Tornadoes Confirmed, Xandria Harris Trial Evidence, and Illinois State Fair Kickoff - Thursday, August 13th, 2026

In this edition of the WVLI News Update with Rob West, comprehensive reporting covers regional storm recovery, county government financial updates, ongoing high-profile court proceedings, and key community headlines across Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

Key stories covered in this episode:

• Severe Weather & Power Restoration: Indiana Governor Mike Braun indicates plans for a statewide emergency declaration following widespread storm damage. The National Weather Service confirms five tornadoes in Northern Illinois, including an EF2 running from Monee to St. John, with straight-line winds nearing 100 mph. Power restoration efforts continue across NIPSCO and ComEd service areas.
• Traffic & Public Safety: A semi rollover shut down the southbound lanes of I-57 near Clifton. In Rensselaer, police arrested a 33-year-old woman for neglect of a dependent after a child was found walking alone along a roadway.
• Kankakee County Government & Public Health: Sheriff Mike Downey reports an increased per-diem rate for housing US Marshals federal prisoners, projected to bring an additional $1 million to the county annually. Meanwhile, Kankakee County Animal Control reports an uptick in bat exposure cases and three positive rabies tests.
• Courtroom Coverage: Testimony continues in the murder trial of Xandria Harris, with state police presenting firearm evidence that was admitted by the judge despite defense objections.
• State & Local Community News: The 2026 Illinois State Fair opens in Springfield with the unveiling of the butter cow. In Bourbonnais, a secret mobile food pantry pop-up was canceled due to power outages. Additionally, a winning ticket for the $1 billion Powerball jackpot was sold in Illinois.
• Regional Sports: Highlights include victories for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals, along with updates on Chicago Sky, Chicago Fire FC, and the start of the NFL preseason.

Listen to the full episode for all the details, official statements, and complete reporting.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:42

Indiana Governor Mike Braun says he expects to make a statewide emergency declaration after severe weather caused widespread damage and power outages in that state. Braun said Wednesday the National Guard is on standby to help recovery efforts if needed. Nearly 95% of Lake County, Indiana, lost power after Tuesday's storms, while flooding and long lines of gas stations have caused problems across northwest Indiana. Braun says that he's also been in contact with officials as crews work to restore power and clean up damage. The Northern Indiana Public Service Company, or NIPSCO, says they still have tens of thousands of customers without power across Northwest Indiana. Power slowly being restored to Comed customers in Illinois. As of this morning, Comed said there were some 4,000 customers in our listening area, still without power. That's down from about 15,000 at the height of the storm. Illinois State Police say a crash near Clifton Wednesday morning shut down the southbound lanes by 57 for a time. According to reports, it was about 1015 yesterday morning. They say a semi rolled over, causing the closure of multiple lanes and ramps for a time. Troopers say the driver of the semi was injured in the crash and taken to the hospital cause of the crash under investigation. During Wednesday morning's Kankakee County Board Criminal Justice Committee meeting, County Sheriff Mike Downey had some good news for the committee when it comes to the amount of money Kankakee County gets for housing federal prisoners.

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Over the past probably two years now, I have submitted a request for a rate increase for the housing of our U.S. Marshals. The rate right now is $90 per day per inmate, with a transportation reimbursement of $42 an hour per officer. Effective August 1st, a couple of days ago, has increased to $116 a day and $55 an hour for officer transports.

SPEAKER_04 2:40

Sheriff Downey says the increase should mean an extra million federal dollars coming into the county by the end of the fiscal year. Money he says helps to offset the costs local taxpayers have to pay for housing local prisoners. Testimony continues today in the murder trial of Xandria Harris. Harris is on trial for her part in the December 29th, 2021 shooting death of Bradley Police Sergeant Marlene Ritmanick and wounding of her then partner, Officer Tyler Bailey. During Wednesday afternoon's session, prosecutors called Illinois State Police Special Agent Alyssa Bufford. After the shooting, Buffard was given the task of gathering all of the evidence from all the police agencies involved in the case. Prosecutors entered evidence that included firearms found in the house in North Manchester, Indiana, where Harris and her then boyfriend Darius Sullivan fled following the shooting. Harris's defense attorney, Sierra Norris, objected to the firearms being admitted as evidence, saying that just because firearms were in the home where Harris stayed didn't mean that she knew they were there. Judge Kathy Bradshaw Elliott allowed them to be entered as evidence in the case. Harris's trial is expected to run through next Friday, the twenty first. Rensselaer police reporting the arrest of a woman after her child was found walking alone along a heavily traveled roadway. In a Facebook post, Rensselaer police say it was late last month. Officers were called to a gas station on South College Avenue by a person who had taken the child there for safety. Law enforcement say they were able to find that the child lived at a home in the 600 block of South Dean's place, and when they went to the home, they spoke to 33-year-old Kayla Hoax, who told them the child had been in a tent in the backyard. Rensselaer police say they turned the investigation over to the Indiana Department of Children's Services, and they arrested Hoax on Tuesday for neglect of a dependent. One of the EF one tornadoes hit Wilmington with peak winds of about 90 miles an hour, while the EF two ran in a line from Money to St. John, peak winds of about 115 miles an hour. Weather Service says in addition to the tornadoes, there was widespread damage from straight line winds throughout southern Cook and eastern Will counties in Illinois, as well as much of Lake Porter and northern Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. They say it looks like the peak winds were nearing 100 miles an hour across southern Cook and eastern Will County into Lake and Porter counties in Indiana. Weather Service says they'll continue to assess damage over the next several days. During Wednesday morning's Kankakee County Board Criminal Justice Committee meeting, Animal Control Director Carrie Laird had told the committee the number of reported bite cases is up significantly this year.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

A lot of those are bats that have been in people's residences and they've had exposure to them. So we've had, I think, three positive bats already so far this year. Last year we had zero for the entire year. So if there is a bat in your residence, please call Animal Control. We will come out and get that.

SPEAKER_04 6:19

Laird added the number of wildlife euthanasia are up this year as well, but added that most of those are bats that needed to be sent off for rabies testing. A winning ticket in Wednesday night's billion dollar powerball drawing was sold in Illinois. Mark Mayfield has more.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

The massive jackpot has a cash value of more than $450 million. It's the largest Powerball prize won so far this year and the eighth largest in the game's history. By Mark Mayfield.

SPEAKER_04 6:55

Cards beat the Phillies 7-1. Cubs wrap up their series at the Nationals this afternoon. The Sox go for the series win against the Reds. The Cards have the day off. Chicago Sky lost 91-71 to the Valkyries last night. Sky visit the storm on Saturday. Chicago Fire FC take on Cruz Azul tonight in League's Cup group play. And week one of the NFL preseason is here. Six games on the slate tonight. Bears host the Browns on Saturday. That is a check of news and sports on this Thursday. Have a good rest of your day. Be safe, everybody. I'm Rob West.