Illinois

Illinois hires ex-Michigan strength coach involved in Howard incident

Published

2 years ago

March 14, 2024

Illinois hires ex-Michigan strength coach involved in Howard incident

Jon Sanderson — a former Michigan basketball strength coach — has moved to another Big Ten program, assisting the Illinois men’s basketball team as a sports performance consultant, the Fighting Illini announced Thursday. The move comes less than two weeks after Sanderson officially parted ways with Michigan after 15 years following a Dec. 7 confrontation with Michigan head coach Juwan Howard.

The confrontation resulted in Sanderson no longer working with the Michigan men’s basketball program, but Sanderson spent the 12 weeks before his official departure working out of the athletic department’s south campus complex, primarily with some of the school’s Olympic sports teams.

His exit also came after reaching a settlement with Michigan, two sources briefed on the agreement said at the time. That agreement included a non-disclosure clause, the sources said.

The confrontation between Howard and Sanderson stemmed from a disagreement between an athletic trainer and senior guard Jace Howard, Juwan’s 22-year-old son. At the time, Jace Howard had missed the entire season with a stress fracture and questioned the training staff not yet clearing him to play.

On Dec. 8, according to documents obtained by The Athletic, Sanderson shared his version of events of what followed in an email to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel.

Sanderson wrote that Jace Howard “was berating” the trainer and caused a “scene” that prompted several players to stop and watch. Sanderson described the scene as “totally out of control,” and said the trainer was trying to calm Jace Howard down and get him to discuss the matter privately. Noticing the trainer looking increasingly desperate and “panicked,” Sanderson intervened, yelling at Howard from roughly 30 feet away: “You’re a student athlete and he is a professional. You don’t talk to a professional like that. That is disrespectful and entitled.” He said he repeated that the tirade was “disrespectful.”

Sanderson wrote in the email to Manuel that he tried to de-escalate the situation, turning his back and walking away. When Sanderson looked back, he said Juwan Howard came at him, “angry and ready to fight,” repeatedly yelling as players and staff held him back.

Sanderson wrote that players and staff were ultimately able to restrain Howard, after which the team started practice and Sanderson went to his office.

On Dec. 15, following an HR review, the university cleared Howard of any wrongdoing in the Sanderson incident. In a statement, Manuel said the university reviewed “an incident involving several individuals during a team practice,” and, “based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved.”

Howard has never publicly shared his account of the event. He told reporters only to refer to Manuel’s statement, saying “I think it was clear. It was precise.”

Sanderson also levied additional complaints about the program’s culture under Howard unrelated to the Dec. 7 incident, a source briefed on the matter said.

Sanderson’s attorney deferred all questions to the university. A text message to Sanderson was not immediately returned.

Sanderson arrived at Michigan in 2009, joining John Beilein’s staff as strength and conditioning coach. He became a program mainstay, working with 17 NBA Draft picks, including 11 first-rounders. He was one of a few holdovers from Beilein’s staff when Howard was hired in 2019.

Mike Favre, Michigan’s strength and conditioning director, replaced Sanderson on the bench in December.

Illinois announced Sanderson’s new role on social media, writing, “Excited to have Jon Sanderson assisting our program as a sports performance consultant. We will utilize Jon’s industry expertise — which includes three Final Fours and developing 30 NBA players during his career — through conversations and meetings with our current staff to create a first in class performance development program.”

Michigan (8-24) fell to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday. Illinois (23-8) faces Ohio State (20-12) on Friday in a quarterfinal matchup in the conference tournament.

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(Photo: Hannah Fountain / CameraSport via Getty Images)

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Illinois

Illinois Tollway proposing increased tolls in 2027 to fund $26.5 billion in road construction

Published

9 hours ago

June 20, 2026

Press Room

Illinois Tollway proposing increased tolls in 2027 to fund .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.

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Illinois

Illinois has already broken the record for number of tornadoes in a year — and it’s only June

Published

20 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

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.

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