For a small Midwestern city with a clean, wholesome reputation, Springfield's 1998 outbreak of leptospirosis seems nothing short of bizarre. It was by far the largest epidemic of that illness in Unite]]> In a flawless Saturday in Beardstown, Aaron Schock sprints to catch up with his parade float after falling behind to shake hands, slap five with little boys, pose for photographs,]]> Etched into endless fields of corn and beans, Illinois 41 runs south from Galesburg to U.S. 136, where it ends just east of Macomb. Two-thirds of the way down its 45-mile length, 41 veers west f]]> Untitled Document Civil War medicine is notorious for being gruesome. It’s an odd topic for the squeamish, like Springfield author Glenna Schroeder-Lein, whose ]]> “A total convert” Ted Keylon is still trying to change the world. Just ask him. Go ahead. The 37-year-old musician/artist/television host/producer/underground zine publisher/]]> Come January, Irene Salz predicts, she will see many new faces. So will Sara Lopinski and Carmine Gaulding. All three women help people in Springfield live healthier lifestyles through diet and ]]> Karen Hudson didn’t know what to think when she first learned that factory farming was coming to her town. Elmwood, Ill., is a small but prosperous bedroom community about 20 miles ]]> "The interurban was an American transportation phenomenon. Evolved from the urban streetcar, the interurban appeared shortly before the dawn of the 20th century, grew to a vast network of over 1]]> Jim Kontio knows what it’s like to lose. After he and his wife Meganne married, the couple quickly decided that they wanted a baby. They were both older, Kontio says, and realized ]]> Step right up! Welcome to the Illinois State Fairgrounds, where kids can milk cows, and cows can win ribbons and anyone 21 years and older can contribute to an electronic, press-a-button, hear-a-beep,]]> "Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring." So wrote the late author Nelson Algren, who chronicled the city's vast underworld of street hustlers, ward bosses, and mob heavies. But in]]> Julie Rea has told this story hundreds of times. But no matter how many times she tells it, the story never makes sense. She was asleep in her own bed when she heard a child scream. This child sound]]> Untitled Document It used to be that organic was enough. That organic label told consumers their food was safer, fresher, and more likely to have come from a small, reliable farm]]> "Populations” and “communities” are ecological terms describing scientific premises, but the large groups of waterfowl resting on Lake DePue, chattering among themselves, s]]> It’s the only national forest in our predominantly agricultural/urban state, and it offers a great escape from our daily routines. Located down in the southern tip of the stat]]> Pardon the folks on Bob-O-Link Drive for missing a few traditional late-May cookouts, swimming-pool opening days and Indy 500s. For going on two decades now, John and Dixie Steele have postp]]> The South African Boer goat quietly invaded the United States via Texas about 15 years ago – and has been nibbling its way north ever since. Developed by Dutch farmers]]> Justin Robbins knelt on the living-room floor in his Piper Glen home with his 4-year-old daughter, Sydney. The pair held hands, closed their eyes, ]]> After a frustrating early morning of turkey hunting in late April, John and his father-in-law gave up and decided to return to their Jacksonville homes. They wouldn’t ]]>