Local News
Danny Davis triumphs; will be unopposed this fall By Tim Hadac While the Sean Casten-Marie Newman clash of incumbents appeared to draw the most attention of all congressional races on the Southwest Side, two other races made news on June 28. In the battle to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-1st), Jonathan Jackson…
Read More
By Jeff Vorva The preliminaries are over in the newly aligned 6th Congressional District. Now it’s time for the main event. Pekau vs. Casten. After Tuesday’s primary election, Keith Pekau, the mayor of Orland Park, had a huge lead over five opponents on the Republican side and is ready to take on Democratic survivor Sean…
Read More
By Jeff Vorva In what could be one of the most interesting and heated congressional races in the state in 2022, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau announced Monday he is planning on running in the new 6th Congressional District. He will be running as a Republican and, so far, will battle energy consultant Niki Conforti in the…
Read More
Wants to ‘undo decades of racially motivated disinvestment’ From staff reports Passage of the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act out of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure last week was applauded by U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), a member of the committee. The…
Read More
Wants Ag Dept. transparency From staff reports Legislation designed to “lift the veil of secrecy regarding the race and gender of farm subsidy recipients and help ensure an end to decades of discrimination against black farmers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture” was introduced recently by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st), a member of the…
Read MoreLifestyle
Comings & Goings
Comings & Goings: Jason’s Deli closes in Oak Lawn
By Bob Bong Jason’s Deli, which had been open in Oak Lawn for more than 10 years, closed its doors for the last time on May 31. According to employees, the Beaumont, Texas-based restaurant at 6260 W. 95th St. closed because the lease was up and the company decided not to renew. Messages to the…
Baseball and Softball Wrap | Benet tops Richards in extras to punch ticket to state
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Richards came close to setting up an all-South Suburban Conference matchup in the IHSA Class 3A state semifinals. But the Bulldogs could not take advantage of an early two-run lead and dropped a 5-2 decision in eight innings to Benet at the Benedictine Supersectional, played June 5 in Lisle. Had…
Baseball | Randall Nauden walk-off lifts Brother Rice over Lincoln-Way East
By Steve Millar Correspondent With a trip to state hanging in the balance, Lincoln-Way East chose to intentionally walk Brother Rice’s Amir Gray and take their chances with junior catcher Randall Nauden. Nauden responded by ripping a walk-off single down the right-field line with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to send…
Baseball | St. Laurence gets 30th win, but falls to Nazareth in sectional final
By Steve Millar Correspondent St. Laurence got a big boost early from a reliable source in its sectional semifinal against Oak Forest. Senior outfielder Luke Stulga ripped his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot that sailed over the left-field wall in the first inning. The Vikings never looked back from there, cruising…
Softball | Marist returns to state with 3-0 win over Lockport
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Isabel Cunnea has ties to Lockport. Her mom, Jeanine Ondrus Cunnea, is a 1988 Porters graduate. After homering against her mom’s alma mater in the IHSA Class 4A Marist Sepersectional, Cunnea also has ties to the RedHawks record book. Cunnea creamed her 22nd home run of the season, one of a…
Girls Soccer State Finals | De La Salle takes fourth in fist state finals appearance
By Steve Millar Correspondent Taking the field at the state finals for the first time in program history, De La Salle junior midfielder Imani Coleman did her best to soak in the feeling. “It was a big moment,” Coleman said of that moment on June 2. “We didn’t really know what it was going to…
Area Sports Roundup | Lyons boys volleyball takes second; D230 United finishes fourth in girls lacrosse
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer There is no argument which conference is Illinois’ most dominant when it comes to boys volleyball. The West Suburban Conference took the top three spots in the IHSA state tournament in Hoffman Estates, with Lyons smack dab in the middle with a second-place finish. Glenbard West won it all with…
Pro Sports Report | Louisville blanks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It worked once. But not a second time. The tightrope can only stretch so far. The offensively struggling Chicago Red Stars may have been able to buck the odds when they were severely outshot in an NWSL game win over Orlando on May 27, but that approach was not fruitful…
College Notebook | Worth’s Walinski finishes strong for Huskies
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Kelly Walinski concluded her college years in perfect fashion. On the softball diamond, the Northern Illinois senior shortstop was named to the 2023 All-Mid-American Conference First Team. In the classroom, she was chosen to the Academic All-MAC Team for the third time in her stint in DeKalb. The Worth resident and…
Area Sports Roundup | State volleyball and lacrosse tournaments will have local flavor
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer When it comes to the postseason, there are rarely guarantees. There are, however, two guarantees this season when it comes to having teams in the IHSA state finals this weekend. Boys volleyball and girls lacrosse will each have an area representative at their respective state tournaments. In volleyball, Marist and…
Illinois News
On the witness stand, ex-legislator finally acknowledges he wore wire for FBI
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Former state Sen. Terry Link, a nearly 24-year veteran of the Illinois Capitol, publicly acknowledged for the first time this week that he’d worn a wire to secretly record a fellow lawmaker in 2019. Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, has spent years denying news media reports…
Pritzker puts final stamp on $50.4 billion state spending plan
By ANDREW ADAMS & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker signed the state’s operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Wednesday, marking the first spending plan of his second term as governor. The $50.4 billion spending plan anticipates about $50.6 billion in revenues for the fiscal year that begins…
New law limits venue for constitutional lawsuits to Sangamon, Cook counties
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – People who file lawsuits in state courts challenging the constitutionality of a state law, administrative rule or executive order will now have to file those cases in either Sangamon or Cook counties. Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed House Bill 3062, which applies only to cases…
As trial begins, politically connected businessman claims feds set him up to bribe legislator
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Nearly four years after his name first surfaced in connection with a bribe arrangement between two sitting lawmakers, politically connected businessman James Weiss is finally having his day in court. Weiss, who is married to former state Rep. Toni Berrios, D-Chicago – the daughter of longtime…
Pritzker set to consider signing more than 500 bills in the next three months
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed 566 bills through both chambers of the General Assembly in the recently concluded legislative session – all but one of them in May. It sets the table for an approximate three-month bill-signing season for Gov. JB Pritzker. That’s because the state’s constitution gives…
Capitol Cast: End of Session Review
Capitol News Illinois · End of Session Review The Capitol News Illinois team breaks down the highlights of the just-completed 2023 spring session.
Cannabis regulatory reform bill fails to advance in spring legislative session
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A proposed cannabis reform bill won’t get further consideration until at least the General Assembly’s fall veto session after stakeholders failed to come to an agreement during the spring session’s final stretch. Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, told Capitol News…
Top Democrats announce budget ‘deal,’ but details are scant as last-minute negotiations continue
By JERRY NOWICKI, HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] UPDATE: The budget was filed as a 3,409-page amendment to Senate Bill 250 late Wednesday evening. This story has been updated to reflect the latest developments as of Wednesday night. SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic leaders announced Wednesday they’ve agreed…
Legislature approves bill to tighten restrictions on red-light camera industry
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD — Lawmakers in Springfield have unanimously approved a measure that would place new restrictions on the red-light and speed camera industry’s involvement in state and local elections and government. House Bill 3903 would ban automatic traffic enforcement companies or their officers from donating to candidates for public…
State board of education looking for new providers in preschool ‘deserts’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Even though Gov. JB Pritzker has yet to sign the budget bill lawmakers just passed, the Illinois State Board of Education is seeking applicants for some of the new money contained in that bill. ISBE is looking for new providers to offer preschool programs in areas…
