“These Pot… Oh, Nevermind”

City fixes potholes as residents gather to protest them

South Siders who travel along Garfield Boulevard near Sherman Park can tell you horror stories about the pothole problem there. Several residents have spent hundreds of dollars on car repairs and for months had called the city to no avail.

Fed up, local motorists scheduled a protest for Monday. They wanted the mayor to fix streets that actually need repairs, rather than the rarely-used avenues near proposed 2016 Olympic venues.

But just before their demonstration began, Chicago Department of Transportation crews arrived and filled potholes along 1.5 miles of Garfield Avenue, including the area where several protestors had assembled.

"It looks like they didn't want us to make the news or let folks know about the potholes," Denise Dixon, executive director of the community group Action Now, told the Tribune.

Brian Steele, a CDOT spokesperson, said the timing was merely coincidental.

Just what do two dozen angry protestors do though when there's nothing left to protest?

Matt Bartosik is the editor of Off the Rocks' next issue and a "between blogs" blogger.

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