Cook County Air Quality Gets Failing Grade

According to the American Lung Association's 2013 "State of the Air," Cook County gets an "F."

Oakton Community College Closed Wednesday, April 24

Oakton Community College will remain closed due to flooding in Des Plaines, according to a spokesperson.

Oakton Community College's Des Plaines campus will remain closed due to flooding on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 23-24, according to a spokesperson. Janet Spector-Bishop stated in an email to Patch that the campus in Skokie would be open, but many events at the campus in Des Plaines were rescheduled or canceled. The community college was closed on Thursday because of the storm water. Updates on the impact of the flood are being posted on Oakton Community College's website, Spector-Bishop stated. Related:  

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MAP: Flooded Roads Throughout Chicago Area

From interstates to local roads, our map provides updates on closures and high-standing water in your area.

From the Wisconsin border to the south side of Chicago and into the western suburbs, local roads, interstates and highways were closed Thursday because of flooding.  Click through the pins above to see which roads in your area — or on your route to and from work today — have been closed due to flooding or have high-standing water. Police are encouraging drivers to avoid roadways with standing water.  If you come upon an area with high-standing water or that is closed, add that information to our map by visiting this link. Otherwise, let us know about the closure by commenting below.  Drivers are asked to beware of high-standing water on roadways. The water on a roadway can be deeper than it appears and can cause a vehicle to stall or be …

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Cook County’s Special $25 Gun Tax Starts April 1

Do you think the new tax will help curb taxpayer expenses tied to gun violence?

  A new $25 tax on every gun purchase in suburban Cook County took effect Monday as part of the larger 2013 county budget approved by county commissioners and County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, various media outlets reported.  The new gun tax is expected to bring in around $600,000 in revenues this year and is aimed at curbing taxpayer expenses tied to gun violence, which Preckwinkle says crowds jails and drives up health care costs, NBC Chicago reported.  Patch wants to know do you think the new tax will help curb taxpayer expenses tied to gun violence? Tell us in the comment section.  Preckwinkle's chief of staff, Kurt Summers says told the Sun-Times that the average health care cost to treat a gunshot victim is $52,000. He added …

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Sequestration Budget Cuts Data: Which IL Counties Have the Most Federal Employees?

More than 24,000 federal employees who work in Cook County could potentially be affected by sequester, which is slated to start Friday.

  CLICK ON THE COUNTY, ABOVE, AND THE BAR GRAPH WILL ADJUST Unless Congress reaches a last-minute agreement on the sequester by Friday, the huge budget cuts slated to kick in have the potential to affect more than 24,263 federal employees working in Cook County. Barring any kind of deal, the Obama administration will have to impose $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts to military and domestic programs on Friday, according to The New York Times. Those cuts would be the start of $1 trillion in cuts over the next decade. The numbers in the graph above show the number of federal employees in Illinois by county in 2012, according to the latest figures from Eye on Washington, a DC-based lobbying firm that tracks federal employment. It …

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Cook County Real Estate Database

Want to see who sold their home in Cook County? Patch has compiled a searchable ongoing list of property sales in Cook County, based on data from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

Want to know how much that house down the block sold for or how many million dollar home sales there were in your community last year? Patch has put together a searchable real estate database of Cook County property sales that is updated twice a month as new data is received from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. You can search by address (the field will fill in automatically as you start typing, but be patient — it may take a moment to catch up with you), or search a full town or a specific price range within a town. You can also search by the buyer or seller's name (and those fields will fill automatically as well). If no price is listed, or other information is missing, it is because it was not included in the information from the …

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Cook County Courts Electronics Ban Starts Jan. 14

Cell phones won’t be allowed in courts throughout the county.

  Cell phones, laptops and tablets won’t be allowed in Cook County courthouses starting Monday per an order by the county’s chief judge who wants to make courthouses safer and protect people testifying in court. Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans’s order takes effect Monday, but there will be a three-month grace period. The Circuit Court of Cook County and the Cook County Sheriff’s Department will remind people entering a courthouse that communication devices are prohibited, Evans said in a statement released Friday. “It will be strongly suggested devices remain in the car,” he said. The Circuit Court is working to find a place for people using public transportation to put their devices, he said. If a person can’t leave electronics in a…

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County Offers Roadside DUI Death Markers

On what may be the biggest drinking "holiday" of the year, Cook County announces a new plan for roadside DUI death memorials.

The night before Thanksgiving is known as the biggest party night of the year. Almost a holiday unto itself with a name of its own, Black Wednesday is a night to rival New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day for overindulgence in alcohol.  In many communities, extra officers will be on patrol and local officials warn bar owners not to overserve their patrons. So it's not a coincidence that Cook County this week announced a new DUI Memorial Program. For $150, families of anyone killed in a DUI fatality can purchase a roadside memorial marker to be placed alongside any highway under the county's jurisdiction.  The marker includes a “Please Don’t Drink and Drive” sign and an optional commemorative plaque with the deceased loved one’s name and …

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Unincorporated Cook Co Residents: Sticker Deadline is July 1

Residents have until July 1 to buy wheel tax stickers or pay double.

Residents of unincorporated Cook County, including Northfield Township, who own a car or a cycle, listen up. You have until July 1 to put a new vehicle sticker on your vehicle. If you have a business in unincorporated Cook County and keep a vehicle there, you have to get one as well. If you don't have one by July 1, expect a bit of sticker shock. Stickers are available for purchase from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Northfield Township office, 3801 W. Lake Ave., Glenview. They are also available online through the County's Department of Revenue. A $5 processing fee is charged at township office and online. The cost is: Seniors who purchased a sticker in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 or 2011 and own the same vehicle …

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Toni Preckwinkle Is Coming To Town

The Cook County Board President plans to speak at New Trier Township Annual Meeting on April 10.