PFAS found in water samples

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is notifying the owners and operators of 21 Community Water Systems that there has been a detection of one or more PFAS in the most recent water sampling.

PFAS are a group of several thousand human-made chemicals that are manufactured for their oil and water-resistant properties. Since the 1940s, PFAS have been used in a wide range of consumer products, industrial processes, and in some fire-fighting foams.

Bystander saves driver from pond

A bystander helped save the life of a driver whose vehicle veered off the road and into a pond in Naperville.

Rescue personnel responded to a report of a vehicle submerged in a pond Wednesday in Naperville. Upon arrival, Plainfield fire crews discovered the car partially submerged in water with the driver still inside.

According to fire officials, a landscaper working nearby entered the water to assist the driver, who was unable to swim. The landscaper held the driver’s head above water until emergency responders arrived at the scene.

AG awards funds from vaping settlement

Two years after Illinois and five other states secured a $462 million settlement from Juul Labs, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office has announced that part of the settlement is going toward efforts to prevent youth nicotine usage.

Kwame Raoul said his office is donating $24 million, or 5% of the settlement, to the Truth Initiative. As part of the initiative, Illinois schools will receive access to a curriculum called “Vaping: Know the Truth” and the organization will also host college campus events around the state.