Central Illinois begins digging out from snow

Maureen Herman of Marseille received got 12 inches of heavy snow. She shared this picture of neighbors snow blowing her sidewalk.

CHAMPAIGN – Snowblowers and shovels were in action across Central Illinois on Friday.

People are digging out after a two-day winter storm that brought 8 to 12 inches of snow to Champaign-Urbana, Danville, Decatur, Springfield, Bloomington and most parts of central Illinois.

According to a tweet from the Illinois State Climatologist, the snowstorm erased major snowfall deficits in areas south of Interstate 80.

Driving remained a challenge for thousands of drivers. On Friday morning the Illinois State Police reported a significant backup on eastbound I-74 in Piatt and Champaign counties because of numerous traffic crashes. Long backups were also reported along I-74 in Vermilion County.

By noon, the Illinois Department of Transportation shared a picture of I-74 in East Urbana. It showed four highway lanes cleared of snow.

“Progress! The sunshine seems to be helping quite a bit, as this view of Interstate 74 in Urbana shows. There still is a lot to do, and we are working hard on getting all of our roads cleared,” said the tweet from IDOT.

Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM