Local News
By Carol McGowan A crowd estimated at more than 150 packed Lyonsville Congregational Church in Indian Head Park last week to hear about plans to widen Wolf Road. The plans have been in the works since 2020 and call for Cook County to widen Wolf Road from 79th Street to Plainfield Road. Most of the…
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Temporary, overnight lane closures are scheduled next week on Wolf Road and Joliet Road at the Tri-State Tollway to accommodate bridge beam removal for the reconstruction of the I-294 bridges over Joliet Road and Wolf Road in Indian Head Park. On Wolf Road, scheduled overnight lane closures will include intermittent full closures, each lasting 15…
Read More From staff reports Temporary, overnight lane closures are scheduled next week on Wolf Road at the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) to accommodate bridge beam removal for the reconstruction of the I-294 bridge over Wolf Road in Indian Head Park. This work is part improvements in the I-55 Interchange area to accommodate reconstruction and widening of the…
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By Carol McGowan Michael Kurinec is the new Chief of Police in Indian Head Park. He recently moved into the position when Steven Stelter accepted the Chief of Police Position in Forest View. Kurinec isn’t new to the village as he was the first officer hired by the newly formed Indian Head Park Police &…
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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…
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By Steve Metsch Catherine Ramicone fondly recalls watching the Countryside St. Patrick’s Day Parade each March and seeing the queen waving from a convertible. “I never imagined being queen, but I am now,” Ramicone said. “I’m so proud to be queen because I’ve lived in Countryside my whole life,” The Lyons Township High School senior,…
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By Bob Bong A woman from Indian Head Park was charged last week in the January 6, 2021, invasion of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Leticia Vilhena Ferreira, 32, told FBI investigators last April that she was a Brazilian citizen in this country on a work visa and, despite not voting for him, had…
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By Steve Metsch The annual Countryside St. Patrick’s Day Parade is getting a boost from the Township of Lyons. The township board unanimously approved a $1,000 sponsorship for the city’s popular event. “We have traditionally sponsored this event,” Township Supervisor Christopher Getty said at the board’s Feb. 8 meeting. “Although we have not participated in…
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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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Lyons, McCook mayors go green together
From staff reports Lyons Mayor Chris Getty and McCook Mayor Terry Carr have organized the planting of 172 trees along 47th Street, which is the border of the two towns. After successfully lobbying the State of Illinois to renovate a two-mile section of 47th Street from Harlem Avenue to Custer Avenue through their villages in 2021,…
Justice veterans eligible for county discount card
By Carol McGowan Veterans and military personnel in Cook County are now eligible for a military and veterans discount card sponsored by the Cook County Clerk’s Office and the county’s Department of Veterans Affairs. Village Clerk Dave Kroll said the cards are being offered to veterans, active-duty personnel and other members of the military. The…
Summit to sell vacant lots for new homes
By Carol McGowan Summit trustees have decided to sell off four parcels of property that were acquired when the village tore down abandoned homes. The homes were torn down after the village acquired the lots and obtained grant money from Cook County. The village intends for whomever buys the lots to build single-family homes on…
Toy Con Toy Show celebrates 30 years
By Kelly White Celebrating 30 years of toy shows this weekend was the Toy Con Toy Show. The event, also known as Kaiju Days Special, was hosted by Terry Mannix and ChicagoLand Joes (’82 – ’94) at the Bridgeview Community Center, 7902 S. Oketo Ave., Bridgeview, on Sunday, May 15. “I have been collecting for…
Willow Springs to host Chicago Blues Challenge July 30
By Steve Metsch The village of Willow Springs will have the blues this summer. The village and the Windy City Blues Society will host the Chicago Blues Challenge, scheduled from noon to 10 p.m. July 30. It’s a good fit with the Windy City Blues Society, Willow Springs Village Administrator Ryan Grace said on May…
After 40 years of teaching, Larocca will ‘miss the kids’
By Steve Metsch For the past 40 years, Mary Pat Larocca has come to work to the same building and worked in the same room. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Larocca, 61, of Oak Park, has taught 40 years of kindergarten students at Ideal Elementary School in Countryside. June 3 will be her…
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…
Illinois News
Cost of Statehouse renovation higher than estimated but within state’s budget
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The cost of renovating the north wing of the Illinois Statehouse will be more expensive than officials initially estimated. Only one bid came in for the project, which is about to get underway. CORE Construction Services of Illinois Inc. priced the job at $243.5 million, well…
10th contempt citation filed against DCFS director as 13-year-old locked in psych ward
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] Leah is a 13-year-old girl under Department of Children and Family Services care who lives in a psychiatric ward in a Chicago hospital. Capitol News Illinois is using a pseudonym to protect her identity, but has confirmed she’s been held for months behind locked doors despite a doctor…
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…
