Illinois
2014 national title anniversary: A look back at Ohio State football’s win over Illinois
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2014 national championship season, when the Ohio State football Buckeyes went 14-1 and captured the first College Football Playoff title. We’ll relive that remarkable year by sharing the game stories from that campaign as they appeared in the pages of The Columbus Dispatch.
Now up: Ohio State’s game against Illinois.
Buckeyes romp; Spartans next
Ohio State rolls to 38-0 lead over lowly Illinois
November 1, 2024
All week, Ohio State’s players and coaches insisted they would not look past Illinois toward next week’s showdown against Michigan State.
They were true to their word. The No. 13 Buckeyes got more help than resistance from Illinois last night, rolling to a 55-14 victory at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State’s defense caused four turnovers, three of which were converted into scores. “I thought our defense came out and played really well,” Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett, who suffered a sprained knee ligament in last week’s double-overtime victory over Penn State, showed no ill effects from the injury in one half of work.
“The knee really didn’t give me any problems,” Barrett said.
The victory was the 20th straight regular-season Big Ten victory for Ohio State, tying the conference record set by the 2005-07 Buckeyes.
No. 21 will not come as easily. The Buckeyes and Spartans have seemingly been on a collision course since Michigan State ended Ohio State’s 24-game winning streak under Meyer in last year’s Big Ten championship game.
“We’ve not talked about it much,” Meyer said. “Obviously, the dream was ripped away from us by a very good team.”
The Spartans had a bye this week. The Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) might as well have, given how overmatched and mistake-prone the Illini were. There’s a reason that Illinois (4-5, 1-4) has won only two league games in three seasons under Tim Beckman.
One came last week against once-beaten Minnesota. That got their attention, the Buckeyes said, and they played as if focused on the here and now.
Ohio State led 31-0 at halftime, and it probably should have been worse. Twice, the Buckeyes were stopped on fourth down deep inside Illinois territory, the second time on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
The closest Illinois came to scoring in the first half came when Beckman passed up a chance to kick a field goal on fourth-and-2 from the Ohio State 12 in the second quarter with the Buckeyes ahead 24-0. Defensive end Joey Bosa threw
down backup Illinois quarterback Aaron Bailey for a loss on a bootleg.
Earlier, the Illini missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt.
The Buckeyes’ defense did more than stop Illinois. Linebackers Darron Lee and Curtis Grant had interceptions off of deflections thrown by starter Reilly O’Toole. Safety Tyvis Powell caused a fumble on a crunching hit on running back Josh Ferguson.
Lee’s interception and 26-yard return on Illinois’ opening possession set up Ohio State’s first score. Freshman running back Curtis Samuel, who earned the start over Ezekiel Elliott with a strong week of practice, scored on a 23-yard run.
Grant’s interception gave the ball to Ohio State at the Illinois 24 and set up Samuel’s second score on a 1-yard run.
Barrett wasn’t sharp early, overthrowing some receivers, but he settled in. He finished 15 of 24 for 167 yards and two touchdowns, both to Devin Smith. He also ran seven times for 38 yards before becoming a spectator for the entire second half.
Smith’s first touchdown came on a 32-yarder in which he beat cornerback Darius Mosely and made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch on Barrett’s perfect throw.
If there was to be any suspense about the second half, Smith ended it with his second score, which was aided by a questionable decision by Beckman.
After the Illini stopped Elliott on a shovel pass on fourth-and-goal, Illinois took over at its 2 with 1:38 left. On second down, Illinois attempted a short sideline pass, which fell incomplete. That allowed Ohio State to use its only remaining timeout after a third-down run.
The Buckeyes got a 28-yard punt return by Jalin Marshall to take over at the Illinois 25 with 34 seconds left. The Buckeyes needed only two plays to score – a 17-yard pass to Dontre Wilson and then Smith’s 8-yard touchdown catch to make it 31-0.
Backup quarterback Cardale Jones threw 27 yards to Wilson on Ohio State’s opening drive of the third quarter to extend the lead to 38-0.
By then, the only drama was whether the Buckeyes could maintain the shutout. That bid ended with mostly Ohio State’s backups on the field late in the third quarter when Donovonn Young capped a 65-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 48-7.
brabinowitz@dispatch.com
@brdispatch
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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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