Founder of Illinois' 17th Street Barbecue dies at 79
Mike Mills was an award-winning hall of fame pitmaster, a restaurateur who became a worldwide ambassador for barbecue, the southern Illinois region and the role that cooking meat slowly over a smoky fire plays in restoring the soul. Mills, 79, who founded 17th Street Barbecue, turning a century-old building in downtown Murphysboro into an internationally known restaurant with a clientele that included top chefs and former President Bill Clinton, died Tuesday, his daughter and restaurant co-owner Amy Mills said. Mills had reportedly been in ill health in recent months. No cause of death was gi...