Residents in Chicago and nearby suburbs have reported a strong, unusual odor over the past several days, prompting investigations by local health and environmental agencies.
Many people described the smell as similar to “burning plastic” or “chemical” in nature. The Chicago Department of Public Health acknowledged awareness of the issue on Monday but did not provide further details about its investigation when asked on Tuesday. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency stated it is looking into “odor complaints from around the greater Chicagoland area.”
“We are reaching out to other local units that may have received complaints or responded,” said the environmental protection agency.
Reports of the odor have come from neighborhoods including Rogers Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Hyde Park, Beverly, and others across both city and suburban areas. Social media users shared their experiences with the smell. One person wrote on Reddit: “Smelled like wet dog and burnt plastic” Tuesday morning near the Museum Campus. Another commented: “I was driving back from the Skokie area a few hours ago and there was a weird smell in the air. I really couldn’t place it as to what it was.” A third user added: “I smelled that strongly in Lakeview East when I went out around midnight. It smelled like someone lit off a lot of fireworks but [it] was confusing because I hadn’t heard any fireworks.”
In Rogers Park, one resident posted in a community Facebook group that it smelled like “pungent chlorine” Tuesday morning, with several others confirming they noticed something similar.
The reports extend beyond Chicago. According to Milwaukee television station TMJ4, officials in Indiana, central Illinois, and southern Wisconsin also received complaints about an unexplained odor. CBS2 reported that fire officials in Pleasant Prairie—a Wisconsin town bordering Illinois—were contacted by residents concerned about the smell.
The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District noted Sunday that it had fielded numerous 911 calls regarding an unknown “burning electrical smell” in northwest suburbs. The department suggested at that time that the source might be coming from farther south but later posted on Facebook that local officials could not confirm where exactly it originated.
