Several tornadoes struck northern and central Illinois and northwest Indiana on June 11, causing damage in multiple towns.
The National Weather Service confirmed multiple tornadoes occurred in or near Streator, Illinois, Merrillville, Indiana and Hebron. Indiana. The storm corridor extended to the Chicago metro, with some areas receiving straight-line wind damage.
Heavy rainfall from training thunderstorms also led to flooding in parts of far northern Illinois, the NWS said.
In Streator, multiple homes were partially or fully flattened, according to NBC Chicago. Video on social media showed a man being pulled from the rubble of a home.
Officials in Merrillville said there has been extensive damage across the town from the storm. The damage includes downed trees and power lines, the town said on Facebook. “Crews have started to clear roadways. Please stay clear of any fallen utility lines or damaged utility poles as these pose a serious safety risk.”
The town of Hebron said fire, police and public works are assessing the storm damage and responding to calls.
North-central Illinois and northwest Indiana have experienced multiple episodes of severe weather this spring. Illinois leads the nation in tornado activity in 2026 with 133 reported twisters, according to data from NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center.
However, he cautioned that building AI solutions internally means insurers have to be strategic about keeping up with the pace of change in the industry.
“I mean, you have to be able to shift your infrastructure rapidly to deal with the moving target that is AI,” he said. “You have to be careful about whether you are ready to take on that infrastructure for yourself in order to keep moving and keep up with that pace of where the market’s going.”
He added that technology adoption is as much a change-management exercise as it is a technical one.
“We have a lot of team members out there inside of carriers that are change resistant, and so you have to be thoughtful in terms of how you make it easy to use those tools by having it really as an integrated part of the process,” he said.
This emphasis on workflow integration was echoed by William Steenbergen, chief technology officer at Federato. He said insurers should begin by clearly defining the role AI will play in decision-making.
