Illinois Quick Hits: At least 7 tornadoes hit Illinois last week

Illinois Quick Hits: At least 7 tornadoes hit Illinois last week

Spread the love

(The Center Square) – The National Weather Service says at least seven tornadoes impacted Illinois last Friday afternoon and evening.

The Stephenson County Sheriff’s office said the village of Lena suffered widespread damage, but there were no deaths or serious injuries reported.

The National Weather Service reported three tornadoes in Winnebago County as well as twisters in LaSalle, Livingston, Ford and Iroquois counties.

FIRM’S SPACE REDUCED BY CHICAGO LEASE EXTENSION

A Chicago consulting firm says its workforce is not affected by the company’s reduced square footage in downtown Chicago.

A spokesperson for Huron Consulting Group told The Center Square that the firm modified and extended its lease through 2037 to formalize adjustments made during the pandemic.

The spokesperson said the current agreement reflects a reduction in square footage, but the company has not occupied that square footage since 2020.

PENSION BUYOUT PROGRAM EXTENDED

A two-year extension of Illinois’ COLA pension buyout program is headed to the state Senate.

The voluntary program allows retirees in Illinois’ four statewide retirement systems to receive a lump-sum payment in exchange for forgoing future 3% compounded cost-of-living adjustments.

The House passed HB 5196 unanimously on Friday. Supporters say the buyouts have reduced Illinois’ pension liabilities by an estimated $2.6 billion.

MAN GETS 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO ISIS

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham by using social media to encourage attacks on ISIS enemies and to recruit ISIS members.

Prosecutors said Ashraf Al Safoo, 41, was a leader of Khattab Media Foundation, an online organization that created and disseminated threats and ISIS propaganda on social media and other online platforms.

Al Safoo, 41, has been in custody since his 2018 arrest in Chicago.

Leave a Comment





Latest News Stories

WATCH: FOIA reveals 725% increase in Medicaid for IL children without SSNs

By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – A candidate for the Illinois Statehouse worries there could be a dark side to the 725% increase...

Chicago inspector general hopes for urgency to address OT mistakes

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Chicago’s inspector general says she hopes there is urgency to correct mistakes after the city paid $26.5...

Poll shows most Americans support legal limits to abortion

By Tate MillerThe Center Square Pro-life groups celebrate the 53rd annual March for Life event in the wake of a Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll showing that most Americans support legal...
Bill would give parents access to expulsion evidence

Bill would give parents access to expulsion evidence

By Cat Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois lawmakers are weighing legislation that would require public schools to share all evidence used to...
WATCH: Pritzker IDs half billion in ‘reserves;’ SCOTUS considering gun ban challenge

WATCH: Pritzker IDs half billion in ‘reserves;’ SCOTUS considering gun ban challenge

By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – In today's edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square's Greg Bishop discusses a recent announcement...
Proposed Illinois bill would let local voters approve rent control, drawing sharp criticism

Proposed Illinois bill would let local voters approve rent control, drawing sharp criticism

By Cat Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – A proposed Illinois bill, the “Let the People Lift the Ban Act," SB2884, would let local...
Businesses close in Minnesota for anti-ICE ‘economic blackout’

Businesses close in Minnesota for anti-ICE ‘economic blackout’

By Elyse ApelThe Center Square Many businesses across Minnesota closed today as part of an ‘economic blackout’ to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This comes in response to calls...
House GOP: Climate lawyers could be improperly influencing judges

House GOP: Climate lawyers could be improperly influencing judges

By John O’Brien | Legal NewslineThe Center Square WASHINGTON – The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is asking for answers from one of the lawyers pushing climate-change cases against Big Oil,...
Illinois Quick Hits: Higher ed board pushes for more spending

Illinois Quick Hits: Higher ed board pushes for more spending

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – The Illinois Board of Higher Education has approved a 4.5% spending increase in its budget for fiscal...
Will County Board Graphic.02

County Committee Proposes Federal Study on “Legacy Pollution” Near Joliet and Romeoville Refineries

Article Summary: In a draft lobbying platform presented to the Will County Board, the Legislative Committee outlined a request for a federal study to identify and mitigate health risks in...
ABA can’t end anti-white scholarship discrimination lawsuit

ABA can’t end anti-white scholarship discrimination lawsuit

By Jonathan Bilyk | Legal NewslineThe Center Square The American Bar Association can't escape a lawsuit accusing the group, tasked with setting national ethical and professional standards for lawyers and...
Winter storm to cause widespread disruption, states of emergency

Winter storm to cause widespread disruption, states of emergency

By Andrew Rice and Ava OttThe Center Square A major winter storm is expected to bring significant snowfall and widespread disruption across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast this week, according to...
AGs call on 'climate cartel' to uphold consumer protections

AGs call on ‘climate cartel’ to uphold consumer protections

By Andrew RiceThe Center Square Six state attorneys general called on the nonprofit climate company Ceres, Inc. to halt all conduct they say is in violation of antitrust and consumer...
Pritzker says $481.6 million put in reserves, GOP questions state spending

Pritzker says $481.6 million put in reserves, GOP questions state spending

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – One day after an Illinois state representative said there was no budget transparency from J.B. Pritzker’s office,...
Last four government spending bills pass U.S. House

Last four government spending bills pass U.S. House

By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square The U.S. House finished the last of its fiscal year 2026 appropriations work Thursday with the passage of the last four government funding bills, sending...