grasshopper on ochra plant

high water on the Des Plaines

These are a couple pictures taken from the Lake Street bridge over the Des Plaines River. There's the debris in one picture and the water is almost up to the Metra bridge in the other picture.

preventing storm damage through enforcing code

This is a picture of a dead tree that was knocked over in Maywood (Saturday, August 25). If I remember right it's a property on 8th Ave.

The tree was dead--not just a little dead, but long dead. I presume it was knocked down in the storm. It took down a number of wires going to the house on the corner lot. (The leaves in the picture are from a second tree that was damaged by the falling dead tree.) However, the tree was technically on the adjacent property.

The Village of Maywood should have made the owner of the property remove the dead tree because it was a public nuisance.

Obviously, most of the problems caused by the storm couldn't have been prevented by better enforcement of local code issues. But some problems can be prevented by engaging in common sense preventive measures, like removing large, dead trees.

La Grange Park resident wins photo contest

Health Lakes, Healthy Lives is a coalition of "more than 90 organizations representing millions of residents in the Great Lakes have joined a new coalition whose goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes."

Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives sponsored a story and photo contest.

Brian Lisek of La Grange Park was one of the winners of the photo contest for Fun and Laughter on the Beach.

“Our family travels from Chicago to South Haven, Michigan every summer for its annual beach vacation. The kids always look forward to digging in the sand, finding beach stones for their collection, and playing in the the water (no matter how cold it is).”

h/t Sun-Times (Dale Bowman)

Peraica & Lyons GOP hold picnic

Today the Lyons Township Republicans had their picnic. The day started with Commissioner Tony Peraica, Lyons Township GOP committeeman leading a bike ride from Cermak Pool the past the Chicago Portage National Historic Site and down the public access road next to the Ship & Sanitary Canal.

Later in the day was the picnic.

Peraica talking with someone attending the picnic


Guillermo, a Peraica campaign worker, and Proviso Township Trustee Jesse Martinez

Des Plaines River cleaner than in the past

While biking to and from the Lyons Township GOP picnic I saw evidence that the Des Plaines River is cleaner than it was in the past.

Lesson: if we (humans) stop doing harm to the environment, it is often resilient about rebounding. Of course, Lake Michigan is an example of an ecosystem that was destroyed. While it's not polluted like in the past, the ecosystem didn't rebound.


Two views of the Des Plaines River from the pedestrian bridge in Riverside Township.