Why Was There Just an Earthquake Near Taylorville, Illinois???

I am going to ask a question that I do not yet have an answer to. Why was there just an earthquake centered near Taylorville, Illinois? I've never ever seen one in this part of the state before.

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Bizarre is the only word that comes to my mind when it comes to this earthquake that was just confirmed by the USGS near Taylorville, Illinois. It wasn't like it was a mammoth shaker or anything, but ANY earthquake in the central part of Illinois is strange.

Here's the official report from the USGS and it shows that several people in Taylorville, Illinois actually felt this quake. The strange thing about people in Taylorville feeling this quake was the fact that it happened at 3:45am in the middle of the night.

Let's be clear that a quake in the middle of Illinois is not unprecedented. The Wabash Valley Seismic Zone is located in this area and it's more active than you think. As Wikipedia mentions, it's believed that this Illinois regional fault system is associated with the infamous New Madrid Fault in Missouri.

Here's something to consider when you see strange Illinois quakes like this...

There is geological evidence that Illinois' Wabash Valley Seismic Zone is capable of between a 7 and 7.5 magnitude quake. That would be a jolt to wake you up in the middle of the night.

This mild 2.0 isn't that and isn't reason for any kind of alarm, but keep an eye on earthquakes in this part of Illinois. They are beginning to happen more frequently which COULD mean (not likely, but could mean) a bigger quake is sometime in the (hopefully distant) future.