I knew I wanted to be a writer at a young age, and never dreamed of doing anything else. My love of writing was born when a grade-school teacher encouraged me to try my hand at fiction. I took her advice, but quickly gave up make-believe stories for the real thing.
I got involved with my high school newspaper before double majoring in journalism and English.
I graduated in 2002 and landed my first newspaper job within six months. I spent eight years at The Enterprise newspaper in Plainfield, where I developed my passion for community journalism.
When a coworker pointed me in the direction of Patch.com, I jumped at the chance to be part of the future of local news.
2 shootings on interstate | Free comic book store | Measles near university | Freshman mourned | Ricketts' racist emails | Badly burned car
The impending ice storm is already leading to cancellations.
A new report found the most selective college in every state. See what it is in Illinois.
Getting a driver’s license may be easier than you think in Illinois. Here’s what’s required and how we stack up with other states.
The crash killed the pilot as the plane struck a home where a Super Bowl party was being held, killing four people inside.
The company is closing 94 stores nationwide and six in Illinois.
Woman killed, child abducted | Frostbitten cat dies | YouTube star child porn case | Cops search for toddler | Cancer lawsuit | CVS crash
Yahoo Finance reviewed data and projections to determine the fastest growing job in every state. See what they found for Illinois.
Placing a loved one in a nursing home is among the hardest decisions you’ll ever make. Here’s how nursing homes in Illinois stack up.
Firefighter charged | Derailment | Snow footprints foil crook | Polar vortex laughs | Attempt to heat frozen pipes causes fire | OBGYN abuse
Although the district planned to resume classes Friday, transportation issues prompted another cancellation.
Flights canceled | How homeless survive cold | Man rescued, ticketed | 9 hospitalized after heating with grill | Missing student
The 2019 “State of Tobacco Control Report” finds that most states and the federal government are falling short in preventing tobacco use.
A new report ranked the states with the most credit card debt. See what Illinois is carrying.
The Princeton Review on Tuesday released its 2019 edition of best value colleges. Here are the schools from Illinois.
The 3-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl were hospitalized after being found wandering outside an apartment buiding.
Teen missing in cold | Dog, family reunited | 'Empire' suspended | Polar vortex in pics | Massive power outage | Husband with 2 guns Tased
More than 36,000 pounds of the chicken nuggets sold nationwide and sent to an IL distribution center have been recalled.
Polar Vortex Jayden has police in Illinois putting their foot down: "For the love of polar bears, do not go outside and commit crimes."
The tainted fruit was sold at stores including ALDI, Costco and Walmart.
