The Bugle Plus Newspaper 10-05-22

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Aurora native serves aboard

USS Ronald Reagan

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Woodridge Amnesty Week 2022 Begins

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FENTANYL CRACK DOWN

Bill Filed to Crack Down on Products that Hide Fentanyl and Targets Kids

In light of reports of “rainbow” fentanyl and increased deaths from deceptive products, State Representative Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) introduced legislation to combat the ubiquitous spread of the deadliest drug threat facing the country.

House Bill 5808 would create an additional crime of fentanyl trafficking and target the use of candy, regular prescription drugs, and other vehicles for fentanyl distribution.

“Fentanyl and its analogs are fifty times more powerful than heroin, and a mere two milligram amount can be lethal,” said Rep. Mazzochi.

“Traffickers are mixing or packaging fentanyl to look like candy, gummies, or different prescription medications to skirt the law and target innocent users. HB 5808 delineates that and gives prosecutors stronger tools that they need to combat a leading

source of drug deaths in our county and state.”

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, 42% of these types of counterfeit pills they tested for fentanyl contained at least two milligrams of fentanyl, equal to just 10 to 15 grains of table salt. The Centers for Disease Control reported that synthetic opioids are the primary driver of overdose deaths in the United States; in 2021 overdoses involving fen-

tanyl and other synthetic opioids surpassed 71,000, up 23% from the year before.

Mazzochi contrasted her approach to the House Democrat legislation, House Bill 3447, to further decriminalize possessing or distributing lethal fentanyl levels:

“Our suburban legislators know full well that kids are inadvertently dying from fentanyl overdoses,

precisely because of deceptive tactics by distributors.

We shouldn’t be making it easier for drug dealers to avoid prosecution, so they can save some money on production, distribution, or using sleight of hand to get users an opioid fix. This drug wreaks havoc in Illinois communities and destroys lives. We should be sending a message to the people who deal it, not letting them off the hook.”

SKATEBOARD

Senior Housing Concept Proposed in Romeoville Woodridge Amnesty Week 2022 Begins

The southwest corner of Airport Road and Budler Road could soon be home to a new senior housing development.

The Village Board reviewed the initial concept plan at their meeting.

The proposal calls for a singlestory, 66,259 square foot building with sections for both regular assisted living and memory care, which would be in a separate wing.

The facility would have approx -

imately 81 units, with 26 being for memory care.

Some of the proposed amenities include public and private dining rooms, a library, a salon and spa, a theater, and several outdoor courtyards and patios.

With this project will come the completion of the bike path along Airport Road.

A large landscape buffer is being proposed along the south property line adjacent to the Fieldstone Townhomes.

Amnesty Day will be the week of October 3, 2022, on your regularly scheduled collection day. This is a one-time curbside trash pick up which provides residents a convenient way to dispose of bulk and other items including:

•Furniture

• Mattresses and box-springs

•Bicycles

•Construction materials

For complete details on acceptable items, non-acceptable items and sticker requirements, visit the Amnesty Day page. Please consider recycling, donating or listing items on an online marketplace before putting them at the curb.

CUSTOMERS THAT REGULARLY USE STICKERS:

The first FIVE (5) bags or cans of refuse (not including yard waste) must each be tagged with a Downers Grove refuse sticker.

• 35-Gallon Cart: Four (4) items must be stickered.

• 65-Gallon Cart: Three (3) items must be stickered.

• 95-Gallon Cart: Two (2) items must be stickered.

After meeting the sticker requirement, remaining items will be removed free of charge.

Bulk items such as couches, chairs, lamps, bicycles, etc. are acceptable. All materials must be in a container, with the exception of bulk items. Construction material is limited to two (2) cubic yards, equivalent to about eight, 33 gallon sized cans.

Exceptions: Items that will NOT be accepted include:

Tires, Motor oil, any liquids, paints or household hazardous waste* Items known as “white goods” which include large appliances such as washers, dryers, and refrigerators. Household electronic items such as computers, printers, monitors and televisions Yard Waste

*For information about hazardous waste disposal, call the DuPage County Solid Waste Department (630) 407-6700.

“We look forward to this project as another housing option for the region’s aging population,”

- Mayor

John Noak.

The Southwest corner of Airport Road and Budler Road in Romeoville, Illinois.

Aurora native serves aboard USS Ronald Reagan

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Sept. 12, 2022)

Quartermaster 3rd Class Samantha Lemos, from Aurora, Illinois, stands watch on vulture’s row aboard the U.S. Navy’s only for-

ward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), as the ship departs Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, September 12, 2022.

Ronald Reagan, the flagship of

Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

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(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Natasha ChevalierLosada)

Local Volunteers Help 108 People Affected by Disasters

Hundreds of trained disaster workers are being deployed to Florida and more relief supplies are on the way to support people in the path of Hurricane Ian

September 26, 2022 – American Red Cross volunteers responded to 30 home fires in Greater Chicago and the Illinois River Valley in the past week including a multi-unit building explosion in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. Volunteers responded to incidents in Chicago, Waukegan, Marengo, and University Park.

During this past week, the Red Cross provided assistance to 108 individuals, including 33 children, through supplying them with basic items to meet immediate needs after a fire, and additional support in the form of health and mental health services and one-on-one support as the families involved work through next steps after experiencing a home fire.

If you or someone you know needs assistance after a home fire or local disaster, please call our dispatch line: (877) 5970747.

Home fires are the most frequent disaster and claim seven lives every day in the U.S. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death in a home fire by 50 percent. To help protect your household, test your smoke alarms each month and practice your escape plan until everyone can get out in less than two minutes.

Visit redcross.org/fire for more information. Download our free Emergency app by searching for “American Red Cross” in app

stores. Free resources are available to help children learn what to do during a home fire and other emergencies.

Hurricane Ian

The Red Cross is monitoring the situation closely and working with our partners to shelter and support people who could be impacted by this storm. In addition to our pre-positioned supplies, the Red Cross has disaster teams and more relief supplies on the way to the region to support people impacted by Ian.

Your gift enables the Red Cross

to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross. org or call 800-RED-CROSS to make a donation.

Download the free Red Cross Emergency app for real-time alerts, open Red Cross shelter locations and safety advice on hurricanes and other emergencies. Download the app by searching “American Red Cross” in your app store or by going to redcross.org/apps.

Volunteers Needed

Do you have an interest in serv-

ing your community? We have a spot for you on our volunteer team! Visit redcross.org/volunteer to explore volunteer opportunities, here in the Illinois Region. Volunteers are needed to respond to home fires, transport blood to hospitals and many other roles. 90% of the Red Cross workforce is made up of volunteers – thank you for giving your time and talents to help others!

About the American Red Cross of Illinois The American Red Cross of Illinois serves 12.4 million people in 88 counties in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri including Ad-

ams, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cook, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, De Witt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Green, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jasper, Jefferson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Richland, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Vermillion, Warren, Washington, Whiteside, Will, Williamson Winnebago, Woodford. Iowa: Lee, Muscatine, Scott and Van Buren. Missouri: Clark, Lewis, Marion and Ralls. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.

The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit us at Redcross. org/Illinois or visit us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RedCrossIL.

Children’s Book Aims to Spark Interest in the Trades

Boston, MA, September 29, 2022

— Joshua Page is an electrician by trade, but his other passion is destigmatizing society’s view of occupations like his and spreading the word that college isn’t the only avenue worth pursuing.

“So many kids don’t even know ‘trades’ exist. Their parents push them to college so much, and now we are seeing the effects of that,” Page said, pointing out that student loan debt in the U.S. is more than $1.7 trillion.

With the average ages of electricians and plumbers hovering in the 40s, Page felt compelled to do his part to inspire the next generation of tradespeople.

In his new children’s book, What Does Your Daddy Do?, Page introduces young readers to Ashton, whose fifth grade class is having career week.

Ashton isn’t sure exactly what his dad does, so he goes home and asks him. Ashton then gets to

learn about all the cool work his dad does as an electrician and all the interesting tools he gets to use. As career week continues, all the students get to share stories about what their parents do.

“I wrote this book to plant a seed in a younger generation’s mind about how ‘cool’ the trades are and to start the conversation young,” Page added.

About the Author Joshua Page is a husband, father,

electrician, entrepreneur and TEDx Speaker.

With the release of his first book, What Does Your Daddy Do?, Page has also added “author” to his many titles.

An electrician by trade, Page is passionate about informing the younger generation of all the career options they have in addition to college.

Page believes that choosing

a trade and working with his hands saved his life and allowed him to have the life he loves.

As a father of two, his mission is to teach his children and their generation about how fulfilling a career in the trades can be and to encourage them to follow their own path in life.

To learn more about the book, please visit https://www.facebook.com/What-Does-YourDaddy-Do-115695861141578.

Photo by @ALTEREDSNAPS from Pexels.com.

Cook County Assessor’s Office Wins National Awards

Chicago – The Cook County Assessor’s Office (Assessor’s Office) received awards from two national organizations for creating a new residential model that contributes to fairly and accurately assessing homes in Cook County.

The International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) gave the Assessor’s Office its Distinguished Research and Development Award and The Center for Digital Government presented the office with its County Government Experience Award.

“After taking office in 2018, we created a new department with highly qualified data scientists,” said Assessor Fritz Kaegi.

“Our new data team developed a new residential valuation model with the goal of restoring fairness and rebuilding public trust. These awards are a testament to those successful efforts.”

“Our data team believes that the best way for us to be accountable to the public is to make our work as fair and transparent as possible,” said Samantha Simpson, the Chief Data Officer for the Assessor’s Office.

“To have two nationally recognized authorities in assessments and technology recognize our achievements means we are on the right track.”

The Assessor’s Office uses real estate data and property characteristics to power its valuation model which assesses residential properties through a mass appraisal system.

Despite popular belief, the Assessor’s Office does not individually assess each residential property in Cook County. Instead, it relies on tens of thousands of data points to ensure its model creates an accurate measure of a property’s value.

Since 2019, the modeling code and data used by Assessor Kaegi’s office has been publicly available online through GitLab, an open-source online platform for software development, and the Cook County Open Data Portal.

Publishing the code on the Data Portal is part of the Assessor’s Office ongoing partnership with the Cook County Bureau of Technology and the fulfillment of a promise to create the most transparent

assessment agency in the country. Under previous administrations, the Assessor’s Office’s data was kept confidential, released only by a Freedom of Information Act request.

This new system for publishing and updating the code allows journalists, academics, and the public to monitor performance, and even suggest changes that

can improve accuracy, creating an open dialogue with the civic technology community.

The data team continues to iterate on the model every year.

To learn more about the valuation model and recent improvements, watch a presentation given by Daniel Snow, Director of Data Science at a recent Chi

Hack Night event.

The IAAO is an international agency that sets the industry standard in the field of property assessment.

The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute focused on technology policy and best practices in government.

From left to right: Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Senior Data Scientist William Ridgeway, Director of Data Science Daniel Snow, Director of Data Analytics Nicole Jardine, Chief Data Officer Samantha Simpson, IAAO President L. Wade Patterson

Untangling the mysterious web of fall color science

Arboretum scientists study why leaves change color amid Fall Color Festival events

LISLE, Ill. (September 22, 2022)— Following a fall with less than vibrant leaf colors in 2021, tree scientists at The Morton Arboretum say the Chicago region is poised for a more usual leaf-changing season, largely thanks to more typical rainfall over the summer.

When will be the best time to catch the best fall color views?

According to Christy Rollinson, Ph.D., forest ecologist at the Arboretum, “It’s more a question of where to see changing colors rather than when to see them, since different species change at different times.”

Places like the Arboretum, where there is a large amount of tree species diversity, will have something to see all season long, she noted.

Some fall colors are already emerging throughout the Arboretum, which visitors can track in a weekly Fall Color Report on its website blog.

Rollinson said that while mid-tolate October is generally the best time for leaf vibrancy in the Chicago area, it can shift a couple of weeks either way, depending on factors such as temperature and precipitation.

Researchers at the Arboretum are still seeking to more fully understand what ultimately drives leaves to change from green to the array of vibrant colors of fall.

They are collaborating with institutions across the country to decipher the causal relationship between weather and the timing of fall color.

A practically endless web of variables means that even in an unremarkable weather year, Rollinson and her team are using the tools at their disposal to learn more about the seasonal changes.

“At The Morton Arboretum, we’re starting to harness satellite imagery to monitor trees and color change at a scale of observation that’s exponentially greater than we’ve had in the past,” she explained.

She said that it’s widely accepted that the main driver of leaf color change is shortening days and cooler temperatures that creep in during late September. However, many scientists have seen evidence that season-long climate factors can play a role as well.

Although patterns like drought are often associated with early fall color, Rollinson says that recent research suggests that trees can only store a certain amount of carbon in a given growing season, and when they’re done working hard and have stored as much carbon as they possibly can, they drop their leaves.

This means, according to Rollinson, in a year free from extreme weather like 2022, that trees may show average or early fall color even if the first freeze is still weeks away.

“Many areas of the country are facing drought and simultaneously seeing early fall color changes,” she explained.

“With the new technology, we’re

now able to go beyond field observations and take in more data points to help us predict natural events, like fall color changes, more accurately.”

Fall Color Festival

Amid the changing trees, fun festivities for all ages are held at the Arboretum throughout October as part of its Fall Color Festival.

Events celebrating the season include the Fall Color 5K Run and Walk, Oct. 1; Fall Color Wine Tasting, Oct. 6; The 12th Annual Glass Pumpkin Patch; Oct. 12 through 16; Cider and Ale Festival, Oct. 22; Scarecrow Trail, daily in October; and Walking Plays: “Winnie the Pooh,” weekends Oct. 1 through 30.

Also, on weekends in October and Oct. 10 (Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Arbor Court area outside the Visitor Center will be seasonal concessions, including apple cider doughnuts, taffy apples, cotton candy, warm kettle corn, chili and a selection of craft beers and warm beverages.

In addition, special fall-focused programs include Fall Native Plant Propagation, Oct. 15 and Fall Foliage Walking Tours, Oct. 21 or 28.

For more information about Arboretum programs and special events, visit mortonarb.org.

About The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum is a world-renowned leader in tree science and research. Its 1,700 acre site contains 222,000 tree and plant specimens, representing 4,650 taxa from 40 countries.

The Arboretum’s Center for Tree Science collaborates with researchers around the world, contributing scientific knowledge and technical experience to secure the future of trees.

The Arboretum’s Global Tree Conservation Program leverages the expertise of the botanical garden community to protect and restore vulnerable and threatened trees.

Additional information about the Arboretum’s scientific work and how it contributes to a greener, healthier world for future generations can be found at mortonarb.org.

Photo by The Morton Arboretum