Barbara Vitello

Barbara Vitello is a reporter for the Daily Herald.

Temperatures haven’t cooled enough yet to prompt the fall colors visible in this archival photograph from The Morton Arboretum. Experts are predicting leaves will turn later this year than in years past. (The Morton Arboretum)

Short and sweet: Why fall colors could be intense, but brief this year

October 5, 2026 at 2:48 p.m.

When it comes to this year’s pageant, palette and timing, experts offer no guarantees but expect fall colors to arrive later than usual.

Madison Russo, 25, right, and her father leave the Cook County courthouse in Rolling Meadows on Sept. 1, 2026. Russo, a former employee of Encore Memory Care who authorities say unlawfully recorded residents at the South Barrington facility while they were naked, pleaded not guilty to the charges. (Brian Hill/Daily Herald)

Bartlett woman, 25, pleads not guilty to taping patient at South Barrington memory care facility

September 1, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.

A former employee of an Encore Memory Care facility in South Barrington pleaded not guilty Tuesday to allegations she unlawfully recorded residents while they were naked.

The "Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World" exhibit at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in 2025 was among the recent major events hosted by the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage. (Brian Hill/Daily Herald)

The MAC at 40: Celebrating DuPage County’s ‘cultural town square’

August 24, 2026 at 11:42 a.m.

College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center — The MAC — was created 40 years ago as a way to unite both the college and the community.

Suspects in killing of Mundelein-area man to remain in custody

August 1, 2026 at 7:13 a.m.

Citing the “brutality of the offense and the efforts taken to conceal the crime as well as the body,” Lake County Judge Michael G. Nerheim granted prosecutors' petition to detain...

The dumpsters at Peoples Resource Center in Wheaton are full of food on July 29, 2026, after the pantry lost power for several hours from the storms earlier in the week. (John Starks/Daily Herald)

‘So caring’: Community rallies to help Wheaton pantry that lost three tons of food after storm

July 31, 2026 at 2:41 p.m.

A Wheaton pantry post three tons of food in this week's storm. The community is helping them restock.

Chris Tiritilli, his wife Alex and their children Gia and Vincent, seen here in a 2025 photograph, say they are grateful for the community support they’ve received in the wake of the July 3 fire that destroyed their Winfield home. (Tiritilli Family)

Funds being raised for Winfield family who lost house in fire

July 14, 2026 at 11:19 a.m.

Fundraising efforts are underway for a Winfield family who lost their home and possessions in a fire while they were on vacation.

Officials investigate a shooting in an apartment complex on the 500 block of Deepwoods Drive in Mundelein on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (John Starks/Daily Herald)

Murder charges filed in fatal Mundelein shooting: ‘When the victim did not immediately fall, he shot him again’

July 8, 2026 at 4:44 p.m.

Deandre Y. Harris, 21, of South Holland, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm.

All Stories