Illinois
Sunday is an Air Pollution Action Day in Illinois. Here's what that means
Sunday has been declared an Air Pollution Action Day in several Chicago-area counties, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said, citing elevated ozone levels.
In Illinois, an Air Pollution Action Day is issued when air quality is forecasted to be at or above the Orange or “Unhealthy/Sensitive Groups” category for two or more consecutive days. Similarly, an Air Quality Alert was set to go into effect for McHenry, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Cook and Will counties starting at midnight Saturday through midnight Sunday.
Individuals with pulmonary illnesses and other risk factors such as asthma, children and teens, older adults, and individuals who are routinely active outdoors for six or more hours per day should reduce exposure outdoors during the alert, according to officials.
Those who worry about being affected should look out for the following symptoms: wheezing, coughing, a fast
heartbeat, fatigue, chest pain and shortness of breath. If symptoms worsen, you should call your doctor or 911.
Humidity and heat was set to build in the Chicago area beginning Saturday, causing heat index values to potentially reach 110 degrees on Monday and Tuesday.
People are urged to take the following steps to reduce their contributions to air pollution, especially on action days, according to the state EPA.
- Limit Driving – combine errands, walk, or bike if possible.
- If driving, avoid idling, consolidate errands, and keep your vehicle and other engines
properly tuned. - Conserve energy to reduce energy demands.
- Use environmentally friendly household and cleaning products.
- Avoid using gasoline-powered equipment like lawnmowers and leaf blowers.
- Notify colleagues, friends, and family to help protect their health and encourage actions.
OAK PARK, Ill. (WLS) — About 500 furloughed employees of West Suburban Medical Center have received notices that they will not be returning to their jobs, marking the latest development in the uncertain future of the hospital as its owners continue negotiating a settlement over its future.
ABC7 obtained multiple copies of a letter sent to employees stating there would be “a mass layoff at West Suburban Medical Center” beginning Aug. 31 and that “this mass layoff is expected to be permanent.”
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West Suburban Medical Center CEO Manoj Prasad told ABC7 the notices were required under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN Act, which limits furloughs to six months and requires advance notification before a permanent separation.
Prasad said the hospital’s plans to reopen have not changed, but there is still no firm reopening date.
Sylvia Williams, a former head of nursing at West Suburban Medical Center, said staff knew layoffs were a possibility but hoped they would not become necessary.
SEE ALSO | Exit strategy? Settlement negotiations underway over future of Oak Park safety-net hospital
The notices come amid an ongoing court battle between West Suburban Medical Center owners Prasad and landowner Rathnaker Patlola. The two sued each other in the weeks following the hospital’s closure in March.
ABC7’s I-Team was in court Tuesday for a hearing on progress toward a settlement agreement involving the hospital. During the hearing, attorneys representing Resilience Healthcare did not mention layoffs.
Sources close to the settlement discussions told the I-Team the notices are “a big deal” and that Prasad “had not consulted with anyone” about plans to permanently lay off the remaining furloughed employees.
One source also told the I-Team that the judge was surprised by the news and “upset” it was not disclosed.
Patlola issued a statement saying, in part, that he was “surprised and disappointed” and that employees “deserved far better.”
Settlement negotiations over the future of West Suburban hospital remain ongoing.
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