On the afternoon of Aug. 11, fierce derecho winds cut a wide swath of destruction through northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, pummeling almost everything in their path.
Among the hardest hit towns was Lansing, Illinois. Population: 28,000.
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At 12:25 p.m. that day, the alarm was sounded.
Tornadoes had already ripped through Orland Park, Tinley Park and Mokena and were bearing down on Homewood, Flossmoor, Country Club Hills and Glenwood.
“I was told that two tornadoes merged over our community,” Lansing Mayor Brian Hardy said. “One came from the west and the other from the northwest.”
The twisters met at the intersection of Thornton-Lansing Road and Torrance Avenue, forming a corridor of destruction nearly three-fourths of mile wide, he said.
The fury “tore up everything south of Interstate 80-94,” Hardy said, and then continued on a wrecking path across state lines into Munster, Indiana.
In all, eight tornadoes brought chaos and destruction to the region that afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The up-to-100-mph winds knocked down trees, shredded roofs and sent debris airborne.
“I’d never seen wind like that before,” Hardy said. “I thought it was never going to end.”
When it finally did, more than 4,000 of the village’s stately trees were down, with at least 100 of them damaging people’s homes.
“It was pretty disastrous,” Hardy said.
But as the skies cleared, people emerged from their basements to find their structures shattered but their compassion unbreakable.
Beth Houston lives in Chicago Heights, near the border with Homewood. She teaches in Homewood School District 153. A tree crashed through her garage and the powerful winds lifted her garbage cans and sent them flying over her car.
When it was over, she said, “Everybody came out on the street to help each other. Older people. Teenagers. Anyone who had a chainsaw brought it.”
For days, Houston said, “We were clearing debris and giving each other tips on how to deal with insurance claims. I’ve lived in my house for 15 years and I’ve never put in a claim before.”
It was not only comforting to support each other, she said, “it gave us strength.”
Power was out and it was hot.
“All of us were sitting outside. People would just come over, pull up a chair and start chatting. There were neighbors who’d never officially met before that day,” Houston said.
“We were rattled but we were OK,” she said. “And we knew our houses would eventually be OK again too.”
Jim Oord, director of pastoral care at Flossmoor Community Church, said people began to organize in the days after the storm. A group of 12 to 15 volunteers from the church went around the Flossmoor community clearing branches from driveways and yards.
One church member recruited volunteers from the CrossFit gym he owns, Oord said.
“We also had people behind the scenes delivering meals. A lot of seniors without power had been living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” he said. “Someone made a ton of pot roast and we delivered hot meals.”
The church, running on a generator, also welcomed anyone who needed to charge their phone. And instead of its traditional Sunday service that week, Pastor Julie Van Til welcomed the community to come and just talk about the experience.
“It was very powerful,” Oord said.
He began seeing familiar black-and-white signs that said simply, “Help Each Other,” go up around the community, he said.
The signs were designed by Chicago artist JB Daniels during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and have continued to be a symbol of compassion. Hosts buy a stack and place them in their front yard, encouraging others to take one and do the same.
“It’s beautiful to see these signs and to see people really doing that,” Oord said.
The compassion was not limited to individuals.
As soon as the storm ended, Hardy began reaching out to the communities around Lansing for help.
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The response, he said, was incredible.
South Holland, Calumet City and Thornton Township immediately sent crews and equipment. Help also came from Sugar Grove, Fox Lake, Ottawa and Utica.
Crews from Macomb, Galesburg and the Quad Cities “brought equipment that can grab a whole tree and very delicately lift it off the house without doing more damage. It was really impressive,” Hardy said.
Midwest Mission Church in Champaign delivered pallets of cleaning supplies in 5-gallon buckets. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross brought meals.
With most of Lansing in the dark, Hardy said, “The main focus was to restore power.” ComEd sent crews from southern Tennessee, southern Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas, many of whom drove through the night to help.
“We got help from the county, the township and the state,” he said. When Gov. JB Pritzker visited a few days after the storm, Hardy said, “The first thing he asked was, ‘What do you need?’”
“I told him, ‘Manpower, front loaders, chipper machines’ and within hours we had a crew of 40 IDOT trucks clearing main thoroughfares,” he said.
Most impressive, Hardy said, was the way residents helped each other. As he drove through neighborhoods, assessing damage, he found people firing up grills, emptying their refrigerators and offering free meals.
“That continued for days. It was truly amazing, the love neighbors showed for neighbors,” he said. “It was a testament to the resilience of the people here in Lansing and in all of these communities.”
And they will rebuild, Hardy said.
“We’re not going to stop until every home is fixed,” he said.
Same for the trees, he said. Lansing is a community of mature trees. It is known for the lovely canopy that shades parts of Ridge Road.
“I’m a tree hugger,” Hardy said. “We are going to plant some more trees. Just maybe not giants.”
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years. She can be reached at [email protected].