Illinois – News Stories About Illinois - Page 42

Mar 21, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

Midwest Flood Death Toll at 16

Flood crests expected over weekend; snow blasts Minnesota, Chicago

(Newser) - Storms that caused flooding across the country's midsection have killed 16 people, and bad weather remains a threat, the AP reports. A snowstorm battering Minnesota and Illinois grounded hundreds of flights, and forecasters predicted a 9-inch total. Thousands were forced into shelters as rivers continued to swell; in many states,...

13 Dead in Midwest Floods

Mar 19, 2008 7:12 PM CDT

13 Dead in Midwest Floods

Three people remain missing; Missouri especially hard hit

(Newser) - Massive flooding across the central US has left 13 people dead and three missing, the AP reports. Record or near-record crests were reported across Missouri; Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio also saw flooding. Rescuers were searching for a Texas teenager washed into a drainage pipe and for two people in...

Obama: Rezko Raised
$250K, Asked No Favors

Mar 15, 2008 5:13 AM CDT

Obama: Rezko Raised $250K, Asked No Favors

Candidate gives the lowdown on his dealings with Chicago tycoon

(Newser) - Barack Obama, hoping to head off future controversy, has given newspapers an extensive account of his dealings with indicted Chicago tycoon Tony Rezko. Obama told the Chicago Tribune that Rezko, his first big political donor, raised as much as $250,000 for his campaigns over the years—$90,000 more...

Icy Roads?
Beet Juice Just the Right Tonic

Mar 14, 2008 6:46 PM CDT

Icy Roads? Beet Juice Just the Right Tonic

New mixture cuts salt, works colder, but side effects still unknown

(Newser) - Road workers in the Chicago area are shaking up their winter ice-busting cocktail with an odd new mixer: beet juice. Sanitation officials are pleased with the combination, which reduces the necessary rock salt (harmful to plants and water supplies) by up to 30% and is effective at temperatures far lower...

Dem Physicist Nails House Seat in Ill. GOP Stronghold

Mar 9, 2008 7:00 AM CDT

Dem Physicist Nails House Seat in Ill. GOP Stronghold

Foster wins Hastert's spot in special election

(Newser) - Little-known Democratic physicist Bill Foster beat Illinois Republican Jim Oberweis yesterday in a special election to fill Dennis Hastert's vacated seat in Congress. The Democrat's victory in the GOP suburban stronghold west of Chicago may herald more trouble for Republicans during fall elections, writes the Chicago Tribune. "Voters are...

Stacy Called Kathleen's Divorce Lawyer

Mar 8, 2008 2:05 PM CST

Stacy Called Kathleen's Divorce Lawyer

Drew Peterson's missing wife followed slain predecessor

(Newser) - The Illinois attorney who represented Drew Peterson's slain third wife, Kathleen Savio, in her divorce from Peterson said yesterday that missing fourth wife Stacy had also made tentative contact with him about a divorce, just days before her disappearance. Drew Peterson told the Chicago Tribune he was "pretty shocked"...

Rezko Corruption Trial Begins

Mar 3, 2008 9:19 AM CST

Rezko Corruption Trial Begins

Jury selection gets under way for accused Chicago businessman with ties to governor, Obama

(Newser) - With jury selection beginning for the corruption trial of Chicago businessman and political fundraiser Tony Rezko, the Chicago Sun-Times offers some background on the key facets of the case. Rezko, a Syrian-born real estate and fast-food tycoon who established footholds in the Illinois governor's circles, is accused of pocketing illegal...

Pumas Prowl Midwest

Feb 22, 2008 7:42 PM CST

Pumas Prowl Midwest

Big cats migrate east in search of prey

(Newser) - Pumas, normally prowlers of the Rocky Mountains, are slowly pushing east, ecologists say, which has led to a rash of sightings throughout the Midwest. Wisconsin just had its first confirmed puma sighting in over a century, and since 1990 the big cats have cropped up in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and...

NIU Shooting Victims Profiled

Feb 16, 2008 2:08 PM CST

NIU Shooting Victims Profiled

Loved ones remember young lives cut short

(Newser) - An Army Corps of Engineers vet who wanted to be a first grade teacher. A violinist who knit for fun. A rugby player and frat man who worked for the student newspaper. The Chicago Tribune profiles the five students gunned down in their oceanography class Thursday at North Illinois University,...

Police Piece Together Shooter's Trail

Feb 16, 2008 10:43 AM CST

Police Piece Together Shooter's Trail

Kazmierczak spent two days in motel room before shooting

(Newser) - Before his shooting rampage at NIU, Steven Kazmierczak spent two days in a motel, taking cold medicine and drinking Red Bull, the Chicago Tribune reports. He left behind no note, only a sealed duffel bag filled with gun ammo. Kazmierczak, who had stopped taking medication for anxiety, also sent his...

Gunman Was
Known as 'Gentle, Even,' 'Best in Class'

Feb 15, 2008 5:54 PM CST

Gunman Was Known as 'Gentle, Even,' 'Best in Class'

NIU sociology profs, students are stunned

(Newser) - Northern Illinois University profs and students who knew Stephen Kazmierczak said today they were stunned by his transformation into a killer: “I knew him as a warm, sensitive, very bright student,” one professor said in disbelief. "I have had him in my home." A mentor told...

College Shooter Kills 5, Self

UPDATED

Feb 14, 2008 6:06 PM CST

College Shooter Kills 5, Self

Another 16 wounded after he opens fire in Northern Illinois lecture hall

(Newser) - A gunman opened fire in a packed lecture hall at Northern Illinois University today, killing five students before fatally shooting himself, the Chicago Tribune reports. Another 16 people were wounded. Witnesses say the gunman, clad in black, entered the lecture hall without speaking and opened fire. He had a shotgun...

Illinois Win for Obama, McCain

Feb 5, 2008 7:09 PM CST

Illinois Win for Obama, McCain

Democratic senator is victorious in home state

(Newser) - Barack Obama is the projected winner in his home state of Illinois. John McCain won the GOP race in the Land of Lincoln. Obama was widely expected to take Illinois by a big margin, MSNBC reports. The state awards 153 Democratic delegates proportionally and 57 Republican delegates in a winner-take-all...

Freak Twisters Ravage Midwest

Jan 8, 2008 11:29 AM CST

Freak Twisters Ravage Midwest

Two killed in unseasonal storms

(Newser) - A series of freak tornadoes touched down last night across the Midwest, killing two Missouri women and leaving a swath of destruction in their wake, CNN reports. Another person was killed when another twister hit Arkansas this morning. “I’ve never seen damage like this in the summertime,”...

No Dice for Smoking Gamblers

Jan 1, 2008 9:12 AM CST

No Dice for Smoking Gamblers

Ill. casino bosses worry about losing business to tobacco-friendly rivals

(Newser) - The brand-new ban on indoor smoking in Illinois is expected to hit the state's nine casinos hard, the Chicago Tribune reports. Plenty of gamblers like a smoke, and along the Mississippi River, all they'll need to do is cross into Missouri or Iowa to enjoy one. "No smoking and...

$250K Search
All for Naught: Wife Is Safe

Dec 29, 2007 3:36 PM CST

$250K Search All for Naught: Wife Is Safe

Chicago woman ran away with her lover, authorities say

(Newser) - Police in Chicago who spent $250,000 searching for a missing suburban wife now say she's safe and sound—she just ran away with her lover. Police spent the week searching along the Des Plaines River after finding the woman's car in a parking lot with the door open and...

Ill. Bans Natural Hallucinogen

Dec 26, 2007 10:21 AM CST

Ill. Bans Natural Hallucinogen

Defenders tout controversial herbal remedy's benefits as law closes in

(Newser) - An impending ban on a hallucinogenic plant used in religious ceremonies by Mazatec Indians in Mexico has defenders of the herb objecting to the fact that it's about to be illegal in Illinois. Possessing salvia divinorum will be a felony beginning Tuesday. Defenders of the herb insist it offers beneficial...

More Schools
Ban Cupcakes

Dec 17, 2007 10:16 AM CST

More Schools Ban Cupcakes

Holiday parties to substitute fruit, other 'healthy' treats to replace banned sweets

(Newser) - Holiday parties in classrooms around Chicago won't be covered with red and green sprinkles this year, the Chicago Tribune reports. More and more schools are banning cupcakes in favor of "healthy" things like fruit skewers fashioned into reindeer antlers. It's part of a national trend to make special-occasion snacks...

600K Lose Power in Icy Storm

Dec 10, 2007 6:55 PM CST

600K Lose Power in Icy Storm

15 fatalities reported; weather service warns of more storms tomorrow

(Newser) - An icy storm plunged more than 600,000 Midwesterners into freezing darkness today, crippling power and causing about 15 fatalities on slippery roads, the AP reports. Oklahoma fared worst, declaring a state of emergency as schools shut down and hospitals ran on backup generators. More is on the way, according...

Drew Peterson Feels Betrayed

Dec 7, 2007 11:20 AM CST

Drew Peterson Feels Betrayed

Ex-cop suspected of wife's murder grumbles about being shunned by pals

(Newser) - It really got to Drew Peterson: his picture on a pinata at a vigil last weekend for his missing wife, Stacy. The former Illinois police sergeant, a suspect in Stacy's presumed murder, complains to the Chicago Tribune that he's been shunned by friends and former buddies on the force. He...