Cleanup continues for residents in southwest suburbs following Wednesday's tornadoes

The cleanup from Wednesday's storms continues in Countryside, with some residents of a neighborhood on Hillsdale Road near Willow Springs Road spending Thursday assessing the damage, cleaning and clearing out all the debris.

“All the trees that were in our yard were all blown down,” said Countryside resident Jerry Madsen. 

Madsen told NBC Chicago that he was home with his family when the storms moved through. His brother, who was visiting from Georgia, had only been in town for about 15 minutes when he stepped outside to check.

“He spotted the funnel cloud. He said, wow, we’re going to get hit!” he said. “So he came running back into the house right after he hit the door the tree snapped from our front yard and it hit the house.”

He and his brother rushed into the basement and said it was a close call.

“He’s in the house and I’m trying to close the door behind him and it didn’t work,” he said. “I couldn’t hold it—it was so much wind at that point.”

Several communities in the southwest suburbs were also hit, including Indian Head Park. Video shows a wall to a townhome was sheared off near the intersection of 72^nd Street and Flag Creek. The family’s dining room is now covered by a blue tarp. 

“We were in the house and my daughter walked to the window,” said one neighbor. “We heard a lot of noises and she’s like dad, I ran to the window, and all the trees were downed like instantly.”

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado ripped through Burr Ridge to Stickney with winds gusting up to 110 miles per hour.

“I don’t know how to describe it, but a real loud noise, like I said as soon as I got to the window everything was on the ground,” he said.

Back in Countryside, city officials said 75 homes were damaged. 8 now uninhabitable. Neighbors have been out helping neighbors pick up the pieces.

“It’s the outpouring of the people of the community they’re like family,” said John Von Drasek, 2nd Ward Countryside Alderman. “So we’re very fortunate the amount of people that have come to each other’s aid.”

While the clean up is going to take some time, many neighbors are just counting their blessings.

“I’m sure we’ll work through it at least,” said Madsen. “At least nobody got hurt that’s the main thing—the house can be fixed.”