WCIA: Expect lane closures after crash at Kirby and State in Champaign CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- Officers with the Champaign Police Department are actively responding to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Kirby Avenue and State Street. A spokesperson for the Champaign...

WCIA: DACC Board of Trustees to discuss censuring member DANVILLE, Ill.-- The Danville Area Community College Board of Trustees will discuss a resolution to censure a board member during a special meeting Monday night. According to the meeting agenda, the trustees will meet...

WCIA: Offensive lineman Jake Renfro joins Illinois after two seasons with Badgers CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- Illinois has added Big Ten experience out of the portal to the 2026 offensive line. Jake Renfro will join Illinois next season, according to CBS Sports' Chris Hummer. Renfro...

WCIA: Danville man receives 8-year sentence for drug possession, delivery DANVILLE, Ill.-- A Danville man was sentenced to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a drug charge last month. The Vermilion County State's Attorney's Office announced on Monday that...

WCIA: Danville man sentenced to prison for drug, burglary crimes VERMILION COUNTY, Ill.-- A Danville man pleaded guilty to methamphetamine delivery and burglary in December and was sentenced to half a decade in prison. 49-year-old Arnoldo Molina pleaded guilty to the...

WCIA: Man facing child abduction charge in Macon Co. pleads not guilty MACON COUNTY, Ill.-- A man accused of taking his son out his Maroa-Forsyth school -- without permission of the mother who has sole custody of the child -- pleaded not guilty to the child abduction charge...

NEWS GAZETTE: Barnhart named state's top sportscaster Second time Voice of the Illini has landed national honor.

WCIA: Crime Stoppers seeking tips on pair of Champaign retail thefts totaling $6500 in loss CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- Champaign County Crime Stoppers is asking for help from the public in solving a pair of retail thefts from Champaign's Target that resulted in $6,500 worth of loss...

WCIA: No one hurt in Dieterich train vs. tractor collision, Sheriff's Office says DIETERICH, Ill.-- A teenage tractor driver escaped injury over the weekend in Dieterich when their vehicle stalled at a train crossing and was hit by a freight train. The collision happened...

WCIA: Champaign mobile home destroyed by fire, no one hurt CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- No one was hurt after a mobile home in Champaign was destroyed by a fire early Monday morning. The fire happened on Apricot Drive around 12:50 a.m. In a news release, Randy Smith, the Champaign...

NEWS GAZETTE: Champaign County Crime Stoppers | Suspects sought in Target thefts Champaign County Crime Stoppers is asking for the public's help identifying suspects in two thefts from Target.

NEWS GAZETTE: Name Dropping | Home is where the heart is In under a year, Heather Baker, a new member with the Champaign Rotary Club, won the Emerging Leader Vocational Service Award.

NEWS GAZETTE: Area history, Jan. 5, 2026 Today is Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. Here are local news reports from 15 years ago:

WCIA: Tomiwa Durojaiye, more enter transfer portal CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- Tomiwa Durojaiye will look to suit up fr his fifth program in as many years after announcing his plan to enter the transfer portal. Durojaiye was an All-Big Ten honorable mention, logging 16 total tackles...

WCIA: Illini add two defensive players from portal CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- As the first weekend of the portal window winds down, Illinois picked up two defensive players to suit up in the fall. Defensive lineman Carter Janki will transfer to Illinois from Penn, where he was a...

WCIA: Quarterback Katin Houser commits to Illinois CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- East Carolina quarterback Katin Houser has committed to the Illini, first reported by Pete Thamel and then confirmed by the program on social media. After stints with the Pirates and Michigan State, Houser...

WCIA: Pair of Champaign lane closures for sewer repairs set to begin Monday CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- A pair of street closures in Champaign are scheduled to begin on Monday to make way for sewer repairs. The City of Champaign said SNC Construction will close a northbound lane of...

WCIA: Vermilion Co. home 'total loss' after weekend house fire TILTON, Ill.-- Fire crews were on the scene of a house fire for nearly four hours over the weekend in Tilton. The Tilton Fire Department responded to the 1000 block of Glendale Avenue around 4:30 p.m. on...

WCIA: Central Illinois fire crews see increase in calls volume CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- Fire crews in unincorporated Champaign-Urbana say the area has heard the sound of sirens more often in 2025. Officials with Eastern Prairie Fire Protection District say there was a 10% uptick...

WCIA: Mahomet man takes down Christmas tree for charity, raises money for rare disease MAHOMET, Ill.-- For the last four years, Matt Millis has dragged his Christmas tree to a depository near the Lake of the Woods. But not from the parking lot -- from his house. "Well the...

WCIA: Urbana Health and Wellness Center celebrates first anniversary URBANA, Ill.-- The Urbana Park District's Health and Wellness Center celebrated its first anniversary with cake and fitness. Rachel Lenz, the park district's executive director, said the center focuses on...

WCIA: Driver flees after hitting former urgent care building in Urbana URBANA, Ill.-- The Urbana Fire Department responded to the former OSF On Call Urgent Care building in Urbana after a car hit the building Sunday afternoon. Officials said the driver fled the area. The...

WCIA: Boil order issued for part of Douglas Co. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ill.-- Part of Douglas County is under a boil order, officials announced on Sunday morning. Around 7 a.m. on Sunday, Atwood officials said that the Village of Atwood and the Village of Garrett are under a boil...

WCIA: No continued threat to community after stabbing: Charleston Police CHARLESTON, Ill.-- The Charleston Police Department is investigating a stabbing that took place near Eastern Illinois University. In a post on Facebook Sunday morning, the police department said the...

WCIA: Police investigating homicide that left one dead, one hurt in Decatur DECATUR, Ill.-- One person is dead and another was hospitalized after a shooting in Decatur on Saturday night. Officers with the Decatur Police Department responded to a parking lot in the 200 block...

NEWS GAZETTE: Lori Borgman | 5 magic words after the 12 days of Christmas If you need a little time to yourself this holiday season, try these five magic words: “I’m taking down the tree.”

NEWS GAZETTE: Inside Out | Talk about a hard winter In March 1830, Lincoln; his father, Thomas; stepmother, Sarah; and their family moved to a farm 10 miles west of Decatur from Little Pigeon Creek, Ind. Lincoln recounts that they set quickly to work building a log cabin, splitting enough…

NEWS GAZETTE: Rich Warren | If it's connected to the internet, you don't own it The law should require all electronics manufacturers to indicate whether a product will continue functioning, assuming the hardware keeps working, without internet-supplied software and, if not,...

NEWS GAZETTE: It's Your Business | Champaign's Hunny Bunny Bakes closing its doors after eight years Hunny Bunny Bakes founder Mary Enright: “We can't compete in today's financial landscape. The cost to do business, in a way that we're proud of, is too high.”

NEWS GAZETTE: The Law Q&A | Overpaid? Best to return the money What happens if your employer gives you an overpayment of wages by mistake? And then demands immediate repayment and says if you don’t fork it all back immediately, the employer will deduct your entire next...

WCIA: Illinois gets back in conference win column over Penn State PHILADELPHIA, Penn.-- Illinois is 2-1 in Big Ten play with a road win over Penn State in Philadelphia at the historic Palestra. Kylan Boswell led Illinois' scoring effort with 18 points, followed by Keaton...

WCIA: Central Illinois politicians weigh in on attack, arrests carried out in Venezuela ILLINOIS-- Following a military strike on Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, early Saturday morning, some Central Illinois politicians gave...

WCIA: More money could be on your 2026 tax returns CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- While some people are feeling the crunch of inflation and affordability concerns, relief could be on the way from your 2026 tax return. Financial services company Piper Sandler said average payments should...

WCIA: Train vs. tractor collision takes place in Dieterich DIETERICH, Ill.-- A train collided with a tractor in Dieterich Saturday afternoon, and the Effingham County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene. In a Facebook post at 1:10 p.m., E-Environmental Solutions LLC...

WCIA: Effingham Fire responds to contractor having medical emergency on roof EFFINGHAM, Ill.-- A contractor working on the roof of a store in Effingham suffered a medical emergency Friday afternoon. According to Effingham Fire Chief Brant Yochum, the department responded to...

WCIA: Bodycam, dashcam footage of Macon Co. Sheriff's deputy arrest released FORSYTH, Ill.-- New video showing the arrest of a Macon County Sheriff's deputy after a car chase last month is giving more insight into what transpired that morning. The Sheriff's Office said...

NEWS GAZETTE: 'Untraditional path' could lead Wagler to next level Jennifer Wagler used the word “crazy” to describe her youngest son popping up on mock drafts roughly one-third of the way through his freshman year of college basketball. Her husband agreed.

WCIA: Brookens Center on market as Champaign Co. looks to move forward URBANA, Ill.-- Champaign County officials are testing the real estate waters, as they try to finish their move from one administrative center to another. After an exodus of county services from the...

NEWS GAZETTE: Beyond the Boardroom: State Farm's Kurt Lenschow "We are there to make a terrible situation a little bit better. Seeing my team identify that need and then be able to deliver on the promise years later is the most rewarding thing for me."

NEWS GAZETTE: Big 10 | Experts offer predictions on Illini, Supreme Court, Durbin's Senate seat, Oscars and more "There may be no more challenging team to predict at this stage of the season than the Illini (men). And I don’t mean just in the Big Ten."

WCIA: New Illinois law requires first responders to report overdoses MONTICELLO, Ill.-- The new year is full of new laws in Illinois and one of them now requires first responders to report overdoses to the state. That information will then be shared with local health...

NEWS GAZETTE: In the Garden | Minimizing de-icing damage As we’ve already experienced this year, winter in Illinois commonly means snow and ice. Though plowing and shoveling are the primary means of removing snow and ice where they aren’t wanted, de-icing salts also help...

NEWS GAZETTE: For the 55-and-over crowd, Jan. 3-10, 2026 Ethel & Maud Luncheon: The January edition is set for Jan. 17 at City View on the fourth floor of the Illinois Terminal

NEWS GAZETTE: Homes sales down statewide, up locally The median price of a home purchased in the Champaign County area rose by nearly 16 percent — to $235,250.

NEWS GAZETTE: Having fun on Illinois 1 | Westville's Latoz Hardware stands test of time "We try to treat people like we would like to be treated. So, that's pretty much our model," Dee Latoz with Latoz Hardware said. "We stock things that normally you wouldn't find...

NEWS GAZETTE: Westville to take part in celebrations of Vermilion County's 200th, America's 250th St. Mary's Catholic Church Father Timothy Sauppe said the one word that describes Westville and what it means to him is "heritage."

NEWS GAZETTE: Top of the Morning, Jan. 3, 2026 The Champaign man who snagged a softball dropped from an aircraft at 250 feet in 2014 and played wiffleball for 27 consecutive hours in 2021 has his eye on another Guinness World Record.

NEWS GAZETTE: Area history, Jan. 3, 2026 Today is Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. Here are local news reports from 15 years ago:

NEWS GAZETTE: Sex offender from Rankin resentenced to prison after violating probation A Rankin man convicted of indecent solicitation of a child has been resentenced to four years in state prison after violating the terms of his probation.

WCIA: Hollins, Bowick among portal departures as window officially opens CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- The transfer portal window has officially opened, and more Illini are announcing plans to leave the program. Wide receivers Justin Bowick and Ashton Hollins are entering the transfer...