Illinois

‘Routine for him’: Illinois’ receivers showed up when it mattered most

Published

2 years ago

September 8, 2024

‘Routine for him’: Illinois’ receivers showed up when it mattered most

Goooood afternoon, Illini fans. If you’re reading this on Sunday, it’s the one-year anniversary of the Illini’s loss to Kansas in Lawrence. It’s also the one-day anniversary (not sure if that’s a thing) of the win over No. 19 Kansas in Champaign. There were plenty of positives to take away from the game, including but not limited, to our receiving game.

“Holy cow, did you see that catch?”

That’s a question you could’ve asked a handful of times during Illinois’ 23-17 upset win over the Kansas Jayhawks, but for the most part, you said it while pointing at the players wearing 13 or 4.

While even the more pessimistic Illini fans might point to the team’s slow start and argue that a better first quarter may have made things easier, we’d like to argue it wouldn’t have made the game as fun as it was.

The Illini exited the gates playing great defense, with a Xavier Scott interception and a turnover on downs keeping the game close despite a Zakhari Franklin fumble in Illinois territory.

Just when Illini fans started hoping for Luke Altmyer to start slinging it, he did. With around two and a half minutes left in the second quarter, it looked like Barry Lunney Jr. made the call to start slinging it to a target the OC is very familiar with.

Franklin, who knew Lunney from his days at UTSA, made this catch look easy.

“It was third down. I saw Luke scrambling, and I just wanted to stay in bounds. Keep my feet in and make the catch,” Franklin said, reminiscing on the catch. He’s a man of few words, and when asked what the key to making a grab like that, he said: “Concentration. Focus.”

On the play following the catch, Franklin was called for an offsides, turning 1st and 10 on the 28 to a 1st and 15 on the 33. The drive would end with David Olano sinking a 50-yard field goal into some wind.

“Flush it. Mistakes are gonna happen, so [I] just play the next play,” Franklin said on the mindset following the earlier fumble and the penalty. He says that’s been his mindset when handling in-game mistakes, something that’s developed as he’s matured. He’s a journeyed veteran and is currently college football’s active career leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. When asked when that ability to simply ‘flush it’ came to him, he said: “Man, I don’t even know man. It just happened over time.”

While Illini fans may be quick to label Franklin to be as good as advertised, Bielema says there’s much more left to come from him.

“I think he’s only going to begin to get better,” he said. Franklin was a late addition to this recruiting class, committing in June. “He’s understanding how we do things here, and [he’s] put himself in a position to not only help us this year but also for the future.”

Following a quiet third quarter that saw Kansas reclaim its lead, Altmyer’s arm got back to slinging, leading the charge on an eight-play, eighty-yard drive looking to reclaim the lead.

A big 37 yards. The hesitation, acceleration and separation before the catch were perfectly orchestrated by the veteran.

Directly following that pass, Illini fans wouldn’t be blamed for having a feeling of déjà vu: a chunk of that big gain was taken away by a seven-yard sack.

The passing game was on line and in the heads of the Kansas defense. That success through the air opened the door for Luke Altmyer on the ground. He’d scramble for 18 yards to convert the 2nd-and-17 and threw another dot to Bryant two plays later.

TCR staff photographer Brad Repplinger got a great shot of Bryant’s stretch for the pylon, too:

TCR // Brad Repplinger

“He does it every day in practice man, it’s just like routine for him,” fellow wideout Franklin said on Bryant’s pass-catching ability after the game.

The following play would be a one-yard punch-in for running back Kadin Feagin, giving Illinois its first lead since going up 13-10.

A 15-play, 42-yard and nearly seven-minute drive burned plenty of clock and gave Illinois a 23-17 lead, which featured true freshman running back Ca’Lil Valentine. The back, who Bielema says is as “quick as a hiccup”, finished with eight rushes and 25 yards, including two crucial first downs to set up Olano from 43 yards out.

After that, the game boiled down to letting the defense do what the defense had been doing for the past three quarters.

Illinois might not have had a ton of yards through the air (just 192) or any receiving touchdowns, but Altmyer, Franklin and Bryant made the passing game look good when it mattered most.

Illinois is off to its first 2-0 start since 2019. Next week, they’ll be chasing their first 3-0 start since 2011. If they can do that and grab one or two road victories, Kansas might not be the last sellout of the season.

“I look forward to playing in [front of] some more sellout crowds here,” Franklin said.

Saturday will be a September Homecoming at home against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium be at 11 a.m., and the game can be seen on Peacock.

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Illinois

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

Published

6 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

16 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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