Capitol News Illinois, which placed three full-time reporters at the Statehouse a year ago and provides stories to more than 400 Illinois Press Association member newspapers, will be expanding with the help of a matching grant from Report for America.

Peggy Dyson hopes as executive director of the Educational Center for the Visually Impaired that she can give back to a community that has given her much in the way of employment.  Dyson, 69, wanted to do something to give back to Springfield because the city has done so much for her, giving her jobs and a wonderful place to socialize and work, she said.

Six-year-old Ruby Funderburg of Chatham knew all the words to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." She even got in the part where Rudolph's nose "glows, like a light bulb." Funderburg, her four-year-old sister, Faith, and mom Keri have been coming regularly to "Caroling at the Carillon" at Washington Park, a community sing of Christmas secular and religious standards that this year also featured the Trinity Lutheran Church Wind Ensemble and

Dr. Wesley G.

In our last column, we talked about the scope of the medical debt problem and factors contributing to its proliferation across the country.

CHAMPAIGN - Illinois football is officially headed to Santa Clara to take on California (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) in the Redbox Bowl on Dec. 30.

SAN DIEGO - Marvin Miller, the union leader who revolutionized baseball by empowering players to negotiate multimillion-dollar contracts and to play for teams of their own choosing, was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on Sunday along with former St.