Recent snow, salt treatments and thaw-freeze cycles this winter season have led to a significant increase in the number of potholes on city streets.

 The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) continues to work diligently to keep up with the growing number of potholes.  CDOT uses the City’s 3-1-1 system to help them identify potholes that require repair.Please note – in order to report potholes, a specific address is required. A pothole service request can be placed through Chicago’s 311 system by calling 3-1-1, visiting the 311 City Services website, texting “311” to CHItext, or emailing Alderman Brendan Reilly’s office directly.The City of Chicago has also launched a new “Pothole Tracker,” which allows Chicagoans to monitor a week’s worth of pothole patching activity by CDOT.Pothole Tracker, powered by the City’s Open Data Portal at www.cityofchicago.org/potholetracker, gives Chicagoans a snapshot of the potholes that CDOT crews have filled during the past seven days.On the Pothole Tracker site, each blue dot is a location where a resident has reported a pothole and CDOT crews have subsequently been busy repairing roadways. An information box on each dot provides the service request number, the date of the completed work and the total number of potholes repaired on each block.

Since the start of the new year, CDOT crews have patched more than 50,000 potholes in streets in alleys across Chicago, using 1,000 tons of asphalt patching material.  In 2013, CDOT repaired more than 625,000 potholes.

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) cordially invites all Chicago residents and visitors to attend the Chicago Cultural Center Winter Open House.

Friday, February 21, 2014

11:00am – 7:30pm

Chicago Cultural Center

78 E. Washington Street

Chicago IL, 60602Live entertainment begins at 11 a.m. with the Juicebox performance  series and continues with a Wired Fridays mid-day DJ dance party at  noon. The Open House concludes with opening receptions for two new  exhibitions, Mecca Flat Blues and Thirty-Five Years of Public Art, and  LiveWire Chicago’s premiere of Assistance by Leslye Headland across the  street at the Storefront Theater at 7:30pm.

 All events are FREE unless  noted.  A full schedule of events is available here.

In a Primary Election, citizens vote to determine which candidate will represent their political party in the General Election.

Voter Registration  There are several ways to register to vote before the Tuesday, February 18, 2014 deadline:

1. Complete the Illinois Voter Registration Application
2. Visit the Chicago Board of Elections at 69 W. Washington, 6th Floor
3. Visit an IL Secretary of State’s Office  if obtaining new driver’s license or state ID
4. Register through an active deputy registrar
5. NEW in 2014! 17-year-olds (born on or before November 4, 1996) can register and vote in the March 18, 2014 Primary      Election

To check on the status of your voter registration, please click here.

Grace Period Voter Registration

February 18, 2014. 5:00pm Mondays through Saturdays, with Sunday hours to be determined. Voters need to bring at least two forms of identification,  and at least one ID must the address of their new/updated registration. After registering, “grace period” participants vote during the same visit. Those who use Grace Period registration/voting cannot use Early Voting, Absentee Voting or Voting in the Polling Place on Election Day and must vote during the same visit when they register.

Early Voting Early Voting for the 2014 Primary Election will be offered from Monday, March 3 through Saturday, March 15, 2014 at the following locations near the 42nd Ward:

Access Living

115 W. Chicago Avenue- 9:00am – 5:00pm  Open Mondays through Saturdays

Museum of Broadcast Communications

360 N. State Street

9:00am – 5:00pm Open Mondays through Saturdays

Board of Elections

9:00am – 3:00pm Sundays

  A list with all of the locations where early voting is available is viewable here .

From the City of Chicago, here are are some cold weather reminders for our residents:

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

The Chicago Department of Public Health reminds residents to take extra precautions to stay warm and avoid hypothermia and frostbite. Residents should avoid unnecessary trips outside, and if it is necessary to go outside, wear several loose fitting layers of warm clothing. When shoveling snow, work slowly and take frequent breaks to avoid exhaustion. Be sure to winterize your home and vehicles, and keep cell phones charged with extra batteries for emergencies.

FIRE SAFETY TIPS

The Chicago Fire Department does not recommend that residents use space heaters, but acknowledges that people may rely on them during cold winter months. To minimize the dangers of space heaters, the Fire Department recommends only using heaters that are UL certified as safe and never use an extension cord with a space heater, which can cause the cord to overheat and burn. Most importantly, never allow a space heater within three feet of anything that can burn, especially bedding.

“Sadly, we have found that fires have started because children have moved a space heater closer to the bed for more heat after parents have gone to bed for the night,” said Jose Santiago, Fire Commissioner. “Residents should also check and replace batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, especially this close to the holiday season. Batteries may have been borrowed for new electronics or toys.”

Fire officials also encouraged residents to check to ensure their carbon monoxide detectors are working properly. With furnaces running during normal cold weather, a small carbon monoxide leak might not be noticed, but with heaters running non-stop to match the extreme cold, that small leak could become a deadly source of fumes. Carbon Monoxide detectors are designed to alert you before you feel sick, so if yours goes off get to fresh air and call 911.

A new Illinois law narrowing the use of disability parking placards went into effect Wednesday, January 1st. The law allows free metered parking only for drivers who receive placards based on their doctor’s attesting that they meet certain criteria as defined in the law.As of January 16th, the City of Chicago is now issuing tickets to motorists in violation of this new law.

The new Secretary of State-issued yellow and gray placards will allow qualified drivers to park for free at a meter. Blue placards will still be issued and will entitle people to park in parking lots, but they will not be permitted to park for free in metered spots.

 

To qualify for a new yellow and gray placard, drivers must have their doctor attest that they cannot do one of the following:

• Feed parking meters “due      to the lack of fine motor control of both hands.”
• Feed meters because they      need to use a wheelchair.
• Reach above their heads      “to a height of 42 inches above the ground.”
• Walk more than 20 feet due      to an orthopedic, neurological, cardiovascular or lung condition.

Anyone ticketed for violating the new law in the Central Business District (CBD) will receive a $65 fine. Violations in areas outside the CBD will be $50.To learn more about changes to the Persons with Disabilities Parking Program, please click here or visit the FAQ page.

Partial Lane Closure on Hubbard Street

The following information is intended for Condominium Property Managers and Condominium Board Members regarding the annual Condominium Refuse Rebate application. One  application per Condominium Association shall be submitted by the  Property Management Company or Condominium Association. ***ATTENTION PROPERTY MANAGERS:  You must return all completed 2013 refuse rebate applications to Alderman Reilly’s City Hall office no later than JANUARY 15, 2014, or your application may be denied.DO NOT DELAY!

After being closed for the past year, the newly reconstructed Wells Street Bridge over the Chicago River opened up on Thursday, November 21st.  Alderman Reilly joined Mayor Emanuel, CDOT Commissioner Gabe Klein, CTA President Forrest Claypool and other officials to reopen the bridge.

The complex project included replacing the trusses and all of the steel framing for the lower level road and upper level railway structures.  The mechanical and electrical components were also replaced, and the bridge’s historic elements, railings, bridge houses and major structural components were reconstructed to preserve the 1920s look of the bridge.

At the same time, the CTA rebuilt the Loop ‘L’ junction at Lake and Wells Streets, known as Tower 18, and performed additional track replacement at the curve over Hubbard Street between Wells and Franklin Street.  Combining their work saved CDOT and CTA a total of $500,000 in construction coordination costs.

The $50 million Wells Bridge project was funded through a combination of state and federal transportation improvement funds.