WindyCityImports
09-03-2003, 01:14 PM
We used to go watch these in High School...
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-drag03.html
Impound cars of drag racers, says Burke after public outcry
September 3, 2003
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Christine and Walter Scarlett pray for rain every weekend. Their prayers have nothing to do with keeping the flowers blooming and the lawn from turning brown.
The Scarletts view rain as their only refuge from the illegal drag racing that goes on every weekend in the Crawford industrial park near their Southwest Side home.
"Every weekend, it's like watching the movie 'The Fast and the Furious.' All these teenagers think they're stunt drivers and they're not. . . . They're trying to get away from the police. That's what the movie is all about," Walter Scarlett said.
"They have hundreds of people there watching--people holding babies watching them. It's mind-boggling what goes on."
Christine Scarlett said the "screeching cars with their homemade mufflers" have turned her life into a "living hell. . . . We pray for rain on the weekends so they don't drag race."
On Tuesday, the City Council's Traffic Committee voted to give the Scarletts a different kind of reprieve.
At the behest of powerful Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th), the committee voted to add drag racing to the laundry list of local offenses punishable by vehicle impoundment.
Prior to the vote, Traffic Committee members watched a homemade video of the illegal street racing that runs as late as 3:30 a.m. on weekends at the Kedzie industrial park.
It was shot by Dave Barnett, president of F&F Foods, 3501 West 48th Pl. Barnett said he's been forced to hire a private security service, at a cost of $300 a month, to keep the drag racers out and prevent his night shift employees from becoming prisoners in the Southwest Side plant.
"There are over a hundred cars that come and race down the street going 60, 70 mph in a quarter-mile down residential streets. They do it for the thrill, the excitement, but it's dangerous. People are going to get hurt. If they want to race, they ought to go to a track that allows it," Barnett said.
"If we have people working in the plant on nights when they're racing, it's very scary for people to leave when there's 100 cars congregating and racing. They either stay late or we call the police and chase them out, only to have them come back. Five minutes later, they're back until they get chased out again."
Drag racing on city streets is already a violation of the state's motor vehicle code, but Chicago violators only get citations.
"Right now, there's no effective deterrent. Seizure of the vehicles would be a significant deterrent," Burke said.
With a starter for every race and spotters on telephones to alert drivers when police are around, Burke said the video clearly shows there is more than just thrill-seeking to this dangerous weekend hobby.
"It appears, too, that there are a core of people who engage in betting on the races. It's a clandestine type of operation that can be accessed through the Internet," he said.
Copyright © The Sun-Times Company
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-drag03.html
Impound cars of drag racers, says Burke after public outcry
September 3, 2003
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Christine and Walter Scarlett pray for rain every weekend. Their prayers have nothing to do with keeping the flowers blooming and the lawn from turning brown.
The Scarletts view rain as their only refuge from the illegal drag racing that goes on every weekend in the Crawford industrial park near their Southwest Side home.
"Every weekend, it's like watching the movie 'The Fast and the Furious.' All these teenagers think they're stunt drivers and they're not. . . . They're trying to get away from the police. That's what the movie is all about," Walter Scarlett said.
"They have hundreds of people there watching--people holding babies watching them. It's mind-boggling what goes on."
Christine Scarlett said the "screeching cars with their homemade mufflers" have turned her life into a "living hell. . . . We pray for rain on the weekends so they don't drag race."
On Tuesday, the City Council's Traffic Committee voted to give the Scarletts a different kind of reprieve.
At the behest of powerful Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th), the committee voted to add drag racing to the laundry list of local offenses punishable by vehicle impoundment.
Prior to the vote, Traffic Committee members watched a homemade video of the illegal street racing that runs as late as 3:30 a.m. on weekends at the Kedzie industrial park.
It was shot by Dave Barnett, president of F&F Foods, 3501 West 48th Pl. Barnett said he's been forced to hire a private security service, at a cost of $300 a month, to keep the drag racers out and prevent his night shift employees from becoming prisoners in the Southwest Side plant.
"There are over a hundred cars that come and race down the street going 60, 70 mph in a quarter-mile down residential streets. They do it for the thrill, the excitement, but it's dangerous. People are going to get hurt. If they want to race, they ought to go to a track that allows it," Barnett said.
"If we have people working in the plant on nights when they're racing, it's very scary for people to leave when there's 100 cars congregating and racing. They either stay late or we call the police and chase them out, only to have them come back. Five minutes later, they're back until they get chased out again."
Drag racing on city streets is already a violation of the state's motor vehicle code, but Chicago violators only get citations.
"Right now, there's no effective deterrent. Seizure of the vehicles would be a significant deterrent," Burke said.
With a starter for every race and spotters on telephones to alert drivers when police are around, Burke said the video clearly shows there is more than just thrill-seeking to this dangerous weekend hobby.
"It appears, too, that there are a core of people who engage in betting on the races. It's a clandestine type of operation that can be accessed through the Internet," he said.
Copyright © The Sun-Times Company
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.