It was around 8:30 p.m. on a Monday as I boarded the Blue Line train heading west from the Illinois Medical District station after my shift. My eyes were tired. My feet were sore. I settled in for the 15-20 minute ride home to Wicker Park.
Five minutes into the ride, a man rushed to the train operator’s door to tell them an unconscious woman was in the back of the train car. Adrenaline set in, and my exhaustion faded as I ran and found a woman I recognized, slumped in her seat. The woman was a frequent rider on the Blue Line, but I had never talked to her. She was barely responsive, with pinpoint pupils and track marks on her hands.
