The Chicago Transit Authority is apparently cracking down on so-called "continuous riders"—AKA those who get back on the train without paying again when it changes direction... AKA, the homeless. Signs have gone up all over CTA facilities warning people not to ride the trains both ways. Sleeping is also prohibited on Chicago transit, as it is here... although I can't recall a single driver ever calling out a commuter for sleeping on the way to or from work on my express bus.

I know Dan's no fan of riding on transit with stinky homeless people, and frankly, neither am I. And I'm all for getting rid of the downtown ride-free area—not because people I don't want to sit next to board there (they board all up and down the line), but because it makes fare collection a nightmare, screwing up the schedule for everyone.

But for fuck's sake—it's going to be raining and 30 degrees in Chicago tomorrow, and that's balmy compared to how it's going to get. If we aren't willing to pay for places for homeless people to go to get out of the weather, do we really have the right to get outraged when they take shelter in buses and trains?