Dozens Of Hazardous Wires Still Exposed At Bases Of Light Poles On South Side, After 311 Requests

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A potential danger is popping up across Chicago – exposed wires at the base of light poles.

A viewer let us know he has requested the city fix several in his neighborhood. CBS 2's Tim McNicholas was on the case Tuesday.

"It's simply a safety hazard," said Michael LaFargue.

Exposed wires were spotted at the bases of lamp posts at 93rd Street and Wabash Avenue, 93rd Street and Michigan Avenue, and 94th Street and Indiana Avenue.

"The missing door - if you look closely the wires are sticking out of this pole," LaFargue said. "Who knows what could happen?"

LaFargue showed us around his tiny South Side neighborhood of West Chesterfield, where he has counted dozens of light poles with missing covers and exposed wires. CBS 2 spotted more than 30 of them on Tuesday, including two just outside Gillespie Elementary School, 9301 S. State St.

"Hundreds of children come to this location daily; walk past this pole, and could be electrocuted accidentally by playing in the area," LaFargue said. "Dogs visit this pole. They could be electrocuted."

It's no exaggeration. Back in 2012, a Louisiana 3-year-old suffered burns to his hands after touching an exposed wire.

"And he just was hollering, 'Daddy it hurts! It hurts!'" the boy's father, Willie McGee, said at the time.

And as to the situation now in West Chesterfield, LaFargue said, "It is throughout the neighborhood almost equally."

Neighbors in West Chesterfield have been complaining to the city. We discovered 25 311 requests for missing covers – all from five months ago, and all but one still listed as "open."

LaFargue even marked the poles with red tape, and it's not a Christmas decoration.

"We taped the top of the poles so that the city could easily identify which poles they needed to address," he said.

LaFargue reached out to us after seeing CBS 2's Tara Molina's series of reports from Brighton Park, where Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) blamed gang members for cutting wires to kill the lights.

LaFargue said he doesn't want anyone to get the same idea in West Chesterfield.

"Give us a Christmas gift and address these open light door issues," he said.

LaFargue said he also tried to cover the holes with tape, but months later, that tape is falling off.

We reached out to the city to ask why the problems haven't been fixed. We'll let you know what we hear.