Newspaper articles at the time blasted Bilandic. The city's inadequate response to the blizzard was blamed primarily on mayor Michael Bilandic, who had assumed the post after the 1976 death of Richard J. Much of the snow remained unmoved throughout the next two months, causing ongoing public transit delays and significant problems with trash collection. Deployment of plows was significantly delayed, and when they finally appeared they struggled to keep up with the snowfall. Snow remained on the ground until March 6, a full fifty-one days. To avoid huge snowdrifts in the streets, the overcrowded buses were obliged to take numerous detours, adding additional time to the commute. Consequently, commuters overwhelmed the capacity of CTA buses, causing bus commutes that normally would have taken 30 to 45 minutes to take up to several hours. The cold weather and snowfall throughout the rest of January and February resulted in frozen tracks throughout the Chicago 'L' system. O'Hare Airport was closed and all flights were grounded for 96 hours, from January 13 to 15. One of the five deaths came when a snowplow driver went berserk, hitting 34 cars and ramming a man. Five people died during the blizzard, with approximately 15 others seriously injured due to conditions created by the storm. At its peak, wind gusts reached speeds of 39 miles (63 km) per hour. The blizzard lasted for a total of 38 hours. Only 2 inches (5.1 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm) of snow was expected but by the end of Sunday, January 14, the depth of snow on the ground peaked at 29 inches (74 cm). It was one of the largest Chicago snowstorms in history at the time, with 21 inches (53 cm) of snowfall in the two-day period. The Chicago blizzard of 1979 was a major blizzard that affected northern Illinois and northwest Indiana on January 13–14, 1979. 53rd Street in Hyde Park after the blizzard
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