Emerson Dameron

"This entire presentation has been in English," complains a man in the front row. A sparse but ethnically varied crowd sits in Pilsen's Mexican Fine Arts Center, listening to CTA representatives discuss plans for the Circle Line project. Requests for comments are translated into Spanish and Chinese, but, indeed, the bulk of the presentation is not. It's conducted in CTA-speak, which is a tongue unto itself, different from the sort of English generally heard from CTA passengers. Moderator Darud Abkar, a gruff man with a voice that could scare off a thundercloud, replies that translators will answer individual questions after the rigidly structured Q&A period.

Abkar reads a question off a comment card. "Will my fares increase?" Muted, isolated chuckles rise from the audience. Jeff Shriver, the Circle Line project manager, says that "our friends in the federal government" already asked about this, and that it's "definitely a component of the study" and "will be a piece of this puzzle by the time we get to the locally preferred alternative."

The Circle Line project intends to link various L branches at points west of the Loop, to flesh out the current structure and cut down on unnecessary trips in and out of downtown. The project is now in its "alternatives analysis" stage, wherein the Authority solicits questions and comments from potentially affected citizens and determines the most popular specifics. After it passes through this phase, it will compete for FTA scratch against other mass-transit proposals nationwide. This, according to Shriver, "allows the best, most worthy projects to rise to the top." After a few more rounds of outreach, further details will be posted on transitchicago.com, which, as Shriver reminds, "is accessible at public libraries."

The Fine Arts Center's West Wing auditorium is lined with placards illustrating the alternatives-analysis procedure, placed sequentially from right to left, which seems counterintuitive. Young, good-looking people in suits lead attendees from placard to placard, explaining the project with bureaucratic neutrality. "Jeff," my host, points out an obtrusive typo.

A man with a scruffy grey beard sits near the front. He sports a digital watch and green shirt with white text reading "DEPAVE LAKE SHORE DRIVE." People keep glancing at him as if awaiting some sort of outburst. As Akbar reads from the comment cards, the man passes up several of his own. At one point, he blurts out something about the Paulina Connector, which sounds well informed, if blatantly rhetorical.

"We'd like to give all questions equal billing," says Shriver. Irritation creeps up behind his ceramic smile. He goes on to defer a question about the Pink Line.

Many in this well-behaved crowd seem frustrated. Someone passes gas loudly, and a man in an electric blue button-up won't stop laughing about it. A ringtone oscillates. The guy in the "DEPAVE" shirt passes up another comment card.

(2006-05-09)

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