Rauner tours storm damage in LaSalle County

Posted on March 2, 2017

By RFD Radio/WFMB

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois Emergency Management Director James Joseph and other state officials toured deadly tornado damage in LaSalle County on Wednesday.

A 76-year-old man was killed when a tree was uprooted in Ottawa. A second fatality occurred when a 71-year-old man was killed in the southeast Illinois town of Crossville in White County.

Rauner said was impressed with the team effort in LaSalle County.

“I want to say a special thank you to our first responders to our police officers, our firefighters, our emergency medical personnel,” Rauner said. “They did an outstanding job as they always do.”

Illinois Emergency Management Director James Joseph said he was impressed by how residents were self starters in dealing with the storm.

“The first responders were the community, the neighbors, the people that were checking on each other,” Joseph said.

Joseph said Illinois is fortunate the damage wasn’t worse.

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