Almost one-third of Illinois' 79,800 retired state government employees, most of whom pay no monthly premiums for health insurance, would have to fork out between $290 and $500 a month to keep their coverage as part of Gov. Pat Quinn's fiscal 2011 budget proposal.

CHAMPAIGN - As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time - the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.

The Springfield Fire Department would like to remind you that on March 14, Daylight Saving Time, it is a good time to maintain your smoke detector. Smoke alarms should be tested monthly.  

ROCKFORD - Most everyone is under some kind of stress these days, including those whose occupations are to teach others how to relax or to set up environments to allow folks to do so. Sure, they say they follow what they pitch and preach. But they also have their own ways of decompressing.

Five teams of losers won a weight-loss competition at Horace Mann Companies.  The field of 217 employees on 48 teams was pitted against a senior marketing team.  Each of these five teams lost more than the 7.52 percent target set by the "Flab Five."  The top losers, by percentage, were the "Fit Four" who lost almost 9 percent of their body fat. Since the competition "Big Winners" began in November, employees had lost a total of 1,582 pounds as of the final weigh-in March 1.