Illinois
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Asian American Caucus on supporting Harris
CHICAGO (CBS)—Asian American representation in politics is on the rise across the nation, credited in part to the Illinois Asian American Caucus.
The caucus hosted an event on Wednesday to celebrate how much growth Asian American communities have seen in Illinois politics.
Vice President Harris is the first Asian American woman to become a presidential nominee, and now the caucus says it’s prepared to put every effort behind Harris for a win.
Just a few blocks away from where the DNC is happening, McCormick Place and the United Center is the only Chinatown in the country that’s still growing, and across Illinois, Asian American political representation is growing right along with it.
“We have grown the Asian American caucus from 0 to 17 members in just eight years, and a state that is only 7% Asian American, we’re so proud,” Cook Country Commissioner Josia Morita said.
Morita is a founding member and chair of the Illinois Asian American Caucus.
“There’s a saying that you’re either at the table or on the menu, and we’re so excited that our community, for the first time in this last decade, has really come to the table,” she said.
Over 200 DNC-goers and community members came to the table for dim sum and to learn how the caucus has managed to grow — hearing from a panel of Illinois politicians headlined by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
“This community is vibrant and critically important to Chicago’s economic well-being and cultural well-being, and so, I’m really proud of the work that we’ve been able to do here,” Duckworth said.
“We are in so many races around the country, the margin of victory, and so many of the battleground states, and so, we’re going to get out there and work hard to have some more victories this November.”
The Asian American Caucus plans to mobilize its efforts in this year’s presidential election, not only in Illinois but across the Midwest, into neighboring states as well.
“We’re going to go up into Wisconsin. We’re going to go over to Ohio, we’re going to get races across the finish line in all of these states, especially in the Midwest,” Duckworth said.
For many members of the caucus, pushing Harris to the White House isn’t just political. It’s personal.
“So often, Asian Americans are seen as others that we don’t truly belong here. I still get asked where I’m from, and I’m a daughter of the American Revolution, you know,” Duckworth said.
“For me as a mom, my kids are Asian American and Black, and so I’m so excited to bring my four-year-old Blasian daughter on the floor to watch this historic moment here in our hometown on Thursday night, you know, to show that there’s a place for them and that they don’t have to choose,” Morita said.
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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