SPECIAL REPORT: Pritzker Visits Aroma Park for Tornado Damage Impact Briefing

In this WVLI News Update Special Report, host Jake LaMore provides coverage of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s visit to the Village of Aroma Park. The Governor arrived to survey the extensive damage caused by the EF3 tornado that struck the Kankakee River Valley on the night of Tuesday, March 10, 2026. This episode captures the official briefing on the state’s response and the ongoing recovery efforts within Kankakee County.

Key Topics Discussed

• Damage Assessment: An update on the number of impacted properties, including residential homes and critical public infrastructure such as local schools, Riverside Hospital, and the Kankakee County Courthouse.
• Utility Restoration: The latest status report from Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) regarding power restoration for the hundreds of residents affected by the storm.
• Inter-Agency Coordination: Insights into how the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), State Police, and Department of Transportation are collaborating with local officials like Sheriff Mike Downey and Mayor Chris Curtis.
• Federal and State Aid: A summary of the criteria required for federal assistance and the Governor’s outlook on securing FEMA resources for the region.

Listen for Full Details The report includes a press Q&A session where the Governor addresses concerns regarding the timeline for financial relief and the challenges of disaster recovery. To hear the full briefing, including the specific comments from IEMA Acting Director Ted Berger and local leadership, listen to the complete audio update.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Welcome to this WVLI News Update Special Report. I'm Jake Lamour. Today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker visited the village of Aroma Park to assess and survey the damage caused by the EF3 tornado that came through the area on Tuesday night. Here's what he said.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Everybody stepped up here. Everybody. And when I say the people, I really mean neighbors and friends and people who live in neighboring communities showed up for each other here. And I think that's the, you know, we'll talk about the devastation that's been experienced, but let's just recognize that in the state of Illinois, and I've seen this in disaster after disaster, people really do stand up for one another. And I the the pride that I think we all take in what the response that's taken place uh is um is important to all of us. So uh I want to make sure I've got a couple of notes. I want to make sure that I recognize um uh folks that are behind me and and others who may not be here but have been very involved. Uh because you can see a whole lot of work going on around you. Um Commonwealth Edison just uh over the last few days has restored power to 99% of the homes uh that lost power, and we're we're expecting them to be at 100% uh by tonight. And uh we have the CEO of ComEd here who came himself yesterday and has been here for more than 24 hours to make sure everything went the right way and and that uh the response was quick. Um the tornado that struck uh Kankiki and Aroma Park, uh, as all of you know, uh caused tremendous damage. Uh but one thing, and God was looking out for people here, uh, is that uh there were really very few injuries. They were relatively minor, there were no deaths, um, and uh much of that was people looking out for each other, but it was also a little bit of luck here and there, as I heard from some people who were affected by this. Um but either way, we're all grateful. Um, I received briefings uh just uh well over the last 48 hours, really, uh, but especially over the last hour from uh local officials as well as our state officials. Aeema has been on the scene since a couple of hours after the uh storm hit uh, our emergency management agency, that is, and and our director who's here has been here uh as well. We've got ISP, that is Illinois State Police, uh Department of Transportation for the state, all uh coming to the aid of uh local officials. And then importantly, the surrounding communities and their law enforcement, their fire officials, their emergency management, all stepping up. This is what we do in the state of Illinois. Um we have been in close coordination, all of us supporting one another uh and keeping in communication. So again, thank God no lives were lost here. Um, but these storms have caused a a number of minor injuries, as well as uh 300 impacted properties. I think it's now up to 460 that have been evaluated for some damage. Um, and we're we're gonna continue to do that to make sure we know the full damage assessment uh and therefore what it is that we need to restore. Um there were 30 homes, maybe more now that have been assessed, that have been totally destroyed. Um so there is a lot more work that's gonna need to get done. Um damaged properties, as many of you know, included uh local schools, uh Riverside Hospital, Shapiro Developmental Center, uh, and the Kankiki County Jail and Courthouse. I've directed my teams to provide the full assistance of the state of Illinois to the people of this region in all response and recovery efforts. Those are underway and going very well, considering that this just happened uh less than two days ago. Uh once again, we deployed our Illinois state police here on Tuesday night. Uh our Illinois emergency management personnel started on Tuesday night. Uh, they've been here on the ground coordinating with local leaders and local uh the Kankiki emergency management officials. Uh state police have uh deployed additional officers since uh Tuesday night today. Uh and of course, we now have the Department of Transportation on scene uh to work with uh traffic control locally. Um I want to recognize the the really the tremendous efforts of all of these local emergency responders, the individual officers, the individual uh fire department personnel, um, and the safety personnel uh here in the community, not just Aroma Park, but but the broader Kankiki community, the city, the county. I just again want to remind you like it's unusual uh in the United States to see every level of government working together as closely as has happened uh in this uh circumstance. I want to especially recognize uh Kankiki County Sheriff Michael Downey, who's uh here. Um done just an outstanding job. Uh the the emergency management agency director for Kankiki, Becky Powell. Are you here, Becky? There is um everybody has pointed at Becky and Michael for their leadership during this very trying time for everybody, and I want to thank you for all the work that both of you have done. Uh leadership really matters in these crucial moments, and I want to thank our the county board chairman here in Kankiki, Matt Alexander Hildebrand, uh the Kankiki mayor Chris Curtis, Roma Park Mayor Brian Brian Stump, uh who's standing behind me, um, State Senator Patrick Joyce, uh, who could not be here in person right now, but he's on his way and has a representative here, uh, and State Representative Jackie Haas, who's here as well. Um, we're all in this together, and I just want to be clear with everybody, and everybody should know, you know, I have heard from concerned citizens across the state of Illinois wanting to know how they can help. And I'm talking about people not just who live in the surrounding communities, but across the state. Uh it is uh great, it is a reminder to all of us that we are one Illinois, especially when they're in a crisis, when we need each other, we are there for one another. Um, in our effort to um to uh try to uh address the aftermath of this uh storm, um we we see the the damage that it's caused. The state stands ready to put our resources forward to assist in the rescue and recovery that's taking place right now. So uh with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. And I also have experts behind me who know uh minute by minute, hour by hour, what's been happening here.

SPEAKER_03 7:42

Governor, how much money could potentially be available for this community that was hit so far? And could there be federal money coming?

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Yeah, so we start with an assessment of all the damage, and of course, there are individuals who have insurance, there are some people who have less than they need. Um we want to make sure that we're providing all the resources for the immediate crisis for people. If you don't have a home right now, you need a place to stay. Now, as it turns out, and I've heard this from all the local officials, many of the people who've been displaced have family that live in the area and they've gone to stay with their family while their homes are being repaired, or maybe for longer. Um, and so uh we're gonna help though with the shelter that people need if they don't have that available to them. That's the immediate need being met. The medium term is we've got to assess all the damage and figure out how much it will cost to restore, well, not just the individual homes and the damage that's been done, but very importantly also the community uh resources and infrastructure. So that's you can see that some of the power is being restored, actually, all the power is being restored right now, uh, but there are other uh, you know, damage, there's other damage that's been done, and we want to help address that. So I can't put a number on it for you because we don't have that assessment yet. You asked about the federal government. What comes before we get federal assistance is the assessment. Then we go to the federal government, to FEMA, and show them what the damage is, and if it meets a threshold, uh, then FEMA then considers whether they're going to provide resources from the federal government. We expect that they would and should. Uh and uh, you know, there's a whole lot of damage. I can tell you just looking around, this looks like a circumstance where federal uh resources will be triggered and should come to this community. Yeah, yes, sir, Chris.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

This summer you asked for federal money that was rejected by the government. Um what gives you that confidence about political waters that they have defeated that assignment?

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Well, uh you know, look, politics shouldn't play any role in addressing emergencies and crises that exist across the country or in the state of Illinois. Um I have some confidence here because I think it's pretty obvious uh that the damage here is devastating. And I think that that the fact that it's evident just by you know looking at pictures really, or walking around, you can see that this community needs help. And so that that is not always the case with the the submissions of what in emergencies and crises, uh, but that is the case here. So I have I I think my confidence comes from the idea that politics shouldn't play a role. I don't think that it will play a role. Uh I know that we're as a state, we're gonna do everything that we can with our resources to help, uh, and then I expect that the federal government will do its job.

SPEAKER_03 10:41

Governor, is the damage here more extensive than you thought when you were coming to?

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Well, my initial call uh on Tuesday night to uh Mayor Curtis, um, you know, we didn't know. Uh we knew uh only about some of the damage and that Aroma Park in particular had been hit hard. Um I didn't know, and I don't think any of us knew that almost 500 structures have been affected in total. At the time, that could not have been determined. So, yes, it's more than I expected, although I heard about it all throughout yesterday and of course this morning.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

So, what is the next step when it comes to getting people the immediate leave they need, and then on the long term when it comes to the dollar amount that it comes to fixing all the power.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Well, maybe if you don't mind, I'm gonna ask my director of IEMA because he's in charge of the damage assessment and also meeting the immediate needs. Thank you, Governor.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Good afternoon. Ted Berger, acting director at IEMA OHS. First and foremost, please allow me to express my sincere concern for our residents that have experienced this dramatic impact from this devastating storm. We at IEMA OHS we're the state emergency manager. Our job is to support our local partners here in Kankakee County. One of the ways we can support that, of course, is to be clear-eyed to ensure that public safety and life safety needs are met. We've been in response supporting our local partners, and the leadership here by our local officials in Kankakee County has been exceptional. As we move into the phase of recovery, as the governor indicated, our work shifts to assessing the damage. We allow the data to drive that work. Our staff train each and every day to be subject matter experts at damage assessments. We'll work very closely with our Kankakee County colleagues as they continue to lead the response. And ultimately, as we assess properties, we'll take as deep a look as possible and be fierce advocates to make sure that we're advocating for every federal resource that we believe we qualify for, but we'll let the damage assessment drive that process. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Okay, thank you all very much.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

That concludes this WVLI news update special report. I'm Jake Glamore. Be sure to follow and subscribe for the latest updates.