A beloved suburban pumpkin farm released a statement hours after officials announced its petting zoo was shut down as fall festivities were just heating up because of a potential link to several recently confirmed cases of E. coli. A potential connection between Bengtsons Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen and five cases of lab-confirmed Shiga toxin-producing ...

Editor’s note: The video in the player above is from a previous report. Fright Fest, Six Flags Great America’s annual festival of all things scary, is heading into its first weekend, but questions are swirling around one of the suburban amusement park’s most popular attractions. Traditionally, multiple coasters are open during the nighttime ...

A string of innocuous choices made by an Oregon father brought him to the elementary school where he killed a mass shooter in an intervention the dad believed would be his last act on earth. Police have credited the quick thinking and decisive action of Bend carpenter Kaylub Giamanco for confronting 16-year-old Griffin J. John II and stopping the teen ...

Some employees at Madison Square Garden thought they were getting an early chance to claim a New York Knicks championship ring. Instead, they were taking part in a cybersecurity test. The Athletic reported that a mass email sent to employees in late September appeared to offer complimentary championship rings and invited recipients to select between two ...

A suburban man is facing animal cruelty charges after more than 70 dogs were rescued from his home this week where they were living in crowded and filthy conditions. Several agencies, including Lemont police, Cook County Animal Control, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Animal Cruelty Unit and numerous other animal control departments, worked together ...

Two trailers detached from a semi-truck that struck a concrete barrier on I-80 in the south suburbs of Chicago, prompting a complete shutdown of westbound lanes for several hours on Friday. Around 11:30 a.m., a semi-truck driver struck the concrete barrier dividing westbound and eastbound traffic on I-80 near La Grange Road in Mokena, according to ...

Baseball has long been a game defined by patience. Set against the backdrop of decreasing attention spans, Americas pastime seemed poised for a steady decline. Instead, baseball has only gained momentum. Kait Maniscalco, the creator behind Baseball for Baddies, identified the demand for accessible baseball content after explaining the rules to friends ...

A suburban school bus driver taking elementary school children home for the day got lost Thursday afternoon, with parents tracking the bus noticing it had been going in circles for 45 minutes before police were able to intervene. A statement from Oswego School District 308 said the entire delay lasted 90 minutes. The bus, carrying elementary school ...

A popular suburban pumpkin farm could be the source of five recent confirmed cases of E. coli, officials said on Friday. Will County Health Department said its investigating five confirmed cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC, that may stem from visits to Bengtsons Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen. The Will County Health Department is committed ...

The first stretch of a new tollway in the western suburbs will open to drivers and truckers this weekend, with the years-long project near O’Hare International Airport “finally coming into focus.” The stretch is part of the new Interstate 490, that, once fully constructed, would connect the Jane Addams Tollway near Des Plaines to the Tri-State ...

Chicago Bears’ tight end Cole Kmet is believed to have suffered a serious and potentially season-ending knee injury on a fourth-quarter reception against the New England Patriots Thursday night at Soldier Field, according to reports. NFL Network and ESPN reporter Ian Rapoport said Kmet was undergoing testing Friday morning. “Until those ...

A first-of-its-kind cancer vaccine is significantly reducing the chances that melanoma patients tumors come back, according to results of a major study released Thursday by drugmakers Moderna and Merck. The vaccine was custom-brewed for each patient to match their tumor. Adding it to a standard post-surgery treatment reduced by 42% the risk of melanoma ...

The scariest thing about Halloween might be the price of a costume. But this year, more people are reaching for scissors, glue guns and whatever they can find in their closets to create their own looks. Online searches for DIY costumes have reportedly jumped 653% over the last year, according to the trend-spotting platform Exploding Topics. The appeal ...

Some parts of the Chicago area woke up to poor air quality Friday morning, with pollutants pushing air quality into the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category and as a dense fog advisory remained in effect. As of 6 a.m., AirNow.gov showed air quality in parts of Cook County and extending into DuPage County ranking as “unhealthy for sensitive ...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a full lockdown of the occupied West Bank on Friday after Israels military said it killed two Palestinians accused of launching an attack that injured five people near the city of Hebron. The deadly incident comes just days before a crucial election that will decide whether Netanyahu can hold on to ...

Pope Leo XIV will miss a planned trip to Assisi next week on doctors orders as he continues recovering from thoracic surgery he underwent last Tuesday, the Vatican said Friday. The pope had been due to attend an Oct. 27 gathering marking the 40th anniversary of St. John Paul IIs World Day of Prayer for Peace. In a statement, the Vatican said Leo was ...

Round 2 went to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. Williams passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bears cooled off Drake Maye and the New England Patriots with a 30-24 victory Thursday night. It was the second meeting between the young quarterbacks since they were part of the 2024 NFL draft. Maye, who was selected by New England at No. ...

Cairo Santos made Chicago Bears fans groan when he missed a field goal Thursday, but he made up for that miss in a massive way. Santos had doinked a 53-yard field goal attempt off the upright in the fourth quarter of the Bears game against the New England Patriots at Soldier Field, so fans could be forgiven for being skeptical when he was lining up for a ...

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet was carted off the field after taking a hit to his legs in the fourth quarter of Thursdays game against the New England Patriots. Kmet had caught a pass on second down from quarterback Caleb Williams and was moving toward the first-down marker when he was hit by two Patriots defenders. Kmet immediately began grabbing ...

A former suburban police officer was convicted by a jury of sexually abusing a woman after pulling her over on two separate occasions, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said on Thursday. Patrick Cacho, a 29-year-old former Park City police officer, was found guilty of 20 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual abuse, ...

The Chicago Bears have one of the NFLs most electrifying quarterbacks, but its their rushing attack thats off to an incredible start. DAndre Swift got the Bears first touchdown of the game in the second quarter of the contest, giving him seven scores so far on the young season. Whats even more remarkable is how many rushing touchdowns the Bears ...

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general has referred its investigation of former special government employee Corey Lewandowski to the Justice Department, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The DHS investigation stems from questions about how a $220 million contract for an advertising campaign featuring then-Homeland ...

Surveillance video caught the moment a woman was shot in broad daylight while driving with her husband and kids in an apparent road rage incident that left her fighting for her life on Thursday. The shots rang out around 9:30 a.m. near West 47th Street and South Western Avenue in Brighton Park when a gray car pulled up beside a vehicle carrying the ...

I find casing a beautiful blank canvas. The art created? Sausage. Its a gorgeous medium, one as old as time. Every country offers its own take: endless combinations of meats and spices, encased in a link. A satisfying snap. Sausage-making is a craft thats not so much in vogue, but Ill support any artisan who still makes it. In August, a new butcher ...

Burglars were caught on camera breaking into businesses along 95th Street again late Wednesday night as several storefronts remain boarded up from previous thefts. More than 80 smash and grabs have been reported across the city and neighboring suburbs in the past ten days, according to a Chicago alderman. Surveillance video from JoJo the Balloon Lady ...