Nearly 150 airplanes coming from foreign countries land at Chicago Rockford International Airport each year. The trash from those planes used to have an even longer journey. To meet federal requirements, trucks had to ship international garbage to a sterilization facility in Indianapolis after every flight. But for more than a year, Rockton company Clean Earth Pet Systems has done the job instead. 

Along with bell ringers, fruit cake and carols, the holidays bring something else: jobs. That's no small matter in a down economy, even if the positions are part time and limited to the end of the year.

Yes, Andy Warhol’s famous screen print of Marilyn Monroe is here, larger than life and up close. But viewers will find themselves equally captivated by seascapes, landscapes, abstracts, gelatin silver prints, oils and etchings by this pantheon of late 19th and 20th century artists. “An Adventure in the Arts, Moran to Warhol” has opened at Lakeview Museum with a spectacular collection of more than 70 pieces on loan through Jan. 17 from the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, N.Y.

What can diabetics do as they face the challenge of the Thanksgiving meal? Start by surveying the food selections for the meal before making a plate, said Cynthia Ledbetter, MSN, CDE, nurse practitioner at Southern Illinois University Department of Family Medicine.

Becky Davies can’t compare DivorceCare to other support groups for people going through divorce or separation. She hasn’t been to other support groups. But she has facilitated DivorceCare at Northwoods Community Church for the last three years. A lot of the sessions deal with what the Bible has to say about divorce, she says. So what does the Bible say about divorce? “It does not like divorce.” Davies doubts anyone does, which is one reason she’s passionate about the program.

You may dread the Thanksgiving feast as the holiday season’s first big bite out of your family budget, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Planning is the key for making the Turkey Day meal a little easier for your wallet to swallow, according to Kathy Meier, family nutrition coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension office in Tazewell County.

River City Construction is no stranger to economic downturns. The company was formed during the economic woes of the early 1980s when construction was down and unemployment exceeded 16 percent in central Illinois. Not only did the fledgling company survive, it prospered, aggressively pursuing and winning a number of contracts. Since the company was formed in 1984, River City has completed construction projects totaling more than $2.75 billion.

The U.S. government did more than simply extend the tax credit for first-time homeowners recently. The federal program was expanded to include longtime homeowners. Bill Embry, president of the Peoria Area Association of Realtors, said there was a good reason the government elected to expand the program: It worked.

News from around Illinois, as reported by GateHouse newspapers.

Area police and firefighters are searching for a man who disappeared early Monday morning after a police chase ended with a car submerged in the Illinois River.

Accompanied by his friend and his dog, Marc Sanson of Springfield set out on a dream earlier this year to hike the grueling Appalachian Trail across 2,200 miles and 14 states to the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine.

By avoiding conversational landmines and learning how to make small talk effectively, you can be the hit of any social gathering.

Kids want to make their own decisions. Parents don't want their kids to have a hideously decorated bedroom. Here's how to help your kids make choices for bedroom decorating you can both enjoy.

An unusually wet season has wreaked havoc on local pumpkin harvest efforts, with Nestle announcing an expected shortage of its Libby’s brand pumpkin over the holiday season.

Western Illinois University has a paleontological rock star among its faculty. Associate Professor Matthew Bonnan is part of the discovery team who found and described a new dinosaur in South Africa named Aardonyx, which means “earth claw.”