Peggy Zabicki
Head to the library over Christmas break
By Peggy Zabicki
Your correspondent in West Lawn
3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327
The West Lawn Branch Library, 4020 W. 63rd St., is a good place to bring your kids during Christmas break. Pick out some books to read together.
The library will be having some activities for parents and little ones next week. On Tuesday, Dec. 27 the library will have a Baby Story Time at 10:30 a.m. There will be a half hour of stories, rhymes, songs and movement for babies and toddlers up to age 2. Registration is required. Call (312) 747-7381.
The library will be hosting Yoga For Adults on Thursday, Dec. 29 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. All skill levels are welcome. Call the library for more information and to register.
Peggy Zabicki
West Lawn’s bowling alley, Lawn Lanes, 6750 S. Pulaski, will be open on Christmas Day from noon to 11 p.m. They will also be open on New Year’s Eve from noon to 8 p.m. and New Year’s Day from noon to 11 p.m. Call them at (773) 582-2525 for more information about their holiday hours.
It’s never too early to think ahead to next year and make plans for new year’s resolutions or self improvement. Do you want to learn about computers or improve your skills? Daley College, 7500 S. Pulaski, will be having basic, intermediate and advanced computer classes in person. Most of the classes start the week of Jan. 16. Registration has begun. Call for more information at (773) 838-7500 or visit [email protected]
In the meantime, are you feeling the joy of Christmas? It is hard to feel merry and bright when we hear gunfire nearby, see neglected dogs running around our neighborhood every day, and when we discover that packages were stolen from our front porches.
How can we have hope and faith when we hear race cars at all times of day and night instead of the sound of Christmas carolers? Even if you did hear carolers, you would probably worry about their safety.
This is reality. Sometimes, I wish I could take a break from it.
All I can say is that I hope that each person reading this calls a friend to say Merry Christmas. I hope everyone gets a Christmas card. I hope each of you will enjoy a Christmas movie on TV. I hope that when you look out of your front window, you see nothing but pretty Christmas lights.
I hope we can take a vacation from the things that weigh us down and be lifted up for just one day. I hope we can wake up on Christmas morning and feel joy. This is my Christmas wish for everybody.
Local News
Finish line in sight
Spread the love. With mayoral race close, turnout is everything By Tim Hadac With polls predicting an extremely close mayoral runoff on Tuesday, April 4, both Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson had their campaigns in high gear this week, rolling out final endorsements and exhorting voters to cast ballots. For the first time in his…
Sweet surprise for police
Spread the love Everyone likes cookies, especially when they’re Girl Scout cookies delivered by a sweet, smiling Scout–as illustrated by police at the Eighth District station last week. Officers, detectives and sergeants were delighted to grab one of 20 boxes of Thin Mints, S’mores, Do-si-dos, Samoas and other varieties from Charlotte Caughey of Brownie Troop…
Egg prices drive chicken interest
Spread the loveSome becoming backyard farmers By Kelly White Complaints about the price of eggs have been so common in recent months, some folks who have never considered backyard farming are now thinking of buying a hen or two. To help educate people about the matter, The Feed Store, 5408 S. Harlem, is also hosting…
Pro Sports Report | Alex Morgan converts PK and Wave tops Red Stars in opener
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Two of the best scorers in the NWSL made great first impressions to begin the 2023 season. The Chicago Red Stars’ Mallory Swanson, coming off a scoring explosion in the SheBelieves Cup earlier in the year, scored a tying goal on a penalty kick in extra time in…
Area Sports Roundup | Morton College takes 5th in nation
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer For three quarters, Janiah Jones’ stats were bland. The Richard Bland College guard had just two points. But she lit things up in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 of her team’s 18 points to help Bland stun Morton College, 69-63, in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College…
Track and Field | Oak Lawn’s Robert Wagner gets jump on season with highest leap at Top Times
Spread the loveBy Tim Cronin Correspondent BLOOMINGTON — Robert Wagner, with a name straight out of Hollywood, starred in the high jump at the Illinois Top Times meet, held March 25 at Illinois Wesleyan University. The only thing missing for the Oak Lawn senior was a spotlight — and, from Wagner’s viewpoint — breaking his…
College Notebook | Richards grad Abby Mallo swinging a hot stick for Billikens
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent Welcome to Division I softball, Abby Mallo. Mallo, a Richards graduate playing at Saint Louis University, was chosen the Rookie of the Week by the Atlantic 10 Conference for the week ending March 19. Mallo, a freshman, hit safely in all four games that week, recording a .429 batting…
Baseball | Brother Rice seeking spark after two-loss week
Spread the loveBy Steve Millar Correspondent Brother Rice is missing some big pieces from the team that finished third in the state in Class 4A last season. Multi-sport superstar Jack Lausch graduated and moved on to play quarterback at Northwestern. Catching star Zion Rose, a potential high Major League Baseball draft pick this summer, transferred…
Choosing sides in mayoral race
Spread the love. SW Side endorsements start to emerge By Tim Hadac While neither Paul Vallas nor Brandon Johnson has campaigned on the Southwest Side to any significant degree, their supporters in this area are starting to go public. The latest endorsement to be snagged occurred last Friday, when U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th),…
Crime spree in Back of the Yards
Spread the loveArmed bandits commit 10 robberies in less than two hours By Tim Hadac A burst of armed robberies in the Back of the Yards area has prompted police to issue a community warning. The 10 stickups occurred in less than two hours on Wednesday, March 15. Crime scenes include: 4600 block of South…
Neighbors
‘You had a choice to make’: Defense paints cooperating witness in ComEd trial as opportunistic
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – About an hour before sunrise on a mid-January morning in 2019, two FBI agents arrived at the home of Fidel Marquez’s mother, where the longtime executive of Commonwealth Edison had been staying. The agents played a series of recordings of wiretapped phone calls for Marquez, featuring…
Senate votes to lift nuclear construction ban
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate approved a measure on Thursday that would lift a 1980s-era moratorium on nuclear power plant construction. Senate Bill 76, sponsored by Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, was approved on a 39-13 vote. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. “The…
Former ComEd CEO sought soft landing for Madigan chief of staff who was fired for sexual harassment
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – In the weeks following then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s forced ouster of his longtime chief of staff following allegations of sexual harassment, a high-ranking Commonwealth Edison official was considering how to help the disgraced Madigan ally. Tim Mapes had served as Madigan’s chief of staff for…
Senate passes bill protecting ‘child influencers’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that gives financial protection to children whose parents make money posting videos of them on social media. Those children are known as “influencers” because the videos, known as vlogs, are intended to generate interest in things like products…
Moon habitat named 2023’s ‘Coolest Thing Made in Illinois’
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Rosenberg Moon Habitat was named 2023’s “Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” Wednesday in a contest hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. The habitat is manufactured by Ingersoll Machine Tools in Rockford, in collaboration with the Institut auf dem Rosenberg of Switzerland. At a height of…
Senate advances bill to log abuse cover-ups in state health care registry
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A measure spurred by reports of abuse at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center passed the Senate unanimously Wednesday and will head to the House. The bill would prohibit health care workers who have been the subject of a substantiated claim of “material obstruction” of an…
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’: Secretly recorded videos show ComEd lobbyists discussing alleged bribery scheme
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Longtime Commonwealth Edison contract lobbyist Jay Doherty thought he was merely reminiscing and giving advice to a colleague and friend in a February 2019 meeting set up by ex-ComEd executive Fidel Marquez. But Marquez was wearing a hidden camera, having just a few weeks prior agreed…
Advocates call on regulators to reject natural gas rate increases
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Consumer advocates, environmentalists and Chicago residents gathered in front of the Chicago offices of Peoples Gas this week to call on the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject a proposed rate increase from the gas utility. Several advocacy groups, including the Citizens Utility Board, Blacks in Green…
Secretary of state backs proposal allowing noncitizens to receive standard driver’s licenses
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected]m SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House advanced a measure last week that would allow noncitizen residents who are currently eligible for a “temporary visitor driver’s license” to instead obtain a “standard” driver’s license that can be used as identification. Lawmakers created the temporary visitor driver’s license, or TVDL, in…
Native American history, repatriation measures advance in Illinois House
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – In an effort to increase recognition of indigenous history and culture, lawmakers are considering measures to repatriate Native American remains and teach Native American history in public schools. Last week, lawmakers approved both measures that seek to address past harms inflicted on the Native American community…
