Midwest Storm Recovery — Cook County & Gary
Cook County EMRS + community funds (MADR deployed) · Chicago region, IL + Gary, IN
After the Aug 11, 2026 storm system — tornadoes, flooding, structural damage and widespread debris across the Chicago region and Gary, IN — recovery is running on county and community funding. After the federal government denied Cook County's disaster assistance request following last year's storms, the county self-funded $15M in relief and is now investing $8M in debris removal. Gary runs a one-stop disaster relief shop, a no-income-requirement weatherhead repair program, free laundry and food drives, with the Mutual Aid Disaster Relief network deployed on the ground.
Ongoing — Cook County $8M debris investment (Oct 6); Gary weatherhead repairs taking applications; MADR on the ground since Aug 23