Bipolar Media Coverage

They don't know which way to turn.

• Fox-32: FOX Chicago News has learned Streets and Sanitation workers were ordered to stop salting Lake Shore Drive around 4 a.m. Monday, about an hour before the fatal accident that killed Chicago Police Sgt. Alan Haymaker. Haymaker was driving southbound on Lake Shore Drive, exiting at Irving Park Road, when his vehicle went off the ramp and into a tree.
  
  
• Channel 7: Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis says it's time to stop placing blame for the crash that killed Sergeant Alan Haymaker. Since Monday, accusations have flown about what caused the one-car crash. Sgt. Haymaker was on his way to a burglary-in-progress call when he lost control of his squad car and crashed on Lake Shore Drive near Irving Park early Monday morning.
  
  
• Channel 5: Supt. Jody Weis on Wednesday denied allegations that a poorly repaired squad car played a role in the one-car crash Monday morning that took the life of a police sergeant. "The car was recently serviced. It had 1,000 miles on it since the service and there were no indicators that there were any complaints about that particular vehicle, so based upon what I know at this time, I would have to say that the vehicle was functioning properly," Weis said.
  
  
• Channel 2: Weis also responded angrily to persistent questions about the safety of the squad car involved in the crash. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot talked with police sources who have similar concerns about vehicles used by officers. While Weis calls one post about retreaded tires being used on squad cars, "an outrageous claim", police sources we spoke to off camera said retreaded tires ARE used on police cars; and the older fleet, known as pool cars, are not maintained on a regular basis.

They know there's a story here, a big one, but they aren't sure where to approach it from.

• They have off-camera quotes from a CPD boss that the car was in no condition to be on the street.
  
• They have at least two Streets and San drivers on deep background saying the order to stop salting came from very high up.
  
• They have photographic evidence from a couple of local blogs that show Sgt. Haymaker's car went in a straight line off of LSD and hit a tree meaning this part of the Drive was probably a sheet of ice in the early morning hours.
  
• They have a wounded political Machine run by a weakened mayor who everyone knows (knows!!!) has been not salting major arterial streets because of his precious planter boxes.

Our biggest worry here is a Three Stooges scenario where all this information tries to get through the door and in the end, nothing gets accomplished. We have a feeling that this scenario is someone else's biggest hope.