The Illinois Department of Public Health didn’t investigate 85 percent of the 560 hospital complaints it received last year even when the complaints alleged patient abuse and lax infection control, according to a published report Sunday. The Chicago Tribune reported …
Summer’s drought and excessive heat have led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare 44 Illinois counties natural disaster areas. Farmers and ranchers in another 33 counties also qualify for assistance because they are contiguous to the affected areas. The …
An early morning fire has forced the evacuation of about 400 residents of a mental health facility in the Chicago suburb of Robbins. Robbins Fire Chief Charles Lloyd Jr. says the fire that broke out at the Lydia Healthcare Center …
The Chicago suburb of Naperville will receive more than $500,000 to help pay for the cleanup required after the historic February blizzard that struck Illinois. The Daily Herald reports that the money will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. …
Illinois fire safety experts are urging families to be vigilant when they go to temporary haunted houses this Halloween season. The Office of the Illinois state Fire Marshal says it’s important for haunted house operators to follow the state’s fire …
Family members of a Chicago, Ill., firefighter killed last year battling a blaze at an abandoned building are suing the owners of the structure. The Chicago Tribune reports Jennifer Stringer and Edward Stringer Jr. filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday …
Gov. Pat Quinn has removed eight of Illinois’ 31 workers’ compensation arbitrators. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the removals are part of a reform package of the state’s workers’ comp system. According to the newspaper, Illinois had the third-highest workers’ …
Sentencing will be in January for a southwestern Illinois man who admits violating the federal Clean Air Act by having asbestos illegally removed from a former industrial site. Fifty-two-year-old Franklin “Al” Bieri of O’Fallon pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court …
A former Roman Catholic priest whose molestation of a former altar boy led to a $6.3 million payout in a lawsuit is being sued again, this time by a former caretaker who alleges the one-time clergyman sexually abused him as …
The Chicago City Council is to consider a ban on bicyclists texting while riding on city streets. The council’s Traffic Safety Committee endorsed the ban Monday. Bicyclists also couldn’t talk on cell phones without a hands-free device while riding. The …