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Chris and Christine D'Hondt had to tear up portions of the basement in their Ravenswood home because a rat infestation, where their $2 million home is just a block south of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home on Hermitage ... live rat stuck to a sticky trap under their kitchen stove [...] City of Chicago Rodent Control ... what they do ... Rat Stoppage Tickets ... Species of rat in Chicago is the Norway rat ...

Carpentersville full-time firefighters: "Cost-saving moves by the village lead to slower response times that will jeopardize residents' safety. However village administration, says the firefighters union has "buyer's remorse" about a new contract and really is lamenting the anticipated loss of overtime [...] Carpentersville: New labor contract with full-time firefighters helps Village deliver exceptional service to residents -- engines equipped with Advanced Life Support equipment at all three fire stations [PDF ...] IAFFLOCAL 4790: Added Average Response Time Likely Will Cause Loss of Life [...] Carpentersville Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 4790 keeps residents informed of incidents and station coverage, and promotes monitoring of Quadcom Fire dispatch in Kane County ...  Facebook.com/iafflocal4790 ...

Earlier this week Lake County and Chicago made the most miserable cities list in Forbes. Now here'e the only community in Illinois to make the list of the top 50 small towns in America ... Buffalo Grove [...] [America's top 50 small towns are not only thriving economically, they’ve also got all you could want in a place to raise a family: plenty of green space, good schools, and a strong sense of community.] CNN Money Best Places to Live Snapshot -- Buffalo Grove [...]

The Legionnaires bacteria has been traced to a hot tub at the LA Fitness in Naperville, on Freedom Drive at Naperville Road.  [...] Bacteria found in Batavia schools in October 2012  [...] Illinois Department of Public Health memo on testing school district water supplies from November 2012 [PDF ...]

Chicago residents must endure long commutes (31 minutes on average), plummeting home prices (37% the past five years), brutal winters and high foreclosure rates (3.3% of homes in 2012 says RealtyTrac) ... net migration out of the city of 107,000 people the past five years, according to Moody’s Analytics  [...] Chicago is the sixth worst among the 200 largest metros [...] Lake County (oops they call it a Chicago suburb) is one of the richest counties in the U.S., as measured by per capita income. But home prices are down 29% over the past 5 years. Other drawbacks: long commutes and lousy weather [...]

Gas main leak in the middle of the street on Clifton Avenue at DePaul University Lincoln Park campus [...]

Parent company of the Sun-Times is about to begin selling off some of its suburban publishing assets with Joliet Herald-News likely to go first ... unidentified new owner announcement expected by the end of the year  [...] The satirical newspaper, the ONION, will end its print edition in Chicago, Providence, R.I., and Milwaukee with the Dec. 12 issue [...]