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Thursday, October 16th, 2025

Residents in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect reported concerns over a black, soot-like residue on houses, vehicles, and plants as drought and high temperatures worsened the area; Mount Prospect officials logged all reports and contacted state and county agencies to investigate the issue—residents are encouraged to email with questions.

Thursday, October 16th, 2025

Trains on all Metra commuter lines were delayed on Tuesday evening when a positive train control system outage occurred around 5 p.m.—Metra officials said the system gradually came back online by 6:15 p.m. but warned that many commuters experienced extended delays.

Thursday, October 16th, 2025

Arlington Heights fire officials and police have not provided clear public details on encrypting fire radio channels as NWCDS in the northwest suburbs will switch channels to encryption sometime in October to protect sensitive data — a change that contrasts with Seattle Fire, which announced its safety measures nearly a year ahead. Local leaders will meet on December 9 to discuss a Chicago Bears topic but have not addressed these public safety communication concerns.