Chicago residents are well aware of the major rat problem plaguing the city, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel is taking a stand to make a difference.

Emanuel recently announced that he will be adding reinforcements to combat the ongoing rat problem that the city deals with on a daily basis. He said during his 2018 budget proposal earlier in October that he intends to add five more rodent control crews to their already 30-crew Department of Streets and Sanitation’s Bureau of Rodent Control fleet. He also plans to provide $500,000 for the funding of additional black garbage carts.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the 10,000 additional garbage carts would be heavy-duty and hold 96 gallons of waste. The carts would be used to keep trash out of rodents’ reach. So far this year, 23,400 carts have been requested to be replaced after being lost or stolen. More than 10,000 garbage carts have been fixed since January 2016. Rats tend to gravitate toward any garbage cart that is broken or has a spillover of garbage. The average American will throw away 600 times the amount of their adult weight in garbage during their lifetime. That’s a lot of garbage for the rats to have access to if they come across broken or overflowing carts.

Mayor Emanuel talked about the new anti-rodent plan in a press release.

“These critical investments in rodent control and garbage carts allow us to continue to provide the best possible service on behalf of residents,” Mayor Emanuel said.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, this new plan would be paid for by the savings that were generated from the switch to a garbage collection grid system. Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Charles Williams said that each rodent complaint would be handled within five days of it’s making. So far this year, the city had fielded 39,000 rat abatement requests.

“The rodent battle will only benefit from the investment in garbage carts which helps ensure that residents can swap out any damaged carts for a new or refurbished one in a timely manner,” Williams said regarding this matter.

City leaders hope this addition and change will significantly decrease the number of rats that roam the Chicago streets.

People can actually make all kinds of soap themselves, even though they still might want to purchase soap at times. The base oils for soap making include olive oil, sunflower oil, wheat germ oil, and apricot kernel oil. It’s actually possible to use a very broad range of different oils when making soap. Many basic soap making supplies are actually widely available as well.

Individuals who are making their own soap will need to wear goggles and gloves during the process. Some soap equipment won’t be all that different from food preparation equipment. People will need to measure and mix ingredients. Immersion blenders are also frequently used during soap making. They’ll also have to use a simple scale at different points, as well as a thermometer.

Of course, people also need molds to shape the soap that they’re making. There are plenty of very decorative molds available, giving soap making enthusiasts the chance to create soap that is very decorative. The best soap suppliers may actually use similar types of equipment and similar processes, since it’s common for people to purchase artisan soap today.

It’s very easy to find natural, artisan soap now. The people who enjoy soap making may also be able to quickly purchase soap that’s almost exactly like the soap that they typically make themselves.

S.C. Johnson recently announced that is has signed an agreement to acquire Method and Ecover. These consumer brands are part of the San Francisco-based home care company People Against Dirty.

“Method and Ecover have a strong tradition of innovation and delivering on consumers’ needs,”Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson said in the press release. “They are a great complement to SC Johnson’s trusted lineup of iconic brands.”

According to the company press release, the deal will need to clear U.S., U.K., and German regulations, but S.C. Johnson is unable to release the details of the acquisition.

Belgium-based Ecover makes eco-friendly cleaning products, according to Chicago Tribune. But Chicagoans may be more familiar with soap company Method; the company opened a factory in the Pullman community in 2015.

About one-third of the world’s soap is used in the United States, and Method brought some of this production to Chicago. According to Chicago Tribune this move was part of the redevelopment of Pullman Park. A Walmart opened in the area shortly before the Method factory, but the soap manufacturing plant was a significant push for economic development, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives President David Doig said in a statement to Chicago Tribune.

“[Method has] done a great job in hiring from the neighborhood,” he said. “They’ve really taken a lot of efforts to provide job training, so I think we’re hopeful S.C. Johnson will keep that tradition going.”

According to Chicago Tribune, city and state funding build the $30 million factory, and People Against Dirty employs about 90 people there. Since the opening of the plant, other initiatives have sprouted to bolster area development and create jobs. Gotham Greens, a New York City company, opened a rooftop farm above the Method Factory. Chicago Tribune reports that Whole Foods Market will open a distribution center in Pullman later this year.

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A Chicago law prohibiting pet stores to sell puppies obtained from puppy mills has been upheld in a federal appeals court. The federal court found that the city’s policy goals, including reducing financial support to these large mill-style breeders, are legitimate governmental concerns.

This ruling was made at the same time California Governor Jerry Brown began looking at a bill that is trying to achieve this, for the first time, at the state level. The court dismissed claims from pet stores that the law went against the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

A string of similar rulings by other federal courts went against the claims of Congressmen Steve King, R-Iowa, and Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., whose bills attempt to get rid of state and local rulings that protect animals from cruel practices. The Congressmen have implied that the laws they’re trying to purge are unconstitutional.

These Congressmen have also consistently voted against efforts to strengthen rules and regulations against horse slaughter, aggressive confinement of farm animals, and other animal welfare standards.

Countering the allegation that these laws are unconstitutional, federal courts have found that these state and local laws are well within their rights to regulate the sale of animals and animal products, as well as the conditions in which said animals were raised.

In Illinois and Texas, federal courts upheld the right of states to prohibit horse slaughter and the sale of horsemeat for human consumption. It was ruled that these states did not act in conflict with federal meat inspection laws.

California’s law banning the sale of force-fed foie gras has been reinforced, stating that under the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act, force-feeding is not an “ingredient requirement”. Under this law, California has the right to regulate activity it deems cruel to animals, especially geese, ducks, and chickens, which Americans consume 90 pounds of every year.

Overall, approximately half of the 11 federal courts of appeals have ruled in at least one case by approving states’ rights to ban products of animal cruelty. These courts are sending a message to opposers, saying proposals to strip states of their animal cruelty prevention rights is a threat to the Constitutional system.

For those with skin allergies, finding the right products can be a tricky process. But with a quick scan of the ingredients on a hypoallergenic label, you can generally make a well-informed purchase.

Or can you?

A study by Northwestern University published in JAMA Dermatology found that many popular skin moisturizers that were labeled as “hypoallergenic” or “fragrance free” often were not. Northwestern Now reports that the study involved the top 100 best-selling moisturizers from Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Target.

The researchers found that 45% of the products labeled “fragrance free” had a botanical ingredient or a fragrance cross reactor, according to Northwestern Now. They also found that 83% of products labeled “hypoallergenic” actually have a potentially allergenic ingredient. For those with skin allergies, this could come as an unwelcome surprise.

Household allergy sufferers generally know what makes them sneeze and itch their eyes. Some need to be wary of mold. And with 2,000 dust mites lurking on one ounce of carpet, others needs to up their house cleaning. In situations of mislabeled ingredients, however, there is little people can do to safeguard their sensitive skin.

So, who is responsible for providing this detailed ingredient information? First author Steve Xu, resident physician in dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Northwestern Now that companies may need to form closer ties with dermatologists.

“If manufacturers did list all the ingredients, their labels would be 75 pages,” he said. “As it stands now, patients have a challenging time making an informed decision by glancing at the back of the bottle. Our study highlights that and aims to make that search easier on consumers by informing dermatologists.”

Researchers also found that “dermatologist-recommended” products were generally not that different from their competitors. They were, however, $0.20 more per ounce than the other products, according to the study.

“We looked into what it means to be ‘dermatologist-recommended,’ and it doesn’t mean much because it could be three dermatologists recommending it or 1,000,” Xu said.

As for the products that did make the cut, researchers found that 12% of the studied products were free of North American Contact Dermatitis Group allergens. The top three products that were both affordable and safe for skin were Ivory raw unrefined shea butter, Vaseline original petroleum jelly, and Smellgood African shea butter, according to Northwestern Now. To find their ideal products, Xu says that consumers need a change in mindset.

“We could recommend a moisturizer that has no allergy risk and is affordable and effective, but if the patient doesn’t like it, it’s a wasted recommendation,” he said. “We need to program into our minds to think differently and strike that fine balance between safe ingredients and user preference.”