Join hosts Mason Schweizer and Steve Soucie as they break down what happened in Week 1 in Kankakee County high school football and look ahead to Week 2

The IHSA's changes to the multiplier rules altered the way that the 2025 playoffs are likely to look. And the first regular season projection reflected that fact. Steve Soucie's first playoff projection of the season predicts how all eight classes of the field will look.

The village of Herscher hosted hundreds once again for its 104th annual Labor Day Celebration on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025.

The Village of Braidwood named a new chief of police Tuesday night, introducing Eric Allen to the community.

Kankakee's boys soccer team fell in the semifinals of the Windy City Classic, Illinois Central Eight Conference play began in girls volleyball and boys soccer and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Bradley-Bourbonnais won its home opener 2-0 over Beecher on Tuesday, taking the first set 25-21 before pulling away in the second set 25-12.

Bradley-Bourbonnais beat Beecher 2-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.

Pritzker encouraged residents to learn their rights and film ICE’s work. “Authoritarians thrive on your silence,” he said. “Be loud for America.”

A Herscher man sustained serious injuries when his pickup truck crashed into an unoccupied vehicle and an occupied house in Herscher Sunday.

Illinois State Police said an ISP squad car was struck while investigating an accident on Interstate 55 at milepost 217 in Livingston County.

Asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he had decided to send National Guard troops to Chicago, Trump said, “We’re going in,” but added. “I didn’t say when.”

Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson revealed on Tuesday that a groin injury had kept him away from practice during training camp. He also said he's doing everything he can to play in Monday's season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Congratulations to these 22 Illinois high school football players who were voted onto Friday Night Drive's Team of the Week for Week 1 of the 2025 high school football season

Mason Schweizer looks back at Week 1 of the Daily Journal area football season.

A public-access outdoor fitness court by Kankakee High School is anticipated to be complete by early November.

The Chicago Bears starting preparing for their season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday at Halas Hall. Here's how the defense is getting ready for the unknown of Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

A new trial date has been set in the Xandria Harris case.

Racing returned to the Kankakee River for a weekend of Kankakee River Valley Regatta action over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Classic cars and camaraderie could be found at the Kankakee County Museum as gear heads gathered for the Cruise-In Night at the Museum earlier this month on Aug. 14.

Former six-term Hersher Mayor Ray Schneider will run for a Kankakee County Board seat in western Kankakee County.

Clifton Baptist Church is hosting an autumn fest and craft show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 13 behind the church, 390 S. Forest in Clifton.

We gathered at daughter Loretta and Dustin’s house by 2 a.m. to start grilling a thousand pounds of leg quarters

As the deadline nears for the adoption of the municipal 1% grocery tax, the Bradley Village Board approved the measure.

A list of recent births at Riverside Medical Center.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais boys soccer team won a pair of games to take first place in the Boilermaker Invite and more in Saturday's Daily Journal roundup.

Former 6-term Herscher Mayor Ray Schneider will be honored as Herscher's Labor Day parade grand marshal.

After a start and stop, the Bradley trustees unanimously approved an amusement tax.

In this week's column, Dennis Marek writes about a stop near Peotone once purported to be a hideout for infamous gangster, Al Capone.

Miss out on any of the action in and around Kankakee County? Listen to the audio versions of our stories from Week 1 of the 2025 season here

Endangered leafy prairie clover was recently found by volunteer Karen Horn on Langham Island near the Kankakee River State Park after not being seen since 1873.

Clifton Central beat defending Vermilion Valley Conference champions Bismarck-Henning 34-13 in Friday's season opener, Herscher had a comeback to remember and more in the Daily Journal football roundup.

A Quaid Phillips end-around out of the Wildcat with less than a minute to play lifted Morris past Wilmington 27-20 in a much-anticipated matchup of state powerhouses.

Bradley-Bourbonnais executed in all three phases Friday night to pick up a 42-0 home win over TF North in the season opener, with senior quarterback Ellis Johnson throwing for two touchdowns and running for another in his first career start.

Bradley-Bourbonnais opened up the 2025 season with a 42-0 home win over Thornton-Fractional North on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025.

Two Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department deputies suffered minor injuries when the squad car they were in was allegedly hit by a 13-year-old boy who was driving a stolen vehicle Friday afternoon.

The Diocese of Joliet has issued a response to the deadly shooting at a Catholic School mass in Minnesota, and says it plans to review school safety policies with principals.

The Raiders will be young again this season, but with some of those youngsters already seeing snaps last year and a handful of crucial upperclassmen, optimism is high at Iroquois West.

In year four of the Max Fransen era, the Watseka coach is thrilled with the play he can expect in the trenches, a group that can guide the Warriors to their first post-pandemic postseason appearance.

Manteno enjoyed a 7-0 start before dropping their last three games, including a first-round Class 4A Playoff exit. In 2025, they'll look to not just repeat their playoff appearance, but find late season success.

The Comets are making their first coaching transition in a generation, but with 10 starters back on either side of the ball, the standard remains the same at Clifton Central.

Milford/Cissna Park has been at or near the top of the I8FA since its 2018 inception. Don't expect that to change in 2025.

Peotone is underdoing a slight youth movement this fall, but that isn't tampering expectations for a Blue Devils program that's developed into a consistent playoff team.

As the foundation continues to build in the program's third season back from a near 50-year hiatus, St. Anne enters 2025 as a returning playoff team for the first time ever.

Herscher's in the area's longest postseason drought, but with almost all hands on deck from a 2024 team that was a game away from snapping the skid, the Tigers fully expect to get back to playoff prominence in 2025.

As he enters his fourth season as the Momence quarterback, Erick Castillo and his teammates have fuel to their fire after a sour end to their 2024 campaign.

The Coalers said goodbye to all-time rushing leader Landin Benson. But they return nearly everyone else from last year's Class 4A semifinalist squad.

The first Chicago Bears training camp under head coach Ben Johnson is over. Here are some of the key superlatives of what we learned over the past six weeks.

Kankakee won at the Windy City Classic again, Reed-Custer's Matthew Kuban made school history and more in Thursday's Daily Journal roundup.

Bradley-Bourbonnais topped Bishop McNamara in the All-City matchup at the Kankakee Elks Country Club on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.

Morris rallied from a late deficit in each set and swept Coal City, 25-22, 25-23