Illinois News

“I'm going to be looking over my shoulder and skeptical of people coming into class late.”

When Steven Kazmierczak strode from behind a screen onto the stage of a Northern Illinois University lecture hall carrying four guns, he saw rows of students lined up in an auditorium that sloped toward him.

It took no more than 90 seconds from the first 911 call for campus police to make it into the Cole Hall room, yet by the time they rushed in, three students and the gunman lay dead, two more were mortally wounded and terrified students were still bolting for the exits.

As bad as it was _ 16 others were hurt _ it quickly became clear that Thursday's carnage could have been far greater. Read more

“It's a horrible circumstance, and as much as we do it's unlikely that anyone would ever have the ability to stop an incident like this from beginning.”

Bloody students fleeing in terror. Bodies carried out on stretchers. Candlelight vigils and makeshift shrines. via Morris Daily Herald

“The response at Northern Illinois, from our standpoint, was extraordinary”

Northern Illinois University's response to Thursday's shooting rampage may have been helped by what Illinois officials learned from last year's shootings at Virginia Tech Univerisity. via State Journal-Register

“By using my song, and my band's name Boston, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed. In other words, I think I've been ripped off, dude!”

The chief songwriter and founder of the band Boston has more than a feeling that he's being ripped off by Mike Huckabee. via NBC Channel 7/39

“That's just the way the system works”

Former Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday, saying he is the best presidential candidate to restore the nation's credibility. via FindLaw

“Campus police report that the immediate danger has passed. The gunman is no longer a threat”

A gunman opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, injuring as many as 15 people, authorities said. via The Macon Telegraph

For the first time in five years, state lawmakers are looking at raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1. The additional revenue would go to fund health care programs in Georgia, said Rep. via WXIA-TV Atlanta

A 30-year-old central Illinois man was in custody Wednesday after a shooting in an apartment building left two men dead and two others injured. via Northwest Herald

“And the thing that's so dramatic about this is that you've removed the court review. There may be some checks after the fact, but the administration is picking the targets.”

WASHINGTON - After more than a year of wrangling, the Senate handed the White House a major victory on Tuesday by voting to broaden the government's spy powers and to give legal protection to phone companies ... via New York Times

W:\Archived Photos\VIP Folder\PatQuinn.jpg By The Associated Press CHICAGO - Children of veterans are eligible for full-tuition scholarships to the University of Illinois. via Http

Snow and ice spread across wide sections of the Ohio Valley on Tuesday, closing schools, littering roads with cars that had spun out and canceling an appearance by first lady Laura Bush. via USA Today

The "Potomac primaries'' get under way Tuesday -- in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. It's a big day for Sen. via The Swamp

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold says he's unlikely to endorse either Democratic candidate before state voters go to the polls February 19th. via WXOW-TV La Crosse

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., whom Sen. Barack Obama calls his spiritual mentor, says he has preached his last sermon at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. via Daily Chronicle Online

“I simply cannot let my campaign be part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

It would have been better for the nation if Mitt Romney had said he just wanted to spend more time with his family. via Detroit Free Press