About 310,000 customers in northern Illinois were without power Thursday night, including 62,000 in Chicago, said ComEd spokesman Tom Stevens, who added that it could take days to restore power for some customers north of the city.

People who ventured out to survey the storm’s aftermath dodged felled trees, downed power lines and other debris knocked about by high winds.

Police in west suburban West Chicago are responding to reports of a warehouse collapse, possibly with people trapped inside.

A West Chicago police dispatcher confirmed police were responding to an emergency, but had no details as of 3:25 p.m. The West Chicago Fire Department did not return messages seeking information.

University Village near the University of Illinois at Chicago looks like a suburban downtown on steroids, a massive brick complex of housing, restaurants and retail. And while all the ubiquitous suburban chains are there Jamba Juice, Foot Locker, Cold Stone Creamery there also is an independent bookstore, a small wine store and a unique boutique.

When environmentally-minded developers in the 1970s planned the future of Chicago and its suburbs, they often cited the need to recycle and conserve.

Sound and vital thinking, but in the 1990s planners saw beyond mere conservation, to designing whole neighborhoods — even suburbs — to be more walkable, more compact and less dependent on automobiles driving to faraway places.
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In about eight years, should expected federal funding come through, the Metra STAR Line is set for construction in Schaumburg adjacent to Woodfield Gardens/12 Oaks and the new Schaumburg Convention Center.

The 55-mile STAR Line, connecting O’Hare International Airport, the northwest suburbs and south to Joliet in Will County will be the first commuter rail line in northeast Illinois designed solely for suburb-to-suburb commuting.