Hartsburg
Thanksgiving in Illinois comes with strong opinions, and everyone has a hill they’re willing to die on when it comes to the table. Maybe it’s the one side dish your aunt brings every single year, or the pie that vanishes before the coffee even brews. But when you look at the whole state, the consensus […]
Each spiky ball under your shoe holds dozens of tiny seed chambers, and every chamber has two little hooked beaks. I rolled one in my palm last October and counted more than forty points. No wonder it hurts. The same tree that drops them can keep raining them down from...
Red twig dogwood color fades on stems over 3 years old. Extension experts say to remove the oldest third in late winter or cut neglected shrubs to 3 to 4 inches.
One Illinois pancake house serves its giant flapjacks inside a curved metal Quonset hut. Another has been flipping pancakes around the clock, day and night, since the 1960s. I love that detail. A late-night pancake craving can actually be answered in this state, no waiting for sunrise required. The rest...
Summer gets all the credit for ice cream, but some of the best scoops in Illinois come straight from working farms and dairy shops that stay open well into fall. While combines roll through the fields and the leaves start turning, these spots are still pouring soft serve, churning gelato, and handing out waffle cones.
Illinois has some seriously good barbecue tucked away in small towns and Chicago neighborhoods, but most people don't realize it's even there.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Oh, the things you can pick up at auction for two bucks. A Petersburg family has donated to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum a ledger from a local dry-goods store documenting sales for thirteen months in 1836-37. A young lawyer and lawmaker named Abraham Lincoln was a frequent customer, buying, among other things, clothing materials — buttons, fabric, and thread – to likely either make a suit or repair an existing one.
Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center will host the largest inclusive archery hunt in Illinois for veterans and hunters with disabilities.
An Illinois iLottery player has been able to secure a six-figure prize from the lottery’s FastPlay game , Cash Castle . The total of the win is pinned at $955,540 , making it one of the largest on record to have been won from the title. Illinois Cash Castle Game Produces Another Major Winner Furthermore, the jackpot was part of a larger weekend momentum , with FastPlay games continuing to be one of the chief sources of big payouts for players. Another player was able to scoop a $364,673 payout from the Twenty 20s game, with yet another user winning $259,783 from the Luxury Loot title , making for a total of three wins over the same period of time. Cash Castle, where the main win occurred, is a $30 progressive FastPlay game . Despite the prize per entry, the game genre has been enjoying great success in Illinois, with Cash Castle’s jackpot starting at $100,000 with each reset. The Illinois Lottery has noted that its players have purchased more than 7.9 million winning FastPlay tickets in 2026 alone , with more than $165 million claimed in prizes already. Much like with other wins that happen online, the Illinois Lottery
Avengers Doomsday drops before Christmas, and it was shot on IMAX cameras. If you're planning to catch it, Infinity Vision theaters in the area give you the full experience with bigger screens and brighter picture than standard auditoriums.
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Arriel Williams grew up on the east side of Springfield. He remembers as a child going to fetch groceries for his grandmother from Jewel-Osco on Ash Street, the one on the east side, not downtown. That was decades ago though, and the 50-year-old said he’s seen big box stores leave over the years. Their reasons tend to be "closing underperforming stores" and consolidating costs, but when new constructions are still going up and the city's population is only increasing, Williams says he wants to want it make sense. So, when Save-A-Lot at 2520 E. Clear Lake Ave. closed the day before Christmas last year, Williams took the plunge to invest in his future and own a local grocery store. More: Community helps Curve Inn rebuild after fire “I know it’s a food desert and the community needs it,” Williams said. “My grandmother used to run me down here when I was a kid; everyone on the block they’d call my grandmother’s and have me run … So, I know it’s a need in a community and I want to help the community. I used to work in grocery stores when I was younger, so it was exciting
A local nail salon owner is developing a five-unit strip center on Iles Avenue to be anchored by a beauty spa. Nathan Ta said Hermes Nail Spa will occupy three of the five units in the center to be built at 3015 W. Iles Ave., a now-vacant lot next to the Sonic Drive-In. Ta also owns Hana Nails and Spa, located at 3816 Octavus Via. He said the new Hermes spa will be larger than the Hana location and will offer additional services such as hair salon services and facial and skin treatment offerings.
These regional specialty dishes will probably throw you for a loop unless you're from the Midwest.
Searching for the best meals in Illinois at incredible small town restaurants worth visiting?. These 7 restaurants serve amazing food and create memories that last long after the last bite!. 1. Moonshine Store (Martinsville) The sign out front says “Welcome to Moonshine, Population 3,” and if that doesn’t make you...
JACKSON COUNTY, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Natural Resources confirmed on Tuesday that a young male mountain lion that had been visiting southern Illinois for the past two months was found deceased. According to the IDNR, a hunter discovered the cat's remains in Jackson County, near the Union...
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – “Is Springfield America?” The answer could be found this Saturday, in this Springfield, thanks to three of the writers of “The Simpsons” — one of whom is a presidential candidate. Writers Bill Odenkirk, Josh Weinstein, and Dan Greaney...
You pull off the road expecting a quick lunch, and instead you find a steamy little room where the chili tastes exactly like it did generations ago. Illinois is full of spots like that, tucked into town squares and side streets, quietly serving the same recipes for more than a century.
Illinois landed twelve spots on OpenTable's best restaurants in America list, and they're all a road trip away in Chicago.