It’s a delightfully mid-temp week in Chicago, but trust me, the snow will be back. And when it comes, who do you want plowing your streets? Bozo the Plown? Mrs. O’Leary’s Plow? Bad, Bad Leroy Plow?
Those are past winners of the city’s annual snow-plow-naming contest. This year, submissions are open through Saturday.
Personally, I’m submitting two: The Big Leplowski and The Chicago Machine. Mayor Brandon Johnson has already thrown his weight behind (the admittedly superior) Abolish ICE.
Return to the Chicago Shovels site in February to vote for your favorites. (Don’t worry, I’ll remind you.) In the end, several names will be chosen.
Who’s Supposed to Remove Snow?
The Department of Streets and Sanitation handles snow and ice removal and salting for Chicago streets. Its Snow Command center utilizes citywide cameras and pavement sensors to do so. You can track city plows via Chicago Shovels.
Expressways, meanwhile, are cleared by Illinois' Department of Transportation.
Business owners that rent space adjacent to the sidewalk are responsible for shoveling that area. Residential property owners are responsible for clearing their own sidewalks as well. That includes landlords, although some may put the onus on tenants as part of their rental agreements. Check your leases, people!
Adequate shoveling means clearing a path at least five feet wide on all the sidewalks adjacent to the property. (Here are our shoveling tips.) Failure to do so could result in fines of up to $500 per day.
If your landlord (or neighbor) isn’t shoveling, you can call 311 to report the uncleared sidewalk. Chicago saw a record number of calls during December’s snowfall.
