Portage Park Woman Says Her Block Has Been Left In The Dark, After Streetlights Were Taken Out For Water Main Work And Never Replaced – CBS Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) — The Metropolis of Chicago is spending $160 million changing a whole bunch of hundreds of streetlights from low-efficiency bulbs to LEDs – and that doesn’t sit effectively with a Portage Park lady who has been attempting to get her previous streetlights again up and operating for months.
She reached out to us for assist, and CBS 2’s Marie Saavedra went digging Tuesday.
“Once you go from one avenue that’s well-lit to at least one avenue that’s half-lit, it makes an enormous distinction,” mentioned Benita Pennie.
Pennie has spent nearly 30 years on the identical block of Belle Plaine Avenue within the Portage Park neighborhood. However for the primary time, the home-owner has been feeling left in the dead of night.
“It’s like the town has forgotten us,” Pennie mentioned.
Final summer season, she acquired a letter warning of water primary work on her avenue, close to Laramie Avenue and Irving Park Highway. Metropolis crews eliminated a number of streetlights for development, however Pennie says when challenge completed in February, they nonetheless weren’t changed.
“It’s not like I simply ignored it and didn’t name and let anyone know,” she mentioned.
She known as her alderman and 311. Throughout the final month, she mentioned two everlasting streetlights confirmed up, and her 311 grievance confirmed it was accomplished.
However Pennie insists it’s not.
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“Doesn’t someone understand there’s imagined to be two extra?” she mentioned.
To see the difficulty when it actually issues, we got here again right here at evening. The view from Pennie’s finish of the block trying eastward exhibits for itself that it’s considerably darker the place her streetlight was.
(Credit score: CBS 2)
For her, it’s a security problem. A deadly shooting happened at her nook in December when the lights have been out.
“For that to occur right here at 7 o’clock on a Saturday is type of distressing,” Pennie mentioned.
So we reached out to the Chicago Division of Transportation for solutions. Not lengthy after, somebody from the town confirmed up on the road to take a look at the spots the place lights was.
“I’m not asking for one thing particular,” Pennie mentioned. “I’m simply asking for them to place again once they took.”
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And it appears they lastly will. A CDOT spokesman advised us the ultimate two streetlights shall be changed subsequent week, to return Belle Plaine Avenue again to its former brightness.
