Dawn Patrol: Thousands without power; fireworks update
Thousands could be without power until late Wednesday, or Thursday
Tens of thousands of ComEd customers remain without power in the wake of Sunday's storm, which knocked out electricity to roughly 370,000 customers. Some of the hardest-hit areas may remain without power until late Thursday, while the majority of those without service are expected to have power by late Wednesday. DuPage County officials proclaimed a state of emergency, as the county was the hardest-hit area. Full story.
Dry conditions force cancellation of some firework shows
A handful of suburban towns have called off their scheduled firework shows this week due to increased fire risk from abnormally dry weather conditions. Yesterday, Antioch, Cary and Mundelein's shows were canceled due to dry conditions. Wheaton decided yesterday to cancel its show and Fourth of July parade because of weekend storm damage. Wauconda and the Round Lake Area Park District last week had postponed their shows. St. Charles last night decided to carry on with its fireworks show thanks to the Sunday rain curbing dry conditions. Full story.
Our full list of fireworks shows
Don't forget, you can look up all the fireworks shows in the suburbs here. We're keeping it up to date with any cancellations.
Fermilab, CERN results indicate existence of ‘God particle'
Physicists are expected to announce they have nearly confirmed the existence of the “God particle” on Wednesday, thanks to research conducted at Switzerland's CERN atom smasher and at Batavia's Fermilab. The subatomic particle is believed to give all matter in the universe size and shape. Fermilab reported its final results in the search for the Higgs boson yesterday, after shutting down last year. Full story.
Body of man who drowned in Loon Lake recovered
Search crews discovered the body of a 63-year-old man in a deep weed bed in Loon Lake yesterday, four days after he drowned while swimming off a pontoon boat. John Michalek, a former teacher at Nazareth Academy, was unable to get back on the pontoon boat Thursday afternoon as it drifted away from him, according to authorities. The man he was with was rescued by a passing boater. Full story.
Kaneland teacher fights DUI arrest, sues police
A Kaneland science teacher filed a federal lawsuit claiming two Carpentersville police officers purposefully sped up, braked and made sharp turns while he was handcuffed without a seat belt on in the back seat of a squad car. Ryan Wlodek, 33, was arrested during a “No Refusal” DUI check. The lawsuit claims Wlodek did not refuse to take an alcohol test, contrary to what officers said. Full story.
Weather
Another hot and muggy day with a high temperature of 98 degrees expected, with a heat indexing topping out at over 100 degrees. It's 77 degrees at about 6 a.m., and will dip back to 77 degrees overnight tonight. Stay cool. Full story.
Traffic
Many roads are still shut down in DuPage County, so people should be prepared to take alternate routes around the storm damage. Specifically, people should avoid County Farm Road and Geneva Road and Roosevelt Road and Highland Avenue. ComEd is expected to fix the problem today. Full story.
Cubs beat Braves at Turner Field
Jeff Samardzija righted the ship Monday night, striking out 10 and pacing the Cubs to a 4-1 win against the Atlanta Braves. Cubs third baseman Luis Valbuena hit a three-run double in the seventh to put the Cubs ahead for good. Full story.
Blackhawks in the mix for top forward Parise
Although the Blackhawks did not land goalie Martin Brodeur, they could hear from the league's top free agent today who is reportedly seriously considering making a move to Chicago. Zach Parise whittled down his shortlist of teams he would like to play for and was expected to make an announcement last night. That did not happen, but it could come very soon. Parise, the New Jersey Devils captain, had 31 goals and 69 points last season. Full story.