10 stories you may have missed this weekend
1. After 50 years of debate over the future of a Route 53 north extension into Lake County, a make-or-break decision is in the works. “This is our last best chance,” said Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor.
2. A look behind the aggressive ads shows incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner spinning some common ground on issues into big differences, yet still providing very different views of how they'd run government.
3. Did Bob Dold vote to allow oil drilling in Lake Michigan when he was in Congress? Not exactly. But that hasn't stopped U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider from making that allegation on the campaign trail.
4. The family of an Elgin man who died Friday is asking questions about the way he was administered medical care, including why he was placed into handcuffs. Elgin police say Ramon Vargas, 39, died of natural causes.
5. He may have been the “bad student” back in his teenage years, but these days Steven Elza is the “great teacher.” The Illinois State Board of Education confirmed that this weekend by naming the Fremd High School automotive instructor its Teacher of the Year.
6. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has ordered a mandatory 21-day home quarantine for “high-risk” individuals who have had direct contact with anyone infected with the Ebola virus while in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea.
7. Congressional candidate Larry Kaifesh says he is undaunted by the fact incumbent Tammy Duckworth has raised nearly 10 times the amount he has.
8. Whether Lake Zurich becomes a home rule community could depend, in part, on how much voters trust their local officials.
9. The Elgin Police Department is taking issue with a Facebook post they say misrepresented the injuries suffered by a female cabdriver involved in an altercation.
10. J.R. McBride, who represented county board District 4, died early Friday morning at his Glen Ellyn home after a long battle with cancer.
BONUS: Hometown boy Scott Darling got the “thrill of a lifetime” when he made his NHL debut Sunday night with the Blackhawks and it went well, sports writer Mike Spellman says.