The top 10 teams in the 11-team league will qualify for the postseason tournament and the top two seeds will get automatic bids to the semifinals.

What makes the event like no other is its emphasis on inclusion of everyone and building irreplaceable bonds through a large sum of people from all walks of life, organizers said. This year's games will feature 3,450 athletes and unified partners, 1,250 coaches and 1,200 volunteers.

The American Red Cross will host its 31st annual Evening of Stars event Sept. 9 at the Bone Student Center at Illinois State University. Tebow will serve as the event's keynote speaker.

When the World Cup soccer tournament begins Thursday, a Central Illinois congressman will see nine years of work begin to pay off.

An inaugural plane pull event raised thousands of dollars for Special Olympics Illinois Saturday.

The World Cup is among many major sporting events on Hardiman’s calendar. He was at the Kentucky Derby in May and in New York for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. He was in Oklahoma City recently for the NBA Western Conference Finals and works a number of top-level tennis tournaments, including the U.S. Open.

A source cautioned that Friday’s announcement didn’t eliminate Arlington Heights from consideration, were the state to find a way to give the Bears property tax certainty on the 326-acre plot they own.

Retired ISU softball coach Melinda Fischer is one of this year's McLean County History Makers. She talked to WGLT about the "extraordinary people that have really made my journey so exciting and so valuable," and how she's spending her time since retiring.

Despite a Hail Mary heave from the Illinois Senate in the final hours of the spring legislative session, state lawmakers ultimately failed to reach the end zone on a bill incentivizing the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium in Illinois.

Former U-High girls basketball coach Mike Sondgeroth recalls Meier being “a player who was devoted to the program and gave her all."

After 32 years at Central Catholic High School and 28 as head girls basketball coach, Debbie Coffman has decided to retire. She finished her career with an overall record of 632 to 204.

Illinois State Athletics has announced plans to discontinue its men’s tennis program, effective at the end of the spring 2026 semester.