English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Naperville, IL

Seth Brady was selected as a Regional Teacher of the Year for Chicago's Far West Suburbs and is now eligible for IL Teacher of the Year.

NAPERVILLE, IL — Naperville Central High School social studies teacher Seth Brady was recently named among the 2026 Regional Teacher of the Year award recipients by Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The distinction makes Brady a finalist for the Illinois Teacher of the Year Award.

Brady was chosen as the Regional Teacher of the Year for Chicago's Far West suburbs as part of ISBE's "Those Who Excel & Teacher of the Year" cohort. He is among 14 educators chosen for the honor, which recognizes, "individuals whose dedication, innovation, and leadership are making a meaningful difference for students and school communities across Illinois," per a news release from ISBE.

Brady was hired by Naperville Central in 2004, teaches classes that include Anthropology, Peace Studies, World Religions and World Cultures.

“We know Seth Brady as an outstanding Redhawk educator who has demonstrated commitment to implementation of inquiry-based classroom practices and learning experiences that build understanding of cultures, religions, ideologies and perspectives that promote equity and support the success of all students,” Naperville Central High School Principal Jackie Thornton said in a statement.

Thornton added, “But, Mr. Brady is more than an educator at Naperville Central. This award recognizes and celebrates the impact Seth has had on professional education at the local, state and national level. We could not be prouder that Seth Brady is a Redhawk. Congratulations, Seth, on this outstanding and well-deserved honor.”

District 203 Superintendent Dan Bridges remarked, “Seth is a phenomenal educator who inspires our students to think critically and engage deeply with the world around them. "This recognition is a perfect reflection of the heart he puts into his teaching every day."

The Illinois Teacher of the Year will be selected in late spring of 2026.

NAPERVILLE, IL — Bakeries in Naperville have already begun taking orders and making preparations for Paczki Day on Feb. 17, 2026. Annually, the deep-fried, sweet tooth-sating Polish pastries are a popular part of Fat Tuesday tradition in Chicago.

Though some bakeries will offer paczkis to-go on Feb. 17 for walk-in customers, the deadlines are fast approaching to pre-order paczkis. These are some of the Naperville-area bakeries offering paczkis in traditional and creative flavors.

428 W. 5th Ave., Naperville

DeEtta's is taking pre-orders of six-packs of paczki until Feb. 15 or whenever they've reached capacity. On Paczki Day, walk-in customers can choose from flavors that include cheese, blueberry, apricot and whipped cream with fresh strawberries.

Fiene's Bakery will have 10 paczki flavors available, including strawberry with whipped cream, cheese, blueberry and key lime. Pre-orders for paczki six-packs start Feb. 13. To pre-order, call 630-470-9976.

540 Duane St., Glen Ellyn

Vanilla Sugar Bakery is taking paczki pre-orders until they've reached their capacity or until Feb. 15, whichever comes first. Walk-in orders will be available on Paczki Day starting at 9 a.m. until they run out of the sugary treats.

The bakery's creative paczki flavors include banana cream pie and Nutella cream-filled, along with a new apple-filled paczki they're debuting this year.

94 Burr Ridge Parkway, Burr Ridge

The inventive paczki flavors at Kirsten's include chocolate, maple bacon, and Oreo.

Sylvia's

117 Cass Ave., Darien

The Paczki Day festivities at Sylvia's last nearly a week, with bakers whipping up the sweet treats daily starting Feb. 12 and ending Feb. 17. Their scrumptious flavors run the gamut from pineapple and poppyseed to butter kreme, rose and peanut butter and jelly.

Customers can pre-order by calling Sylvia's at 630-971-0389, emailing rc.20@yahoo.com, texting or sending a photo of the order form to 708 -710-7771 or by dropping off the order form in person at Sylvia's

Pre-orders will be accepted until midnight on Feb. 16. Click the link to download Sylvia's paczki pre-order form.

Chicago, Illinois – A seasonably cool stretch of weather is expected across northeastern Illinois this week, with temperatures gradually edging closer to the freezing mark by the end of the workweek.

According to the National Weather Service Chicago, high temperatures Monday are forecast to range from 25 to 28 degrees, keeping conditions firmly below freezing across the region. Skies will remain mostly cloudy, with a slight chance of snow overnight into early Tuesday.

Tuesday and Wednesday will remain cold, with daytime highs generally between 23 and 28 degrees and overnight lows falling into the single digits and teens. Forecasters note that a few lake-effect snow showers are possible near Lake Michigan, particularly affecting areas close to I-94 in far northeastern Illinois and northwest Indiana. Accumulations, if any, are expected to be minor.

By Thursday, temperatures begin a slow moderation, with highs forecast between 28 and 34 degrees. Cloud cover is expected to persist, and overnight lows will range from the lower to upper 20s.

The warmest day of the week is expected to arrive Friday, when highs may reach 31 to 37 degrees, allowing some locations to briefly touch or exceed the freezing mark for the first time in several days. A chance of light snow is indicated late in the week, though no significant accumulation details were provided.

Major travel routes including Interstate 90, Interstate 88, Interstate 80, and Interstate 94 are expected to see generally routine winter driving conditions, though motorists should remain alert during overnight and early morning hours when temperatures are coldest.

Students, commuters, and outdoor workers may feel the prolonged cold most during morning hours, particularly midweek. While no major winter storm is anticipated, residents are encouraged to monitor updates for any changes, especially related to lake-effect snow chances.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- The Naperville city council voted to deny the proposal of a Karis Critical data center in a late-night decision.

Naperville City Council members rejected a proposal for a data center development late Tuesday night.

The vote came after months of heated public debate.

The council denied the roughly 145,000-square-foot facility. It would have been located along the Interstate 88 corridor, near Naperville and Warrenville roads on the former Lucent campus.

An attorney for the data center developer, Karis Critical, proposed reducing the number of diesel generators on the property from 24 to 12, but that did not assuage the several dozen residents who signed up to speak against the project.

The data center's developer, Karis Critical, says generators would only be used in a power outage and during monthly tests.

In a late-night decision, the board eventually voted "no" 6 to 1, while two members abstained from voting.

A spokesperson for Karis Critical, released the following statement:

"We are disappointed by the outcome of the vote, which overturned the city plan commission's recommendation, and by the city council's decision not to allow additional time for further studies to address concerns regarding our operations."

"Over the past year, we committed to investing hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a best in class facility at a site that has long served as an anchor of Naperville's technology and jobs corridor. We are grateful for the support shown by residents, our partners in the union building trades, and the many organizations that worked with us as we tailored this proposal for this unique property in Naperville."

DuPage County Building Trades said in a statement, "For families to afford to live in Naperville, we need our jobs corridor to provide jobs, and those celebrating the denial of a significant investment to renew a vacant property in Naperville's research corridor are misguided. Make no mistake about it, six officials took years of high-paying, high-skilled work away from the men and women of the trades, hurting local families, the economy, and our community. Jobs are dignity, careers are stability, and a strong jobs corridor in Naperville is the foundation for both. Unfortunately, last night personal agendas became more important than process, officials prioritized politics over fact gathering, and our community lost an investment that would have propelled the community forward for years to come."

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- Our coverage of this story has moved here.

Residents packed Tuesday night's Naperville City Council meeting to weigh in on the future of a proposed data center.

At the meeting, an attorney for the data center developer, Karis Critical, proposed reducing the number of diesel generators on the property from 24 to 12, but that did not assuage the several dozen residents who signed up to speak against the project.

"We do not want a data center anywhere in Naperville or even Illinois," one speaker said.

If greenlighted, the roughly 145,000-square-foot facility would be located along the Interstate 88 corridor, near Naperville and Warrenville roads on the former Lucent campus. But many nearby residents object, citing the more than 200 homes, nature preserves, and playgrounds, all within walking distance.

"We're not opposed to data centers. We're pro-business. We like AI, but we don't want it so close to homes and neighborhoods and parks and where our kids play and ride their bikes," said Naperville resident Rich Janor.

Rich is a father of two. He, along with more than 5,000 other residents, have petitioned against the proposed 36-megawatt data center.

"We think property values would take a hit. Nobody is going to move into a neighborhood if a data center is there," Rich told ABC7. "This is where they play. This is where they ride their bikes. There's three playgrounds in close proximity to here."

Neighbors say they are worried about noise and air pollution from several diesel generators that would occupy the site.

William and Linda Scotti live a short walk away from the proposed site. They moved in just 18 months ago.

The Scottis are concerned the wildlife from the adjacent forest preserve may permanently leave because of the potential noise and air pollution, citing the generators.

"See that dead tree? The day we moved in, it was April. There were two bald eagles sitting there on that dead tree," Linda said.

But the data center's developer, Karis Critical, says generators would only be used in a power outage and during monthly tests.

"We spent a lot of time with emission experts. We've spent time with engineers. We are very confident that what we are designing and building in that facility will not have a negative impact on public health," said Karis Critical Executive Vice President of Strategy and Operations Greg Strom.

Speaking with ABC7, William said, "Here's my question, would you want a data center in your backyard?"

So, ABC7 posed that question to Strom, who is also a Naperville resident.

"I am very confident. And also, I was on those tours of city council members in December when you go to these facilities and you stand up front. And trust me, we had a decibel reader with us. It's very clear that sound doesn't travel that far," Strom said.

Strom says his company has worked with the city of Naperville to codify everything they have pledged in their proposal.

"A lot of residents were concerned. It's like, 'Hey, they make all these promises. What's to stop them from going against those promises?' The city does a great job of then putting that writing in an enforceable way," Strom said.

Karis says it has scaled down its initial plan, reducing the facility's size, number of generators, and energy use.

"Mitigate is not eliminate. It's kind of like putting a filter on a cigarette. It mitigates some of the risk, but there's still a lot of risk," said Naperville resident Lori Melhart.

Karis also says the project would create hundreds of construction jobs and has the support of several trade unions.

"Our goal is to rise, rise above fear, politics, and the extraordinary conjecture on social media to present the city council with scientific facts," said Karis Critical attorney Russ Whitaker.

And just a few miles away, another data center is in the works, and with the proliferation of artificial intelligence and cloud computing, Rich says, one way or another, Naperville may be on the cusp of setting a critical precedent.

"Other towns are watching Naperville, the third largest city in Illinois, and a lot of times, they're watching what we do and may may react accordingly. So, the stakes are pretty high here tonight," Rich said.

Two west suburbs are considering approving two separate data centers.

In Naperville, thousands of residents have signed a petition in opposition of the proposed data center while the city council is considering approval of the developer's plans.

Developers of the proposed data center along the Interstate 88 corridor are hoping to get the green light from city council while concerned residents hope city council will hear their environmental, noise, and potential health concerns and shut it down.

"This is where they play. This is where they ride their bikes. There's three playgrounds in close proximity to here," said Naperville resident Rich Janor.

Karis Critical says the generators are new technology with less emissions than old diesel technology and would only be required in case of an electrical outage.