Audrey Fischer is on a mission. This tireless promoter of dark skies has an important milestone coming in her fight to reduce light pollution in Chicago, Illinois — and you can help in a big way. Audrey is a friend of the magazine, one of the organizers of the 2012 Astronomical League meeting upcoming in Chicago (ALCon 2012; see http://alcon2012.astroleague.org/), and a friend of every amateur astronomer. With her program “One Star at a Time,” she is making thousands of people aware of light pollution and the need for a dark night sky. Now a critical moment in the fight for responsible lighting in Chicago is fast approaching.
On Wednesday, February 1, a public hearing will occur on responsible lighting and the night sky at the meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County Board of Directors at 1:30 p.m. CST at the Cook County Building, 118 North Clark Street, in Chicago. If you’re in the Chicago area, please show up to support the dark night sky.
If you are not in the Chicago, area, I urge you to contact Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, at toni.preckwinkle@cookcountyil.gov, letting her know of your support for dark skies. Commissioner Larry Suffredin has introduced a lighting ordinance bill for the first time in Cook County history, and Commissioner John Daley is the first co-sponsor.
This could be a historic win for astronomy in the Chicagoland area! Please draft a short email of support and send it to Ms. Preckwinkle. And if you would like to contact Audrey to learn more about her effort or about “One Star at a Time” (or the League meeting), please email her at audreyfischer@sbcglobal.net.
Thanks for supporting the future of astronomy!