Foul weather fouls up suburbs

While it was hours late in arriving in the Northwest suburbs, the impact of Wednesday's storm grew and grew as the day went on.

Many schools, government offices and retailers either didn't open or closed early.

Here's a look at some ways the storm left its mark.

Rising storm costs a budget-buster

Schaumburg Public Works Director Steve Weinstock said the village is far exceeding its winter snow removal budget in both road salt and overtime costs.

The village would normally use about 6,000 tons of road salt in an entire winter. He estimated the use this winter will be about 8,400 tons.

Weinstock believes the village probably reached its snow budget level for the entire year in about mid-January. He'd heard weather reports that the area has already received about 60 inches of snow this season.

Long-duration snowfalls of the kind that fell Wednesday and just last week are especially hard in that constant effort is needed just to make a dent in the heavy accumulation, Weinstock said.

Palatine warns it's skimping on salt

Watch out if you're driving on side streets in Palatine. According to the village's public works department, its salt supply is extremely low and so is being used sparingly.

Workers are spreading salt on main roads and intersections and cutting back on less-traveled streets.

Flurry of accidents further slows cars

Roughly a dozen car accidents were reported between 1 and 3 p.m. in Arlington Heights, according the police department. Many of them were around Arlington Heights Road.

"The bottom line is, if you don't have to go out in this weather, don't," said Scott Shirley, Arlington Heights Director of Public Works.

Garbage collection delayed in Palatine

Due to the weather conditions, today's garbage and recycling collection will be delayed in Palatine.

Residents should leave their garbage and recycling carts at the curb. Groot will collect all missed garbage and recycling on Thursday.

For further information, call (847) 359-9090.

Employee safety comes before sales

Woodfield and Randhurst shopping centers both closed at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

"It's totally driven by the safety of employees and customers," Woodfield Marketing Director Lisa Stricker said.

General Manager Marc Strich said this is the first time in his seven years with Woodfield that the mall has closed early because of snow.

Stores were expected to open as usual today.

Mixing sand with salt to make it last

To deal with the mounting snow hitting the area this winter, Des Plaines has started diluting its salt with sand to make it last.

Des Plaines expected to use 200 to 300 tons on Wednesday to keep the roads ice-free, Public Works Director Matt Dusckett said.

The city started the winter with 5,000 tons of salt. Des Plaines had 1,000 tons left --not including the salt that had to be used to battle the Wednesday snow.

Des Plaines' supply will be enough for at least three more storms, but the city will have to compete with surrounding towns for more salt from suppliers.

"We've called all over the place, but no one has any," Dusckett said.

Simple request: Take a shovel

Rodie Wright of Buffalo Grove is not a snow removal expert. She's simply a woman who had a very long commute home from her job in Schaumburg Wednesday afternoon.

But Wright felt compelled to tell just about everyone she encounters -- particularly women -- to take her simple piece of advice: Carry a shovel in your car when it's snowing.

Wright says it's just common sense. Having a shovel allows you to get your car safely out of parking spaces after a plow has come along and banked all that snow under your wheels. It can help you dig yourself out if you slide into a snow pile. And, for women, that can mean security as well as safety.

It's good advice for anyone, but particularly women, who more often don't think about such things, Wright says.

When she stopped at her bank on the way home, she told the women working there to get shovels in their car. Most of them laughed at her, she said.

The 68-year-old has lived in the Northwest suburbs for decades and has seen plenty of bad snowstorms. She says this year is the worst since 1995.

Pitching in to help state clear roads

Wheeling interim Village President Pat Horcher said the village sent snow plows to Dundee and Milwaukee avenues, even though they are both state routes, in an effort to keep major roads clean.