Illinois, Cook County | featured news

The Lake County Division of Transportation is hosting a public hearing for the Intersection Improvement Study of Ela Road and Long Grove Road in Barrington and Deer Park.

Lincolnshire officials have approve a tax-sharing deal with the Half Day Brewing Co. to help the local business raise money for expansion.

A program launched in 2013 to help Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 graduates find success in college has been awarded a $10,000 matching grant from Scholarship American.

Bail was set Wednesday at $750,000 for a Glendale Heights man accused of shooting a Burlington Coat Factory loss prevention officer Tuesday afternoon in Bloomingdale. Keonte Griffin, 23, is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Members of the Palatine-based Plum Grove Garden Club recently launched a "garden therapy" project in which they worked side-by-side with Clearbrook clients to plant flowers and vegetables at group homes.

Taxpayers in 58 suburban school districts spent a combined $820,980 last year to cover state penalties for dozens of teachers and administrators whose annual pay raises exceeded 6 percent. A new state law says penalties must be paid when raises top 3 percent.

The city of Elgin launched an outreach initiative last week to the determine the needs of its estimated 200 or so homeless residents, including those of Tent City.

Ryan Dowd, executive director of Hesed House in Aurora, said that if people live outdoors in cold weather, it's generally because they've been banned from shelters or are struggling with addiction or mental illness.

Doug Henke, 55, is one of the few year-round residents of "Tent City," an encampment of scattered tents and makeshift dwellings ensconced between the railroad tracks and the Fox River in Elgin.

A Woodstock man died in a one-car crash early Tuesday morning, according to the McHenry County coroner's office. Benjie J. Tafolla, 26, was driving west on Route 14 at around 3 a.m. Tuesday near its intersection with Lake Street when he lost control of the car and crashed into a light pole.