Illinois, Decatur | featured news

BLOOMINGTON — “Layers” is the magic word during the recent arctic blast.

DECATUR — Bitter cold is expected to continue through the area today, closing schools and prompting a wind chill advisory from the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

Democratic governor candidate Chris Kennedy on Wednesday accused Mayor Rahm Emanuel of leading a "strategic gentrification plan" aimed at forcing African-Americans and other minorities out of Chicago to make the city "whiter" and wealthier.

An Aurora man has been charged with robbing a Lisle bank last week and is a suspect in three other suburban bank robberies in the last two months, according to the FBI.

Bald eagle sightings in the Fox River Valley have increased with the cold snap, and people are heading to the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin to try to spot the big birds.

He looks more like a coach, or perhaps a parent -- despite the black-and-gold bandana on his head.

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools employees “stole or misappropriated” thousands of dollars’ worth of school-purchased gift cards that were intended to be used as incentives for students and families, according to an annual report from the district’s inspector general.

Incoming Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson hasn't yet finished moving into her corner office, but she is beginning to lay out her agenda to confront ongoing challenges that include declining enrollment, troubled finances and a state inquiry into the…

Naperville officials are looking at ways to entice millennials to live and work in the city in 2018, an attempt to build on highly-ranked schools and the city's reputation as one of the best to raise a family.

The arctic weather that has clung to Central Illinois will keep Decatur public schools closed Thursday, the district said.