Pirates take CRRL 10u softball crown
The Pirates recently won the right to say they are the 10u softball champions of Clear Ridge Little League. The Bucs amassed a 13-4-1 record this season and won the championship game by a score of 6-3. Members of the championship team are Alaina Nolan, Isabella Lehman, Gianna Whalen, Ava Verdin, Juliana LaPorte, Molly Mendez, Emilie Ashcraft, Meadow Mullen, Mila Solana, Jazlynn Stroup, Abbie Gasteier and Crista Hickey. The champs were coached by Jen Nolan, Maria Molinaro-Whalen, John Lehman and Mike LaPorte. –Photo courtesy of Carla Baluk
Local News
Tug of war over masks
Spread the loveCTU fights in court to stay covered By Tim Hadac Masks became optional last week at public schools across the city, but the Chicago Teachers Union still vowed a fight to keep everyone covered. In the wake of a decision against their position by a labor board, the CTU issued this statement: “By…
Aleah Radojevich headed north on a gymnastics scholarship
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. I’d like to share a lovely email with you I received from Garfield Ridge resident Danielle Radojevich, a 23-year employee of the Chicago Park District, sharing the accomplishments of her daughter, Aleah. Danielle told me that Aleah, whose…
400 motorists get free gas at Hickory Hill station as police chief pitches in
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Shirley Jenkins wasn’t about to miss her chance to get $50 worth of gasoline for free, even it meant getting in line around 6 a.m. The Justice woman, 63, waited three hours to pump free gas into her SUV Thursday morning at Falcon Fuel in Hickory Hills. “I need the…
Area Sports Roundup: South Suburban College wins national title
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Now for some March Madness that was not as heavily publicized over the weekend … Area athletes participated in three national championship basketball games on Saturday, and a couple of them can lay claim to being national champs. St. Rita grad Cameron Bartmann and Catalyst Maria alum Jonathan…
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars seek title after back-to-back runner-up finishes
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer It’s an obvious goal. Win it all. The Chicago Red Stars, who make their 2022 home debut in the Challenge Cup at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Kansas City at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, finished runner-up in each of the past two NWSL seasons in 2019 and 2021. There…
Madigan hits feds
Spread the loveActions routine, ‘not illegal’ By Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois Former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and former lobbyist Michael McClain have pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of racketeering, bribery, fraud and extortion. Both were arraigned on those charges last week during a teleconference hearing before U.S. District Judge…
Archer Avenue goes green for a day
Spread the loveThe Southwest Side Irish (as well as many more “Irish for a day” friends and neighbors) flooded Archer Avenue with good cheer earlier this month, at the Midway area’s only St. Patrick’s Day parade. Hosted by the Clear-Ridge Men’s Social Athletic Club and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, the Chicago Working…
City is anti-business, grocer’s son says
Spread the loveColumnist John Kass addresses UBAM members By Steve Metsch John Kass, whose father and relatives built a grocery business with hard work, knows about the pressures facing business owners in Chicago. The city is not doing enough to help small businesses, the former Chicago Tribune reporter and columnist recently told a gathering of…
Neighbors
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…
Education leaders seek added state funding to help districts accommodate influx of migrants
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The recent surge of international migrants arriving in Illinois has brought with it a host of new challenges for state and local officials. Those range from filling their most basic needs like emergency food, clothing and shelter, to more complex issues like lining them up with…