Chicago City Wire

In a June 27 Facebook post, Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Chicago) warned Chicago residents to stay indoors due to poor air quality.

“According to the U.S. Air Quality Index, Chicago’s outdoor air quality today is 'Unhealthy' due to wildfire smoke blowing in from Canada,” Stephens wrote on Facebook.

The Illinois Department of Public Health wrote wildfire smoke can make anyone sick, noting its impact on the heart and circulatory system.

in his June 27 Facebook post, the representative shared a link to a news release on his official website. That release included tips on how people could keep themselves safe during periods of low air quality. 

People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep outdoor activities short, consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them. 

Even the healthy should choose less strenuous activities (like walking instead of running), shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors, and be active outdoors when air quality is better.

On June 27, things hadn’t gotten much better. According to Airnow.gov at 5 p.m. CDT, the air quality in Chicago was 213 and “very unhealthy.”

The Peoria Journal Star reported the wildfire smoke from Canada arrived in Illinois’ air on Tuesday.

On June 28, NBC News reported that Chicago’s air quality was the worst in the world, due to the smoke from wildfires in Canada. The outlet reported that Chicago wasn’t the only large metropolitan area that was under an air quality advisory. In addition to Chicago, other affected areas included: “Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Louisville, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Raleigh, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.”

Organizations in the Chicago area cancelled events and activities due to the weather on June 27, according to NBC Chicago 5. Some of those events included the Movies in the Park event scheduled for that evening. Evanston officials cancelled the night’s Starlight Concert event, and Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art moved the “Tuesdays on the Terrace” concert inside, which meant limited seating was available for the event, because of the air quality.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported 35 fires started on Friday. It added 160 are under control and 255 are out of control.

Stephens was sworn in on June 29, 2019 to represent House District 20. He is also Mayor of Rosemont, Ill., after serving on the village’s Board of Trustees for 18 years. He is married and has five children.