Friends Raise Thousands For Humboldt Park Tour Guide Hit By Driver On His Birthday 19%
By Ariel Parrella-Aureli26%
7/31/2026, 5:45:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 16 faulty reasoning types, including Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, Halo Effect, and Appeal to Emotion, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 17.4% saturation with 134 hits. Analysis detected 775 faulty-reasoning hits from 768 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 28.1% and a BS Rank of 19% (22,110 of 27,226 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 81.20% of the article peer group.
HUMBOLDT PARK — Friends and family are stepping up to help a beloved local tour guide after a driver hit him on his motorized scooter last month.
The June 6 crash in West Town left Jim Collins, 64, with 34 broken bones.
He has had to have five surgeries, said his wife, Marilyn Collins.
He was in an induced coma for three weeks and remains hospitalized, but he now is able to talk and laugh.
On Thursday, he stood up on his feet for the first time since the crash, she said.
“He is a fighter … and a survivor,” Marilyn Collins said.
“He is on the road to recovery.
He’s got his sense of humor and has a great attitude.”
The Collinses, who live in Humboldt Park, have been inundated with phone calls, cards, money and support from friends and family, Marilyn Collins said.
Jeremy Kitchen, a family friend, started an online fundraiser , which had raised over $38,000 of its $40,000 goal as of Thursday afternoon.
Marilyn Collins started a health journey site to keep loved ones updated with Jim’s recovery.
The page has received over 15,000 visits.
With mounting medical bills and a long recovery process, Kitchen wanted to help out the Collins family, who might need to relocate from their third-floor condo to an accessible home to accommodate Jim Collins’ new wheelchair, Kitchen wrote on the fundraiser.
Jim Collins, of Humboldt Park, works as a tour guide but used to be a priest and an engineer.
Credit: GoFundMe
“With Jim expected to be in a wheelchair after his hospitalization, these changes are urgent and necessary for his well-being and comfort,” Kitchen wrote.
“Jim has given so much to his community through his work and spirit.
Now, he and Marilyn need support more than ever.”
When the crash happened, Jim Collins was on his motorized scooter coming home from his job as an architecture tour guide at Shoreline Sightseeing.
He and his wife had plans to grab hot dogs at Elmwood Park’s popular Johnnie’s Beef for his birthday, Marilyn Collins said.
Instead, a driver ran a red light at Oakley Boulevard and Lake Street and hit Jim Collins head-on, she said.
A police spokesperson did not have information about the crash, but Marilyn Collins said she was told by officials the driver was uninsured and ticketed for failing to yield and slow down.
The family is counting their blessings that Jim Collins survived.
Despite nerve damage to the right side of his arm, he has no brain damage or spinal injuries, Marilyn Collins said.
“He has to learn how to walk again,” she said.
“But he wore his helmet.
… That saved his life.”
While their housing future is still unclear — Jim Collins has about one more month in the hospital — Marilyn Collins said she might rent an apartment with no stairs or sell their home for a more accessible option.
Money raised will help cover the family’s medical bills, possible home relocation and at-home care during his long recovery.
‘Big Plans To Celebrate’
Marilyn Collins smiled thinking about her husband’s positivity despite the seriousness of the crash, saying he is lucky to “have a friend, be a friend and have the ‘framily’ that’s been given to us.
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“I’ve donated many times [to fundraisers] but have never been the recipient,” she said.
“People have been unbelievable and generous.
… We appreciate the kindness and generosity of everybody.”
Jim Collins’ vast community stems from his loving personality and his careers, she said.
He was a Catholic Jesuit priest at St.
Procopius Catholic Church in Pilsen from 2005-2011, according to his LinkedIn page .
Before that, he was an engineer with GE.
He’s also is an organ donor and donated a kidney in 2017 — so he’s been getting “hospital clout” during his stay, his wife said.
Jim Collins has worked at Shoreline Sightseeing for 12 years, and the company is supporting his recovery, Marilyn Collins said.
Although he will be missing his tips while out of work, he will have a job when he’s ready to return.
“Jim was integral in advancing the training program and best practices for our architecture tours on the Chicago River,” Courtney Eathorne, docent manager at Shoreline Sightseeing, said in a statement.
“He is an enthusiastic ambassador and the proudest Chicagoan you’ll meet.
As a close friend and mentor to so many, Jim’s accident and absence have been devastating for our team.
We have big plans to celebrate when he is ready to return.”
Speakers
3speakers78%attributed speech171writer words
Selected voice
100%flagged-word coverageJeremy Kitchen
110 attributed words18% of attributed speech29% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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