Seventy offenders walked away from death row Tuesday. Most will likely be walking into a life sentence, which is where they should be. The Supreme Court ruled convicted killers who were under 18 years old when they committed their crime could not be executed....

University officials left Greeks out in the cold this weekend by suspending all alcohol-related events indefinitely; they also left the Northern Star and students out in the cold Monday night by refusing to allow the Star access to a meeting where the...

Illinois is more than $1 billion in debt and now the Illinois Department of Transportation wants to more than double a $1 million advertising contract. Seriously? The Chicago-based firm Danielle Ashley Advertising aims to receive about $2.4 million to...

Rising medical malpractice suits and ridiculous insurance costs for hospitals and doctors have sent legislators scrambling for ways to keep doctors in Illinois. Unfortunately, the solutions often shift too much of the responsibility from doctors to the...

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley stopped just short Tuesday of recommending the city’s churches have landmark status forcibly imposed on them. Mayor Daley’s machiavellian attitude demonstrates an utter disregard for the separation of church and state....

They’ve done it again. The Student Association announced Sunday it would launch an e-mail program, Easy System, that would allow students to sign up for a service that would e-mail notices about upcoming events and job opportunities. And the cost? $100,000....

A bill recently proposed by State Rep. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville) would require applicants under the age of 18 to take a drug test to be eligible for learners permits in Illinois. But it should apply to everyone interested in obtaining a permit - not...

Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to raise the state’s cigarette tax drastically, but where the added funds are going needs to be rethought. The current tax is 98 cents on a pack of cigarettes, and the increase will push the number to $1.73 a pack. If the...

The NIU administration feels a summer commencement isn’t necessary, but it obviously was necessary to the many students who utilized the ceremony in the past and those who expected to do so in the future. NIU announced Tuesday it will merge its summer...

If a recent Northern Star poll of 75 students is any indication of how much the general student population knows about the upcoming municipal elections, we have a problem. Just 39 percent of the students surveyed were aware of upcoming elections, and...

The intersection of Carroll Avenue and the south extension of University Circle Drive is an accident waiting to happen. An accident is not imminent because of reckless speeders or distracted cell phone yackers but because of drivers’ sheer confusion....