Watch CBS News

Alderman Talks Trash About IDOT

(CBS) – A South Side Chicago alderman has let the Illinois Department of Transportation know she's had it.

Ward 3 Ald. Pat Dowell has taken to Twitter to publicly criticize the agency and suggesting minority communities are not as high of a priority.

CBS 2's Brad Edwards explains.

"Your front door should be clean and inviting, and it never is. So, I just got fed up," Dowell says.

She dropped the hammer on IDOT with a recent tweet, about the condition of the Dan Ryan on Chicago's South Side.

CBS 2 took a drive down that stretch of the Dan Ryan on Friday. Even through the snow covered much of the area, the flecks of green space were littered with bags and other refuse.

"In the African-American communities, if you drive along the Eisenhower or the Dan Ryan, you'll see the same thing," she says.

Dowell says it's a different story for the Kennedy or Stevenson expressways.

IDOT responded to Dowell's call-out, listing dates when litter was removed and saying the agency will get on it again when weather permits.

Each party wished the other a happy new year.

"We are committed to providing a positive impression of Illinois throughout the year by keeping our roadways as clean as possible. Our job is certainly easier when the public is properly disposing their trash," an IDOT spokesperson tells CBS 2.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.