In Lake County, “C” grades were given to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
A newly released report with safety grade ratings for hospitals in the country scored three out of five reviewed Lake County hospitals with a “C” grade.
The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization, released its spring 2023 hospital safety grade results earlier this month.
The organization assigns a letter grade to nearly 3,000 U.S. general hospitals based on over 30 measures of patient safety, like how well patients are protected from preventable medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.
The average risk of three healthcare-associated infections, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), spiked to a five-year high in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains high, according to the organization.
The safety grades also showed a continued decline in patient experience measures, which are reported by patients and correlated with patient outcomes, the organization said in a statement.
Illinois is home to 13 of the nation’s 50 housing markets that are most at-risk of a downturn. That’s according to a recent report by ATTOM Data Solutions, a company that provides comprehensive data on property values and taxes across the nation.
The Chicagoland area is, collectively, among the most “vulnerable to decline” property markets in the nation. Property in Kane County is the 6th most at-risk of a decline. Will County is 8th. McHenry is 13th and Cook County is the nation’s 20th most at-risk.
A look at a county-by-county graphic shows that no counties in Illinois’ neighboring states made the top-50 list. On the contrary, Wisconsin had six of the least at-risk counties in the nation (Brown County, Dane County, Eau Claire County, La Crosse County, Washington County and Winnebago County).
Other very at-risk U.S. locations include inland California, New Jersey, Delaware and New York City.
ATTOMs’ analysis was based on a variety of metrics, including an area’s general property costs, amount of underwater loans and foreclosures, and its unemployment rate.
Top from left, Barry Altshuler, Katey Baldassano, Diana L. Clopton and Leah Collister Lazzari and, bottom from left, Nelda Munoz, Leonard Munson and Matt Sheriff
Football season is behind us, but instant replay can be one of the more agonizing and frustrating moments during games. During that period of time, referees must watch plays in super slow motion to review every millisecond of movement to get the call correct. The announcers always state that the officials need “irrefutable video evidence” to overturn the original ruling.
After review of Tuesday’s unofficial District 220 Board of Education (BOE) election results, we find ourselves in replay mode looking at myriad data points to assess the political science.
This year’s BOE election included two incumbents, Barry Altschuler and Leah Collister-Lazzari, as well as five first time candidates: Katey Baldassano, Leonard Munson, Matt Sheriff (collectively running on the Action PAC slate), Nelda Munoz and Diana Clopton.
Early voting was available from March 20th – April 3rd with election day voting taking place on Tuesday, April 4th. The unofficial Lake County election night results showed a striking disparity between those who chose to vote in person (either through early voting or on election day) compared to those who voted by mail.
The Action PAC candidates and Nelda Munoz all performed far better with those who voted in person while the two incumbents and Diana Clopton performed remarkably better with mail in ballots. The top three vote getters amongst those who voted in person in Lake County were the three Action PAC candidates. The top 3 vote by mail getters, as a percentage of their overall total number of votes, were the two incumbents and Diana Clopton. The data breakdown is seen here:
So what does this mean? Clearly, a considerable effort was made by Clopton, Altshuler and Lazzari to execute on mail in ballots. We also know that both Lake County and Cook County offer the option for voters to permanently vote by mail (since the 2020 general election).
We also know that Governor Pritzker promised to allocate $500,000 and other Democratic Party resources to school board races during this election cycle. We also know that Clopton, Altshuler and Lazzari claimed they were not part of a slate and instead self-identified as “independent” candidates.
Is it just coincidence that Clopton, Altshuler and Lazzari had nearly identical percentages of their vote tally to come from mail in ballots? Is it possible the Democratic Party of Illinois harvested the necessary number of ballots supporting Clopton, Altshuler and Lazzari to overtake the Action PAC candidates despite their claim of independence? Should the mail in ballots themselves be subject to a legal challenge flag?
The answer is we do not know and do not have irrefutable evidence to say otherwise. What we can unequivocally state is that we are an evenly ideologically divided town when it comes to overseeing our schools.
The so called “independent” candidates – and let’s be honest, they are the left leaning candidates – gathered 6,507 (50.35%) votes in Lake County as of election night and the center/right leaning candidates collected 6,415 (49.64%) votes. We don’t see a mandate in those numbers, and it would behoove the new BOE to recognize this chasm and respect the wide range of community perspectives. After all, the next football season is just a few months away.
The Lake County Board formally endorsed a proposal Tuesday to transform 1,100 acres of land — originally set aside for a now abandoned highway expansion project — into a “greenway” that would connect trails, forest preserve land and open green space in the central part of the county.
Though the vote is mostly symbolic, its passage signals to state legislators and Gov. J.B. Pritzker that there is intragovernmental support for the greenway idea backed by the 20-member Route 53 Land Expansion Alternative Use Task Force, which reached that decision in December after meeting throughout 2022 in accordance with a directive from the General Assembly.
It’s also an emphatic victory for environmental activists long opposed to the expansion of Route 53, for which the land was originally acquired.
Speaking on behalf of a coalition of environmental organizations supporting the greenway, Midwest Sustainability Group executive director Barbara Klipp mused that government entities originally started buying up parcels of land for eventual Route 53 expansion about 60 years ago, when she was born.
“This corridor represents one of the most scenic landscapes remaining in Lake County,” Klipp said. “And we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fully unleash its value as an iconic nature trail and conservation area where residents of our communities can treasure the atmosphere that makes central Lake County such an amazing place to live.”
Cuba Township to pass out free wood twice a month instead of every Friday due to supply-and-demand issues.
Cuba Township Road District’s “Firewood Friday” giveaway of firewood returned earlier this month, but the program will work somewhat differently this season, according to officials.
“We’ve had to rein it in a little bit. It used to be every Friday through the winter months. It’s not every other Friday but it works out to be twice a month, November through March,” Thomas J. Podgorski, who has been Cuba Township highway commissioner since 2017, told Pioneer Press.
Starting Nov. 4 through the winter months, the road district provides free kindling – bundles that can be a mix of everything from maple, pine and oak to mulberry and chokecherry – to township residents who’ve signed up for the program.
Podgorski explained that each bundle contains eight to 12 pieces of wood, and each participating household is limited to two bundles. The distribution is at the road district office on a first-come, first-served basis until the supply is exhausted. At Friday’s distribution, the district ran out of firewood before 1 p.m. Nov. 18
“It’s meant for weekend fires. It’s not meant for someone to heat their houses off it. The quantity is not there,” said Podgorsk.
According to Podgorski, more than 800 Cuba Township residents are signed up for the program. He said Cuba Township Road District – which covers Lake Barrington, North Barrington, Tower Lakes and small portions of Barrington Hills and Barrington – shifted Firewood Friday from every other Friday during the 2021-2022 season to twice monthly for the 2022-2023 to better serve participants.
“The demand outpaces our supply. These are trees that were taken down through the year. It’s a way to process and get rid of wood we collect [throughout] the year,” said Podgorski.
Residents signed up for the program are given a placard to hang from the rearview mirror of their vehicle, the commissioner explained. The placard is required to participate in the complimentary distribution, and anyone new to the program would have to contact the Cuba Township Road District to get it.
Hart Road between Lake Cook Road and US 14 (Northwest Hwy) in Barrington had been closed since June 2 to construct a new bridge.
As part of the project, crews replaced aging triple culvert pipes with a new bridge. A new bike path was added on the bridge’s east side, and Hart Road is currently being resurfaced from south of US 14 to Lake Cook Road.
While the bridge is now open, road paving, pavement striping, and landscape restoration work is still in progress. Daily lane closures will be utilized to complete these remaining items. Crews have scheduled to pave the final pavement surface later in the week and the bridge deck grooving is planned for Saturday, Oct. 29.
We thank everyone for their patience while the road was closed. We also thank the contractor that worked throughout the summer to safely reopen the bridge ahead of schedule.”
