As a series of winter storms threaten to hammer central Illinois with snow in the coming days, the Illinois General Assembly has decided to cancel sessions that were scheduled for this week.
According to a press release sent out Monday, the sessions in both the House and Senate will be canceled, with the exception of a noon session on Tuesday for the Senate.
“With the National Weather Service forecasting a winter storm for central Illinois that could produce up to two feet of snow, it is in our best interest to cancel session for this week,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said in a statement.
Senate President Don Harmon said that the body will turn to its remote committee process this week, rather than meeting in-person. The House will do the same, according to the press release.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was scheduled to give his State of the State address on Wednesday before a joint session of the General Assembly, but it is unclear how the governor will deliver the address now that the session has been canceled.
Forecasters are calling for two separate rounds of wintry weather in the coming days in central Illinois. The first is expected to arrive late Tuesday and stick around through Wednesday afternoon, dumping up to 6-to-12 inches of snow in some locations.
Late Wednesday and into Thursday, a second system might go through, bringing another 3-to-6 inches to some locations, according to the National Weather Service.
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Areas to the south of the snow could still see mixed precipitation or freezing rain, leading to potentially hazardous conditions in numerous locations around the state.
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