CTA Tattler

Best movies with El scenes

For those lovers of all things CTA -- especially the El -- here's a list from gapersblock.com of some the best movies featuring the El train.

I know your first question: Is Risky Business on the list? But of course! Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay were the first couple to bring national attention to the Hobo Corner.

Check out the list and then go get your DVD choices at the video store.

Enjoy those films. CTA Tattler certainly will. And we're taking a breather over the long holiday weekend. Check back here from more Tattler Tales on Wednesday.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July.

Follow-up on letter to CTA on the wankers

On Monday I sent a letter to CTA brass asking what they would do about the wankers who are exposing themselves to women on the CTA.

Tom wondered if I would get a response and Tony wondered what the CTA really could do.

The answer is yes I got a response, and the best they could do is focus on the problem as the New York police did.

First, the response. Greg Longini, CTA board secretary, wrote this response early Monday morning upon receipt of the email:

"Kevin, thank for alerting us once again to this ongoing problem that has seemed to haunt us for years here.  I didn't know about New York's success, maybe we can learn from them and do something worthwhile.  I'll make sure everybody sees this. - Greg"

So that's something the CTA surely can do. Learn from New York police. And make sure the powers-that be know about the problem.

But Tony was right. We can't be complacent. We must report these incidents to police and the CTA. Use your cell phone cameras to get their photos. Share them with police. Email the photo to me and I will post it here and make sure teh cops and CTA get it.

Don't give up. We'll get these bastards.

The CTA Insider dishes on Loop El train delays Tuesday + UPDATE

The CTA Insider wrote me last night with this interesting explanation about why there were so many delays Tuesday on the Loop elevated tracks:

Tuesday was a terrible on the Loop elevated tracks. Where to start?

The Pink Line is causing so many problems for motormen and supervisors. First, the inner Loop track now has to deal with four lines running constantly while the outer track only has two lines.

I brought this up to a manager and was told that the reason it's like this and not three on one side and three on the other is because a political promise was made that had to do with making the Pink Line's first stop in the Loop being Clark/Lake so a politician's constituents wouldn't have to travel all the way around the Loop before getting to the Blue Line.

But Tuesday they reversed the Purple line instead of the Pink to keep this promise as no one wanted to make the decision that should have been made.

Many -- and I do mean many -- supervisors made "suggestions" to management that the Pink should be reversed -- there were Pinks lined up from Clinton to Ashland, all in full view of the geniuses at 567 Lake Street (CTA Headquarters).

An alternative could also have been to off-load passengers at Clinton to wait for Green Line trains instead of loading the Loop with trains that couldn't move. This was due to an Orange Line train having mechanical problems and because of the rain and 40-year-old switches at the towers that refuse to work whenever we get inclement weather.

Tuesday was just the beginning -- we are coming up on the Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza!  More fun ahead!

UPDATE - From the CTA Insider late Wednesday night: Much better today...but that was with extra supervisors and managers, and how long can that last?

Also it looks like there may be a surprise in store for Purple line riders as they may permanently reroute the line to run on the Brown line side - but this may hamper the Brown as they run very close now ... we'll see. The consensus of the Managers and Sups is that it is not going to work and in 10 years I've never heard them be so outspoken about something like this.

Like father like son

A boy about 5 years old sits on his father's knee, popping a baseball in and out of his tiny glove. He sports a  Cubs shirt with the sleeves cut off.

And a mohawk.

They are on the Red Line heading north to that baseball Mecca, Wrigley Field.

The boy's proud papa is also wearing a Cubs T-shirt with the sleeves cut off.

And a mohawk.

A new look for CTA Tattler

I've been writing CTA Tattler for just over two years now. And I think it was starting to show its age.

So working with my crack Internet consultant -- my brother Dan X. O'Neil -- we've come up with a site that's a little more user friendly and provides loads more content.

Two new cool additions to the page are the CTA Headlines From Yahoo and the feed from Flickr's Chicago Transit Authority photo group. Good stuff there.

You might also notice I hosting Google ads also -- as an experiment.

I hope you enjoy the new look. And many thanks to Dan for his site development efforts.

The new kinder, gentler train announcements

At the same time the CTA debuted the Pink Line, it has rolled out brand new train car announcements aimed at teaching passengers to be more considerate of others.

The new announcements target behaviors such as gambling, eating, loud cellers and iPod users and inconsiderate riders who hog seats with packages.

Here are some of the new messages:

"Please be considerate when talking on the phone or listening to electronic devices so as not to disturb other passengers."

So genteel!

"Please keep your belongings off the seat next to you so others may sit down."

Straightforward. To the point.

"Soliciting and gambling are prohibited on CTA vehicles."

It's the first time I've heard gambling mentioned.

"Smoking, littering and eating are prohibited on CTA vehicles."

Ditto on eating being mentioned.

Mr. CTA Announcer Guy also has added cross streets in announcing some downtown station stops. So now it's "Chicago and State" and "Grand and State" instead of just Chicago and Grand. Does that mean the end of the best station stop announcement ever:

"This is Grand."

We know about wankers. What about gropers?

Last week I wrote about the numerous complaints about men exposing themselves and masturbating in front of women passengers.

I have written a letter to the CTA brass asking what they are doing about this disgusting, degrading and demeaning nonsense.

I wrote this letter due to the great number of complaints from you folks, and especially after seeing the New York Times story in the Trib Sunday about New York cops making 13 arrests of wankers on that city's transit system.

But that story seemed to indicate that the worse problem in New York was not wankers but gropers. And that's something I haven't really heard about here in Chicago on the CTA.

So ladies (and men, if applicable): Have you had problems with people groping you in tight quarters (or otherwise) on CTA trains and buses? If so, what if anything have you done to combat this problem?

A letter to CTA brass about wankers

I just sent this letter to CTA brass:

An open letter to CTA Chair Carole Brown and President Frank Kruesi:

Over the two years that I have published the CTA Tattler Web log, I have gotten numerous complaints from women CTA customers – including four separate complaints  from my own teenaged daughter – about men who have exposed themselves to these women.

The complaints are very similar in nature, and the women often provide a similar description of the perpetrator. Oftentimes the pervert is masturbating in full view of them. Other times he is “merely” exposing himself. Either way, it is degrading and disgusting, and of course illegal.

And now I want to know what the CTA is doing to stop it.

This weekend you may have read the New York Times story, reprinted in the Chicago Tribune, about the New York police recently targeting such offenders and making 13 arrests.

Read the story here:

On Thursday on my blog I published a detailed description of at least one “serial flasher”:

So now my readers and I want to know what the CTA is doing to stop this menace on trains and buses. Please tell me and I will publish your response on my blog.

Thank you.

Kevin O’Neil

A busy weekend for fests, construction

News and notes for a busy weekend of commuting:

Construction update:

• Work scheduled this weekend on the Brown Line will result in a 12-hour closure of both the Kimball and Francisco stations from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 25, says the CTA.

• CTA is currently working to upgrade crossover tracks and signals throughout the Clark Junction corridor, the busy location where Brown, Red and Purple Line trains converge just north of Belmont on the City’s North Side. The upgrade to the 100-year-old junction will bring new signals and additional connections between tracks to allow trains to cross over to adjacent tracks.

• The Gay Pride Parade will mess things up this weekend, so try to avoid the Broadway and Halsted buses.

• The first-ever Clark Street Festival will detour buses on Clark Sunday between Pratt and Touhy.

The Pink Link debuts Sunday. And some people are unhappy about it even before its trial launch.

And Hyde Park gets slimmed-down buses that can traverse the tight streets in that neighborhood.

Let's stop the CTA Wanker

Regular Tattler reader Kimberli is one of several women in the past week or so who have reported an upsurge in the number of creepy wankers who get off on choking the chicken for the benefit of female riders.

But Kimberli wants to share her description of the guy she's seen a few times in an effort to have him arrested. Here's her story, and be on the lookout for the guy she describes. Don't be afraid to call the motorman and 911:

Kimberli writes:

About a month ago, I got on the Red Line at Morse like every morning and sat in one of the single seats that face forward at the ends of the cars.  At Loyola, a young man 25-35 got on and sat across from me in the opposite seat.  A few stops later, I noticed that he was acting strangely and suddenly I realized that I could see that he was stroking himself through his pants.  I was so shocked that I didn't say anything and just turned away.  He exited the train at Belmont, I believe, and I thought it was just sort of one of those "Oh, living in the city is so crazy" stories I could tell to my friends back in Michigan.

However, about a week later, my roommate came home from work and told me that she thought the same guy who had stroked it in front of me had completely exposed himself to her while sitting in the same seats.  She was also so shocked that she didn't know what to do until she got home and told me about it.

And just this morning, as I sat in those same forward facing seats, this young man got on the train again at Loyola, and, by Berwyn, had completely taken himself out of his pants and was masturbating.  I knew that I should have done something, but was paralyzed.  I don't know why I didn't do something, but I guess I was both embarrassed and scared to get up and go press the button on the other end of the car.  I did get the attention of the people who were sitting near me and told them what was going on, but when I did so, the guy zipped it up and got off the train at Addison, which is where our train was standing.

I have no doubt that this man will expose himself to other women in the future.  I want to encourage all women who choose to sit in the single, forward-facing seats to be on the lookout for this man.  And for the women and men who sit near these seats, please take care to look out for the women who ride the train.  If we all take care of each other, we can catch this guy and stop him before his exposure fails to excite him anymore and he has to go to further extremes.

Details of the man:

• 25-35 years old.
• White.
• Clean cut, good looking.
• Wears a baseball cap.
• Gets on the Red Line at Loyola and sits in the second car from the front in single, forward-facing seats.
• Carries a large black backpack, which he uses to shield his exposure to the rest of the passengers.

UPDATE: More on the description from Kate:

• Dark blonde hair, blue eyes, fair to medium complexion, about 5'8" to 6' tall, average build.

Please help me and my roommate catch this guy and stop him from doing this to other women.