Heating bills expected to spike
With winter approaching, there is a good chance Illinoisans will be paying more to heat their homes. The problem is sharply higher costs for natural gas, used to heat a majority of homes in the state.
Nicor, the utility serving a large portion of Illinois, estimated its average residential customer will pay almost $450 more for natural gas supplies this winter, almost double the cost of a year ago. Peoples Gas said it does not have an estimate yet, but the utility acknowledged bills will jump sharply.
Passengers recount poor Amtrak experience
Passengers are recounting stories of a Chicago-bound Amtrak train that had no power, no food or water, no working bathrooms and no heat for 19 hours.
The trip from Pontiac, Michigan, to Chicago usually takes five hours, but this trip was delayed by an engine failure, and then a medical emergency. It got so bad, many people jumped from the train when it was stopped near Gary, Indiana, for another mechanical issue.
Prescribed burns conducted by professionals
October through April marks prescribed burn season in Illinois. Prescribed burns are controlled applications of fire to the landscape by a team of experts under specific weather conditions.
Officials said fire continues to be an important part of prairie and forest ecosystems to keep them healthy by recycling nutrients back in the soils more quickly and lessening the severity of wildfires.