Illinois

Illinois launches program to speed up vehicle titling process

Published

1 year ago

February 25, 2025

Illinois launches program to speed up vehicle titling process

(WIFR) – For the first time in Illinois, the Secretary of State’s office is making Electronic Lien and Titling (ELT) available when buying a car.

Illinois joins 25 other states that have active ELT programs. The new program allows vehicle titles to be processed, stored, and released digitally, rather than through paperwork. The new program is designed to eliminate paperwork, physical document mailing, or in-person visits to a DMV facility.

“The process has gotten so complicated now, the delivery times, just going through the papers and making sure that the disclosures and everything are taken care of properly, it can take upwards of an hour,” said Gordon Tormohlen, the president of Tormohlen’s Good People Automotive.

The Illinois General Assembly first approved ELT in 2000, but outdated technology delayed full implementation. In 2023, the Secretary of State’s Office was able to create the infrastructure to allow the program to launch.

“So doing e-filing and having e-titles and so forth will cut back on the amount of time that you process that paperwork,” said Tormohlen.

In a release, the Secretary of State’s office says the program will:

Reduce fraud by preventing “title-washing” and fraudulent lien releases when applying for a new title
Instead of customers waiting for lienholders to search through physical title records that may be stored for years, lienholders can now mark the title as paid, and the Secretary of State will send the released title to the owner
Allow an individual purchasing a vehicle at a dealership to complete an online title application that determines whether the lender has opted in for ELT. If they have, an electronic copy of the paperwork is sent to the Secretary of State for review and a third-party vendor stores the electronic record until it is time to release the title

“It’s going to take awhile to get there. I mean if you think about the number of vehicles that are titled in the state of Illinois right now, it’s got to be millions and so to go from paper titles to e-titles on those it’s going to be a process that will work out through several years which I think is beneficial because it will also give the state time to perfect their process,” said Tormohlen.

The Secretary of State’s office does not charge for this service but some ELT service providers may charge fees to participating lienholders.

The first phase of the Illinois ELT program is focusing on transitioning new titles to the electronic format. The Secretary of State’s office says the future phases of the program may allow lien holders to convert existing paper titles to the electronic format and enable vehicle owners to hold their titles electronically on their phones.

More information about the ELT program can be found here.

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Illinois

Illinois has already broken the record for number of tornadoes in a year — and it’s only June

Published

4 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Illinois has already broken the record for number of tornadoes in a year — and it’s only June

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.

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Illinois

Pedestrian fatally struck by Metra train in Palatine, Illinois

Published

14 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Pedestrian fatally struck by Metra train in Palatine, Illinois

Updated on: June 19, 2026 / 7:10 AM CDT
/ CBS Chicago

A person was fatally hit by a Metra train in Palatine, Illinois, early Friday morning.

Around 5:10 a.m., Metra said Union Pacific Northwest train No. 602 hit a pedestrian at Baldwin Road and Northwest Highway.

Metra confirmed the person died at the scene. The victim has not been identified.

Metra said train service on the Union Pacific Northwest line is suspended.

This is a developing story. CBS News Chicago will continue to provide updates.

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Illinois

Beecher City farm suffers heavy damage following ‘wicked storm’

Published

24 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Beecher City farm suffers heavy damage following ‘wicked storm’

BEECHER CITY, Ill. (WAND) – Farms were damaged in Effingham County Wednesday evening when a powerful storm swept through at around 8 p.m.

The McKay Farm in Beecher City was heavily damaged when the rapidly moving storm hit.

“Two buildings were totally destroyed,” Dan McKay told WAND News on Thursday. “We’ve got five grain bins and they’re all damaged.”

The buildings collapsed onto farm equipment and a semi that were parked in the structures. A utility pole was snapped and ripped out of the ground.

In nearby Shumway, another farm was hit. A barn collapsed, with a grain bin being ripped apart and debris traveling several hundred feet through a nearby corn field. A house on the property was also damaged.

There were no injuries on either farm.

“It was a really wicked storm,” McKay stated.

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