Maureen Barrett, 52, of Willow Springs created just the right blend of beans, meat and sweet heat to win the International Chili Society’s 43rd World's Championship Chili Cookoff in Charleston, W. Va. this past weekend. Barrett won $25,000 in the red chili category beating out 160 chiliheads, people who travel the country competing in events that serve as qualifiers for the world's championship. She’s been competing for 13 years but is still considered a newbie to most chiliheads. She said that she added a little more jalapeno sauce from a green bottle to clinch the victory. As chili lovers, we hope that she will post her award winning recipe here soon. [NBC 5] more ›

At first glance, we thought the story of the mom who left her kid in the mall to "teach him a lesson" was a classic case of parents misunderstanding what punishment is — like when a kid is sent to his room full of video games, TV and other toys for a time out. That was before we realized that she actually left the mall, and that the child was just 6 years old. more ›

This is certainly the time of year to walk outside and find stuff dandling from the trees in your front yard, but residents of suburban Willow Springs found more than just toilet paper dangling from the branches. Those pranksters from Microsoft dropped 2,000 copies of their new Accounting Express 2007 software all over the burg in little parachutes, providing free coasters and rearview mirror ornaments for the village of 6,000. Residents first thought they were dropped from the sky, but one early-riser said they had been chucked from a car. more ›

There’s just nothing cooler than being New York’s pre-Broadway musical comedy whore. Chicago’s “Spamalot” world premiere try-out bows tonight before moving on to Broadway in March, and pundits from Playbill to USA Today to the New Yorker are weighing in on the potential appeal of another potential “Producers”-size blockbuster. Of course it helps that, like “The Producers” before it, “Spamalot” hits the stage with a built-in audience that’s kinda familiar with the source material... more ›