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Street Lights Go Dark For Weeks, Say Frightened West Side Residents

CHICAGO (CBS) -- West Side residents say they've spent weeks in the dark because their street lights haven't been fixed. It wasn't until after a CBS 2 investigation that the problem finally appeared to be resolved.

A six-block stretch of Pulaski Avenue between Madison and Fulton was pitch black Tuesday night, CBS 2 observed. All of the street lights, on both sides of Pulaski, were out.

Thursday, residents and business owners said the lights had been out for nearly two weeks.

"When you're walking you don't know who in the hell is gonna jump out," one woman told CBS 2. "That's not safe!"

It's especially scary because of neighborhood crime rates.

"It's increasing the crime, it's increasing the low-lifes, it's increasing drug dealing," one man told CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker.

Chicago Department of Transportation officials say workers have been out several times in recent days. On Thursday night, the lights finally appeared to be working.

"It's pretty good to have lights again because it's been pretty dark out here, real dark," one man said.

Officials admit some of the lights need upgrades and they're looking into doing just that.

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