Kimmel and Colbert

 Our president, the Dishonorable Fuckwad McOrangeface, a lying, misogynistic, dictator-wannabe, narcissistic felon, is waging war on America's cornerstone of free speech by bullying networks to eliminate entertainers who tell you in simple terms just how big a jagoff he is. If this doesn't both scare and anger you, it should. All citizens of the United States of America should loudly stand against this rape of our constitution.

Dick the Butcher was on to Something

A dive down a rabbit hole led me to the conclusion that for many healthy people, a covid booster may not be necessary. In a perfect world, it's cost-cutting that can save people money because they don't need a shot and allows government-provided funds to be used for other health stuff. 

The first problem is the brown-nosed, addle-brained, wrinkled-up slim jim in charge. He's so inept and so blatantly on the take he shouldn't run with scissors let alone a 1.72 trillion dollar agency. 

This brings me to the second problem, greed. If you haven't noticed, greed is rampant. Greed is bad. Greed makes people horrible and do horrible things. 

Slim Jim is greedy. So whatever puts more money in his pocket is what he'll do. Same with insurance companies. And yeah, that means disenfranchising the people who get in the way of that.

The third problem is greed is to politics like white is to rice. Many politicians only care about what's in it for them (duh), and they're owned by wealthy people and big corporations. 

Slim Jim is one. Our felon-in-chief is another.

I'm not smart enough to even suggest how to fix all of this. But I think the first step is to identify the thieves and deal with them. They certainly can't be running the operation, but they are. 

Which brings me to problem number 4. Ours is supposed to be a government of laws. But our Supreme Court justices, those that have the final say about the rules of law, are mostly greed-driven sycophants who have vowed fealty to their master in spite of knowing what they're doing is wrong. They're not stupid. They're bad humans. "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," - Dick the Butcher, Henry VI Part 2, (William Shakespeare)

Work Blog - Chicago's Urban Forest

Chicago's Urban Forest

Trees, we literally can't live without them. They're intrinsically connected to our survival, to our planet's survival. Without trees our planet would die.

Old Town Neighborhood (Ken Whitelaw)

There are about 3½ million trees in Chicago. Of these, only 15% are managed by the city. The rest are the responsibility of whoever owns the property on which they stand.

Forgotten Giants

Trees are often overlooked when buying a home. But they shouldn't be. They have a profound impact on us in so many ways, good and bad.

Trees reduce soil erosion and can control flooding. Trees provide the shade we so dearly love on a hot summer day. That firewood stacked in your yard and the mulch spread on your garden and flowerbeds ...trees.

They provide ⅓ of our planet's oxygen. They remove carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air. They provide us wood to build our homes and food for our families. Their beauty, colors and majesty have inspired artists for centuries.

Snow-Frosted Trees (Ken Whitelaw)

Death from Above

Trees can be dangerous. Anyone who's ever fallen out of one knows this.

Those big limbs you see fallen after a big storm? They can weigh thousands of pounds and they can be deadly. A hundred-year-old maple, soaked in summer rain, broke under the weight and half that tree fell in my backyard, splitting an 8×8 beam of the kid's jungle gym like a toothpick. It's also why when camping, looking above for 'widow-makers' before pitching your tent is (or should be) fundamental for avoiding death from above.

Camping at Starved Rock SP (Ken Whitelaw)

The electrical service conductors (the lines between the utility pole and the mast or lateral mounted to your house) can be damaged by trees. Service lines within the tree canopy can be damaged by tree movement, abrasion and falling limbs. This can lead to fire, service interruption, property damage, electrocution and death.

Don't Forget your Roots

As well, trees damage stuff buried underground. Tree roots break water service piping, sewer pipes, gas supply piping, They can damage buried electrical and communication cables. Tree roots can break foundations.

This May be a Problem 

(bowling pin for scale) (Ken Whitelaw)

We can Help!

Fortunately, there are professionals. Certified arborists and tree service providers can determine a tree's condition and provide insight to its health and management. Fiber-optic inspections of sewer pipes performed by qualified professionals can identify tree root occlusions and pipe damage that would otherwise go unnoticed and cost you thousands of dollars in damage and repairs. Here's a list of service providers we trust.

Trees on Public Property

Most cities provide these services for trees on public lands like the parkway in front of your home. Chicago does this. Here is a link to Chicago's Forestry Division.

Public utilities are federally mandated to trim or remove trees that can result in service interruption. If your electrical service conductors are in contact with tree limbs, get in touch with ComEd here.

This goes for natural gas utilities as well. Here's Nicor Gas website. Here's Peoples Gas website.

A great home inspection covers all this and more. So, if you're looking for a home, remember CBI for your inspection. And don't forget about those trees.

We are Chicago Building Inspections and we're here to help.

Ken/Chicago Building Inspections, Inc.

Office: 312INSPECT

Mobile: 773.350.2325