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Local News
Area Sports Report: Nazareth finishes run to Class 5A state title game
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Nazareth has played in five state championship football games. But the Roadrunners never took a road this bumpy to get there. After opening the season 1-3 and at one point being 2-4, they had to run the table just to make it to the playoffs. Mission accomplished. They…
Boys and Men’s 2022-2023 Hoops Preview
Spread the loveHIGH SCHOOLS BROTHER RICE The Crusaders finished 24-7 last season and fell 60-49 to Bloom in a Class 4A regional championship game. While almost every key player — aside from forward Jayden Watson, who transferred to Bloom — will be back from last year’s team, there will be a new coach leading the…
Rhine VFW Post honored
Spread the love Twenty-third Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares presents a City Council resolution to Charlie Johnson, longtime Commander of the Rhine VFW Post 2729, at the post’s 90th anniversary celebration held recently at European Chalet. The resolution commended the post and its members for nearly a century of service to veterans and the larger community.…
Area Sports Roundup: Runners sign letters, SXU heads to volleyball nationals
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Back in the early 1970s, Richards had an outstanding distance runner, Ray Giff, who went on to run at Indiana University. History has repeated itself. Richards cross country and track standout Owen Forberg put forth an all-state effort at the cross country state finals on Oct. 5, and…
Mother McAuley tops Benet for 16th state title
Spread the loveBy Randy Whalen Correspondent Playing with the motivation of losing last season’s Class 4A state title match, Mother McAuley was on a mission to bring home the championship this year. Mission accomplished. The Mighty Macs defeated Benet, 25-22, 17-25, 25-14, for the 4A state crown on Nov. 12 at Redbird Arena in Normal.…
St. Francis tops Nazareth in three sets for Class 3A title
Spread the loveBy Randy Whalen Correspondent Kitty Sandt smiled through the disappointment. There was no reason to dwell on it. The Nazareth senior setter/right side hitter had just ended her high school volleyball career in a familiar place: Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State. In three of Sandt’s four high school years, she…
Pigskin Wrap: SXU defense can’t rest in playoff opener v. high-scoring Marian
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Saint Xavier’s defense will be put to the test in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series. The Cougars (9-2) drew the 11th seed in the 16-team tournament that will decide the national champion. They will visit seventh-seeded Marian (Indiana) (8-1) at 12:05 p.m. Saturday at…
Pizzeria promises ‘all new kitchen’
Spread the loveVilla Rosa retools after Health Dept. shutdown By Tim Hadac An Archer Avenue pizzeria is promising a complete renovation in the wake of its shutdown by the Chicago Department of Public Health six weeks ago. “We are renovating the entire restaurant with all new and innovative, state-of-the-art equipment to be able to provide…
‘Consistent, unwavering dedication to the community’
Spread the loveGRCL President Richard Techman’s life to be celebrated From staff reports Richard J. Techman was a lifelong Garfield Ridge resident and longtime president of the Garfield Ridge Civic League. He died suddenly and unexpectedly at home on Saturday, Oct. 15. He was 65 years old. “As a news reporter, I had contact with…
Neighbors
Remembering Lee Milner
NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…
Capitol Briefs: Expansion of postpartum coverage, ban on kangaroos among hundreds of measures to pass House
By ALEX ABBEDUTO & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois kangaroo owners are one step closer to being forced to surrender their marsupials this week after the House passed a bill criminalizing their possession. That was one of more than 300 bills to pass the House ahead of a Friday procedural deadline.…
Pritzker says state ‘obviously’ needs to change 2010 law that shrunk pension benefits
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com With a month-and-a-half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system. But the governor this week also acknowledged in the strongest terms yet that any plans to finally get the state on track toward…
Pritzker’s health insurance reforms targeting ‘utilization management’ clear House
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker celebrated a partial legislative victory Thursday night when the House passed his initiative to end some practices health insurance companies use to control the amount and cost of health care services individual patients receive. The “Healthcare Protection Act,” House Bill 5395, cleared the…
Lawmakers, cannabis industry calls for ban on ‘delta-8’ and other psychoactive hemp products
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ largest cannabis business association is pushing to ban the sale of delta-8 THC, an increasingly popular psychoactive substance that’s popped up in corner stores across the country in recent years. New legislation filed in Springfield this week revives an ongoing debate over delta-8 and other…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: Bill creating new early childhood agency among 244 to advance
By ALEX ABBEDUTO HANNAH MEISEL & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to create a new state agency to oversee Illinois’ various early childhood programs moved forward on Friday after the state Senate’s unanimous approval. It was one of 244 bills that cleared the Senate this week. Early childhood…
INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state
By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest Originally published April 10, 2024 During the 2023 harvest season, one of Jake Lieb’s tractors quit working. A week later, his combine stopped working, too. Both were new — and he was locked out from making any repairs himself because of software restrictions embedded in the machines. Instead, a technician…
Capitol Briefs: Pritzker appoints first-ever Prisoner Review Board director; Chicago advances migrant funding
By JERRY NOWICKI & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Weeks after two high-profile resignations at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday appointed the first-ever executive director to help lead the beleaguered agency. To fill the newly created position, the governor tapped Jim Montgomery, who most recently served as director of…
Advocates renew push to tighten firearm laws aimed at protecting domestic violence victims
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for stricter gun laws rallied at the state Capitol Tuesday for a measure aimed at protecting domestic violence victims and two other criminal justice reforms. The bills are backed by organizations such as Moms Demand Action and One Aim Illinois among others. “These policies support…