City Crews Take Deep Dive Into Clutter With 'Blitz' Effort
(CBS) -- Workers from three city departments this weekend are putting the finishing touches on a massive clean-up in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.
It's the third neighborhood clean-up "blitz" of the spring. Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Charles Williams says no one wants fly-dumped tires or colonies of rats in their alleys and vacant lots and the blitzes clean up the worst of the problems.
The cooperative effort of his department, Water Management and the Transportation Department is no small clean-up. So far this spring, officials say, the blitzes account for the removal of: 65 tons of tires and other debris; 21 abandoned cars; 433 bags of trash; rat baiting in 45 alleys; removal of graffiti at 86 locations, and repairs to 1,156 potholes, 154 street signs and 51 lights.
There is a follow-up once a neighborhood gets a clean-up blitz, to see what's cleaned up or fixed stays that way.
The worst-off areas get first attention. To get on the list, contact the Department of Streets and Sanitation by calling 3-1-1, at its Facebook page or by tweeting the department.
