Tornado-stricken neighborhoods make progress on cleanup

A resource center for tornado victims will open this weekend in an American Red Cross shelter in Woodridge as cleanup efforts continue in neighborhoods left in disarray by the twister's violent winds.

The event will assemble more than 20 federal, state and local agencies - even therapy dogs - at Thomas Jefferson Junior High on Saturday and Sunday to provide various relief services to families in the path of the June 20 tornado.

Naperville officials will outline the process for debris collection and building permitting. Crews have removed truckloads of debris out of residential areas where the smell of fresh-cut trees still permeates the air.

K-Five Construction has supplied Naperville with semitrucks to help transport debris. Fallen trees are going into a big tub grinder that Aurora has lent the city.

The weekend rain - forecasters predict up to 6 inches - wasn't expected to hinder the cleanup work, Naperville spokeswoman Linda LaCloche said. Rather, the rain has helped reduce some of the dust in tornado-stricken areas.

Since the tornado thrashed parts of Naperville late last Sunday, crews have cleared all streets and driveways for traffic, LaCloche said.

Naperville will collect brush left at parkways starting Monday through July 3 on much of the city's southern end. Homes south of 75th Street, between Plainfield-Naperville and Yackley roads, are being targeted by crews, officials said, with collection also happening in neighborhoods as far south as Royce Road.

A collection of house debris also is planned for select addresses next week.

In Woodridge, a group of 30 volunteers fanned out across neighborhoods Friday to distribute roughly 2,500 flyers with information about the tornado recovery.

The village's community development department has completed an assessment of homes, identifying 400 with at least some damage. The village said 29 homes are complete losses.

Currently, 19 public works departments from as far as Hoffman Estates and New Lenox have assisted with the cleanup in Woodridge.

Meanwhile, some of the agencies that will offer assistance at the resource center include the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, the DuPage Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Illinois Regional Office of Education, the Islamic Center for North America, Lutheran Disaster Services and St. Vincent De Paul.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Woodridge junior high, 7200 Janes Ave.