JOHNSTON CITY — Goose calling legend and call-maker extraordinaire Tim Grounds, 60, of Johnston City, was killed on Sunday in an accident at his hunting club in rural Williamson County.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

Billionaire Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker improperly received $330,000 in property tax breaks on one of his Gold Coast mansions as part of a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers, Cook County’s top watchdog concluded.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

The long-running soap opera of Illinois’ perilous finances has featured a governor touting a Squeezy the Pension Python mascot, a business group fronting an “Illinois is Broke” website and a torrent of sky-is-falling warnings from pension analysts, partisans, academics and newspaper editorial boards.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

The homecoming court donned bright gold sashes and waved to the crowd at Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue University. Amid applause, two of those students were crowned “Homecoming Royalty” but no one was named king or queen — a deviation from a long-standing tradition at the Big Ten school.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Illinois has been warned by federal authorities that the state has significantly over-issued federal food assistance to individuals who didn’t qualify and may face a large fine as a result.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.

Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh riveted Washington and the nation with hours of fiery, emotional testimony from the judge and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing him of sexual assault when they were high schoolers. Kavanaugh denied the accusation.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

The campaign for U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, who is seeking a third term in Congress, says he does not plan to participate in a 12th Congressional District candidate debate at Lindenwood University-Belleville on Oct. 16.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

Following an explosive and, at times, highly emotional day of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, all eyes turned to several key swing-vote senators who remained outwardly undecided on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s fate late Thursday.

Here’s a link to the story at Fox News.

President Donald Trump forcefully dismissed the accusations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday, saying his views have been affected by allegations he has faced in his own life and vigorously denied

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Prosecutors in the murder trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke have argued that 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was no threat to officers or civilians on the night Van Dyke shot him 16 times.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.