The Herald News

Owners of more than 130 townhouses in Manhattan's Leighlinbridge subdivision have been saddled with a $1.7 million mechanics lien that many believe is a scam.

The Oak Brook cop son of accused wife-killer Drew Peterson was suspended from his job, possibly for his part in hiding an assault rifle from the state police. Stephen Peterson, a 6-year veteran of the Oak Brook department, was put on paid administrative leave Friday. He declined to discuss the matter.

A Plainfield South High School night custodian and the son of a victim of the 1990 tornado was arrested Friday on one charge of distribution of child pornography, a felony.

After losing grants for drug prevention, Joliet Township High School District is looking toward the arts to draw funds. Chicago artist Samuel Akainyah is proposing to paint a masterpiece that captures the Joliet community that then could be sold as lithograph prints and posters in order to potentially raise up to $250,000. Akainyah presented his previous works and told his story of growing up in Ghana to administrators, staff and Youth Experiencing Success in School community partners Thursday at the district office.

The Will County Sheriff's Department Fugitive Warrants Unit is seeking the following people.

One man faces charges of delivery of cannabis for receiving a large delivery, police said.

The troops have our back. And the people at Paulie's Pub back the troops. The men and women in the armed forces are the best -- we all know that. So Paulie's Pub is having a huge fundraiser to benefit them. It will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday and run until closing time at 2 a.m. Monday.

The 107th running of the Will County Fair is enjoying clear skies and sunshine. While taffy apples, cotton candy and carnival lights draw visitors to the midway, the vintage Exposition Building is filled with fine arts ranging from cooking and sewing to flowers and vegetables.

An Aurora woman who caused the 2007 drunk-driving crash that killed five Oswego teens was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison by a Kendall County judge. The prison term means Sandra Vasquez will have to spend at least 12-1/2 years behind bars for slamming her car into a utility pole while driving eight teens home from a party.

Grundy County Sheriff Terry Marketti announced his office will receive $124,048 in grant funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Justice Assistance Grant Program.

Environmental groups contend the water around Midwest Generation's Joliet station is being contaminated and state regulators aren't doing anything about it.

A major Will County road project in the works since 2000 is getting closer to a launch date.

1990 tornado 20th anniversary: Experts say there is good news and bad news should an F5 magnitude tornado hit today in the Will County area, where there are more buildings and people than in 1990.

1990 tornado 20th anniversary: Although horrendous in terms of lives lost and injuries sustained, the Will County tornado of 1990 was also very costly in dollars. Homes, businesses, and other buildings sustained $165 million in damage.

Column: Every time there is a bad storm, bad enough where there might be some damaging winds or a tornado, my wife Tammy and I remember when our daughter, Jillian, learned what the word "hot" meant.

Plainfield School Board bumped up the price of school lunch, but has yet to decide on which non-instructional fees to waive for needy families.

The Joliet Township High School Foundation is seeking student and teacher applications for its Fall Student and Staff Grant Program.

A fire alarm at Romeoville High School malfunctioned at about 6:05 a.m. Thursday, causing staff to evacuate and students to head to the football stadium. There were no students in the school at the time, but there was a small number of staff inside the school.

When folks here are stomping their feet on Stumbo Street in the future, they can thank action taken by the city of Yorkville in 2010 for making that possible.

The Sun-Times Charity Trust, which supports youth and literacy causes in the Chicago region, will join the Chicago's Day for Charity 5K, a run/walk event Sept. 26 in Lincoln Park.