If it wasnt for the Grand Canyon sized potholes that are scattered about the streets, our pigeon friends would have no place to bath in sludge, or no dirty oily water to drink from. Leave the birds alone! Viva La Pigeons!!!

whatever happened to the city getting off it's ass and using the gas tax dollars for road repair like it's supposed to, sans tacky bullshit on the pavement.

its a ROAD, not a marketing opportunity....
is nothing sacred anymore?

if the state cant properly fix these pot holes here is the alternative. Plus, it'll save money in your pockets

nothings more distracting than having to dodge a pothole...or having to recover as you are jolted. or having to dive brake as the guy in front does something stupid braking/swerving because of the hole.

I've lived here my entire life and Richard M. has been the mayor since I was 5 years old. That's a loooong time for one person to be Mayor, especially since there's no sign he's planning on retiring soon.

And as for it costing less to run a machine government, I have to point out our lovely %10 sales tax. Cheaper? I wish!

Yeah, you can get away with being corrupt and competent here. Corrupt and incompetent, as ARP pointed out, will get you impeached.

"I'd rather see ads on potholes than billboards. They're providing a useful service AND not wrecking the view."

But you won't. You'll see them both. Along with the other places where some marketing genius decides is a good place to put them.

"Firefox, dude."

I got it, dude. It was an example.

Then again, give it a few months and they'll probably be potholes again.

On the other, I'm getting really freaking sick of every available surface being covered with advertising. Maybe just a sign by the side of the road, like they do with litter removal on the freeway?

They can come and do that here; we have tons of potholes from all the ice storms.

My sister lives up near Chicago (lived in the city for a while; now a suburbanite) and she loves it. She keeps telling me to move up there. I might if it wasn't so fracking cold.

Dammit you made me LOL at work. Now people are looking at me funny. :)

damn fine idea. Damn bad idea. Safety, consistency of asphalt yada, yada, yada.

But all in all, what an interesting idea.

...Wait, I need to do that one over.

I lived there for 4 years ... 4 LONG years!

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): That's why Chicagoans are so tolerant of corruption. Our attitude is we don't care about corruption as long as things get done efficiently. If you're corrupt and don't get things done, we don't take to that kindly.

Tell that to Michael Richards.

I'd rather see ads on potholes than billboards. They're providing a useful service AND not wrecking the view.

"Pop-up ads on websites move, making it harder to click the x."

Firefox, dude.

How many times has that happened to you?

Me? Never. And I lived in Chicago, with a car, for 4 years.

@Murph1908: It will give me great comfort to know that I didn't have to see a KFC ad painted on the pavement while I am having a blown-out tire and bent rim replaced.

@jrizos: I agree. If the government were not squandering my tax dollars on corruption and graft, there would be no opportunity for KFC to do this.

What we really need is full accountability and traceability of every tax dollar spent. I don't think there is a number small enough to give the odds on that happening in Illinois.

High Times magazine has also offer to sponsor a number of "pot" holes.

Potholes are a huge problem for Chicago that never seems to get more than a temp fix since with the fluctuating weather all they can do is tamp asphalt in the holes, which creates a nice bumpy ride and invariably gets dug out again by all the cars driving over it.

I would love to see the holes get fixed, even through corporate sponsorship, but then again, I don't like the idea that city responsibilities here are seemingly all being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

On a side note - not so happy to read about the city re-paving park roads for the Olympic committee and admitting there isn't enough money to fix the roads we all use every day.

This kicked off in KFC's hometown:

[preview.tinyurl.com]

All Things Considered, March 26, 2009 · KFC has agreed to fill 350 potholes in Louisville, Ky., and in exchange it will be allowed to stamp them with a chalk stencil that reads, "Re-freshed by KFC." Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson says KFC's $3,000 will fix 350 potholes in the city.

If KFC raised the price of chicken $0.05 /lb to pay for this, would we consider that a victory of privatization? You get to drive over the roads, but you don't HAVE to buy the chicken. Anything else is socialism?

Sick.

Next up; McDonald's to sponsor all intra-city rail projects. "How did you get to work today?" "I rode the Big Mac Express."

*note: McDonald's workers may or may not be qualified to construct and operate high-speed rail projects.

Dairy Queen to furnish industrial grade coolers for city morgues. "We all know what a drag a dripping ice cream cone can be--now think about the discomfit a fetid corpse can wreak. Dairy Queen; Chill man."

These messages brought to you by the private sector, where there is no service too necessary to offer socially.

I recently moved to the midwest from the East Coast, and yes, the whole state of Illinois is a clusterfark compared to everywhere else I've been.

Don't get me wrong though - I love Chicago. It's just that the insane taxes would prevent me from ever wanting to LIVE there. Love to visit though.

How a lot of these elaborate corporate April fool jokes go, they start in march, let it get sent around and get publicty then they either
A) Announce April fools this feature/plan/etc. is not actually coming

B)continue it to the point of over the top absurdity on April 1 so that it is clear it was all a joke stunt.

Just look at what google did a year or so ago they announced the take back a sent email feature and played it up and built on it for a couple weeks before making it clear on april 1st it was a prank.

I love this idea, but I can't get past the slogan "Refreshed by KFC". What on earth does that have to do with chicken or promoting their brand?

When I think refreshed, that would be a far better slogan if the potholes were being filled by companies promoting Frebreeze, Dial soap, or maybe Summer's Eve? Those are products where "refreshed" is part of the brand message.

Now KFC had SO many opportunities for clever chicken crossing the road references!

@Kimaroo: Reminds me of one of my favorite jokes: "A chicken and an egg are laying in bed. The egg is smoking a cigarette. The chicken says, 'well, I guess we know the answer to THAT question.'"

I don't need more damn advertising taking up more of the empty space in the world.

Ads are becoming more and more ubiquitous every where we look. Advertisers are always looking for that next edge that will get their ads noticed. It's a vicious cycle that will lead to things like ads on roadway warning signs, or painted on the streets (other than this KFC idea).

Table of Contents in magazines are now on page 20, with 19 pages of ads in front of it you have to wade through to find.

Pop-up ads on websites move, making it harder to click the x.

The world is filled with examples of annoying advertising tricks such as these. And they'll only continue to get worse.

So go on and eat your KFC, and continue to feed the Madison Avenue monster.

Would they use chicken parts to fill the holes, maybe some of their mashed potatoes (after sitting around of course

I was going to say they should Just use K instead of KFC but the could cause other problems when you get 3 potholes in a row.

In order to avoid the safety hazard... they should use black paint.

Aww hell. If the corrupt Chicago politicians could run anything they wouldn't need this. Glad to see the private sector offering some solutions.

Shhh!!!

@winshape: I still think anyone trying to do an APRIL FOOLS joke BEFORE April is a huge doofus and lame. lol.

But dammit, yeah, I want chicken. Popeye's is better, tho.

@chucklebuck: But what came first.. the chicken or the egg timer?

Remember when Taco Bell put out an ad about them purchasing the Liberty Bell? That one did actually happen on April 1st.

And if it is true, then kudos. Someone needs to repair the roads, and local governments have failed at this. The mayor of Atlanta promised to fill potholes as part of her campaign, and she actually did it for the first few months of her term.

I swear it's a relic of machine politics. Machines are often terrifically efficient -- they can cost less in graft and fraud than you pay to run a clean government -- but totally full of secret rules and back-room deals and whatnot.

@winshape: I want KFC now. Someone stop me.

O WAIT I forgot my wallet at home, so it's canned soup for me. I've been saaaved.

@sixseeds: I'm very familiar with the 141. I agree wholeheartedly.

@JartMaster_GitEmSteveDave: Honestly the "real life" one looks just about how it should....

@JGKojak: Why does it matter which corporation does it as long as they are the highest bidder or whatever? If tire companies, etc., wanted to do it, they would.

And man, now I'm craving Chicken

This calls for an "Idiocracy" reference:

"Brought to you by Carl's Jr. 'F**k you, I'm eating!'"

Now I feel better.

They'll just find something worse to spend the excess on.

@exploded:

Chicago is the new Florida. Congratulations.

@winshape: So basically it's not an April Fools joke, and likely not a joke since others have mentioned bellow that this is NOT the first time something like this has been suggested. So basically your "LOL Aprils fools joke" is wrong.

@trujunglist: I've lived in IL my whole life, so I don't have anything to compare it with.

I don't see a problem with this. They already have signs on the side of the road saying that this stretch of highway is sponsored by some company or group, who go out a couple times a year to pick up trash. They already have signs on landscaped medians that have been sponsored by some company.

Why can't they do the same thing here? Maybe not advertise on each pothole, but have a sign saying the roadway surface is sponsored by KFC. As long as the proper asphault used in the proper method, then it shouldn't make a difference who paid for it.

But I'll be the first to call "End of March Prank Since It is Technically Not April First and Couldn't Possibly Be Considered an April Fool's Joke" on this one.

Better?

@trujunglist: Yes, yes it does, but some people think they are ~special~.

If it's not on APRIL 1st, it's not APRIL FOOLS.

March 30th is not April 1st, last I checked. Hell, it's not even April.

Having lived in Chicago for several years as well as living in a few other places throughout the country...

Yes, yes it is.

But why wouldn't it work? Well, the union people who are supposed to fix the roads would file grievances, that's why! Look what happened when the non-profit "Green of Detroit" tried to do some beautifying -- the city employees grumbled that it was their job, and effectively put a halt to the beautification efforts.

@HiPwr: Well this is how it could go down: the DOT will only allow a specific company to do delicious pot hole patching, and that company is owned by the brother of the president of the road commission. I could totally see that happening.

... doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose...

@winshape: It's still 2 entire days early. And if it's not on April 1st, it's just a prank and not an April Fools joke. Since, you know, April Fools is on April 1st, not March 30th.

Best comment I heard about this program was that it should be renamed.

To:

The "A Chicken in every Pothole" program

Also, LOL at a logo on a pothole being a "distraction" -- what about all those billboards? Those aren't "distractions"?!

@exploded: I'm not from Illinois, but I live here now. Yes, Chicago is screwed up and so is the whole state.

@Murph1908: You're a wise man. You should find some potholes that haven't been fixed and purposely drive through them, too. That'll show 'em!

I'm in favor of this as long as some friends/relatives of politicians can somehow reap some monitary reward. We can't break from tradition.

Depends on the product-

I could see tire companies/car repair companies, etc. really benefitting from this idea.

KFC? Do all those KFC signs mark potholes repaired or just where they picked up the roadkill to fry up for lunch.

@rpm773: Don't think Emperor Daley hasn't already thought of this.

In my wildest dreams it would result in lower taxes since the city saves on pothole repair. Oh, if only capitalism were that user-friendly.

@exploded: I think Meg is a Chicago native, so she has an affinity for our beloved (if not a little odd), city.

I just had to pay to get my alignment fixed after hitting a pothole that they should put a ramp in front of and let motorcross folks jump. So, I'm all for it.

@winshape: April Fools would be nice ... if it were, indeed, April 1st.

If the city can't be bothered to pay to fix the potholes, I've got no problem with some corporation doing it.

Of course, if they'd stop using asphalt for the main roads to begin with, this would be less of a problem.

@Murph1908: So you'd rather drive over potholes?

"STOP TAKING OUR TAXES! WAIT WAIT! But don't let corporations sponsor fixes that I don't want to pay for with taxes! Just leave the damn potholes!"

However I should point out that there is a line they could easily cross. Simply stamping their logo on a pothole is not bad. But making additional messages or giving directions to the nearest KFC would indeed cross that line and become too distracting for drivers. As long as this would be done tastefully, it would be done well.

Argh, why is it not just "Refreshed"?
Also, I read IDOT as "IDIOT". I like the idea of being the IDIOT spokesperson better.

This reminds me of the hotels.com ads with the staff kissing butt for good reviews. If you want my business, do stuff for me.

Quarterpounder, Illinois. With the honorable Mayor McCheese running the city.

I don't care who fixes the potholes, as long as they are fixed. If they want to spray their logo on it, more power to them. Every one is happy.

But I'll be the first to call April Fools on this one.

I love Chicago, I live here. I worry about the relatively high number of times that it pops up on consumerist, compared to other cities.

Are we really that messed up?

@Murph1908: why.... im sure they'll come up with an ad that isnt that distracting

As for the asphalt, they'll probably fill the potholes with the contents of a KFC Gravy Bowl - congeals into a smooth solid surface in mere hours!

Ads create a safety hazard? What about the gaping craters in the pavement?