Chicago -- Three NATO summit protesters accused of plotting to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters have pleaded not guilty. Brian Church, Jared Chase and Brent Betterly appeared in a Cook County courtroom yesterday. Prosecutors say evidence against the three includes secretly recorded conversations.

East Peoria/Effingham -- Two county clerks from downstate Illinois want permission to defend the state's gay marriage ban. The Thomas More Society last week filed a request on behalf of Effingham County Clerk Kerry Hirtzel and Tazewell County Clerk Christie Webb. They want to intervene in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban because Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and Attorney General Lisa Madigan have refused to defend it.

Northern Illinois -- Thousands of residents remain without power following this weekend's heavy storms. About 250,000 lost electricity at the height of the outages. As of last night, the utility says about 80,000 customers don't have power. Ameren Illinois is sending local electricians and personnel to the effected areas to help with cleanup and fixes.