Local News
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The boss got it right. Before the Consolidated High School District 230 Board of Education Meeting on Aug. 25, Stagg Principal Eric Olsen talked to a news reporter about the coming football season. Olsen said the Chargers would soon snap their 23-game losing streak dating back to Week 2 of…
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By Bob Bong Local police will all be hanging out at coffee shops across the south and southwest suburbs on Friday to raise money for the Illinois Special Olympics. The event, which is again being called Cop on a Rooftop after it was rebranded last year as Coffee for Champions, will take place at more…
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Beginning Monday, night, a traffic shift is scheduled on the northbound Central Tri-State Tollway between the 83rd Street Toll Plaza and the Mile Long Bridge, including removal of the current counterflow configuration. Four lanes will remain open. Overnight August 15, on northbound I-294 between the 83rd Street Toll Plaza and the Mile Long Bridge overnight lane closures will be scheduled, with traffic reduced to a single lane…
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By Bob Bong A new concept by Buffalo Wild Wings is now open in southwest suburban Hodgkins. Buffalo Wild Wings Go, a scaled down version of Buffalo Wild Wings that emphasizes carry outs and delivery, opened last week at 9404 Joliet Road in an outlot at the Quarry Mall. The Hodgkins location is only the…
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By Steve Metsch It doesn’t happen often, but voters in the newly drawn 6th Congressional District have an unusual choice in the Democratic primary. Because of redistricting, two sitting members of Congress are going toe-to-toe for the nomination in the June 28 primary. The district covers the Midway Airport area, Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood and the…
Read More An extended lane closure on the southbound Mile Long Bridge on the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) is scheduled to begin later this week as part of the Illinois Tollway’s ongoing work to construct a new southbound bridge structure. The temporary lane closure is necessary to provide a safe work zone and accommodate traffic. Three lanes will…
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By Steve Metsch The race for Republican Committeeperson in Lyons Township is between the current office holder and a mayor eager to replace her. Incumbent Katie Justak, who is in her first election, was appointed to the position in December by Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison(17th), chairman of the Cook County Republican party. Her challenger…
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From staff reports The Illinois Department of Transportation announced Friday that intersection improvements on East Avenue at 55th Street and at Joliet Road, in McCook, Hodgkins and Countryside, will require lane closures beginning, weather permitting, Monday, March 7. The $16.8 million improvement project involves reconstructing and realigning the existing intersections, installing modernized traffic signals, ADA-compliant sidewalk…
Read More Gorman wants to reclaim seat from Morrison By Bob Bong A battle royale is brewing in the race for the Republican nomination for Cook County Board’s 17th District. The 17th District is one of only two county board seats held by Republicans and it has only ever had a Republican commissioner dating back to Herb…
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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…
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Palos Heights council delays vote on new parking lot
By Jeff Vorva More than 40 people crammed the City Hall chambers at Tuesday’s Palos Heights City Council meeting and many of them were hoping for a “no” vote in regard to a zoning change. Up for a vote was a zoning change from residential to business for purposes of constructing a special use municipal…
Football: Stagg batters Oak Lawn for first win streak since 2018
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg coach Colt Nero and his Chargers came into this season expecting to win. Some might consider that a lofty expectation considering the program had entering 2022 lost 23 consecutive games and had not been victorious in Nero’s time at the helm, which began with the truncated 2021 spring season.…
Pigskin Wrap: St. Rita trips up Rice
Mt. Carmel, Argo, Evergreen Park and Lyons improve to 2-0 By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Longtime rivals St. Rita and Brother Rice had not played each other since the Chicago Catholic League merged with the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Brother Rice is in the league’s Blue Division while St. Rita is in the Green, and…
Pro Soccer Report: Road to final playoff spot tough for Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer With five games left in the season, the Chicago Red Stars are hanging on to the NWSL’s sixth and final playoff spot. The Red Stars (7-5-5, 26 points) can make a lot of headway if they get hot, but that is not going to be an easy task. They visit…
Area Sports Roundup: Sandburg sports flying high; 14 area teams to play in soccer showcase
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Even by Sandburg’s standards, this was a big sports weekend for the Orland Park school. Eagles freshman cross country phenom Lindsey Gerhardstein took first place at the Mike Kuharic Invitational at Lyons and is emerging as a star in the making. Aimee Crnich and Elysa Corcoran finished first and second…
Girls Volleyball: Marist rebounds from back-to-back tourney losses, tops St. Francis in two sets
By Randy Whalen Correspondent A fourth-place finish in the most prestigious early-season tournament in the state wouldn’t prompt most teams to do some soul searching. Marist isn’t just any team. Between 2017-19, the RedHawks lost a total of seven matches while winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles in 2017 and 2018, then placing third in…
Boys Soccer: Shepard’s run to Windy City Ram title game ends with loss to Lockport
By Steve Millar Correspondent Shepard’s run at the championship of the Windy City Ram Classic fell just short, but senior forward Zach Soltysiak knows there is plenty for the Astros to take away from the experience. The Astros won their first four games in the 32-team tournament to reach the title match before falling 4-1…
Illinois News
Ahead of amendment vote, union membership grows in Illinois
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – As voters in Illinois prepare to decide on a state constitutional amendment that would guarantee workers the right to organize, a new study shows union membership in the state grew last year for the first time in four years. The study also showed, however, that the…
Pritzker calls for changes after “awful” reports of abuse at developmental center
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois MOLLY PARKER & BRENDEN MOORE Lee Enterprises Midwest This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Lee Enterprises, along with Capitol News Illinois. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called patient abuses at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural Anna “awful” and “deeply concerning,”…
State announces first REV Act tax credit to Decatur manufacturer
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The state on Tuesday announced the award of the first electric vehicle manufacturing-targeted tax incentives made possible by a law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last year. The incentives come from the Reimagining Electric Vehicles Act, which passed nearly unanimously and became law in November, and…
CAPITOL RECAP: Texas begins sending migrants to Illinois
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – At least 60 migrants arrived in Chicago Wednesday, Aug. 31, on buses from Texas as part of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s ongoing policy to send undocumented immigrants to so-called “sanctuary cities.” But Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, both Democrats, say the new arrivals are welcome…
CAPITOL RECAP: Texas begins sending migrants to Illinois
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – At least 60 migrants arrived in Chicago Wednesday, Aug. 31, on buses from Texas as part of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s ongoing policy to send undocumented immigrants to so-called “sanctuary cities.” But Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, both Democrats, say the new arrivals are welcome…
At a remote mental health facility, a culture of cruelty persists despite decades of warnings
By MOLLY PARKER Lee Enterprises Midwest BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois and Lee Enterprises. Over a year ago, the security chief at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois sent an email to the head of the state…
A disabled young patient was sent to get treatment. He was abused instead. And he wasn’t the last.
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois MOLLY PARKER Lee Enterprises Midwest This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois and Lee Enterprises . As Blaine Reichard rose from a breakfast table at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois, a worker ordered him to pull up…
Texas begins busing migrants to Chicago
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – At least 60 migrants arrived in Chicago Wednesday on buses from Texas as part of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s ongoing policy to send undocumented immigrants to so-called “sanctuary cities.” But Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, both Democrats, say the new arrivals are…
Capitol Briefs: State announces energy assistance, violence prevention grants, EV rebates
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Beginning Thursday, low-income families in Illinois can begin applying for state assistance on their natural gas, propane and electricity bills. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, has $300 million available. Families can apply by visiting helpillinoisfamilies.com or by calling 1-833-711-0374. Information on other state…
Pritzker makes abortion rights central issue
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday that abortion rights will be a central issue in the 2022 election, not just in his bid for reelection but in races up and down the ballot. That includes races for Congress and the Illinois Supreme Court as well as…
