FROM CNN WIRES:

(CNN) - Steady rain was expected Tuesday in some Midwestern states already struck with severe flooding.

Deluges over the weekend left some homeless, rivers at dangerous levels and many in precarious situations.

"The more I see the water come up, the more I'll cry," said Starlynn Winchell, as she stared at floodwaters rushing up against her Spring Bay, Illinois home.

Winchell is one of many people in riverside communities this week inundated with flooding.

At least six rivers in northern Illinois had surged to record levels in recent days after the area was pummeled with five inches of rain. Flooding has displaced thousands and pushed Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to declare 44 counties as disaster areas.

This morning on "Starting Point," CNN's Jim Spellman reports from Illinois on how residents are preparing for another day of flooding in the Midwest.

READ MORE: Extreme flooding hits Midwestern states