Chicago Situation Report | 06.18.2025
Your Weekly Forward-Looking Intelligence Brief from The CP Journal's Watch Office
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Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
Here are the highlights of the week ahead. Scroll down for a deeper analysis and the sources of information for any specific section:
🥵Weather: While last week was relatively quiet, the upcoming week brings multiple hazards. After mid-week storms, Chicago will experience its first significant heat wave of the season through the weekend – a sharp change from the cooler-than-normal early June.
🫣Safety & Security: The Chicago metro area’s public safety posture is calming after last week’s large demonstrations, but many large events are on the horizon. The city’s chronic gun violence and recent protest activity keep the threat level above moderate, but shows no significant increase or decrease in risk.
🙈Health & Medical: The risk environment is stable, with routine summer hazards. No immediate severe threats, but remain alert for any changes (e.g., rising WNV activity or new disease clusters).
📱Cybersecurity: The Chicago metro area’s cyber risk remains elevated this week. While the region saw no new attacks of its own, the prevalence of national breaches (see detailed analysis) and ransomware activity should keep local organizations in a state of heightened alert.
🚧Critical Infrastructure: The Chicago metro’s infrastructure risk remains moderate. There are no active large-scale outages or disruptions, only congestion from planned construction. The moderate rating reflects that summer hazards (severe storms, heat) could still occur, but the current situation is stable.
Remember: this report is intended for situational awareness, and readers should validate any information before acting.
In-Depth Analysis
Weather | Risk Level: Elevated & ↑
⛈️Official 7‑Day Outlook
Here is your detailed forecast for Chicago.
A stormy mid-week followed by a heat wave characterizes the area’s forecast.
A system will bring showers and thunderstorms on Wednesday (June 18) – locally heavy rain of 0.5–1 inch and gusty winds are expected.
Once the mid-week front passes, dry and sunnier conditions take over for Juneteenth (Thursday) into the weekend. Temperatures will surge under strong summer sunshine: highs rebound from the low 80s Thursday to the upper 80s by Friday. Forecast highs in Chicago are 94 °F on Saturday and Sunday, with heat index values possibly near 100 °F.
Looking to Monday (June 23), the hot pattern persists (low to mid-90s and sunny) unless a new front arrives slightly earlier than expected.
🥵Watches & Warnings
The region has no active broad warnings at this time.
The mid-week storms may prompt short-fuse alerts: the NWS has highlighted a Marginal to Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms Wednesday, mainly south of Chicago, with a Limited Damaging Wind Risk (~60 mph) in the Hazardous Weather Outlook.
A Flood Watch is not posted, but urban ponding is possible in heavy downpours on Wednesday.
By this weekend, if forecast heat indices climb above 105 °F, the NWS may issue a Heat Advisory for the metro – currently, the projected humidity keeps heat index values just below advisory criteria (around 100 °F).
🌡️Looking Ahead
The Chicago metro area enjoyed a relatively quiet week.
The broader outlook for late June into July in the Midwest suggests above-normal heat will persist. This pattern of strong ridging raises the likelihood of multiple heatwaves in the next 2–4 weeks.
Rainfall outlooks are less certain; however, signals show a tilt toward below-normal precipitation across the Great Plains and Western Corn Belt into the Midwest in coming weeks.
🌪️Anniversaries
Coal City EF-3 Tornado: On the night of June 22, 2015, a powerful EF-3 tornado tore through Coal City and Braidwood, IL (Grundy and Will Counties). Packing winds up to 160 mph, it was the strongest tornado to hit the Chicago metro area in 25 years (since the 1990 Plainfield F5). Miraculously, there were no fatalities, though five people were injured and dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed
Safety & Security | Risk Level: Elevated & →
🫣Upcoming Protests and Rallies
No large protests are scheduled for June 18–24, but smaller advocacy events continue. For example, a World Refugee Day rally is set for June 17 at Daley Plaza (a few hundred expected).
🏎️A Few Upcoming Events
Pride Fest: The annual Chicago Pride Fest takes place in Northalsted (Boystown) this weekend, June 21–22. This two-day street festival draws tens of thousands each day with concerts and vendors.
NASCAR Street Race (July 5–6): Chicago is preparing for the NASCAR Street Race to take over Grant Park downtown in early July.
CONCACAF Gold Cup Final: On July 9, Chicago will host the game at Soldier Field (if the U.S. advances, this will significantly increase fan turnout).
Standing Advisory: While planning for July 4th celebrations, this DHS and FBI advisory warns that large-scale events could be targets for violence this summer
🚗Significant Incidents
Immigration & “No Kings” Aftermath: The wave of anti-ICE and anti-authoritarian protests that swept Chicago last week has subsided. On June 14, a “No Kings” rally at Daley Plaza drew tens of thousands, and earlier on June 10 thousands marched against ICE raids. The June 10 anti-ICE demonstrations saw some clashes: 17 protesters were arrested, including four on felony charges (aggravated battery, property damage).
Downtown Protest Incident – Vehicle Plowing: During the June 10 immigration protest in the Loop, a car drove through the marching crowd at Monroe & Wabash, narrowly missing multiple demonstrators. One woman was knocked down and injured (non-life-threatening). The driver – a lone female participant who had been seen vandalizing property – was arrested later that night after her car broke down.
🔫Anniversaries
Roe v. Wade Overturned: The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision (June 24, 2022) ended federal abortion protections, sparking mass protests nationwide. On the day of the ruling, downtown Chicago saw large spontaneous protests at Federal Plaza and in Grant Park. The city experienced only minor incidents during those 2022 protests.
Willowbrook Mass Shooting: Two years ago, on June 18th, gunmen opened fire at a Juneteenth celebration in Willowbrook (DuPage County), killing one person and injuring 22. This suburban Chicago incident serves as a grim reminder of the potential for violence at large community gatherings. L
Health & Medical | Risk Level: Low & →
😷Disease Outbreak Status
Respiratory Illnesses: COVID-19, RSV and Flu are all at “very low” levels.
Measles: No new cases since the end of April. 2 of Illinois’ 10 cases have been in Cook County.
West Nile Virus: The first WNV-positive mosquitoes of 2025 were just detected in Chicago on June 13. The positive mosquito pools (collected in the city) confirm active virus circulation. The Illinois Department of Public Health had already found the season’s first positive mosquitoes statewide in mid-May. No human cases of West Nile have been reported in Illinois yet this year.
🙈Public Health Emergencies
No Ongoing Formal Local Declarations: Aside from the national opioid emergency, there are currently no active formal public health emergency declarations in the Chicago area.
🌲Environmental Health
Air Quality: AQI will be in the “moderate” range and wildfire smoke is not anticipated to impact the Chicago area this week.
Allergens: The forecast for the week has tree pollen at “high” levels, Ragweed at “low” levels, Grass Pollen in the “moderate” range, and mold at “moderate-to-high” levels.
Water Quality – Lake Michigan: Chicago’s beaches opened for the season Memorial Day weekend. No citywide swim bans at this time due to water quality.
💉Looking Ahead
Immunization Campaigns: To be determined, but we will update once there is clarity.
🔥Anniversaries
Cuyahoga River Fire: 56 years ago, on June 22, 1969, a polluted oil-slicked river in Cleveland ignited, burning for about 30 minutes. This modest fire (no photos exist due to its short duration) became an icon of environmental neglect after national media coverage. Public outrage from the Cuyahoga River fire helped spur the creation of the EPA (est. 1970) and the first Earth Day in April 1970. It’s remembered as a turning point in U.S. water pollution control.
Cybersecurity | Risk Level: Elevated & →
📞A Few Past‑Week Cyber Incidents
Local Cyber Incidents: No known cyber incidents were disclosed in the Chicago metropolitan area during the past week.
AT&T & T-Mobile Data Leaks: A massive data leak of ~86 million AT&T customer records (including ~44 million Social Security numbers) was reported on dark web forums. Hackers claimed a fresh breach of 64 million T-Mobile customer records (with extensive personal data), though T-Mobile denied the dataset’s origin.
Food Distributor Attack: United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), a major food distributor, suffered a cyberattack disrupting grocery deliveries nationwide.
Local Government Attacks: In the public sector, a North Carolina city (Thomasville) and a Georgia district attorney’s office (Ogeechee Circuit) had to revert to offline operations after ransomware attacks on their networks, impacting essential services to their communities. Note: budget concerns prevented the Ogeechee Circruit from preparing for this threat.
Washington Post Journalist Emails Breached: The Wall Street Journal disclosed a cyber intrusion into several journalists’ email accounts (suspected foreign espionage as the targets were national security and economic teams reporting on China) that forced a company-wide password reset.
🏭Current Threats
Potential Cybersecurity Impacts of the Conflict in the Middle East. The Agriculture and Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Centers issued a joint statement this week encouraging companies to prepare for the likelihood of increased cyber attacks from Iran targeting U.S. companies.
State-Sponsored Activity: Chinese state-linked hackers (e.g. APT41) and others continue to target U.S. critical infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare, and government entities, often dovetailing with geopolitical tensions. Phishing and social engineering remain prevalent as attack vectors across all sectors.
Remote Access Tools Vulnerability: CISA warned that ransomware gangs are actively exploiting flaws in remote management tools (SimpleHelp). The vulnerabilities has been used since January to breach downstream customers, including U.S. retail chains.
💣Anniversaries
Stuxnet: In line with this week’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, this week also marks 15 years since the discovery of Stuxnet (June 2010), the pioneering cyber weapon that infiltrated Iran’s nuclear facilities and alerted the world to industrial control system attacks.
Critical Infrastructure | Risk Level: Moderate & →
🔌Utility Status
Power: The Chicago metro electric grid is currently normal with no significant outages affecting the region (>1,000 customers).
Water: No large-scale water service interruptions noted. The City of Chicago’s Water Management reports adequate pressure and water quality. Suburban water districts in Cook/DuPage have not issued boil advisories or outages this week. (Chicago draws from Lake Michigan, which is at normal levels; no supply concerns.)
Other Utilities: Natural gas and telecommunications networks are normal.
🚧Transportation Disruptions
Roadways: I-90/94 Kennedy Expressway – Rehabilitation: The Kennedy Bridge and pavement rehab Phase 3 (outbound lanes) is underway and will continue through fall 2025. This involves various lane and ramp closures. At least two of three outbound lanes remain open, but nightly lane closures and 19 ramp closures (staggered throughout 2025) are causing heavy congestion during peak travel.
Transit: CTA trains and buses are running on normal schedules.
Airports: O’Hare International Airport is experiencing typical summer air traffic volumes. Some flight delays have occurred due to national air traffic control constraints and weather, but no airport infrastructure disruptions. Midway Airport operations are normal. Travelers should remain aware that summer thunderstorms can prompt ground stops or delays, though none are forecast for the coming days.
Freight Rail & Shipping: Chicago’s rail freight hub is fully operational. There are no major derailments or mainline blockages. The Surface Transportation Board has not issued any service emergency orders; Class I railroads (Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, NS) report adequate crew and power availability in the Chicago terminal.
📦Supply‑Chain Alerts
Freight & Logistics: The Chicago area – a national logistics hub – is not experiencing any acute supply chain disruptions this week.
Fuel: Fuel supply is normal. Refineries in Joliet and Whiting are operating at planned rates with no outages. Gasoline and diesel inventories in the Midwest are at or above seasonal averages, and prices at Chicago-area pumps have been stable. There are no fuel rationing measures in place.
Industrial Goods: No shortages reported in the delivery of critical goods (steel, construction aggregates, etc.) for regional projects.
Retail & Food: Major grocers and retailers report typical inventory levels. No rationing or widespread shortage of any consumer product.
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