Illini football coach Bret Bielema hopes to build on last year's success
Last year, Bret Bielema led the Illini to their first winning season since 2011, and their first eight-win season since 2007.
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Last year, Bret Bielema led the Illini to their first winning season since 2011, and their first eight-win season since 2007.
Bret Bielema stopped by CBS 2 to chat with Matt Zahn about the progress he's made in his first two seasons in Champaign. One of the biggest changes is how NIL rules changes and the transfer portal have impacted not just recruiting but retention of student-athletes.
Warrants are out for Carter's arrest for reckless driving and racing in connection with the crash that left two dead in January.
"He was a tremendous talent on this field," said Keeler's high school coach. "That was obvious for everyone to see."
The Wildcats also hosted Purdue at Wrigley Field in 2021, and the Illini back in 2010.
Football could start as early as fall of 2025 and the committee's findings will be shared with the president at the end of the spring semester.
The Illini football program seems to be building something and head coach Bret Bielema has clearly put a focus on trying to keep the best Chicago and Illinois players in state.
The Illini football program has clearly put a focus on trying to keep the best Chicago and Illinois players in state.
The back-and-forth game was filled with big plays and memorable moments.
North Central beat Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland.
Last year, North Central lost the Stagg Bowl to Mary Hardin-Baylor.
It's the first time the Cardinals will host a semifinal game with a lot at stake: a chance to even the score with the team that beat them last year.
North Central College's football team has made it to three straight Division III Final Fours, but they came up just short in their attempt to repeat as national champions last year.
Justin Lynch finished with 83 yards rushing on six carries for Northern Illinois.
Backup Jase Bauer rushed for 109 yards and two scores and Central Michigan beat Northern Illinois on Wednesday night.
How he got to this point, as Pugh puts it, was through a long list of unfortunate events. CBS 2's Matt Zahn reports.
A dominant defense cleared the path to victory as the Illini held Virginia (1-1) to 1 of 16 on third-down conversions.
Freeman, the 36-yeard-old first-time head coach who was promoted after Brian Kelly left for LSU, had lost a bowl game to Oklahoma State and at Ohio State last week.
Jordan Waters had a pair of touchdowns on the ground, Riley Leonard threw for a score and Duke beat Northwestern on Saturday.
The Wildcats are already 1-0 in conference after their season-opening win against Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland.
Illinois allowed only 70 yards in the second half before the final series.
A couple at a senior living community in northwest suburban Bartlett celebrated their 71st anniversary in a very special way: with a vow renewal.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is seeking a fifth term in office and is facing off against longtime Chicago Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) in the Democratic primary.
A 19-game improvement last season saw a lot of White Sox players make their Major League debuts, and one of the team's top prospects is working for that same opportunity this year.
A state lawmaker is joining the growing call for accountability from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about past abuse allegations before an 8-year-old boy's murder.
Chicago's rodent problem is well known, but a new pilot program testing rat birth control to curb the population in problem areas is underway to help rein it in.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is seeking a fifth term in office and is facing off against longtime Chicago Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) in the Democratic primary.
A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump's administration cannot pull back $600 million in public health grants allocated to four Democratic-led states, including Illinois, for now.
President Trump pardoned five former NFL players - one posthumously - for crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.
From Kat Abughazaleh to Jason Friedman, some surprising names lead in fundraising in Illinois' primary elections.
Members of the hemp industry in Chicago are calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson veto a ban on most intoxicating hemp-derived products.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
The Trump administration's new discounted drug platform isn't a game-changer for consumers, health care experts said.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
With his name now hanging in the rafters, former Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is helping the United Center with its major redevelopment.
A potential bidding war is taking shape for the Daily Herald, the newspaper of record for suburban Chicago.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
"Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues" star James Van Der Beek has died at 48 years old.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny took the stage on Sunday dressed in all white, donning a jersey with his last name, Ocasio, and the number 64.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
Bad Bunny took the stage at halftime for the 2026 Super Bowl. Here's who else performed at Super Bowl 60.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The White Sox are coming off a season in which they had the most one-run losses in baseball. Manager Will Venable is hoping a revamped bullpen that now includes multiple guys who can hit 100 on the radar gun will help fix that.
A couple at a senior living community in northwest suburban Bartlett celebrated their 71st anniversary in a very special way: with a vow renewal.
Chief meteorologist Albert Ramon has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
How much did the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services know about past abuse allegations against a Round Lake Beach mother and her boyfriend, who are now charged in an 8-year-old boy's death? And what did they do? A state lawmaker is joining the growing call for accountability.
We believe in manifesting! As couples celebrate Valentine's Day, our own Marie Saavedra used the power of positive thinking - and generative AI - to envision a romance with British actor Theo James.
The crew and passengers on a Wendella tour boat rescued a man who fell into the Chicago River Friday morning.
A state lawmaker is joining the growing call for accountability from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about past abuse allegations before an 8-year-old boy's murder.
Chicago's rodent problem is well known, but a new pilot program testing rat birth control to curb the population in problem areas is underway to help rein it in.
Mayor Brandon Johnson on Friday vetoed an ordinance banning the sale of most intoxicating hemp-derived products in Chicago.
A couple at a senior living community in northwest suburban Bartlett celebrated their 71st anniversary in a very special way: with a vow renewal.
A state lawmaker is joining the growing call for accountability from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about past abuse allegations before an 8-year-old boy's murder.
Chicago's rodent problem is well known, but a new pilot program testing rat birth control to curb the population in problem areas is underway to help rein it in.
From Kat Abughazaleh to Jason Friedman, some surprising names lead in fundraising in Illinois' primary elections.
The move means the United States Environmental Protection Agency will no longer regulate greenhouse gases emitted from sources like cars, trucks and power plants.
CBS News Chicago is tracking what led to the death of an 8-year-old boy in Round Lake Beach and whether state officials were aware of any red flags before his murder.
A 19-game improvement last season saw a lot of White Sox players make their Major League debuts, and one of the team's top prospects is working for that same opportunity this year.
While their overall expectations might be much different, both the Cubs and White Sox are looking to make noticeable improvements in 2026 as they ramp up spring training in Arizona.
With his name now hanging in the rafters, former Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is helping the United Center with its major redevelopment.
After Iowa, Portage, and Gary joined the talks for the Bears' new stadium, leaders in Arlington Heights say this is now, more than ever, about keeping the team in Illinois.
Cade Horton, who won't have the innings restrictions like he did last year, when he still finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
President Trump pardoned five former NFL players - one posthumously - for crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.
Authorities on Thursday released the first physical description of a male suspect wanted in connection with the Arizona disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
A man pleaded guilty Thursday to the murders of two brothers — both of them U.S. Marines — in Cicero, Illinois, more than three decades ago.
A man was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison Wednesday for the murders of two men in an attempted robbery Chicago's Chinatown six years ago.
A Chicago man has been charged with robbing and beating a CTA passenger on board a Red Line train last fall.
