
Santa coming to Scottsdale, West Lawn
The Jolly Old Elf continues to sweep across the Southwest Side. Last weekend, he brought Christmas cheer to boys and girls in Clearing and Garfield Ridge. Santa Claus will ride a vintage fire engine through the streets of Scottsdale from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19. Parents and grandparents are advised to keep their eyes and ears open and have cameras at the ready. The Man in Red’s visit to the community is hosted by the Scottsdale Neighborhood Watch. Santa also will roll up and down the streets of West Lawn from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, in a visit sponsored by the West Lawn Neighborhood Watch.
– Supplied photo
Local News

Kantas wins bid for 4th Subcircuit vacancy
By Carol McGowan Nick Kantas came out on top in the Democratic primary for Cook County judge in the 4th Subcircuit. He won over Amanda Moira Pillsbury in the race to fill the Gavin vacancy. Kantas had 12,652 votes to 10,393 for Pillsbury with 99 percent the vote in (218 of 221 precincts), according to…

Cardenas ousts Wendt in Dem primary for Board of Review
By Bob Bong Palos Heights attorney and Realtor Tammy Wendt was denied a second term Tuesday night when she was defeated by Chicago Ald. George Cardenas in the Democratic primary for the Board of Review 1st District. Wendt said the party had been out to get her since she surprisingly prevailed in 2020 over endorsed…

Pekau vs. Casten ready to rumble in 6th Distict
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…

Casten rolls to decisive victory over Newman in 6th Congressional Dem battle
By Joe Boyle U.S. Rep. Sean Casten emerged as the decisive victor in the Democratic primary race for the newly drawn 6th Congressional District Tuesday night. With 97 percent of the vote registered and 221 of 227 precincts reporting, Casten had an unofficial tally of 13,440 votes for 53.90%. Newman had 10,545 votes for 42.29% percent as…

Rashid surprises Zalewski in 21st District Dem primary
By Steve Metsch Abdelnasser Rashid beat incumbent state Rep. Michael Zalewski in the 21st District’s Democratic primary Tuesday, with strong support from suburban Cook County residents. According to unofficial totals, Rashid received 3,893 votes (52 percent) to 3,637 for Zalewski (48 percent). Rashid had just 215 votes (31 percent) to Zalewski’s 480 votes (69 percent)…

Garfield Ridge native is new Vikes’ volleyball coach
From staff reports A Garfield Ridge native has been named head boys’ volleyball coach at St. Laurence High School. Laura Bugarin “brings a wealth of volleyball knowledge to the Vikings, with 11 years of coaching experience for 1st Alliance Volleyball Club, Illinois’ top USA Volleyball (USAV) club and a nationally ranked program,” school officials said. Coaching some of the…

Biz leaders help school’s garden grow
By Dermot Connolly The United Business Association of Midway has partnered with Hale School to expand the community garden outside the school at 6140 S. Melvina. “I have always believed that a strong partnership is what gets anything accomplished,” said Anita Cummings, UBAM executive director. “This is a cornerstone of our organization. We work with…

Top cop to drive in charity race
By Joan Hadac There are all kinds of fundraisers that benefit Special Olympics Illinois, but none is faster than the Five-O at the Dirty-O, the annual stock car race at the famed Dirt Oval 66 racetrack (known to fans as the Dirty-O) in Joliet. Five-O at the Dirty-O is a charity race featuring law enforcement officers…

Police Reports
Crime reports courtesy of swchicagopost.com. Police report information is provided by law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken, and people charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Charge man with murder in Chicago Lawn slaying A 33-year-old Woodlawn…

Reputed gang member tried to hire hitman, Dart says
From staff reports A man in custody at Cook County Jail, as well his fiancé, have been charged after an undercover Cook County Sheriff’s Office investigation concluded that they had sought to hire someone to kill a witness in the man’s current murder case, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced recently. Sheriff’s investigators said they learned…
Neighbors

UPDATED Bailey wins GOP nomination to challenge Pritzker
By JERRY NOWICKI & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] State Sen. Darren Bailey, who gained statewide notoriety challenging Gov. JB Pritzker’s pandemic executive order authority in court, will be the incumbent’s challenger in the November general election. As of about 9 p.m. Tuesday, Bailey had carried over 55 percent of the GOP vote from…

CAPITOL RECAP: Pritzker to call special session after Roe v. Wade overturned
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will call a special session of the General Assembly in the coming weeks to focus on legislation to strengthen women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health services in Illinois. Pritzker made that announcement Friday, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court released an opinion overturning…

6 Republicans vie to unseat Pritzker
By PETER HANCOCK & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Republican voters in Illinois will choose from six candidates to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker in the upcoming June 28 primary. The field includes a conservative farmer and state lawmakers who is the recent polling frontrunner, the mayor of Illinois’ second largest…

Candidate interview: Alexi Giannoulias looking to reclaim statewide office
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] Illinois voters might know Alexi Giannoulias as the state’s treasurer from 2007 to 2011, or they might know him as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate who lost to Republican Mark Kirk in 2010. He’s now looking to get back into public life as he runs for secretary…

Pritzker to call special session on reproductive rights
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will call a special session of the General Assembly in the coming weeks to focus on legislation to strengthen women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health services in Illinois. Pritzker made that announcement Friday, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court released…

Candidate interview: Anna Valencia running for secretary of state
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] This story is part of Capitol News Illinois’ coverage of the race for secretary of state ahead of the Tuesday, June 28 primary. We’re reaching out to the candidates this week to discuss their policy positions and plans for the office should they be elected. Chicago City Clerk…

Republicans see opening in secretary of state race
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – For the first time in nearly a quarter century, there is an open race for the office of Illinois secretary of state as incumbent Democrat Jesse White prepares to retire, and Republicans hope that will give them an opportunity to pick up a statewide elected office.…

Candidate interview: Secretary of state hopeful David Moore
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] This story is part of Capitol News Illinois’ coverage of the race for secretary of state ahead of the Tuesday, June 28 primary. We’re reaching out to all of the candidates this week to discuss their policy positions and plans for the office should they be elected. Chicago…

Tom Cullerton sentenced to 1 year in prison for embezzlement
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A federal judge in Chicago handed down a one-year prison sentence Tuesday for a former state senator who once chaired the Senate Labor Committee. Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of embezzlement for receiving salary and benefits from…

CAPITOL RECAP: State Supreme Court again declines to rule on FOID Act
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – In a 4-3 decision with a blistering dissent from the Republican minority, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to rule on a question of whether Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Act is unconstitutional. It was the second time the case of the People v. Vivian Brown came before the court and…