National Weather Service officials are expecting areas of fog Saturday that may turn dense as the day continues across portions of Northern Illinois.
Patchy fog is expected Saturday night and may turn dense mainly north of Interstate 80, officials said.
While weather conditions are calm in Northern Illinois, other parts of the northwest are facing an atmospheric river expected to produce heavy rain and snow as a system moves in from the Southern Plains to the southeast, officials said.
Officials said mild and above average temperatures are expected to continue across most of the country in the following days.
Current conditions at O’Hare International Airport is mostly cloudy at 50 degrees. Farther south at Midway Airport conditions are the same at 51 degrees.
White House National Security communications adviser John Kirby said Russia was treating North Korean troops as “expendable” by sending them on impractical ground operations in its war against Ukraine.
“It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses,” Kirby said during a Friday press gaggle.
“These North Korean soldiers appear to be highly indoctrinated, pushing attacks even when it is clear that those attacks are futile,” he added.
He noted mass casualties and failed missions for North Korean soldiers, which has resulted in suicide on the battlefield.
“We also have reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces, likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they’re captured,” Kirby stated.
His comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the capture of troops taken as prisoners of war, who died shortly after being seized.
“Today we received reports on several soldiers from North Korea, our warriors managed to capture them. But they were seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated,” Zelensky said in a Friday address
.
“This is one of the manifestations of the madness dictatorships are capable of,” he stated. “The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe.”
He urged China to exert pressure on Kim Jong Un and leaders in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital to, back off of war efforts.
Kirby cited widespread injuries among North Korean soldiers in the Friday press gaggle.
“Our estimate is that, to date, they have suffered more than 1,000 killed or wounded in this particular fighting in just the past week of them fighting on the front lines,” Kirby said.
No New Year’s Eve plans yet? No worries. There’s still time to figure out how to ring in 2025 and more than a few options in the Elgin area.
Rosie O’Hare’s Public House in East Dundee is holding an Irish New Year’s Eve party. The 702 Water St. restaurant’s first champagne countdown toast will be at 6 p.m. and for anyone who wants to celebrate twice can hang out at the bar for the traditional countdown at midnight. Hats and party horns are provided and admission is free.
“It’s just chill, and everyone gets together,” said Michelle Richardson, who has worked at the restaurant’s bar for eight years. It’s also pajama night, so everyone is welcome to come in their PJs, she said.
Musician Jon Babin, a Rosie’s favorite, is performing from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
East Dundee has a bountiful number of bars and restaurants in its historic downtown, making it a perfect New Year’s Eve pub crawl location. Check out River Street Tavern, at 102 N. River St.; Bandito River Lee’s, 6 E. Main St.; The Distance Social, 314 N. River St.; and Bandito Barney’s Beach Club, 10 N. River St., all of which will be ringing in 2025.
Feeling nostalgic for the original B96 DJs? Then head out to Old Republic Kitchen + Bar’s Mixmasters New Year’s Eve Ball in Elgin. The night features Tim Spinnin’ Schomer, Bobby D, DJ-Spin, DJ Markski, and a special guest.
Tickets are on sale for $25 at Eventbrite.com
and $30 at the door. The night includes an appetizer buffet, late-night snacks/pizza, a complimentary champagne toast and party favors. Doors open at 8 p.m. The restaurant is at 155 S. Randall Road.
If you’re looking for a more low-key celebration, check out Danny’s Pizza, 231 Douglas Ave., Elgin, where country legends Smokin’ Gunz are headlining a NYE bash. A $30 cover allows you to enjoy an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, champagne toast at midnight, party favors, a balloon drop and music. Tickets are available at www.eventbrite.com/e/new-years-eve-with-smokin-gunz-tickets-1097742109199?aff=ebdssbcategorybrowse
.
Elgin’s El Patio at 64 S. Grove Ave. is having a welcome to the new year celebration complete with a champagne toast and fresh grapes for good luck. The party is from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. with a DJ and a free champagne toast at midnight. The restaurant is offering its regular menu and full bar. If you want to splurge, they’ll be selling bottles of Mark Wahlberg’s Flecha Azul Cristalino bottle of tequila for $200. They’re taking reservations at 224-238-3153.
El Diablo Cantina’s New Year’s Eve party runs from 9 p.m. through 2 a.m. The restaurant, located at 113 S. Western Ave. in Carpentersville, has tickets starting at $25 to an open bar ticket for $40.
They’re calling it the “biggest mega Latin party” in the area. Three DJs, including Bad Boy, are performing. For tickets, go to eventbrite.com
to search for the event.
If you’re searching for an elegant black-tie event, the African American Coalition of Kane County is hosting a holiday celebration at the Holiday Inn ballroom, 495 Airport Road, Elgin.
General admission tickets are $105 per person and include a three-course dinner, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. VIP admission is $125. The event is from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. For ticket information, go to events.eventnoire.com/…/midnight-magic…/tickets
.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
(NEXSTAR) — If you’re ready to trade in car break-ins and police sirens for a slice of small-town living, you may want to set your sights on the quaint communities of New England or the quirky architecture mecca of Indiana.
MoneyGeek
, a personal finance site, had researchers analyze last year’s FBI crime data of more than 1,000 small towns and cities where the population is between 30,000 and 100,000.
MoneyGeek then used research
by professors at the University of Miami and the University of Colorado Denver to calculate the cost of crime in each town. The cost of crime includes direct losses suffered by victims, resulting medical care costs, property loss, the cost of putting a suspect on trial and more.
When all the calculations were done, they found the safest small city in the country is Columbus, Indiana. The city south of Indianapolis had the lowest property crime rate of all the smaller towns and cities and among the lowest violent crime rates. (Aside from its low crime rate, you may have heard of Columbus for its architecture and public art. It was the setting of the 2017 movie “Columbus,” which featured the city’s unique design.)
Violent crime is even lower in several spots in the Northeast, which dominates the list of top 20 safest small towns and cities. Two are in Connecticut, three are in New Jersey, four are in New York and three are in Massachusetts.
But not all small towns are safe havens. Saginaw, Michigan, has the highest violent crime rate of all the small towns and cities analyzed. Atlantic City, New Jersey, has the highest property crime rate, MoneyGeek found. When it comes to the cost of crime, the residents of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, pay the highest price.
The 20 safest small towns and cities in the U.S., according to MoneyGeek’s analysis, are:
Rank
City
Crime cost per capita
Violent crime rate (per 100k residents)
Property crime rate
Total crime cost (in millions)
1
Columbus, IN
$22
19
112
$1,130
2
Wallingford, CT
$40
9
476
$1,748
3
Lone Peak, UT
$41
13
279
$1,254
4
Zionsville, IN
$52
21
279
$1,704
5
Monroe Township, Middlesex County, NJ
$55
27
227
$2,647
6
Yorktown Town, NY
$57
20
675
$1,993
7
Carmel Town, NY
$64
32
307
$2,170
8
Wallkill Town, NY
$68
16
994
$2,154
9
Upper Arlington, OH
$70
14
920
$2,498
10
Lexington, MA
$74
29
294
$2,503
11
Shrewsbury, MA
$78
27
608
$3,187
12
Wellesley, MA
$79
26
433
$2,460
13
North Royalton, OH
$85
29
326
$2,603
14
North Huntingdon Township, PA
$86
35
611
$2,746
15
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
$91
48
433
$4,201
16
Harrison Town, NY
$93
23
643
$2,786
17
Westfield, NJ
$95
16
866
$2,890
18
Greenwich, CT
$95
24
936
$6,056
19
Stafford Township, NJ
$97
20
1109
$2,968
20
Mason, OH
$101
28
580
$3,618
On the whole, the country is getting safer from violent crime, the FBI said earlier this year. In an analysis of 2023 data, the FBI found overall violent crime dropped 3% from the year before. Murders and non-negligent manslaughter rates dropped even more.
On the other hand, one type of property crime spiked pretty substantially. Motor vehicle theft was up about 13% in 2023, the FBI found.
The FBI’s nationwide analysis depends on its Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Since not all agencies in the U.S. participate, the data is incomplete. However, it’s pretty thorough. Last year’s reported included data from 16,000 agencies around the country.
