Every now and then the Sun-Times comes out with a layout so brilliant that it makes me want to cheer. So it was on page four of this morning’s paper.
At the top of the fold is a large picture of the sinkhole on the 1800 block of West Montrose, caused by a broken water main. “Sinkhole swallows street,” reads the headline. “‘We’ve got to get out of here,’ bar owner says as he sees Montrose collapse.”
Below that article is a smaller story, headlined “Chicago is front-runner in Olympics race: expert.”
I always found it a curious choice of priorities for Mayor Daley and Chicago’s business elite to plow on with plans to spend billions of tax dollars on the Olympics while the CTA’s train lines and buses were falling apart. Now it turns out the streets are caving in — city officials predict more sinkholes because the water mains are old and in need of repair — as they push on with their big-time party plans.
Then again, this is the city that wants to build a $400 million track and field stadium for the world’s elite athletes while Chicago schoolkids train in hallways because we don’t have a single indoor running track.
In its article on the Olympics, the Sun-Times quotes Ed Hula, who runs the Web site aroundtherings.com, as ranking Chicago ahead of the competition to win the 2016 games because of its “strong infrastructure of hotels and transportation, a city-centered venue plan and an effective marketing scheme.”
Let’s see how those effectively scheming marketers spin the collapse of Montrose Avenue.
Photo by theeereilly.