Continuous heavy rainfall and storms in Chicago have led to fallen trees and flooded homes. Here's what home and car owners need to know.

The big picture: Climate change is leading to more precipitation, extreme storms and flooding. Average rainfall could increase by up to 10% by 2069, according to Chicago's Climate Action Plan, putting pressure on some of the aging infrastructure designed to deter flooding.

Reality check: For the first time in history, Chicago's Deep Tunnel, the massive underground system designed to hold floodwater, was nearly full yesterday after a weekend of heavy rain.

State of play: Heavy storms over the July Fourth weekend knocked out power for nearly 300,000 ComEd customers, left CTA Yellow Line passengers temporarily stuck, stranded drivers, poured water into CTA buses and left homes underwater.

From loose limbs and branches in parks to more severe cases like trees on roofs and cars, fallen trees can wreak major havoc.

• Here are some tips from insurance experts on what to do.

If a tree falls on your house, reach out to your insurer or agent as soon as you can to file a claim. Your property insurance typically covers the cost of removal and repair of any damage, according to insurance expert Lynne McChristian on the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA)'s Substack.

• Yes, but: If the fallen tree misses any structure, it's on the homeowner to pay for the cleanup. Insurance covers only tangible property damage, so flattened grass or ruined landscape doesn't count.

If a tree falls on your car, comprehensive car insurance covers damage beyond collisions, but not everyone has that, so call your agent or dig into your policy.

• You don't need to leave the tree on the car, McChristian tells Axios. Take photos and submit them to the insurance company.

If your neighbor's tree damages your property, your insurance covers it, and likewise if one of your tree's hits their house, their policy should cover the damage.

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Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is urging residents to report immigration agents who remove license plates after a video that appears to show an agent with a plateless SUV went viral.

Why it matters: The announcement is reigniting battles between Illinois and the feds as federal immigration operations are quietly ramping up again around Chicago and across the nation after Congress narrowly approved $70 billion in funding for the agency.

What they're saying: "Let me be absolutely clear: tampering with, removing, obscuring or operating a vehicle without the required license plates is illegal in Illinois," Giannoulias says in an Instagram post.

• "That applies to everyone. No one is above the law. So if you see a vehicle with missing, altered or obscured plates, we need you to report it [at 312-814-1730 or [email protected]]."

The other side: "DHS is not going to confirm our vehicles and put an even larger target on our officers' backs or confirm law enforcement tactics," the DHS press office wrote to Axios in response to questions about plateless vehicles.

Friction point: Some commenters on Giannoulias' post claimed that federal or undercover agents aren't required to drive with license plates. But officials at his office say that's not true.

• "There is no general exemption excluding undercover police vehicles from displaying registration or license plates. However, in order to avoid displaying 'municipal police' plates, undercover police vehicles obtain standard passenger registration," ILSOS officials tell Axios.

What's next

George E. Johnson, who founded Johnson Products Company, died yesterday at the age of 99. In 1971, his company became the first Black-owned company to trade on the American Stock Exchange. (Sun-Times)

📺 Fox 32's Dawn Hasbrouck becomes the latest on-air talent to leave the station. (Axios)

🐯 A new Illinois law bans big cats, bears and primates from traveling to animal shows. (Tribune)

📜 The National Archives and Records Administration is closing its Chicago facility on the Southwest Side. Archives include maritime records for the Great Lakes region and transcripts from the "Chicago 7" trial. (Block Club)

Proceeds from the sale of limited-edition prints will benefit a scholarship at the alma mater of the late Chicago artist and designer Virgil Abloh, the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The big picture: Considered by some as one of the most influential young designers of the 21st century, Abloh often credited his time at UW for shaping his creative side.

Driving the news: The four signed prints will be sold as one lot beginning Tuesday as part of Sotheby's Contemporary Discoveries auction.

• Their estimated sale price is $7,000–$10,000.

Zoom in: The designs were part of Abloh's 2015 #OffWisconsin collaboration that reinterpreted the school's iconic "red shirt."

Backstory: Abloh rocketed into the fashion world with his luxury streetwear label Off-White in 2013 after studying architecture at IIT in Chicago. Louis Vuitton named him artistic director of menswear in 2018.

• The designer died of cancer in 2021 at the age of 41.

What's next: Sotheby's Contemporary Discoveries auction goes live Tuesday and runs through July 14.

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"America's Time Capsule" was officially sealed and buried on Saturday. When officials open it in 2276, Illinois' section will include a letter from Gov. JB Pritzker and the poem "Dear New Blood" by Mark Turcotte, from the state's Poet Laureate.

The big picture: While those are lovely choices, we asked Axios Chicago readers what they'd submit to the time capsule.

State of play: Here are some of the responses:

🍗 "A bottle of Coleman's Mild Sauce from the West Side." — Victoria W.

🛞 "Bottle of Malort ... maybe by then, it won't taste like burnt tires lol." — Pete K.

🏅 "A replica of Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize." — Mike E.

👨 "I would throw Michael Madigan in there as a case study and reminder of how corruption and power are intertwined." — Matthew F.

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