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Actor, writer, producer and director Robert Smigel, right, and actor George Wendt speak during an interview on Aug. 19, 2019, outside Soldier Field in Chicago. The two were filming a segment of “Bill Swerski Super Fans,” the “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which they play Bears fans. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)

Bob Odenkirk on how Mike Ditka made ‘Superfans’ of us all

The men in the old “Saturday Night Live” skit would not have believed the news Friday. They would have continued to guzzle beer and eat meat with their bare hands, and they would have dismissed the reports the way they dismissed so many heart attacks. No, it can’t be true, Bill Swerski’s Superfans would’ve said. Mike Ditka can’t be gone.

Alyssa M. Smith. (Palatine Police Department)

Palatine police have new leads on missing 24-year-old woman

Palatine police released new information Friday about the search for 24-year-old Alyssa M. Smith, who was reported missing by a family member on Sept. 30. Meanwhile, her mother, Fox River Grove resident Rebecca Smith, fears her daughter could be trafficked.

A giant scarecrow is displayed outside Premier Living Real Estate during the St. Charles Scarecrow Weekend Saturday in St. Charles. (Joe Lewnard/Daily Herald)

Scarecrows populate St. Charles during weekend festival

More than 100 handmade scarecrows created by a variety of businesses and organizations were spread throughout downtown St. Charles, and centered at Lincoln Park, during the start Saturday of the three-day St. Charles Scarecrow Weekend.

MOM’s Organic Market in Mount Prospect will have its grand opening the weekend of Oct. 16. (Steve Zalusky/Daily Herald)

‘We’re not a boutique store’: MOM’s Organic Market opening first Illinois store in Mount Prospect

Mount Prospect will be the launching pad for MOM’s Organic Market’s expansion into the Chicago area.

Guilty verdict in fatal 2023 shooting at Wheaton-area bar

A former Aurora man who fatally shot a fellow Wheaton-area bar patron in 2023 following a dispute over a pizza and a bar tab has been found guilty of first-degree murder, authorities said.

Aarya Sharma is accompanied by her parents, Akshay Sharma and Aparajita Rai of Schaumburg, and her father’s parents at Denali National Park in Alaska. Aarya is now the youngest person to have visited all 63 U.S. national parks. (Akshay Sharma)

Schaumburg toddler becomes youngest person to visit all 63 U.S. national parks

At 19 months old and with visits to all 63 U.S. national parks under her bib, Aarya Sharma of Schaumburg is ready to see a little more of the world.

A Bears fan dressed as Mike Ditka cheers during the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bears play against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field on Sept. 28, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

‘We’ll never forget him, ever’: Chicago Bears fans reminisce on Mike Ditka’s legacy

As a child growing up in Poland during the ‘80s, Tom Godowski watched Bears football games on tapes sent from his father, who lived in Chicago. When a teenage Godowski moved to the city, there was never a question of what team to root for.

Players line up shoulder to shoulder to play tables at last year’s Pinball Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel. (John Starks/Daily Herald)

‘The show is about the people’: After 42 years, Pinball Expo is still going strong

A supposedly one-and-done Pinball Expo back in 1985 is on its way to the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel this week to mark its 42nd year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
 

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