WSIU Morning News Update - 6/24/26

From WSUIU News, I'm Jeff Williams. Good morning. It is Wednesday, June 24th. Weatherwise today, mostly sunny across the region. We'll see a high of 84. If you've been enjoying the milder weather so far this week, get ready. The heat is coming. Daytime highs will eventually rise into the 90s by the end of the weekend. The National Weather Service in Paduca says heat index readings will likely be in the triple digits Sunday through Tuesday of next week. Forecaster Andy Lassage says the 8 to 14.

Day outlook shows a good signal for above normal temperatures and near normal rainfall. Normal highs this time of year are approaching their peak of about 90 degrees with normal lows in the upper 60s to near 70. Normal seven-day rainfall is around an inch. The National Weather Service in Paduca is reporting 20 tornadoes moved through the region on Sunday. The strongest confirmed tornado was an EF3 in Jefferson and Wayne counties. There was an EF2 in Gibson County, Indiana, along with a tornado with an unconfirmed EF rating in infield, Illinois. There are also 10 EF1 and 7 EF0 tornadoes reported during the outbreak on Father's Day. A new program aimed at improving early detection of lung cancer is expanding access to screenings across Central and Southern Illinois.

S.I.U. Medicine and the Simmons Cancer Institute have launched the Amy Kiel-Schmidt Early Lung Cancer Detection Program, named in honor of a Springfield attorney who's died from lung cancer last year. The initiative will help increase access to annual low-dose CT scans, expand outreach to high-risk and underserved populations, and support the use of advanced imaging technologies. Health officials say lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, but survival rates can exceed 80 percent when the disease is detected early. Well, the Jackson County Drug Court will celebrate its seventh graduation ceremony this week at the Jackson County Courthouse in Murphysboro. The community is, or the ceremony, rather,

is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 p.m. Drug court participants spend approximately two years completing a structured program that combines treatment, therapy, and ongoing supervision designed to address substance abuse and reduce criminal behavior. The court was established in 2022 and brings together the criminal justice system and treatment providers to help participants break the cycle of addiction. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker endured a big political setback when his affordable housing plan failed to pass during the spring legislative session, much of the opposition came from local mayors. Mawa Iqbal has more on the story. The proposal would have allowed multi-unit housing on nearly all residentially zoned land and create a statewide timeline for permit reviews. A large group of mayor says the plan undermines their local zoning authority. Rockford Mayor Tom McNair says he'd like to see the plan instead include more incentives for builders like property tax or permit fees. waivers, something McNamara has been doing in his city. The more you're working with folks

doing an incentive-based model, in the long term, yes, we at the city are going to get a lot of revenue from a new home being built. But in the short term, we can give up some of that to incentivize them. Brisker says he wants to keep pushing his proposal. I'm Mauiqbal. A new poll commissioned by the Illinois Policy Institute finds taxes and the economy remain top concerns among Illinois voters. According to the group's latest Lincoln poll, more than half of respondents identified high taxes as one of the state's two biggest issues. Forty-one percent cited the economy, an increase from previous year. The survey also found that just over half of respondents said they would leave Illinois if given the opportunity. Among those voters, nearly seven and ten listed

high taxes as a major reason for wanting to move. The Illinois Policy Institute says the findings comes as Governor J.B. Pritzker's latest state budget includes more than $800 million in new revenue measures. The poll surveyed 517 likely Illinois voters between May 9th and May 11th, and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. 12th District Democratic U.S. congressional candidate Julie Fortier will host a series of public events across southern Illinois this weekend. Fortier, who is running against incumbent Republican Mike Bost, will hold town halls in Chester on Friday, Marshall on Saturday and Salem on Sunday. Forty-A will also attend the Jackson County Democrats' Blue Barbecue Picnic in Carpondale on Saturday.

Campaign organizers say residents will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues affecting their communities. Food drives will also be held in conjunction with the town hall events, with attendees encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations. 48A is a scientist, educator, and Air Force veteran living in O'Fallon. Weatherwise today, mostly Saudi skies across the region, kind of a cloudy, start for some of us this morning, but we should see mostly sunny skies with a high of 84 then. The sky's

becoming partly cloudy tonight. There's a slight chance we'll see some scattered showers and thunderstorms developing late tonight with an overnight low of 67. Tomorrow so far looks like not a complete washout. Partly sunny skies, there's a 50-50 chance. We'll see some scattered showers and thunderstorms mainly beginning during

the early evening hours tomorrow with a high of 87. Then showers and thunderstorms likely tomorrow night with an overnight low of 70. Our outlook for Friday, mostly cloudy skies, can't rule out the possibility of some scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout the day and a high of 85. I'm Jeff Williams, WSIU News.