Illinois, Peoria County | featured news

Texas topped all others in 2012 when it came to business expansion but Illinois, frequently maligned for its poor business climate, finished fifth among the 50 states.

A state lawmaker is pushing legislation that would ban the sale of lion meat and the slaughter of the animals in Illinois.

In a genre all their own, tf3 will join the Heartland Festival Orchestra for some "Virtuoso Fiddlin' " March 16.

"Over the years I've had some fantastic internationally-known soloists join us, but rarely have I found anybody that generates more sheer excitement," said David Commanday, artistic director and conductor of the Heartland Festival Orchestra.

Ushering in the bloom of spring, it's time to set the clocks forward for daylight saving time.

At 2 a.m. local time Sunday, daylight saving time arrives with the promise of many months ahead with an extra hour of evening sunlight.

You lose an hour of sleep, but make sure to turn the clock ahead — spring forward — before heading to bed Saturday night to avoid the panic of a late rise.

When Robert Rowe began working at Bradley University in 2000, he saw great potential in the 1960s Vandercook printing press sitting idle in the art department.

"There was a resurgence of interest in traditional letter press printing and the art and craft of handmade books," he said.

Under mounting pressure from prominent Republican leaders, the Illinois GOP's central committee canceled a meeting Saturday in which members were to consider firing party chairman Pat Brady, largely because he spoke out in favor of a bill to end the state ban on gay marriage.

It's a quiet company that, while owing its existence to the Yellow Pages, is blazing a new digital trail from offices in Downtown Peoria.

"We're evolving just like the hotel that shares our name," said Eric Webb, president of the Marquette Group, 222 NE Monroe St., referring to the newly-renovated Hotel Pere Marquette.

"Unfortunately, people don't know who we are, but they know who our clients are," he said of the marketing firm that deals with companies like Sherwin Williams, U-Haul and Bank of America.

After a small struggle two years ago, a Mossville Elementary School student returned to the Journal Star Peoria County Spelling Bee on Friday, spelling his way to the championship.
 

John Offutt, now an eighth-grader at the school, claimed his spot in Central Illinois Grand Final Spelling Bee on Friday by correctly spelling the word “tortuous.”
 

John said he has been studying for a while even though some of the words are a review.

There are other things to think about in Downtown Peoria while waiting for a renovated Hotel Pere Marquette to open in June.

One of the issues is what guests at the new Marriott property will see on the street when they leave the hotel.

Limestone will boldly go where no Rockets boys basketball team has gone before.

Terence Shelby’s 3-pointer in the fourth quarter gave Limestone a lasting lead and Lorenzo Burns sank two free throws in the final seconds to all but ice a 61-59 victory over Central in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Renaissance Coliseum in the championship game of the Class 3A Peoria Sectional on Friday.