Bloomington council extends local disaster declaration as city reports tornado damage and cleanup progress

The Bloomington City Council voted April 23 to extend a declaration of local disaster while city staff continue cleanup and damage assessment from an April 17 tornado.

City Manager Jeff Jurgens told the council that National Weather Service mapping shows a single, unusually long tornado path — more than 20 miles — passing through Normal and Bloomington. "At this point, we have 151 self reports of damage just in the city of Bloomington alone," Jurgens said, and he urged residents and businesses to file damage forms on the city website so officials can pursue possible state or federal relief.

The declaration extension allows the city to continue emergency operations and eligibility reviews for outside assistance. Jurgens said mayors of neighboring jurisdictions and the county had issued emergency declarations over the weekend; under city ordinance the mayor can extend a declaration for short periods but further extensions require council approval, which the council granted at the meeting.

Public Works Director Mose Ricky reported operational priorities and progress in the field. Ricky said crews focused first on safety — particularly assessing downed power lines — before clearing roadways, and by Wednesday crews had removed about 250 truckloads of debris from the city. "We went to full‑throttle coming into Sunday," Ricky said, and he asked residents not to park next to brush piles so crews can access debris; he said the formal cleanup is expected to be substantially complete by May 1, with remaining items folded into routine operations.

Parks and Recreation official Eric said forestry and parks crews have logged about 372 man‑hours and completed roughly 70 storm‑damage work orders, with about 197 work orders remaining. He identified Clearwater Park, Stevenson Park and Highland Park Golf Course among the hardest‑hit public sites and noted that silver maples — a species no longer planted under current city tree policy because of weak wood and root damage — were common in heavily affected blocks of the Holiday Knolls subdivision. Eric invited council and staff to an Arbor Day tree planting at Benjamin School.

Jurgens also gave incident statistics: the city logged about 104 911 calls, roughly 148 nonemergency calls and 78 calls to fire during the event, he said. He reported coordination with McLean County Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross and utilities including Ameren and Corn Belt to assist residents and restore service.

Council member Ward asked how the April event compares with the June 2021 storm and whether lessons from 2021 improved the response. Jurgens said staff will debrief and provide a detailed comparison later, noting that new venue protocols had been tested successfully during the storm.

On the declaration extension, the meeting record shows a motion to extend (mover recorded in the minutes as member Strausz) and a second (member Hendrix). The clerk led a voice and roll‑call vote; the mayor and council members present responded "yes" or "aye," and the extension passed. The council did not specify a new sunset date in the discussion at the meeting; the extension maintains the city's emergency status while assessments and cleanup continue.

Mayor Brady publicly thanked Kathy Beck, director of the McLean County Emergency Management Agency, for activating sirens and coordinating response efforts that officials said helped prevent injuries. Council members praised on‑the‑ground staff, utility crews and neighbors who organized to help each other during the aftermath.

The council adjourned after brief additional remarks. Staff said they will continue damage collection, coordinate with county and state partners, and report back to the council with further assessments and any recommended next steps.