State should ban leaf burning

I must agree with Edward Neuman of Hawthorn Woods, who wrote about leaf burning "compromises." Mr. Neuman is right -- a compromise is a joke.

Lake Villa has a ban on leaf burning but less than 50 feet from my back door is unincorporated Antioch Township, where they can burn with permits. I doubt permits are actually obtained given the number and frequency of burnings we experience.

The point is even though I live in a burn-free village, I am deluged with leaf-burning smoke and all the resulting health risks. Two members of my household suffer from asthma and we are constantly forced to close all windows in the spring and fall as well as greatly increase our use of asthma inhalers. We cannot enjoy the use of our own yard.

Residents of unincorporated areas of Lake County pressure their representatives on the Lake County Board and repeated efforts to ban this truly harmful practice at the county level have failed. It is past time for the state of Illinois to enact a statewide ban on leaf burning. Doing so will reduce health insurance claims and lost productivity due to asthma, lung disorders and cancers caused by the smoke and its carcinogens.

Perhaps Illinois can be the state that reduces childhood asthma with such a ban. Cigarette smoke is not the only smoke that is harming us, nor should it be the only smoke we ban.

Stacy J. Braverman

Lake Villa