Governor Pritzker has issued a disaster proclamation for Marion County and other areas of the state hit by tornadoes Friday night.
The disaster declaration, effective immediately, will support local government response and recovery operations wherever necessary.
The Governor signed the declaration on his first stop touring some of the damaged areas of the state in Belvidere.
High winds clocked in at 90 miles per hour caused a partial roof collapse at the Apollo Theatre where a concert was playing. Prizker says one person was killed, 48 were treated at the hospital and five remain in critical condition.
“I’m really tremendously grateful to the residents here in Belvidere and to the concert goes and first responders who risked their lives on Friday night to pull people out of the rubel and wreckage after the EF1 tornado touched down. Lives were saved because of the quick work of the people who lived here and worked here to get that done.”
Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau says teams are on the ground completing assessments in multiple areas where tornadoes hit.
“Right now we are still in the middle of doing damage assessments. It will probably take us 42 to 72 hours to do the entire state.”
Tate-Nadeau says getting that total will help the state apply for further federal assistance.
In addition to Marion County and Belvidere, the declaration also covers Crawford County where three died when several structures collapsed and there was significant damage at the Robinson Airport, and Sangamon County where touchdowns were reported in Sherman, Riverton, and Dawson. Another tornado touched down in the Chicago suburb of Addison in DuPage County.
