Here’s a suggestion that makes so much sense that it has little chance of being adopted by the powers-that-be: Get rid of the annoying and ineffective red light cameras and deploy the technology where it could actually reduce traffic accidents and deaths — on the shoulders of our busiest expressways.

Fact: Red light cameras do not reduce traffic accidents, according to a study by Case-Western University in July 2018. They do however, feed the budgets of the municipalities that deploy them.

Fact: Shoulder-riding not only causes accidents, but causes fatal accidents, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The study finds that approximately 12% of all interstate highway deaths are a result of shoulder accidents.

Fact: The Eisenhower Expressway recently received the dubious honor of being named the most congested expressway in the nation by INRIX, a transportation analytics firm.

SEND LETTERS TO: [email protected]. Please include your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should be approximately 350 words or less.

The COVID-era light traffic patterns are now a thing of the past and as I drive inbound each weekday afternoon on the Ike, I regularly see five or more shoulder drivers, just on the stretch from Mannheim to 1st Avenue. They are often moving at speeds that would be deadly if another driver had to suddenly use the shoulder for an actual emergency.

Post signs, place cameras and fine these dangerous drivers $500 for the first infraction and possible jail time for repeat offenders. Let’s put this technology to use where it can actually save lives, not just add dollars to the coffers of cash-strapped municipalities.

Michael Malone, Glen Ellyn

Blaming Republicans for Illinois’ fiscal mess

I was very amused and at the same time outraged reading last Friday’s story on possible state budget cuts.

Illinois Democrats must think all of us are stupid. They have had a vise-like grip on Springfield for decades. They have held a super-majority in both houses for quite some time. They make all the rules, draw all the legislative boundaries, and NOW they want to tell us that Illinois’ fiscal future is in jeopardy because of Illinois Republican policies.

How gullible do they think we are?

Tony LaMantia, Logan Square

Hoops Hall of Fame

Another great Chicago basketball player was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. With all due respect to Toni Kukoc, I’m talking about Yolanda Griffith. Her career at Carver High was instrumental in the growth of girls’ basketball in inner-city schools. Her dedication to her family over her passion for the game she loved is inspiring. She is a part of our city’s history and well deserving of the honor bestowed on her.

Congratulations Hall of Famer!

Paul Koehler, Rogers Park

Feral cats vs. rats

As to recent opinions about feral cats and rats, I have a thought. If I were a cat and had the choice of trying to eat a sparrow or a rat, I’m going for the sparrow every time. Have you seen the teeth and claws on a rat?

John Hankes, Geneva

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The 15-year-old was walking in the 4100 block of West Arthington Street when someone in a passing vehicle fired shots, Chicago police said.

By

Sun-Times Wire

May 23, 2021, 3:10am CDT

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BEIJING — Twenty-one people running a mountain marathon have died in northwestern China after hail, freezing rain and gale winds hit the high-altitude race, state media reported Sunday.

After an all-night rescue operation in freezing temperatures involving more than 700 personnel, rescuers were able to confirm that 151 people were safe out of a total of 172 participants. Twenty-one had died, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, which said the runners suffered from physical discomfort and the sudden drop in temperature.

The runners were racing on an extremely narrow mountain path at an altitude reaching 2,000-3,000 meters (6,500-9,800 feet). The 100-kilometer (60-mile) race was held Saturday in the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site in Baiyin city in Gansu province.

It was a relatively established course, having been held four times, according to an account posted online by a participant in the race who quit and managed to make his way to safety.

But the weather had caught them off guard, and on the morning of the race on Saturday, he already sensed things were not normal. The runners were not dressed for winter-like conditions, many wearing short-sleeved tops.

“I ran 2 kilometers before the starting gun fired to warm up … but the troublesome thing was, after running these 2 kilometers, my body still had not heated up,” the competitor said in a first-person account that had been viewed more than 100,000 times on his WeChat account “Wandering about the South.”

The most difficult section, from kilometer 24 (mile 15) to kilometer 36 (mile 22), climbed 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). There, he said the path was just a mix of stones and sand, and his fingers grew numb from the cold.

When he finally decided to turn back, he already felt dazed. He said he was able to make it to safety and met a rescue crew. He did not respond to a request for comment left on his social media account.

Those farther along the path, who needed rescue, had fallen off deep into mountain crevices, according to a reporter for state broadcaster CCTV.

Video footage showed rescuers in winter jackets in the pitch dark night searching with flashlights along steep hills and narrow paths.

Baiyin city Mayor Zhang Xuchen held a news conference later Sunday and profoundly apologized as the organizer of the event.

“We express deep condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured,” the mayor said.

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The 16-year-old boy was shot Saturday in the 2000 block of West Touhy Avenue.

A teenage boy was shot and a 12-year-old girl was hurt by glass when gunfire erupted Saturday night in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

They were in the front yard of a home about 9:05 p.m. in the 2000 block of West Touhy Avenue when a dark-colored vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots, Chicago police said.

The 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg and taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was listed in good condition, police said. The girl suffered cuts to her arm from broken glass and was taken to the same hospital.

No one is in custody as Area Three detectives investigate.

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Beer and Chemistry session, more trivia and food trucks in the Chicago area.Read More

Twenty-one people running in a cross-country race in northwestern China have died after freezing rain and harsh winds hit the high-altitude track.Read More

The Cubs’ rotation struggled mightily last month, but things are starting to come together in May and the results are backing it up.

ST. LOUIS — The month of May has been important in the Cubs’ effort to find their identity as a team. No group was more in need of that identity check after the first month of the season than the team’s starting rotation.

The Cubs’ starters struggles to find their rhythm forced them to lean heavily on the bullpen and until May 4, hadn’t had a starter record an out in the seventh inning.

While the team’s relief core was highly successful, having a bullpen carrying that workload isn’t sustainable over 162 games, no matter how good they are.

“I think that the starting pitching has struggled early in the year — there’s no doubt about that,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “We haven’t pitched well enough in the rotation. We haven’t gotten deep enough in games. The bullpen has really sort of kept us afloat in that regard.”

It seems the rotation has gotten the message loud and clear as they’ve looked much more like the cohesive staff that Hoyer and the Cubs envisioned spring training in May and has begun to take some of the pressure off both the offense and the bullpen.

“I think they’re getting back to finding their rhythm and I think that is important, for sure,” manager David Ross said.

The Cubs’ rotation has been led by Jake Arrieta, who has not only pitched well, but carried the group through the month of April, allowing three earned runs or less in six of his eight starts.

After Arrieta, the next best Cubs starting pitcher has been young righty Adbert Alzolay, who continued his strong first half in Saturday’s 2-1 loss by tossing a career-high seven innings while allowing just two earned runs.

Alzolay’s transition from prospect into a major-league starter has been one of the best developments the Cubs have had this season and with each start, he’s flashed what may be top of the rotation stuff.

“I feel that now that we’re getting into that rhythm, it just brings more confidence to everyone in the starting rotation,” Alzolay said. “Just watching the game last night and watching Kyle going about his business the way he was competing. You start getting fired up to go out and do the same thing.”

But where the Cubs have needed significant improvement was from right-handers Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies, who ironically have been two of the most consistent pitchers in baseball over the last five seasons. Both were horrendous in April with a combined 8.49 ERA over 41 2/3 innings.

Hendricks has found his old form and after throwing 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Friday’s win, he has gone at least 6 2/3 innings in three of his four May starts. Davies has also looked like himself with a 2.11 ERA

“I want to be that guy that my team can rely on,” Hendricks said. “They know what they’re going to get when I take the ball out there that day. . . . Today was another step in the right direction.”

There is little margin for error with the Cubs’ rotation with some of the group’s similar characteristics and last month showed how small that margin really is, especially when they aren’t pitching like expected.

Things could have gone off the tracks for veteran group, but they’ve gone from having to two guys carry the load to now the group starting to pitch well together and with the recent surge in offense, the Cubs’ success has followed.

“I think we have a lot of veteran starters outside Adbert that understand how the season goes,” Ross said. “You’re going to have some good starts, you’re going to have some bad ones. They didn’t get off to their best start, but I think they know they’re going to have better days. They trust in their track record. I trust in their track record that each start they’ve got a chance to go as deep as they want.”

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There have been two double homicides reported on the West Side since 5 p.m. Friday.

At least 24 people have been shot, seven fatally, since Friday night in Chicago, including a 15-year-old boy killed in Lawndale on the West Side.

About 11:50 p.m. Friday, Dajon Gater was on a front porch in the 3900 block of West Lexington Street when two males approached and began firing shots at him, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

He suffered a gunshot wound to the head was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

On Saturday night, a man was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting in Washington Park.

The trio were standing on the sidewalk about 7:30 p.m. in the 5500 block of South Michigan Avenue when people inside a gray Jeep and blue Acura opened fire, Chicago police said.

A 46-year-old man was shot in the back and was taken to the University of Chicago, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released.

Another man, 30, was shot in the head and was also transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said. A third man, 50, was struck in the arm and was taken to the same hospital in good condition.

Early Saturday morning, two people were killed in a shooting in West Garfield Park.

The men were standing outside about 2 a.m. in the 4000 block of West Wilcox Street when someone approached them on foot and fired shots, police said.

One man, 24, suffered gunshot wounds to the head, neck, chest and leg, police said. He was transported to Loretto Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The second man, 28, was struck in the chest, torso and arm, according to police. He was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was also pronounced dead, police said.

Hours earlier, a man was fatally shot on the Eisenhower Expressway on the West Side.

The 27-year-old was westbound on Interstate 290 about 12:07 a.m. on the ramp to Austin Boulevard when someone fired shots from another vehicle, Illinois State Police said.

The man was pronounced dead at a hospital, state police said.

Friday night, two people were fatally shot following an incident at an East Garfield Park convenience store Friday night.

About 10:25 p.m., a male was in an argument with a 23-year-old woman in the 500 block of North Kedzie Avenue when he began shooting at her and an 18-year-old man she was with, police said.

The woman suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and was transported to Stroger Hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said. She was identified as Destiny Nunez of Aurora.

The man was struck multiple times in the torso and leg and transported to Norwegian Hospital where he was pronounced, police said. He has not yet been identified.

The incident began in a convenience store and ended in the parking lot, according to police.

At least 13 other people have been wounded in shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Last weekend, 48 people were shot citywide, including a 2-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy and two Chicago police officers.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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Marisnick would likely need to go on a rehab assignment before his return while Heyward’s time on the IL may be brief.

ST. LOUIS – Outfielders Jake Marisnick and Jason Heyward are trending in the right direction in their efforts to return from the 10-day injured list. While it remains to be seen when they’ll return, both have begun to increase their baseball activities.

Marisnick has been on the IL with a right hamstring strain since May 11 and is currently building up in his progression. The Cubs’ center fielder had a more moderate strain, requiring a little more time on the shelf.

Heyward, who went on the IL on Thursday with a left hamstring strain, has started doing light agility work with the training staff and may be back sooner rather than later if things continue to progress positively.

While Heyward might not need a rehab assignment before returning, he did think Marisnick could use a few at-bats before returning.

“I don’t think anytime immediate,” Ross said. “I talked to J-Hey, he said it went well today. Talked to the trainers, they said it went well today. They’ll continue to progress in that kind of rehab mode and then. … Maybe 10 days isn’t a huge stretch to get your timing and all that. But if it extends days past that you’re going to.

“Right now, Marisnick for sure at some point will probably need to take some kind of rehab assignment. J-Hey depending on if this thing continues to bounce back very fast, we may just activate him when he’s ready. So I’ll talk to him about that and trainers, but I don’t want to put any [definitive] timelines on those guys.”

Right-hander Alec Mills will make a rehab start for Class AAA Iowa on Sunday as he returns from a lower back strain that has kept him out since April 30. Right-hander Trevor Megill (right forearm strain) will throw a live BP in Iowa.

Adam undergoes left ankle surgery

Cubs right-hander Jason Adam underwent successful surgery to repair a compound left-ankle dislocation on Friday. Adam was fielding fly balls during batting practice for Class AAA Iowa when the accident occurred and an ambulance had to be called to tend to the reliever.

With the severity of the injury, Adam’s season is likely over and there’s no timetable for his return to baseball activities. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 2-1 with a 5.06 ERA in 22 games since signing before the 2020 season.

“Pretty intense,” Ross said. “Our thoughts and prayers go to him and hopefully a speedy recovery. I texted him and he said it’s all gonna work out. He’s in good spirits, but we’re definitely thinking about him. That was some terrible news to receive yesterday.

“The story I heard was that he jumped for a ball and came down funny on his ankle during batting practice.”

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