[Beta_Magellan]

Originally Posted by k1052

Presumably Rahm already has the south side alderman lined up to support this somehow.

From the Sun-Times’s article:

Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus, agreed.

“Shutting the Red Line down for five months is better than the alternative of shutting it down for four or five years each weekend,” Brookins said. “That’s the only other choice.

“Yes, there’s an inconvenience,” Brookins said. “But the long-lasting effect of fixing slow zones and upgrading stations will outweigh the temporary inconvenences.”

Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) said it’s “about time” the CTA fixed the Red Line. And he agreed that shutting down the Dan Ryan leg for five months is better than four years of weekend closings.

But Fioretti said that unless the CTA does a better job of maintaining the newly rebuilt Red Line, the same problems will return.
“To be always doing things in a big thrust without doing day-to-day maintenance of our rail system doesn’t benefit either the taxpayers or the riders,” Fioretti said.