Illinois
Illinois man exonerated of 1992 murder downstate after more than 30 years in prison
Danny Davis will be home for Thanksgiving, a dream for many, but for him, a goal three decades in the making after he was wrongfully convicted of murder in downstate Illinois.
Davis was just 20 years old in 1992 when he was coerced into confessing to a gruesome murder. It took more than 30 years to prove he didn’t do it, just in time for the holidays with his family.
Michael Jordan is Danny Davis’ favorite basketball player, and was still playing for the Bulls when Davis went to prison.
“I was in prison with their second championship,” Davis said.
That’s why he requested dinner at Michael Jordan’s Steak House on Monday night to celebrate his exoneration.
“I ate me a big steak,” Davis said.
In prison for more than three decades, Davis said he had learned to ignore the holidays.
“At one point, I just said all holidays are out, and focused on what needs to be done for me to get out,” he said.
Davis was convicted of the March 1992 murder of Mildred Smith, who was discovered stabbed to death in her apartment in Cairo at the far southern edge of Illinois.
“There’s nothing else to tie them. There’s no forensics tying them to the crime, no eyewitnesses, nothing like that,” said Davis’ attorney, Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, with the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School.
Myerscough-Mueller said Davis and his younger brother were coerced into a guilty plea.
“They said, ‘If you go to trial, Danny will get the death penalty, and he will die.’ So they were at jury selection, they pull him into a room, they threaten them with this, and so they say, ‘Okay, we’ll plead guilty,’” she said.
Davis was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but he and his legal team never stopped fighting. In 2018, Smith’s fingernail clippings were finally tested for DNA. The male DNA found did not match Davis.
His conviction was vacated and he was released from custody last year, but he was still a long way from truly free.
His case was expected to go back to trial next month, until – out of nowhere – prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the case altogether earlier this month.
“I knew we would be here at this point one day. We didn’t know how long,” Davis said. “Man, it’s just a blessing that I don’t have to go through that.
Now 53 years old, Davis spent more of his life behind bars than on the outside. On Tuesday, he got a special visit from three men who understand that better than anyone.
Jimmy Soto, Darien Harris, and Robert Johnson also spent years in prison for murders they did not commit. Between the four of them, Davis, Soto, Harris and Johnson spent more than 115 years behind bars before they were able to clear their names.
“They’ve lived the same things, they’re going through the same things, and can be a good support for each other,” Myerscough-Mueller said.
Davis said he said he’s ready to make up for lost time with his supportive family.
“Now I don’t take anything for granted in life; nothing,” he said. “I enjoy every bit of whatever that I’m able, the good Lord is able to give me the strength to do, I enjoy,” he said.
Davis’ attorney said the last step for them is the obtaining a certificate of innocence. They will file a court petition to get it.
Illinois
Illinois Tollway proposing increased tolls in 2027 to fund $26.5 billion in road construction
Illinois drivers might soon have to pay more to drive on the state’s tollways.
The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority has proposed an increase in tolls in 2027. If approved by the board, it would be the state’s first toll hike since 2012.
Anyone who drives in the Chicago area likely jumps on one of the Illinois tollways at some point.
“I try to avoid them, you know what I mean? But if I’ve got to get somewhere, and it’s like 10 minutes quicker, I’ll just take the toll,” said Shomari Dyson.
But that toll could cost Dyson and thousands of drivers who take it an average of 45 cents more per toll for passenger vehicles and 30% more per toll for commercial vehicles starting Jan. 1, 2027, if the Illinois tollway board approves the proposed toll hike, and those paying the tolls aren’t happy
“It’s ridiculous. I’m constantly getting tolls, charges, refills on my bank account when my iPass goes through. So, I can imagine it’s just going to happen more and more often,” Jon Jackson said.
Currently, tolls run as low as 30 cents and as high as $1.50 at various toll plazas.
This proposed hike could place the average toll well over a $1 every time drivers pass through an automatic toll plaza.
“I like to know where my money is going, and then [Interstate] 294 has been under construction for the last 15 years, and that is frustrating,” Frank Faso said.
The tollway said the hike is needed to handle projected repairs for road widening, bridge repair, and new technology. It’s all tied to a 15-year capital improvement program estimated to cost $26.5 billion.
The tollway board also wants automatic inflation-based increases every two years starting in 2029.
“We pay our taxes, man, you know what I’m saying? So all that extra, it’s nonsense,” Dyson said.
“If we’re going to void and not take part in things like the World Cup and Soldier Field that’s going to bring tax revenue to the state, they shouldn’t charge me for it,” Faso said.
The board must hold a dozen meetings in various counties to get the public’s take before voting on the toll hike. The first one kicks off in August, but drivers question if the public hearings are really about input.
“I think they’re just going to keep going through the motions,” Jackson said.
Illinois
Illinois has already broken the record for number of tornadoes in a year — and it’s only June
Illinois has seen more tornadoes in 2026 than in any year on record.
Following several more tornadoes confirmed this week across the state, Illinois has recorded 143 tornadoes so far in 2026, beating the previous record of 142 tornadoes set in 2024. With reliable records dating back to 1950, Illinois averages just 54 tornadoes per year. But in recent years, the state has experienced many more:
- 2023: 121
- 2024: 142
- 2025: 126
- 2026: 143 and counting
Unlike 2024, when a record two-day tornado outbreak accounted for a large share of the year’s tornadoes, the activity in 2026 has been spread out across several months.
On Thursday, June 11, a tornado outbreak brought at least 21 confirmed tornadoes to northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, 13 of them in Illinois. Two tornadoes that day — in Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana — reached rare EF-3 intensity, with winds over 135 miles per hour. Numerous injuries were reported from the storms, but there were no fatalities.
Confirmed tornadoes from June 11:
- Long Point to Streator, IL: EF-3
- Wenona/Osage Township, IL: EF-1
- Graymont to Dwight, IL: EF-1
- Lee, IL: EF-U
- Harpster to Elliott, IL: EF-0
- Pembroke Township (Leesville), IL: EF-U
- St. John to Schererville, IN: EF-0
- Paxton/Loda, IL: EF-1
- Merrillville to Hobart, IN: EF-2
- Ludlow, IL: EF-1
- Cedar Lake, IN: EF-0
- Schneider to Hebron, IN: EF-0
- Watseka, IL: EF-0
- Hebron to Kouts, IN: EF-3
- Wellington/Prairie Green Township, IL: EF-1
- Bartlett, IL: EF-1
- Boswell to Atkinson, IN: EF-1
- Ade to Mount Ayr, IN: EF-0
- Naperville to Lisle, IL: EF-0
- Hickory Hills to Garfield Ridge: EF-2
- Morocco, IN: EF-0
Though most of the Chicago area dodged severe weather from storms this week, the National Weather Service confirmed a brief tornado touchdown Wednesday night in Lake County near Grayslake. The EF-0 tornado had estimated winds of 80 miles per hour and was on the ground for about a quarter-mile. Damage consisted of several downed or split trees and sporadic minor roof damage along a narrow corridor in the Saddlebrook Farms subdivision.
Four more tornadoes were confirmed Wednesday in western and central Illinois. NWS crews are still surveying damage in central Illinois, and more tornadoes may be added to the count in the coming days.
With 143 tornadoes so far this year, Illinois leads the nation in tornado count for the third time in the last four years — a remarkable statistic for a state not typically thought of as being in Tornado Alley.
The recent increase in tornado activity across Illinois and the Midwest fits research showing a shift in tornado-favorable environments away from parts of the traditional Plains Tornado Alley and farther east into the Midwest and South. Climate change is one likely factor, as warming temperatures are expected to make the Plains hotter and drier overall, shifting tornado ingredients eastward toward the Mississippi River.
A person was fatally hit by a Metra train in Palatine, Illinois, early Friday morning.
Around 5:10 a.m., Metra said Union Pacific Northwest train No. 602 hit a pedestrian at Baldwin Road and Northwest Highway.
Metra confirmed the person died at the scene. The victim has not been identified.
Metra said train service on the Union Pacific Northwest line is suspended.
This is a developing story. CBS News Chicago will continue to provide updates.
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