Local News
By Carol McGowan Legendary electric violinist Mark Wood is coming to Argo High School. He will perform in concert with the Argo and Wilkins Junior High Orchestras on May 2, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will take place in the Portillo Performing Arts Center at the Summit school. Wood has quite the background. He was…
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By Steve Metsch Garry McCarthy compared the blockbuster news of his return to policing to that of an athlete itching to get back on the field. “Put me back in, Coach,” the former college athlete and Chicago Police Superintendent said Thursday morning. McCarthy, 62, is six years removed from working in law enforcement. He spoke…
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By Steve Metsch Garry McCarthy, former superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, has been appointed interim police chief in Willow Springs. A news conference is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at the village hall to announce the move. McCarthy replaces James Ritz, who submitted his resignation as police chief to Village Administrator Ryan Grace on…
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By Carol McGowan Thanks to the quick work of the Willow Springs Police Department and Tri-State Fire Department, everyone was evacuated from a home that was on fire in the early morning hours of March 21. Police responded at 1:30 a.m. to a call of a possible structure fire in the 8100 block of Scenic…
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By Carol McGowan Phillip Rossberg may be the new head football coach at Argo High School, but he’s been a familiar face on the sidelines and in the classroom at the school for the last seven years. He started working at the school in 2015, and along with being the new head football coach, he’s…
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By Carol McGowan Willow Springs Police Chief Jim Ritz recently released the department’s 2021 Year in Review Report. The report, which was presented to Mayor Melissa Neddermeyer and the Willow Springs Village Board, is an overview of the programs, activities, accomplishments, and statistics that highlight their achievements last year. In the report, Ritz stated that 2021…
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By Steve Metsch All three new hires by the Willow Springs Police Department have some experience working in the village. But as of Jan. 27, they are officially members of the police department. The Willow Springs Village Board, at its most recent meeting, hired Andzeliak Bugajski and Anthony Vosicky as part-time officers and Sabrina Aguilar…
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By Steve Metsch Citing his experience in Lyons, Willow Springs Mayor Melissa Neddermeyer said Ryan Grace was the best of five finalists interviewed for the job of village administrator. Grace, 38, had been public works director in Lyons the past four years, working on a wide range of village issues and events in that time.…
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By Steve Metsch Ryan Grace, public works director in Lyons for the past four years, is expected to be hired as the Willow Springs village administrator tonight. The village board is expected to approve his hiring during its 7 p.m. meeting. Grace, 38, said he was offered the job by Willow Springs Mayor Melissa N.…
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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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Oak Lawn community honors late beloved coach
Varsity baseball park renamed Skip Sullivan Field By Joe Boyle Friends and associates of Skip Sullivan said that he was always a ray of sunshine even on the dreariest of days. The sky was actually overcast over the Oak Lawn Community High School varsity baseball field on Tuesday afternoon. But those who knew Sullivan said…
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…
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…
