Quadriplegic Chicago woman can't leave home after sidewalk ripped up by city
CHICAGO - A quadriplegic Chicago woman says she cannot leave her South Side home because the city took away her sidewalk.
Beverly Davis is a 58-year-old quadriplegic. She says she has been trapped in her house since last Friday. She called 311 and this is what they told her.
"In the meantime, if I needed to leave my house, that I was to call the fire department and they would come and lift me over the construction," Davis said.
Davis was in an accident a couple of years ago that left her completely paralyzed. Her electric wheelchair weighs 400 pounds by itself.
Last Friday, when Davis looked out her window, she saw the sidewalk in front of her West Chesterfield home on South Prairie Avenue was gone. The ramp that leads from her house to the sidewalk just cuts off, with nowhere to go but in the mud.
Davis visits the doctor three times a week for rehab and has not been able to go since the sidewalk removal.
"They should have gave me some kind of warning, man. Or put something out there. Something temporary," Davis said. "Even in the case of an emergency, what's gonna happen? What if I'm trying to run or there's a fire? So if there's a fire, I just go to the end of the ramp and just sit there?"
FOX 32 asked the city if they gave a warning or not, and why they did not put down plywood.
"This is part of neighborhood improvement project and I am told that the pavement was removed Friday, 10/29, and will be restored with a smooth new sidewalk by this Wednesday. We regret any inconvenience, but the project will greatly improve the conditions on this block," the city said in a statement.
After pressing more, the city told FOX 32 a "contractor will either temporarily put a ramp on the courtesy walks or pour the sidewalk by the end of the day [Tuesday]."