Featured

Breese Central's Kendra Wilken (34) is closely guarded by Kankakee Bishop McNamara players in 2nd quarter action in the IHSA Girls State Championship game at Redbird Arena in Normal.

Central Cougars are Class 2A state runners up

The Central Cougars fell just short of a state championship, losing 55-51 to Bishop McNamara in ...

A snowstorm capable of dropping almost six inches of snow moved into the region in the middle of Saturday afternoon, causing the weather service to put the entire metro area under a severe winter storm warning that is in effect until early evening on Sunday.

Winter storm warning issued; snow blanketing region

Heavy snowfall was hitting the region on Saturday afternoon and evening, fulfilling a National Weather...

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Metro-east News

Angie Kraft is president of Street Reach, based in Dupo. The group helps homeless people in several counties and in St. Louis by providing food, hygiene items, clothing and sleeping bags.

Street Reach: Red Bud woman honors homeless dad by helping the homeless

Angie Kraft has a good reason for wanting to help the homeless. 3 hours ago

Crime

Police looking for suspect who shot 13-year-old boy in Washington Park

Police are still actively looking for the suspect who shot a 13-year-old boy in the head early Thursday morning in an alley in the 1400 block of North Kingshighway.

Hot Topics

Justice denied: Our series looks at how sex crimes are prosecuted (or not pursued) across Southern Illinois.

Violation of trust: Read our four-part investigative series

Our investigative report, Violation of Trust, takes an in-depth look at how sexual assault cases are pursued by authorities across Southern Illinois -- and how seldom the victims of those assaults find justice.

Sports

In 1990 the Wesclin High School Warriors defeated an unbeaten team to claim the Class A Illinois State Basketball Championship.

25 years later, the magic remains for Wesclin’s state basketball champions

Twenty-five years ago, they were high school seniors with buzzcuts trying to win a state basketball championship at the Assembly Hall in Champaign.

Features

Polly's owner and chef, Tony Iseinoski, holds, clockwise from top left, a plate of mostaccioli, a breaded catfish combo, and a gyro.

Polly’s Restaurant: Small-town restaurant with a big menu

It’s a love story that resulted in a restaurant.

State|Region

11 injured in chain of accidents on Missouri highway 44

Police say a tractor-trailer crashed into the rear of a Greyhound bus in snowy weather on Interstate 44 in Missouri, setting off a chain of accidents involving dozens of vehicles. At least 11 people were sent to a hospital with minor to moderate injuries... 2 hours ago

Nation|World

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to the Senate chamber from his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015, as Congress closed in on approving a short-term spending bill for the Homeland Security Department that would avert a partial agency shutdown hours before it was to begin. The legislation also leaves intact Obama administration executive actions on immigration that Republicans have vowed to overturn.

Congress passes temporary funding fix for Homeland Security, averts shutdown

A night of political brinkmanship ended late Friday when the House and Senate approved a one-week temporary spending bill to avert the partial shutdown at midnight of the Department of Homeland Security. 2 hours ago

Opinion

Up in smoke in Illinos

Secrecy just halted progress on a pot farm in East St. Louis, and don’t be surprised if secrecy causes Illinois’ entire medical marijuana experiment to implode.

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