Asthma concerns prompt Stevenson High School leaf-burning talk

A Stevenson High School student's concerns about her sister's asthma could lead to leaf-burning restrictions near the sprawling Lincolnshire campus.

More than a year after teen Michelle Hannon started researching the potential dangers of leaf burning and pushing for a ban near her school, Lake County officials are considering adopting some limits on the practice, a traditionally autumnal procedure that's used to dispose of dead leaves in some residential areas.

The proposal would allow burning only in April, May, October and November between 5 and 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

That's outside the hours of most school activities, officials said. Springtime leaf burning would be permitted because some people don't dispose of leaves until after winter ends, said Phil Rovang, the county's planning director.

A public hearing on the matter is set for Monday, May 9.

The proposal is the result of a campaign started by Hannon, now a junior. She took up the cause in early 2010 after smoke from leaves burning at homes near the school caused students in one of her classes to cough.

Leaf smoke consists of tiny particles that can reach lung tissue and cause coughing, wheezing, chest pain and shortness of breath, according to the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County. It also pollutes the environment and creates road and safety hazards, according to the agency.

“I knew if students without asthma had a hard time breathing, then the consequences for people with asthma could be devastating,” Hannon, of Long Grove, recalled in an email.

Hannon was particularly worried about her sister, Rebecca, now a freshman at Stevenson. So, with assistance from a school nurse, Hannon began corresponding last year with county leaders about the issue.

“We do not have control over the air we breathe,” Hannon wrote in an early letter to county board member David Stolman, who now serves as the panel's chairman. “The Lake County Board needs to protect our children.”

The proposal being weighed by the board would only affect residents living in the unincorporated areas near the school. Homes in unincorporated areas elsewhere in the county would not be affected.

Residents who live in the villages bordering the 76-acre campus — Lincolnshire, Buffalo Grove and Vernon Hills — already are forbidden from burning leaves.

Lake County Board member Aaron Lawlor, who leads the panel's health committee, said the proposed limits could address a specific problem without implementing a total ban, a concept that's proved unpopular with the board and county residents.

A countywide ban last was debated in 1999, and the plan was withdrawn before a vote, Rovang said.

“This is an opportunity for us to study the impact of regulating it without going (for) an all-out ban,” said Lawlor, a Vernon Hills Republican.

Hannon is excited the plan is moving forward.

“My parents or any parent should not have to worry if their children are safe at school,” said Hannon, whose mother, Stephanie, is a former Long Grove trustee.

The May 9 hearing is set for 6 p.m. at Stevenson.

Interested residents can also submit opinions by emailing communications@lakecountyil.gov or by writing to: Phil Rovang, Lake County administrator's office, 18 N. County St., 9th Floor, Waukegan, IL, 60085.

The deadline for submitting comments is May 20.