Place Fur Sale Commercial.

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BeachBook
Could The Swedish Lifestyle Help Fight Coronavirus?

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A Life-Size Statue Of Bob And Doug McKenzie Unveiled In Edmonton.

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


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The Beachwood Q-Tip Line: Swab daily.

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Posted on March 31, 2020