Dawn Patrol: St. Charles father fatally shot twin daughters, himself
Police: St. Charles dad fatally shot twin daughters, himself
A St. Charles father shot and killed his twin daughters in their home Friday before fatally shooting himself, police said yesterday. Randall R. Coffland, 48, and his 16-year-old daughters, Brittany S. Coffland and Tiffany S. Coffland, each were found dead with a single gunshot wound to the head, Deputy Police Chief David Kintz said. A crisis team will assemble this morning at St. Charles East High School, where Brittany and Tiffany attended school, to assist students mourning the deaths of their classmates. The full story, video and recordings of 911 calls can be found here.
Constable: For Wildcats, the 'N' no longer stands for 'Never'
For the first time since the NCAA basketball tournament began in 1939, the Northwestern Wildcats are going to the dance. "To see our name go up there for the Big Dance is a moment none of us will ever forget," said Head Coach Chris Collins."I believed in my heart that today, and many days like this to come, would happen." Read Burt Constable's full column here.
Naperville restaurant reopened after kitchen fire
A Naperville restaurant reopened yesterday afternoon after a kitchen fire the night before forced patrons and employees to evacuate the business and sent flames pouring from the building's roof. No one was injured in the fire, which occurred about 10:05 p.m. Saturday at the Texas Roadhouse, but the restaurant was closed for several hours because of the damage. Full story.
Weather
The forecast for today calls for temperatures to start the day in the high 20s but with wind and snow that will make it feel like 15 degrees. The high temperature for today is expected to reach 34 degrees by 3 p.m. There is a winter weather advisory in the area for snow, meaning the 2 to 4 inches of snowfall will primarily impact traffic conditions with snow-covered roads and decreased visibility for drivers. The winter weather advisory is in place until 1 p.m. Replacing it will be a lake effect snow watach this evening that could see periods of snow in excess of 2 inches per hour of snowfall in some areas. The snow watch will remain in place running into Tuesday morning. Some locations in the watch area could see 6 or more inces of snowfall. There are flight cancellations at both O'Hare International Aiport and Midway Airport. More detail on weather conditions is available here.
Traffic
Snow is already taking its toll on roadways for the morning commute. There is an accident involving five cars on the inbound Dan Ryan that's left the two left lanes blocked at 47th Street. There is also an accident on the outbound Edens Expressway causing blockage of two lanes near Route 68. Traffic is moving steadily on I-88 and on Route 83 through DuPage County. Construction work continues on Route 53 between Charles Lane and Harding Road. Long-term roadwork will also continue on Higgins Road between Route 53/I-290 and Lexington Drive. River Road East, between Exit Road and the I-90 overpass remains closed. More details here.
Blackhawks answer the bell, blow past Wild
While alarm bells might be sounding in Minnesota, it was clear from the get-go yesterday that the Chicago Blackhawks had absolutely no problem springing forward, beat writer John Dietz wrote. In a game that felt like it started at 10:35 a.m. thanks to the time change, Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin made it look like a bewildered Devan Dubnyk still was asleep by scoring twice in the first five minutes, and the Hawks went on to claim a huge 4-2 victory at the United Center. Full story.