The first thing chef Michael Higgins did when he took over management of Maldaner’s Restaurant in 1982 was drop the horseshoe sandwich, a cheese-meat-and-fries Springfield favorite, from the menu. The second thing he did was put it back. The dining history at Sixth and Monroe streets completed its 125th year in 2009, a fact highlighted recently at the annual banquet of Downtown Springfield Inc.
Nine months ago, on a perfect spring day in central Illinois, Eric Albers was married, and the future looked good. Three days later, Albers, 25, began fighting for his life. At one time, Albers could have faced an amputation as part of the treatment for his Ewing sarcoma bone cancer. Instead, he received a cadaver bone complete with tendons that enabled the surgical reattachment of his muscles to the transplanted donor humerus bone.
Learning to write her name in Braille was probably the hardest thing Cora Quinn ever did. It’s also one of the most important things she’s done. Quinn, 60, of Peoria has been blind most of her life. At age 5, she learned to read and write in Braille as a student at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired in Jacksonville. Although it is still taught to children who attend the Jacksonville school, Quinn and others worry the skill is being left behind by some because of the many computerized and audio methods of reading/listening now available.
K.C. King recalls that her physician told her she was fine, even after doing some blood work. But she wasn’t. After visiting a nutritionist 14 years ago and finding that her liver function was “off the chart,” she underwent a food elimination diet and discovered she has celiac disease.
Federal stimulus money is available for people looking to stay warm or keep cool. In Illinois, the federally funded rebate program for energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment started last week. Consumers can cut $350 to $1,200 from their bills by buying qualified equipment from participating contractors.
News from around Illinois as reported by GateHouse newspapers.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged drivers of recalled Toyotas earlier this week to park their cars if they noticed stiffer than normal gas pedals. By the time that recommendation was issued, Ruth Hart was already wary of her Camry after receiving a pair of recall notices.
State Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, the apparent GOP nominee for governor, needs to let Chicago-area voters know more about him “before the pundits have him identified as a right-wing radical,” former Gov. Jim Edgar said Thursday.
Dana Underwood’s day job is a mechanic. But on occasion, that job requires a bit of animal wrangling. On Thursday, Underwood was given the job of removing a kitten from the dashboard of a van owned by an animal shelter.
Sherman cartoon: On Dem lieutenant governor nominee Cohen
A recording of the 911 call was released on Thursday. A store manager, identified only as “Jeff,” stayed on the telephone with McDonough County telecommunicators for over 16 minutes. During that time he hurried customers and other employees to the store’s exit as he relayed information about the incident.
Let’s be honest: The Super Bowl is about much more than football. Some years, it’s about the halftime show. Sometimes it’s the GoDaddy commercials. Most of the time, it’s about the beer commercials.
Charlie Louvin and Those Darlins couldn't be more different. He's a country music legend, half of the classic duo the Louvin Brothers; they're a trio that describe their music as punk-country-pop. They perform together next week at the Bedrock 66 Live! series at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.
How’s this for school spirit? Researchers at Western Illinois University have developed organic popcorn in purple and gold, the school’s colors. And if that weren’t enough, they’re also working on purple and gold sweet potatoes, carrots and dried beans.
It’s not just the number of origami cranes. It’s that each means the same thing. More than 2,000 paper cranes hang from the hallway ceilings of St. Agnes School. Each is folded precisely for Evan Hoffman, a St. Agnes seventh-grader who is fighting a rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma.
To soothe what ails his aching psyche, Barry Kerch needs no antidepressant pill or psychiatrist's couch - just a drum kit and concert stage. The prescription of live rock also aids other members of Shinedown. Their emotion-roiling songs not only please fans but serve as a catharsis for the quartet, whose personal foibles often serve as inspiration for lyrics. For them, a live concert functions as a massive support group that helps Shinedown shed angst.
Vince Chiaramonte of Vince’s Liquor and Tobacco has been selling lottery tickets at his Loves Park liquor shop since the 1970s. He’s heard his customers brag of picking up Powerball tickets in Wisconsin and has occasionally asked them to grab a couple for him. Now, Chiaramonte is able to sell Powerball tickets from his store while picking up a commission on each ticket sold after a partnership between Mega Millions and Powerball took effect Sunday.
Kristine O’Hern knew her weight-loss program was a success when she found herself standing on second base during a softball game this past summer. She hadn't been able to run 120 feet all at one time in years before she went from 256 pounds to 145.
