Illinois

Big Ten Daily (Sept. 4): Illinois Announces First Sellout Since 2016

Published

1 year ago

September 4, 2024

Big Ten Daily (Sept. 4): Illinois Announces First Sellout Since 2016

For the first time in nearly a decade, Illinois will play in front of a sold-out crowd at Memorial Stadium. This week, the Fighting Illini announced a sellout for Saturday’s showdown against No. 19 Kansas in Champaign.

Illinois hasn’t sold out a home game since the 2016 season. News of the sellout comes after Bret Bielema’s squad posted an impressive 45-0 victory over Eastern Illinois to open the 2024 campaign.

Prior to the sellout announcement, Bielema was hopeful that Illinois fans would gobble up tickets for Saturday’s clash.

“Excited about this opportunity to have a ranked team come in here to Memorial Stadium,” Bielema said. “I know our crowd is expected to be a good number. I think we’re within 1,000 [tickets] or so of being sold out for that game and put ourselves in a position to have a crowd where, unfortunately, or however you want to look at it, fortunately for us, we’re trying to build this thing up and get it to be more consistent. I think Saturday night is hopefully going to be a microcosm of that.”

The Illini played extremely well offensively in their season-opening win over Eastern Illinois. Quarterback Luke Altmyer threw for 213 yards with four touchdowns while completing 19-of-24 passes. Running back Kaden Faegin piled up 108 rushing yards and receiver Pat Bryant had 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five catches.

Defensively, Illinois forced four turnovers and held the Panthers to just 196 yards of offense.

Kansas presents a completely different challenge this week, with skilled quarterback Jalon Daniels coming to town. Illinois’ defensive front will be tested throughout the game.

Last year, Kansas defeated Illinois 34-23. Will the sellout crowd help the Fighting Illini get revenge on the Jayhawks?

Michigan State down three key players

Michigan State is already dealing with the injury bug. Coach Jonathan Smith revealed that the Spartans will be without three key contributors for the foreseeable future.

“(Receiver) Alante Brown will be hopeful to maybe November coming back. (Defensive back) Khalil Majeed doubtful to come back. (Defensive back) Dillon Tatum at least a couple of months, if not for the year,” Smith said during his weekly press conference. “Those three guys, which is a blow, with all three of them contributing, playing awesome, feel really bad for them, but they are longer-term injuries.”

Tatum is arguably the biggest loss of the bunch. Last year, he was responsible for 45 tackles and seven pass break-ups. Majeed ended last year with 19 stops and an interception.

Brown’s injury is a blow to Michigan State’s wide receiver depth. He didn’t put up big numbers last season, but was expected to be more of a factor in 2024.

Michigan State has no time to feel sorry for itself, opening Big Ten play this weekend against Maryland.

Nebraska volleyball swept by SMU

The college volleyball season is just beginning, and we’ve already seen an incredible amount of chaos. A day after No. 18 Minnesota upset No. 1 Texas, SMU took down No. 2 Nebraska in consecutive sets.

The Mustangs swept the Huskers 3-0 (5-23, 25-21, 25-18). It was Nebraska’s first loss to an unranked opponent since 2017. Coach John Cook was disappointed with the performance on Tuesday night in Dallas.

“We got punched in the mouth and we let them keep punching us,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “I’m pretty disappointed in how we responded tonight, but to be honest I saw this. This was all starting Saturday night. We talked about frustration and we didn’t fix it.

“We had a great practice last night, but we did not compete tonight. It was pretty disappointing.”

Penn State takes down Louisville

Penn State’s volleyball team picked up a huge win on Tuesday night, defeating No. 4 Louisville in a sweep. The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions took down the Cardinals 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-13).

Jess Mruzik led the Nittany Lions with 13 kills in the match. Caroline Jurevicious added 11 kills for Penn State. The defense held Louisville to a paltry .091 hitting percentage. Penn State also had five aces in the match.

Tuesday’s match was the first in front of a home crowd for Penn State.

“I thought it was great,” said coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, per the Daily Collegian. “Rec Hall is a special place to play. I’m grateful for the students and I hope we can continue to win and bring more of them here.”

Penn State is now 3-0 on the season.

BIG TEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Miller Moss (USC), Kevin Winston (Penn State), Mateen Bhaghani (UCLA), Dominic Zvada (Michigan) and Dylan Raiola (Nebraska) received Big Ten honors for Week 1. CLICK HERE

BIG TEN WEEK 1 OVERREACTIONS: Nick Saban swears on live television, Mike Gundy takes a shot at Michigan, “Huddy” for Heisman and Minnesota’s fireworks show highlight the overreactions. CLICK HERE

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Illinois

Ex-husband charged in Tepe murders, held in Illinois jail

Published

3 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Ex-husband charged in Tepe murders, held in Illinois jail

The ex-husband of a woman found shot to death with her current husband Dec. 30 in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood has been charged with murder in the deaths.

Michael David McKee, 39, of Chicago, faces two counts of murder, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents.

According to online court records, a warrant was issued Jan. 10 for McKee’s arrest. Winnebago County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office records indicate he was booked into jail there shortly before noon local time. He will remain there until authorities extradite him back to Franklin County.

Winnebago County court records show McKee is scheduled for a hearing there on Jan. 12, likely an extradition hearing to begin the process of his return to Ohio.

Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died Dec. 30, just after their five-year wedding anniversary, after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. The couple’s two young children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unhurt inside the home.

Columbus homicide detectives identified McKee through neighborhood video surveillance, police alleged in court documents. They tracked the suspect “to a vehicle which arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after.” They found the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, and found evidence that McKee had the vehicle before and after the killings.

Columbus police have not publicly identified a potential motive in the couple’s deaths.

In a statement released after McKee’s arrest, the Tepe family thanked Columbus police for their “tireless” work to find the suspect.

“Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon,” the Tepe family said. “We thank the community for the continued support, prayers and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable.

“Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind,” the statement said. “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”

McKee and Monique married in 2015, according to Franklin County Domestic Court records. She filed for divorce in May 2017 with the formal divorce decree being issued about a month later. Court filings indicate the divorce was amicable. Monique did not share any children with McKee, whom the divorce filings identify as living in Virginia at the time.

Around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, coworkers of Spencer’s from the dentistry office where he worked in Athens called Columbus police after Spencer did not show up for work and no one could reach Spencer or Monique by phone.

An officer went to do a well-being check but went to a home on Summit Street instead of the Tepe home, according to Columbus police body camera video. About 40 minutes after that check, friends of the Tepes found them dead in their home.

Police have focused the investigation on the window of time between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30, which is when they believe the couple was killed. On Jan. 5, detectives released video from a security camera showing a person walking in an alley near the Tepes’ home during that time frame, calling the person a “person of interest.”

That person is now believed to be McKee.

Medical licensure databases show McKee has active licenses in both Illinois and California. He is identified as working as a vascular surgeon in a practice in the Rockford area, the same area where his vehicle was found.

McKee went to medical school at Ohio State University and has family in the Zanesville area, according to publicly available information.

A public visitation for the Tepes will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Schoedinger Northwest funeral home on Zollinger Road in Upper Arlington. An additional gathering for a celebration of life will occur from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Due Amici in Columbus.

Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.

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Illinois

Iconic Illinois House Featured in ‘Home Alone’ Set to Be Restored to ’90s Design, Project Manager Says

Published

15 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Iconic Illinois House Featured in ‘Home Alone’ Set to Be Restored to ’90s Design, Project Manager Says

Home Alone fans were devastated when the house featured in the movie was recently put up for sale and the interiors didn’t match the ones seen in the 1990 classic. Now the property, which can be found in suburban Winnetka outside Chicago, is set to undergo another major renovation, this time transforming it back to […]

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Illinois

As ACA tax credit debate continues in Congress, Illinois sees slight decrease in enrollment

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

As ACA tax credit debate continues in Congress, Illinois sees slight decrease in enrollment

Illinois is on track to have slightly fewer people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace this year following the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies that were at the center of last year’s federal government shutdown.

The 4% decrease in enrollment is, so far, less severe than what many experts and advocates had anticipated, especially since enrollees in Illinois were expected to see an average increase of 78% in their monthly premiums. Anywhere from 2 to 4 million people across the country were expected to become uninsured if the tax credits weren’t extended.

As of Jan. 4, Get Covered Illinois, the state-run marketplace, reported 445,335 Illinois residents had signed up for an Obamacare health insurance plan. People had to enroll in a plan by Dec. 31 so coverage could start by the first of the year, but enrollment is open through Jan. 15.

In 2025, a record 465,985 people across the state enrolled in the ACA, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Get Covered Illinois did not provide further comment on enrollment figures.

Kathy Waligora, deputy director of external affairs at the Chicago-based EverThrive Illinois, which advocates for health care reform, said she was encouraged that the enrollment decline was minimal and that so many people actively chose a plan for this year.

While almost half of those enrolled by Jan. 4 were automatically re-enrolled in a plan, another 38% renewed by actively making a plan selection, according to Get Covered Illinois. About 13% of enrollees are new to the marketplace.

“Illinois has done a great job in sort of deploying navigators and marketing and all of these different resources to reach folks across Illinois and the data shows that was effective,” Waligora said.

Waligora said she worries about the people who were automatically enrolled in their plan, saying it’s unclear if individuals will be prepared to pay the likely higher monthly premiums.

Waligora said more data — such as how many individuals will get financial assistance for this year and what that looks like by region — is needed to assess the full impact of the expiration of the tax credits. She remained hopeful that there could still be a chance for the subsidies to be reinstated and extended for the coming years.

“I think that this should have been done in June, not September, not October, certainly not January,” Waligora said. “But it is good to see progress on this issue, and I sincerely hope that the Senate will take it up.”

This week, Republican lawmakers broke away from their leadership in the House and passed legislation to extend the subsidies, but the Senate isn’t required to take up the bill and has been working on an alternative plan, the Associated Press reported. Some Republicans have argued that Congress should consider a plan that would lower insurance costs for more Americans, not just those who use the marketplace.

Waligora is a leader in the Protect Our Care Illinois Coalition, which has been among the advocates pushing for the extension of the tax credits so plans could remain affordable. Many advocates worried people could become uninsured if they couldn’t afford the ACA plans.

In Illinois, about 85% of enrollees benefited from the subsidies, according to an analysis from KFF, a San Francisco-based health policy organization.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who earlier this week visited the Cook County Health Bronzeville Health Center to talk about the tax credits, said any decline is concerning and cast blame on Republicans. Krishnamoorthi is a Democrat.

“Their failure has driven up costs and forced families across Illinois to reconsider or lose coverage,” he said Friday in a statement.

The enhanced tax credits date back to the COVID-19 pandemic when they were used to make the ACA plans more affordable by offering deeper levels of financial assistance and offering reduced benefits to middle-class enrollees that phase out as a person’s income rises.

Those subsidies had continued until they expired at the end of last year. Democrats wanted them extended but Congress was unable to come up with a resolution.

Last year, there was a 17% increase in enrollment in Illinois compared to 2024, mirroring a national trend of more people turning to the ACA for health insurance.

Across the country, there were 24.3 million people getting health insurance through the ACA, an increase from the 11.4 million people who were enrolled in 2020, according to federal data.

This year was the first time Illinois residents enrolled in Obamacare through a state-run marketplace.

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