MARION -- Ameren says more than 1,200 workers are in southern Illinois trying to restore power to about 63,500 customers left in the dark by severe storms.

The utility company said Saturday afternoon it hopes to have the lights back on for everyone by midnight Tuesday.

Ron Pate is vice president of regional operations for Ameren Illinois Utilities.

He says strong winds toppled hundreds of utility poles, downed electric wires and sent trees into transmission lines in Carbondale, Marion and surrounding areas.

Ameren says eight counties are reporting significant outages, including Franklin, Gallatin, Jackson, Johnson, Perry, Saline, Union and Williamson.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has declared Franklin, Jackson and Williamson counties as state disaster areas.