SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to close two adult prisons, two youth lock-ups and six halfway houses for soon-to-be-released inmates was met with mixed reviews Wednesday.

FLICK FLAK, random thoughts on the @ key, Bloomington city council member Judy Stearns, lower heating bills, "Mike" on the Ford commercials, and other such life obsessions:

A 70-acre Bloomington police building once eyed for an emergency vehicle training course is now the subject of a study that could help determine whether the property will remain in city hands.

BLOOMINGTON — The city will benefit from the work of seven Twin City university students as part of a pilot program designed to give them real-world experience in local government.

The weather today should be partly sunny with a high near 49. Tonight is expected to be mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain and a low around 38. Thursday's forecast is for mostly cloudy, br

BLOOMINGTON -- A man who claimed he had a handgun robbed the Casey's General Store at Morrissey Drive and Lincoln Street on Tuesday night in Bloomington.

NORMAL — Students at Heartland Community College will pay more tuition and fees beginning this summer.

A jury convicted former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of his ex-girlfriend, Yeardley Love.

Letters containing a powdery substance were sent to at least three congressional offices this week, and the sender is threatening more that could include harmful material, the top Senate law enforcement official said Wednesday.

The grandmother and stepmother of a 9-year-old Alabama girl who died Monday after allegedly being ordered to run around her family's house -- for hours -- as punishment for lying about taking a candy bar have been charged with murder, police said Wednesday.

While stone carvers chisel new pieces to repair damage inflicted on the Washington National Cathedral by an earthquake last August, fundraisers say the cathedral's restoration fund is $18 million short of the repair cost.

One student was wounded and another was in custody Wednesday after a shooting at an elementary school in Bremerton, Washington, authorities said.

Speculation and messages of support surged in Venezuela Wednesday, a day after President Hugo Chavez announced he would travel to Cuba for surgery.

Violence left five people dead today as protests over Quran burning by coalition troops intensified in Afghanistan. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul went into lockdown.

Ted Turner: Congress is trying to do an end run to OK the Keystone oil pipeline, which could mean disastrous toxic spills and poisoned water.

Dean Obeidallah says the NYPD spying on Muslim American students at 16 universities is profiling at its worst. Why is there no public outcry?

Battling a severe cold, Tiger Woods beat Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 1 up in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain.

Albert Pujols is objecting to the Angels "El Hombre" ads.

Players meetings are fine, but Magic Johnson thinks the Los Angeles Lakers need Kobe Bryant to sit down with management to address some issues.

Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo will take Joe Johnson's spot on the Eastern Conference roster at this year's All-Star Game after being named an injury replacement Tuesday by NBA commissioner David Stern.

Due to a left knee injury, New York Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert will not participate in the NBA's Slam Dunk contest this weekend. He will be replaced by Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans.

Temple is in talks with the Big East about joining the conference as early as 2012, sources confirmed Wednesday. The New York Times first reported on the discussions to add Temple in all sports.

In the wake of a new study, the national president of Pop Warner said he will propose a rule that, for the first time, would limit the amount of contact allowed in youth football practices.

UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun, who is suffering from spinal stenosis, will undergo a surgical procedure Monday to help address the lower back condition.