Robert McCoppin – Page 42

A worker cleans the plexiglass at Hawthorne Race Course on April 1, 2022, as the racetrack gears up for the start of thoroughbred racing season.

With thoroughbreds no longer running at Arlington ? which Bears may call home ? struggling racing industry pins hopes on Hawthorne

October 8, 2022 at 11:36 a.m.

Now that Arlington International Racecourse has closed, horse racing in Illinois enters a new fight for survival Saturday, as the thoroughbred season opens at Hawthorne Race Course. The new season...

Kristin Ballard of Rockford stands in support of police officers and firefighters while attending a procession for fallen McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner as his body arrives at the Winnebago County Coroner's Office in Rockford, on Thursday, March 7, 2019.

At Floyd Brown murder trial, cops testify how shots just missed them in Rockford motel raid before McHenry County deputy was slain

March 29, 2022 at 6:56 p.m.

Moments before a McHenry County sheriff's deputy was shot to death outside a Rockford motel, police said, blasts of gunfire barely missed three other officers trying to arrest the gunman...

New first probable COVID death in Illinois uncovered — a 64-year-old woman from Chicago who thought she had a cold

March 20, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

For two years, the first confirmed death from COVID-19 in Illinois was believed to be that of Patricia Frieson, a retired Black nurse from Chicago, on March 16, 2020. But...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces the first death in Illinois resulting from COVID-19 at the Thompson Center on March 17, 2020.

Two years. 33,000 dead. Tracing the pandemic’s toll across Illinois and one doctor’s family.

March 20, 2022 at 11:23 a.m.

It was the early weeks of the pandemic. A mystery illness was spreading across the Chicago area. And Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts felt powerless. She was a family doctor but could...

Flowering cannabis plants are illuminated by artificial lighting at Prescribd, a cannabis cultivation company, at one of its cultivation centers on July 17, 2021, in Bridgeview.

Court ruling clears way for 60 new craft cannabis grower licenses in Illinois

March 17, 2022 at 2:25 p.m.

Illinois has won a court order to award 60 new craft cannabis growing licenses, allowing a major expansion of the industry to newcomers. The development came as a judge lifted...

Marijuana plants grow under lights at Cresco Labs medical marijuana cultivation facility on Aug. 8, 2018, in Joliet.

Illinois to simplify applications for recreational marijuana store licenses

March 16, 2022 at 12:30 p.m.

License applications for recreational marijuana retail stores will be greatly simplified in hopes of increasing ownership by those affected by the war on drugs, Illinois officials announced Tuesday. The new...

A festivalgoer smokes marijuana at Lollapalooza on July 29, 2021, at Grant Park in Chicago. The Illinois House approved a bill that prohibits firing workers for trace amounts of marijuana in their systems, but employers remain very leery about it.

Proposal to protect workers from getting fired for off-the-job marijuana use advances with state lawmakers

March 14, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

A proposal to prohibit firing workers for trace amounts of marijuana in their systems moved closer to passage when the Illinois House of Representatives approved the measure earlier this month...

People walk by an Amazon 4-Star store at Westfield Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie on March 3, 2022.

As Skokie prepares to levy tax to renovate ‘blighted’ Old Orchard, expect other shopping centers try something similar to survive

March 7, 2022 at 12:17 p.m.

Westfield Old Orchard shopping center sells gold watches at Rolex, diamond necklaces at Tiffany & Co. and fabulous purses at Coach. Luxury cars cruise through crowded parking lots, and shoppers...

Itasca woman charged with stealing more than $373,000, including COVID relief funds, through financial fraud

March 1, 2022 at 2:57 p.m.

A woman from Itasca was charged with stealing more than $373,000 from small businesses she hacked and from a COVID-19-related financial aid program. Beata Zielinski, 55, had her bail set...

People in need come and go during Community Empower Shower at Willow Creek Church on Feb. 18, 2022, in Crystal Lake. Two Fridays a month people in need, including homeless people, can grab a shower, eat a meal, do laundry, get a hair cut and pick out fresh clothes. There are also many community resource organizations to help with housing, utilities and legal matters.

Homeless population count shows numbers dropping in Illinois, but advocates warn we may be in a COVID bubble. ‘We know they’re out there.’

February 28, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

The challenge of determining the number of people who are homeless has become even more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates say. Living under bridges, behind buildings or in remote...

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