COLLINSVILLE | Four men charged Monday in a weekend burglary of a Metro East jewelry store are suspected of being part of a sophisticated ring responsible for more than 50 break-ins throughout the Midwest and as far south as Georgia, police said. Two...

DeKALB | A bill that would ban horse slaughtering in the U.S. has been put on hold in Congress. Because of the current spotlight on nation-wide defense, the bill, House Resolution 503, is not a top priority. "This month, the big focus is national security,"...

DeKALB | Last call for 50-cent drafts will be Friday, September 22. Pamphlets on the new law were printed September 12 after the city council approved legislation to raise the minimum liquor price. Pamphlets can be picked up at the City Clerk's Office...

DeKALB | As students fall into the groove of the new semester, the NIU police department identifies thefts and underage drinking as two of their main concerns. Before the first home football game of the season last Saturday, the official police blotter...

CHAMPAIGN | Two men were accused Monday of kidnapping a businessman and holding him for ransom in an Indiana motel. Adrian Lopez, 32, and Terence Merritt, 18, both of Mattoon, are charged with kidnapping in a federal criminal complaint. The incident began...

My mother told me not to eat anything with ingredients I can't pronounce. This sounds smart, because I have no idea what these seven-syllable additives will do to my body. When vowing to lose weight, people gravitate more and more toward pre-portioned...

DeKALB | It's dinner time and mom's on a diet. She could drive to the grocery store, read labels, weigh portions, then go home and cook — if there's time. Prepackaged, frozen diet meals seem to be the perfect, healthy, time-saving solution. Someone...

DeKALB | In response to recent losses, Wal-Mart is targeting consumers. Wal-Mart announced last Thursday it will revamp its current product line in order to cater to six specific groups of customers. The key groups are Hispanics, African-Americans, "empty-nesters/bloomers"...

DeKALB | An influx of new establishments has sprouted here while many vacant buildings are becoming increasingly decrepit. Starbucks, Chipotle and Panda Express opened within the past six months in newly constructed buildings, while many already-built...

DeKALB | The search for a community liaison within the DeKalb School District is finally over. Lynette Hallauer started August 1 as the DeKalb school-community relations liaison and has already brainstormed ideas for improving communications between the...

DeKALB | The continental United States sweat through its second hottest July ever recorded this past summer with droughts drying up the plains and the southeastern U.S. However, an expert says this summer's warm-up has nothing to do with global warming....

SYCAMORE | Farzana Hosain of Lisle pled guilty Wednesday to the charge of reckless driving that resulted in the July 20 deaths of NIU students Alexander Cameron and Derek Jensen. Hosain passed a vehicle in a no-passing zone while on Plank Road, colliding...