Portal:Illinois/News/Archive

2016

• April 28–May 2, 2016: Adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign strike for three days before reaching a contract agreement with the university.

• April 27, 2015: Former member of Congress and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (pictured) is sentenced to fifteen months in prison after admitting to having sexually abused boys while working as a teacher and coach at Yorkville High School.
• April 25, 2016: The Chicago Blackhawks are eliminated from the quarterfinals of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, losing 2–3 to the St. Louis Blues in the seventh game.
• April 21, 2016: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announces the indefinite closure of Horseshoe Lake State Park and the Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area as a consequence of the ongoing Illinois budget impasse between Governor Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly.
• April 13, 2016: The 2015–16 Chicago Bulls season ends with a record of 42–40.
• April 11, 2016: The opening home game of the 2016 Chicago Cubs season marks the start of the team's one hundredth season at Wrigley Field.

• March 15, 2016: Incumbent Senator Mark Kirk wins the Republican and Tammy Duckworth wins the Democratic primary (both pictured) in the 2016 primary elections for United States Senator from Illinois.
• March 15, 2016: Donald Trump wins the Republican and Hillary Clinton of Park Ridge wins the Democratic primary in the 2016 Presidential primary elections in Illinois.
• March 7, 2016: Illinois observes Casimir Pulaski Day.
• March 6, 2016: Former First Lady of the United States and Latin School of Chicago alumna Nancy Reagan dies at the age of 94.
• February 26, 2016: All 900 employees of Chicago State University receive layoff notices as a consequence of the Illinois budget impasse between Governor Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly.
• February 17, 2016: Jill Stein of Highland Park wins the 2016 Green Party presidential primary election in Illinois.
• January 15, 2016: Under pressure from the US Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, Township High School District 211 grants to a transgender student access to restrooms and locker rooms of her own gender identity.

• January 5, 2016: Wheaton College announces that it is starting proceedings to terminate Prof. Larycia Hawkins (pictured) over statements favorable to Islam.
• January 3, 2016: The 2015 Chicago Bears season ends with a record of 6–10.
• January 1, 2016: The Tennessee Volunteers defeat the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2016 Outback Bowl.

2015

• December 27, 2015: Flash floods caused by the North American winter storms of 2015 affect much of Illinois, claiming seven lives.
• December 23, 2015: The Boise State Broncos defeat the Northern Illinois Huskies in the 2015 Poinsettia Bowl.
• December 21, 2015: The Illinois State Board of Education rewards a contract to the College Board to administer its SAT as the state's college entrance exam, replacing the ACT after fourteen years.
• December 1, 2015: Mayor Rahm Emmanuel dismisses Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy following protests over the shooting of Laquan McDonald.

• November 24–27, 2015: Thousands protest in Chicago (pictured) after Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke is charged with murder in the shooting of Laquan McDonald.
• November 21, 2015: A fire on the 50th floor of the John Hancock Center is put out after causing minor injuries.
• November 9, 2015: Medical cannabis in Illinois becomes available to patients.
• November 4, 2015: Lake County officials conclude that the Shooting of Joe Gliniewicz of the Fox Lake Police was a "carefully staged suicide".
• November 2, 2015: Schools reopen in East St. Louis School District 189 after a new contract agreement brings an end to a month-long teachers' strike.
• October 28, 2015: Former member of Congress and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (pictured) pleads guilty to one count of making illegally structured banking withdrawals.
• October 21, 2015: The 2015 Chicago Cubs season ends when the Cubs lose the fourth game of the National League Championship Series to the New York Mets.

• October 11, 2015: Dickson Chumba and Florence Kiplagat (pictured) of Kenya win the 2015 Chicago Marathon.
• October 1, 2015: Teachers in East St. Louis School District 189 go on strike when the union and the district fail to agree on a new contract, cancelling classes for around 6,000 students.
• September 27, 2015: Mar Gewargis III, the newly consecrated Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, announces that the church's Patriarchal See will move to Erbil, Iraq after 35 years of exile in Chicago.

• September 10, 2015: Republican Darin LaHood (pictured) wins the special election for member of the United States House of Representatives from the 18th District.
• September 1, 2015: Fox Lake police officer Joe Gliniewicz is killed in the line of duty.
• August 1, 2015: Bans on plastic shopping bags go into effect in the cities of Chicago and Evanston.
• July 31 – August 2, 2015: Lollapalooza 2015 is celebrated in Grant Park.

• July 22. 2015: Vern McCain's Spirit Walker wins the Mackinac Trophy and David Bohl's Odyssey wins the Mackinac Cup in the 107th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac (2014 event pictured).
• July 21, 2015: An Illinois Appellate Court overturns five of the eighteen counts of corruption against former Governor Rod Blagojevich but also rules that he will not be released from prison.
• July 15, 2015: In order to avoid a government shutdown, Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger delivers paychecks on time to state employees despite the lack of a budget during the state's financial crisis.
• July 15, 2015: Amid Illinois's financial crisis, the General Assembly passes a temporary one-month budget.
• July 13, 2015: Protests break out following the death of Sandra Bland of Naperville in police custody after being arrested in Waller County, Texas.
• July 1, 2015: Amid Illinois's ongoing financial crisis, the state enters the new fiscal year without a state budget.
• June 25, 2015: As part of the dispute surrounding Illinois's financial crisis, Governor Bruce Rauner vetoes the budget passed by the General Assembly.
• June 15, 2015: The Chicago Blackhawks win the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals in the sixth game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team's third Cup under coach Joel Quenneville.
• June 1, 2015: Governor Bruce Rauner suspends plans to build the Illiana Expressway.

• May 28, 2015: Former member of Congress and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (pictured) is indicted for breaking banking laws and making false statements to the FBI.

• May 28, 2015: Following the end of the 2014–15 Chicago Bulls season, Tom Thibodeau (pictured) is dismissed after five seasons as head coach.
• May 26, 2015: Governor Bruce Rauner appoints Richard J. Hayes, Jr. to be Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard.

• May 18, 2015: Rahm Emmanuel (pictured) is sworn in to a second term as Mayor of Chicago.
• May 14, 2015: The 2014–15 Chicago Bulls season ends with a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the sixth game of an Eastern Conference semifinal, eliminating the Bulls from the 2015 NBA Playoffs.
• May 12, 2015: President Barack Obama announces that the Barack Obama Presidential Center will be built on the South Side of Chicago, the site in Jackson Park or Washington Park still to be determined.
• May 8, 2015: The Illinois Supreme Court upholds a ruling that Illinois's pension reform law of 2013, which cut benefits for many public employees, is not permitted under the Constitution of Illinois.
• May 3, 2015: Thousands of spectators and reenactors gather in Springfield for the 150th anniversary of the funeral and burial of Abraham Lincoln.
• April 29, 2015: Dan Walker, the 36th Governor of Illinois, dies at the age of 92 at his home in California.
• April 17, 2015: Retired Cardinal-Archbishop of Chicago Francis George dies at the age of 78.

• April 9, 2015 - A system of tornadoes (pictured) strikes central and northern Illinois, causing significant damage in Rochelle and Fairdale.
• April 7, 2015: Rahm Emmanuel is elected to a second term as Mayor of Chicago, while local elections are held in communities across the state.

• March 26, 2015: Catholicos-Patriarch Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East (pictured) dies at the age of 79.
• March 23, 2015: Early voting begins for Illinois's 2015 local elections, including the Chicago mayoral runoff.

• March 17, 2015: U.S. Representative Aaron Schock (pictured) resigns amid allegations over misuse of funds.
• March 2, 2015: Illinois observes Casimir Pulaski Day.

• March 1, 2015: Chicago White Sox star Minnie Miñoso (pictured) dies at the age of 92.
• February 24, 2015: With no candidate winning a majority in the Chicago mayoral election, top candidates Rahm Emanuel and Jesús "Chuy" García advance to a runoff election on April 7.

• February 19, 2015: President Barack Obama formally designates the Pullman National Monument (pictured) in Chicago.
• February 11, 2015: Chicago Little league team Jackie Robinson West is stripped of its 2014 national championship title after some of its players are found to have been ineligible to play.
• February 9, 2015: Early voting begins for the 2015 Chicago mayoral election.
• February 5, 2015: An outbreak of measles spreads in Palatine as five babies are diagnosed with the disease.
• February 3, 1865: Illinois observes the 150th anniversary of its ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery throughout the country.

• February 2, 2015: Schools in northern Illinois close following a blizzard (pictured) affecting much of the Midwestern and Northeastern United States.
• January 27, 2015: Illinois's unemployment rate drops to its lowest point since the 2008 recession but remains above the national average.
• January 27, 2015: An adult in suburban Cook County is diagnosed with measles, signaling the spread of the 2015 outbreak to Illinois.

• January 23, 2015: Chicago Cubs star Ernie Banks (1955 card pictured) dies at the age of 83.

• January 12, 2015: Bruce Rauner (pictured) is sworn in as the 42nd Governor of Illinois.
• January 12, 2015: Incoming governor Bruce Rauner names Leslie Munger to be Illinois Comptroller.
• January 12, 2015: Evelyn Sanguinetti, Jesse White, Lisa Madigan, and Mike Frerichs are sworn in to new terms as statewide executive officers.
• January 8, 2015: The General Assembly votes to hold a special election in 2016 for Illinois Comptroller to replace the official to be nominated by Governor Bruce Rauner.
• January 1, 2015: The income tax rate in Illinois drops from 5% to 3.75% as the 2011 tax hike expires.

2014

• December 29, 2014: Following the conclusion of the 2014 Chicago Bears season with a record of 5–11, manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman are fired.
• December 29, 2014: Governor Pat Quinn signs laws banning revenge porn and regulating the recording of private conversations.
• December 19, 2014: Governor Pat Quinn appoints Jerry Stermer to serve as Illinois Comptroller for the remainder of the current term.
• December 10, 2014: Illinois Comptroller and Comptroller-Elect Judy Baar Topinka dies at the age of 70.

• December 7, 2014: Nineteen people are hospitalized after a chlorine gas attack at Midwest FurFest (2006 event pictured) in Rosemont.
• December 5, 2014: The NIU Huskies defeat Bowling Green State in the 2014 MAC Championship Game.
• December 3, 2014: The 98th Illinois General Assembly adjourns for the last time without passing anticipated bills to raise taxes, reduce spending, or increase the minimum wage.
• December 2. 2014: The Chicago City Council votes to increase minimum wage in the city from $8.25 to $13 an hour by 2019.
• November 21, 2014: A Circuit Court judge rules that Illinois's pension reform law, which cut benefits for many public employees, is not permitted under the Constitution of Illinois.
• November 21, 2014: Mike Frerichs is confirmed as the winner of the election for Illinois Treasurer.

• November 20, 2014: Blase Joseph Cupich (arms pictured) is installed as the Archbishop of Chicago.
• November 6, 2014: General Assembly committee members approve rules that will allow hydraulic fracturing in southern Illinois.
• 2014 Elections: Judy Baar Topinka, Jesse White, and Lisa Madigan win reelection to statewide office, while the election for Illinois Treasurer remains too close to call.

• 2014 Elections: Bruce Rauner (pictured) is elected to be the 42nd Governor of Illinois.
• 2014 Elections: Voters approve two amendments to the Constitution of Illinois, expanding Victims' rights and prohibiting all voter disfranchisement based on race, religion, sex, income, or language.
• 2014 Elections: The Democratic Party maintains its control of both houses of the Illinois General Assembly.
• 2014 Elections: The Republican Party picks up two of Illinois's seats in the United States House of Representatives.

• 2014 Elections: Dick Durbin (pictured) is elected to a fourth term as United States Senator.

• November 4, 2014: All plans to build the Chicago Spire (artist's impression pictured) are abandoned as Garrett Kelleher relinquishes the property to creditor Related Midwest LLC.
• November 3, 2014: Schools reopen in Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 after teachers and the district ratify a three-year contract, bringing an end to a month-long strike.
• October 30, 2014: Cook County prosecutors throw out the conviction of Alstory Simon for a 1982 double murder, the same crime for which Anthony Porter was exonerated in 1999 just before his scheduled execution.
• October 29, 2014: Amazon.com announces plans to build a $75 million dollar distribution center at an undetermined location in Illinois.
• October 27, 2014: A radioactive UF6 leak is contained at the Honeywell Uranium Hexafluoride Processing Facility in Metropolis.
• October 20, 2014: Early voting begins for the 2014 Illinois elections.
• October 16, 2014: O'Hare International Airport begins screening passengers on flights from West Africa for ebola virus disease.

• October 12, 2014: Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Rita Jeptoo (pictured) are the top finishers in the 2014 Chicago Marathon.
• October 6, 2014: A 19-year-old man from Bolingbrook is arrested at O'Hare International Airport and charged with attempting to join the ISIL's foreign fighters. [1]
• October 2, 2014: Teachers in Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 begin a strike, cancelling classes for around 17,000 students.
• September 26, 2014: Arson at the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora causes thousands of flights to be cancelled across the United States.

• September 20, 2014: Pope Francis names Blase Joseph Cupich (arms pictured), the current Bishop of Spokane, to succeed Francis George as Archbishop of Chicago.

• September 18, 2014: Based on millions of user reviews, TripAdvisor names the Art Institute of Chicago (pictured) the "Best Museum in the World."
• September 18, 2014: A Sangamon County judge upholds ballot access for Chad Grimm, Libertarian candidate in the 2014 election for Governor of Illinois.
• September 15, 2014: The Strati, the world's first 3D-printed electric car, is built and tested in McCormick Place, Chicago, by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
• September 11, 2014: Trustees of the University of Illinois uphold the decision not to hire Steven Salaita because of a series of harshly worded tweets opposing Israeli policies.
• September 10–18, 2014: The teachers of Highland CUSD in Highland, Illinois, strike for six school days, the first strike in the school district's history.
• September 2, 2014: The first patients apply for permits to use legal medical cannabis in Illinois.
• August 24, 2014: South Korea defeats Illinois in the championship game of the 2014 Little League World Series.
• August 22, 2014: The Illinois Supreme Court rules that a referendum to impose term limits on members of the Illinois General Assembly shall not appear on the ballot in the 2014 Illinois Elections, ruling that it would not be permissible under the state constitution.
• August 22, 2014: The Illinois State Board of Elections rules that candidates for statewide office from the the Constitution Party and Green Party will not appear on the ballot in the Illinois elections of 2014, while approving the candidates from the Libertarian Party.
• August 14, 2014: The unemployment rate in Illinois drops to a six-year low of 6.8%.
• August 11, 2014: Chicago and Lake Forest native Robin Williams dies at the age of 63.
• August 7, 2014: The Illinois State Fair opens in Springfield.
• August 1–3, 2014: Lollapalooza 2014 is celebrated in Grant Park, Chicago.
• July 7, 2014: Former United States Senator and lifelong Metro East resident Alan J. Dixon dies at the age of 86.
• June 24, 2014: Star Wars creator George Lucas announces that the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum will be built in Burnham Park on Chicago's lakefront.
• June 10, 2014: Governor Pat Quinn signs a law banning plastic microbeads in consumer products manufactured and sold in Illinois.
• June 1, 2014: The Chicago Blackhawks are eliminated from the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, losing 5-4 to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime of their seventh game.
• June 1, 2014: Same-sex marriage in Illinois becomes legal throughout the state as the 2013 law goes into effect.
• May 31, 2014: The 98th Illinois General Assembly adjourns for the last time before elections this year, having passed a budget that neither raises taxes nor cuts spending.
• May 28, 2014: The Centers for Disease Control reverse the earlier diagnosis of MERS in an Illinois man.
• May 27, 2014: Speaker Michael Madigan says his party will no longer seek to extend the 2011 hike in state income tax rates.
• May 21, 2014: More than 1,000 workers protest for higher wages outside the McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook.
• May 19, 2014: An Illinois man tests positive for Middle East respiratory syndrome, the third identified case of MERS in the United States.
• May 14, 2014: A Circuit Court issues a stay of Illinois's pension reform law that cuts benefits for many public employees, due to take effect on June 1.
• April 30, 2014: The Chicago City Council votes to ban plastic shopping bags and tighten regulations on the storage of petroleum coke.
• April 29, 2014: The Chicago Bulls are eliminated from the 2014 NBA Playoffs in a 75-69 loss to the Washington Wizards.
• March 19, 2014: Bruce Rauner wins the primary election to become the Republican Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois.
• March 15, 2014: At its party convention, the Illinois Green Party nominates Scott Summers as its candidate for Governor of Illinois.
• March 11, 2014: An Illinois Appellate Court rules that transcripts of FBI wiretaps of former Governor Rod Blagojevich should remain sealed in the ongoing appeal case.
• March 3, 2014: Illinois observes Casimir Pulaski Day.
• February 22, 2014: A federal judge rules that Cook County, Illinois must begin to recognize same-sex marriages immediately.

2013

• December 5, 2013: Governor Pat Quinn signs a law reforming Illinois's public pension system, raising the age of retirement and reducing benefits for many public employees.
• November 20, 2013: Governor Pat Quinn signs a law legalizing Same-sex marriage in Illinois, effective June 1, 2014.
• September 21, 2013: At its party convention, the Libertarian Party of Illinois nominates Chad Grimm as its candidate for Governor of Illinois.

2012

• May 19-21, 2012: Chicago is scheduled to be the host city for the large scale NATO summit of world leaders (NATO official website).

2010

• August 17, 2010: Former Governor Rod Blagojevich is found guilty on felony charges of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Twenty-two other counts resulted in a hung jury. (Chicago Tribune)
• May 24, 2010: 100,000 pounds of fish are poisoned with Rotenone in the Little Calumet River in an effort to curb the advance of Asian carp. (AP)
• April 1, 2010: John Thornton, the mayor of the village of Washington Park, is found murdered in his car. (AP)
• March 27, 2010: The Democratic Party of Illinois nominates Sheila Simon as its candidate for Lieutenant Governor, replacing candidate Scott Lee Cohen. (AP)

2009

• December 15, 2009: President Barack Obama issues a Presidential memorandum to arrange a transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay detention camp to the Thomson Correctional Center. (CNN)
• July 23, 2009: Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle throws a perfect game, become the 17th in Major League Baseball history to accomplish the feat. (MLB.com)
• July 1, 2009: The Illinois minimum wage rises twenty-five cents to $8.00 an hour. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• June 20, 2009: A freight train carrying ethanol derails and explodes in Rockford. One person is killed and nine others were injured. (WIFR)
• June 12, 2009: The U.S. Department of Energy reveals a $1.073 billion plan to develop a clean coal project in Illinois, reversing the stance taken during the George W. Bush administration. (Wall Street Journal)

2008

• April 18, 2008: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hits southern Illinois. It was the strongest earthquake in Illinois in since 1968. No major injuries or damage were reported. (AP)
• March 21, 2008: Two adults and three teenagers are arrested for the murder of an Alton woman. The perpetrators shot the woman repeatedly with BBs, burned her skin with a glue gun, and hit her with a metal bat. (AP)
• February 28, 2008: Eight people are injured in an explosion at a Waukegan shopping center. The roofs of a tuxedo salon and a beauty salon collapsed following a natural gas ignition. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• February 28, 2008: Governor Rod Blagojevich announced that Cole Hall, the site of the Northern Illinois University shooting, will be demolished. It will be replaced with a new facility named Memorial Hall. (CNN)
• February 14, 2008: Six residents of Illinois are shot dead during the Northern Illinois University shooting. Eighteen others were injured. (CNN)
• February 5, 2008: John McCain and Illinois senator Barack Obama win, respectively, the Republican and Democratic Illinois primaries on Super Tuesday. (AP)
• February 2, 2008: A gunman shoots and kills five women in a failed robbery of a Tinley Park mall. A US$51,000 reward is offered for information about the suspect. (USA Today)
• January 30, 2008: The USDA declares sixty-one counties in Illinois to be "disaster areas", due to a long-standing drought. This enables farmers to apply for low-interest emergency loans. (Reuters)
• January 1, 2008: A public smoking ban goes into effect for the state of Illinois.

2007

• October 7, 2007: 2007 Chicago Marathon has recordsetting temperatures which resulted in one death, a men's photo finish victory by Patrick Ivuti and come from behind stretch run victory by Berhane Adere. (IHT)
• September 28, 2007: The Chicago Cubs clinch the NL Central division with a win over the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs finished in last place in 2006. (AP)
• August 24, 2007: Heavy rains cause flooding in most of northern Illinois. Rockford and Winnebago County were proclaimed disaster areas. The floods are part of the 2007 Midwest flooding. (AP)
• August 9, 2007: A monster truck loses control and crashes into a crowd of spectators in DeKalb. At least twelve people were injured, two of which were injured seriously. The cause of the crash has not been determined. (Daily Chronicle)
• August 6, 2007: The National Science Foundation is to award IBM a contract to build the world's largest supercomputer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The machine will cost $200 million and will be capable of performing one thousand trillion mathematical operations a second. (New York Times)

• July 24, 2007: Governor Rod Blagojevich signs legislation to ban smoking in Illinois public places. The law will go into effect January 1, 2008, and violators will be fined up to $250. (Washington Post)
• July 17, 2007: A controversial decision in Waukegan allowing police officers to deport illegal immigrants convicted of a felony is upheld. An estimated 3,000 protesters were present on the court grounds. (Lake County News-Sun)
• July 17, 2007: Five hundred cases of food poisoning are traced to the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth at the Taste of Chicago. Fifty of those cases have been confirmed to be caused by salmonella bacteria. Two partrons of the booth have sued the restaurant, which has temporarily been forbidden to serve hummus. (AP)
• July 9, 2007: Flooding, sixty mile-per-hour winds, and penny-sized hail hit DeKalb County. Over four inches of rain fell in eighty minutes, and 19,000 ComEd customers lost power. (Daily Chronicle)
• July 5, 2007: A special session is held to determine a budget for Illinois' 2008 fiscal year. Governor Rod Blagojevich refuses to attend the session. (AP)
• July 1, 2007: The minimum wage of Illinois increases one dollar to $7.50/hr. While the new rate would still put workers with families under the poverty line, Illinois now has one of the top seven highest paying minimum wages. (AP)

• June 30, 2007: Governor Rod Blagojevich signs a law that will allow companies to compete for Illinois' cable TV service without signing a separate contract for each city or town. Comcast originally held exclusive cable rights, but other companies such as AT&T and Verizon are expected to provide competition. (AP)
• June 29, 2007: The 27th annual Taste of Chicago opens in Grant Park. Among the free concerts include Kenny Rogers, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, and Los Lonely Boys. (cityofchicago.org)
• June 26, 2007: Flash floods strike Chicago and its suburbs. Some parts of the city received four inches of rain within forty-five minutes. (Chicago Tribune)
• June 21, 2007: The Chicago Outfit "Family Secrets" trial begins. Among the indicted include Joey "The Clown" Lombardo and Frank "The German" Schweihs. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• June 21, 2007: Murder charges are filed against Christopher Vaughn of Joliet, Illinois. Vaughn's wife and three children were found shot to death on June 14, 2007 in Vaughn's Ford Expedition on Interstate 55. (AP)