Sinkholes Giving Drivers Fits Across City

By Jeremy Ross

CHICAGO (CBS) -– One nearly swallowed a fire truck, while others have gone unrepaired for weeks.

Sinkholes  are appearing all over Chicago.

One,  at California and Wabansia, is covered up by a construction work barrel, and it's been that way for days on end, residents say.

It's a huge obstacle, altering traffic patterns and even where buses pick up commuters.

"It is pretty bad," one resident told CBS 2's Jeremy Ross, who looked into whether the city has a bigger problem on its hands.

Neighbors say the debris, which looks like a pile of kindling, covers a hole approximately two-feet deep. They call it a sink hole, but they also describe it in a different way.

"It makes it an eyesore."

"It looked a little better at first, before it all got run over numerous times."

Over the past two weeks, CBS 2 has reported on several more sinkholes, including the one that disabled a fire engine and another that was so big that CBS 2 report Dana Kozlov could sit in it.

Is it part of a trend?

CBS 2 contacted multiple city offices, including Streets and Sanitation and the Water Department. The latter department said a work order had been filed.

As crews cover up potholes on nearby streets, it is impossible to know how many cars tires were damaged by sinkholes like this.

Drivers can file paperwork to recoup damages caused by such holes, but it can be a trying process.

"It's not even worth all the time and aggravation," one motorist said.