This year, over the Fourth of July weekend alone, at least five people were shot by police, two of them fatally, in separate incidents. In late August, for example, prosecutors brought charges against a West Side police commander accused of shoving a gun down a man’s throat, holding a Taser to his groin and threatening to kill him during an incident in 2013. A lawsuit filed this spring involved officers videotaped beating and threatening a handcuffed, diminutive woman who managed a tanning salon being raided over prostitution allegations.Ī Chicago Reporter analysis found that black people are 10 times more likely than white people to be shot by police in the city. But police brutality, misconduct and shootings continue to make headlines and roil communities in Chicago. Burge is now in prison, serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence for perjury and obstruction. Police say McIntosh pointed a gun at officers community members have said he was unarmed and on his knees when he was killed.Ĭhicago has a long history of struggles between communities and police, from union members who fought with police in the 1800s to the Black Panthers in the 1960s to the 1990s- 2000s movement against police torture - namely the alleged systematic use of electric shocks, beatings and other brutality to obtain confessions under former Police Commander Jon Burge. As in Ferguson, community members are demanding the department release the name of the officer who shot McIntosh. In late August and early September, hundreds of people marched in a series of protests on the West Side against the fatal police shooting of 19-year-old Roshad McIntosh. 'Our country is quickly morphing into a police state-unless we do something about it.' RAILROAD MUSEUMS AND RAILFAN ORGANIZATIONSMuseums and railfan organizations covering Chicago and beyond.Īny suggestions and information would be appreciated regarding additional Web links for this page.' is a wakeup call,' said Chapman. John Szwajkart's Web Site includes information on ordering his book, 'Train Watcher's Guide To Chicago', which has been the standard reference book for Chicago railfanning for more than 30 years. Link to a Web site containing more comprehensive information, on where to watch trains in the Chicago area. RAILFAN LINKS Chicago Area Rail Junctions RADIO FREQUENCIESMost of the available radio frequencies, are in use in the Chicago area. TRAIN WATCHING PHOTOSA photo sampling, of Metra and Amtrak and freight train activity along the Metra lines in the Chicago area, mostly during the mid 1990's. Also marked are the most useful public transportation transfer locations, for getting to and from these locations. This zoomable Google Map has been marked with the 'Top Ten' railfan spots in the Chicago area.

TOP TEN RAILFAN SPOTS Top Ten Railfan Spots (North/West)Ĭhicago's ten best train watching sites, as selected a number of years ago by TRAINS Magazine staff members. The Union Pacific West Line and the BNSF line are filled with hot spots, with heavy freight traffic sharing those lines with Metra trains. Metra trains can be used to reach most hot spots. CHICAGO'S RAILROADS RAILFANNING IN CHICAGOWith every major railroad entering Chicago, there is a favorite spot for everyone to watch trains.

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