EAST MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Human remains discovered three months ago in a pickup truck in the Mississippi River have been identified as a man who was reported missing in 2019, Illinois authorities said.

“The East Moline Police Department continues to investigate this incident as a homicide,” Chief Jeff Ramsey said in a written statement.

The remains were identified as Daniel Claeys, a local man who was in his early 30s when his family said he was missing in 2019. The pickup truck was reported stolen in 2017.

The vehicle, buried in deep mud, was found in September in the Mississippi River near a boat ramp in East Moline. DNA helped investigators determine the identity of the remains.

“Family has been notified and they now have some closure knowing their family member has been located,” Ramsey said Thursday.

He said investigators will continue to try to solve Claeys’ disappearance and death.

Originally Published: December 14, 2024 at 11:41 AM PST

Illinois basketball has played some big games already, but on Saturday, the biggest matchup of the season strolls into Champaign.

The Illini welcome in the No. 1 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. This is a great Vols program that has been given a jolt from the transfer portal.

Tennessee is undefeated this season, but Illinois is also coming off a big win over a ranked Wisconsin team just days ago. This victory helped boost morale, and the confidence is at an all-time high that we can knock off the top team in the land. It is going to take a few key things for Illinois to beat Tennessee, though.

If there is any program that knows scoring droughts, it is Illinois. We got to experience the biggest of all scoring droughts last season against UConn.

This season, while the roster is nearly completely different, Illinois still has scoring drought stretches that absolutely kill us. The biggest example of a scoring drought this season came two games ago.

Northwestern was on the ropes. The Illini were up by 10, 46-36, with just over 10 minutes to go in the game. It looked like this game was going to be a victory.

Illinois didn’t score for the next nearly five minutes. This allowed the Wildcats to cut the lead to two points. The rough play continued throughout the rest of the game, which resulted in an overtime loss.

The droughts for the Illini usually consist of a lack of moment on offense. We stand around and watch whoever has the ball, mainly Kasparas Jakucionis, and then hope he does something spectacular.

Illinois has the tools to break these droughts too. We have the guards who can get in the paint and cause chaos. When the scoring stops, get Kylan Boswell or Tre White going downhill to the hoop. While the shot might not go in, they can at least get to the free throw line for points.

I noticed that Illinois can go away from Tomislav Ivisic. He can break droughts too. His ability to score at all levels is such a threat.

If Illinois can just avoid the massive five-minute droughts against Tennessee, then we will be in this game until the end.

Illinois may be getting a new state flag next year, thanks to a public vote on 10 new flag design proposals that is scheduled for January.

Nearly 5,000 entries were submitted to the Illinois Flag Commission, with 10 of the entries making it to the public ballot.

Those flags, along with previous Illinois flags and the state’s current banner, will go up for a public vote, with the commission set to make their recommendations to the state’s General Assembly later in 2025.

“Having received nearly 5,000 entries, I appreciate the creativity and passion reflected in all the submissions,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office convened the Flag Commission meetings.

Here are the 10 designs chosen by the commission:

Photos: Illinois flag design proposals released by commission

More information on the inspiration of each of the designs can be found on the Illinois Flag Commission’s website.

Under provisions of SB 1818, voters will get an opportunity to choose between the flag designs published by the committee, but the final say on whether the state will adopt a new banner, and which banner will fly over the Capitol, belongs to the General Assembly.

Illinois’ current flag incorporates the state’s official seal, which was adopted in 1869. The flag itself was adopted in 1915, with a small addition of the state’s name added in 1970, according to the Flag Commission’s website.

Numerous states have adopted new flags in recent years, including Minnesota, who designed and unveiled a new banner in 2024.

Mississippi and Utah have also unveiled new flags, though other states have made minor changes to their designs or have codified specific standards for their banners.

Rankings of state flags have routinely put Illinois on the lower end of the list, with critics pointing to the state’s use of the official seal rather than a unique design.