Wisch: Will Thomas Hold Beckman To Zook's Standards?
Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas has a big decision awaiting this weekend.
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Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas has a big decision awaiting this weekend.
Ravenous Illinois fans take over Internet polls -- what would they do with a real championship team?
Tim Beckman's boss made it clear upon his hiring that Big Ten success was the goal.
Illinois' football attendance has been dwindling for five straight seasons.
No Illini coach has started with three straight losing seasons since 1977-'79.
Don't blame Illinois' admission standards for a lack of football talent -- the onus is on the coaches.
Former Illinois coach Ron Zook appears destined for Green Bay.
The Tim Beckman hire was a mistake and everybody has known it since his first press conference.
Illinois has a nearly two-decade tradition of retaining coaches at least one season too long.
The only hope for Illinois to continue progress (or start it) is by firing embattled defensive coordinator Tim Banks and hoping that Thomas can hire a talented assistant to replacement him.
It's that simple. Yet, of course, for the Fighting Illini, it isn't at all.
What a difference a week makes.
Stanford does it. So does Michigan. Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt do it, too.
Things Illini Nation learned this past week: 1) Ron Zook now works for a bank, and 2) Mike Thomas is willing to invest time in rebutting him.
If Beckman can't get things turned around soon – both on the field and with the state's best athletes – he won't be worrying about recruiting rankings for long.
From 1994-98, I was a student at the University of Illinois, and during those four years I saw a grand total of 14 football victories.
But then there's the University of Illinois, the sadsack program of the prairie whose last three head football coaches can now be found at Florida International University (Ron Turner), the University of Buffalo (Lou Tepper) and, well, the coaching unemployment line (Ron Zook).
We don't really know what Ron Zook is up to these days.
Zook, who was fired last year after seven seasons in Champaign, left the Illinois football program in far better shape than he found it.
On Thursday, the bad case of Illini indigestion was finally relieved when Ohio University's John Groce was announced as the 17th men's head coach in Illinois history during a press conference at Assembly Hall in Champaign.
Down in Champaign at the state's flagship school, the football program is listing, which is why Toledo's Tim Beckman was brought in to right a ship that Ron Zook wrecked after a 6-0 start to the season.
Twenty years ago, after compiling a sterling 30-16-1 record on the football field at that "basketball school" down in Champaign, University of Illinois coach John Mackovic bolted the Land of Lincoln for the gridiron riches of the Lone Star State.
Toledo head football coach Tim Beckman has reportedly emerged as the favorite to replace Ron Zook at Illinois.
Illinois has extended the application period for candidates for its head football coaching position until late Thursday night.
I happen to think the Illinois football job offers as much potential as any in the country. Much like, you know, the University of Wisconsin job offered Alvarez two decades ago when he took it over and transformed the Badgers into a snarling, bare-knuckled national power.
The game was tied at 1 before Thompson scored from the low slot 13 minutes into the second after stealing the puck from Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier.
The star of the film and members of the Jackson 5 all walked the red carpet of the special screening on Monday night.
Some of the water guns carried by the students can be mistaken for the real deal, and that's exactly what happened over the weekend.
Kyle Schwarber homered twice and drove in three runs, Cristopher Sánchez pitched six strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs 13-7.
Some parents in southwest suburban Oswego are fired up, saying the school district invited all non-white students to participate in summer remedial programming, regardless of how they're doing in school.
The back and forth between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV continues to make waves, as the president has lashed out at the pope's criticism of his administration.
After a one-month delay, the City Council is moving forward with plans to increase taxi fares in Chicago for the first time since 2016.
The image was deleted from President Trump's Truth Social account, but the president said it depicted him as a "doctor, making people better."
A federal judge in Miami handed President Trump a defeat in his defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over a story about a birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein.
Lawmakers are returning to Washington to face major developments in the war with Iran, a lingering DHS shutdown and possible expulsion votes for some of their own members.
A passenger on an American Airlines flight from New York to Chicago has been charged with making a false bomb threat that forced an emergency landing at Detroit Metro Airport last month, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Skyrocketing property taxes continue to be a hot-button issue in Cook County — particularly since last fall, when many residents saw their tax bills increase by 100% or more.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias this weekend issued a warning about a surge in text messages that falsely claim to come from his office or the DMV within it.
Tenants at a South Loop luxury high-rise that has been plagued with problems like broken elevators are vowing to fight five-day eviction notices.
It's become an annual March Madness tradition at CBS Chicago, pitting our city's best eateries in direct competition in a foodie bracket challenge. We did pizza, we've done Italian beef, we've done Chicago dogs. This year, we're taking flight with wings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 80% of deaths related to pregnancy are preventable, and Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
The United States has long struggled with understanding and finding ways to help treat mental illness. A new documentary, which is screening Saturday in Chicago, examines the reality of living with mental illness in America.
Allergy season is here, and the dreaded pollen can trigger sneezing, congestion, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
Northwestern Medicine and the American Red Cross teamed up for a community blood drive in Chicago on Monday morning.
Ending domestic violence is the goal of groups and advocates all over the world, and some experts in Chicago say it is time to become less reactive and more proactive when it comes to the people causing harm.
A new restaurant has joined the busy stretch of Halsted Street toward the south end of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood that is also home to Alinea and Boka.
The federal government is suing Illinois, Connecticut and Arizona over efforts to regulate prediction market operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
The owners of the popular Uncommon Ground restaurant, live music venue, and brewery in Chicago's Wrigleyville community announced this week that they're looking for a successor to take over the business.
Chicago consistently ranks in the top three cities in Fortune 500 company headquarters, and now a competition has been launched to build on Chicago's power in business.
The flagship Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community will be moving later this year, a restaurant representative said Tuesday.
The United States has long struggled with understanding and finding ways to help treat mental illness. A new documentary, which is screening Saturday in Chicago, examines the reality of living with mental illness in America.
Afrika Bambaataa, a rapper and producer, was best known for breakthrough tracks like 1982's "Planet Rock" and for founding the Universal Zulu Nation art collective.
Mozart's "Don Giovanni," the local premiere of the 2022 opera "Omar," and a fresh production of "Guys and Dolls" are among the highlights of the 2026-2027 season for Chicago's Lyric Opera.
Federal magistrate Renee Harris Toliver told Pooh Sheisty that the evidence against him is strong.
A major music festival featuring the rapper formerly known as Kanye West was canceled after the U.K. government blocked Ye from entering the country.
The Wall Street Journal reports the new drinks include a dirty Dr. Pepper and a mango-pineapple refresher. Energy drinks are slated for later this year.
The company said the chemicals were previously used in some water-repellent clothing items, but it phased out their use back in 2023.
This comes as the airline plans to end service at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
Chicago comes in at No. 9 on the list. The No. 1 accent was Southern, and Louisiana rounds out the list at No. 10.
The crew honored a 2-year-old child named Cruz with a heartfelt preflight announcement during his final flight home from receiving cancer treatments. He was officially declared cancer-free in March.
Some of the water guns carried by the students can be mistaken for the real deal, and that's exactly what happened over the weekend.
The back and forth between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV continues to make waves, as the president has lashed out at the pope's criticism of his administration.
The star of the film and members of the Jackson 5 all walked the red carpet of the special screening on Monday night.
Some parents in southwest suburban Oswego are fired up, saying the school district invited all non-white students to participate in summer remedial programming, regardless of how they're doing in school.
Kyle Schwarber homered twice and drove in three runs, Cristopher Sánchez pitched six strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs 13-7.
Some parents in southwest suburban Oswego are fired up, saying the school district invited all non-white students to participate in summer remedial programming, regardless of how they're doing in school.
New proposed Illinois legislation would allow renters or people who can't install massive rooftop panels to also harness the power of the sun.
When a rusty light pole snapped and fell on a woman's car in Bucktown, causing thousands of dollars in damage, she thought the city would pay for it. She was wrong.
Financial exploitation is the leading type of elder abuse in Illinois. One Streamwood woman learned that personally, when her brother took hundreds of thousands of dollars from their parents' financial accounts.
One year after a teenage girl was shot outside her home in Country Club Hills, Illinois, and was told she would never walk again, she continued to defy the odds and reclaim her independence.
The game was tied at 1 before Thompson scored from the low slot 13 minutes into the second after stealing the puck from Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier.
Kyle Schwarber homered twice and drove in three runs, Cristopher Sánchez pitched six strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs 13-7.
After adding some veterans over the weekend, the Chicago Sky will add a few more pieces from the college ranks in Monday night's WNBA Draft.
The Chicago White Sox have sent infielder Lenyn Sosa to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minor league outfielder Jordan Rich and a player to be named later or cash considerations.
The Wildcats are led by another record-setting superstar, hoping to lead them back to the top.
Two police officers were injured over the weekend while arresting a man in a domestic disturbance in the southwest Chicago suburb of Orland Park.
Burglars struck a restaurant in the South Loop overnight Sunday night into Monday, forcing the restaurant to close for the day.
Dominic Frimpong was killed after the team's bus was attacked by a group of suspected armed robbers, officials said Monday.
Prosecutors said the victim of a deadly shooting in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood back in January was the new boyfriend of the alleged shooter's ex-girlfriend.
A man was killed this weekend in a shooting in the south Chicago suburb of Oak Forest.
