Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The Chicago area is digging out from a snowstorm that has dumped nearly a foot in some areas, and given a lot of people a good excuse for being late for work.

The snow that began on Thursday afternoon had begun to subside by 11 a.m., but not before dumping 7.4 inches of snow at O'Hare International Airport. At CBS 2, 8.5 inches of snow fell. In Berwyn, there were 10.2 inches, in Elburn 11 inches.

As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, it took some commuters three times as long as normal to get downtown from the neighborhoods or the suburbs Friday morning. The Kennedy Expressway looked like a frozen parking lot, and patience was running out.

"Terrible – a lot of delays, a lot of accidents; it was very bad," said Jesus Ruiz of Chicago. "It took us a few hours we got stuck in snow like five times. It's not a pretty good sight."

Nearly a foot of snow covered streets, sidewalks and steps.

"When I walked out of the back door of the house, I had to dig my way out. This is the kind of snow that gets kinda heavy. I'm trying to take it easy," said homeowner Michael Washington.

"I think it's part of being in Chicago, being a Chicagoan," said one woman. "We grew up here, and anybody who's grown up in Chicago knows what you have to do."

Larry Alofs is clearing space for his cars, but in his case, he's digging out his driveway.

"It's difficult having a sloping driveway like this," he said. "Four wheel drive can come up, but two wheel drive makes it pretty tough."

Tough can also define clearing a path in the alley to get your car out of your garage or struggling down snow covered sidewalks. Some just gave up and took to the streets.

"There's not too many people shoveling yet, so it's kinda bad getting through," said Bridgeport resident Tom O'Sullivan.

At some points, the snow was falling at a rate of an inch an hour, making it difficult for snow plow drivers to do their job in the middle of heavy traffic.

"It doesn't look too promising," said Mark Hoger of Chicago. "We came from downtown and didn't see a plow at all – the whole time we were downtown. I'm not looking forward to getting on the ramp here. I think it's going to be bad."

The slushy mix of snow and ice was making some cars spin out of control, and there were numerous fender benders.

"It took me an hour and a half to get my daughter to school today," said Ana Ruiz, who said the same trip usually takes only 15 minutes.

The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation has its full fleet of 273 snow fighting trucks on the roads. They have been clearing the snow since Thursday night, when the winter storm started, and continued all night long.

"This is a major snow event," said department Commissioner Michael Picardi. "We will continue to work the main streets of Chicago, so all the main arterials, all the CTA routes; all of those are our priority right now."

The snowstorm made driving difficult for everyone. CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones experienced its perils personally.

She was headed east on Interstate 80-94 near Burr Street Friday morning when something blew out a tire on her personal car. It's possible something else about 10 miles east also blew out a tire on CBS 2's live truck, leaving Jones and photographer Mark Losiniecki stranded like many other drivers.

Snow continued to pile up in Northwest Indiana as of 11 a.m., with some areas already seeing nearly 8 inches.

The snowstorms also caused mountains of trouble at the airports. Delays averaged 45 to 60 minutes at O'Hare at 1:30 a.m. for both arriving and departing flights, and 500 cancellations had been reported, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Delays of 30 to 90 minutes were seen at Midway International Airport, and about 40 flights had been canceled, the department said.

Schedules are expected to return to normal later in the day as the snow subsides.

The snow wasn't a nuisance and burden for everyone. Schools were closed in many places, including Naperville, where many kids took the opportunity for sledding on Rotary Hill

"I think it's going to be a really fun day – one, because my friends are over, and two – because it's a snow day," said elementary schooler Madison Smith.

And some small business owners count on the snow to add a little more cash in their wallets.

Shane McKinney of Northwest Indiana Mowing Service, Inc. has two tons of salt, a blade on the front of his truck and a snowblower with extra fuel. He was gassing up Friday in Portage for a full day of earning pay for plowing.

"Non-stop, as quick as we plow, you can't even tell we plowed a lot 10 minutes later, you know," McKinney said. "So, it's been pretty bad."

Other crews were still hitting the pavement into the evening in Merrillville.

The parking lot at Century Mall takes a colossal crew with mammoth machines. The crew working there says it took them more than 12 hours to create about 10 piles 12 feet high. But the job is lucrative enough to help them winter well, budget-wise.

"This is what gets me through the winter," said Plow driver Mike Grundell. "I run heavy equipment. But the ground's froze. We're not doing any excavating right now, so this is what keeps me alive."

The men say they live for days like this and very happy to be working somewhere at least two days a week over the past month or so. The crews said this snow is the lighter variety, and much easier to move.

And although they do make money, it's expensive to be up and running this long. One driver told us it takes at least $150 to keep the gas tank of his pickup full for 12 hours.


This winter has been especially snowy. This is the 25th snowfall of the season, and it has been the fourth snowiest winter in the past quarter century.

CBS 2's Ed Curran, Rafael Romo, Dorothy Tucker, Pamela Jones and Mary Kay Kleist contributed to this report.

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