- Credibility:
CHICAGO — After plowing through a months-long competition and a blizzard of punny suggestions, the city has finally selected new names for seven of its snowplows.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Department of Streets and Sanitation announced the You Name A Snowplow contest in December, encouraging residents to “use their ingenuity and imagination” to name six city snowplows, which will be assigned to each of the city’s six snow districts.
More than 7,000 possible plow names were then melted down to 50 finalists, with Chicagoans welcome to vote on winners through Jan. 31. More than 80,000 votes have been counted, according to a Friday city news release.
A near-tie for sixth place means the city will dedicate a seventh plow to the people, according to the city.
The winners:
- Mrs. O’Leary’s Plow
- Da Plow
- Salter Payton
- Sears Plower
- Sleet Home Chicago
- Holy Plow!
- Jean Baptiste Point du Shovel
Signs for the winning plows will be installed immediately, according to the city. Residents who submitted the winning names will be invited to take a photo with their snowplow and also pick up “city swag.”
“We couldn’t be happier with the high level of resident engagement we received for our first snowplow naming contest,” Lightfoot said in the news release. “What’s more, the love of Chicago really shined through with numerous and creative Chicago-related names that were submitted … .”
The city has 300 snow vehicles and 400,000 tons of salt standing by in piles across the city, according to a news release.
A new live tracker allows Chicagoans to keep up with the plows they named.
Residents can call 3-1-1 to get snow removed.
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