Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Temperatures were brutally cold as Chicagoans got up and left for work on Thursday. On Friday morning, they were even worse – with the lowest wind chill reading at -51 – but temperatures began to rise modestly as the day went on.

CBS 2's Ed Curran reported that as of 5:30 a.m., the mercury read -17 at O'Hare International Airport, -15 at Midway Airport, -27 in Joliet, and a polar -30 in Aurora. But the incredibly cold temperatures were being met with winds of 6 to 10 mph, for painful wind chills of -32 at O'Hare, -31 at Midway, and -51 in Aurora.

But the Chicago area was not the coldest part of the state. The north-central Illinois communities of Polo and Dixon had the dubious distinctions of recording the lowest temperatures in the state at 32 degrees below zero.

Rockford, where it was 25 below Friday morning, broke its daily record of 24 below set in 1982.

By 11 a.m., temperatures were marginally warmer, with a reading of -10 at O'Hare. But wind chills remained brutal, with -20 at Waukegan, -22 at Midway, and -35 at Aurora.

As Ed demonstrated, it is so cold that throwing some boiling water into the air will cause a cloud of vapor to form, crystallize, and fall to the ground as snow.

The dangerous takes only a short time to freeze skin and cause frostbite, as well as hypothermia.

Because of the risks, Chicago city officials worked through the night to help residents in need.

Between Thursday night and Friday morning, there were 160 requests for shelter and 100 calls for crisis referral to the 311 service. The Department of Family and Support Services conducted 20 well-being checks overnight, and also continued an outreach effort for the city's homeless, whom they are encouraging to get into a shelter.

The city Department of Buildings received more than 300 calls overnight from people who do not have heat, officials said.

On Thursday, city workers went door-to-door checking on people believed to be living without heat. They are people who are lucky to have concerned neighbors who placed a call to 311.

A group called Affordable Power says getting heat restored is sometimes difficult for Illinois residents.

"The state refuses to act," said Curly Cohen of Affordable Power. "Some states have mandatory connection dates so that by Nov. 1, everyone is back heated. Illinois doesn't."

Some South Side had to brave the icy conditions overnight without power. ComEd said many residents of the South Shore neighborhood saw their lights go out shortly after dark Thursday night. The power was out for more than five hours along Coles Avenue and nearby streets between 75th and 78th streets. By Friday morning, all the power had been restored.

Meanwhile, several schools remain closed throughout the Chicago area, in some instances because school buses will not start.

A Struggle For Those Who Work Outside
The conditions have been an especially serious struggle for those who have no choice but to work outside, particularly firefighters.

Overnight temperatures made it difficult for firefighters sent to a house fire that broke out in the 1400 block of West 112th Place in the Morgan Park neighborhood.

"The sub-freezing temperatures cause a lot of trouble for firefighters getting water, their source of water from hydrants that may be frozen, stretching lines that are freezing that are being used, also responding to incidents to icy roads can inhibit their response times," said Chicago Fire Deputy District Chief Dan Payne.

Gloria Odom, 74, died in the fire, and three firefighters had to be taken to the hospital.

Frozen hydrants also hampered firefighters' efforts late Thursday in a fire at a house at 608 Belle Ct. in south suburban Phoenix.

As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, on Friday morning, firefighters expressed concern about the conditions as they returned to the Engine Company 42 station at Illinois and Dearborn streets after answering a call of smoke at a high-rise.

They have no fear of the weather itself, but they do worry about the risk of frozen hydrants. There are ways of solving that problem, though.

"We have a torch, and we can actually take the torch and put it in a stem and defrost of we have to," said firefighter Marty Calkins.

But fighting a fire in extreme cold can also be extremely difficult for the firefighters themselves.

"You're wet, you start getting ice on you, you're like a giant icicle – you can't move," said firefighter Mike Cronin.

"If you feel it a little bit, you try to dress in layers, stay warm, do the best you can," said firefighter Raul Ochoa.

Firefighters say you can make their jobs easier by shoveling out the fire hydrants near your home and checking to make sure your smoke detectors are working properly.

Meanwhile, at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, 720 S. Michigan Ave., crews were setting up for the Cubs Convention Friday.

"I've got thermal wool socks on, two jackets, thermal underneath that, nice hat to keep you warm, and a couple pair of gloves on," said Teamster Glenn Center.

The doormen layer up too, and no matter how cold it is, they try to wear a smile.

"You have to smile. You have to be happy," said Hilton doorman Rufus McClendon.

"Let everybody know the cold isn't bothering us – but it is," added doorman Calvin Taylor.

Ice Makes For Dangerous Roadways
On the expressways, the cold made for icy conditions that have resulted in an unusually high number of crashes Friday morning.

Steam coming from the Chicago River caused ice on the Ohio Street feeder ramp to the Kennedy Expressway and resulted in multiple crashes. Around 6:30 a.m., police shut down the westbound feeder ramp at Orleans Street.

About 2:30 a.m., State Police responded to seven separate crashes involving 15 different vehicles on the Ontario feeder ramp from the outbound Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94), according to Illinois State Police District Chicago Trooper Ivan Bukaczyk. Six cars were towed, but nobody was injured.

About 3:15 a.m., a State Police squad car was struck as it was responding to a crash on the northbound Kennedy Expressway near Armitage Avenue. The trooper was in the car, but was not injured or hospitalized, Bukaczyk said.

The Bishop Ford Freeway (I-94) near 159th Street and the inbound Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue and Division Street have also been especially difficult, Bukaczyk said.

The Illinois Tollway Department has enacted its Zero Weather Road Patrols, a 24-hour service dedicated to searching for motorists stranded in their disabled vehicles when temperatures or wind chills drop below zero, according to a department release. The patrollers will also respond to calls that come into *999, Illinois Tollway dispatch or Illinois State Police Tollway District.

The Zero Weather Road Patrols consist of crew cab trucks equipped with arrow boards for directing traffic around accidents or stranded vehicles, the release said. The trucks have enough room to accommodate five passengers if motorists need to be taken to a Tollway maintenance garage, toll plaza or Tollway oasis.

There are a minimum of 11 Zero Weather Road Patrols -- at least one from each maintenance garage station -- that augment H.E.L.P. trucks and State Police patrols, especially during the overnight hours, the release said.

Temperatures are expected to rise above the zero mark to 5 degrees in the afternoon. The high for Saturday is a comparatively balmy 26, although 1 to 2 inches of new snow will accompany it.

CBS 2's Ed Curran, Joanie Lum, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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