Life in Rahm’s Chicago. The death of a nameless homeless man in Logan Square.

The Kennedy overpass at Belmont and Kedzie.

DNAinfo:

A man who police say was homeless was beaten to death in Logan Square Saturday evening.

Around 10:50 p.m., the man, 59, was in an alley in the 1900 block of North Ridgeway Avenue when two people got out of their car and beat him with their hands and feet, according to Officer Janel Sedevic, a police spokeswoman.

The 59-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, Sedevic said.

While the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the fatality, they were unable to provide any additional information.

No one is in custody.

In May, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) began constructing concrete anti-homeless spikes under the Kennedy expressway at Belmont in Logan Square.

The overpass had provided shelter for dozens of homeless men.

The city built the spikes so high that it blocked the view of drivers who were trying to make a turn. The construction also hid pedestrians from view, making it unsafe to walk under the expressway.

So they tore it down.

The entire project cost $42,000.

The idea for the anti-homeless spikes has become an orphan.

Avondale resident Justin Newman, who is seeking information about the planning, construction and cost of the barriers, said two Freedom of Information Act requests — one to CDOT and another to IDOT — on the project were returned to him last week. Newman had requested construction records and engineering reports for the area from July 2012 to the present, but both were effectively declined.

Newman is a technologist and information activist who frequents community meetings in the neighborhood.

“Please be advised the Department of Transportation neither maintains nor possesses any records that are responsive to your FOIA request,” reads a CDOT response to his FOIA.

Likewise, IDOT officials denied “possession” of the records, stating that “the Bureau of Construction found no records of any construction project at the site in question and, therefore, has no information of any meetings.”

But IDOT construction records for the intersection obtained by (35th Ward Alderman Rey) Colon show that preliminary plans for the pitched underpass barriers were sent to state Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) distributed after a meeting Colon said took place in October 2013. Colon said the plans didn’t reach his office until after construction began.

“The information related to the construction at Belmont and Kedzie has been fairly sketchy — it’s been unclear who designed the improvements and with what input,” Newman added. “As such, I’m very curious to obtain the background information used by the state and the city to make these decision.”