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It’s two days until Christmas. Whether you have work today or you’re spending time with loved ones, start your morning with these stories from WTTW News.
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(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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Rats normally make an excellent meal for owls, hawks, eagles and other birds of prey. But too often in cities like Chicago, the rodents are laced with poisons known as anticoagulant rodenticides. These rodenticides, which interfere with an animal's ability to cycle Vitamin K and clot blood, are Chicago's primary weapon in the city's seemingly neverending war on rats. The problems with that are the targeted rats are becoming increasingly tolerant of rat poison and when they're eaten by a predator, those predators can die from ingesting the rodenticides.
What's changing: In 2025, the department will begin a trial of carbon dioxide as an alternative solution to rodenticides and is currently preparing a request for proposals from CO2 vendors, according to a spokesperson for Streets and San. If carbon dioxide sounds familiar, that's because Chicago tried it once before — in the form of dry ice — during former Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration. That trial, which was relatively successful while it lasted, was halted by the Environmental Protection Agency. In lieu of dry ice, this latest effort will use a gas version of CO2, which is approved by the EPA, the Streets and San spokesperson said.
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(Evgen Prozhyrko / iStock)
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Passing the bar, nurse licensure test or real estate certification exam is a crucial step to becoming an attorney, RN or real estate broker. Test prep courses can cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, which is out of reach for many Americans.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) said it’s in the state’s best interest to make sure that those aspiring professionals succeed. Ford is behind provisions in the state budget that allocate $10 million for a new Prepare for Illinois’ Future program, which would “offer comprehensive test preparation, free of charge and at no cost to students” in an effort to help them pass.
Even though money was also included in last year’s budget, the program has yet to get underway. Ford credits the state for being thorough, but other backers say the delay is harming low-income students who can’t afford to pay for test prep themselves.
But Ford said things now are moving and the program should soon be “ready to go.”
“This is going to be beneficial for many professions, especially with the shortages in all of the professions in Illinois,” like in nursing, social work and teaching, Ford said.
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Donations of clothes and toys made to Chicago-area Salvation Army facilities. (Credit: Salvation Army)
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For many, the holiday season is a time for giving back. However, some charities say they’re seeing fewer donations this year. That trend is also being seen nationally. Charitable giving dropped more than 2% in 2023, according to a Giving USA report. But local organizations are making efforts to reach their donation goals just in time for the new year. Officials from the Salvation Army say they’ve seen an increase in services that need to be rendered, such as food, shelter and clothing. But there hasn’t been a substantial increase in income.
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Back in the Day: December 23, 1910 - The 1910 Union Stockyards Fire Extinguished
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In the early morning of Dec. 22, 1910, a gnarly electrical fire enveloped Warehouse No. 7 of the Morris & Co. meatpacking plant on Chicago's South Side at 44th Street and Loomis Avenue. Flames engulfed the building as firefighters responded to the blaze. About an hour after it was reported, a six-story brick wall collapsed and buried 21 Chicago firefighters. After the blaze was extinguished on this day 125 years ago, 24 men died, including those first responders. It was one of the deadliest disasters for firefighters in American history. On Dec. 22, 2004, local CFD members raised $170,000 from fellow firefighters to build and install a memorial near the site 94 years after the tragedy.
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Where's your favorite place in the city or local neighborhood to go to look at holiday lights and decorations?
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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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