Continuing the Crazy Animals Saga of Illinois and the Greater Chicago area, animal rescue workers have captured an elusive wild turkey (adorably nicknamed "Sparkles") in an intersection near Lake Bluff. Sparkles had been making his home near this busy intersection for some time, and it appears that he (yes, the turkey is male) probably has been hanging out around that area since earlier this summer, perhaps even as early as May. Although no one really knows how Sparkles ended up in Lake Bluff, some people suspect that he is part of a rogue turkey clan that has been spotted north of the area. Sparkles' popularity had grown to epic proportions and animal rescue workers finally captured him Friday after they stalked, baited, and waited over 80 hours for him: more ›

George Michael of north suburban Lake Bluff (not to be confused with this George Michael or this George Michael) thought he had something going when he slapped a cross on the side of his lakefront mansion, converted a racquetball court into a chapel and declared it a "church," which in his mind should save him almost $80,000 a year in property taxes as churches are generally tax exempt. Remarkably, the cash strapped Illinois Department of Revenue went ahead and gave Michael the OK for the exemption, but it was later reversed in July 2009 after the village filed a lawsuit. more ›

The new beige will be on display when the Chicago Luxury Home Tour opens its doors for a three-week run this weekend. The tour highlights twenty-nine $1 million-plus homes in the Chicagoland area, and features the latest in home construction to home design trends. A wide variety of architectural styles are featured in homes built by multiple builders. With houses located from Lake Bluff to Yorkville, from Barrington Hills to Hinsdale, the homes, all outside... more ›

This isn't a local story, but nothing, and we mean nothing, can top the strange case of astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak. She was arrested Monday at Orlando International Airport after attacking Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who she thought was trying to steal her would-be boyfriend and fellow astronaut, Cmdr. William Oefelein. Aren't astronauts supposed to be our best and brightest? This makes that episode of the Simpsons where Barney lays off the sauce and... more ›

North Shore Train? more ›

It's no secret that we love Ask Tom Why. Because sometimes it's easier to write a letter to a team of meteorologists and wait for an answer to be printed in the newspaper than just to google it. Oooh, information supahighway. more ›