Illinois Sports – Rock Island native wins Australian Open

Madison Keys from Rock Island won the Australian Open this year. The Australian Open is one of the “Big Four” Grand Slam tournaments, alongside the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. The tournaments represent the pinnacle of tennis competition and prestige in the world. This stunning accomplishment builds on Keys’ lifelong dedication to the sport.

Keys began playing tennis at a very young age and joined the Quad-City Tennis Club in Moline. When she was ten, her family moved her to Florida to train at the prestigious Evert Tennis Academy. Keys would go on to participate in tournaments at a high level, eventually defeating Venus Williams in the 2015 Australian Open but losing to Serena Williams in the final that year. Keys would return to Rock Island in 2017 to lead an anti-bullying assembly and launched FearlesslyGIRL, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young women. After a decade of high placements at the Big Four and persevering through injury, Keys would go on to win the Australian Open in January of 2025.

Kindness Wins, a charity foundation launched by Keys, which promotes access to sports and education, moved their foundation to the Quad Cities Community Foundation. Rock Island has recognized and celebrated their champion with the mayor declaring Feb. 17 will be Madison Keys Day and will be placing a billboard commemorating her win.

Keys is now ranked Number 5 in the world, a career high, and will continue competing at the highest level of women’s tennis.

Black History Month in Illinois – Fred Hampton

On Dec. 4, 1969, at the age of 21, Fred Hampton was assassinated by a unit of Cook County State’s Attorney’s office in coordination with CPD and the FBI. But who was Fred Hampton, and why was he assassinated?

Born Fredrick Allen Hampton, Hampton’s ties to Illinois start from birth in present day Summit, Illinois. At the age of 10, Hampton was already participating in community activism, hosting breakfasts for local children that he cooked himself. In high school Hampton led walkouts to protest exclusion of Black students from the homecoming queen race and calling on the school to hire more Black teachers and administrators. Hampton would eventually join the NAACP as a youth organizer and grew the youth group to 500 members in the Village of Maywood. In Maywood, Hampton worked to improve recreational facilities and improve educational resources for the impoverished Black community.

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Artist of the Month: Chicago Boyz

Did you know Chicago is home to an acrobatic team consisting of young men from the area?

Tim Shaw, a professional gymnast with over 30 years of experience in circus performing, wanted to find a way to support youth in his area and provide greater opportunities. As a result, he formed the acrobatic group “Chicago Boyz” whose performances include stunts, tumbling and cool tricks such as catapulting off mini trampolines.

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Illinois is 2025’s seventh best state to raise a family

According to a recent study from the personal finance outlet WalletHub.com, Illinois is 2025’s seventh best state to raise a family. The ideal state is one that’s affordable to live in, offers a high degree of safety and good job prospects, and demonstrates quality in education, health care and entertainment.

In this study, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 50 key indicators of family-friendliness. The data set includes factors like the median annual family income, housing affordability, health care quality, crime rate and school quality.

Illinois is ranked second for family fun, third for the highest median family income and seventh for the overall score.

For more information on this study, visit WalletHub.com.