Updated: 5:57 PM Illinois lawmakers Tuesday rejected a proposed ban on assault weapons and .50 caliber rifles. The vote came amid heavy lobbying by both sides of the issue.

Updated: 12:57 PM Illinois lawmakers say a huge increase in air travel under Gov. Rod Blagojevich is evidence his decision to live in Chicago costs too much.

Updated: 12:55 PM U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says the compromise reached by a bipartisan group of senators that avoids a showdown over Senate filibuster rules is cause for both Democrats and Republicans to celebrate.

Updated: 12:54 PM It's a problem in at least two other states, but Illinois officials say they've found no evidence that state Medicaid money is buying Viagra for sex offenders here.

Updated: 12:52 PM Twenty students finished a 13-week program, which they hope will give them a leg up with area manufacturers.

Updated: 12:50 PM Teachers' contract settled.

Updated: 1:47 PM A Rock County jailer fired after he was accused of looking at Internet porn at work could be back on the job next week.

Updated: 1:46 PM U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says Democrats need two more Republican senators to join their side in fighting against ending the judicial filibuster.

Updated: 12:42 PM Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency plan to return to the LaSalle County community of Naplate to test more homes for arsenic contamination.

Updated: 12:41 PM Chicago fire officials say seven people were taken to hospitals Monday morning after a building partially collapsed on the city's West Side.

Posted: 12:40 PM A motorcyclist is in critical condition after colliding with a car late Sunday night.

Updated: 12:38 PM A Beloit restaurant manager has filed a federal lawsuit against his former employer, alleging he was fired because of his military duties.

Updated: 12:37 PM The 497th Transportation Company stopped at the Greater Rockford Airport for a refueling Sunday, an emotional homecoming for one stateline soldier.

Updated: 12:43 PM Time is running out for Illinois legislators.

Updated: 12:32 PM Residents want to make sure the trouble makers have left their neighborhood for good.

Updated: 12:31 PM A Beloit man is hiding out from police after a shooting.

Updated: 9:03 PM On Opening Day of the 43rd season of Rockford Pony League baseball, organizers are working to purchase the fields at Roy Gayle Park, and save the league.

Updated: 9:00 PM An innocent slumber party turns into a night of terror and sorrow.

Updated: 8:59 PM Soldiers stationed around the globe will be able to see how the small town of Winnebago is honoring their service.

Updated: 9:02 PM Residents now say the fear of grocery shopping at a West State Street store is gone.

Updated: 5:42 PM An eyesore in Freeport’s east side is getting a makeover thanks to a $200,000 cleanup grant.

Updated: 4:12 PM After drinking before school started, two teenagers were charged Thursday with underage drinking at Oregon High School.

Updated: 4:10 PM The Byron School District hires an Illinois native to be its new leader.

Updated: 3:17 PM Gov. Blagojevich is taking his education plan into the homes of thousands of Chicago families to counteract a push by Chicago education officials for even more school money.

Updated: 7:47 AM Heavy rain, high winds, hail and even funnel clouds are reported throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.