
Lyons Village Trustee Paul Marchiori (right) voiced concerns about drivers’ safety on Ogden Avenue near a car wash that the board approved. Trustee James Veselsky is to the left. (Photo by Steve Metsch)
Buddy Bear Car Wash approved for Lyons
Local News

Summit woman dies in Riverside car crash
By Bob Bong A Summit woman was killed and four other people were injured in a crash Saturday night in Riverside. Samantha Nieves, 23, died in the crash that occurred at about 8 p.m. April 30 near First Avenue and Waubansee Road, Riverside Director of Public Safety Matthew Buckley said in a release. Buckley said……

Alley paving, police vehicle approved by Lyons
By Steve Metsch The Lyons Village Board has unanimously approved paying Triggi Construction no more than $206,455 for an alley paving project on the east side of town. Mayor Christopher Getty said it’s for an alley the village had hoped to pave last year. “One of the alleys we were working to pave in 2021,……

Justice honors vehicle sticker contest winners
By Carol McGowan Three Indian Springs District 109 students were honored at last week’s Justice Village Board meeting as winners of the 2022-23 vehicle sticker design contest. The yearly contest has local students draw a design for the new village vehicle stickers, which residents have to buy annually. The first-place design is then used on……

Argo girls track team wins Morton Invite
By Carol McGowan Argo High School’s girls varsity track team recently came in first place at the Girls Morton High School Varsity Indoor Track and Field Invite 2022. Argo head coach Eva Manzke said, “It was our last indoor meet and we won at the varsity level. We competed against some higher-level teams such as……

Area gamers participate in historic IHSA state tournament
By Jeff Vorva Oak Lawn and Stagg took seconds in the first. The inaugural Illinois High School Association eSports State Tournament took place Saturday at Bloomington High School and area gamers had a chance to play in the historic event. Oak Lawn and Stagg both had second-place finishers in the tournament and Stagg added a……

Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars catch lightning in season-opening win over Louisville
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars had not won a season-opener since 2015, and the prospects for beginning the 2022 campaign with a ‘W’ were not at their most promising. The Stars had never beaten their Game 1 opponent, Racing Louisville, a franchise that was an expansion team in 2021. Tierna Davidson,……

College Report: Moraine Valley celebrates 45 years of athletics in Finn fashion
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Moraine Valley Community College celebrated its 45th year of offering athletics on April 30. Bill Finn has seen nearly all of them. Finn, the Cyclones’ athletic director, has spent 41 years at the college as a coach and administrator. The school opened up the Health, Fitness and Recreation Center for……

SD122 scholarship applications due May 6 Applications are now being accepted for the Ridgeland School District 122 PTA Council Higher Education Scholarship. Interested graduating high school seniors that attended a Ridgeland 122 School – Columbus Manor, Kolb, Harnew, Lieb and Simmons – for at least five years, have a 2.5 or greater GPA, and plan to attend……

Comings & Goings: Dukes to finally re-open, in Mokena
By Bob Bong When Dukes Drive-In closed its longtime home in Bridgeview in 2019 to make way for a Panera Bread, people wanted to know where the restaurant would be relocating and how soon before it was open again. There were all kinds of rumors. None came true. Until now. Dukes Drive-In will be reopening……
Neighbors

ANALYSIS: Where does the GOP governor field stand on abortion?
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] Perhaps the biggest news affecting state government this week came not from Springfield but from Washington, D.C. That news was an unprecedented leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the landmark 1973 abortion rights decision Roe v. Wade. That case’s precedent protects access to…

UPDATED: Fitch, S&P announce Illinois credit ratings upgrades
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Fitch Ratings on Thursday raised the state of Illinois’ rating for general obligation bonds two notches, to BBB+, while S&P Global Ratings on Friday upgraded state bonds by one notch. That means all three major credit rating agencies have updated Illinois credit by two notches in…

Ceremony honors officers killed in the line duty
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – As rain steadily fell in Springfield Thursday morning, there was a somber feeling among the law enforcement officers and elected officials that gathered at the Illinois State Library to honor 11 fallen officers killed in the line of duty in 2021. “I have a heavy heart…

Audit finds IDPH failed to intervene in early days of LaSalle Veterans’ Home outbreak
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A new report from the state’s auditor general found more fault with the Illinois Department of Public Health in its response to a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at a state-run veterans home than was found by a previous watchdog report that investigated the matter. A November 2020…

Fitch raises Illinois credit rating two notches
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Fitch Ratings on Thursday raised the state of Illinois’ rating for general obligation bonds two notches, to BBB+, making it the second rating agency to do so in recent weeks and marking the fourth time the state has received a credit upgrade in the last year.…

CAPITOL RECAP: Lawmakers react to leaked draft abortion decision
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Democrats warned of an “end to the constitutional right to privacy” if a leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade becomes finalized as precedent. “It means women who lose access to the full suite of medical advances…

Illinois has tangled history with abortion despite recent liberal push
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A leaked draft of an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision that could overturn the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade reignited a political debate over whether access to abortion is a constitutional right or something that can be regulated by the states. The draft opinion was…

Illinois lawmakers respond to leaked Supreme Court abortion decision
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Democrats warned of an “end to the constitutional right to privacy” if a leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade becomes finalized as precedent. “It means women who lose access to the full suite…

Pritzker signs bills aimed at easing teacher shortage amid data suggesting progress
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed a package of bills Wednesday aimed at easing the state’s shortage of teachers and other education professionals, even as a new report shows Illinois just added a record number of new teachers to its ranks. Speaking in the library of Springfield High…

$309 million available through federally-funded mortgage assistance program
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker was joined by the Illinois Housing Development Authority and local elected officials in Chicago Friday to promote the Illinois Emergency Homeowner Assistance Fund for struggling homeowners. Overseen by IHDA, the emergency assistance fund is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act and…