After losing out on homegrown talent, where does that leave Illinois football recruiting?

Mack Sutter is an Illinois native and one of the nation's top tight end recruits — and was among multiple targets coveted by the Fighting Illini football program. On Thursday, Sutter committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Advertisement Advertisement …

Will Illinois Smokey Bones locations be rebranded? What we know 

FAT Brands, owner of Smokey Bones, is converting roughly half of its locations into Twin Peaks restaurants. The move aims to capitalize on the higher profitability of Twin Peaks, a sports bar similar to Hooters. Nine underperforming Smokey Bones locations …

Wasted Waters: How Southern Illinois is Coping with Decades of Sewage Flooding… and Why it Still Isn’t Solved.

This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. CAHOKIA HEIGHTS — Arianna Norris, 63, paid cash for her home in Cahokia Heights. For as long as she’s lived there, during intense rainstorms, water surrounds her property and last year …

Where to find Fourth of July fireworks shows in central Illinois 

Gateway Arch Park Foundation eyes possible Illinois park in the future

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The iconic Arch has stood over St. Louis for decades, but now the question is, could the park grounds eventually spread to Illinois? That’s a possible goal for the Gateway Arch Park Foundation. While the plans could still …

Illinois HC Bret Bielema speaks out on spring game pitch to Bill Belichick amid Deion Sanders' Syracuse matchup fallout: ...

Illinois coach Bret Bielema said he reached out to North Carolina’s Bill Belichick this past spring about staging a scrimmage between their programs, drawing inspiration from NFL minicamps. Bielema, who worked on Belichick’s staff with the New England …

Reverse Course: Life after the levee breach in Dogtooth Bend, Illinois

In 2016, the Mississippi River punched a hole in the Len Small levee, built to protect farmland along an S-shaped curve in the river known as Dogtooth Bend. That hole was never repaired. Here & Now's Chris Bentley reports on how some farmers in the …

New ‘Queer Studies’ certificate at Illinois State U. aims to ‘reconfigure’ social norms

Watchdog criticizes university for spending money on ‘identitarian politics’ as state faces budget shortfall Illinois State University just began offering a “Queer Studies” certificate – but a government watchdog group thinks that directing funds toward “ …

Illinois National Guard Soldiers among many completing annual training at Fort McCoy in June

Thousands of troops trained at Fort McCoy in June 2025, including Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, and more. Some of the units with larger numbers of troops training on post were with the Illinois National Guard. According to a coverage post by Sgt Dejuan …

Mack Sutter commits to Alabama: four-star Illinois tight end picks Crimson Tide

Dunlap senior and four-star college football recruit Mack Sutter, right, stands with his family after announcing his commitment to play football at the University of Alabama during a gathering Thursday, June 26, 2025 at Weaver's Fresh Food & Drink …