Illinois
More kinds of ticks, longer season as experts warn ‘Illinois is at the frontline’
As tick season approaches, experts warn that Illinois residents should be even more wary as the type of ticks in the state increases and the season lengthens.
Researchers discovered the Asian longhorned tick — an invasive species native to Japan, Korea and parts of China and Russia — in Illinois in April. First reported in the United States in 2017, the tick has since spread to 20 states.
“The role that this tick will play in the transmission of infections in humans is yet to be determined,” the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a recent statement.
But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the tick is not likely to increase the spread of Lyme disease or cause a significant nuisance for humans. Instead, according to Mark Ernst, a veterinarian with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the longhorned tick is most likely to affect cattle.
Though the longhorned tick generally targets cattle, Maureen Murray, assistant director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo, said Chicago residents should be on the lookout for other types of ticks.
Tick patterns tend to vary significantly from year to year, Murray said, but one consistency has been a movement in tick season.
“We’re seeing less severe winters, which might lead to more ticks,” Murray said. “Fewer ticks die during the winter, and ticks can be active sooner in the spring, just because it warms up faster.”
Chris Stone, a medical entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, said he suspects climate change is affecting the types of ticks in Illinois in a few different ways.
First, he said, warmer winters may be encouraging ticks to migrate. His lab has found the Gulf Coast tick, a tick that was once limited to the southern United States, across southern Illinois, he said. The tick can cause rickettsial disease, a type of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, in humans, which can cause fever, vomiting and even death.
“With particularly the winters getting milder, which is one of the main changes we’ve seen in Illinois over the past several decades, that could affect species and allow them to spread further north,” Stone said.
Murray urged Chicago residents not to fall for the common misconception that ticks are a rural problem. Chicagoans can come into contact with Gulf Coast ticks, deer ticks and other types of the disease-prone insects. Her institute has been doing surveys of Chicago green spaces since 2017 and has collected more than 1,000 ticks from different areas in the city over that time period.
“It’s really important to spend time outside and connect with nature in the city,” Murray said. “But we just want to make sure that people are aware that they could encounter ticks, and that there are straightforward steps for preventing tick bites.”
People should check themselves for ticks every time they exit a green space, she added.
Cattle producers also need to be vigilant, according to Ernst.
The longhorned tick can carry a disease that particularly affects pregnant cattle and calves, causing them to become anemic, weak and lethargic. There is no effective and approved treatment for the disease, Ernst said, so it can spread rapidly among surviving animals.
“We urge our cattle producers to check around their ears, under their tail, in their brisket areas, and look for large numbers of really small ticks,” Ernst said. “They’re only about the size of a sesame seed and can get up to the size of a pea when they’re engorged.”
Longhorned ticks also pose a particular threat because of their sheer numbers, he said.
“Female insects do not need a male in order to reproduce and can lay up to 2,000 eggs at a time,” Ernst said. “So it doesn’t take long for an area to become pretty well-saturated with this type of a tick.”
Becky Smith, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, teaches the public how to identify, prevent and treat tick-borne diseases.
Cattle have been affected by the disease in places like Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan, she said. So far, there has only been one affected cow in the United States, but scientists have proven ticks can carry the disease in labs in the United States, she said.
“The biggest concern is for the beef industry and for the sheep industry as well,” Smith said. “One female can produce thousands of eggs, and the real concern is if you get a really strong infestation, a calf can die from blood loss.”
Smith added that people should be particularly aware of the risks of any kind of tick bite.
“Ticks are expanding their range,” Smith said. “They’re moving into a lot of places, and Illinois is at the frontline of that. We’re getting more ticks everywhere. We’ve seen a tenfold increase in the number of tick-borne illnesses. It’s time to be aware.”
CHICAGO (WTVO) — A boy, 13, was fatally shot in the head Friday evening on the West Side of Chicago.
The 13-year-old was standing in the area of South Independence Boulevard and West 13th Street when the incident occurred at about 8:30 p.m., according to WLS.
He was pronounced dead after he was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to authorities.
The male shooter got away, officials said.
Chicago Police are still investigating and there is no further information about the incident
SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – Illinois state lawmakers shared their concerns Friday about a plan to close and rebuild two state prisons. They spoke during a Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) meeting in Springfield on the Illinois Department of Corrections’ (IDOC) plan to close and rebuild Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill and Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, the state’s main women’s prison for medium and maximum security inmates.
The department plans to close Stateville and rebuild both facilities on the prison’s Will County campus. Stateville inmates and employees would be transferred during construction. Logan would operate until the new facility opens.
Lawmakers sitting on COGFA agree Stateville needs to be rebuilt and Logan needs work, but they don’t see a plan to get it done.
“This is really a concept and not a plan, in my estimation, because a plan has details. And what we’ve really been presented with really is the concept of replacing and building new facilities but nothing has been worked out in terms of what, when and where,” said state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria.
“I think that we have a thought bubble more so than the written down plan, right. This is far from shovel ready. If the department thinks they’re going to start building in a year, and that’s what they said, I don’t think they even have plans in a year,” said state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville.
State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, had the harshest criticism for IDOC and the Pritzker administration’s plan.
“Is this simply another process being done for political expediency? It sure appears that way,” he said. “I cannot support any of these closures with so many unanswered questions remaining.”
When asked about the potential closures Friday afternoon, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said he welcomes the feedback. He reiterated the need to improve or rebuild both Logan and Stateville while adding there is no final plan.
“It’s clear that much more ultimately will need to be done to upgrade or change the facilities we already have. This is just the beginning, but it’s an important beginning,” he said.
Lawmakers’ comments came after a hearing on May 10 as well as hearings Tuesday in Joliet, near Stateville, and in Lincoln Thursday, near Logan.
They heard from IDOC leadership and leaders from AFSCME Council 31, the union representing most IDOC employees. The union opposes the plan as it calls for Stateville employees to be relocated to a facility within a 65-mile radius during construction. Once Logan closes, those employees would be relocated to a facility within 90 miles.
IDOC released a statement following Friday’s hearing:
“The Department’s goal in announcing its intent to rebuild Stateville and Logan Correctional Centers was to present a starting point and create an open process in which feedback from all impacted stakeholders is considered – not to present a complete plan without discussing it with all involved. The Department recognizes the importance of these discussions to help ensure the success of this initiative, which is why we’ve met with staff and individuals in custody at the impacted facilities, in addition to the unions, legislators, advocacy organizations, and educational partners. The Department is committed to transparency and will continue conversations to gather feedback from impacted stakeholders and collectively incorporate it into a better comprehensive plan moving forward. The Department will also review and consider the COFA recommendations.”
AFSCME Council 31 released a statement after Friday’s hearing:
“Members of the commission have spent two months studying this proposal, asking questions and getting input.
“Today, all lawmakers present expressed grave concern about the dearth of details provided and the lack of any real plan. The absence of other commission members also reflects the absence of support for the proposal. No member of the commission spoke in favor.
“Today’s outcome, and the large crowds and countless concerns raised at this week’s COGFA hearings in Joliet and Lincoln, all affirm the same thing: The Department of Corrections should rescind its closure threats, slow down, and work with our union and other concerned parties to develop a better rebuilding plan. For the state prison system, its employees, individuals in custody and their families, that’s the right thing to do.”
The commission was originally set to issue an official recommendation Friday, ahead of Saturday’s deadline, but did not have enough members present for a necessary quorum. The opinion is only advisory since IDOC does not need COGFA’s permission to move forward with the project.
“I think we were able to get our comments out there on the record. That hopefully gives them some direction at least to what we are observing and what we’re seeing,” Koehler said after the hearing.
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