The Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service has created a program that allows employees to sell unused sick days in exchange for employer donations to a relief fund for Hurricane Katrina victims. Under the current program, employees of...

The last of the area firefighters deployed to the disaster area in New Orleans safely returned Saturday. Those firefighters are Lt. Tony Cox and Reid Rissman from DeKalb along with Dan Marcinkowski and Kevin Mikkelson from Sycamore. This large-scale effort...

The scene at Monday’s Sycamore city council meeting was the same as two weeks ago, but the outcome was very different. Both meetins consisted of heated exchanges over whether the city should annex a 740-home, three-part subdivision. This time, it passed....

The Islamic holiday Ramadan is a time of fasting, prayer and reflection on Islam. Ramadan officially begins when a new moon is spotted, which was Oct. 4 this year and was visible in other countries Oct. 3, according to the Islamic Society of North America....

October is a holy time this year for Muslims worldwide. Ramadan is the ninth month on the Islamic calendar and is a period of fasting. Muslims around the globe fast from sunrise to sundown, according to the Lunar calendar; they don’t eat or drink anything...

The lengthy drought period Illinois experienced this summer reduced this year’s crop yields, although not as dramatically as anticipated. According to national data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service,...

DeKalb school district’s newly redesigned Web site now offers an online payment for food services, while further enhancements are in the works. The Web site was launched in August, just before school registration, and aims to streamline the payment...

The DeKalb County Finance Committee proposed three referendums to be placed on the ballot next year. These referendums are in response to a $58.6 million fiscal year 2006 budget. "These items are geared toward providing services within our county, as...

On Friday night in DeKalb, instead of going to bars, partying with friends or watching the White Sox game, I sat in a squad car with DeKalb police Sgt. James McDougal patrolling the streets and watching the police try to keep the peace. My high expectations...

CHICAGO - The 5-inch vertical scar marking Steve DeLuca’s belly didn’t stop him from posing topless for a new pinup calendar - it’s what got him the job. The 37-year-old firefighter from suburban Mt. Prospect is on display with 17 other buff amateur...

The champagne had been sitting out in the ice buckets since the eighth inning, just waiting to have the corks popped. The cigars were being unwrapped and lit. And as soon as Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Casey Kotchman grounded out to end the game,...

Whether they wore red and black, pajamas or last night’s party clothes, people showed up bright and early to keep Homecoming’s Saturday Kegs and Eggs tradition alive. The City of DeKalb granted special permission to bars, allowing them to open at...