Illinois Republican Party Chairman Bob Grogan says the Obama Presidential Center functions as a political operation and headquarters for the Obama Foundation rather than a traditional presidential library. 

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Bob Grogan says the Obama Presidential Center functions as a political operation and headquarters for the Obama Foundation rather than a traditional presidential library. Grogan discusses public land, taxpayer-funded infrastructure, the Center’s endowment shortfall and why critics continue to oppose the project.

Illinois drivers might soon have to pay more to drive on the state’s tollways. 

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority has proposed an increase in tolls in 2027. If approved by the board, it would be the state’s first toll hike since 2012.

Anyone who drives in the Chicago area likely jumps on one of the Illinois tollways at some point.

“I try to avoid them, you know what I mean? But if I’ve got to get somewhere, and it’s like 10 minutes quicker, I’ll just take the toll,” said Shomari Dyson.

But that toll could cost Dyson and thousands of drivers who take it an average of 45 cents more per toll for passenger vehicles and 30% more per toll for commercial vehicles starting Jan. 1, 2027, if the Illinois tollway board approves the proposed toll hike, and those paying the tolls aren’t happy

“It’s ridiculous. I’m constantly getting tolls, charges, refills on my bank account when my iPass goes through. So, I can imagine it’s just going to happen more and more often,” Jon Jackson said.

Currently, tolls run as low as 30 cents and as high as $1.50 at various toll plazas.

This proposed hike could place the average toll well over a $1 every time drivers pass through an automatic toll plaza.

“I like to know where my money is going, and then [Interstate] 294 has been under construction for the last 15 years, and that is frustrating,” Frank Faso said.

The tollway said the hike is needed to handle projected repairs for road widening, bridge repair, and new technology. It’s all tied to a 15-year capital improvement program estimated to cost $26.5 billion.

The tollway board also wants automatic inflation-based increases every two years starting in 2029.

“We pay our taxes, man, you know what I’m saying? So all that extra, it’s nonsense,” Dyson said.

“If we’re going to void and not take part in things like the World Cup and Soldier Field that’s going to bring tax revenue to the state, they shouldn’t charge me for it,” Faso said.

The board must hold a dozen meetings in various counties to get the public’s take before voting on the toll hike. The first one kicks off in August, but drivers question if the public hearings are really about input.

“I think they’re just going to keep going through the motions,” Jackson said.

Illinois has seen more tornadoes in 2026 than in any year on record.

Following several more tornadoes confirmed this week across the state, Illinois has recorded 143 tornadoes so far in 2026, beating the previous record of 142 tornadoes set in 2024. With reliable records dating back to 1950, Illinois averages just 54 tornadoes per year. But in recent years, the state has experienced many more:

• 2023: 121
• 2024: 142
• 2025: 126
• 2026: 143 and counting

Unlike 2024, when a record two-day tornado outbreak accounted for a large share of the year’s tornadoes, the activity in 2026 has been spread out across several months.

On Thursday, June 11, a tornado outbreak brought at least 21 confirmed tornadoes to northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, 13 of them in Illinois. Two tornadoes that day — in Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana — reached rare EF-3 intensity, with winds over 135 miles per hour. Numerous injuries were reported from the storms, but there were no fatalities.

Confirmed tornadoes from June 11:

• Long Point to Streator, IL: EF-3
• Wenona/Osage Township, IL: EF-1
• Graymont to Dwight, IL: EF-1
• Lee, IL: EF-U
• Harpster to Elliott, IL: EF-0
• Pembroke Township (Leesville), IL: EF-U
• St. John to Schererville, IN: EF-0
• Paxton/Loda, IL: EF-1
• Merrillville to Hobart, IN: EF-2
• Ludlow, IL: EF-1
• Cedar Lake, IN: EF-0
• Schneider to Hebron, IN: EF-0
• Watseka, IL: EF-0
• Hebron to Kouts, IN: EF-3
• Wellington/Prairie Green Township, IL: EF-1
• Bartlett, IL: EF-1
• Boswell to Atkinson, IN: EF-1
• Ade to Mount Ayr, IN: EF-0
• Naperville to Lisle, IL: EF-0
• Hickory Hills to Garfield Ridge: EF-2
• Morocco, IN: EF-0

Though most of the Chicago area dodged severe weather from storms this week, the National Weather Service confirmed a brief tornado touchdown Wednesday night in Lake County near Grayslake. The EF-0 tornado had estimated winds of 80 miles per hour and was on the ground for about a quarter-mile. Damage consisted of several downed or split trees and sporadic minor roof damage along a narrow corridor in the Saddlebrook Farms subdivision.

Four more tornadoes were confirmed Wednesday in western and central Illinois. NWS crews are still surveying damage in central Illinois, and more tornadoes may be added to the count in the coming days.

With 143 tornadoes so far this year, Illinois leads the nation in tornado count for the third time in the last four years — a remarkable statistic for a state not typically thought of as being in Tornado Alley.

The recent increase in tornado activity across Illinois and the Midwest fits research showing a shift in tornado-favorable environments away from parts of the traditional Plains Tornado Alley and farther east into the Midwest and South. Climate change is one likely factor, as warming temperatures are expected to make the Plains hotter and drier overall, shifting tornado ingredients eastward toward the Mississippi River.