Illinois
Candy Cane Lane celebrating 45 years in southern Illinois
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS) – A beloved Christmas tradition in southern Illinois is celebrating 45 years this holiday season.
Organizers say Candy Cane Lane is a unique and completely free Christmas display that brings holiday magic to life!
Committee members say 2025 is the biggest year ever for Candy Cane Lane, which now features over 100,000 sparkling lights, more than 500 characters, and 90 incredible scenes inspired by Disney, Universal, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, and many more.
Candy Cane Lane began in 1980 and was created by Mr. Tim Murphy. Murphy was an inspiring art teacher in West Frankfort whose creativity and holiday spirit touched countless lives, according to committee members.
Over the years, Tim’s many art students helped his vision grow brighter and bigger.
In 2019, Candy Cane Lane was featured on ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight, gaining national recognition for its charm and artistry.
Tim Murphy passed away in 2020 from complications with COVID-19; his dear friends, Iris and Bobby Kohzadi, vowed to keep his legacy.
A dedicated Candy Cane Lane committee was formed, and the holiday attraction is now a licensed nonprofit organization.
Leaders say they continue to expand and enhance Candy Cane Lane each year, ensuring that Tim Murphy’s spirit of joy, community, and creativity lives on for generations to come.
The non-profit is run strictly off of donations, which also help fund a scholarship program at Frankfort Community High School.
Candy Cane Lane is located at the West Frankfort Community Park at 1100 E. Cleveland Street, and is open nightly through December 27, 2025, at 9:00 p.m.
For more information or to donate to Candy Cane Lane, visit their Facebook page.
Copyright 2025 KFVS. All rights reserved.
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Multiple rounds of severe storms impacted central Illinois on Wednesday bringing damaging wind gusts and very heavy rain. Our area was sparred from the worst of the tornadoes, but areas south of I-72 were not so fortunate with damage to homes and injuries reported.
An outflow boundary from our morning storms struggled to get any further north than highway 136, which was about 30 miles south of what was anticipated early this morning. This kept the risk of strong tornadoes just south of our local region, though we still had plenty of rain and instances of large hail and gusty winds roll through central Illinois.
The worst of the wind came with the storms in the morning. As the severe storms moved through the area they produced measured gust of 60-70 mph with localized gusts estimated to be around 80 mph. The winds resulted in tree, powerline, and structural damage from Knox through McLean County.
Storm Reports
Galesburg – Tree and power line damage
Williamsfield – Roof partially torn off building
Princeville – Tree damage
Dunlap – 60 mph wind gust
Bellevue – 60 mph wind gust
Germantown Hills – Trees down
Roanoke – 60 mph wind gust
El Paso – Power poles snapped
El Paso – Multiple semis and campers rolled on I-39
Gidley – 70 mph wind gust
Chenoa – Semi rolled on I-55
Dunlap – 1.0″ size hail
Metamora – 1.0″ size hail
Armington – 1.0″ size hail
Rain reports
West Peoria – 4.37″
Lexington – 4.00″
West Peoria – 3.98″
Washington – 3.97″
East Peoria – 3.47″
Dunlap – 3.40″
Goodfield – 2.47″
Towanda – 2.43″
Peoria (PIA) – 2.24″
Lewistown – 2.20″
Galesburg – 1.84″
Chillicothe – 1.52″
Pontiac – 1.27″
Historic tree dating back to Abraham Lincoln damaged in Springfield
It may be the last living tree standing when Abraham Lincoln and his family lived in the Springfield neighborhood from 1844 to 1861.
More than 30,000 Illinois residents reported power outages Wednesday morning amid severe storms and destructive winds.
The National Weather Service forecast two rounds of severe weather throughout the day, issuing a tornado watch early Wednesday morning across central Illinois.
Where were power outages reported in Illinois?
More than 35,000 of the more than 5.8 million customers tracked on PowerOutage.com reported outages Wednesday, as of noon.
The majority of these outages were concentrated in west-central Illinois in Warren, Henderson and Woodford counties.
More than 93% of the customers tracked in Henderson County and nearly 60% of those in Warren County were impacted by outages.
Less widespread outages were also reported in DeKalb, Mercer, Knox, Menard, Jefferson and Gallatin counties.
Electric service company Amaren was by far the most impacted utility provider, followed Commonwealth Edison Company and Corn Belt Energy Corporation.
Illinois power outage map
Report power outages in Illinois
Illinois residents can report power outages in their area at PowerOutage.com.
Illinois power outage tracker
To track where power outages have been reported and where they have been restored, follow the USA Today power outage tracker.
Chicago weather radar
Central Illinois weather radar
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