Metra billboard sparks grim interpretation on social media

For nearly three decades, millions of gridlocked motorists inching along the Ohio Street feeder ramp toward the Kennedy Expressway have glanced up to see a Metra billboard proclaiming: “Take the easy way out.”

The idea that anyone would associate the sign with suicide never entered the consciousness of the commuter rail agency.

That changed on Monday when a user of the social media site Reddit posted a photograph of the sign in a forum along with a note that read: “Should've thought this through a bit harder.”

• This report was produced in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For related coverage, visit chicago.suntimes.com.