Union Station fails security sniff test Amtrak still without bomb-sniffing dog.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), April, 2006 | by Ryan, Joseph

Byline: Joseph Ryan Daily Herald Staff Writer Union Station in downtown Chicago serves as many as 50,000 passengers every day on dozens of Metra and Amtrak trains that spread like tentacles across the country. Yet despite the not-so-long-ago terrorist bombings of transit rail in London and Spain - and the inherent difficulty of securing such public spaces - Chicago's main train hub has gone without a regular bomb-sniffing dog for months.

It remains unclear when the Amtrak-owned Chicago landmark will get a new dog, a key security tool used at other bustling train stations in the city. Several security experts say the station needs a bomb-sniffing dog, but Amtrak insists the crowded halls and vaulted lobby remain safe with or without one. "We are...