Iced

Chicago's snowiest winter in three decades is taking a toll on Paul Matushek. He managed 15 downtown bicycle messengers in November, and now only five are willing to pedal through ice and drifts.

Matushek, a dispatcher for Don't Shoot the Messenger, isn't alone in coping with the 52.1 inches (132 centimeters) of snow dumped on Chicago from Dec. 1 to Feb. 29. Road salt is depleted, ice-clogged rivers stall barges with new loads, and the city has exhausted its snow-removal budget with weeks of winter to go.

Chicago hasn't been hit this hard since the record snows of 1978-79, when voters angry at the government's failure to clear streets booted Mayor Michael Bilandic out of office. Richard M. Daley, serving his 19th year as mayor and not facing re-election until 2011, isn't taking chances. He's spent $20 million dealing with the snow, $2 million over budget.

``Since '79, no one in their right mind in this city is going to run low on plows,'' said Tom Allen, an alderman and chairman of the City Council's Transportation and Public Way Committee.

Snow has fallen on Chicago four of every seven days since Dec. 1, according to the National Weather Service. The city used 90 percent of its 390,000 tons of stored salt, and had to buy an additional 250,000 tons to rebuild the stockpile, said Matt Smith, a spokesman for the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

``People need to be able to get through the streets,'' said Bennie Currie, a Daley spokesman. He declined to say how memories of 1979 may be affecting his boss's proactive approach. ``I'm not a historian,'' he said.

`A Disaster'

Only five other winters have had more snow, with 1978-79 the worst with 80.6 inches, according to records going back to 1871. Streets, trains, buses and government offices in some parts of Chicago were impassable for six weeks after the 21-inch blizzard in January 1979 that sealed Bilandic's mayoral fate, Allen recalled.

``1979 was a disaster,'' said Allen, 55. ``Plows never even made it to the side streets.''

The legacy is reflected in a Chicago snow-fighting arsenal that includes 273 heavy-duty trucks with plows and salt- spreaders, and 24 snow movers built for tight streets, said Smith, whose department is the city's third-largest after police and fire. About 150 garbage trucks can be affixed with plows in the worst storms.

Parking laws are strict. Leaving your car at the curb is forbidden from December through April on 107 miles of streets. An additional 500 miles of secondary roads are off-limits for parking whenever 2 or more inches of snow falls. The fine, towing fee and other charges can top $200.

`Weary and Suffering'

Morton Salt, a Chicago-based subsidiary of Rohm and Haas Co., is running its salt mine on Weeks Island, Louisiana, 24 hours a day to keep Chicago and other northern cities supplied, spokesman Joe Wojtonik said. Ice and storms have delayed barges that take 30 days to reach Chicago in good weather, he said.

``We still have March to go, which can be a killer,'' he said. ``If we could just catch a little breather, it'd make all the difference. Everybody's winter weary and suffering.''

More snow will fall tomorrow, the National Weather Service says. Matushek, the messenger dispatcher, said he has much respect for his handful of riders undeterred by blizzards and cold. ``These guys are young, fearless and they don't let natural obstacles like snow stand in their way,'' he said.

They may need to develop patience, as well: Last year's final snow in Chicago fell on April 15.