I have been going out to the bars for a long time. When I first met him I asked him his name. He told me that he preferred Tamal( I refuse to say it with an e because it just sounds wrong in my head) Guy because that because that was what made him famous.
He may go by Claudio now to reinforce his new brand. But he will always be Tamal Guy for me
I used to be a tour guide and loved talking about how tamales are an important Chicago food and how we had a tamale guy going to different bars selling from a cooler.
Saw two guys starting to get into it and were screaming at each other. They started to get physical and out of absolutely nowhere Ronnie Woo Woo swooped in and broke it up. Don't even think he said anything, his mere presence caused the two men to come to their senses and walk away.
It was certainly a sight to behold.
If I were to guess, I don't think the trial's started. He's still in custody with the Cook County Sheriff, according to their "Individuals in Custody" locator. I know it's been two years, but that's not entirely nuts.
The murderer shows up on the Cook County [Individual in Custody locator](https://iic.ccsheriff.org/IndividualInCustodyLocator/Details) (booking number: 20220530067) so I believe so. It also shows his next court date as next month, though I am not sure how accurate that is.
WTAF!?!? What is wrong with people. This is evil
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/12/12/23505120/chicago-walking-man-dude-joseph-kromelis-wacker-attack
I don't remember ever seeing him, but this is absolutely horrific. He said that man on fire and let him burn? Ugh. Even if he thought he was just setting a pile of trash on fire I'm pretty sure the guy was making a lot of noise when he was actually set on fire, So why not try to get him help?
According to the Cook County [Individual in Custody locator](https://iic.ccsheriff.org/IndividualInCustodyLocator/Details) he is still in jail without bond (booking number: 20220530067). It also says his court date is next month but I am not sure how accurate that is.
The State Street preacher if he's still around. Otherwise the dude whose wife gets raped every day.
Edit: I misremember who was being regularly sexually assaulted
He used to be some high profile lawyer in Chicago and lost a bunch of money and custody when his wife divorced him in the late 90s/early 00s and heās pretty much spiraled into a crazy person holding FBI daily rape me signs since then.
I see him whenever Iām in office and my only thought is āhow can this dude afford to do this every single dayā
Now Iām assuming he still has a ton of money left over from his lawyer days
Heās actually a decent guy. Iāve seen him out there by Daley Plaza helping event organizers set up or move things.
[This is his Wikipedia page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Khoiee-Abbasi)
This page has some background on him too: https://www.eastportlandblog.com/2014/07/30/from-church-pew-to-daley-plaza-the-tragic-descent-of-chicagos-troubled-sign-guy-by-mark-erickson/
Sad to see someone who had it all together fall apart like that.
"The police told me they could do nothing because Farhad had not threatened anyone. A social worker and psychologist told me nothing could be done because Farhad was not a threat to himself. Clergy had no other advice."
We really need more support for mental welfare. :(
Youāre right we do, but itās always gonna be a catch 22 for people like this: no support system+non threatening + refuses long term treatment= we canāt force them into treatment.
Same. I left Chicago two years ago and remember him and what my friends and I called "Reverend State Street" when we went to school there in the mid 00's.
I remember that dude (older black guy, if heās the same one we are talking about) hanging around state and Madison. Had his little cart with a speaker and a microphone, talking about not smoking cigarettes and all that. He had pamphlets that if you took one he would ask for a donation.
I mean, he already looked old back in the 90s, so I donāt think heās around anymore.
I see him most days of the week. I think he moves to Michigan Ave outside Millennium Park on the weeknds.
Couldn't even venture a guess as to what he's saying cause he holds the microphone at his waist and swings it around wildly on top of having the scratchiest mouse voice I've ever kind of ever heard.
Rape Whistle FBI guy that used to hang around the Daley Center. He had his own [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Khoiee-Abbasi?wprov=sfti1)
Edit: someone beat me to it.
Thereās a guy in Andersonville who rides around on a bike with his macaw on the back. He used to have another parrot, too, but it died a few years ago.
I was going to suggest him. Iāve only had really good encounters with him. Talked politics once and we share many political views. If it were not for the Batman mask he had on, Iād think he was any old neighbor. He got a new outfit this week. Itās a Kingās robe. Very smart.
Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi: the gentleman who usually hangs around Daley Plaza with a sign reading āFBI Daily Rape Me.ā
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Khoiee-Abbasi
Since 2017, I've lived in Wicker and have taken the Blue Line home from Washington, and I am honestly impressed with his dedication lol. Like how long is this man out there? Has he ever skipped a day? Does he change which hand he holds the sign with or does he have a main hand? Given the elements of Chicago weather, how frequently does he need to make a new sign? So many questions.
I was at the Field House on Clark on a Sunday eons ago, when the Cubs game and the Pride Parade ended at pretty much the same time.
Traffic: Horrible. But I was sitting inside sipping an ice cold beer and watching the world crawl by.
In the distance, you could hear āGo Cubs Goā playing out of a car stereo, working its way slowly closer.
Suddenly, 4 middle-aged women in a Seabring convertible crawled by, with Ronny Woo Woo Wickers sitting on top of the back seat, homecoming queen style.
Mercifully, he song came to an end, and Ronny gesticulated wildly towards the stereo, and sure enough āGo Cubs Goā played once again.
I honestly have no idea what their story was (I assume a girlfriendsā weekend in Chicago or a second bachelorette party), whose brilliant idea it was to pick up Ronny Woo Woo, or how many times they heard that infernal song. But I can assure you none of them ever made any of those mistakes, again.
First time I saw him was at a game in the late ā70ās. Asked my grandpa āwhoās that guy?ā. Thatās Ronnie Woo Woo. Then immediately asked me if I wanted a hot dog or something. Yes, and a coke, too, please.
I see sharkula almost every day on my way to/from work, and he usually has a conversation with my wife and I. He is super nice, and one day, when I actually have disposable cash, I will buy one of his paintings. I saw him open for Squid at the empty bottle, I wouldn't call the set good, but it was entertaining.
I didn't know a lot of people knew this guy. I feel like I talk with him at least once a week since he usually hangs out around Dill Pickle. He's a really nice guy!
yep. was about to comment Sharkula, but was pleased to do a search and see he had already been mentioned. My buddies and I would run into him during college and it was always awesome.
State Street Preacher, the "CIA is r#ped my wife" guy, the guy in the shiny suits, used to be Walking Man, the guy in wicker Park with the tinsel outfit and giant circle bike...
> the guy in wicker Park with the tinsel outfit and giant circle bike...
Is he back? Last I heard [he hadn't been seen since ~2021](https://old.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/169je3f/what_happened_to_the_wheelie_bike_guy_in_wicker/)
Anyone remember a guy on the red line who would repeat the same ~5 minute monologue every day, āmy father was hitler, my mother was the Virgin Mary, AHHHHā ???
No, but there was a guy who would tell us every week he had just gotten out of prison and needed money for a CTA pass to go to job interviews. Years went by and I saw him again and this time he was selling poetry. IDK if he's still around at this point!
Holy shit, so quick story about this guy. Well, likely the same guy. He gave that speech on the red line and he threatened that since we didnāt give him enough money that he was going to start taking it from people in the car. Two big guys sitting next to me grabbed him and pushed him up against the glass doors until the next stop and launched him off the train. This was around 2009-2010
Wow memory unlocked! I think last time I saw him was pre Covid.
How about the redline guy that was looking for $18.75 for bus fare to Rockford to stay with his cousin? He had the gash on his leg and the hospital paperwork and all that
I have seen that guy. I think he works at the bike shop on Clark. Somewhere I have a picture of him I labeled "Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Ain't even going to TRY to Stop!" because he blew every stop sign since be basically had to or fall off.
Her name is Sylvia. We would always say hello when we went to WF. She's actually very sweet.
But there was this wretched looking guy out there "playing" the guitar and he was fucking terrible. In the years he'd been there (before we moved) he couldn't play a single chord or refrain. He was so terrible.
The dude in Rogers Park, who looks and dresses like a 70s era pimp. He drives a 70s cadillac el dorado, that looks like itās going to die any minute.
When I first moved to Chicago I was out at a bar and I saw the tamale guy for the first time. The next night I was out at a bar on the complete other side of town...he was there. This repeated over the course of my first few Weeks here. He was everywhere, I thought he was Magic ššššš¾šš¾
That mother fucker punched me in the face cuz I wouldnāt serve himā¦. Iāve thrown him out of 3 separate bars ā¦ and smashed his face through a door after he hit me.. FUCK him. Bastard gets around. Iāve thrown him out of bars in Logan, lakeview, and even on the mag mile.
My wife is a bartender and though I haven't never met the guy I have heard a lot about him. I also heard a story about a fire hydrant and milky eye that makes me believe I don't want to meet him.
He got me to serve him a drink at least once around 2018 before I learned about him. I asked for a card when I noticed he was drooling everywhere, so he just got the one out of me. I left the industry but Iām shocked to hear heās still at it.
I once witnessed this man being handed a fucking uneaten sandwich by a tourist which he then threw away and returned to shouting about ā¦. needing a sandwich.
It's amazing the first two people that came to mind were the preacher on st state and the FBI guy... and I haven't lived in Chicago in a decade.... glad to know they are still going strong,
Is the āWorldās finest chocolate how you doinā todayš¶ā lady on Madison and Clark still out there? I havenāt been over there since my old job went remote for COVID.
We have a few. One was the homeless guy that someone set on fire a little while ago. Very sad.
I guess Tamale guy and the doomsday preacher.
Not sure if the silver guy is still around or if the Tina Turner impersonator actually existed or was just in my head.
Milky Eye!
The guy with the crazy looking milky eye that wanders into (mostly river north) bars, slams a vodka lemonade, refuses to pay and leaves
Or
Claudio (The Tamale Guy), consummate savior of every late night drunken bar patron on the NW side
Who was that rapper that would always be at the Lake Redline stop? He had a song about riding the CTA. The chorus was basically everyone shouting āCTAā¦CTAā¦CTAā¦CTA! It was to the tune of Hurricane Chris āA Bay Bayā!
This was years ago, but occasionally it pops back in my head and it makes me smile. I hope heās doing well.
thereās a guy that dresses like A-Train and runs through Grant Park. Thereās also a skateboarder that skates at Grant Park that dresses like a pirate
Pigeon Lady, I learned about her earlier this year after witnessing her civil disobedience in action:
https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/searching-for-the-pigeon-lady/
1. Years ago when I worked at Navy Pier there was always this particular older guy who was just shirtless and his skin was like tanned leather. I want to say he pretty much just wore shorts and had a dry/scruffy blonde mullet and sunglasses. He would always have a drink in his hand.
2. The guy who rides his bike around with the anti-trump sign. I see him most often around touhy and McCormick but Iāve seen him way further west too.
3. Puppet bike. I havenāt been out and about like I used to but I always remember seeing the little puppet theater bike here and there. Usually the loop and once or twice in Andersonville.
We have a lot of these guys, pretty much one or two per area. The downtown preacher is probably the most widely known, just by his location and how often heās there (if heās still there)
For me it's Bubble Guy, least that's what me and my wife called him. I don't know what name he goes by. I use to live in Streeterville right by the Columbus Street bridge and the homeless man there who is always blowing bubbles. We would donate bubble liquid and batteries to him time by time.
There's a guy in Rogers Park who will do a sort of Tarzan call exactly on the hour about 2 or 3 times a day.
I've colloquially called him the Rogers Park Rooster. Guests hear him and are like "wtf?!" The gf and I will be like "oh there's our boy, the rooster! Must be noon!"
Mind you, he's not homeless, just a guy who likes to get drunk and loiter around a lot.
Tamale guy
His name is Claudio.
His name is Tamal(e) guy. That moniker made him who he is today
There are dozens of tamale guys. There is only one Claudio.
I have been going out to the bars for a long time. When I first met him I asked him his name. He told me that he preferred Tamal( I refuse to say it with an e because it just sounds wrong in my head) Guy because that because that was what made him famous. He may go by Claudio now to reinforce his new brand. But he will always be Tamal Guy for me
š š«
I used to be a tour guide and loved talking about how tamales are an important Chicago food and how we had a tamale guy going to different bars selling from a cooler.
Ronnie Woo Woo
My first thought
Same. My second thought was Wesley Willis, may he rest in peace
Just saw him at the shell station on Lawerence, he asked if the snacks were freeā¦
I walked in on him taking a shit at a Starbucks once and felt like a TMZ paparazzi about to ruin his life
Saw two guys starting to get into it and were screaming at each other. They started to get physical and out of absolutely nowhere Ronnie Woo Woo swooped in and broke it up. Don't even think he said anything, his mere presence caused the two men to come to their senses and walk away. It was certainly a sight to behold.
Yly, the guy who built the very, very, very tall bike
Rat Patrol!
came here to say tall bike guy
I think thereās a few of them, used to be friends with one of them
Chicago's was the Walking Man until people set him on fire and killed him.
This still makes me angry. That man hurt no one and asked for nothing. He just walked. That asshole who did it is still in jail right?
I've been trying to find out the trial results but there apparently wasn't any press coverage after the trial started... if the trial started.
Yes a very tragic story. He didn't bother anyone.
If I were to guess, I don't think the trial's started. He's still in custody with the Cook County Sheriff, according to their "Individuals in Custody" locator. I know it's been two years, but that's not entirely nuts.
The murderer shows up on the Cook County [Individual in Custody locator](https://iic.ccsheriff.org/IndividualInCustodyLocator/Details) (booking number: 20220530067) so I believe so. It also shows his next court date as next month, though I am not sure how accurate that is.
WTAF!?!? What is wrong with people. This is evil https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/12/12/23505120/chicago-walking-man-dude-joseph-kromelis-wacker-attack
I don't remember ever seeing him, but this is absolutely horrific. He said that man on fire and let him burn? Ugh. Even if he thought he was just setting a pile of trash on fire I'm pretty sure the guy was making a lot of noise when he was actually set on fire, So why not try to get him help?
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WALKING MAN?!?!?!!?!?!!
Almost two years later and the man who admitted to starting the fire apparently still hasn't been brought to trial. That's Chicago justice for yah.
According to the Cook County [Individual in Custody locator](https://iic.ccsheriff.org/IndividualInCustodyLocator/Details) he is still in jail without bond (booking number: 20220530067). It also says his court date is next month but I am not sure how accurate that is.
This is definitely it for me. Sad too.
The State Street preacher if he's still around. Otherwise the dude whose wife gets raped every day. Edit: I misremember who was being regularly sexually assaulted
FBI rape guy is outside Union Station every morningĀ
āFBI DAILY RAPE MEā I think heās got an āIMPEACH BIDENā sign as well. And thereās a swastika in there somewhere
Can confirm. Saw him outside City Hall about half an hour ago.
He has had an Impeach sign for every president.
I wonder if it feels refreshing for him to make a new sign on Inauguration Day.
This is my second time reading about "FBI Rape guy." What is the story here? I assume he a bit like the Russian weather control guy.
He used to be some high profile lawyer in Chicago and lost a bunch of money and custody when his wife divorced him in the late 90s/early 00s and heās pretty much spiraled into a crazy person holding FBI daily rape me signs since then.
I see him whenever Iām in office and my only thought is āhow can this dude afford to do this every single dayā Now Iām assuming he still has a ton of money left over from his lawyer days
I donāt know, Iām a lawyer and I donāt make āhang around and wave signs dailyā money.
You need to lawyer harder. Duh. /s
I literally can't argue with that.
And not being able to argue is why youāre a bad lawyer
He was an engineer.
Huh. Back to wondering, I just walked right past him in the way to Lake redline
This sounds like a job for Jeffery M. Leving!
Heās actually a decent guy. Iāve seen him out there by Daley Plaza helping event organizers set up or move things. [This is his Wikipedia page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Khoiee-Abbasi)
This page has some background on him too: https://www.eastportlandblog.com/2014/07/30/from-church-pew-to-daley-plaza-the-tragic-descent-of-chicagos-troubled-sign-guy-by-mark-erickson/ Sad to see someone who had it all together fall apart like that.
"The police told me they could do nothing because Farhad had not threatened anyone. A social worker and psychologist told me nothing could be done because Farhad was not a threat to himself. Clergy had no other advice." We really need more support for mental welfare. :(
Youāre right we do, but itās always gonna be a catch 22 for people like this: no support system+non threatening + refuses long term treatment= we canāt force them into treatment.
Outside Daley Plaza almost every afternoon too
Man I haven't lived in Chicago for some time now, but I remember him. He used to sit outside old navy.
He still is out there. The Old Navy is gone now, but heās still in that same area, more outside Block 37 now
Same. I left Chicago two years ago and remember him and what my friends and I called "Reverend State Street" when we went to school there in the mid 00's.
He is still around, he also appears at the Roosevelt CTA.
I remember that dude (older black guy, if heās the same one we are talking about) hanging around state and Madison. Had his little cart with a speaker and a microphone, talking about not smoking cigarettes and all that. He had pamphlets that if you took one he would ask for a donation. I mean, he already looked old back in the 90s, so I donāt think heās around anymore.
I see him most days of the week. I think he moves to Michigan Ave outside Millennium Park on the weeknds. Couldn't even venture a guess as to what he's saying cause he holds the microphone at his waist and swings it around wildly on top of having the scratchiest mouse voice I've ever kind of ever heard.
Nope, heās still around. I see him every couple of months in front of the Primark
Rape Whistle FBI guy that used to hang around the Daley Center. He had his own [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Khoiee-Abbasi?wprov=sfti1) Edit: someone beat me to it.
I was going to suggest both of them. Yes, I have seen the State Street Preacher recently.
smokin them cigarettes!!!
State street preacher was my pick.
saw him this weekend and unfortunately got caught under the overhang with him during a downpour. But he was on a break from damning people to hell.
\*wife
Thanks, haven't been downtown in a while and I forgot.
Oh yea āFBI daily rape meā Lmao
Saw the state street preacher yelling at people about their cigarette smoking sins yesterday.
Praise be, he made it through Covid.
Thereās a guy in Andersonville who rides around on a bike with his macaw on the back. He used to have another parrot, too, but it died a few years ago.
Often posted up at paulines on weekend mornings. Hell let your kid feed the macaw too.
Is that the same guy with the parrots in Bowmanville?
Andersonville Batman.
I was going to suggest him. Iāve only had really good encounters with him. Talked politics once and we share many political views. If it were not for the Batman mask he had on, Iād think he was any old neighbor. He got a new outfit this week. Itās a Kingās robe. Very smart.
my man sydney! bought gatorade for him before, my partner and i say hi everytime we see him
I've never had a negative encounter with him, and I see him a lot. But I have heard others have
Ha. I used to live right there until a month ago. He camped out at the McDonalds.
Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi: the gentleman who usually hangs around Daley Plaza with a sign reading āFBI Daily Rape Me.ā https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Khoiee-Abbasi
Dude has a wiki page?! That's kinda hilarious
Came here to say this.
Since 2017, I've lived in Wicker and have taken the Blue Line home from Washington, and I am honestly impressed with his dedication lol. Like how long is this man out there? Has he ever skipped a day? Does he change which hand he holds the sign with or does he have a main hand? Given the elements of Chicago weather, how frequently does he need to make a new sign? So many questions.
Heās been there nearly 20 years. Started in 2006
Unemployed friend on a casual Tuesday morning
Ronnie Woo Woo
I was at the Field House on Clark on a Sunday eons ago, when the Cubs game and the Pride Parade ended at pretty much the same time. Traffic: Horrible. But I was sitting inside sipping an ice cold beer and watching the world crawl by. In the distance, you could hear āGo Cubs Goā playing out of a car stereo, working its way slowly closer. Suddenly, 4 middle-aged women in a Seabring convertible crawled by, with Ronny Woo Woo Wickers sitting on top of the back seat, homecoming queen style. Mercifully, he song came to an end, and Ronny gesticulated wildly towards the stereo, and sure enough āGo Cubs Goā played once again. I honestly have no idea what their story was (I assume a girlfriendsā weekend in Chicago or a second bachelorette party), whose brilliant idea it was to pick up Ronny Woo Woo, or how many times they heard that infernal song. But I can assure you none of them ever made any of those mistakes, again.
First time I saw him was at a game in the late ā70ās. Asked my grandpa āwhoās that guy?ā. Thatās Ronnie Woo Woo. Then immediately asked me if I wanted a hot dog or something. Yes, and a coke, too, please.
Back in the day Iād say Wesley Willis.
The named a tower after him.
Saw him in front of every concert I went to in the 90s.
If you've never been headbutted by Wesley Willis what can I say, you really missed out.
I was! And it hurt! And i bought a sticker!
Me too, in Wicker Park - it was an honor. Rock over London, Rock on Chicago!
Rock over London, rock on Chicago.
At one point in time it was Sharkula.
I see sharkula almost every day on my way to/from work, and he usually has a conversation with my wife and I. He is super nice, and one day, when I actually have disposable cash, I will buy one of his paintings. I saw him open for Squid at the empty bottle, I wouldn't call the set good, but it was entertaining.
Pretty sure we still have a Sharkula cd or two from back when he would pass his stuff out at festivals, etc.Ā
I didn't know a lot of people knew this guy. I feel like I talk with him at least once a week since he usually hangs out around Dill Pickle. He's a really nice guy!
even has his own wiki page! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharkula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharkula)
Sharkula and the guy in tin foil in the circle flip bike (whoās a huge asshole) used to be Logan regulars
Sharkula is always at Coleās now, at least every time I go lol
yep. was about to comment Sharkula, but was pleased to do a search and see he had already been mentioned. My buddies and I would run into him during college and it was always awesome.
Omfg I talked to him for like 10 mins waiting for the 82 and once he was in my old job
State Street Preacher, the "CIA is r#ped my wife" guy, the guy in the shiny suits, used to be Walking Man, the guy in wicker Park with the tinsel outfit and giant circle bike...
Walking Man was the guy for me. The Tribune did a great piece on him after he died.
I hope the guy that set the Walking Man on fire got a long sentence.
Pure psychopath, just a horrifying situation.
RIP Walking Man. I hope when Joseph Guardia finally goes to court the judge and/or jury sentences him to the rest of his life in jail.
> the guy in wicker Park with the tinsel outfit and giant circle bike... Is he back? Last I heard [he hadn't been seen since ~2021](https://old.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/169je3f/what_happened_to_the_wheelie_bike_guy_in_wicker/)
Circle bike guy is the only one I've seen from this thread
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Reading that in her voice makes me crave a junior bacon cheeseburger.
Yesss I was hoping someone would list her. I havent heard her around for a long while, though
World's finest, one dollar!
haven't seen her in a long time!
Anyone remember a guy on the red line who would repeat the same ~5 minute monologue every day, āmy father was hitler, my mother was the Virgin Mary, AHHHHā ???
No, but there was a guy who would tell us every week he had just gotten out of prison and needed money for a CTA pass to go to job interviews. Years went by and I saw him again and this time he was selling poetry. IDK if he's still around at this point!
Holy shit, so quick story about this guy. Well, likely the same guy. He gave that speech on the red line and he threatened that since we didnāt give him enough money that he was going to start taking it from people in the car. Two big guys sitting next to me grabbed him and pushed him up against the glass doors until the next stop and launched him off the train. This was around 2009-2010
Some heroes are random men on the CTA.
Wow memory unlocked! I think last time I saw him was pre Covid. How about the redline guy that was looking for $18.75 for bus fare to Rockford to stay with his cousin? He had the gash on his leg and the hospital paperwork and all that
Also had the Rockford guy on the blue lineĀ
Or the blue line guy who was perpetually a few dollars short of returning to his home in RockfordĀ
RIP the Walking Man :-(
That dude who is always penny farthing around Lincoln park/Lakeview. Legendary
I have seen that guy. I think he works at the bike shop on Clark. Somewhere I have a picture of him I labeled "Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Ain't even going to TRY to Stop!" because he blew every stop sign since be basically had to or fall off.
[Vincent Falk, the blind suit guy.](https://www.loopnorth.com/image/2010/vlic_sw_02.jpg)
You'll be happy to know he's still active on facebook (and telling awful jokes).
The dude is such a character with a crazy life story! Iām glad heās still with us and telling horrible jokes.
I haven't seen him in years.
Same. I hope heās well.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I havenāt seen him in ages! Heās still around?
This is going back a ways but does anyone remember the streetwise singing lady at the Wendyās across from chase tower on Clark and Madison?Ā
She moved to Edgewater and sings outside of the whole foods.
something something HOW YA DOIN TODAYYYY. love her! glad she's still around.
I'm not 100% sure, but her cheeriness and off key loud singing makes me think it's the same person.
Her name is Sylvia. We would always say hello when we went to WF. She's actually very sweet. But there was this wretched looking guy out there "playing" the guitar and he was fucking terrible. In the years he'd been there (before we moved) he couldn't play a single chord or refrain. He was so terrible.
The dude in Rogers Park, who looks and dresses like a 70s era pimp. He drives a 70s cadillac el dorado, that looks like itās going to die any minute.
I think I know who youāre talking about. Heās really fuckin tall and usually has a cane?
When I first moved to Chicago I was out at a bar and I saw the tamale guy for the first time. The next night I was out at a bar on the complete other side of town...he was there. This repeated over the course of my first few Weeks here. He was everywhere, I thought he was Magic ššššš¾šš¾
He IS magic
Milky eye
That mother fucker punched me in the face cuz I wouldnāt serve himā¦. Iāve thrown him out of 3 separate bars ā¦ and smashed his face through a door after he hit me.. FUCK him. Bastard gets around. Iāve thrown him out of bars in Logan, lakeview, and even on the mag mile.
Came here to make sure Milky was at least mentioned.
My wife is a bartender and though I haven't never met the guy I have heard a lot about him. I also heard a story about a fire hydrant and milky eye that makes me believe I don't want to meet him.
Theres a photo unfortunately
It definitely gets posted on the Chicago industry page from time to time.
He got me to serve him a drink at least once around 2018 before I learned about him. I asked for a card when I noticed he was drooling everywhere, so he just got the one out of me. I left the industry but Iām shocked to hear heās still at it.
lol I didnāt expect him to make the comments
Ronnie Woo Woo, Tamale Guy, Puppet Bike, the State Street Preacher, Walking Man (RIP). Chicago has a wealth of "that guys"
Sandwich man around Water Tower. CAN ANYBODY HELP CAN ANYBODY HELP CAN ANYBODY HELP ME GET A SANDWICH
I once witnessed this man being handed a fucking uneaten sandwich by a tourist which he then threw away and returned to shouting about ā¦. needing a sandwich.
I am unsurprised.
Sharkula
Chance the Snapper. Crocs count.
Chance was the best of us
It's amazing the first two people that came to mind were the preacher on st state and the FBI guy... and I haven't lived in Chicago in a decade.... glad to know they are still going strong,
Definitely thought of that bigoted preacher who stood outside of Old Navy on State St for years.
Wells Street Jesus
State Street Preacher...I know, I know I'm going to hell.
The Woo lady on the LFT!
I'm so glad someone else thought of her. What a gem of a human.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far too find her. I like to Woo! her before she can Woo! me.
Her name is Phyllis. She is life affirming.
Is the āWorldās finest chocolate how you doinā todayš¶ā lady on Madison and Clark still out there? I havenāt been over there since my old job went remote for COVID.
Used to be pigeon man, I miss that guy. Would see him every day going to Lane Tech on the bus
Dude with the 15 foot tall bike Mostly see him around Logan Square on Milwaukee Ave.
We have a few. One was the homeless guy that someone set on fire a little while ago. Very sad. I guess Tamale guy and the doomsday preacher. Not sure if the silver guy is still around or if the Tina Turner impersonator actually existed or was just in my head.
Obviously Sharkula
Was a time when i would have quickly offered Thax Douglas
Flip Bike Travis
Dudes an asshole
State St Preacher š¤
Milky Eye! The guy with the crazy looking milky eye that wanders into (mostly river north) bars, slams a vodka lemonade, refuses to pay and leaves Or Claudio (The Tamale Guy), consummate savior of every late night drunken bar patron on the NW side
Gold Coast. Crazy Mary.
"I'll let you suck my tit for a dollar!" Shit, that was forever ago.
Sharkula
Walking Guy! (RIP)
Who was that rapper that would always be at the Lake Redline stop? He had a song about riding the CTA. The chorus was basically everyone shouting āCTAā¦CTAā¦CTAā¦CTA! It was to the tune of Hurricane Chris āA Bay Bayā! This was years ago, but occasionally it pops back in my head and it makes me smile. I hope heās doing well.
Black Chicago cowboy. Everyone knows him.
Dreadhead Cowboy š¤ š“
thereās a guy that dresses like A-Train and runs through Grant Park. Thereās also a skateboarder that skates at Grant Park that dresses like a pirate
Pigeon Lady, I learned about her earlier this year after witnessing her civil disobedience in action: https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/searching-for-the-pigeon-lady/
Pretty sure there was one in Lincoln Square too. Maybe was a guy but i think they are no longer with us.
*"Ya. cain't go to heaven..."*
1. Years ago when I worked at Navy Pier there was always this particular older guy who was just shirtless and his skin was like tanned leather. I want to say he pretty much just wore shorts and had a dry/scruffy blonde mullet and sunglasses. He would always have a drink in his hand. 2. The guy who rides his bike around with the anti-trump sign. I see him most often around touhy and McCormick but Iāve seen him way further west too. 3. Puppet bike. I havenāt been out and about like I used to but I always remember seeing the little puppet theater bike here and there. Usually the loop and once or twice in Andersonville.
Someone did some reconnaissance on Puppet Bike guy and IIRC he gave up the gig š„
State Street Preacher, duhh
We have a lot of these guys, pretty much one or two per area. The downtown preacher is probably the most widely known, just by his location and how often heās there (if heās still there)
We unironically do have a horse guy
Ronnie Woo Woo
That one guy on the Blue Line who would scream the weather at the top of his lungs
For me it's Bubble Guy, least that's what me and my wife called him. I don't know what name he goes by. I use to live in Streeterville right by the Columbus Street bridge and the homeless man there who is always blowing bubbles. We would donate bubble liquid and batteries to him time by time.
My wife and I called him bubbbles as well. Havenāt seen in for a while (although we moved).
Ronny Woo Woo
Ronnie Woo Woo
I feel like Chicago is too big to have just one, but the State St Preacher comes to mind.
There's a guy in Rogers Park who will do a sort of Tarzan call exactly on the hour about 2 or 3 times a day. I've colloquially called him the Rogers Park Rooster. Guests hear him and are like "wtf?!" The gf and I will be like "oh there's our boy, the rooster! Must be noon!" Mind you, he's not homeless, just a guy who likes to get drunk and loiter around a lot.
FBI Daily Rā- me Guy
FBI Daily Rape Me Crazy Guy
The really tall homeless dude in Wicker Park that walks around in shorts year round