Local News
The holidays are over and the students and their volunteer literacy tutors are back at work at Aquinas Literacy Center in McKinley Park. Around 100 student-tutor pairs meet for an hour and a half every week as the students work to achieve their English-learning goals, ranging from a desire to improve workplace skills to a…
Read MoreGuest speakers at the Monday Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch meeting included Cook County Sheriff’s Police officials and state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-11th), but Kennedy High School student-athlete Stella McMillan got the biggest ovation when the group presented her with an award for her achievements. Stella, a wheelchair athlete and honor student who is going into…
Read MoreLive music, dancing, games and refreshments drew hundreds of people to the New Foundation of Hope’s first summer concert held Saturday in the youth center’s new playlot at 8144-48 S. Kedzie Ave., Chicago. Minnie Mouse greeted the children, and in between posing for pictures, she joined the crowd for a rendition of the nae-nae dance.…
Read MoreAn Archer Heights man is accused of killing his mother during what police said was a moment of rage on May 20. Chicago police found Maria Sadelski, 54, in her basement with blunt trauma to her head and her body in her home on the 4800 block of South Karlov Avenue. According to police, a…
Read MoreChicago Lawn (8th) District Cmdr. James O’Donnell told a large crowd that attended a recent Archer Heights Civic Association meeting that crime has gone down in the neighborhood. O’Donnell told the audience that Archer Heights mirrors the city in overall diminishing crime. He made his comments at the association’s meeting on May 12 at the…
Read MoreSummer session begins June 3; register for Fall 2015 courses by August 17 Chicagoans who want a quality, affordable education to prepare for further college or career can register now for the Summer and Fall 2015 semesters at City Colleges of Chicago, the largest community college system in Illinois. City Colleges offers a variety of…
Read MoreChicago Lawn (8th) District Police are alerting residents about a couple of robberies that have occurred this month in the West Elsdon neighborhood. In these incidents, two offenders approach the victims and demand and forcibly remove their property. One incident was reported to have taken place at 11:45 p.m. May 13 on the 4600 block…
Read MoreAppropriately, a dozen seniors were celebrated at the 12th Annual 13th Ward Golden Spirit Awards ceremony held held last Friday at the West Lawn Park Field House, 4233 W. 65th St. Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-22nd), the 13th Ward Democratic committeeman, sponsor the popular event that includes information about local…
Read MoreDr. John Baietti, chiropractic physician and acupuncturist at Archer Chiropractic Clinic, 6804 W. Archer Ave., Chicago, has enjoyed working in Chicago’s Garfield Ridge community the past 22 years. Members of the Garfield Ridge Chamber of Commerce believe Baietti’s presence on the Southwest Side is an asset. They have selected Archer Chiropractic Clinic as the chamber’s…
Read MoreLifestyle
Comings & Goings

Tri-State lane closures start Monday as area ramps prepare to reopen
Overnight lane closures are scheduled next week to shift traffic on Interstate 55 and on the northbound Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294) between Willow Springs Road and Plainfield Road and reopen the ramp connecting northbound I-294 to southbound I-55 and Wolf Road. On Monday, February 6, beginning at 9 p.m. and continuing until 5 a.m. on…

BEDS Plus Soup & Bread event to raise money to assist the homeless
By Steve Metsch One way to warm up on a cold winter’s day is with a bowl of soup. And on Sunday, soup lovers can sample 20 different soups and also get the warm feeling received by helping a local charitable organization. BEDS Plus, which helps the homeless through the southwest suburbs, is bringing back…

Leadership program open at Marquette Park
. By Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Once again it is time for the Sports and Recreational Leadership Program at Marquette Park. This After School Matters program is a great opportunity and filled up quickly last year. Open to current Chicago Public High…

Kids making good news in the community
. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 . Aristotle said, “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.” It gives me great pleasure to write about some of the awesome things the youth in our community are doing to help make things…

No shortage of eatery ideas
. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . I want to thank everyone who called and texted me with restaurant recommendations in the past two weeks. I had asked in a previous column for suggestions for local eateries. I got lots of very nice calls from some readers of…

Competitive Dance State Finals | Evergreen Park has sixth sense again
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer BLOOMINGTON — For the second straight year, Evergreen Park’s competitive dance team qualified for the second day of state competition. For the second straight year, the Mustangs were the first team to perform on the second day. And for the second straight year, they finished sixth in the state in…

Area Sports Roundup: Shepard, Sandburg and Marist win cheerleading sectional titles
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The area collected three sectional cheerleading championships and head into the state competition with a head of steam. Sandburg, Marist and Shepard came out of sectional competition with trophies and will compete in the IHSA state finals, to be held Friday and Saturday at Grossinger Arena at Illinois State University…

College Notebook | Grace Hynes helps Maroons end NYU’s unbeaten run
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Mother McAuley alum Grace Hynes was the University Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Week in women’s college basketball for the timeframe ending January 17. Hynes, a senior at the University of Chicago, had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Maroons’ handed top-ranked New York University its first loss of the…

Viking girls are golden
The St. Laurence High School cheerleaders (aka the Golden Girls) won first place in their division at the Spartan Showdown at Marian Catholic High School late last month. Clearing and Garfield Ridge girls played a key role in the team’s success. Those girls (and their grade schools) are: Lauren Weyer (St. Jane de Chantal), Asia…
Illinois News

Illinois’ biometric privacy law strengthened by latest high court ruling
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – People who’ve been subject to fingerprinting, face or retinal scans as either employees or customers of Illinois companies have five years to file lawsuits if they believe the business violated a stringent state privacy law, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled this week. It’s the latest in…

Pritzker seeks more info on AP African American Studies course
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker this week asked the College Board for more information about its reasoning for changing the final framework of a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies after it had been criticized by Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. “Although we are pleased to…

Report pushes for greater focus on teacher recruitment and retention amid shortages
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois schools are still grappling with a teacher shortage that seems to only be getting worse, a recent survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools shows. This mirrors the state’s own data, which shows Illinois’ teacher shortage is at the highest level in…

Illinois’ COVID-19 disaster proclamation to end in May
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol news Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Exactly 38 months after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, Illinois will no longer be under a disaster proclamation as of May 11, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday. That’s the same day President Joe Biden will end the national public health emergency, which…

CAPITOL RECAP: Gun lawsuit restraining order remains in place
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD — A temporary restraining order that partially blocks Illinois’ new assault weapons ban from being enforced will remain in place after a divided state appellate court panel’s ruling Tuesday. The restraining order was issued Jan. 20 by Effingham County Circuit Judge Joshua Morrison, but it applies only to the 800…

Appellate court upholds restraining order on assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A temporary restraining order that partially blocks Illinois’ new assault weapons ban from being enforced will remain in place after a divided state appellate court panel’s ruling Tuesday. The restraining order was issued Jan. 20 by Effingham County Circuit Judge Joshua Morrison, but it applies only…

Tony Sanders to become state superintendent of education
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education announced Tuesday that Elgin-based School District U-46 Superintendent Tony Sanders will become the next state superintendent of education. Sanders, 53, will succeed Carmen Ayala, who announced in November that she would retire effective Jan. 31. ISBE said Sanders will take…

Amid ‘unprecedented’ prolonged revenue boom, state finds budget breathing room
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Sustained higher-than-predicted state tax revenues have in recent months given lawmakers a level of budgeting flexibility that is, at least in modern times, without precedent in a state with a reputation for perilous finances. For the current fiscal year and the one before it, that’s led…

‘Omnibus’ health care bill passed amid criticisms
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A law recently signed by Gov. JB Pritzker will extend the deadline for the state to transfer criminal defendants deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial from jail to a mental hospital. That same bill, House Bill 240, also gives nursing homes in Illinois two more years…

Veteran Statehouse reporter Hannah Meisel joins Capitol News Illinois reporting team
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS [email protected] Longtime Statehouse reporter Hannah Meisel has joined the Capitol News Illinois team as a full-time state government and politics reporter. She’s had a number of assignments covering the Statehouse and Illinois government since the 2014 legislative session, most recently serving as Statehouse editor for NPR Illinois from 2020 until after…