Pedestrians walking Chicago’s River North neighborhood witnessed a harrowing scene today. The Tribune reports that construction site scaffolding collapsed seven stories up and left two workers in need of rescue. Firefighters saved the men, both of whom are in critical condition.
Regardless of what caused this particular collapse, scaffolding is dangerous for workers and pedestrians alike. As the fire department chief of Special Operations told the Tribune, “We do this quite often…There’s a lot of scaffolding in this city”. A simple statement, but it tells the story. Clearly, workers need all of the safeguards they can get. Let’s hope the General Assembly redeems itself in the future after missing a chance to strengthen safety standards in this dangerous industry.
Learn more about construction safety in Illinois in the CJ&D-IL report Deadly Trade.
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