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 Living Wage for All Act would gradually increase the minimum wage to $25 an hour by 2031.
Storms are leaving the area and are expected to wrap up by midnight.
Golden Apple is a prestigious award given to educators, highlighting their excellence in teaching and leadership.
Grandmothers Circle Program pairs community grandmothers with middle school girls to provide them the support they need.
Cook County Sheriff's police were investigating after a decomposing body was pulled out of a pond on Monday afternoon near Illinois State Police Troop 3 headquarters in unincorporated Des Plaines.
A federal appeals court blocked a FDA rule that allowed the abortion pill mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail.
With 60 field organizers, 15 offices, and high-seven-figure spending planned, Iowa Democrats are making their most aggressive midterm investment in years as they target open seats for governor and U.S. Senate.
The 81-year-old former New York City mayor has been hospitalized for pneumonia, his spokesperson said.
Elmwood Park, Center Cass, Oak Lawn Hometown, and Atwood Heights are among the Illinois districts being investigated by the Justice Department over classroom instruction on gender and sexuality.
Negotiations over a $500 million dollar government aid package for Spirit stalled after bondholders balked at the terms.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.17 on Friday, up from $3.75 a year ago.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Chicago gas prices are spiking as the war with Iran drags on, with regular gas nearing $6 in some spots and premium already selling for more than $7 in some places.
In the legal venue of anti-trust enforcement, the state is not taking on the Trump administration, but rather filling a void that state officials say the Trump administration has vacated.
Thirty years ago, Advocate Children's Hospital created a specialized team to transport the smallest patients to get life-saving care. On the anniversary of the Neonatal Pediatric Transport Team, they unveiled some a new ambulance.
The second-largest physicians' group in the U.S. has issued a surprising switch in breast cancer screening recommendations.
A new $48 million wellness center opened Thursday in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. The goal is to improve the health and quality of life for people on the West Side of Chicago.
La Rabida Children's Hospital went all out for Earth Day on Wednesday, with volunteer cleanup efforts by staffers and activities for patients and families.
It has been several weeks since West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Illinois, abruptly shut down — and then on Wednesday, it just as swiftly partially reopened, with some services available.
Thousands of people marched from the West Loop to Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago on Friday for May Day, with activists calling for workers' rights, stronger labor protections, and increased school funding.
A $170 million-plus plan announced this week will redevelop the Water Tower Place mall on the Magnificent Mile.
The Holiday Club in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood will soon be going out of business, as the building that houses the popular bar is set to be torn down.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the Lincolnwood Village Board approved a pre-development agreement with the mall, providing a roadmap with the property owner for further preparations and government approvals for redevelopment.
The only remaining location of Pal Joey's pizzeria in Batavia, Illinois, will soon be going out of business, its owner announced this week.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
Jake was at the funeral for one of his closest friends when he learned of his parents' deaths, he said.
Tickets for the 2026 Ravinia Festival season went on sale Thursday morning.
The current minimum wage is $7.25 and hasn't increased since 2009.
Leo High School Principal Dr. Shaka Rawls was celebrated for his leadership on Monday, as he is now the recipient of the Golden Apple—a prestigious award given to educators, highlighting their excellence in teaching and leadership.
According to the Illinois Department of Health, nearly all vaccines are “at or above” the desired 95% immunization goal to prevent disease spread. Diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and polio had rates below the 95% mark.
The Chicago Police Department is trying to figure out how a man was able to get a gun into a hospital last month before shooting two of their officers, killing one and critically injuring another, after he was arrested for an earlier armed robbery.
Lows tonight will drop to near 50 degrees with rain and storms wrapping up closer to midnight. Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon is tracking the latest in First Alert Weather.
Questions remain about how the man charged with killing Chicago police officer John Bartholomew and shooting his partner last month was able to get a gun into Swedish Hospital after he was arrested for an earlier armed robbery.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
Rideshare drivers say it's getting difficult to continue working as gas prices surpass $6 in the city.
The Living Wage for All Act would gradually increase the minimum wage to $25 an hour by 2031.
Storms are leaving the area and are expected to wrap up by midnight.
Rideshare drivers say it's getting difficult to continue working as gas prices surpass $6 in the city.
More than four months after a Chicago woman battling ALS was told she couldn't get a disabled parking placard in front of her home, the sign is up and her life is about to change.
An elderly woman has essentially abandoned her home of three decades because of constantly broken elevators at her high-rise condo building on the Southwest Side of Chicago.
Violent retail crime is on the rise in Illinois, according to a new report from the Illinois Organized Retail Crime Association.
A top administrator in the Libertyville school district has been placed on leave after a fiery school board meeting focused on how the district handled allegations of grooming leveled against a former teacher.
Graham previously served as the Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Atlanta Hawks.
Chicago's Derek Hill hit a two-run shot that tied it at 3 in the seventh.
At 22-12, the Cubs are a season-high 10 games over .500.
The White Sox broke through against Michael King (3-2) in the sixth and then chased the Padres' top starter in the seventh.
The Cubs had not won 10 in a row at home since they had 14 straight victories at Wrigley from May 18-June 22, 2008.
Chief Geoff Guttschow, who has an autistic child who drives, says the Blue Envelope Program gives officers a tool to recognize when a driver may need additional communication support.
A woman has been charged with shooting a 15-year-old boy outside an indoor track facility near Gately Park in Chicago in 2024, after getting into a fight with another woman during a back-to-school event in the Pullman neighborhood.
Sexual abuse charges were filed this week against a Park City, Illinois, police officer.
Attorneys for the man convicted of the murders of two girls in Delphi, Indiana, have filed a new brief with the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn his case.
Attorneys for a woman convicted of killing her 69-year-old landlord in Chicago's Arcadia Terrace community have filed an appeal.
