After more than 26 years of fighting, Randy Steidl is ready to put the past behind him.The Paris, Ill., man spent 17 years on Illinois’ death row for a double murder he didn’t commit, but ]]> Mike Callahan was sitting inside a giant piece of fruit on a carnival ride called the Berry-Go-Round when he heard somebody yell, “There’s the narc!” Look]]> At the State Capitol, former death row inmate Randy Steidl became the improbable champion in the successful campaign to get the General Assembly to abolish the death penalty. Now he is trying to persu]]> A diagnosis with stage three Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 12 led Julius Simmons of Springfield to make a lifetime commitment to health and medical research.While urging a Springfield audience to get]]> Two doctors stood on opposing sides as the Illinois Senate was preparing to vote on legalizing medical marijuana.Dr. Dora Dixie, an addiction specialist from Chicago, argues that marijuana is highly a]]> Springfield’s most notorious traffic scofflaw or victim of police persecution – take your pick – had his day in court Monday and came away guilty as charged.But Calvin Christian III ]]> A local burglary ring responsible for numerous break-ins during the past several months has been busted, but several people implicated in the crimes remain free.On July 23, the Springfield Police Depa]]> When the judge read the verdict, Julie Rea Harper let out a gut-wrenching cry and collapsed. Her attorney made a futile attempt to catch her, and for a moment she sprawled on the floor. Mark Harper sc]]> In 1986, newlyweds Dyke and Karen Rhoades were murdered and their bodies burnt in their Paris, Ill., home. Police arrested Randy Steidl and Herb Whitlock for the murders, and the two men each spent ma]]> Forget arguments over pensions, guns, taxes and health care.Judging by a quick Google check, the biggest issue facing Illinois lawmakers this session is the scourge of lion meat purveyors, who are now]]> Every day, 18 veterans in the United States commit suicide, while another 1,000 attempt suicide each month.That’s according to a federal district court which recently ordered the U.S. Department]]> J.R. Martinez says he used to worry that his appearance would frighten children. Now he proudly embraces the rippled burn scars that cover much of his face, hands and other body parts. In 2003, the fo]]> {image-1] When Gov. Pat Quinn chose a young West Point graduate to head the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs last month, he skipped over a highly decorated veteran who served]]> State prisons are not overcrowded if you ask the Illinois Department of Corrections.“We are currently below capacity,” says Sharyn Elman, IDOC spokeswoman.Others disagree.“Overcrowdi]]> No little girl tells her parents she wants to be a zoning analyst when she grows up. The job is figuring out whether a local government should allow proposed changes to a piece of property, which soun]]> Untitled Document Morrisonville is the kind of Midwestern town where a basketball goal stands in every driveway, an American flag adorns every porch, and, residents j]]>