CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. — More than 84,000 ComEd customers in the north and northwest suburbs have no electricity after Wednesday’s ice storm brought down power lines.
From Arlington Heights to Crystal Lake and beyond — ice blanketed street signs, trees, power lines and streets, knocking out power for Chicagoland residents, and creating hazardous travel conditions along the way as an ice storm ripped through the area.
Some schools in the north and northwest suburbs did not have power as of Wednesday night, which may cause class cancellations. Cary’s District 26 and Fox River Grove’s District 3 are closed Thursday.
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“Kind of cold, rainy, and terrible,” said Jim Ray, a Chicago resident, of the weather conditions Wednesday evening.
“If you don’t have to be out on the roads just stay home,” said Roberto Tellez, a snow plow driver. “But if you do, just be careful. Drive slowly and take your distance from cars because it is kind of slippery.”
In McHenry County, the sheriff’s office urged people to stay home as emergency personnel and Illinois Department of Transportation crews worked to remove trees and clean up downed power lines on roads in the area.
As of 7 a.m. Thursday, over 84,000 ComEd customers were without power, according to the company’s online outage map.
ComEd is expecting to have 80 percent of power restored to the region by Thursday evening, but some people may be affected until Saturday.