Illinois
Illinois streets among America's best for Christmas shopping
A new ranking of the best streets in America for Christmas shopping features several entries from Chicago’s suburbs.
The ranking, compiled by Present.com via a survey for more than 3,000 people, features a total of four streets from the state of Illinois.
Tops among those streets is Woodstock Square in suburban Woodstock, which was ranked as the No. 37 street for Christmas shopping in the U.S.
Woodstock Square is well-known nationally because of its prominent place in the film “Groundhog Day,” where most of the movie was filmed in the early 1990s.
According to “Naturally McHenry County,” the square transforms into a wonderland every holiday season, with lights, locally-owned shops and plenty of cozy restaurants to choose from. Caroling and parades are also part of the holiday fun in the area, according to the website.
Princeton’s Main Street checked in at No. 98, Geneva’s Third Street at No. 100, and Galena’s Main Street was No. 121.
Main Street in Aurora, New York was No. 1 in the rankings, followed by streets in Cooperstown, New York, New Hope, Pennsylvania, Mystic, Connecticut and Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Madison, Indiana’s Main Street was the top-ranked street in Indiana at No. 51. Broad Street in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin was ranked No. 46, making it the top street in the state.
The ranking aimed to celebrate shopping options that are located close together, celebrating “craftsmanship and artistry” and building “community connections,” according to the website.
Illinois
Multiple people shot in Centralia, Illinois: REPORT
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
Illinois
Weather service assessing damage across Iowa, Illinois and Missouri
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Illinois
5 tornadoes confirmed in Illinois from Friday’s storms
Freeze Watch
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