Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

For the first time in Illinois, the findings of the Illinois Department of Transportation's bridge inspections can be viewed online. The data found in the website reveals details about the deficient state of many of Illinois's bridges. Most glaringly, a part of the Congress Parkway Bridge over the Chicago River received the lowest possible rating for a span allowed to remain in service.

Chicago Tribune transportation writer, Jon Hilkevitch, recently wrote a telling article about the state of bridge safety in Illinois. The article reported that of the 26,276 total bridges in Illinois, 4,393 have been ranked as structurally deficient (supposedly safe, but no longer able to hold the weight for which they were originally designed) and/or functionally obsolete (not meeting current design standards).

Over the next six years, Illinois plans to spend roughly $2.5 billion on bridge rehabilitation and the construction of new bridges. The funds will come from a new state capital improvement plan as well as federal stimulus packages. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has allocated approximately $25 million to rehab the Congress Parkway Bridge, beginning next year and running through 2015.

Federal regulations require bridges to be inspected every 48 months. Federal bridge inspection regulations were developed as a result of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, which required the Secretary of Transportation to establish National Bridge Inspection Standards to ensure the safety of the traveling public. The IDOT website provides information on state-maintained bridges only. It does not include any data on the more than 18,500 bridges under the jurisdiction of municipalities, townships, counties, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority or the Chicago Skyway.

As a parent, someone who grew up on the southside, and someone who fights for justice, I was sickened by today's news story about the water in Crestwood being tainted for decades with dangerous dry-cleaning chemicals. The saddest part is that it appears the water was used despite the knowledge that it was tainted. Consider the lengths some people go to to feed their children organic foods and use natural cleaning products in an effort to protect their children and themselves from dangerous chemicals. As a society, we support researchers, read books about superfoods, take vitamins and consider all that we can do to prevent cancer. Yet, city officials in Crestwood were allegedly supplying their constituents with chemical-laden water. People in Crestwood - not knowing the danger - have been using that tap water everyday to quench their thirst, make their morning coffee, boil their pasta and make their kids a pitcher of frozen orange juice. The list is endless. For the people of Crestwood, the use of that water was unavoidable and a part of their everyday life.

A new study reports that prescription drugs used to treat depression, high blood pressure, seizures and other ailments are turning up in fish caught downstream from a Chicago sewage treatment plant. Little is known about the potential effects of drugs in the water on people and wildlife, but scientists and regulators are becoming increasingly concerned about long-term exposure, even at low levels.

The study, performed by researchers from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, reported similar findings near sewage plants in Dallas, Orlando, Philadelphia and Phoenix. These findings echo earlier testing that found pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of Chicago and other American cities. Prescription drugs end up in drinking water and fish when people take medicaitons and the residue passes through their bodies and into the sewers. Conventional sewage and drinking water treatment filters out some substances, but several studies have found that small amounts are able to pass through nevertheless. The drugs are then absorbed by fish and accumulate in livers and other tissue.

As more studies report pharmaceuticals in drinking water and in wildlife, regulators are reversing their long-held advice that people should flush unused or old drugs down toilets.

In early December, the City of Chicago announced plans that it would be cutting back on plowing the city's streets, especially the side streets, in an effort to save money and decrease the amount paid in overtime.

This change in plans is a victory in favor of public safety. "This was public safety, and we screwed up bad," said Ald. Thomas Allen (38th), Transportation Committee chairman. " I'm not criticizing the attempt to make a change, but the attempt was a big flop, and now we are back to reality."

Neglecting to remove the snow is a recipe for disaster. Even when the roads are plowed and salted, snowy weather conditions can wreak havoc for motorists. This morning's snowfall caused a number of crashes on area expressways. Numerous crashes were reported on the Kennedy, Stevenson and Eisenhower Expressways. In northwest Indiana, state police said there were several crashes along Interstate Highway 65 in Newton and Jasper Counties.

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