Cook County Announces $8 Million Investment to Help South Suburban Communities Clear Debris from Aug. 11 Storms

County to provide direct support to communities recovering from severe summer storms

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS) today announced an $8 million investment to help communities across Cook County remove hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of debris left behind by a severe summer storm, with a focus on south suburban municipalities that continue to face significant recovery challenges.

The investment will provide direct support to 12 municipalities as the County coordinates with local agencies and public works departments to remove remaining debris from storms that hit the area on Aug. 11 and help communities complete the cleanup process.

“No community should have to shoulder the cost of recovering from a devastating storm on its own," said President Preckwinkle. "When federal assistance doesn't come, Cook County will not stand by. This $8 million investment will help our municipalities clear debris, repair what was damaged and get residents back on their feet. Our smaller and under-resourced communities often lack the capacity to respond to disasters of this scale, and they deserve a partner they can count on. Cook County will continue to be that partner."

Cook County has already removed approximately 100,000 cubic yards of debris from impacted communities, enough material to fill roughly 5,700 average-sized dump trucks. Despite that progress, hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of debris remain on the ground in many areas, underscoring the scale of the ongoing recovery process.

As part of the County’s debris removal coordination effort, impacted south suburban municipalities have joined together to facilitate the collection and consolidation of storm debris. Debris is currently located at 13 sites including Chicago Heights, Dolton, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Hazel Crest, Homewood-Flossmoor Park District, Homewood, Lynwood, Matteson, Olympia Fields and Sauk Village.

“When a storm leaves behind this much debris, efforts to rebound can become bigger than any one village or township can handle on its own,” said Sheila Chalmers-Currin, mayor of the Village of Matteson. “Our teams have worked tirelessly to clear our streets and neighborhoods and Cook County’s investment is giving us the additional capacity to finish this work and get our community closer to normal. We appreciate the County, EMRS and our partners for helping us move forward.”

EMRS has requested assistance from the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network (IPWMAN), a volunteer-run mutual aid network. IPWMAN worked to secure 40 trucks to support debris removal operations and help address the volume of material remaining from the storms. Debris collection from current sites is expected to take approximately two weeks. It is being transported to three regional sites in Chicago Heights, Flossmoor and Matteson, where it will be consolidated for removal and processing.

The severe storms that struck Cook County throughout the summer brought damaging winds, tornadoes, flooding, downed trees and power lines, structural damage and widespread debris across numerous municipalities. The County issued a disaster declaration following the Aug. 11 storm event and deployed emergency management resources to assist affected communities.

“The collaboration between the Village of Flossmoor and Cook County’s EMRS was instrumental in maintaining operational stability, safety and essential village services in the immediate aftermath of the storm,” said Michelle Nelson, mayor of Flossmoor. “Our continued teamwork led to rapid clean-up of the initial phase of recovery. We look forward to a continued partnership with Cook County EMRS through the restoration phase of the Aug. 11 tornado event.”

Following the Aug. 11 storm system, EMRS coordinated with local leadership, emergency management offices, first responders and public works departments while also working with state and federal partners to assess damage and identify available resources.

“Cook County has been working shoulder to shoulder with our municipal partners since these storms hit,” said Alex Joves, executive director of EMRS. “We know that debris removal is one of the most visible and persistent challenges communities face after a major storm. This crucial investment gives us the ability to help municipalities address that challenge head on and continue the necessary work of recovery.”

Cook County will continue coordinating with municipal, state and federal partners as recovery efforts move forward and will continue to pursue all available resources to support communities impacted by this summer’s severe weather.

Cook County’s $8 million investment builds on the County’s efforts following severe storms in 2025, when the federal government denied the County’s request for federal disaster assistance. As a result, Cook County established a $15 million one-time relief program to provide direct assistance to residents who continue to recover from damage caused by those storms.