Illinois
Harvey apartments boarded up amid concerns over unfit living conditions, ongoing crime
HARVEY, Ill. (WLS) — Harvey city officials said they have been talking with property managers about unfit living conditions and ongoing crime on South Halsted Street since October, but told ABC7 it was the owners who took it upon themselves, on Friday night, to board up the apartments there.
Some residents said they were still inside their homes.
Rudolph Williams spoke from inside.
“I opened the door, and here’s this big piece of plywood right there,” Williams said.
Williams is now able to walk through his opened front door after, he claims, crews boarded it shut with plywood while he was still inside.
When asked what went through his mind at that moment, Williams said, “Wondering how I was going to get out.”
He lives in the apartment complex on South Halsted in Harvey, where many were apparently forced out of their homes on Friday night due to what’s being called unsafe and dangerous living conditions.
Issues there, residents said, have been mounting for years.
“My mom was 73 years old, and I had to move her from up over here, because it was too much going on. The stairs had fell down. I fell through the stairs,” said James Williams, whose relatives live at the complex.
Mary Brooks, a resident of four years, also weighed in.
“Twenty-four-hour drug activity. One man was shot five times and dropped dead at my back door. There’s no one around here picking up trash,” Brooks, 66, said. “It’s been miserable.”
In a statement, Harvey city leaders said, in part, “Contrary to recent claims, the city did not evict anyone from these properties but has communicated with the property owners regarding the unsafe conditions of the buildings and need to immediately rectify the dangerous living conditions.”
In fact, city leaders said, the owners made the call. Harvey alderpeople have been scrambling for a resolution.
“Capital improvement should never come at the expense of someone’s livelihood,” said 2nd Ward Alderwoman Colby Chapman.
Brooks, who was diagnosed with cancer less than a year ago, is now left to fight for a place to stay.
“It’s hard. I want to plan, but you can’t plan because you don’t know where you’re going to move to, when you’ll be able to move, how much money,” Brooks said.
ABC7 has reached out to the property owners and the board up crew, but have not heard back. City officials said they will continue to monitor the situation.
At this time, it is unclear if or when exactly these residents will have to move.
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Illinois
Thousands of birds could migrate over the Chicago area this week, and here’s how to protect them
Thousands upon thousands of birds are expected to cross over Illinois as part of their spring migrations in coming days.
Thursday night saw the highest migration totals of the season so far, but researchers at Cornell believe that Sunday and Monday nights could see even more avian traffic in the skies over the Chicago area, with hundreds of thousands of birds expected to traverse the area.
According to estimates from Birdcast, Sunday night and into Monday morning there could be “medium” activity for migrating birds, with thousands of birds per kilometer flying over the area.
Even more birds are expected to take flight Monday night and into Tuesday morning thanks to favorable weather conditions, with a “high” number of birds expected to take to the skies over the Chicago area.
According to estimates, up to 383 million birds could be in flight over the central United States during the peak of the migration overnight.
On Thursday night the Chicago area experienced its busiest night of the spring migration season so far, with more than 367,000 birds having been estimated to have passed over Cook County alone.
In all, more than 23,000,000 birds are believed to have crossed the state of Illinois so far during the spring migration.
Among the primary birds expected to be flying through the area are American Redstarts, Magnolia Warblers, Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings, according to researchers at the CornellLab.
As millions of birds continue visiting the Chicago area, here are some steps that residents can take to keep them safe.
When do birds typically migrate?
Peak migration for birds over the state of Illinois occurs in mid-to-late May, with hundreds of different species heading north for the summer breeding season.
Those migration flights for songbirds and other species typically take place in the overnight hours. According to experts, birds typically take flight 30-to-45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number of birds in flight typically seen approximately two-to-three hours later.
When should residents turn lights off?
One of the best ways to help protect birds is to turn off lights during peak migration times.
According to Birdcast, the best time to turn off or dim exterior lights and interior lights is between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., when most birds are active.
Bright lights can disorient and attract birds, making them vulnerable to collisions and to predators on the ground, according to the website.
Hundreds of millions of birds are killed each year in collisions with buildings, and residents and businesses are being asked to do their part to keep the creatures safe.
In addition to turning off unneeded exterior lights, residents and businesses are also asked to dim or turn off lights in lobbies, and to draw blinds to help keep light from escaping through windows.
Finally, exterior lights should be aimed downward and be well-shielded so that birds aren’t attracted to them.
Are there other steps?
Another key step in protecting birds is to bring pet cats inside during overnight hours.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds in the United States every year, and during migration season those impacts can be even more devastating, as exhausted birds typically seek refuge in plants and trees to rest on their journeys, making them vulnerable to attack.
Since cats like to hunt at night, active migrating birds can be a target, leading to experts asking residents to keep animals inside when possible.
Police are investigating after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash in suburban Oswego on Saturday afternoon.
Officers responded to the 4000 block of Route 34 near Wolf Road for the crash around 1:42 p.m. The motorcyclist was unconscious and was receiving CPR when officers arrived.
They took over medical care until paramedics arrived and took the victim, identified as a 20-year-old man, to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The victim’s identity is being withheld pending an autopsy scheduled for Monday, police said.
Initial reports say the victim was traveling eastbound on Route 34 when he hit an enclosed trailer being towed by a van. According to the police, the van was also traveling eastbound and was attempting to make a right turn into a driveway when the crash occurred.
The driver and passenger in the van were not hurt, police said.
Route 34 was closed between Wolf Road and Boulder Hill Pass for four hours for crash reconstruction.
The crash remains under investigation pending completion of the traffic crash reconstruction report.
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