A winter storm expected to begin late Monday is projected to last into Wednesday and bring up to 13 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. At times the storm could include gusty conditions with drifting snow as well as sleet and ice accumulations.

Update: The deputy coroner who took the Kathleen Savio death call testified in a Will County courtroom today that state police Crime Scene Investigator Robert Deel told him there was nothing "we need to be looking for here," prompting him to abandon the suspicious death protocol.

Budgets for units of government all over Illinois are being slashed to make accommodations for the worst recession since the early 1980s, and Indian Prairie School District 204 is no exception.

Stacy Peterson hatched a plan to blackmail husband Drew Peterson with the murder of his previous wife, a Wheaton attorney said Monday. Harry Smith, the lawyer who represented Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, in their divorce, said fourth wife Stacy called him and requested he represent her when she dumped Peterson herself.

The DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will monitor the incoming winter storm and assist local municipalities through its Emergency Operations Center, activated at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Naperville area cancellations are summarized, including school closings and canceled programs.
Thrift was the theme Monday night at the City Council's capital improvement program workshop. Faced with decreases in the city's budget, the council concentrated on paring down and pushing off projects that could wait.

Guests of downtown residents and drivers too tipsy to get behind the wheel could soon benefit by having a place to leave their cars overnight in Naperville's downtown. But they're not the only ones who could reap the benefits of overnight parking. "I think it would really help us out, too," said Emily Gibson, assistant restaurant manager at BlackFinn American Saloon. "And it makes sure everybody is safe ..."

The combination of the snowstorm that has socked the East Coast and the storm that is expected to bring as much as 13 inches of snow to the Chicago area over the next two days has led already to the cancellation of more than 500 flights at Chicago's airports.

Aunt Edna rides again. A Wheaton man's pitch-perfect re-creation of the Griswolds' Wagon Queen Family Truckster from "National Lampoon's Vacation" was featured in a third-quarter Super Bowl ad for online vacation rental company HomeAway.

Less government, more business. That was the theme of many of the speakers at the DuPage County Business Summit held Monday at the Naperville Municipal Center.

David C. Vanek, 28, Tinley Park; 1:11 a.m. near Hillside Road and Washington Street; charged with DUI.

DuPage Children's Museum was recognized recently by Graphic Design USA, the premier graphic design magazine. DCM was awarded the American Graphic Design Award for excellence in graphic design of the announcements and invitations for the museum's 2009 Spring Benefit, "An Evening Under the Stars."

The Obama Administration will spend $78.5 million on a multijurisdictional "unparalleled effort" to stop Asian carp from taking over the Great Lakes.

The Jefferson Avenue bridge will close to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic Monday, Feb. 22.

The city of Naperville will host a Technology Open House from 5 to 9 tonight in the Lower Level Meeting Rooms of the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.

Dr. James P. Weeks, a Naperville dentist, is a new member of the DuPage County Board of Health. He was appointed by DuPage County Board Chairman Robert J. Schillerstrom.

The Naperville Central High School Social Workers and Home & School will present "Alcohol, Drugs and the Teenage Brain" from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Learning Resource Center at Naperville Central High School.