Local News
By Bob Bong March 18. 2020 As the number of cases rise and the death toll from COVID-19 mounts in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has taken charge. Last week, Pritzker ordered schools to close for at least two weeks. On Sunday, he ordered restaurants, bars and casinos to close until at least March 31. On…
Read MoreThis weekend, Saturday August 19 and Sunday August 20,the parishioners of Queen of the Universe and their friends will be celebrating the Feast of Queen of the Universe. The celebration will start with Mass at 8 a.m. Saturday, with prayers for all the volunteers and blessing to begin thespecial day full of special events for…
Read MoreTwo Southwest Side schools may suffer severe cuts after the Chicago Public School Board said that a reduction of $60 million in funding will occur unless legislators in Springfield can come up with an agreement. Edwards Elementary School, 4815 S. Karlov Ave., was listed eighth among Chicago Public Schools in losing possible funding. The Archer…
Read MoreWhile the debate continues in Springfield, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday that the pension payments for the Chicago Public School teachers may not be made at the end of the month. Emanuel said that the city is at the Òbreaking point” and may not be able fulfill their pension payment requirement by the Tuesday,…
Read MoreParishioners, students and community leaders gathered Nov. 6 at St. Rene School Hall to firm up their plans for trying to keep the school open. ÒWe are going to be strong, we are going to be aggressive,” Anita Cummings told a crowd of over 100 people gathered for the meeting. Cummings, a parishioner for 47…
Read MorePolice are investigating the murder of Herbert L. Goode, who was shot multiple times Saturday in the 2300 block of West 57th Street. Goode, 66, was outside the six-space industrial building he owned on the block when he was shot about 2 p.m. Tenants, many of whom came to his assistance, said he was carrying…
Read MoreThe Chicago City Council Progressive Reform Caucus on Tuesday again called upon the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education and Mayor Rahm Emanuel to halt any charter school expansion in 2014 in light of the recent closing of 50 neighborhood public schools. The CPS Board was scheduled to vote at its Wednesday meeting on the…
Read MoreStark Contrast to 2012 and First Teachers Strike in 25 Years The Chicago Public School attendance on the first full day of school was up from a year ago. This, according to the CPS, occurred despite the fact the many students are now going to a new school because their old facilities have either closed…
Read MoreStark Contrast to 2012 and First Teachers Strike in 25 Years The Chicago Public School attendance on the first full day of school was up from a year ago. This, according to the CPS, occurred despite the fact the many students are now going to a new school because their old facilities have either closed…
Read MoreBurbank School District 111 held ribbon-cutting celebrations on May 9 at two schools, Kennedy and McCord, officially unveiling the new geothermal heating, ventilation and air conditioning units that have been installed throughout both schools. The celebrations were initially planned for April 17, but had to be postponed due to torrential rains and flooding that closed…
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…