Student at Franklin Middle School battered

Menard County Coroner Larry Hollis died Monday afternoon in a Springfield hospital where he had been taken over the weekend for respiratory issues, Menard County Sheriff Mark Oller said.

A Florida woman who is eight months pregnant used an AR-15 to shoot and kill one of two intruders who were terrorizing her family, authorities say.

Springfield Education Association teachers voted down the latest contract offer from District 186 in a general membership meeting at Southeast High School Monday.

Jack Andrew, one of Springfield's first 10 city council members elected in 1987 after the city switched to the mayor-aldermanic form of government, is being remembered for how he took to his ward's streets, alleys and buildings to help constituents and address problems. Andrew, who didn't seek a third term in 1999, died Saturday.

The lack of adequate broadband width to properly power computers for homes, schools and businesses is a problem in some rural areas but also in some bigger cities, according to Matt Schmit, new director of the Illinois Office of Broadband in the state's commerce department.