Illinois officials are urging people not to travel amid dust storm warnings across parts of the state, including much of the Chicago area.

A tornado watch is in effect until 10 p.m. Thursday for most of northern Illinois, the National Weather Service reports.

Four people were hospitalized Wednesday after suffering injuries in a two-car, head-on crash west of Hampshire and Burlington in DeKalb County, authorities said.

The Jefferson Street bridge in downtown Joliet was shut down Wednesday and the Illinois Department of Transportation did not say how long the bridge will be closed.

Just one day before Kyle Cooper was set to be tried on a first-degree murder charge in a Rock Falls stabbing case, attorneys announced they’ve reached a tentative plea agreement.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said the initial investigation indicates the southbound motorcycle crossed into the northbound lane while traveling on Illinois 84 and collided with a northbound semi.

Former Will County correctional officer Daniel Herod has had his case for child sexual abuse continued until June. He remains held in jail.

A Rock Falls man is hospitalized in Rockford after the motorcycle he was driving collided with an SUV near Palmyra and Peek Home roads.

An ill detective and an abundance of pretrial motions – covering everything from whether to let a jury hear a 911 call to the possibility the Rock Falls Police Department violated investigative protocol – has led to a two-day delay in the start of a Rock Falls murder trial.