JTO is TypingThis weather would be great if I was a black mage in Final Fantasy XI.
We may have had double-digit tornados across northern Illinois tonight. All of Cook County was under a warning, with two spotted around Chicago's airports simultaneously and circulation over the Loop. The National Weather Service had to take shelter in Romeoville and a section of Interstate 55 in Kankakee County has been shut down due to debris.
College of DuPage provided WGN TV with this loop of the storms from the GOES-East satellite.
A year ago, the National Weather Service was surveying the damage from 13 tornados in northern Illinois, the strongest being 3 EF-1 tornados.
Southern Illinois did not escape unscathed. Nashville has a secondary dam which failed (in 2022?) and a 26 foot tall primary dam which was overtopped, leading to evacuations, but also many state roads and part of Interstate 64 are closed.
I don't recommend living in a country where COVID-19 data isn't widely accessible, and you can go to a hospital and be the only person on the floor wearing a respirator with headbands who keeps it on, and be thankful when you leave it because your electricity finally came back on 10 minutes after you needed it for a mobility device.
The July 15th storm was categorized as a derecho. 19 tornados.
"As of the evening of July 18th, a total of 22 tornadoes have been confirmed in the NWS Chicago forecast area from this event. This ties the daily record for tornadoes in our forecast area (June 30th, 2014 "Double Derecho" and March 31, 2023 Outbreak)."
The July 15th tornado count has reached 27 (breaking the record by 5) and an EF-0 was really close to me. I saw a bit of the damage last week, but didn't think it looked like a tornado.
"Additional tornadoes may be confirmed over the coming month, as we continue to analyze high resolution and satellite and radar data."
National Weather Service updated the derecho page.
"With 32 tornadoes, the July 15, 2024 derecho was the most prolific tornado event to impact the NWS Chicago forecast area in history.
...
During the evening of July 15, there were multiple periods of time during which there were more than 1 [simultaneous] tornado within the... forecast area. The period between 8:25 and 10:30 PM was particularly prolific, with at least 2 tornadoes 70% of the time and at least 4 tornadoes nearly 25% of the time."
Chicago's #COVID19 Wastewater Monitoring Dashboard wasn't updated from the August 22nd or 24th data every time I checked during September. It has been now. Still no full dates on the points on the graph, just month and year, which were displayed at end of last year and early this year.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/covid-19-wastewater-surveillance.html
The Illinois State Board of Elections has a banner with a link to the state's coronavirus response site. Internet Archive's Wayback Machine has captures of the site which seem to show it stopped working after January with a different error graphic.
Another brush fire at that forest preserve. Not as many displaced birds have moved in this direction, yet.
In Cook County in Illinois we have a pretty good resource, Injustice Watch, for helping decide on judicial retention. One of the methods they try to use to help voters make informed decisions is a survey sent to the candidates, but many of the judges refuse to answer it. One candidate this year sent in a response downplaying it and I feel the need to point out that the statement, "Each of the judges running for retention was elected by the voters..." isn't fully true.
https://interactives.injusticewatch.org/judicial-election-guide/2024-general/en/
While it is true every judge on the ballot was elected (later), by my count Injustice Watch reports 27 of the 77 judges up for retention first became judges when they were appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court power to fill vacancies, not by elections. 12 of those in 2017, 1 in 2018. 1 is up for retention on the appellate court. A judge mentioned in this Chicago Tribune article on the questionable application of that power (Marsalek) is up for retention this year.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/12/23/defeated-judges-find-way-back-to-bench-2/
For 3 hours yesterday a sensor in Gary, Indiana reported air quality index readings for particulate matter in the hazardous range (above 300 micrograms per square meter). The peak was 772 and readings only returned to the moderate range at 5:00 PM CDT.
Another election with none of the judges up for retention failing to receive enough votes, despite 4 of them having been referred to the Judicial Inquiry Board. 2 of those only happened the day after the election.
Oh and an Illinois state's attorney was elected who believed Black children were superpredators, and that was the best choice on the ballot.
McGlynn was nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2020. This country still hadn't recovered from the damage to the federal judicial branch (or even made sufficient attempts to). So, McGlynn got to rule against a law we passed to try to protect ourselves from assault rifles after the shooting involving one during a 4th of July parade in one of the most affluent areas of Illinois.
Federal judge rules Illinois assault weapons ban unconstitutional, attorney general vows to appeal
U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn put his ruling on hold for 30 days, likely in anticipation of the appeal. The litigation over Illinois’ assault weapons ban is viewed as likely to reach as high as the U.S. Supreme Court.
It has been 1 year since I began wearing an N95 respirator all the time even at home, because absolutely everyone is terrible at risk assessment.
The CDC has taken Trump's approach to hurricanes by drawing the problem away on their graphs, and he's not even in office, yet.
Chicago's Department of Public Health has chosen the worst time to take down the COVID-19 wastewater monitoring dashboard, because not updating it during and after the Democrat super spreader event wasn't bad enough.
Last week I got a letter from my insurance company through which I got a PPO under the Affordable Care Act. They were notifying me that next year I should not be able to afford care if I were to be injured or ill out-of-state (except in counties which border the state).
Still trying to pin this down, but it sounds like another fire at that preserve, even though there had just been one in October. Not only can we smell it, but it has been so windy today that there's ash in the air, visible in street lights tonight, like snow.
There was just an #AMBERAlert in #Chicago, and the first website that I found with anything about it is for the Dutch BNO News. I don't know how accurate they are and details are changing at this point (100 block of S. Central Park Ave. initially vs. 7100 block of S. Eberhart Ave., adding "dark grey" to the possible vehicle colors when the alert had beige...). Their story says the child was last seen at 7:40 pm, which would have been over 6 hours before the alert was sent out.
https://bnonews.com/index.php/2025/02/illinois-amber-alert-tristen-gaters-abducted-in-chicago/
The website for the non-profit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children does not yet have this alert listed.
https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/amber
Their website is also where the Department of Justice directs people to check. amberalert.ojp.gov is yet another federal website with the notice about the freeze and review.
On top of that, the website for the Illinois AMBER Alert Task Force looks like it was another victim of Bruce Rauner's no budget years.
The Republican party is a death cult.
Illinois Amber Alert: Tristen Gaters abducted in Chicago
An Illinois Amber Alert has been issued for 8-year-old Tristen Gaters after he was allegedly abducted in Chicago, local officials say. Anyone with information is urged to call 911 immediately. Tristen was last seen at 7:40 p.m. on Thursday when he was taken from the 7100 block of South Eberhart Avenue in Chicago, according to […]
The updates to that story are sickening.
Four helicopters just flew over the southern suburbs of #Chicago and all I can think of is, "Who will it be today?" There's the chance it's just the Illinois National Guard out on monthly exercises, but the chance that it isn't is much greater than zero, now.
There have been 2 EF-1 tornadoes confirmed so far which occurred on the 19th. The tornado warnings that day were issued not out of the Romeoville, IL office but Norman, OK. With the federal government currently destroying any agency which acknowledges climate change, I expect we'll find that it takes longer to confirm these tornadoes and some damage may go un-inspected.
Any meteorologist who adopts "Gulf of America" is not going to help you survive the sociopaths.
"Prevost – who was also the Augustinians’ worldwide leader for 12 years beginning in 2001 – left the principal, an Augustinian priest named Richard McGrath, in his post, a decision he has not explained, as the Chicago Sun-Times has previously reported."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/09/clergy-molestation-survivors-pope-leo-xiv
"In 2017, as word spread of the claims against him, McGrath abruptly retired in December of that year, then reportedly moving to a friary in Hyde Park. Months later, he was AWOL from that facility—"unlawfully absent" from the Augustinian Order. A source in 2018 told Patch that McGrath had left the order after conflict surrounding the scandal, because he had felt bullied and unsupported by the order.
At the time of reporting on the settlement in 2023, the Order was said to have been nearing expulsion of McGrath.
The statement issued by Rev. Pizzo and provided to Patch on May 6 clarifies that McGrath had still been a part of the order until late last year."
https://patch.com/illinois/newlenox/providence-ex-president-dismissed-order-whereabouts-unknown
The upside to being in the 6th year of a global airborne pandemic is that I'm nearly always dressed right for when The Dust Bowl tries to make a comeback.
The National Weather Service published a report on the severe dust storm.
"According to the American Meteorological Society’s Glossary of Meteorology, blowing dust/dirt
events with minimum visibilities of 0.63 miles or less are indicated as a 'dust storm,' with minimum visibilities below 0.31 miles indicated as 'severe dust storm.' Severe dust storms associated with a wall of dust and a rapid onset of reduced visibilities and gusty winds are
sometimes caused by thunderstorm outflows or frontal passages, such as what was observed on 16 May (Figure 1). In these situations, the dust storm is often referred to as a 'haboob,' based upon the Arabic word for 'to blow.' Severe dust storms or haboobs are uncommon in the Midwest, and much more frequently observed in the Desert Southwest and Great Plains of the United States or in arid regions of the Middle East, Sahara Desert, or Central Australia
(American Meteorological Society, 2025)."
PDF is here.
https://www.weather.gov/media/lot/events/2025/05_16/2025_05_16_Dust_Storm.pdf
Other facts about the haboob.
Visibility was down to 0.25 miles southeast of Bloomington in McLean County, around a stretch of Interstate 57 in Will County, in the southern suburbs up through Chicago in Cook County, and around South Bend, Indiana.
Chicago had visibility of less than a mile for 72 minutes.
A severe dust storm from the Dust Bowl affected Galena and suspended rides at the 1933 World's Fair reported in the Chicago Tribune, cited as the earliest similar report with a minimum visibility of 0.5 miles at Midway International Airport (then Chicago Municipal Airport).
Trust the newsreaders on #ABC7Chicago to downplay health threats to tens of millions of people. One of their 4 o'clock meteorologists took pains to point out that the Canadian wildfire smoke in the area is no longer the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" category, but for all and that visibility is down to 5 miles due to it. One of the 6 o'clock anchors said, "Maybe you've got a little thing in your throat."
Entire states have declared for the past two days the air is unhealthy to breathe without treatment, but no, maybe it's just you. What gets me is that Ravi Baichwal is a Canadian-American.
Once again The Dust Bowl is brought up in local meteorology, because it's the 30th anniversary of the 1995 heat wave.
"In 2025, as part of its Hazard Simplification Project, the National Weather Service updated the names of its highest-level heat products in an effort to better communicate the danger posed by extreme heat. Excessive Heat Watches were renamed to Extreme Heat Watches, while Excessive Heat Warnings were renamed to Extreme Heat Warnings."
The National Weather Service is now more EXTREeeeeME than it was in the '90s.
The 2-day long Extreme Heat Warning finally broke. There could be reports on how warnings such as these by the National Weather Service try to save lives and the dire consequences of firing meteorologists to appease sociopaths, or maybe how to make cooling centers safe during the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic... Nah, #WGN decides they've got time to fit in telling you about a squirrel that fought a rattlesnake, as if you're a 17th century British colonist and this is going to be in the next sermon.
The National Weather Service has documented the storms on the 24th and 25th. Flash flooding on the 25th resulted in waist-high water on residential streets in some places, and even 6-12 inches of standing water on Interstate 55.
It's not enough for corporate news to have complete silence about the dangers of indoor air quality, now we get reporters sent out into AQI category Unhealthy air and visible smoke at ground level without PPE.
We just had 3.1 inches/80 mm of rain within 2 hours or so.
mm is millivanillimeters, right?
The governor's press conference today defying military occupation plans is available for download on the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.
It's the 35th anniversary of the Plainfield Tornado, the only F5 tornado in August in the country since 1950 and studied by the Fujita scale's creator Tetsuya Ted Fujita. Before Fujita was at the University of Chicago he was an associate professor at the then-named Meiji Senmon Gakkō in the city of Kokura. Kokura was the primary target of Fat Man, but for 3 steel workers making a smoke screen and clouds preventing the ordered bomb drop by sight.
https://www.weather.gov/lot/Plainfield_Tornado_Anniversary
https://thebulletin.org/2022/08/harrowing-story-of-the-nagasaki-bombing-mission/#post-heading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyushu_Institute_of_Technology
"On Saturday the head of the Illinois State Police received a phone call from CBP's chief patrol agent Gregory Bovino indicating that ICE would be deploying to Chicago. ...in the absence of significant federal coordination we've gathered information from unauthorized patriotic officials inside the government and from well-sourced reporters...
...
First, Donald Trump is positioning armed federal agents and staging military vehicles on federal property such as the Great Lakes Naval Base.
...
We believe that staging that has already begun started yesterday and continues into today.
Second, unidentifiable agents in unmarked vehicles with masks are planning to raid Latino communities...
...
Third... we have reason to believe the Trump administration has already begun staging the Texas national guard for deployment in Illinois.
...
Lastly, after about 30 days or so we believe they will pick up all those resources and send them to the next city in a blue state." - Gov. Pritzker
Five helicopters flying over the southern suburbs. Only one transponder.
It's not so much that the nuts are coming out of the woodwork since the death of a conspiracy theorist as they were already being deputized as part of propaganda efforts.
"Bergquam, a correspondent for the right-wing news channel Real America’s Voice, has more than 177,000 followers on Instagram. He is currently embedded with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as they make arrests in Chicago as part of President Trump’s 'Operation Midway Blitz.'”
According to Wikipedia article on the conspiracy theorist (pre-murder) the dead man was the sort of person Twitter would ban before that site died when a sociopath bought it. The article has had ~1500 edits in the two days since, and it's wiser not to link to the current page when it changes so rapidly.
Right-wing influencer films Pritzker's home, stokes concerns after Kirk death
Sources close to the governor told the Sun-Times Ben Bergquam's video has prompted additional concerns over Pritzker's safety. The Illinois State Police Executive Protection Unit currently provides 24-hour security for the governor, his family and the Governor's Mansion in Springfield.
"This morning, September 19, 2025, federal agents unleashed severe violence on people protesting at the Broadview detention facility, and engaged in actions endangering people on the scene." - National Lawyers Guild, Chicago chapter
"The organization said its legal observers witnessed agents using pepper balls and apparent tear gas 'on all protesters and individuals gathered.' The National Lawyers Guild frequently monitors demonstrations to document police use of force and arrests.” - Nader Issa, Chicago Sun-Times
https://chicago.suntimes.com/live/ice-agent-broadview-facility-protest-today
You can now swim in the Chicago River... sort of.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/21/chicago-river-swim
"Swimming in the Chicago River is prohibited at any other time of the year."
https://www.chicagoriverswim.org/Race/ChicagoRiverSwim/Page/SwimCourse
There was daily private water quality testing of the main channel over the prior 4 days, with less frequent tests before those.
https://www.chicagoriverswim.org/Race/ChicagoRiverSwim/Page/WaterQualityPlan
Also, there were fundraising requirements for competitors.
https://www.chicagoriverswim.org/Race/ChicagoRiverSwim/Page/FAQs
TV coverage of yesterday's press conference called over the memo about 100 troops to protect ICE property got cut off after 30 minutes, before Eréndira Rendón (Vice President of Immigrant Justice from the Resurrection Project) got to speak. Parentheses are mine.
"DHS has admitted to members of the press that they are making enforcement decision based on racial profiling... if you look like me you are in danger. On Sunday in Back of the Yards (a neighborhood now officially known as New City) ICE officers violently arrested 3 US citizens on baseless charges simply for exercising their constitutional right to free speech.
...
Right now in Broadview there are 200 people in a place that is not a detention center. They are being held in inhumane conditions. There are no beds. There are no showers. There is limited food; they order children's meals from Subway to eat. We are not allowed to speak to any of our clients that are held in that facility."
"'I had him in class,' Rupp, now 84, told the Chicago Sun-Times, referring to Prevost’s time at St. Augustine high school seminary near Holland, Michigan, in or around 1973. 'He was a teenager.'
'I only taught him for a few months. ... I think I was teaching Latin at that time. ... He struck me' as 'just a delightful, wonderful young man,' Rupp said.
...
It’s unclear whether Rupp was engaged in sexual misconduct at the time and whether and when Prevost knew of any accusations. Neither the pope nor his press office responded to questions. Rupp denied molesting anyone and said he was wrongfully accused. The Augustinians refuse to confirm whether Rupp was one of Prevost’s instructors."
Priest later accused of child sex abuse was instructor at pope's seminary high school
The Rev. Nelson Daniel Rupp was assigned to St. Augustine seminary for part of the time Robert Prevost was a student. Highlighted in a report about alleged abuse in the Catholic church, Rupp says he taught Prevost — who as Pope Leo XIV now is tasked with dealing with the scourge of child sex abuse…
"...a masked federal agent dropped canisters of chemical irritants into the street outside Rico Fresh Market...
In a video taken by a witness and shared with the Sun-Times, cars could be seen blocking the white, unmarked SUV before a masked agent rolled down his window and dropped the canisters. Smoke begins spreading around the vehicle and passersby began to scream.
Someone on the sidewalk then volleyed at least one of the canisters back at the vehicle before it sped off.
David Beale, 39, was on his way to the gym shortly after noon when he noticed a Blackhawk helicopter and Department of Homeland Security vehicle in the area.
Beale told a WBEZ reporter that the federal agents have been targeting the grocery store since the beginning of Operation Midway Blitz, President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign in the Chicago area.
At least 10 cars, 10 people and six bikes lined up to stop the vehicle from moving down the street, Beale said."
"The video appears to contradict the government’s allegation that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning on Kedzie Avenue near 39th Street, her attorney, Christopher Parente, said at a detention hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
...
Parente said Martinez has 'seven holes' in her from the shooting and that agents were in such a hurry to take her into custody at the hospital that they had to return later when Martinez began bleeding from her wounds.
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An FBI statement says that about 10 vehicles were involved in the chase that Martinez and Ruiz were allegedly part of in the 3900 block of South Kedzie. The statement also describes the 'ramming' of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle repeatedly in the 3700 block of Kedzie, allegedly by the driver of a black Chevy Tahoe with Illinois license plate EM 62829. That driver is still at large, the FBI said."
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims agent said, 'Do something b----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney alleged.