Pop artist John Kettman of LaSalle became interested in art at the young age of 3. He became a serious artist in high school and has gone on to complete portraits of many famous individuals, such as Abraham Lincoln. Kettman is also vying for his painting of Streator native Clyde Tombaugh – the famed astronomer who discovered Pluto – to be accepted as a U.S. Postal Service stamp. Kettman has a petition online attempting to persuade the Stamp Advisory Committee to use his artwork on a stamp. You can view the petition here.

One of Kettman’s latest endeavors includes painting pumpkins with political candidates’ faces. You can check out this article to learn more about this interesting project.

Read an interview with the native artist below.

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It is no secret that Illinois has some of the best universities in the world. With top ranked institutions such as The University of Chicago and The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois universities offer an unparalleled access to great education.

Recently, U-Chicago and U of I were named among the top 25 schools responsible for the greatest advances in science by US News college rankings.

The rankings are the culmination of a study that emphasizes lasting contributions to society; the primary focus being on science technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics.

The Illinois schools are among good company. Other institutions that made the list include Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford.

Newsweek just released its annual ranking of the Top 500 U.S. high schools, and several Illinois schools made the cut.

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One of the largest online retailers has selected Joliet as the site for a new facility expected to bring 1,000 full-time jobs to the area.

The Seattle-based company intends the 500,000-square-foot fulfillment center to serve as a hub where workers will process items such as books and electronics.

For more information, read more at Crain’s Chicago.