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It's Monday and this newsletter producer's bracket is already busted. Take a minute from college hoops to catch up on these stories from WTTW News. |
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Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory |
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A federal report card gave Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory barely passing grades, continuing recent developments that included the exit of its director and a high-profile whistleblower report documenting a series of potential problems at the national laboratory.
The recent assessment identified several key performance deficiencies by the previous management contractor that was replaced in January at the particle physics and accelerator laboratory in suburban Batavia.
The 2024 fiscal year evaluation awarded poor marks for program management, contractor leadership, environment/safety/health, business systems and facilities maintenance, according to documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through a public-records request.
What is the report card?
The Office of Science in the DOE evaluates the performance of contractors managing its national laboratories each year to determine performance fees and contract extensions, a process that ties work quality to financial incentives and publicly released grades. The review aims to recognize successes and provide constructive feedback for improvement.
What does it say?
The DOE identified a number of problems in its 2024 analysis of Fermilab. Among them, site access issues improved but remained challenging for foreign visitors, particularly energy frontier physicists who collaborate with the European Organization for Nuclear Research, according to the report. FRA faced budget constraints, personnel shortages and high turnover in the COVID-19 era.
More backstory:
The last few years have certainly been eventful for the Fermilab staff. The national laboratory stopped much of its work for a week last year, though major research projects and maintenance continued during the limited operations period. Management shortened a previously announced closure connected to budget problems. |
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The Forest Preserve District of Cook County launched a campaign in 2023 to keep people off of "unofficial" trails, which were harming rare ecosystems. (Forest Preserve District of Cook County) |
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It’s not often that a forest preserve district wants to brag about decreased trail usage.
But in the case of Swallow Cliff Woods in Cook County’s Palos Preserves, ecologist Kristin Pink is thrilled to reveal that an effort to keep people off “unofficial” trails has succeeded.
While it’s “natural that people want to explore,” Pink said, the issue of people carving out their own paths at Swallow Cliff in the southwest suburbs had become unsustainable for the preserve’s rare ecosystems, prompting the Cook County forest preserve district to launch a campaign in 2023 to encourage visitors to stick to marked trails.
What happened?
Based on data collected before and after barriers and signage were placed at the entry points to these rogue routes, there has been an 80% reduction in users, be it hikers, joggers, cyclists, equestrians or poachers (mostly mushroom thieves).
Why is the area special?
Perhaps best known for its towering set of cardio-blasting limestone stairs beloved by fitness fanatics, Swallow Cliff is actually one of the most biodiverse sites in all of Cook County’s 70,000 acres of forest preserves and is one of the district’s highest priority sites for conservation.
It harbors a number of threatened and endangered species and much of the site rests on a unique geologic deposit — called the Lemont Drift. |
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An outfall on the North Branch of the Chicago River. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) |
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People with severe asthma insured by BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois may soon face a new hurdle in accessing a treatment that providers say is critically important to keeping certain patients alive and well.
Starting in April, BCBSIL plans to change its coverage to require pre-approval for in-person administration of four biologic medications for asthma, used to aid patients who don’t respond to the more common treatment via inhalers.
Many patients are treated with those medications in a health care setting, with providers saying there are several crucial reasons an in-person treatment can be necessary to keep patients safe and healthy. Now, BCBSIL plans to mandate all patients taking those drugs self-administer at home — unless they get prior approval from the insurance giant. |
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Back in the Day: March 24, 1985 - Cubs Start Selling Bleacher Tickets in Advance |
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Wrigley Field’s bleachers have changed a lot since they were built for $200,000 in 1937. Following their construction, ivy planted by the Clavey family (or Bill Veeck, depending on who you ask) grew throughout the seats and paved the way for the ballpark’s iconic center-field scoreboard. Since then it’s undergone several renovations this century that included revamps in 2006, 2012 and 2015. The Cubs have seats, LED scoreboards, and more. Next to adding lights to the ballpark in 1984, the bleachers experienced a massive change on this date 40 years ago: Team owners Tribune Co. announced they would be selling advance tickets for the bleachers. It used to be that fans would show up the day of the game, which eventually made the occasionally rowdy bunch in the outfield known as the “Bleacher Bums.” Then with that change, the team started selling advance tickets at $3.50 a pop. Now, it’s starting at $22. |
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This Week’s Civic Events and Meetings |
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with your community and local government.
Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability
CCPSA is hosting a listening session Tuesday at North Park University Chicago to hear directly from the community about the COPA chief administrator search process. From 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Here's the event page.
City Club of Chicago
City of Chicago Clerk Anna M. Valencia participates in a Tuesday discussion at Maggiano's Banquets at 111 W. Grand Avenue. Ticket pricing and details can be found here.
Chicago Board of Health
The Board of Health meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 9 a.m. Citizens can attend in person at 1340 S Damen Avenue, 4th Floor Training Room (Room #4024) or livestream on Facebook. Details here. |
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What's a must-visit place in the suburbs? Tell us why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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