East soccer wins in own tourney

Published: September 28, 2008

Kane County Chronicle

ST. CHARLES – The final game of the St. Charles East Varsity Soccer Invite Saturday proved to be a sub-standard one for the host Saints.

Nonetheless, East came away with a 1-0 victory against Burlington Central, thanks to sophomore Johnny Bren’s goal in the 36th minute of play.

Saints coach Paul Jennison was critical of his team’s performance, saying “It wasn’t pretty, but we got the win.”

Most of the game was played in the defensive end for the Rockets (4-8-1), which Burlington Central senior goalkeeper Kyle DeRaedt called “an intense atmosphere.”

The goalkeeper was put on alert all game and finished with 13 saves.

“We know St. Charles is a great team,” DeRaedt said. “Our defense did good trying to hold them back.”

Jennison, however, through that his Saints (6-4-3) did not perform as well as he would have liked, despite the win. Several scoring opportunities were squandered by too much set-up and shots that sailed out of bounds.

“We didn’t really get started,” Jennison said. “We were nowhere near the level we could play at.”

Still, despite some tense moments in the second half, the Saints’ defense largely managed to keep the play out of their end, forcing several moments during which the Rockets had all their players scrambling defensively.

As an indication of the occasionally physical play, Rockets junior Charles Fletcher had to be helped off the field because of an injury in the fourth minute. He returned early in the second half.

East used the day to give its goalkeepers equal playing time. Eric Meesenberg needed only one save in the first half, while Andrew Belanger had two in the second, thanks to an intensified Rockets rally down the field.

The Saints hope to take the momentum from the win toward their upcoming match at home against Elgin on Tuesday.

In other tournament action on Saturday, Kaneland (7-7-1) lost to Plainfield South, 5-0. The Knights played their eighth game in a 10-day span. 

Penalties put damper on Spartans’ win

Published: September 27, 2008
Kane County Chronicle

AURORA – Something felt strange about St. Francis’s 49-3 victory over Aurora Central Catholic Friday, and it wasn’t because it was ACC’s homecoming game.

The Spartans (4-1, 2-1 Suburban Catholic Confernce) took their win with little celebration, because while they dominated the scoreboard, they also dominated in penalties, giving up 80 yards during the game.

“It was a nice win,” coach Greg Purnell said, “But we had a tremendous amount of mistakes.”

On particular mistake involved a Spartans personal foul on during a Chargers punt, which earned them a first down. This play was followed by a holding penalty on the Spartans with brought the Chargers (0-5, 0-2 SCC) even further down the line.

Even though ACC junior Andrew Scott would miss his field goal attempt, the Spartans knew that it shouldn’t have gotten to that point.

“No matter what kind of calls they were, they shouldn’t happen,” senior running back Mark Kachmer said.

Nonetheless, Kachmer and the Chargers still had a lot to be proud of. Out of eight carries, Kachmer scored five touchdowns.

Also scoring for the Spartans was senior Stan Bobowski in a 65 yard rush with 5:02 in the first quarter and senior Brett Robinson, receiving a 66 yard pass from senior Jeff Reckards.

“We cam out fired up after the loss [last week],” Kachmer said. “The whole [offensive] line made it easy for me,” as he rushed 158 total yards.

The Spartans defensive line was especially fired up, sacking Chargers quarterback (and homecoming king) Mike Adams seven times in the first half, costing ACC 46 yards.

Scott did make a field goal for the Chargers with 5:25 in the first quarter, but that was after Adams threw a 67 yard pass to senior Tom Barkei, which landed them on their two-yard line.

The Spartans defense then pushed them back 9 yards and prevented them from scoreing a touchdown.

“When we executed, we executed well,” Purnell said.

Still, the penalties hung over the Spartans afterwards. Next week, they will play their Homecoming game against Marmion and Purnell says that they need to clean up their act if they expect to come out on top.

“High school kids sometimes don’t understand the difference between being agressive and making mistakes,” he said.

Saints fans get an assist

Published: September 25, 2008

Kane County Chronicle

Photo Credit: Rob Winner

ST. CHARLES – Ideally, the St. Charles East girls volleyball team would look at its match Wednesday as just any other on the schedul – except it’s against St. Charles North ... at home ... during homecoming week.

“We try to approach it as any other game, but you can’t,” East senior Laura Homann said. “There’s never this many people at our game.”

The crowd of East students, who made up the majority of the 200 or so spectators at the St. Charles East gym, brought its homecoming pride and volume to the cross-town match in which the Saints won, 25-15, 25-13.

The home crowd only added to the Saints’ momentum, North coach Lindsay Trudell said.

“They’re one of the best teams in the state,” she said. “Everything is blowing in their direction.”

Saints coach Jennie Kull tried to make sure that the added energy wouldn’t distract her team (10-1 ovarll, 4-0 Upstate Eight Conference). “The heat in the gym was affecting the kids,” she said.

Saints junior Caroline Niski definitely felt it, leading the game with 14 kills, three blocks and one ace.

“We were so pumped,” she said. “We had the energy on our side the whole time.”

Of course, many of her kills were set up by Homann, who had 25 assists, as well as three kills and one ace.

Also leading the Saints were junior Stacy Reid’s three aces and freshman Meghan Niski’s four kills and six digs.

After one of Niski’s kills in the first game, the East crowd taunted the North Stars across the gym, shouting, “She’s a freshman! She’s a freshman!”

Caroline Niski says the Saints are trying to ride their momentum as far as they can.

“We have more opportunities now to work harder,” she said.

Homann agrees, “I don’t think we really notice our record. We just want to get better.”

For North, junior Jen Ask led with three kills and four digs, while junior Allie Van Dril had three kills and two blocks.

The North Stars (9-9, 2-2) showed some counter momentum for the Saints early in the second game, even taking an early 3-2 lead thanks to Karlie Giesler’s ace. Giesler also led her team in assists, tallying seven.

They also showed remarkable togetherness and stamina during a few longer rallies, but too many errors and sloppy hits cost them overall, Trudell said.

“I think our endurance is unmatched,” she said. “What’s stressful is us tripping over each other.”

Trudell hopes to work on “a lot of effort issues,” with her team for their Tuesday match at Streamwood.

The Saints also don’t play again until Tuesday, when they travel to Waubonsie Valley. 

Batavia golfers consistent as always

Published: September 24, 2008

Kane County Chronicle

Photo Credit: Rob Winner

ELBURN - “Consistency” was the word du jour Tuesday afternoon at Hughes Creek Golf Course as the Batavia boys golf team beat Kaneland, 156-170

For Batavia, consistency meant another overall score in the 150s.

“Anything in the mid-150s is a decent day for us,” Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said, which would imply a pretty decent season for the Bulldogs. Their best score this year is 150, and their worst is a respectable 158.

“We’ve been pretty much the same all season.” DeBruycker said.

Batavia’s Shawn Streurer took top honors of the day, scoring 36, while teammate Tim Schofield placed third with 38.

“I had a couple of bad holes,” Schofield said – despite starting well with a two-putt birdie – adding he is “playing more of a mental game,” now.

Streurer mirrored that sentiment, saying that since the beginning of the season, there’s more thinking involved in his game.

“You really start to think through your shots and make smart decisions,” he said.

Batavia has only one more Western Sun Conference match remaining, against DeKalb, which DeBruycker hopes to perhaps break some of the consistencies in his team for the better.

“Shawn and Tim are leading the way,” he said, “but I’d also like to see some other players break through.”

For Kaneland, consistency has been less favorable, again losing on its home course.

“We haven’t played well in conference yet,” coach Mark Meyer said, “especially at home.”

Curtis Lubic did shoot an impressive 37, taking second overall.

“I’ve been hitting my driver well,” he said. “I was in a good rhythm today.”

Playing alongside Streurer, Lubic said he was hoping Steurer would miss his final putt and tie with him for first.

“I wasn’t rooting against him or anything,” he said laughing. “I’ve played with Shawn for the last three years. It was just a friendly competitive thing.”

Hayley Guyton (43) shot Kaneland’s second-best score of the day. But that didn’t even make it into Batavia’s top five.

The Knights have three more conference matches remaining, two of which are at home. Meyer hopes his team will show some more confidence playing on their home course.

“We certainly don’t have that problem anywhere else,” he said. “If we could take a few of those [matches], it’d be a good end to a slow start.” 

The Real Story on Rabid Bats

Original Broadcast: September 22, 2008
Northern Public Radio

Note: Clicking the title and above link will take you a Northern Public Radio webpage with an MP3 of my story.

Transcript:

Intro: For the past two years, the Illinois Department of Public Health has reported a big increase in the number of bats that have tested positive for rabies. But as Andy Mitchell reports, the numbers aren’t as scary as they seem.

---

Kathy Martinez teaches children about bats. For nearly a decade, she’s been easing their fears and clearing up the myths. As she stands at a table in the Severson Dells Nature center in Rockford, she pulls out a picture from her box of teaching tools – a picture that always gets a reaction from her students.

Martinez: And here's the Vampire Bat. That's always a big issue with kids. That's a big worry of their's.
WNIJ: They're not even in the America.
Martinez: And they're not even around. So I tell them they have to travel very very far away to find one.

Next, Martinez takes out two bat skulls and places them on the table. One is about two and a half inches long - a fruit bat’s. The other was of a bat more commonly found in our area.

Martinez: This is the skull for a little brown bat.
WNIJ: It's barely the size of my... of the nail on my pinky.

Small bats like those are more likely to be found inside of houses. That can be a scary thought if you look at recent statistics about rabid bats. Last year, there were a record 113 bats reported with rabies in Illinois. Before that, the highest yearly total was only 50. And when you take a look at the latest figures - 85 rabid bats in Illinois so far this year - it's understandable if you assume the worst; that bat rabies is on the rise.

But it turns out that these high are not caused by an outbreak. Just more awareness. In the past few years, more and more bats have been submitted for testing. So even though the total numbers seem high, the percentages tell a different story.

Kelly Jakubek: For 2008, so far, we have roughly four percent of all bats submitted that have tested positive for rabies. There was five percent in 2007. So statistically it's not a very big difference.

That's Kelly Jakubek, the communications manager of the Department of Public Health. She says the reason more people are submitting bats for testing is because the public’s awareness of bats and rabies has gone up.

Dr. Joyce Hofmann agrees. She's a research scientist specializing in mammals at the University of Illinois.

Hofmann: With urban sprawl you have people building houses on the edges of woods, where the bats may have been living beforehand and they're more likely to be encountered. And I think it's also publicity. When there's an article in the paper about a rabid bat being found, it's possible then that people start looking a little more closely.

Hofmann says she has mixed emotions about this trend. Her research focuses on endangered and threatened species. And to submit a bat...or ANY animal for rabies testing...they have to be killed first.

Hofmann: You know, it makes me feel a little sad that so many get tested that do turn out to be negative, but you have to look at it from a human point of view too. I mean, people can't take chances.

Hofmann adds that people should remember the bats being tested are part of a biased sample - meaning they're only tested because people are suspicious of them. If a random sample of all the bats in Illinois got tested, there would be a much lower rate with rabies.

Plus, bats are not turned in for testing as often as cats or dogs. Yet for the past three years, only bats have been testing positive. Dr. Connie Austin is the state veterinarian for the Department of Public Health. She says that bats seem to be the one mammal consistently found with rabies.

Austin: You can get outbreaks in skunk species or raccoon species where even up to 30 or 40 percent of them will test positive. But with bats, year to year, we seem to have three to six percent, so it will go up and down here and there, but generally you don't get high percents testing positive.

Austin says that preventative measures around the home could help lower those numbers.

Austin: We would rather not have to euthanize bats and test them. From our perspective, the best thing to do would be to have people make sure that their houses are secure enough that the bats don't get into their attics.

Austin says it's also important to educate people about bats and rabies. And that's what keeps Kathy Martinez busy back at Severson Dells Nature Preserve. She says that even after it gets colder outside and bats have gone away to hibernate, people are interested.

Martinez: Most everyone, where ever I go, has a bat story about a bat that was in their home or their school or they know somebody that had a bat in their house. And they're always very anxious to share.
WNIJ: So they're not very scared [of] them.
Martinez: Actually, children are usually very receptive and not frightened about bats. They'll tell me that their mother or their father or their aunt or their uncle or somebody is afraid of them, but they're not.

Martinez teaches childrenhow to be safe around bats - to not touch them or treat them like pets. But she knows the odds of getting rabies from a bat are more than slim.

Martinez: You have a much better chance of winning the lottery than of getting rabies from a bat.

I'm Andy Mitchell, WNIJ News.

Storm wear down Maroons in UEC win

Published: September 20, 2008
Kane County Chronicle

ELGIN – A halftime adjustment made all the difference for the South Elgin football team in its Friday victory against Elgin, 42-28 – the Storm’s first of the season.

By tightening up their offensive and defensive lines and concentrating on rushing the ball, the Storm effectively whittled away Elgin (0-4) in the second half.

“I was so impressed with the line,” head coach Dale Schabert said, “Everything we planned [worked].”

Junior Trevor Hansley led the Storm, rushing for 73 total yards and scoring three touchdowns, including the final one, with 1:38 left in the fourth.

Yet, Hansley was not the game’s lead rusher; senior Kevin Ware was with 81 yards. But Hansley had more carries (20 to Ware’s 14) and his consistency proved to be a big asset for the storm.

“That’s what we practice,” Hansley said. “Little gains.”

Ware himself helped energize the Storm with an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:44 left in the third, regaining the lead 28-21.

The Storm faltered in the first half - most notably to a 76-yard touchdown run from Elgin senior Jamal Cook after recovering a fumble with 4:12 left in the second quarter.

Cook again scored on a 51-yard pass reception from senior quarterback Tom Roth with 8:35 in the fourth.

But Schabert tried to focus his team on what they were doing right – running the ball – in order to make up for the bumps along the way.

“It’s like a heavyweight fight,” Schabert said, “You get punched, you stagger, and you’re up against the ropes, but you fight back.”

Senior storm quarterback Patrick Rae helped his team fight back, completing 16-of-24 passes for 297 yards.

A 25-yard touchdown pass to junior Josh Smith at 10:22 in the fourth practically sealed the victory for the Storm. Smith had a game-high 161 receiving yards.

The victory is the first of the season for South Elgin (1-3, 1-1 Upstate Eight Conference), albeit a victory over a team who also has yet to win a game.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Hansley said.

UEC splitting into 2 divisions in ’10

Published: September 19, 2008
Kane County Chronicle

ST. CHARLES – The overcrowded Upstate Eight Conference, home to St. Charles East, St. Charles North and South Elgin, will split into two divisions starting in the fall of 2010, the conference announced Thursday.

Principals voted for the change unanimously in response to the new Metea Valley High School in Aurora, which will bring the conference to 12 schools. Metea opens in 2009, but will not have varsity sports until 2010.

Athletic directors say that splitting into two six-team divisions will make scheduling easier, increase competitive balance and reduce travel costs.

“Travel, in general, is an economic worry,” St. Charles East AD Jerry Krieg said.

Given the geography-driven re-alignment, traditional rivalries will remain intact, too.

“That way the two St. Charles schools can still play each other and we can play Elgin,” South Elgin AD John O’Brien said.

North football coach Mark Gould said that the cost reductions likely will be seen moreso in the North Division, with a cluster of schools in and around Elgin.

“It’s still a pretty long ride to Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley from our school,” he said.

As far as enhancing competitive balance, many say it’s too soon to tell whether that will hold true.

“It looks good on paper right now,” O’Brien said. “But at this point it is kind of a crapshoot.”

Gould said that whether the new UEC North or South will prove to be tougher remains to be seen.

“Right now we don’t get to play everybody,” Gould said, referring to the large number of schools in the conference. “And even [with the new divisions] we still won’t play everyone. So it’s really hard to say how this will be different.”

Coaches say the plan for football will be five intra-division games, two crossover games and two non-conference games.

East football coach Ted Monken said he rather would have the divisions divided based on records and quality of programs, but said, “There’s no perfect scenario. There is no perfect conference,” and that the change will make scheduling easier.

Under the new format, the schools from opposite divisions still would play each other in crossover matches. While some of the bigger sports such as football and basketball would count crossover games toward conference records, other sports such as swimming, golf and gymnastics still are being worked out.

“Not every sport has 12 teams playing in the conference,” O’Brien noted.

North AD John Rutter said the two divisions will reward more teams, allowing for additional conference champions in each sport.

The notion of dividing the conference began swirling in 2004, when South Elgin was opening. Back then, DeKalb was part of the conference, but DeKalb soon switched to the Western Sun Conference, and the UEC continued with 11 schools.

Rutter says that the plan to split the conference was a “third or fourth” idea in 2004. Other ideas included one that grouped competitive levels together and one that rewarded schools with points based on the number of wins and athletes. But those plans were scrapped.

“They had too much detail,” Rutter said. “[This plan] allows a little more flexibility.”

Said Krieg: “This had the least amount of problems.”

UEC Re-alignment

Upstate Eight Conference South

St. Charles East
St. Charles North
East Aurora
Metea Valley
Neuqua Valley
Waubonsie Valley

Upstate Eight Conference North

South Elgin
Bartlett
Elgin
Lake Park
Larkin
Streamwood

Takes effect in the fall of 2010.

Fedderly credits defense for big win

Published: September 13, 2008
Kane County Chronicle

MAPLE PARK – The Kaneland football team’s defense has come full circle.

After the young group was derided during a disappointing 2007 season, it led the way Friday as the Knights beat Rochelle, 16-12, in their Western Sun Conference opener.

The difference was even a drastic one from last week – a loss to Marmion – to Friday night.

“Our defense won the game for us,” Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. “It’s really an improvement from last week.”

The offense certainly helped things too with a 21-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Joe Camiliere to junior Pat Fleming a minute and 48 seconds into the game.

Fleming would lead the game in receiving with 85 yards and four receptions, and came up big again late. Kaneland reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter thanks to Camiliere’s 38-yard pass to Fleming and Camiliere’s 4-yard game-winning touchdown rush with 4:21 left in the game.

From there, the game-winning defense kept the Hubs at bay, allowing them only to inch their way down the field. Kaneland’s defense also held on a key fourth-down play in the final minute.

“That final [failed fourth-down play] was the defining moment of the game,” Kaneland junior Andrew Eberle of the Hubs’ last attempt, in which they unsuccessfully tried to rush for a first down on fourth-and-10, and came up only inches short, near midfield.

The Hubs answered Kaneland’s early score with 3:30 left in the first quarter. Rochelle senior Ben Schwartz blocked a punt from sophomore Blake Serpa and ran it in 14 yards into the end zone.

In the second quarter, Rochelle’s senior quarterback Nate Eyster (four of eight, 52 yards) ran in a touchdown with 1:40 left in the half.

But on both occasions, Kaneland’s defense prevented a two-point conversion.

The game felt like a case study in opposites – Kaneland’s passing (214 total yards) versus Rochelle’s rushing (199 yards). But Camiliere’s 17-of-34 passing night won out. Camiliere also rushed for 77 yards.

“We have a lot of respect for Rochelle,” Camiliere said. “They definitely had a good defense. Our wide receivers had some fun playing off of them.”

Rochelle coach Kevin Crandall was less enthused about his team’s performance.

“We were on our heels the whole time,” he said. “I knew we were only 85 percent ready beforehand.”

The Knights (2-1, 1-0 WSC) play host to Sycamore next week.

North Stars overmatched

Published: September 10, 2008
Kane Country Chronicle

Photo Credit: Rob Winner

ST. CHARLES – St. Charles North girls volleyball coach Lindsay Trudell knew that beating nationally ranked Benet Academy on Tuesday night would be a long shot.

“We knew it was going to be rough,” she said after the North Stars lost 25-12, 25-10 to the Redhawks. “The girls knew what was coming.”

What came was a team ranked No. 5 on ESPN Rise’s list of top prep girls volleyball teams in the nation.

Benet senior Jessica Jendryk paced the Redhawks in Game 1 with seven kills and a pair of aces.

The closest the North Stars came to a rally was near the end of the second game. With the score at 23-8, Junior Allie Van Dril served an ace before giving up a serve error. Van Dril lead the North Stars with five kills.

North Stars senior Annie Stoermer had seven assists and eight digs. She said playing against Benet was “intense.”

“Allie had a ton of good kills,” Stoermer said, “but we needed to carry the momentum.”

Stoermer says that the loss helped the North Stars get a better grip on what they need to do when Upstate Eight Conference play begins Thursday at Neuqua Valley.

Trudell says she sees the UEC match as a way of “starting over,” and building momentum in North Stars’ favor.

She also had high praise for the Redhawks.

“I fully expect them to win state,” she said, “This is there year.”

Benet coach Brad Baker praised his team’s ability to start strong and, “play hard no matter what the score is.”

"We know there’s a bull’s eye on us,” he said about his team’s nationally ranking,” but we’ve been focused on playing.”

Chargers hurt by late miscue

Published: Saturday 6, 2008
Kane Country Chronicle & McHenry County Sports

AURORA – For three quarters, both Aurora Central Catholic’s Chargers and Harvard High School’s Hornets played a hard and very close game.

But a key Chargers fumble in the fourth turned a close game Friday into a 42-21 win for the Hornets.

Hornets head coach Tim Haak gave much of the win’s credit to his offensive line. “[They] did a great job,” he said. “It was a tight game, but I thought our kids responded well.”

Throughout the game, each team’s star player dominated the field. For the Charger’s, senior quarterback Mike Adams threw two key touchdown passes, including a 72 yard bomb to senior wide receiver Matt Wagner in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

Adams even rushed in a crucial third quarter touchdown and two-point conversion, tying the game at 21 at the end of the third quarter.

But the Chargers defense could not hold junior running back Vince Gabrys from the Hornets, who was approaching 300 rushing yards by the end.

The Chargers defense could not hold Gabrys back in the fourth. With the score tied at 21, Gabrys and senior running back Phillip Towne seized on a Chargers fumble and ran in three touchdown and doubled their score.

For the game’s final touchdown Gabrys rushed 55 yards, effectively shutting out the Charger’s hope of a comeback.

In the first half, it looked as if penalties were going to be the Hornet’s Achilles’ heel. Two back-to-back 15 yard penalties led the Chargers to their second touchdown.

Coach Haak simply called the penalties, “early season aggressive stuff,” that will be taken care of as the season progresses.

The Hornets are now 1-1 overall, while the Chargers are 0-2.

Electric cars struggle to get on the road in Illinois

Original Broadcast: Thursday, September 4, 2008. Click blog title for audio.

Transcript:

[Host: Everyone's looking for ways to save money on transportation. And while many people with cars are cutting down on the amount of gasoline they use, some are cutting it out all together.]

Bruce Wood is the President and CEO of ePower Synergies. It's a company that develops electric vehicles. Recently, he's been showing off a ZENN car at events like the Renewable Energy Fair. That's Z-E-N-N. It stands for Zero Emissions, No Noise.

It's smaller and lighter than even a Smart Car and uses no gas. It's also classified as a neighborhood electric vehicle – or NEV. That means it's not made for long-distance or highway travel.

Wood: It is a car designed to be an in-city car, where the maximum speed allowed by federal law is 25, and the vehicle can be driven and street which is 35 or lower.

Wood hopes that people will buy neighborhood vehicles and use a gas powered car only for longer trips. For example; if you needed to go to the grocery store or if you worked in town, you could take the NEV. But if you need travel faster than 35 miles per hour, then use the gas-powered or hybrid car.

It's all a part of a concept that Wood's company calls an E-Community. Using Chicago as an example, he explained how NEV's and car-share programs like iGo can benefit everyone.

Wood: Since these cars are small, they're electric driven, and they're quiet, you've eliminated some major problems of Chicago. You make a lot more parking spaces available, you reduce the traffic on the streets, and you clean the air up.

But Wood is having a tough time getting NEV's on the road in Illinois. The law prohibits any of them from driving on streets; that is unless local governments pass an ordinance allowing them. Compare that to 42 other states that have a blanket approval for NEV's; that is unless local governments pass an ordinance restricting them.

Illinois State Representative Robert Pritchard voted YES on the ban. But that doesn't mean he is against NEVs. He says that the law will give the state a chance to try them and consider other alternative fuels like ethanol.

Pritchard: It's certainly a step in the right direction. And I think we need to encourage innovation. America has always been good at innovating things when it's given an incentive, and four dollar, five dollar gasoline certainly gives us an incentive.

Illinois State Senator Brad Burzynski also voted YES on the bill. He said that he was unsure of the kind of safety, insurance and licensing laws that would end up applying towards the NEV. Bruce Wood says that the state is being too cautious about the issue.

Wood: What that's done to Illinois is that it stunted the growth of electric vehicle usage. And though we've got quite a number of communities that are passing these ordinances, I could probably guess that number's in the low 20s. There are 6000 communities that are possible within Illinois and that's a daunting task to get that done.

So far, ordinances have been passed in Western Illinois towns like Rock Island and Port Byron. It's also been passed in Champaign. Wood thinks that if Chicago can pass an ordinance, it will turn the tide for the rest of the state, and speed up the transition away from gas.