Naperville storm requests top 500; city plans special brush pickup

Naperville homeowners with downed branches piling up in their yards got a clear instruction from Mayor Scott Wehrli on the evening of Aug. 12: drag them to the parkway and wait for a special citywide brush pickup.

The city will send crews through every neighborhood to collect storm debris, Wehrli announced in an eight-part update on X. Public Works is still finalizing the schedule. Once set, dates will be posted on the city's Facebook page, X account, naperville.il.us and through the Naper Notify alert system.

The numbers tell the story of how quickly Tuesday's derecho overwhelmed city resources. By Wednesday evening, Public Works had logged more than 500 service requests, up from the 300-plus reported earlier that day. Roughly 100 streets were blocked by fallen trees and limbs. Crews had cleared more than 70 of them by the time Wehrli posted.

South Naperville bore the brunt. Director of communications Linda LaCloche told NCTV17 on Aug. 11 that requests were "slightly more concentrated in south Naperville," and the mayor's updated figures show the pattern held as the count grew. About 30 customers near Chicago Avenue and S. Sleight Street lost power from the city's municipal electric utility during the storm.

The Riverwalk's lower walkways were closed due to flooding as of Tuesday, Aug. 11. The city has not confirmed whether they have reopened.

The National Weather Service classified Tuesday's storm as a derecho with embedded tornadoes, the Chicago Tribune reported. NWS recorded 97 mph gusts at Aurora Municipal Airport and 70 mph in DuPage County near Lemont. Illinois has already approached 200 tornadoes in 2026, nearly four times the historical average of 54 per year, according to NWS meteorologist Kevin Donofrio.

Wehrli warned that more storms are forecast before the week ends.

What residents should do now:

Place branches and limbs on the parkway in front of your home.
Report downed parkway trees or limbs by calling (630) 420-6060 or submitting a request at the city's Public Works Request Center at naperville.il.us.
Watch for brush pickup dates on naperville.il.us, Naper Notify, the city's Facebook page and the mayor's X account (@MayorWehrli).

A similar storm in June generated more than 600 service requests and prompted the same kind of special brush collection, according to city council records.