Dawn Patrol: Kane County coroner dies; Long Grove wildfire; more hot temps
Kane County coroner dies
Kane County Coroner Chuck West died early Wednesday from complications from a liver transplant. He was 69. West was facing misconduct charges, and a county board member said he “was not himself” recently because of his illness, but friends and family are remembering him for all the good he did. Full story.
Hot temperatures tie record, delay Arlington race
Parade watchers and festgoers managed to enjoy the Fourth of July yesterday despite the fact that temperature readings at O'Hare International Airport reached 102 degrees by midafternoon, tying a record high from 1911. Officials at Arlington Park Racecourse decided to change the post time for today's first race to 5 p.m. in an effort to avoid the worst of the heat — which looks to measure 100 degrees again. Full story.
Multiple departments battle Long Grove slough fire
Firefighters from more than 20 fire departments worked from the midafternoon to late evening yesterday to control a slough fire in Long Grove north of Route 53, near Middlefax Drive. A lack of water in the area resulted in water needing to be brought in on tankers. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion. Full story.
Train derails near Glenview-Northbrook border
A Union Pacific train derailed and caused a bridge to collapse yesterday afternoon in Glenview on Shermer Avenue, just south of Willow Road. Cleanup and repair will take at least 48 hours, during which freight trains will be detoured and traffic on Shermer Avenue will be blocked, a Union Pacific spokesman said. Full story.
Weather
Temperatures will top out at about 100 today and tomorrow, with heat indices topping out at about 110. Because of the heat, the National Weather Service has declared an excessive heat warning until Friday at 10 p.m. A strong thunderstorm could pop up this afternoon due to storm clouds rolling in from the west. Its about 80 degrees right now, and the low temperature will only dip to 80 overnight tonight. Stay cool. Full forecast.
Traffic
No major problems to report this morning or overnight last night on the major roadways in the area. Reconstruction and widening of Walkup Road from just south of Rte. 176 to Burning Bush Trail continues in Crystal Lake, so please find an alternate route. Traffic report.
Three homers gives Cubs win
Bryan LaHair, Jeff Baker and Anthony Rizzo hit home runs and the Cubs continued their success against Atlanta by beating the Braves 5-1 last night. Paul Maholm (6-6) gave up one run on eight hits in six innings. Full story.
Sox win in extra inning
Kevin Youkilis hit a game-ending RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the White Sox to a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers last night. Full story.