While we've heard a lot about floods brought on by recent storms in Indiana and Wisconsin, little has been said about the effects of heavy rains in Illinois (we've been focusing more on twisters). Well, that changed today:

Officials tell the Lawrenceville Daily Record that an early morning levee failure along the Embarras River is forcing the evacuations of portions of eastern Lawrence County.The evacuation apparently involves about 200 homes, and the flooded area so far is mostly farmland and prairie.

Officials also say another levee broke along the Wabash River near Westport.

Shelters are being set up in the 4,600-resident town of Lawrenceville at Parkview Elementary School and Central Christian Church.

Voluntary evacuations also are being done near 900-resident St. Francisville, along the Wabash River south of Lawrenceville.

Over at Capitol Fax, Rich Miller has been covering the potential political fallout if the state response is deemed inadequate. At least one lawmaker, Rep. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville), has already raised questions about whether Gov. Blagojevich should have acted sooner to focus federal attention on the situation in his district. For his part the governor has directed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to get a handle on the flooding.

As we wait for more details, it is important to remember that poor planning also plays a role in these infrastructure failures. As we noted in May, a recent Army Corps of engineers survey of levees across the state found many of them to be too weak to stand up to heavy rains:

In Missouri and Illinois, nine levees that are supposed to protect against a 500-year flood fall short of even 100-year protection [...] Just getting those levees up to standard would cost an estimated $200 million.

Just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis is the Wood River levee in Illinois, which protects a ConocoPhillips refinery. Flooding there could spell an environmental and economic disaster.

Forecasters are currently predicting ten foot crests of water flooding down the Mississippi that will test those levees strength as well. The strength of countless private levees -- which don't fall under the purview of the Army Corps -- is unknown. Meanwhile, in Indiana, emergency workers are expecting more levee failures at any moment, and the situation appears equally precarious in many other parts of the Midwest.