Illinois Quick Hits: Tornadoes, storms cause damage, outages

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The National Weather Service will be conducting storm surveys in the wake of severe storms that impacted the Midwest on Thursday.

Tornadoes were reported in LaSalle and Livingston counties and also in northwest Indiana.

Numerous communities suffered storm and wind damage, and ComEd reported outages for about 486,000 customers in its northern Illinois territory.

HELP SOUGHT IN GALESBURG DEATH INVESTIGATION

Illinois State Police are seeking public assistance with an investigation into the death of a Rochelle man in 2018.

The body of Tyler Smith, 23, was found in Cedar Fork Creek in Galesburg on Sept. 15, 2018. ISP says the circumstances surrounding Smith’s death remain undetermined after a second autopsy and ongoing investigation.

Anyone with direct knowledge of the incidents leading up to the death of Tyler Smith is urged to contact ISP Sergeant Luke Kuehl at 815-632-4010, Ext 230, or to submit a tip on ISP’s investigative tips website.

MADIGAN SENTENCING ANNIVERSARY IS SATURDAY

Saturday is the one-year anniversary of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s sentencing on public corruption charges.

On June 13, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced Madigan to 7.5 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $2.5 million.

Madigan, 84, reported to a federal prison camp in Morgantown, West Virginia on Oct. 13, 2025. According to the Bureau of Prisons, the former speaker’s scheduled release date is Dec. 4, 2031.

WHOLESALE COST INDEX RISES FOR SECOND STRAIGHT MONTH

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis says the Producer Price Index for final demand rose 1.1% in May, following a similar increase in April.

The index representing the wholesale cost of U.S. goods and services had not previously seen an increase of more than 1% since March 2022.