Lincoln Highway was America's first transnational highway. Stretching from New York City to San Francisco, it was completed at the dawn of the automobile age.

Universities will have to go beyond creating a disaster plan, they'll have to practice implementing it. The schools are participating in a new Illinois Emergency Management Agency program. Five years ago - five students were killed when a gunman opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University. Don Kauerauf heads the Illinois Terrorism Task Force:

When voters went to the polls last month, a majority chose Joe Boyer for Rock Run Township highway commissioner.  He passed away March 1. Stephenson County Clerk Vici Otte says by the time her office was made aware of the death, absentee voting had already started:

Some Illinois officials are pointing to recent torrential rains as a reason to upgrade the state’s underground infrastructure. A massive, car-swallowing pothole tore open a street on the South Side in Chicago. The culprit was an old water main from 1915.

Tom Powers, the city water commissioner, says when it broke during heavy rains, it washed out the street and soil, and the pavement couldn’t handle its own weight.

• Governor declares disaster area
  

• Links to weather and flood information
• Marseilles Elementary School closed

Governor Pat Quinn toured areas along the Illinois River in Marseilles. His visit also included stops in Ottawa and North Utica. He declared 44 counties disaster areas.

Northern Illinois residents will have the opportunity to gain financial literacy this week from a series of free events in Boone, DeKalb, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.

Chairwoman Lorna Cote said that, with more than 160 events and programs for a wide range of age groups, there is something for everyone to learn by attending. “I’ve attended quite a few seminars over the years, and I always learn something new,” she said.

HIV-positive students would no longer be outed to their school officials under a measure pending before the state Senate. 

Illinois' Public Health Department tells schools if one of their students has HIV or AIDS.

The agency has to - it's a state law, passed in the 1980s.

Ramon Gardenhire is with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.