South Side Cooling Centers Open Saturday Through Monday To Beat The Heat

CHICAGO, IL — Get ready, because it’s going to feel like H-E-double hockey sticks all weekend. An excessive heat warning for the Chicago area, Saturday, June 21, through midnight Monday, June 23, as heat index values over 100 degrees and “hot and humid” weather are expected starting on Saturday.

The combination of high temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in which heat-related illnesses are possible. Expect afternoon highs in the mid to up 90s and low 80s in the evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Check on elderly and disabled family and friends and neighbors. Have plenty of water on hand for your pets and keep them inside or in a shaded shelter. Call 311 if you don't have adequate access to air-conditioning, or 911 if you see someone struggling on the street.

>>> Chicago Area Heat Wave: How Hot It Could Get

The City of Chicago has opened its six cooling centers around the city for the duration of the heat wave. Additionally, residents can also seek relief from the heat at 300 other facilities, such as public libraries, park district facilities, city colleges and police stations.

If your power goes out, your air conditioner breaks, don’t have air, or just want to give your electric bill a break, here are cooling centers where you can go to beat the heat around the South Side:

Englewood Center, 1140 W. 79th Street

Garfield Center, 10 S. Kedzie Ave.

King Center, 4314 S. Cottage Grove

South Chicago Center, 8650 S. Commercial Ave.

Illinois Department of Human Services
3301 Wireton Rd., Blue Island

The Cook County Department of Homeland Security also has a list of cooling centers, which may open on a 24/7 basis if needed.

If you have an outage, you can report your electric outage online, including on your smartphone or tablet. Or, if you prefer, call ComEd 24/7 at 1-800-Edison-1 (1-800-334-7661). You may also use one of these methods to report and/or track an outage.

Report a power outage online

Report an outage via text and social media

You can also track outages via the outage map, which will give you an estimated restore time