(The Center Square) – At least six tornadoes swept through Illinois on Tuesday. The National Weather Service said an EF-1 tornado was on the ground for 24 miles in Piatt and Champaign counties, with an estimated peak wind speed of 100 miles per hour.
An EF-2 tornado was reported from Monee, Illinois to St. John, Indiana. Twisters also ravaged areas from Mokena to Tinley Park, from Orland Park to Munster, IN, Wilmington, IL and Oswego.
Straight line winds of 70 to 100 miles per hour resulted in widespread damage across Chicago’s south and southwest suburbs into northwestern Indiana.
ONE DEAD AFTER CAR VS. SCHOOL BUS CRASH IN PIKE COUNTY
A juvenile driver is dead after a crash involving a car and a school bus in rural Pike County.
State police say the bus was slowing down to pick up children on U.S. 54 west of 165th Avenue when the car rear-ended the bus, resulting in both vehicles catching fire.
The driver of the car was pronounced dead. No significant injuries were reported by the 10 students or driver on board the bus.
TWO AMERICAN GATES AT O’HARE REOPEN
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joined American Airlines officials at O’Hare International Airport on Thursday to mark the reopening of Gates K1 and L2A.
The approximately $300 million project to upgrade American’s Chicago hub is supported by $90 million in federal grants through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, previously-allocated federal funding, and airline rates and charges.
LIBRARY GRANTS AWARDED
Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Alexi Giannoulias has awarded a combined $28.9 million in state and federal taxpayer funds for library services and literacy programs.
The $22.2 million in library services grants include $18.4 million for the Chicago Public Library System, Illinois Heartland Library System and Reaching Across Illinois Library System.
THE COLLEGE TOUR SEEKS NIU STUDENTS
A casting call has been announced for current Northern Illinois University students to be featured in an upcoming episode of The College Tour series on Amazon Prime Video.
A social media post from NIU said the deadline to sign up is August 16. The first day of fall classes at NIU is Aug. 24.
