A tradition died in Chicago this week. Organizers of the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade said Wednesday they’re discontinuing the event in its current form. The 30-year-old annual event that began as a neighborhood affair had ballooned over the years into a massive street party filled with drunken brawlers and underage drinkers.
So what led organizers to call it quits? Organizers told the Tribune they reached a breaking point after several officers were assaulted this year. RedEye charted a few other things that might have factored into their decision, using shamrocks to gauge the problem level of certain parade day givens.
SHAMROCK SCALE 1: Mildly annoying 2: O’ no they didn’t! 3: Just plain terrible
Beer goggles: literal and figurative
1 shamrock
Threads
A sea of ill-advised green slacks descending on Beverly
1 shamrock
Facilities
A sea of over-used portable toilets taking over Western Avenue
3 shamrocks
Loud noises
An off-key bagpipe here or there
1 shamrock
Litter bugs
People ditching beer cans wherever they please
2 shamrocks
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Term of the week
Cops in a box (n.)
Used to describe automated speed-limit enforcers. A proposed state law would allow counties and municipalities to mail speeding tickets of up to $100 for drivers caught going too fast by unmanned, stationary radar cameras positioned alongside roadways.
Notable
On Tuesday, President Obama held a news conference in which he framed his initiatives on health care, energy and education as crucial to the nation’s economic strength.
Quotable
“I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak.”
— President Obama when asked why he waited days to voice anger over the AIG bonuses
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Heat index
RedEye takes the temperature of current events
Rod Blagojevich
So now he’s a radio guy?
Puppy mill bust
Rescuers step up to the plate.
Batidas
Mmm … Brazilian cocktails
Lance Armstrong
Tweeting through injury
Al Sanchez
More Streets-and-San scandal
Lindsay Lohan
Maybe it’s time for a vacay?
