Illinois
5 things to do in the Illinois Valley: Festivals in Streator, Utica highlight weekend activities
:quality(70):focal(798x637:808x647)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/B4RD6UGPVRDQPEDUNIO5DP7RPI.jpg "5 things to do in the Illinois Valley: Festivals in Streator, Utica highlight weekend activities")
1 – Take pleasure in some household enjoyable Friday by way of Sunday at Park Fest in Streator. The annual competition, now coordinated by Gentle Up Streator volunteers, includes a carnival, craft distributors, reside music and numerous household actions on the Plumb Pavilion stage. Minus 55 will take the Plumb Pavilion stage 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Mary and the Troublemakers 2 to five p.m. Sunday. The carnival will likely be open 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to six p.m. Sunday. Moreover, native historical past lovers can stroll throughout Park Avenue and attend the Streatorland Historic Society Museum’s grand opening 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
2 – Make a journey to the Wild West on Saturday and Sunday in Utica. The Wild Invoice Days occasion will embody leisure from Dan Barth, the Medication Man; the Previous West Regulators; and reside blacksmithing demos. A particular exhibit with artifacts belonging to James Butler “Wild Invoice” Hickok will likely be accessible to view on the Canal Warehouse museum, 101 E. Canal St., all through the weekend. There isn’t a admission to society museums on Saturday or Sunday and weekend leisure is free. Re-enactments are scheduled 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
3 – Chalk up the city Saturday in Princeton. HumanHuman, a community-based group centered on inclusivity, will host a sidewalk chalk occasion from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Troopers and Sailors Park. Chalk and templates will likely be supplied and everyone seems to be invited to “create artwork and have a good time range whereas selling equality and inclusion.” The occasion will coincide with the opening of the Princeton’s Farmers Market.
4 – Take a run Monday in Sheridan or Streator. The fourth operating of the Nina LeCuyer Memorial 5K is scheduled 7:30 a.m., with registration at 6:30 a.m. The run will begin/finish on the American Legion, 300 W. Si Johnson Ave., Sheridan, and the route runs the streets by way of the village. The $35 registration price additionally pays for entry to the Legion’s Memorial Day Breakfast following the run at 8:30 a.m. All proceeds from the occasion will help somebody in want from the neighborhood or to help the Illinois Veterans’ House. The Streator YMCA, 710 Oakley Ave., additionally will host a Memorial Day 5K starting at 8 a.m. Monday. Name 815-672-2148 for extra info.
5 – The music begins Friday in Ladd. The village will host Joey Figgiani from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Struggle Memorial Park, 301 S. Fundamental St. Convey garden chairs and coolers. The Ladd Fireplace Division will likely be grilling hamburgers and scorching canine. Name 815-894-2440 for extra info.
Would you want your occasion featured on this weekly function? Step one is submitting your occasions to The Occasions, NewsTribune or Bureau County Republican’s neighborhood calendar at starvedrockcountry.com/local-events/ the place they’re then thought-about for inclusion on this function.
:quality(70):focal(1152x310:1162x320)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/VR6SBGARVVFV3NKENHTGMPD75Q.JPG "La Salle County YANA! to host Illinois GOP chairwoman")
:quality(70):focal(1404x994:1414x1004)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/JBMRD7ELAVBQBNFCTWJ4TUWX3I.jpg "Jim Dunn to present ‘Bureau County’s Other Congressmen’")
Northern Illinois fell to host Miami (Ohio) 20-9 for its fifth loss in the last nine games. The Redhawks won their sixth in a row. Telly Johnson Jr. had a two-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 17-9 before a failed two-point conversion, but that’s as close as the Huskies (6-5, 3-4 MAC) would get.
Javon Tracy had 79 yards receiving on six catches and threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Virgil, who finished with four receptions for 107 yards.
Dylan Downing scored on a two-yard run that gave the Redhawks a 7-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first quarter and Dom Dzioban kicked a 22-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Tracy took a jet sweep to the right and then lofted a pass down the same sideline to Virgil in the end zone to make it 17-0 with 3:50 left in the second quarter.
Kanon Woodill kicked a 47-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in the first half got the Huskies on the scoreboard.
Dzioban made a 22-yard field goal to cap the scoring with 2:25 to play.
CHICAGO — Six of the top 10 best middle schools in Illinois are part of Chicago Public Schools, according to a new analysis by U.S. News & World Report.
The 2025 best middle schools rankings includes more than 2,500 in Illinois and scores them based on state assessment scores and publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education.
Scores were analyzed in the context of socioeconomic demographics, and student-teacher ratios were used as a tiebreaker when schools scored equally.
Find out what’s happening in Wilmette-Kenilworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
LaMont Jones, U.S. News’ managing editor for education, said research shows that students’ academic performance in early grades can be major indication of their success at the secondary and postsecondary levels.
“The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success,” Jones said in a release. “The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education.”
Find out what’s happening in Wilmette-Kenilworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Top 10 Middle Schools In Illinois
1. Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center – Chicago
Grades: K–8
Enrollment: 267
2. Young Magnet High School – Chicago
Grades: 7–12
Enrollment: 2,148
3. Lane Technical High School – Chicago
Grades: 7–12
Enrollment: 4,496
4. Decatur Classical Elementary School – Chicago
Grades: K–6
Enrollment: 323
5. Reservoir Gifted School – Peoria
Grades: 5–8
Enrollment: 277
6. Skinner North Elementary School – Chicago
Grades: K–8
Enrollment: 490
7. Thurgood Marshall School – Rockford
Grades: 5–8
Enrollment: 482
8. Taft High School – Chicago
Grades: 7–12
Enrollment: 4,464
9. Hickory Creek Middle School – Frankfort
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 910
10. Lena-Winslow Junior High School – Lena
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 165
Below is the list of the top 25 middle schools in Illinois located outside of Chicago (the top four are also listed above) with their grade levels and enrollment.
It includes 12 schools in Cook County, two each in DuPage, Lake, Peoria and Winnebago counties, and one each from Clinton, Effingham, Grundy, Stephenson and Tazewell counties.
Top 25 Illinois Middle Schools Outside Chicago
1. Reservoir Gifted School – Peoria
Grades: 5–8
Enrollment: 277
2. Thurgood Marshall School – Rockford
Grades: 5–8
Enrollment: 482
3. Hickory Creek Middle School – Frankfort
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 910
4. Lena-Winslow Junior High School – Lena
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 165
5. Northbrook Junior High School – Northbrook
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 631
6. Kennedy Junior High School – Lisle
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 931
7. Teutopolis Junior High School – Teutopolis
Grades: 7–8
Enrollment: 178
8. Highcrest Middle School – Wilmette
Grades: 5–6
Enrollment: 760
9. Daniel Wright Junior High School – Lincolnshire
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 764
10. Margaret Mead Junior High School – Elk Grove Village
Grades: 7–8
Enrollment: 671
11. Aviston Elementary School – Aviston
Grades: PK–8
Enrollment: 429
12. Park Junior High School – La Grange Park
Grades: 7–8
Enrollment: 694
13. Marie Murphy School – Wilmette
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 276
14. Willowbrook Middle School – South Beloit
Grades: 5–8
Enrollment: 296
15. Dunlap Middle School – Dunlap
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 544
16. Sunset Ridge Elementary School – Northfield
Grades: 4–8
Enrollment: 249
17. Westfield Middle School – Bloomingdale
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 484
18. Saratoga Elementary School – Morris
Grades: PK–8
Enrollment: 772
19. Field School – Northbrook
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 309
20. Central School – Glencoe
Grades: 5–8
Enrollment: 568
21. Wood Oaks Junior High School – Northbrook
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 475
22. McClure Junior High School – Western Springs
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 455
23. Highland Middle School – Libertyville
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 755
24. Morton Junior High School – Morton
Grades: 7–8
Enrollment: 485
25. The Joseph Sears School – Kenilworth
Grades: PK–8
Enrollment: 471
More information is available from U.S. News & World Report’s full list of the best Illinois middle schools
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Alabama was unsuccessful in last Friday’s fierce test against a Big Ten program, falling at Purdue to slide out of the top five in the polls.
The No. 8 Crimson Tide will see another ranked Big Ten squad on Wednesday when they battle No. 25 Illinois in the C.M. Newton Classic at Birmingham, Ala.
Alabama (3-1) was outclassed 87-78 in the showdown against the Boilermakers. But coach Nate Oats indicated there is a method behind the madness of playing a road game against a team that lost in last season’s NCAA title game.
“We schedule these games for a reason,” Oats told reporters. “We like to go against the best teams in the country and figure out what we have to work on, and we have plenty to work on because (the Boilermakers) are good. Braden Smith is one of the best guards in the country and he does not turn the ball over. As a team, they only had three turnovers.”
The Crimson Tide struggled defensively but received a solid offensive performance from freshman guard Labaron Philon, who scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Philon is averaging 12 points through four games.
“Labaron has been really good. Probably better than what we thought he was going to be,” Oats said. “I thought he had a pretty good game. But we got to keep developing our bench. We got to keep developing the young guys and they got to help us win a lot of games this year.”
Mark Sears had 15 points and six assists but made just 5 of 15 shots against Purdue. The first-team All-American is averaging a team-best 17.3 points but his high outing is just 20.
Last season, Sears scored 20 or more points on 26 occasions while setting a school record with 797 points.
Illinois (3-0) won its first two games by 45 and 32 points, respectively, before posting a 66-54 home win over Oakland on Wednesday.
Fighting Illini coach Brad Underwood said the Golden Grizzlies affected the speed of the game by their cautious approach and a zone defense that forced patience and perimeter shots.
The Illini didn’t respond well, committing 18 turnovers and making just 7 of 25 3-point attempts.
“The biggest, most important, takeaway for me is it’s not always fun and easy and free flowing,” Underwood said. “There’s going to be some grind-it-out games. I thought we handled that pretty well for the most part, but we’ve still got some things to work on.”
Tomislav Ivisic recorded 20 points, six rebounds and four steals to continue his strong start. He has a team-best five steals and also leads in rebounding at 9.0 per game in addition to being the squad’s second-leading scorer at 17.3.
The 7-foot-1 Croatian made 9 of 14 field-goal attempts while finding open creases in the Oakland defense.
“We were preparing for their zone the whole week,” Ivisic said. “The coach was asking for me to be in the middle spot. That I would have a lot of space there to help my teammates, assist them, or have open shots.”
Will Riley, who is averaging 17.7 points and 6.0 rebounds off the bench, had just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting against Oakland.
Alabama has won three of the four meetings between the schools. In the most recent contest, Alabama rolled to a 79-58 home win in the first round of the NIT.
–Field Level Media
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