Kathy Headley

Kathy Headley

Welcome, Angela and farewell, Esme

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By Kathy Headley

Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor

6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778

Welcome to Angelica Godinez who takes over this Sunday, Sept. 4, as the branch manager of the Chicago Lawn Branch Library. Angela comes to us from the Scottsdale Branch. She also worked at the Gage Park Branch.

Best wishes to former Chicago Lawn Branch Manager Esmeralda Cossyleon as she moves to the Central Office to take over as a district chief. Chicago has 81 libraries divided into six districts. Esme will be the Chief at District 3, which is the Central West District.

Esme took Chicago Lawn through the pandemic; before that, the remodeling–and if you remember before that, the car crashing through the front window several years ago. Thanks to Esmeralda for her many years here. We will miss her.

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Kathy Headley

Also thanks to Chicago Lawn Children’s Librarian Suzanna Garza for taking over as interim manager while the library searched for the new boss.

Last week we talked about the building on the southwest corner of 61st Place and Kedzie, right across from the library. I took you through 6132 S. Kedzie as it is today (the Living Word Christian Center, a non-denominational church). Our editor, Tim Hadac, shed some light on the earlier days of that building:

“In its day Marquette Medical was a state-of-the-art neighborhood health center. Besides doctor’s offices, it had an X-ray room, a laboratory and its own pharmacy. One of its marquee providers was Dr. John Klabacha, an outstanding physician who saved lives (including mine) and helped hundreds of patients live healthier lives. It was quite a special place for so many.”

Longtime St. Rita High School Football Coach Todd Kuska has announced his retirement from football after this, his 25th season. He does plan to continue teaching and will continue to support the football program at the school.

Coach Kuska had 200+ wins, three state championship appearances, six NFL players, more than 50 D1 commits and led the Mustangs to the Class 7A state championship in 2006.

Adrian Dominican Sisters Laura (Mary Norman) Pesick and Margaret (Julia Marie) Lane passed away recently. Sister Laura was in the 75th year of her religious life. Some of you may remember Sister when she taught at St. Clare of Montefalco School in the 1950s. Sister Margaret was in her 74th year of religious life and taught at St. Nicholas of Tolentine School, also in the 1950s.

For those of you who went to Visitation in the 1950s, Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Eldena (Marie Evan) Scholl passed away on Aug. 5 in Wisconsin.

This year marks the 95th anniversary of the founding of Nativity BVM Parish. The celebration will take place on Sunday, Sept. 18, beginning with a Mass at 11 a.m. celebrated by Bishop Rimantas Norvila and followed by a celebration banquet in the parish hall. Tickets for the banquet are $65 for adults and $30 for children under 12. All are invited to join in the celebration.

The annual Siluva Masses and novenas will begin at Nativity on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 11 a.m. Mass. The novena runs from Sept 11 to the 18th. For more information on either event, call the parish office at (773) 776-4600.

The Little Flower Grammar School Class of 1971 is celebrating their class at a reunion on Saturday, Sept 17 at 115 Bourbon Street, Merrionette Park. The reunion also includes members of the Little Flower High School class that would have graduated in 1975. Reserve your spot by sending a $30 check to Jim Dolan, 1323 Hawthorne Lane, Glenview, IL 60025.

Now let’s return to our trip back to the 1970s and 1980s. As had been suggested by Tom Z., our plan was to head over to Irv’s for the evening. So where was Irv’s? Bob M. was the first to remember that Irv’s was on the southwest corner of the Cicero Avenue bridge that took us over the Belt Railway; in other words, where Walmart sits today.

Bob’s best memories of Irv’s were the driving range and toboggan slides, where you came down the slide on a potato sack. He tells us he remembers Irv putting in trampolines for a while too.

Bill T. remembered going to Irv’s for the batting cages especially. If he had extra money, he’d head for the pinball machines in the arcade room. Fred M. remembers taking his girlfriend there to play miniature golf.

I remember riding down Cicero in those days in the late evenings and everything was dark over that way except for all the lights around Irv’s. If I remember correctly Irv’s would be open from early spring all the way to about Halloween or Thanksgiving.

Now to end our summer fun, let’s get some more ice cream. This time we are going further back to the late 1940s and into the 1950s. Now we must choose between the drug store with a soda fountain at 63rd and St. Louis, which had grape soda at the fountain; or the candy store with a soda fountain just east of Kedzie on the south side of the street which served cantaloupe sundaes in the summer. Do you remember both of these? Where should we go?

Local News

Mary Stanek

A simple idea for Earth Day

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Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 517-7796 . Moving right along through April, as the days get longer and nicer, time will start to go by faster. We have Earth Day on April 22 and the start of Passover at sunset.…

Kathy Headley

Bingo at St. Clare was something to yell about

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Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Recently I mentioned a bingo fundraiser the Augustinian Young Adults of St. Rita of Cascia Parish were holding. This was their first attempt at a bingo and they put on a really nice event. Held…

Peggy Zabicki

One thing is certain: life goes on

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Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I get a lot of calls from residents who are discouraged about our neighborhood. There are so many car accidents, shootings and violent crimes being committed in West Lawn and surrounding areas. It certainly is challenging to stay hopeful and positive. Here is a paragraph…

The logosof the United Business Association of Midway. --Supplied image

Biz groups battle over names, logos

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Spread the love. UBAM, MCC trade barbs . By Dermot Connolly and Tim Hadac The leader of one Midway-area business association is accusing the other of bad faith, and the leader of the other is scratching her head over the dustup. United Business Association of Midway Executive Director Anita Cummings recently claimed that a rival…

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Chicago Lawn native’s book is ‘off the hook’

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Spread the love. Longtime journalist shares humor columns . By Tim Hadac Nancy (Emerson) Besonen has made a career as a news reporter and humor columnist for a weekly paper in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. But her roots are in Chicago Lawn, and it showed during a recent conversation. Like most true Southwest Siders, she didn’t…

Oak Lawn coach Shawn Neubauer and Teagan Kryzstof survey the field during the Spartans’ 3-0 loss to Shepard on April 15. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

Softball | Oak Lawn’s Kasey Jackson fans 5 in loss to Shepard

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Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn entered its South Suburban Conference matchup with Shepard having won six of its last seven games. The Astros — even hotter with seven straight victories after beginning the season with three consecutive losses — cooled off the Spartans (8-5, 4-2 SSC) for a day, winning 3-0 behind…

Shepard junior Kailey Selvage struck out 15 batters while allowing two hits and walking one in the Astros’ 3-0 win over Oak Lawn on April 15 in Palos Heights. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

Softball | Shepard blanks Oak Lawn behind CG from Kailey Selvage, 2 RBI from Madison Scapardine

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Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Temperatures are not the only thing starting to warm up in the Southwest Suburbs. Shepard, which began the season with three consecutive losses, defeated Oak Lawn, 3-0, on April 15 to run its winning streak to seven games. Astros junior pitcher Kailey Selvage tossed a complete-game shutout, striking out…

Flanked by other top local CPD officials, Area 1 Deputy Chief Don Jerome stands in the middle of Damen Avenue Saturday night as he leads a press briefing. --Supplied photo

‘Horrific and unacceptable’

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Spread the love. Police, neighbors decry shooting at family party . By Tim Hadac Drive-by shootings have become not at all unusual in recent years in Back of the Yards. Some might even call them common. What is still uncommon is for drive-by crimes to injure or even kill young children. But that is exactly…

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A blue salute in Scottsdale

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Spread the love. Family, friends, co-workers and neighbors of the late CPD Officer James R. Svec Jr. –as well as elected and appointed officials– gathered at 77th and Kolmar last Saturday to unveil an honorary street sign saluting him for his sacrifice. Officer Svec died at age 59 in December 2021 from causes related to…

Eighteenth Ward Ald. Derrick G. Curtis hosts a popular pet vaccination event each year, and in years past led by example by bringing his dog, Sasha, who enjoyed the attention. --File photo

County vets offer reduced-price vax clinics

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Spread the love. From staff reports The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control is running its annual Partners in Prevention clinics now through mid-October. ARC is partnering with local animal organizations to offer reduced-cost or free one-year rabies vaccinations, as well as microchips. The partnerships are designed to link pet owners to organizations…

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State Senate advances bill to ban food additives linked to health problems

State Senate advances bill to ban food additives linked to health problems

By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Senate passed a bill Thursday that would ban four food additives that are found in common products including candy, soda and baked goods. Senate Bill 2637, known as the Illinois Food Safety Act, passed on a 37-15 bipartisan vote and will head to the House for…

INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state

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…

Education leaders seek added state funding to help districts accommodate influx of migrants

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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…

Capitol Briefs: Lawmakers, advocates again call for affordable housing tax credit

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By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com Housing advocates are renewing a push to fund a $20 million state affordable housing tax credit in the upcoming state budget.  Supporters of the “Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit Act,” modeled after a federal tax credit program, claimed it would result in over 1,000 affordable housing units being…

Solar investments take center stage as questions loom on state’s renewable future

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By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com BOLINGBROOK – A manufacturer in the southwest suburbs of Chicago received $2.6 million from electric utility Commonwealth Edison this week as part of a state program for generating its own electricity using solar panels and storing it in one of the largest batteries in the country.  But even…

Advocates renew push to tighten firearm laws aimed at protecting domestic violence victims

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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…

Komatsu mining truck named 2024 ‘coolest thing made in Illinois’

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By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A mining truck manufactured by Komatsu was crowned the winner of the 2024 “Makers Madness” contest, earning the title of “the coolest thing made in Illinois” at the Governor’s Mansion Wednesday.  The truck was one of more than 200 entries in the 5th annual contest hosted…

Capitol Briefs: Pritzker appoints first-ever Prisoner Review Board director; Chicago advances migrant funding

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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…

INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state

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By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest, 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,…

Illinois Senate advances changes to state’s biometric privacy law after business groups split

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