City Announces Seven Top Vote-Getting Names in Chicago's First 'You Name a Snowplow' Contest

February 3, 2023

Signage with winning names set to be installed on seven snowplows operating citywide

 

CHICAGO – Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) today announced the seven highest vote-getting names in the City’s inaugural “You Name A Snowplow” contest. On January 15, the City posted 50 names chosen from an initial pool of nearly 7,000 names submitted by Chicago residents, and residents were able to vote for up to six names through January 31.  

The seven snowplow names that received the most votes include: 

  1. Mrs. O’Leary’s Plow 
  2. Da Plow 
  3. Salter Payton 
  4. Sears Plower 
  5. Sleet Home Chicago 
  6. Holy Plow! 
  7. Jean Baptiste Point du Shovel 

“We couldn’t be happier with the high level of resident engagement we received for our first snowplow naming contest,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “What’s more, the love of Chicago really shined through with numerous and creative Chicago-related names that were submitted and the thousands of voting responses we received for the 50 finalists.” 

The City received nearly 17,000 responses from Chicago residents, which translated to over 80,000 votes for the snowplow names. The number of winning snowplow names increased from the initial six announced by the City, to seven names due to a near tie for sixth place.  

Signage for the winning snowplow names is set to be installed on seven snowplows operating throughout the City. Once the signage is installed, residents who first submitted the winning names will be offered a photo opportunity with the named snowplow along with city swag.  

All residents will be able to view the named snowplows, along with the city’s full snow fleet, in real-time during winter storms via the City’s newly updated plow tracker.

DSS manages more than 9,400 lane miles of roadway with a fleet of over 300 snowplows that are fully prepared to respond when needed, along with more than 400,000 tons of salt stationed at salt piles throughout the city.    

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