A Waukegan man saw what looked like a person wrapped in a blanket inside a large pipe Saturday night while driving on Jackson Street and, upon further investigation, found a man spending the night there in subzero temperatures.
Waukegan Police Chief Edgar Navarro said the motorist called the police department’s non-emergency number, and an officer was dispatched to the location to provide assistance.
“The man stayed with him until we got there,” Navarro said. “The officer took him to the train station,” he added, referring to the city’s newest warming shelter. “He probably saved his life.”
The Waukegan Metra Station became the city’s newest warming center Friday, potentially operating around the clock just east of downtown during weather emergencies like last weekend’s subzero temperatures.
With single-digit temperatures forecast through at least parts of the day through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said it is crucial to provide a warm place after designated warming centers close for the day.
With three warming centers in Waukegan and 18 more in other parts of Lake County, they all have specific operating hours when they are open to the public. Cunningham said when the emergency arose late last week, something had to be done.
Designated warming centers include the Waukegan Public Library, the Patricia A. The Jones Center from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, and the Illinois Department of Public Health on Lewis Avenue available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Though the library is open every day, its hours are also limited. The library is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, and from 1 to 5 p.m. weekends.
Assembling a SWAT team of the city’s first responders and other key personnel, Cunningham said they needed to find a place for people to escape the dangerous cold. PADS Lake County is available some of the time, but not always.
“We identified different places that are open,” Cunningham said. “The Metra Station is accessible to the police department and the fire department. That’s where we can take people when Lake County PADS can’t accommodate them.
Navarro said that during the recent emergency, the station served as a shelter when the library closed. At least one police officer is present as long as people are using the building as a shelter. There were five individuals there on Friday and seven on both Saturday and Sunday.
“An officer is always there with them,” Navarro said. “We feed them. A lot of people are in crisis. People are there getting off the bus and waiting for a train. All of this can make people uncomfortable.”
PADS Executive Director Allen Swilley said the organization’s office on Grand Avenue in Waukegan is open as a shelter from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, but will be available as a shelter on weekends during a “cold snap” as the area recently experienced.
“We would love to have a 24-hour shelter,” Swilley said. “We placed 42 people in shelter during the cold snap. I hope this is the last winter we don’t have a 24-hour shelter.”
Outside of Waukegan, there are warming centers in Lake County from Winthrop Harbor to Barrington, and from Highland Park to Antioch, according to a map on the county’s website. People should check with the location to learn its hours of operation.
The Schlader Recreation Center in Winthrop Harbor, as well as the Zion Police Station, the Zion Public Library and the Zion Park District Leisure Center are also available. Dickinson Hall in Lake Forest is another location.
Three warming centers are available in Highland Park — Trinity Grace Church, Highland Park City Hall and Congregation Makom Solel Lakeside. Other warming centers are the Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills, as well as the Barrington Public Safety Building and the Barrington train station.
Other warming centers are the Wauconda Township Hall in Wauconda, the Avon Township Building in Round Lake, Gurnee Mills Mall, Lindenhurst Village Hall, the Lindenhurst Police Station, the Lake Villa Metra Station and the Antioch Public Library.
