I took a picture earlier this week that I think encapsulates the isolation and danger of living in a city that doesn’t #plowthesidewalks and a neighborhood where reactionaries want to tear out an under-construction safety project on Archer Avenue. It’s a message about priorities.

A once-in-a-generation investment that benefits everyone in our state. Today, I’m proud to sign the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act into law. Our new regional authority will modernize Illinois’ transit systems — and we’re doing it with no new statewide taxes.

We've averted disaster and laid the groundwork for reforms which will improve transit for the Chicagoland region, and the entire state of Illinois, for generations to come. Thank you to all the advocates who got us across the finish line, and here's to a brighter future under NITA! 🍾

NITA is officially law!

woot!

lots of awful shit in the news lately but not this! thank goodness for the wins we do have.

🎉 It's official – @govpritzker.illinois.gov has signed the NITA Act into law! This transformative legislation not only fully funds public transit, but delivers critical reforms to ensure our systems serve us better. Take a moment and join us in thanking our leaders at thanks.savetransit.org!

It feels that winter and snow in Chicago helps widen existing inequities because those without cars are less able to move around safely on transit and on foot. Mobility justice is hampered with the city management and policies around snow clearance.

Bus stops are full of snow. It’s not an exaggeration to say if riding the bus part of your safety calculus rn should consider which bus stops are less obstructed w/ snow & also taking more time to board/disembarking. We are a winter city but the city management of winter leaves much to be desired.

Imagine a 100m race where we’ve given cars an 80m head start after many decades of building almost ONLY for them. If we then set a transportation goal of “balance” between many more choices in getting around, by definition we have to prioritize the new choices for a while, or they’ll never catch up.

not just the safe streets project getting cut in this proposal, which is bad enough. It's the neighborhood infrastructure line item that safe streets got lumped into--this means stuff like sidewalk repairs and lighting. Even if your alder labels themselves as progressive--they need to get an earful

sent my emails! you can too!

URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Mayor Johnson's 2026 bond proposal defunds safe streets infrastructure by a whopping 70% – putting our communities in jeopardy by threatening the progress we've made in preventative infrastructure. Email him and your alderperson today and tell them to reverse course!

...a vacancy that partially occurred because Chicago does not #PlowTheSidewalks

There's a number of issues around new vacancy on @chicagocta.bsky.social Board, including that Chicago is losing this disability rights director because we don't #PlowTheSidewalks. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/c...

Plowed protected bike lanes show how transformative #PlowTheSidewalks could be. On streets like Milwaukee with plowed protected bike lanes, there is an alternative when a business shirks their legal & moral responsibilities after a snowfall.

Park district staff using a sidewalk plow, need these everywhere #PlowTheSidewalks

Do it or we can’t be friends

"At least 15 landscapers working between Rogers Park and Zion in Lake County were deported from the end of August to early November, Sossa said. Most were from Mexico, though some were from Colombia and Guatemala."

We don’t leave the streets up to the adjacent property owner to shovel — we plow them. Send an email to your leaders and let them know it’s time we #PlowTheSidewalks too! 📧: betterstreetschicago.org/plow-the-sidewalks/act

Photos from this morning’s walk to West Loop for the @betterstreetschicago.org community meeting on #plowthewidewalks

#BikeChi Imagine being such a miserable driver, you want others to be miserable. Pull up tomorrow to support the homies support safe streets. ✊🏽

Stockton Dr is cleared of all snow and ice right down to the asphalt for cars, but hundreds of daily CTA bus riders at this stop have to navigate icy lumps #PlowTheSidewalks

As a former Chicagoan, I'm really pissed that unplowed sidewalks is still an issue over a decade after I left. Just say you side with landlords, City of Chicago. So gross. Anyway, if you live in Chicago, support group and let Mayor Johnson and your alderperson know you won't be snowed.

Frustrated about the #PlowTheSidewalks program? You're not alone. Join us on Sunday as we go in depth about what happened to the pilot and discuss how we want to move forward. 📍West Loop Branch (122 N Aberdeen) 🗓️ December 7th ⏰ 2-4pm RSVP ⬇️

Join us on Sunday, December 7th at the West Loop branch for a community meeting to go over what happened to #PlowTheSidewalks and discuss where we go next. 📍West Loop Branch (122 N Aberdeen) 🗓️ December 7th ⏰ 2-4pm RSVP ➡️ mobilize.us/s/qqb6u8

Protected bike lanes are shit if not cleared after snow. Five days after our most recent Chicago snowstorm, I couldn't even ride in the Kinzie bike lane. In some cases, snow has been pushed *into* the bike lanes. Meanwhile, #PlowTheSidewalks was killed by @mayorofchicago.bsky.social.

Contact your alders to get the plow the side walks pilot off the ground. Yesterday while riding the 80 Irving Park, I saw three elderly gentlemen have to navigate mounds of snow exiting the bus on the street to get to their living facility.

Department of Streets & Sanitation District 1 office failed to shovel any sidewalks adjacent to its property, including a bus stop. Also in a ward led by a #PlowTheSidewalks opponent. @betterstreetschicago.org

They were still working on the Cortland bridge when I walked home at 5pm. Smelled like paint. North sidewalk remains open while the bridge is closed to vehicles. Cortland sidewalk is snowy/icy, unlikely to be maintained like the street itself (but that’s another story) #PlowTheSidewalks

Frustrated about the #PlowTheSidewalks program? You're not alone. Join us on Sunday as we go in depth about what happened to the pilot and discuss how we want to move forward. 📍West Loop Branch (122 N Aberdeen) 🗓️ December 7th ⏰ 2-4pm RSVP ⬇️

Friends, I hope you're posting these pictures to reports the 311 app. I want #PlowTheSidewalks and I think one of the reasons politicians brush it aside is they don't think it's a huge problem. MAKE IT THE CITY OF CHICAGO'S PROBLEM.

💔

Woman fatally struck by CTA bus after apparent slip in South Shore: Chicago police What a tragedy. #PlowTheSidewalks is literally a matter of life and death in Chicago. wgntv.com/news/chicago...

#PlowtheSidewalks @mayorofchicago.bsky.social

Why should #Chicago #PlowTheSidewalks? Because this is what my neighborhoods sidewalks look like.

Chicago, come on

Is every walkway under the Metra this bad? #plowthesidewalks

Imagine getting off the bus at this stop on a major arterial street in Chicago. The ramp comes down and you roll off with a wheelchair or walker. I use this stop often with my kids. The packed ice is about 4 inches thick. The trampled boot path is around 12 inches wide.

Same! #plowthesidewalks #plowthebikelanes

#plowthesidewalks It feels a bit ironic to be confronted with a bunch of uncleared pavement en route to the @atalliance.bsky.social holiday party (even if BSC is leading that campaign)

@loyolachicago.bsky.social #PlowTheSidewalks and crosswalks!

At the corner of 111th and Western sidewalk isn't shoveled. @betterstreetschicago.org

Rogers Park Police Station #PlowTheSidewalks

Join us on Sunday, December 7th at the West Loop branch for a community meeting to go over what happened to #PlowTheSidewalks and discuss where we go next. 📍West Loop Branch (122 N Aberdeen) 🗓️ December 7th ⏰ 2-4pm RSVP ➡️ mobilize.us/s/qqb6u8

Just had to help a woman drag a stroller through all this ankle deep snow. @aldermanmattmartin.bsky.social @mayorofchicago.bsky.social it's time to #PlowTheSidewalks

The Xfinity store on Ashland at Belmont still hasn’t shoveled after Saturday’s snow #PlowTheSidewalks

Good morning river north. #plowthesidewalks

These folks in the corner house cleared the sidewalk on the residential side streets, but not along Foster. This is why we need to #PlowTheSidewalks