Celebrating National Pizza Day in Chicago is easy enough, but four police officers took it further last week.
A few of our brave police officers from @ChicagoCAPS01 took one for the team and subjected themselves to NY-style “pizza.” The verdict: not bad, @NYPDnews. Not bad. Still doesn’t beat Chicago! Happy #NationalPizzaDay 🍕 pic.twitter.com/y52GxPj4QT
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) February 9, 2019
The video was a hit on social media, with the department’s tweet becoming one of the most-liked and -shared among Chicago’s Twitter users, with 1,986 local retweets, favorites, quotes and replies as of this writing. But tweets from people in the city — over 3.3 million posted between Feb. 7 and Feb. 13 — ran the gamut from crumbling infrastructure to local politics to a good news story that could easily have turned out differently.
It can be hard to make sense of the sometimes chaotic stream of information on Twitter, so Hoodline analyzed data from Chicago’s Twitter users to identify which local events, issues and curiosities got people most interested in the past week.
WGN’s reporting on the city’s roads and bridges captured your attention on social media:
A crack in a steel support beam stops traffic on northbound Lake Shore Drive. We'll show you what bridge inspectors found during their last visit... and why they found a different stretch of LSD far more concerning. @WGNInvestigates at 4pm. https://t.co/n0nHcltP0k pic.twitter.com/mWiCLdOdt2
— Ben Bradley (@BenBradleyTV) February 11, 2019
These two tweets from @BenBradleyTV together accounted for more than 500 Twitter reactions by people in Chicago:
As long as we’re talking about infrastructure, this doesn’t look so safe. Inbound Kennedy on-ramp at Lawrence. @IDOT_Illinois @AmyRutledgeWGN @ShanHalligan pic.twitter.com/XdrqbsCcTa
— Ben Bradley (@BenBradleyTV) February 12, 2019
Chicago police also expressed condolences to their counterparts in New York City following the death of a detective during a robbery investigation. More than 680 other Chicagoans had lined up to back the blue on Twitter, as of this writing:
Sincere condolences to @NYPDNEWS who lost an officer this evening while responding to an armed robbery. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the officer's family, and to our brothers and sisters at the #NYPD. We wish the sergeant a speedy recovery. #CPD pic.twitter.com/h0oEVSYJKc
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) February 13, 2019
Also high on the list of top local tweets, with 419 interactions, was this from @LoyolaChicago. Third-grader Juliet did a school project on Sister Jean, then met the Ramblers’ chaplain and highest-profile booster at a game:
Meet third-grader Juliet, a die-hard Rambler fan and daughter of a Loyola alumnus, whose latest class project was on Sister Jean. Juliet was thrilled to get to meet her favorite person at a @LoyolaRamblers game this week. #FutureRamblers pic.twitter.com/ev112LQGXc
— Loyola Chicago (@LoyolaChicago) February 7, 2019
What else captured your attention on Twitter?
@MikeLoweReports’ tweet paying homage to gone-but-not-forgotten Dominick’s tallied over 100 local retweets, quotes, replies and favorites from users in Chicago:
Here’s an empty #Dominick’s #grocery store in #Naperville. Founded by Dominick DiMatteo — a Sicilian immigrant — in 1918, the store grew to become popular grocery chain, and a household name in the Chicago area for nearly a century, but by 2014 all Dominick’s stores had closed. pic.twitter.com/VKf2Ys0GuR
— Mike Lowe (@MikeLoweReports) February 11, 2019
Is a guaranteed minimum income a good idea for Chicago? Let the debate begin:
Mayoral task force recommends paying struggling Chicagoans $1,000 a month: https://t.co/9KVcOc3YFC pic.twitter.com/MDH5RpDWGx
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) February 8, 2019
You were struck by the fire department’s reminder of the danger of CO2, after a near-tragedy:
8044S Clyde. CFD EMS responded for "person down" and found CO readings as high as 900 PPM ( lethal level) Two people removed critical to Trinity hospital. PLEASE install CO and smoke detectors because they do save lives!
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) February 8, 2019
And finally, this mom and baby are doing well thanks to help from a CTA driver, the baby's father, another passenger, and a bit of good luck:
Woman gives birth on CTA bus in Chicago: https://t.co/HyFXqVQX2j pic.twitter.com/ope2JyYcXO
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) February 7, 2019
