Illinois

Best independent coffee shop in Illinois is found in Springfield, new report finds

Published

4 days ago

January 23, 2025

Best independent coffee shop in Illinois is found in Springfield, new report finds

Where’s your favorite place to grab a cup of coffee and catch up? According to Springfield residents, it’s a little shop on the corner of West Cook and Spring Street, just a block away from the Illinois State Museum.

It’s the vintage charm of Vinegar Hill Mall and classic, cozy feel that gives Wm. Van’s Cafe a bustling cult following.

Not just a cult following, but now a position on America’s best independent coffee shops, as Illinois’ top caffeine spot.

Serving breakfast, brunch and aesthetics worth a picture or two, Wm. Van’s average rating was 4.46 out of five.

General Manager Sydney Huffman said the growing interest in local coffee spots comes from the experience and that it really does matter if your barista knows you.

“Not only are you supporting your local community, but you have more personable experiences when you’re at your local shop,” Huffman said. “Your morning coffee run becomes more than an iced latte; it’s a chance to connect with the familiar faces.”

The business regularly rotates the drink menu depending on season and place an emphasis on quality over quantity – Huffman says in the past nine months she’s been GM, the most important part is seeing what sticks in the menu and strikes a chord with coffee fans and finding a way to add it to the next menu.

The top three local coffee spots nationwide are The Espresso Bar in Taos, New Mexico at 4.93 stars out of five, Prestogeorge Coffee and Tea in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 4.90 and Iris Bagel and Coffee House in Arlington, Texas with 4.86.

Big is out – small is in

According to OnDeck, big chain cafés are saving money by opening smaller premises to minimize costs and concentrate on walk-through trade. Meanwhile, independent cafés are capitalizing on their already cozy premises by delivering personality, quality and good company to customers looking to sit down with a brew and a pastry — and maybe even return to the counter for more.

The specialty coffee shop market is tipped to grow by $39.17 billion from 2022 to 2027, driven by the indie sector. The same follows suit for Springfield; the city has seen a growth in locally-owned coffee shops in the past year trying to enter the market.

Methodology

The rankings are put together by OnDeck, a platform offering loans for small businesses, using publicly available Tripadvisor pages for rankings. Building a list of the major cities in every state, the five-star rated local establishments were isolated from chains.

Lastly, cities were ranked based on the weighted average five-star rating across all independent coffee shops in that city.

This analysis was completed in October 2024.

Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@gannett.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted

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Illinois

Gamethread/How to watch Northwestern vs. Illinois: TV, radio, betting line, injury report

Published

9 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

Gamethread/How to watch Northwestern vs. Illinois: TV, radio, betting line, injury report

For the second time this season, Northwestern (12-7, 3-5 B1G) will take on No. 17 Illinois (13-6, 5-4 B1G), this time in Champaign on the road. The Wildcats are still looking for their first Big Ten road win, while the Illini will try to bounce back from an ugly 21-point home loss against Maryland on Sunday. Here’s how to follow along for Sunday’s match:

Broadcast Information

Location: State Farm Arena (Champaign, IL)

Game Time: 2:00 p.m. CST

TV/Streaming: BTN

Radio: WGN 720

Betting Line

Northwestern +7.5, O/U 151 (Odds Shark)

Injury Report

Northwestern:

OUT — None

QUESTIONABLE — none

Illinois:

OUT — Tomislav Ivisic

QUESTIONABLE — none

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Illinois

No. 17 Illinois hosts Northwestern after Jakucionis’ 21-point game

Published

17 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

No. 17 Illinois hosts Northwestern after Jakucionis’ 21-point game

Associated Press

Northwestern Wildcats (12-7, 3-5 Big Ten) at Illinois Fighting Illini (13-6, 5-4 Big Ten)

Champaign, Illinois; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -7.5; over/under is 148

BOTTOM LINE: No. 17 Illinois faces Northwestern after Kasparas Jakucionis scored 21 points in Illinois’ 91-70 loss to the Maryland Terrapins.

The Fighting Illini have gone 8-3 in home games. Illinois leads the Big Ten in rebounding, averaging 41.8 boards. Tomislav Ivisic paces the Fighting Illini with 8.5 rebounds.

The Wildcats have gone 3-5 against Big Ten opponents. Northwestern has a 5-2 record in games decided by 10 or more points.

Illinois is shooting 44.5% from the field this season, 1.7 percentage points higher than the 42.8% Northwestern allows to opponents. Northwestern averages 6.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 more made shots on average than the 5.4 per game Illinois allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ben Humrichous is shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc with 2.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Fighting Illini, while averaging 8.6 points. Kylan Boswell is averaging 13.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, four assists and 1.7 steals over the past 10 games.

Brooks Barnhizer is averaging 18.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.5 steals for the Wildcats. Nick Martinelli is averaging 19.7 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 85.6 points, 40.7 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 4.4 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.5 points per game.

Wildcats: 6-4, averaging 75.0 points, 30.4 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 8.3 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.5 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Illinois

Migrant suspect in fatal Illinois hit-and-run caught 800 miles away, heading to Mexico: officials

Published

1 day ago

January 25, 2025

Press Room

Migrant suspect in fatal Illinois hit-and-run caught 800 miles away, heading to Mexico: officials

ILLINOIS – A suspect involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Urbana has been arrested in Texas after fleeing the scene and using a false identity, authorities said.

Arrest Made in Fatal Hit-and-Run

Crash Details :

The crash occurred at 1:55 a.m. Jan. 19 at the intersection of University Avenue and Coler Avenue.

A Honda Civic was traveling eastbound on University and stopped at Coler for a red light when a Mitsubishi SUV, heading in the same direction at a high speed, struck the Civic. The collision caused severe damage to both vehicles and multiple injuries, according to Urbana police.

Five people were in the Civic at the time of the crash, and all were transported to the hospital.

Two were released, while two others remain hospitalized, one with serious injuries. The fifth victim, a 20-year-old woman, died at the hospital, according to police.

Family members of the deceased 20-year-old woman identified her as Katie Abraham.

The SUV driver fled on foot, heading south on Coler, and was not initially located by officers.

Driver Arrested in Texas:

Urbana police obtained a new arrest warrant on Jan. 23 for the SUV driver.

Authorities identified the driver as 29-year-old Julio Cucul Bol, of Guatemala, who had previously used the alias Juan JaHaziel Saenz-Suarez and falsified Mexican paperwork.

Pictured is Julio Cucul Bol, of Guatemala.

Bol was located in Milford, Texas, by the U.S. Marshals Service while riding an El Expreso bus heading for Matamoros, Mexico, according to a report from FOX News. Milford is located about an hour south of Dallas.

Bol was taken to the Dallas County Jail to await extradition. The U.S. Marshals Service confirmed he had been previously deported from the U.S.

Multiple Charges :

Bol is now facing multiple charges in connection with the deadly crash, which include: