Local News
By Carol McGowan A crowd of about 75 people were on hand last week for the inaugural State of the Village message from Forest View officials. Village Trustee Midalia Nevarez welcomed the crowd on March 31 to the Art Treckler Room, and introduced the elected officials and department heads who were going to give presentations.…
Read More
By Carol McGowan At its regular meeting last week, Village of Forest View officials looked at different ways to save, and bring in more money with a few changes most wouldn’t even recognize. The village board approved an ordinance that would slowly increase the Municipal Gas Use Tax. Most towns and cities in Illinois are…
Read More
By Carol McGowan After working with the Forest View Police Department, Ali, a 5-year-old male German shepherd, has a new home with the neighboring Stickney Police Department. Forest View Village Administrator Michael Dropka said it worked out well for all involved. “The idea came about because of our great relationship with the Village of Stickney,”…
Read More
By Carol McGowan The Village of Forest View has a new police chief. Steven Stelter was sworn in by Clerk Laura McGuffey at the February 22 village board meeting. Stelter comes with an extensive career in law enforcement. After being honorably discharged from the Army in 1979, where he was in the military police, Stelter…
Read More
By Carol McGowan and Bob Bong A 24-year-old Oak Park man has been arrested and charged in the strangulation death last month of 20-year-old Charisma Ehresman, of Forest View. Richard Chavez, of the 600 block of South Maple Street in Oak Park, was arrested on February 18 at Cook County Jail where he was already…
Read More
By Bob Bong St. Pius X Parish in Stickney will merge with St. Leonard Parish in Berwyn this summer, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, announced last month. The merger is part of the archdiocese’s ongoing Renew My Church initiative and will take effect on July 1. The new parish will have one pastor and…
Read More
By Carol McGowan The search for 20-year-old Charisma Ehresman of Forest View is over. The body of the young woman was found Friday evening in her vehicle in Chicago’s South Austin neighborhood, on the city’s west side, which borders Oak Park. The car had apparently been there for several days. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s…
Read More
By Kelly White Bald eagles are becoming increasingly more common in the Chicagoland area, and avid bird enthusiasts said this is no surprise. “I have been watching the same pair of bald eagles and their offspring for 12 years now,” Sue Delfiacco said. To Delfiacco, the pair of birds are like family. Every morning, she…
Read More
By Bob Bong and Peter Hancock One year after COVID-19 scrambled the state’s public school system with schools alternating between in-person and remote learning because of uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the Illinois State Board of Education has released its school report card for public schools. The report card, issued every fall, gives parents a…
Read More
By Carol McGowan Despite the cold rain and wind last Thursday, many turned out for the first ever Veterans Day ceremony at the Forest View Village Hall. Veterans, village and state officials, residents, and students from Home Elementary School in Stickney started making their way to the front of the building on 46th Street just…
Read More
Pro Soccer Report: Fire II get first win; Red Stars fall to San Diego
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer When the soccer world woke up on May 15, the Chicago Fire II had not won an MLS NEXT Pro game and the Chicago Red Stars had not lost a regular-season game this season. That all changed late that afternoon. The Fire II won the first game in their short…
Baseball: Oak Lawn seeks to right ship as playoffs loom
By Steve Millar Correspondent Oak Lawn junior Jack McGlynn has been unable to do much of what he loves the most this season. A partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm has prevented him from pitching, but for seven innings early in the year. McGlynn was coming off an impressive sophomore season during…
Area Sports Roundup: Marist knocks off Glenbard West in battle of nationally ranked volleyball teams
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Power on power didn’t work the first time around. Power here and there, mixed in with some savvy soft shots, did the trick the second time. In a battle of two of the top 11 teams in the nation, according to the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association May 11 rankings,…
Postseason Roundup: Lyons water polo teams vault to state via sensational sectionals
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Anyone looking for thrills and close matches at the two Lyons water polo sectionals were out of luck. Anyone rooting for the hosts, however, had a ball during that 24-hour stretch May 13 and 14. The Lions boys crushed Riverside-Brookfield, 17-5, in the semifinals and St. Rita, 12-3, in the…
OLCHS to honor ‘Sully’ with baseball field dedication May 17
By Brian Frangella Any Oak Lawn Community High School student who participated in athletics anywhere from 1973-2014, odds are Skip Sullivan coached or taught them in one way or another. He spent an entire lifetime going to school, excelling in sports, and coaching as a Spartan. He was truly one of a kind. So, when…
Evergreen Park kicks off farmer’s market
The Evergreen Park Farmers Market kicked off on Thursday, May 5, at Yukich Field, 89th Street and Kedzie Avenue. The market is back again for the 18th season, happening every Thursday from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. until Oct. 24.
Son charged in murder of Chicago Ridge man
By Bob Bong The son of a man found stabbed to death in his Chicago Ridge home early Monday morning has been charged with second-degree murder. Francisco Duran, 21, was charged Tuesday in the death of his father, Salvador Duran, 47, Chicago Ridge Police Chief Jim Jarolimek said in a release Wednesday. Jarolimek said police…
Illinois News
Pritzker signs bill aimed at addressing organized retail crime
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Friday that is aimed at cracking down on high-profile “smash-and-grabs” and other organized retail theft. “This important piece of legislation will help to combat these unlawful activities by addressing the problem from multiple angles,” Chauncey Rice, government relations manager for the…
ANALYSIS: Poll shows ‘undecided’ leads GOP governor field, followed by Irvin, Bailey
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] We’re about a month and a half from the June 28 primary, and “undecided” was the lead vote-getter this week in a new poll of 1,000 likely GOP primary voters, with 36.9 percent of respondents falling into that camp. For those polled who have picked a candidate, Aurora…
Audit finds DCFS failed to implement reforms
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Ta’Naja Barnes was two years old when she was found wrapped in a urine-soaked blanket amid rodent droppings, garbage and rotting food. The temperatures dipped to 45 degrees inside the Decatur home on Feb. 11, 2019, the day Ta’Naja was found. Medical personnel couldn’t get a…
CAPITOL RECAP: Former lawmakers seek back pay for raises they voted against
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Two former state senators who sponsored and voted for bills to reduce lawmakers’ pay and forgo annual cost-of-living adjustments are now asking the Illinois Supreme Court to declare those measures unconstitutional and award them their back pay. Former Sens. Michael Noland, D-Elgin, and James Clayborne, D-Belleville, have been successful…
Pritzker urges Congress to ‘be like Illinois’ in protecting abortion services
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker called on Congress Wednesday to “be like Illinois” and codify abortion access into federal law. Pritzker made those comments at a Fairview Heights abortion clinic, touting steps Illinois has taken to protect abortion services should a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 1973…
Illinois Supreme Court weighs ex-lawmakers’ case for back pay
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Two former state senators who sponsored and voted for bills to reduce lawmakers’ pay and forgo annual cost of living adjustments are now asking the Illinois Supreme Court to declare those measures unconstitutional and award them their back pay. Former Sens. Michael Noland, D-Elgin, and James…
Illinois Democrats’ public safety approach centers on funding infusion
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – In the run-up to the early-morning April 9 adjournment of the spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers passed a spate of public safety measures backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in the $46 billion Fiscal Year 2023 operating budget. The package, pushed by Democrats in an…
CAPITOL RECAP: Pritzker signs public safety measures creating mental health co-responder program
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 4736 into law Tuesday, May 10, in Peoria, one of the four communities that will be part of a co-responder pilot program that aims to send social workers and mental health professionals on law enforcement calls. The others are Waukegan, Springfield and East…
Pilot program to send mental health professionals with law officers in 4 Illinois communities
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Police departments in four communities in Illinois will be part of a co-responder pilot program that aims to send social workers and mental health professionals on law enforcement calls. That was part of House Bill 4736, a measure signed into law Tuesday by Gov. JB Pritzker…
Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White named to replace Justice Garman
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that 4th District Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White has been appointed to succeed Justice Rita Garman, making her the first Black woman to serve on the state’s high court. “Being appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court is the honor of…
