Scammers pose as ComEd or other service workers to lure residents outside, while accomplices enter empty homes to steal possessions

CHICAGO (Jan. 28, 2021) – With people spending more time at home because of the COVID- 19 pandemic, imposters are taking advantage of residents who may be alone to rob them of their possessions and financial information. These imposters can show up at small businesses as well as homes.

In this latest scam, an individual may pose as an employee from ComEd, another utility or a tree service company. They will lure the resident or small-business owner outside to discuss work that they claim needs to be completed. While the individual is outside, an accomplice will enter the home or business to steal valuables and documents containing the individual’s personal or financial information.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is making the following recommendations for those schools returning to in-person learning following remote operation during the first semester, from the winter or spring breaks, after summer vacation, or any other time a building has been vacated and persons return to the building. As buildings are vacated or unoccupied, drinking water is often left to sit stagnant in the building’s plumbing system. This may cause increased concentrations of metals, such as lead or copper, in the building’s drinking water and may promote the growth of harmful pathogens, such as Legionella, within a building’s plumbing system.
Public Act 099-0922 took effect Jan. 17, 2017, and required all Illinois schools constructed on or before Jan. 1, 2000, to test all “sources of potable water” for lead and submit the results to IDPH by Dec. 31, 2018. This Act also directed IDPH to determine if it is necessary and appropriate, to protect public health, to require schools constructed in whole or in part after Jan. 1, 2000, to conduct testing for lead from sources of potable water.

With this in mind, IDPH is providing a memorandum with recommendations for all schools constructed in whole or in part before Jan. 4, 2014, to sample “all sources of potable water” (225 ILCS 320/35.5) for lead in water and providing other IDPH recommendations to improve water quality at Illinois’ schools. For further questions, please contact IDPH, Plumbing and Water Quality Program, Division of Environmental Health at (217) 524-0791, or visit the IDPH website.

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Mental health and crisis support Illinois Call4Calm Text Line (24/7)

If you or a loved one are struggling with stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and need emotional support, text TALK to 552020 for English or HABLAR for Spanish (Message and Data Rates May Apply. See Terms and Conditions of Use). People seeking assistance remain anonymous and provide only their first name and ZIP code, which enables the service to link them to a counselor in the area who is knowledgeable about available local resources.

Illinois Warm Line

If you or one of you family members has mental health and/or substance use challenges and would like to receive support by phone, call the Illinois Warm Line at 866-359-7953. Wellness support specialists are professionals who have experienced mental health and/or substance use recovery in their own lives.

They are trained in recovery support, mentoring, and advocacy and are ready to listen and support you. The Illinois Warm Line is not a crisis hotline but is a source of support as you recover or help a family member to recover. Illinois Warm Line hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., except holidays.

Chicago’s own Timuel D. Black turns 102 on Monday, December 7! A special drive- by parade is being organized as a birthday salute for Tim, our Chicago treasure: veteran, social scientist and political activist, scholar, teacher, civil rights leader, jazz enthusiast. Participants and supporters will include Tim’s neighbors and friends, colleagues and comrades, members of the academy and the community, students and residents from the South Side and across the city.

This COVID-19 conscious event is sponsored by:

o The Timuel D. Black Educational Foundation

o The Civic Knowledge Project; The University of Chicago o The University of Chicago Alumni Association

All are welcome, everyone is requested to wear a mask, and to watch for proper distancing when we gather. Since this is a gathering of cars, good social distancing is a built-in provision.

Monday, December 7:

12:45 – 1:15 p.m. Birthday balloons, cards and flowers will be collected at the 49th Street corner of Drexel Parkway.1:00 p.m. Cars assemble at 50th and Drexel - in front of Operation PUSH
1:15 p.m. Cars depart to circle 3 times by 49th and Drexel