More Snow, Record Breaking Cold to Batter Chicagoland Area This Week
Record-breaking cold weather will roll through the Chicagoland area this week along with plenty of snow Monday morning. A winter weather advisory for Cook and collar counties along with a large swath of Northwest Indiana took effect Sunday evening at 9pm and stays in effect until Monday at 6pm. Chicago could see about 6 inches of snow, while north suburban areas and surrounding counties could get up to 9. The southern suburbs and surrounding counties will see a little less, with about 1 to 3 inches expected to fall, according to ABC7.
Snow falls on Chicago's South Side. Photo by Aaron Cynic.
As of 6am, snowfall at both O’Hare and Midway airports was at about 3 inches and rising. According to the Chicago Tribune, some 700 flights were cancelled. Hundreds of area schools were closed or had late starts, and commute times were more than doubled in some cases.
After the snow tapers off Monday evening, record-breaking cold will set in Tuesday through Thursday. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in the area could drop as low as -20 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a potential wind chill of 50 below zero and gusts of wind up to 35mph. Under those conditions, frostbite can set in in just 10 minutes.
Early Voting Begins Tuesday
Early voting for the 2019 Chicago municipal elections begins Tuesday at the city’s ‘Supersite’ in the Loop at 175 W. Washington. The finalized ballot includes 14 candidates for mayor, 165 for aldermen across 50 wards, three for City Treasurer, and one for City Clerk.
Chicago's early voting 'super site' at 175 W. Washington. Photo by Aaron Cynic.
According to state law, early voting should have begun on January 17—40 days before election day—but Board of Elections officials said that wasn’t workable due to the amount of petition challenges.
Voters looking to cast ballots early will only be able to vote at the Supersite until February 11, when early voting opens up at an additional 50 ward sites, continuing through February 25. Election day is February 26.
Preckwinkle, Daley in the Lead According to New Poll in Mayor’s Race
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and former White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama Bill Daley currently lead the pack of 14 candidates for mayor, according to a new poll commissioned by the Sun-Times.
The poll of 644 likely voters conducted by We Ask America January 21-23 puts Preckwinkle and Daley at 12.7 and 12.1 percent respectively.
Chicago City Hall. Photo by Aaron Cynic.
Rounding out the top five are former state Board of Education Chairman Gery Chico with 9.3 percent, businessman Willie Wilson with 9 percent and Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza with 8.7 percent.
The lion’s share of voters—a little more than 25 percent—are still undecided.
To win the race for mayor, a single candidate must net a 50 percent plus one majority of votes. With a crowded field of 14 candidates, the likely outcome will be a runoff election in April between the top two candidates.
Recommended Reads
County Gang Database May Be Gone, But Activists Want To Know How To Help Those Whose Lives Were Already ‘Destroyed’ By It - A.D. Quig/Daily Line/Block Club Chicago
Everybody in Chicago’s Mayor’s Race Says They Want Ticket Reform - Melissa Sanchez/ProPublica Illinois and Elliott Ramos/WBEZ Chicago
Chi Commission Rubber Stamps Lincoln Yards - Ted Cox/One Illinois 