CHICAGO (AP) — With less than two weeks before Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn awards a lucrative, first-of-its-kind contract for the private management of the state's $2 billion-a-year lottery, some...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate rose in August for the first time in four months as weak hiring by private employers wasn't enough to keep pace with a large increase in the number of...

ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- Private employers hired more workers over the past three month than first thought, lifting hopes for the weak economy. But the unemployment rate rose in August for the...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO -- Four men have been killed in a shooting in southwest Chicago. Authorities say the men were in a garage in the West Lawn neighborhood Thursday night when they were...

CHAMPAIGN – The Devonshire Group will get out of the residential real estate business and plans to sell a majority stake in its architectural and engineering firms, Chief Executive Officer...

DANVILLE – CASA of Vermilion County is offering its 30-hour child advocacy training for Court Appointed Special Advocates beginning Sept. 14. All CASA volunteers are required to attend...

DANVILLE – The area around Danville could lose more than $1.2 million in federal transportation and community development funds each year if the U.S. Census Bureau follows through with changes...

John Sullivan, executive director of the Center for Women in Transition, carries as many diapers as he can to his van during the Stuff The Bus distribution at the Associated Transfer and Storage...

DANVILLE – When friends of 16-year-old Emily Shouse of Danville learned she would have to undergo another round of chemotherapy for a rare form of cancer, they wanted to do something to help. ...

CHAMPAIGN – If you've got outdoor plans for Labor Day weekend, don't forget the insect repellent. West Nile virus is picking up, and a hot September could boost the risk for more...

DANVILLE – Resurfacing of Illinois 1 between Danville and Tilton is scheduled to begin next week, weather permitting. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, work will begin...

Firefighters from several rural Illinois fire departments have their hands full this morning, battling a fire near several oil storage tanks on a parcel of private property in Washington County. ...

About three dozen employees are walking a picket line at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont this morning as part of a limited-strike by employees of Hyatt Hotels...

A 26-year-old Crystal Lake man faces up to 30 years in prison after his arrest Wednesday on charges he sold cocaine earlier this year to undercover police...

NEW ORLEANS -- Stark differences exist between the oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico and the blast that led to the massive BP spill. Most notably, no one was killed and no crude was gushing...

Authorities say the men were in a garage in the West Lawn neighborhood on the city's southwest side Thursday night when they were gunned down. Police say they believe the men were specifically...

Some construction zones throughout the state will continue to have lane closures. The department urges drivers to slow down and drive with care through work zones. Posted work zone speed limits will...

A new poll shows Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk are running neck and neck in their race for the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack...

TEHRAN, Iran-- Pro-government militiamen attacked the home of an Iranian opposition leader with homemade bombs and beat one of his bodyguards unconscious, an opposition website reported, in an...

COMBAT OUTPOST SENJERAY, Afghanistan -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he saw and heard evidence that the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy is taking hold in critical Kandahar...

MIAMI -- A scientist has been detained at the Miami International Airport after screeners spotted a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb, prompting an evacuation, a government...

The pretty and prim Maurine Watkins became a star crime reporter in 1920s Chicago and turned her reporting on an infamous murder into the satirical play...

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) -- A judge in central Illinois has scheduled a Sept. 22 trial for a Bloomington man accused of killing his 14-month-old daughter with a baseball...

Chick-fil-A has planned grand opening activities Sept. 16 for its new restaurant opening in Aurora, its first store in the Chicago-area. Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A is moving ahead on three other...

Kahlil Bell #32 of the Chicago Bears carries the ball up field against the Cleveland Browns during the preseason game on September 2, 2010 at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns...

A woman who reportedly played Capture the Flag with the police department for keeps has been arrested. Zhenia A. Buttry, 19, was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor theft charge, Chief Brent Dite...

September 3, 2010 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Friday is the last day low-income flood victims can apply for extra food stamps. People have been forming long lines all week long, and Friday morning was no...

September 3, 2010 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Union workers at the Hyatt Hotel at O'Hare International Airport are walking the picket line as part of a nationwide strike against the hotel chain.. The O'Hare...

Four people were shot and killed in a Chicago garage Thursday night, and police were still looking for suspects Friday. Police say three men were pronounced dead on the scene near 61st and Kildare....

Twins first baseman Michael Cuddyer says he wasn't surprised that the Chicago White Sox acquired eccentric slugger Manny Ramirez from the Los Angeles Dodgers for their pursuit of the Twins. Ramirez...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Stark differences exist between the oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico and the blast that led to the massive BP spill. Most notably, no one was killed and no crude was...

MIAMI (AP) — A scientist has been detained at the Miami International Airport after screeners spotted a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb, prompting an evacuation, a...

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ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK -- Stock futures traded in a tight range Friday as investors cautiously approached the government's monthly employment report. Moves were modest because traders don't...

ASSOCIATED PRESS Oil prices fell below $75 a barrel Friday ahead of closely watched U.S. employment report that will inform traders about the strength of future energy demand from the No. 1 economy....

Burger King's new ruler could help its empire expand. Burger King Holdings Inc. sealed a deal Thursday to sell itself for $3.26 billion to 3G Capital, an investment firm with strong ties to Latin...

CHAMPAIGN — Emergency personnel have been called to the scene of a crash in downtown Champaign. Champaign police said they received a report of a two vehicle accident at Neil Street and...

September 3, 2010 Pekin police are investigating what might have happened to a man found dead underneath the McNaughton Bridge Thursday night. Authorities say the body of a 40 year old white male...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A $1.6 billion congressional bailout of sorts could help financially flailing groups that fight to keep young people out of trouble, yet lawmakers are reluctant to take up the...

UNITE HERE Local 450 says contracts for the workers at the Hyatt at the center of the strike and 8,000 other hotel workers in the Chicago-area expired over a year...