Local News

PeggyZabicki

Kitchens are photo galleries for grandparents

By Tim Hadac / March 13, 2024 /

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . You know you’re old when you have a conversation with friends about the best way to display photos of your grandchildren. Hubby and I recently shared some ideas with our dear friends, Carl and Karen. I have our…

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PeggyZabicki

When Crawford was renamed to honor Pulaski

By Tim Hadac / March 6, 2024 /

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . Did you know that Pulaski Road used to be called Crawford Avenue? I asked several people this question, thinking I had some great piece of information. Turns out that every single person I asked already knew that. Well, did you…

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PeggyZabicki

Slam the brakes on reckless drivers

By Tim Hadac / February 28, 2024 / Comments Off on Slam the brakes on reckless drivers

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . The most popular topic of conversation in our neighborhood lately is the problem of speeding drivers. There are car accidents every single day due to drivers who break the law. I hope the city will add even more cameras to…

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PeggyZabicki

Weather was sweet for Valentine’s Day

By Tim Hadac / February 21, 2024 / Comments Off on Weather was sweet for Valentine’s Day

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day. The weather sure was nice. As my hubby and I drove around the neighborhood that day, we saw a lot of holiday merchandise for sale outside at street corners and storefronts. I saw…

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PeggyZabicki

Lift your red Solo cup for Toby

By Tim Hadac / February 18, 2024 / Comments Off on Lift your red Solo cup for Toby

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . The recent death of country singer Toby Keith made me appreciate how he used his gift of music to make people happy. This is something we can remember him by. I thought of his fun song about the red Solo drinking cup. Keith sang “Oh red…

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PeggyZabicki

Plenty to mark on your February calendar

By Tim Hadac / February 7, 2024 / Comments Off on Plenty to mark on your February calendar

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . The next couple of weeks have many important dates. Feb. 10 is Chinese New Year. Feb. 12 is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Feb. 14 is Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. George Washington’s birthday is Feb. 22. May each of these days become an opportunity for learning…

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PeggyZabicki

West Lawn’s streets need salting

By Tim Hadac / January 31, 2024 / Comments Off on West Lawn’s streets need salting

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . Were you out and about last week? I was. It was like a skating rink out there. Almost slipped a few times. Maybe I should have worn ice skates. I remember when I was a kid, I actually liked sliding on the…

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PeggyZabicki

Cold weather is nothing new under the sun

By Tim Hadac / January 24, 2024 / Comments Off on Cold weather is nothing new under the sun

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . Cold is the topic of the day, that’s for sure. What did we talk about before the arctic temperatures of last week? It does get cold every year. Some years are colder than others. This is nothing new, but I think TV…

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PeggyZabicki

Keep your New Year’s resolutions sensible

By Tim Hadac / January 17, 2024 / Comments Off on Keep your New Year’s resolutions sensible

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? The most popular ones seem to do with food. I would never vow to diet or give up any kind of food. This would be a recipe for disaster because I just love to cook, eat…

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PeggyZabicki

Sometimes, older is much better

By Tim Hadac / January 10, 2024 / Comments Off on Sometimes, older is much better

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I recently decided that this is a good time of year to organize my old address book, which I actually started using before cellphones had been invented. Yes, I know it’s 2024 and we have all our friends and…

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Lifestyle

Comings & Goings

Mother McAuley junior Abbey Williams delivers a pitch during last week’s 18-1 loss to Benet. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

Softball | Mother McAuley seeks to right ship

From Staff Reports The 2024 season is off to an uneven and somewhat rocky start for Mother McAuley. The Mighty Macs opened the spring with consecutive losses — 9-3 to Oak Forest on March 11 and 18-1 to Benet on March 13 — before getting off the schneid with an 18-1 win over Stagg on…

Evergreen Park senior Nolan Sexton (right) will play in the Illinois Hoop Prospect Senior All-Star Games at Joliet Junior College. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

Boys Basketball | Players from Evergreen Park and Brother Rice to ball at prospect showcase

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Five players from the area have been invited to play on the South Suburban Team at the Illinois Hoop Prospect Senior All-Star Games scheduled to be played March 24 at Joliet Junior College. Brother Rice’s Zavier Fitch and Ty Wooten join Evergreen Park’s Nolan Sexton, Marist’s Darshan Thomas and Stagg’s Connor…

George Shimko, who coached the Queen of Peace girls basketball program and its de facto successor St. Laurence, has been named head coach of the Mustangs girls basketball program. Supplied photo

Girls Basketball | George Shimko takes reins for Mustangs

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent One longtime area basketball coach will succeed another at Evergreen Park. George Shimko, who brought success to the girls basketball programs at Queen of Peace and St. Laurence, has been named the new girls hoops coach at Evergreen Park. He will succeed Bruce Scaduto, who retired after 27 years with the…

Harold Blackmon (right) is welcomed to De La Salle by Meteors athletic director Tom White. Photo courtesy of De La Salle

De La Salle tabs Harold Blackmon as next football coach

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A pair of familiar coaches from the area have landed in new spots. Harold Blackmon, who has been head football coach at St. Laurence and Oak Lawn, has been named coach at De La Salle. George Shimko, a former girls basketball coach at Queen of Peace and St. Laurence, will serve…

SEATGEEK

Red Stars, rugby will highlight big weekend at SeatGeek

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Things will get busy in Bridgeview this weekend. The Chicago Fire II will host its season opener against Toronto FC II at 6 p.m. Friday, March 22 at SeatGeek Stadium. The following day, the Chicago Red Stars make their 2024 home debut against Seattle at 3 p.m. Rugby invades the stadium…

Chicago Red Stars players celebrate a goal against Utah in the season-opener for both teams on March 16. The Red Stars won, 2-0. Photo courtesy of Chicago Red Stars

Red Stars Report | Cooks provide recipe for success in Red Stars’ win over Utah

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Lorne Donaldson era is already Cook-ing. The new Chicago Red Stars coach enjoyed a victory in his debut with a 2-0 triumph over Utah in the NWSL season-opener for both teams on March 16 at America First Field in Sandy, Utah. The game was the first in franchise history for…

Angelo Luna

College Sports Wrap | Morton College OF Angelo Luna slugs two grand slams in one day

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Area college baseball sluggers had a grand time on March 16. Former St. Laurence standout Angelo Luna, a sophomore outfielder at Morton College, hit two grand slams and drove in 10 runs over two games as the Panthers beat Highland, 7-3 and 18-5, in a doubleheader at home. Luna has crushed…

Sergio Lemley (top), who won three state championships at Mount Carmel, finished in fourth place at the Big Ten tournament during his freshman season. Photo courtesy of University of Michigan Athletics

College Notebook | Ex-Mount Carmel wrestler Sergio Lemley takes fourth in Big Ten

By Mike Walsh Correspondent One reason the Michigan wrestling team has been successful this season is freshman Sergio Lemley. At the Big Ten tournament, Lemley won three of his five matches to finish fourth at 141 pounds. The Wolverines placed second with 123.5 points behind conference champion Penn State (170.5). In the consolation semifinals, Lemley,…

Sandburg sophomore Zoe Trunk high-fives teammate Grace Torgerson (12) after the former scored a run during the Eagles’ 9-1 win over Richards to open the 2024 season. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

Softball | Sandburg tops Richards, Crete-Monee to begin rebound season

By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent With a blank slate, unblemished record and all goals still theoretically intact, beginning of the season for any sports team offers — if nothing else — hope. Teams are looking to start fresh and either rebound from a season that failed to meet expectations, or build on the success from and…

2022 primary-election-1321269_1x

Casten, Garcia face primary foes in congressional primaries

By Bob Bong Incumbent 6th District Congressman Sean Casten has another primary campaign on his hands. In 2022, he and fellow incumbent Marie Newman squared off in a heated campaign after they were both thrown into the newly drawn district, which runs from Orland Park to Lombard. This time, he’s facing off with newcomer Mahnoor…

Illinois News

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

 By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…

Capitol Briefs: Pritzker executive order creates advisory council for affordable sickle cell treatment

Capitol Briefs: Pritzker executive order creates advisory council for affordable sickle cell treatment

DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed an order to create an advisory council to examine how Illinois’ Medicaid program can help cover costs of emerging gene therapies that effectively treat sickle cell disease and other rare disorders. About 5,000 Illinoisans live with sickle cell disease, a gene defect most…

Illinois high court asked to review law limiting venue in constitutional challenges

Illinois high court asked to review law limiting venue in constitutional challenges

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is being asked to decide on the constitutionality of a new state law that says constitutional challenges to state laws and actions can only be filed in Cook or Sangamon counties. Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office on Monday filed an appeal directly…

Diversity, judicial appointments at issue in 1st District Supreme Court race

Diversity, judicial appointments at issue in 1st District Supreme Court race

By HANNAH MEISEL DILPREET RAJU & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The race for one of the seven Illinois Supreme Court seats pits an appointed incumbent against a second-time candidate as the two Democrats vie for their party’s nomination next week. Because no Republican has filed to run for the Cook County-based seat, it’s…

Pritzker agency heads questioned on $1.1 billion revenue proposals

Pritzker agency heads questioned on $1.1 billion revenue proposals

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s revenue and budget directors took questions from a legislative panel Thursday on his proposals to generate another $1.1 billion in the upcoming fiscal year through various tax changes.  Pritzker’s proposed spending plan anticipates $52.9 billion in revenue, with new funds raised by increasing…

Diversity, judicial appointments at issue in 1st District Supreme Court race

Diversity, judicial appointments at issue in 1st District Supreme Court race

By HANNAH MEISEL DILPREET RAJU & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The race for one of the seven Illinois Supreme Court seats pits an appointed incumbent against a second-time candidate as the two Democrats vie for their party’s nomination next week. Because no Republican has filed to run for the Cook County-based seat, it’s…

Bailey vs. Bost congressional race among GOP primaries to watch

Bailey vs. Bost congressional race among GOP primaries to watch

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The March 19 primaries in Illinois may seem anticlimactic to those who are only interested in presidential politics. Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump sewed up their nominations a full week before polls even opened in the Prairie State. But further down…

Candidate Q&A: Cunningham, Reyes make pitch for Supreme Court seat

Candidate Q&A: Cunningham, Reyes make pitch for Supreme Court seat

Compiled by Capitol News Illinois There’s one contested primary for an Illinois Supreme Court seat on the March 19 ballot, with appointed incumbent Justice Joy Cunningham facing challenger and 1st District Appellate Court Justice Jesse Reyes.  The 1st District race is for one of three Cook County seats and one of seven spots on the…

Pritzker agency heads questioned on $1.1 billion revenue proposals

Pritzker agency heads questioned on $1.1 billion revenue proposals

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s revenue and budget directors took questions from a legislative panel Thursday on his proposals to generate another $1.1 billion in the upcoming fiscal year through various tax changes.  Pritzker’s proposed spending plan anticipates $52.9 billion in revenue, with new funds raised by increasing…

House panel opens hearings on Pritzker’s health insurance reforms

House panel opens hearings on Pritzker’s health insurance reforms

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A panel of Illinois lawmakers began hearing testimony Wednesday on Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposals for sweeping changes in the state’s health insurance industry.  The changes, which Pritzker first unveiled in his State of the State address in February, would limit the ability of companies to deny…