Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Hundreds of northern Illinois residents remained without power Saturday afternoon following a violent storm system a day earlier, but the Chicago area got off easy compared with some areas downstate.

As of noon Saturday, there were 4,900 customers without power throughout the ComEd service area, which includes all of Northern Illinois as far west as the Galena area, spokesman Jeff Burdick said.

About 300 crews remain in the field working to restore service as soon as possible, Burdick said.

"Some of the hardest to remedy outages could last until this evening or even tonight, but we expect to have most back in service by this evening," Burdick said. 

Power should be restored to those with the most difficult-to-fix by 11 p.m., ComEd officials said.

Areas of northern Illinois west of the Chicago area, including Rockford, had the highest number of outages earlier Saturday.

Reports of outages began coming in about 10 a.m. Friday and outages peaked about 12:30 p.m. with 69,000 customers without power. Strong winds gusting to 65 mph took down tree branches and power lines, causing most of the outages, Burdick said.

The northern suburbs including Libertyville, Grayslake and Waukegan were hardest hit by the outages, according to Burdick, who said 18,200 customers in those areas were left without power.

An additional 20,700 customers were left without power Friday in the western service area, including cities and towns from Crystal Lake through Rockford and as far west as the Mississippi River, he said.

The remaining 1,200 customers left without electricity Friday were scattered throughout Chicago and the south suburbs, Burdick said.

The severe weather Friday also knocked a semitrailer from a highway near Marengo and lifted the roof from a building at Rockford's airport. But downstate, the storm brought tornadoes.

In Springfield, the state House of Representatives was in mid-debate when proceedings were interrupted by air raid sirens.

Lawmakers dropped the subject of healthier food in school cafeterias and followed the orders of statehouse guards who herded them downstairs. The tunnels beneath the 120-year-old building were packed with people for about 45 minutes. House Speaker Michael Madigan, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard mingled with lobbyists, reporters and secretaries.

"It was extremely hot down there ... I was concerned about some people being overheated," said Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich was nowhere to be seen. Aides said he was in a secure location.

The National Weather Service said there were eight reports of touchdowns, four in Sangamon County and one each in Christian, Morgan, Pike, and Shelby counties in central Illinois. The reports are preliminary and it will take time to confirm them, officials said.

Sangamon County Sheriff Neil Williamson said there were no immediate reports of widespread damage or injuries. A local mall was closed as a precaution. Representatives from the Morgan, Pike and Shelby County sheriff's offices said they also had not heard of injuries or major damage.

The Kankakee County town of Manteno also sustained a lot of minor damage, even though the worst part of the storm only lasted 8 to 10 minutes.

More than an hour after severe weather moved through the area, large hail could still be seen on lawns across town. Several people gathered up chucks of it to prove they weren't telling any stories about the storm they weathered.

Strong winds also damaged property, power lines and trees in several small downstate towns, many of them near Champaign.

Emergency workers also reported hail just over 4 inches in diameter in the area.

As ComEd crews work to restore power back in Northern Illinois, ComEd urges anyone who comes across a downed power to line to assume it is live, stay away and call at 1-800-EDISON1, Burdick said.

CBS 2's Mai Martinez, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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