Street racing spots are all over town

City Council is poised to vote today on stiffer penalties for street racing or drifting.

Context: A high-profile drifting incident was caught on camera downtown last weekend.

• But according to our readers, these wild, chaotic events don't happen only in the Loop — they've been happening in neighborhoods for years.

Here's where our readers have noticed this activity over the years:

Ed B.: "Archer and Harlem. Farther south on Harlem around 59th, and again slightly farther south on Harlem. Everyone can see obvious circling tire marks in the intersections. There are quite a few in the city of Burbank too."

Alison V.: "Drag racing on I-94 between Old Orchard to Willow. Usually between 10:30pm and 12:30am."

Steven E: "Route 120 east of I-94 is a regular spot. It borders three jurisdictions, Park City, Waukegan and Gurnee. As a result, no enforcement by anyone."

James P.: "I really don't trust the city or PD to do much about drag racing. They do it at Big Marsh Park on Stony Island and make the park virtually inaccessible for others. But the typical police response is to just show up and sit there. Then everyone drags races away. It's super scary and stressful. With or without additional fines, they don't care."

Dawn G.: "Pullman, near House of Hope. It's been quiet for about a month, but Doty near 115th Street plus the House of Hope parking lot are favorite spots for late-night drag racing."

Cindy N.: "I have a friend who lives behind the Merchandise Mart, where the racing has been ridiculous on Kinzie. They love the echo from the Mart and the drop-off from the Kinzie Bridge. July Fourth, 50 motorcycles were out there, and he called the police and no one showed. This went on until nearly sunrise."

Bonnie E.: "Can I tell you what drives me nuts? When people continually refer to racing on the streets as drag racing. 'Drag racing' is actually a sanctioned sport. Drag racing takes place on a track. They only wish they could drive a Top Fuel Funny Car that goes 350 mph on a 1/4-mile track and pull 7Gs or so when the parachutes launch to stop the car. When it goes past the finish line, it measures a 2.0 on the Richter scale. Most of these idiots do not understand the power of a car and the serious damage it can do. Weren't we told in driver's ed that it could be used as a weapon?!"