Bedbugs are biting but Chicago can still sleep tight

CHICAGO — The pest control company Orkin sent Chicagoans into an itchy panic Tuesday after awarding the city its worst ranking: most treatments for bedbug infestation. While being No. 1 is not the best news for Chicago, experts say it’s rash to correlate the number of treatments with the number of infestations in the city.

“Chicago may be the No. 1 for Orkin … but to say that bedbugs are the worst in Chicago is an overstatement,” said research entomologist for BedBug Central Jeff White.

The New Jersey-based company works as an information resource and website for bedbugs and bug-related issues, such as prevention and effective treatment methods.

White said bedbugs have always been around, but recently there has been a shortage of new pesticides introduced into the market. This has allowed them to spread quickly and easily following a surge on the East Coast in 2006.

“The introduction of DDT during WWII pretty much eliminated them,” he said.

“But all pests, not just bedbugs, can and will build up a resistance to pesticides being used against them.”

DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972. Resistance in this case, does not mean the chemical will fail to kill the bugs and their eggs. It means that to be effective, more of the chemical must be used and the bugs need to be exposed longer for the treatment to work, White said.

After eight years as an entomologist for the Illinois Department of Public Health, Curt Colwell is no stranger to Chicago’s bedbug issues. He has taken calls from all over the state regarding bedbug infestation, with a majority coming from the Chicago area. He started to notice a higher number of bedbug reports in 2007 and the number has steadily increased since then.

According to the City of Chicago Building Department, in 2011 1,365 calls were made to 311 reporting a bedbug infestation and in 2012 the number jumped to 1,533.

“It exploded around 2010,” Cowell said. “I’d say approximately 30 percent of my pest-related calls are about bedbugs each day.”

Collwell said bedbugs are particularly hard to get rid of because removing them requires locating them, and most people don’t want to stay in an infested house to hunt them down. Collwell said there’s no way to know for sure if Chicago is now the worst city in the country.“I don’t know if Chicago has any more bedbugs than Cincinnati does,” he said, referring to that city’s Orkin rank as No. 1 in 2011. “But I don’t think anyone really has those kinds of numbers to determine exactly how bad it is.”

Bedbugs are not capable of transmitting diseases. Some people experience itchy red marks after being bitten, while others don’t notice any bites at all. Both Collwell and White said the biggest problem for those with bedbugs is not removing them or being bitten— it’s the toll they take on people’s lives during and after removal.

“I would say for the average person the emotional and psychological toll is way greater than the physical one,” Colwell said.

Chicago resident Tim Gagarin knows first-hand how bad the bedbugs can be. He started to notice them in his apartment at the end of December. After several treatments Gagarin said he thought they were gone but found more on Jan. 2. He said his life was already stressful as a DePaul University student working part-time, and the bedbugs added even more.

“It’s felt like the home I’ve built for myself here in Chicago has been thrown away,” he said. “Precautionary and necessary measures left me with pretty much the clothing on my back and a few important pieces of sentiment.”

After getting rid of his furniture, sealing up all unneeded clothing, and spending approximately $600 on cleaning and pesticides, Gagarin hasn’t seen any more bugs. He said even though they’re gone, he still has trouble sleeping and looks for them all the time.

“I sit for hours at the edge of my bed before I work up the courage to get in,” he said. “I’m looking for bugs everywhere now. Even in my car and workplace.”

Gagarin said he hasn’t decided whether to move to another apartment when his lease ends in April. The building’s management company has credited some of Gagarin’s losses against his rent and it’s possible the problem could follow him to a new place.

“The best way to get rid of them is to treat them in the environment they came from,” he said. “All things considered I’m lucky my apartment management is willing to help the situation.”

Thankfully there are effective treatment options available. Those with bedbugs can use what White calls a “multidisciplinary approach,” which involves buying “do it yourself” pesticides, bed casings and interception devices that prevent the bugs from spreading. There is also the option of calling in a professional pest control company. These companies will treat the area with pesticides or perform a heating method for removal.

White said he would recommend using heat because he believes it to be the most effective. The treatment involves a professional company heating the infested area to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours.

“Bugs and their eggs will die rapidly under that kind of heat,” he said. “If done right, it can eliminate most, if not all the bugs in just one treatment.”

No matter what option is chosen, White said it is crucial that those with bedbugs do their homework and get reliable information. White also produces BedBug TV, a miniseries online where he goes through the different techniques for removal and answers common bedbug questions.

Even though Chicago would rather be first on another list, White said this may help the public become more aware and educated about bedbugs.

“The lack of public awareness is what increases the spread of bedbugs dramatically,” he said. “Now everyone’s becoming educated, it’s just taking us longer to get there.”

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Flu epidemic kills 27, hospitalizes 369 in Illinois so far

UPDATE: Chicago pedestrians talk about the flu vaccine and this season's influenza virus.

CHICAGO — With the flu reaching epidemic levels around Christmas, health officials are estimating that the death toll has reached 27 in Illinois and nearly 370 people have been hospitalized with flu-related illnesses, state health officials are reporting.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is not expecting a decrease any time soon with more reported cases from previous weeks coming in. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, 47 states are now experiencing an elevated level of influenza activity. Officials said the season has started earlier and the cases are more severe than in recent years.

The number of flu cases declined last week in Chicago, but experts say conditions may continue for the next several weeks. Curtis Allen, a spokesperson for the CDC, said Chicago experienced an early outbreak of the influenza virus so the high activity level might decrease over the next 10-12 weeks. But he said the most accurate prediction the CDC could make about the flu season, is that it is unpredictable.

“Unfortunately, we really don’t know much about the type of flu season we’re having until after its over,” Allen said. “We’re learning a lot, but the most educational part is when the season is over.”

On Friday the CDC reported that 7.3 percent of deaths last week were caused by pneumonia and the flu, just above the epidemic status of 7.2 percent. While the numbers are high compared to previous years, some medical experts say there are misconceptions about the flu virus that are causing a great amount of unnecessary concern.

Dr. David Zich, internal medicine and emergency medicine physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said the flu season has been worse than normal, but preparing for the unexpected is part of emergency medicine.

The majority of flu cases reported to the CDC have been influenza A (H3N2), followed by influenza B viruses, and a small number of the 2009 H1N1 — more commonly known as the swine flu. Zich said when influenza A viruses circulated before, flu seasons were more severe, but the majority of the public has no reason to greatly fear the flu.

“This is not a super bug,” he said. “It may be a little bit more potent, but it’s not something to be very worried about. The majority of healthy people should be over it within five to seven days.”

As of last Wednesday, Northwestern Memorial Hospital was no longer on emergency-room bypass. Even though many hospitals have been swamped with flu patients, Zich said the hospital, not an urgent care center, is the best place to go if you get the flu and have other significant health problems. Hospitals will have the equipment to test for pneumonia and other respiratory complications, he said.

Dr. Paul Heidel, medical director for the Ottawa County Health Department in Michigan, previously worked on a national level with flu-related issues for the U.S. Air Force. He said the most common symptoms of the flu this year have been sore throat, headache, body aches, high fever and a cough from inflammation in the respiratory track. For those worried about getting ill, Heidel said it is not too late to get the vaccine, which is on average 62 percent effective.

“That doesn’t mean that you won’t get the flu though,” he said. “The body takes two weeks to build up antibodies so you’re not fully protected right away and there are other strains that it doesn’t cover.”

Heidel still recommended the shot despite these factors because it can prevent more severe cases and help the average person recover faster if they are infected. He also said getting the vaccine can reduce the risk of passing on the illness to someone more likely to have further complications.

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Chicago residents rush for - and resist - flu shots

Click here to view the video on Chicago Medill reports.

The hard-hitting influenza virus has already sent a reported 370 Illinois residents to the hospital this season. These are the latest figures, updated through Friday, from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The threat of getting sick has some rushing to get the flu vaccine, while others are skeptical about its effectiveness.

See who has gotten sick, who received the flu shot and what people think about this season's outbreak.

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Lake View sees drop in total crime but robbery count doubles

CHICAGO — Chicago Police officials from the 19^th District reported Tuesday, Nov. 8, that three areas of Lake View have seen a significant drop in total crimes reported this month, but specific crimes are on the rise.

Beth Giltmier, Chicago Police and CAPS Sgt. for the 19th Police District, said the total number of crimes reported for the 1923 beat, which covers West Irving Park Road to West Addison Street, has decreased by 25 incidents.

“It’s a big deal,” Giltmier said. “That means we’re arresting the right people.”

Despite the decrease in total crime, reported robberies for the 1923 beat almost doubled from eight to 15. Giltmier said at this time there is nothing to indicate a pattern in the incidents, but police officials are using new strategies to track down the source of the thefts.

“They’re going in the alleyways instead of staying on the main streets, which will help them find anything suspicious near garages,” Giltmier said. “We can’t be everywhere but the most important thing is getting the word out to the community.”

Addison Street to Belmont Avenue, beat 1924, saw a decrease of 18 and beat 1925, North Halsted to North Lake Shore Drive, decreased by 19. Giltmier said the total decrease in all three beats could be due to a series of major arrests.

On Oct. 25, a suspected Lake View burglary team, Delia Fernandez and Joe Melendez, were arrested by police officials. Paris Embry, 33, was arrested after police officers stopped his vehicle on the 600 block of West Patterson Avenue. He was charged with possession of narcotics. Giltmier said she believes Embry is a middleman for the large amount of narcotic sales in the area, particularly on West Grace Street.

Nora Handler and her husband Bruce attended Tuesday’s beat meeting. The two have been living on the 3800 block of North Lake Shore Drive for nine years. She said throughout that time the neighborhood’s atmosphere has gone up and down regularly but about two months ago she noticed an increase in suspicious activity.

“In a big city like Chicago you won’t know all your neighbors but you have a feel for who belongs there and who doesn’t,” she said. “I started talking to neighbors who were seeing things in the alley that made them concerned too.”

Handler said over the last two weeks she has seen an improvement and is starting to feel more confident when walking at night. She said she is thankful to the police who have taken the community’s complaints seriously.

“I think we’re really lucky in this neighborhood,” she said. “(The police) are very involved and very responsive…they do the best they can.”

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UPDATE: Alderman speaks at Hotel Chateau hearing as owner plays hooky

Hotel Chateau owner Jack Gore was a no show in Cook County Housing Court Tuesday but his lawyer was there, arriving late and claiming that his client never received official notice of the lawsuit brought on by several violations and failed inspections.

The hotel at 3838 N. Broadway is a single-room occupancy building that is typically used as housing for clients of social service providers. These clients can range from ex-convicts to mental health patients in need of affordable housing. According to records from the Chicago Buildings Department, the hotel has failed 27 city inspections since September 2001 — nine out of 11 were failed this year.

During the hearing, Alderman James Cappleman (46^th) and North Halsted Business Alliance Executive Director Jay Lion, were able to speak on behalf of the community.

Several issues were brought up including its effect on Lake View residents, businesses and tourism industry.

“I took a tour of the North Broadway area and talked to as many businesses and residents as I could,” Cappleman said while addressing the court. “The number one complaint I heard was the issues going on at and around the Hotel Chateau.”

Gore could not be reached for comment and his legal representation, Victor Ciardelli, did not address the court. But in an email sent to Cappleman on Nov. 2, Ciardelli said the attacks against the Chateau are merely a way for the alderman to follow through with the threats he made prior to his election in 2011.

“At this point we feel that the Chateau Hotel is being singled out,” Ciardelli said. “If this harassment continues we will have no other alternative but to seek whatever remedies (Jack Gore) has available to him in the Federal District Courts.”

Associate Judge William G. Pileggi presided over the hearing and verbally recognized the community’s concerns about the Chateau, particularly its close proximity to a neighborhood park and the Horace Greeley Elementary School. But Pileggi said he wanted to make it clear that the jurisdiction of Tuesday’s hearing covers only the building’s violations, and that is what his ruling will be based on.

The Chateau faces a hefty list of violations, including damaged fire escapes, missing or broken fire alarms, bathroom mildew buildup on the ceilings and floors, plumbing backups and defective electrical outlets. In the email, Ciardelli said the hotel is a safe and well-run SRO, and that city inspectors found the Chateau in “excellent condition” on previous occasions.

Theodore Tellano, 57, said he has lived at the Hotel Chateau for 10 years. He said the poor maintenance is to blame for the buildings issues, not the tenants.

“They do the cosmetic parts,” Tellano said. “The housekeeping is fine, they paint it so it looks nice on the outside. It’s like they make it look good from far away.”

In addition to mildew, broken windows and leaky pipes in several areas of the building, Tellano said doors are kicked in regularly and the broken locks are either fixed poorly or not replaced at all.

“It happens a lot,” he said. “ They don’t fix stuff properly the first time so they have to keep coming back to do more crap work.”

Representatives from the Lake View Action Coalition attended the meeting wearing buttons that read, “Save Our Home.” Norman Groetzinger has been a member of the coalition for 20 years and also owns several buildings in the area. He said he agrees with the city and thinks Gore should be made to improve the conditions in the building, but he thinks the neighborhood is wrong to accuse the tenants for the area’s increased crime.

“It’s typical to make a building, like the Chateau, a scapegoat for bad things happening in the neighborhood,” Groetzinger said. “But closing it down is extreme and will only hurt the situation. You’ll be putting 138 of its residents out on the street.”

Outside of the courtroom, Cappleman said there is a lack of affordable housing in Chicago and it is not his primary goal to shut down the Chateau. He said it is up to Gore to save the building from closure.

“I believe SRO housing can have a good name in this city again but they have to be maintained well,” Cappleman said. “No building is perfect but Gore has to work with us to keep it safe.”

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Lake View hotel owner faces code violations in court

CHICAGO — In 1993, the single-room occupancy Paxton Hotel was one of Chicago’s deadliest SRO fires, and on Tuesday its owner, Jack Gore, will appear in court once again after a series of failed building inspections at his Hotel Chateau.

Twenty residents were killed in the Paxton Hotel fire, a building packed with major code violations, and a variety of Lake View community activists and government officials will attend Gore’s hearing next week to express their concerns.

Alderman James Cappleman, 46^th, will attend the hearing as well as other representatives from his office, according to the alderman’s chief of staff Tressa Feher. Feher said she could not name the specific details of Gore’s hearing but said there is a significant amount of issues involved with the building.

“With any of these housing court hearings they give (the owner) a time frame to get the building violations fixed,” Feher said. “The hotel has not held up its side of the bargain.”

Feher said since Cappleman’s appointment in 2011, his office has been organizing a task force with neighbors, local businesses and community activists to create a plan to move forward with the issue.

“We’re just trying to get the owner to comply with the law and be a good neighbor,” Feher said.

The Hotel Chateau, 3838 N. Broadway, is not Gore’s only low-income housing unit and it is not his first run-in with the law. He owns several SROs including the Irving, Diplomat and Abbott Hotels, all on the North Side.

According to the Chicago Buildings Department, the city has sued Gore and his management company, Sabra Management, numerous times for code violations in each. The Hotel Chateau failed nine of its 11 city inspections this year and has failed 27 inspections since September 2001. Some of its recent violations include damaged fire escapes, missing or broken fire alarms, bathroom mildew buildup on the ceilings and floors, plumbing backups and defective electrical outlets. Gore could not be reached to comment on the issue.

The North Broadway building has typically been used as housing for clients of social service providers. Clients range from prisoners to mental health patients in need of affordable housing. Chester Kropidlowski, chairman of the East Lake View Neighbors Association, said the hotel has been an issue in the community for almost two decades. He said the concerns are primarily fueled by the hotel’s close proximity to a neighborhood park and the Horace Greeley Elementary School.

Lake View resident Jori Mazza, said she frequently brings her daughter to the park next door to the Chateau.

“Only during the day around noon, though,” Mazza said. “After that there are drug deals and people screaming and shouting.”

Mazza has observed these activities outside the hotel. She said it tends to increase during the summer months.

“It’s unfortunate too because it’s a really great park and I love taking (my daughter) here,” she said. “But I just don’t feel safe.”

Kropidlowski said he plans to attend Tuesday’s hearing, which will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St. He said he hopes it will help resolve some of the issues neighborhood issues, including those at the hotel.

“We don’t want to flood the courtroom and it’s not our intention to disrupt the hearing,” Kropidlowski said. “But we want the judge to know that this is a serious issue for us.”

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NASCAR bride Samantha Busch enjoying life as the wife of racer Kyle Busch

BROOKLYN, MI – There’s never a dull moment for Samantha Busch.

After NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, Kyle and Samantha -- who were married Dec. 31, 2010 -- left for the Montreal race at 10 a.m. Saturday. It took a plane, helicopter, boat and car to get them there and back on time for the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday.

“It was pretty ridiculous,” Samantha said. “I figured we might as well throw a train in there somewhere to hit all the modes of transportation.”

Even though the couple isn't exactly roughing it in the motorhome they furnished together, Samantha said life on the road with a NASCAR racer is chaotic at times. But she seems to almost prefer it that way.

“It’s hectic, always packing, unpacking and doing laundry,” she said. “The best thing is just getting to do what he loves every weekend and getting to be a part of it.”

On top of following a NASCAR racer around the country, Samantha managed to pursue a master’s degree online after receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Purdue University. She now works with NDS Nutrition and InStyler, maintains her own website www.samanthabusch.com, and updates her lifestyle blog regularly.

“I wanted to keep doing what I love while still being on the road doing what he loves.”

Kyle, 27, and Samantha, 26, first met at a racetrack in 2007. Busch said it wasn’t love at first sight, at least for her, because they had met at a young age.

“I was in college, going into my senior year at Purdue, so we kept it really casual at first,” she said.

The two communicated by phone, text and email for several months and Samantha said she could tell the relationship had grown into something more.

“There was one night that we were on the phone for two and a half hours … that’s when I was like, ‘Wow, I kind of like him,'" she said.

Several things about Kyle caught her attention, one being how he was with his two West-Highland Terriers, Suzie, 9, and Kelly, 11.

Samantha laughed as she described one example when Kyle gave her flowers and a card on Mother’s Day from Suzie and Kelly. The cards were stamped with their paw prints, which he had colored the bottoms of with a marker.

“They had black Sharpie all over them for days,” Busch said.

She grew to love the passion Kyle had for his racing career and how he constantly goes out of his way to make her happy.

“It’s that side that people don’t really get to see," she said.

Samantha said she and Kyle have a pretty normal pre-race routine, which includes breakfast together, appearances with the media and fans, and going to a church service at the track. Both Samantha and Kyle were raised Catholic and she said religion is something they both fall back on amid the chaos surrounding the sport.

When it comes to starting a family, she and Kyle have talked a lot on the subject but are still a few years from having any children.

“If it were to happen, that’d be great, but we’re not trying or planning right now,” she said smiling ear to ear.

For now, Samantha is happy with a different kind of family addition – a new Pomeranian Yorkie named Lucy, which Samantha said is prepping them for parenthood by waking them up several times a night.

Family is big for Samantha. Her large Italian family has always been close and having to miss out on weekend gatherings is one of the most taxing for the Chicago native.

To make up for it, she said she keeps in contact with her mother and she and Kyle do fun things on the side when he’s not racing.

“With so many different track locations, we really get to go out and explore the country," she said. "I know with a normal job, all that wouldn’t be possible."

– Contact Lauryn Schroeder at lschroed@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter at laurynschroed.

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