Archive for May 13th, 2011

Chicago loses court battle relating to 1995 entrance exam

An article today in the Chicago Tribune outlines remedies and penalties for the City of Chicago and the Chicago Fire Department in a battle over a hiring exam that took place in 1995.

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Chicago Fire Department must hire 111 African Americans who passed a firefighters entrance exam 16 years ago and pay millions of dollars to thousands more who took and passed the same test.

The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling was the latest blow to the city, which has been on the losing end of court decisions regarding the 1995 test for years, including a 2005 ruling by a federal judge who said the test discriminated against black applicants and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that the candidates did not wait too long to sue the city.

An attorney for the black firefighter candidates said that the 111 jobs would be filled from the applicants who passed the 1995 test and their pensions would be adjusted as if they’d been firefighters since 1995. And, said Joshua Karsh, 6,000 others who also passed the test will divide “tens of millions of dollars” that would have been paid 111 firefighters from 1995 until today.

… the city was still calculating the damages as result of dividing the back pay of 111 firefighters among the 6,000 applicants, but that officials estimate the payout will be about $30 million.

The ruling stems from a test given in 1995. After the test, anyone who scored 64 or below was deemed not qualified, but officials told those who scored above that number that while they passed, they would randomly hire the top 1,800 who scored 89 or better.

Because only 11 percent of the African Americans scored 89 or better, the overwhelming number of applicants hired from that test were white.

Read the complete article HERE.

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Mount Prospect/Des Plaines train accident 5-13-11

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

The lead car of the commuter train jumped the tracks and listed heavily. Tim Olk photo

Mount Prospect and Des Plaines Fire Departments were notified of a Metra Train colliding with a dump truck this morning at the Mt. Prospect Road crossing at Northwest Highway. The collision occurred in Mt. Prospect and the ensuing partial derailment and fire was 1/4 mile further down the line in Des Plaines. Both departments setup a unified command to coordinate the emergency response to the incident. The truck driver was killed at the scene and multiple train passengers were transported to area hospitals with varying degrees of injuries though none were critical. An EMS Box Alarm was requested and as the number of passengers with medical complaints grew, the alarm was upgraded to a 3rd Alarm and then to a 5th Alarm. In addition, a PACE bus was called to the scene to assist with transporting a group of patients that were triaged with a status of ‘green‘. Ambulances from Divisions 1, 3, and 20 responded to assist at the scene.

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

Fuel which splashed along the exterior of the train ignited along the first two cars. Tim Olk photo

The Chicago Tribune has an article HERE which states;

All the train cars remained upright but at least 29 passengers were taken to hospitals and 10 others were treated on the scene. Officials said none of the injuries aboard the train appeared life-threatening, though the engineer was listed in critical condition.

The train, No. 636, was headed inbound from Harvard when it hit the truck on the crossing at about 8:40 a.m. at Seger near the Cumberland station in Mount Prospect, said Michael Gillis, a spokesman for Metra.

The truck driver was identified as Kazimierz Karasek, 59, from Prospect Heights.  Karasek, had been cited for more than 50 traffic violations, including a DUI, since 1986.

The truck was carrying load of concrete and was headed northwest on Northwest Highway, police said. It turned left onto Mount Prospect Road and through the crossing, Wagner said, adding that the gates were down and the signals were working.

The front train car came to rest roughly 200 yards east of Mount Prospect road, a gash slicing the metal above the lower row of windows.

Union Pacific spokesman Wes Lujan said the gates at the crossing were “operating as designed.”

“We believe that he drove around the gates,” Lujan said at a news conference.

He said crossing design is an “issue” because of Northwest Highway’s diagonal slant, but he added,  “There’s no reason to go around (the gates).”

A similar accident involving the same kind of truck happened almost 10 years ago at the Mount Prospect Road and Northwest Highway intersection, according to Des Plaines fire officials.

In today’s accident, Wagner said the driver would have disregarded a “No Left Turn” sign, in addition to the gates and crossing lights. The driver had to cross into the northbound lanes of Mount Prospect Road to get around the northern gate, he said. That left the cab squarely on the tracks as the train blew through the intersection, and the trailer and cab bent like a jacknife, with the trailer hitting the train cars.

Tim Olk and Larry Shapiro were at the scene and submitted several images.

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

Looking southeast from Mt. Prospect Road shows the derailment of the first car. Tim Olk photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

Another perspective looking northwest along the tracks shows the entire train as it came to rest after the collision. Tim Olk photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

A view from the relative point of impact shows the devastation to the dump truck and the scattering of the concrete load it was carrying. Tim Olk photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

An overview of the intersection of Northwest Highway and Mt Prospect Road shows the accident scene. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

The truck's cab was sheared off and thrown roughly 50 feet from the rest of the truck. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

A view of the destroyed truck as scene from the north side of the accident scene. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

The train came to rest 1/4 of a mile further down the tracks. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

Paramedics attend to train passengers assembled on the opposite side of Northwest Highway. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

Damage to the lead car from striking the truck. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

Windows are damaged by the fire but protected the passengers inside. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

Damage to the second car from fuel which ignited outside the train. One of the truck's fuel tanks was lodged beneath the first car of the train. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Des Plaines Metra train accident 5-13-11

A patient is loaded onto a gurney after being immobilized by paramedics for the trip to a hospital. Larry Shapiro photo

Tim has a fallery online HERE and Larry has a gallery online HERE. Radio traffic from this incident can be found HERE.

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