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May is the month Illinois welcomes back Monarch Butterflies

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May is the month Illinois welcomes back Monarch Butterflies


(The Heart Sq.) – Could is the month Illinois welcomes again monarch butterflies from the mountains of Michoacán in Mexico, the place they spend the winter. Should you feed them, they are going to come.

It takes two to a few generations of butterflies to achieve the prairies of Illinois, Ken Johnson, one of many hosts of the Good Rising podcast and a horticulture educator with the College of Illinois Extension, instructed The Heart Sq..

He recommends gardeners have quite a lot of crops of their yards in order that one thing is at all times in bloom – from Could via September – if they need the monarchs to go to.

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Milkweeds are the one key host plant that monarchs want with a view to breed and lay their eggs. Lengthy reviled as a weed, milkweeds are native wildflowers – widespread once more with residence gardeners. Eleven totally different sorts of milkweed develop in Illinois. However milkweeds are usually not proper for each yard, Johnson stated.

Milkweeds can get massive and aggressive. Attempt planting three or 4 milkweeds alongside a fence or in a nook of your yard. Or plant them in pots. Look ahead to monarch caterpillars, Johnson stated.

In 2017, with the assistance of the Illinois Monarch Challenge, the Illinois Division of Transportation modified their mowing pointers to permit native milkweed to thrive in medians and alongside highways, creating greater than 80,000 acres of monarch-friendly habitat.

As spectacular as that’s, Illinois nonetheless has an extended solution to go to carry again monarchs within the numbers that we’d like. Each yard gardener has an element to play within the regeneration of this vital pollinator, the Illinois Monarch Challenge stated. Johnson recommends the Illinois Monarch Challenge web site for anybody who must learn about making their yard a pleasant habitat for Illinois’ official state insect.

Many residence gardeners overuse pesticides and herbicides.

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“Utilizing pesticides, herbicides and fungicides defeats the aim of getting a pollinator backyard,” Johnson stated.

Being too inflexible about how your yard appears to be like can even defeat the aim of getting a pollinator backyard.

“After we spray our lawns, we get a monoculture of grass that’s not engaging to monarchs or every other pollinators,” Johnson stated.

Johnson recommends tolerating some weeds. Violets, dandelions, clover and goldenrod that individuals generally kill are powerhouse meals for useful bugs and pollinators, he stated.

Be keen to reside with some harm to your crops.

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“Having issues feed on them, having a little bit illness on them is OK,” Johnson stated.

Native crops are crops that happen naturally in a area wherein they developed. They’re very hardy and drought tolerant – simpler to develop than crops that originated in Europe or Asia. Bee balm, black-eyed Susans, coneflower, coreopsis, asters and blazing star are frequent native crops that may enhance your yard ecosystems and assist birds, butterflies and useful bugs.

Widespread ornamentals like zinnias and cosmos have an vital position to play as properly, Johnson stated. Nectar-seeking butterflies love them. Plant them and they are going to be lined with butterflies all summer season, he stated.





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Illinois

Controversial 'overdose prevention sites' get $18 million in Illinois funding

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Controversial 'overdose prevention sites' get  million in Illinois funding


A state board Thursday approved up to $18 million in funding for controversial “overdose prevention sites” that would allow people to use drugs in a public space where clinicians could make sure they’re safe.

The money would come from the state’s growing $235 million opioid settlement fund.

The fund is generated by Illinois’ share of settlements from lawsuits that states have filed against drug manufacturers and retailers. The fund is expected to rise to least $795 million in Illinois.

New York City and Vancouver, Canada are among the cities that have overdose prevention sites. State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, has previously introduced legislation that would make such sites legal in Illinois.

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On Thursday, the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board voted 8-3 to approve funding for up to three overdose prevention sites, each of which would annually get up to $2 million over a three-year pilot program, for a total of $18 million.

Dr. Miao Jenny Hua, a board member and Chicago’s interim deputy commissioner of behavioral health, was among those who voted for it. Board member Chelsea Laliberte Barnes said there’s “35 to 40 years of global evidence as to why this proposal is critical.”

Details of the pilot program haven’t been worked out, including where the sites would go. But the priority will be given to communities with the highest number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses. Chicago’s West Side has the worst overdose problem in the state.

The opioid settlement board acknowledged the pilot program may need accompanying legislation to protect drug users and clinicians from getting prosecuted under state drug laws.

Last year, the Illinois ACLU and AIDS Foundation of Chicago supported Ford’s proposed legislation to allow the sites. But the bill failed because opponents instead favored a measure to supply jails, hospitals and other institutions with fentanyl test strips.

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The board’s funding approval is expected to give a boost to new legislation Ford plans to file in the General Assembly to allow overdose prevention sites to operate legally in the state.

“Living in an area that is probably one of the highest fatal overdose communities, I think this is monumental and it’s actually going to save lives,” Ford, who represents the West Side, said after the board’s vote.

The vote, in his opinion, will be one of the best recommendations to come out of the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board. Members at Thursday’s meeting echoed Ford’s sentiments, describing it as historic.

“Many people think that this is just about people going into the site to use drugs,” Ford said, adding that the locations are expected to provide other services to address medical issues and job placement. “These sites will be about a safe place where people will have a chance at life and they will have a chance for recovery.”

On Thursday, the opioid settlement board also approved $20 million in one-time statewide housing for people recovering from drug addiction.

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Musk makes joke about Gov. Pritzker’s weight on social media, Pritzker fires back

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Musk makes joke about Gov. Pritzker’s weight on social media, Pritzker fires back


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The Governor of Illinois fired back after Elon Musk personally insulted him on social media Wednesday.

“Nothing is more dangerous than getting between JB Pritzker and the buffet table!” Elon Musk wrote from his personal account on the X platform that he owns. X is formerly known as Twitter.

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Gov. JB Pritzker responded to the message by posting an image of himself purchasing a hot dog at a famous Chicago hot dog stand – the Wieners Circle. “I salute @The WienerCircle, not Nazis.”, he wrote.

Musk’s message containing the insult also included a video clip of Pritzker at a news conference reacting to a temporary freeze on federal funding that the White House announced Tuesday. Pritzker in the clip reiterated his promise to Illinois residents that he would defend their freedom, health, and security from the Trump administration.

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Musk has been criticized for gestures he made during President Donald Trump’s inaugural parade that resembled Nazi salutes.

Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@gannett.com.



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Former Illinois caregiver charged after elderly patient suffers severe burns from hot shower: AG

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Former Illinois caregiver charged after elderly patient suffers severe burns from hot shower: AG


Criminal charges have been filed against a Glendale Heights woman accused of neglecting an elderly patient at a long-term care facility in Bensenville, resulting in serious injuries.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul alleges the now-former caregiver failed to check the water temperature before placing the resident in a hot shower.

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What we know:

Raoul’s office said the incident occurred in June 2024 at a Ray Graham Association (RGA) home in Bensenville. The facility serves individuals with disabilities or healthcare needs who require round-the-clock care.

According to Raoul, Darnitia Conner failed to test the water temperature before placing the elderly resident in a hot shower, leading to second-degree burns across most of the patient’s lower body.

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Conner also allegedly tried to conceal the incident by failing to notify medical staff about the severity of the injuries.

What they’re saying:

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“Residents of long-term care facilities and community-based group homes rely on caretakers for their health and wellness,” Raoul said in a statement. “All Illinois residents deserve to be safe in their homes, and it is appalling that any caretaker would cause serious harm to an elderly or vulnerable patient in their care.”

DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick praised the collaboration between local and state authorities that led to the charges.

“The Sheriff’s Department takes the health, safety, and well-being of all the residents of DuPage County seriously. It was especially disturbing to find a caregiver in a position of trust cause bodily harm to one of its residents because of willful abuse and neglect,” Mendrick said.

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What’s next:

Conner, 58, was charged with multiple felonies, including three counts of abuse of a long-term care facility resident and two counts of criminal neglect, each carrying a potential five-year prison sentence.

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She also faces one count of reckless conduct, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.

Conner has pleaded not guilty, and her next court appearance is scheduled for March 10.

The Source: The information in this article was provided by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

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Crime and Public SafetyDuPage CountyGlendale HeightsNewsKwame Raoul



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