Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Rahm Emanuel

Spruced-Up California Station Reopens After Six-Week Closure

By Lisa Phillips | Oct 16, 2014 | 2 Comments

The freshly renovated California station on the Blue Line’s O’Hare branch reopened today after being closed for six weeks, an interminable wait for locals who rely on the train stop. Originally opened in 1895, the station recently received both structural and cosmetic improvements. These include a larger building footprint, refurbished walls, stairs, and platforms, new […]

Foxx Announces $35 Million Grant for Red and Purple Modernization

By John Greenfield | Aug 7, 2014 | 1 Comment

U.S. transportation secretary Anthony Foxx stopped by the CTA’s Granville station this afternoon to announce Chicago as the first city to be awarded a $35 million federal “Core Capacity” grant to modernize the Red and Purple lines. He also put a word in for President Obama’s proposal for a long-term transportation funding bill, the “Grow […]

Scheinfeld Lauds Chicago’s Bike Gains at Rally; Pedicabbers Protest

By John Greenfield | Jun 20, 2014 | No Comments

Despite the gloomy weather this morning, hundreds of people pedaled to Daley Plaza for the annual Bike to Work Rally, where city officials provided an update on Chicago cycling initiatives. Among the cyclists were pedicabbers defying the city’s recently enacted ban on rush-hour pedicab use in the Loop to protest the ordinance but, happily, no […]

CNT and Active Trans Launch “Transit Future” Funding Campaign

By John Greenfield | Apr 4, 2014 | 47 Comments

On Monday, Governor Quinn’s Northeast Illinois Public Transit Taskforce released its final report, underscoring the need for better funding for regional transit. Yesterday, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Active Transportation Alliance launched a new campaign, dubbed “Transit Future,” to raise that money via a new Cook County-based revenue stream that would help the […]

Final State Task Force Report Dives Into Transit Reform Details

By Steven Vance | Apr 1, 2014 | 27 Comments

Governor Pat Quinn’s northeastern Illinois task force released its final report [PDF] yesterday, detailing recommendations from its mid-March draft. The task force launched last year, after former Metra CEO Alex Clifford resigned to protest the commuter rail operator’s long-running patronage culture. The task force of transit experts, business and union leaders spends most of the report writing about how […]

Rahm Blinks, Agrees to Restore Metered Sundays on Some Retail Strips

By John Greenfield | Mar 19, 2014 | 6 Comments

After ten months of stonewalling, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is bowing to pressure from aldermen, chambers of commerce, and business owners and finally making good on his promise to bring back paid Sunday parking in some commercial districts. The Sun-Times reports the mayor plans to introduce an ordinance at the April City Council meeting that will […]

City Breaks Ground on the Long-Awaited Navy Pier Flyover

By John Greenfield | Mar 18, 2014 | 49 Comments

After more than a decade of planning, the Chicago Department of Transportation finally kicked off work on the Navy Pier Flyover, a $60 million project that will solve the problem of the dangerous bottleneck at the center of the 18.5-mile Lakefront Trail. “We at the city have discussed this, we have debated it, we have […]

Emanuel, CTA President Come Out Against Unified Regional Transit Agency

By Steven Vance | Mar 18, 2014 | 21 Comments

The transit task force Governor Pat Quinn convened last year after the Metra governance scandal continues to discuss the merits of a single transit authority to replace the Regional Transportation Authority and absorb Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace. Count Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Forrest Claypool among the opponents of that idea. Emanuel […]

Lincoln Park Chamber Asks Merchants to Lobby Against Free Sunday Parking

By John Greenfield | Mar 17, 2014 | 11 Comments

Kudos to the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce for taking a stand against free Sunday parking. As reported by DNAinfo, last week the chamber sent its members an email titled, “Call to Action: End Free Sunday Parking at Meters.” The message asks merchants to contact aldermen like Scott Waguespack (32nd), Michele Smith (43rd), and Robert […]

Emanuel Appoints CTA’s Chief Planning Officer to Be New CDOT Chief

By John Greenfield | Dec 31, 2013 | 15 Comments

It looks like the next Chicago Department of Transportation commissioner will be following in Gabe Klein’s progressive footsteps. This morning the mayor’s office announced that Rahm Emanuel has selected Rebekah Scheinfeld, the CTA’s chief planning officer, to fill the vacancy, pending city council approval. While some of CDOT’s previous commissioners seemed fairly indifferent to public […]

On the Heels of the South Red Rehab, City Announces O’Hare Line Overhaul

By Kristen Maddox | Dec 6, 2013 | 23 Comments

Yesterday morning, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor Par Quinn announced that the O’Hare Branch of the Blue Line will receive $492 million in station and line upgrades. At the press conference at the Logan Square stop, CTA President Forrest Claypool called the project “the largest single comprehensive investment in the Blue Line since the Jefferson […]

Emanuel Touts His Transportation Accomplishments at Active Trans Gala

By John Greenfield | Nov 21, 2013 | 8 Comments

On Tuesday, the Active Transportation Alliance honored several movers and shakers in the local sustainable transportation scene at an awards reception in the Revolution Brewing taproom. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was given the Extra Mile Award in recognition of his role in implementing bike-share, bus rapid transit, the Red Line South rehab, and protected bike lanes. […]

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