Seven Tornadoes Hit Illinois, Amtrak Crossing Fatality, And Youth Violence Prevention Week - Monday, April 20th, 2026

In this edition of the WVLI News Update, host Rob West provides a comprehensive look at the significant weather events, legal developments, and community initiatives affecting the Illinois and Indiana regions.

The program begins with an assessment from the National Weather Service regarding the severe storm system that produced at least seven tornadoes across Illinois. The update details the specific damage paths through Livingston, Iroquois, and Ford Counties, including confirmed EF1 damage and the impact on local infrastructure and travel.

In regional law enforcement and safety news, the update covers:

• Weapons arrests on the east side of Kankakee involving multiple suspects and recovered property.
• Legal charges following a fatal collision on I-65 in Indiana.
• A fatal incident involving a semi-truck and an Amtrak train in rural Jasper County.

Listeners will also learn about National Youth Violence Prevention Week events in Kankakee, specifically a unique interactive program at the Career Center in Bourbonnais designed to bridge the gap between youth and law enforcement.

The episode concludes with Notable Night Sky News from Strickler Planetarium, highlighting the Lyrid Meteor Shower and upcoming planetary alignments, followed by a complete wrap-up of the weekend’s MLB, NBA, and NHL scores.

Listen to the full episode for specific details on these stories and the local sports report.

Listen to more great shows on the WVLI Podcast Network:

This One Time in Kankakee  (Narrative Storytelling)

Kankakee Valley Community Happenings  (Businesses & Non-Profits)

The voices you trust, beyond the dial. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

National Weather Service says at least seven tornadoes hit Illinois Friday. Severe storms rolled through the region Friday night, wind gusts into the 70 mile-an-hour range. Tornadoes reported in rural Livingston County, Gibson City, and Buckley. National Weather Service has confirmed the Buckley tornado is an EF-1, reportedly touched down near Loda, collapsing two empty grain bins, then continued to just south of Buckley, knocking down trees, blowing over semis on the interstate. Iroquois County Emergency Management says the storm continued on toward Watseeka where winds were clocked at about 73 miles an hour. Damage from the storm noted in Woodland, Milford, and over to Kentland, Indiana, no deaths have been reported. Kankakee City Police reporting a pair of weapons arrests last Thursday on the city's east side. Jake Lamore has the details.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

According to reports, officers were called to the 200 block of North Evergreen Avenue around 315 Thursday afternoon in reference to a person in possession of a firearm. Officers found the person along with a group of men heading into a business in the 900 block of East Court Street. The man supposedly in possession of the weapon, later identified as 31-year-old John T. D. Mays, exited the business and fled on foot. Mays was eventually detained by police, and a handgun allegedly stolen out of Kankiki was found in the black bag he was carrying. Mays has been charged with unlawful use of a loaded weapon, among other gun-related charges. Another man in the group, 25-year-old Lodarius Huron, was charged with felon in possession of a firearm. I'm Jake Clamore.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Indiana State Police say there was a fatal crash on southbound side of I-65 near State Road 10 Friday night. Reports say the crash happened just before 7 o'clock Friday night when a pickup crashed into a semi. A passenger in the pickup pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The driver, identified as 39-year-old Garrett Markovich of Cedar Lake, Indiana, taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Indiana State Police say they arrested Markovich for driving under the influence, also charged with reckless homicide, criminal recklessness resulting in death, and reckless driving, among other charges. Kankakee United, along with the city of Kankakee, has several events planned this week in honor of National Youth Violence Prevention Week. Rhonda Curry says the week starts with police stops tonight at the Career Center in Bourbon A.

SPEAKER_03 2:23

That's a great opportunity for everybody to come out, if you're 16 and older, even if you're 15 and older, um, to come out and learn about what it's like to go through a police stop, traffic stop. Um you will get to be the reverse and actually be the one to stop someone so you can see some of the things that the officers often feel when they're stopping someone, what they look for, um, and then it also teaches you how to correctly deal with the police stop.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

The free police stop event runs from 5 30 till 8 tonight at the Career Center in Bourbon A. One person's dead following a semi versus train crash in rural Jasper County, Indiana over the weekend. Jasper County Sheriff's Police say the crash happened at a rural crossing between Rensselaer and McCoysburg just after eight o'clock Saturday morning. The semi-driver died at the scene of the crash. His name's not been released. Jasper County deputies say a handful of people from the Amtrak train were treated at the scene for minor injuries. The train had nearly a hundred people on board at the time of the crash. Let's find out now what's going on over ahead this week with our Notable Night Sky News. Here's Madeline Shepley, astronomy professor and director of the Strickler Planetarium at Olivet.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Welcome to your Notable Night Sky News, where we update you on things of note in space in the night sky. Tonight would be a perfect time to catch the phenomena of Earth Shine, which is when the dark portion of the moon experiences ghostly illumination due to the reflection of sunlight off Earth. Then, Wednesday night is the peak of the Lyrid Meteor Shower. It is a pre-dawn shower with its radiant in the constellation of Lyra the Heart. At peak, you can catch up to twenty meters per hour. Be sure to go to a dark sky place in order to have best reading. Then Thursday is the first quarter moon of the month. And Friday, after sunset, you can catch Venus and Uranus together in the western sky. Venus is bright enough to be seen without anything aiding your eye, but you will need binoculars for Uranus. From Olivet Nazarene University, this is Madeline Shepley.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

In sports, Cubs beat the Mets yesterday 2-1 in Chicago. Cubs host the Phillies tonight. White Sox had four home runs and a 7-4 win over the Athletics Sunday, taking two out of three in that weekend series. Sox are off today. Cardinals finished a three-game sweep of the Astros with a 7-5-10 inning win Sunday in Houston. Cards are at the Marlins tonight. Chicago Fire FC played FC Cincinnati to a three-all tie Saturday. Fire host Sporting KC next Saturday. In the NBA playoffs Sunday, the Celtics beat the 76ers. Magic down the Pistons. Trailblazers lost to the Spurs. NHL playoff winners, the Avalanche, Sabres, and Golden Knights. Tyler Riddick won Sunday's NASCAR race in Kansas City. Racers move on to Talladega for the Jack Links 500 next Sunday.