Saw horses and police patrols have been placed under Chicago's Kennedy Expressway to help manage crowds visiting a miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary. The image is a yellow and white stain, possibly created by winter road salt, running down a concrete wall under the Expressway along Fullerton Avenue. The stain, to some resembling the familiar Catholic image of the mother of Jesus, was spotted a few weeks ago, and crowds have built steadily as the word got out. A mound of candles and other offerings has collected at the base of the holy stain. The Dept. of Transportation has no plans to remove the image, and will treat it like any other "roadside memorial."

[04/20/2005]