Local News
By Steve Metsch Argo High School freshman Nicholas Kokarczyk was feeling pretty good after his solar eclipse debut. “I’ve never seen one personally. It looks like a big frowny face now,” Kokarczyk said around 2:15 p.m. Monday. “It’s better than I expected.” Kokarczyk, 14, of Justice, was joined by roughly 1,900 of his fellow students…
Read More
By Nuha Abdessalam A petition demanding the firing of a school psychologist at Ridgeland School District 122 for posting Islamophobic social media messages has gathered more than 1,400 signatures. The petition on change.org is “calling for the removal of the schoo psychologist Laurie Hoke for sharing posts and comments that are explicitly racist, Islamophobic, hateful,…
Read More
From staff reports The Lyons Township Trustees of Schools is accepting applications for a vacancy on their board, after Trustee Koula A. Fournier resigned earlier this month after being sworn-in as a Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court. Fournier was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to fill the Maloney vacancy of the 4th…
Read More
By Bob Bong Fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East has had an impact locally as a Muslim school and mosque in Bridgeview received threats this week. Classes at Aqsa school were called off Friday and students switched to a remote learning day after the school received an anonymous letter this week that…
Read More
From staff reports The Lyons Township High School District 204 Board of Education announced last week that Elvia Nava, of LaGrange Park, had been appointed to the board, effective July 5. Nava fills the vacancy created by the recent resignation of Julie Swinehart. She will serve until the April 2025 consolidated election. Nava works in the construction…
Read More
By Jeff Vorva District 230 Supt. Robert Nolting gave a shout out to the seniors on the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee. The committee is made of students from all three high schools – Sandburg, Stagg and Andrew – who serve their time meeting with Nolting and other district officials to talk about concerns from the student…
Read More
More than 200 Consolidated High School District 230 students from Amos Alonzo Stagg, Carl Sandburg and Victor J. Andrew High Schools recently received recognition for earning either a Seal of Biliteracy or a State Commendation Award. The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given in recognition of students who have attained proficiency in English and…
Read More
By Dermot Connolly Stagg High School administrators, teachers and students all lifted ceremonial shovels at a June 2 groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of a two-year $15.5 million expansion project that will add 11 new classrooms, four science labs and much more at the Palos Hills school. The build-out at the District 230 school at 8015…
Read More
By Steve Metsch The Lyons Township High School student who suffered “major head trauma” in a fight outside the north campus three weeks ago remains hospitalized, a source said last week. The youth – whose name, age, town and year in school have not been released – was attacked by at least three other youths…
Read More
Player Early Childhood Center, located in Justice, has begun taking screening appointments for children who are 3 or 4 years of age. The developmental screenings are used to determine eligibility for preschool programs at Player School. All children must be residents of Indian Springs SD 109 to qualify for any programming options. The screenings began…
Read More
Softball | Oak Lawn’s Kasey Jackson fans 5 in loss to Shepard
By 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 a complete-game…
Softball | Shepard blanks Oak Lawn behind CG from Kailey Selvage, 2 RBI from Madison Scapardine
By 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 15 Spartans…
St. Laurence grad Brett Buzzelli hurling for Carroll
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Carroll University senior right-hander Brett Buzzelli has been named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin’s Pitcher of the Week for April 8. Buzzelli was the winning pitcher in an 8-3 victory over visiting Elmhurst University in Game 1 of a CCIW doubleheader. The St. Laurence graduate tossed seven scoreless innings…
Fire II wins, draws
By Jef Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire FC II earned its first regulation victory of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season in a 2-0 clean sheet against Crown Legacy April 10 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Diego Konincks and captain David Poreba scored goals for the Fire. On April 14, the team had a 5-5 draw…
Red Stars sans Swanson fall to Angel City
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Playing without scoring star Mallory Swanson, who was nursing a hip injury, the Chicago Red Stars lost for the first time this season, dropping a 1-0 decision April 13 to Angel City in front of an announced crowd of 3,168 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Angel City (1-2-1) started the day…
Chicago Red Stars and Bay FC to play at Wrigley Field
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Chicago Red Stars forward Ally Schlegel loves Wrigley Field. “I adored Wrigley the second I went to my first Cubs game,” Schlegel said. “I fell in love with it thinking it was the perfect sporting experience with how they built it up down there.” She will go from a fan in…
Trinity Christian College names new hoops coaches
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Trinity Christian officials were busy on April 11 ushering in new eras for its basketball programs. Trolls Athletic Director Wendy Reid announced that Jordan Mast is taking over the men’s basketball program, while Jasmine Porter has been named women’s hoops coach. Mast comes to the school in Palos Heights after five…
Illinois News
New state task force aims to promote state’s Underground Railroad history
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force met for the first time Tuesday to begin devising a strategy for sharing, growing and celebrating the history of the Underground Railroad in Illinois. The task force was created last year under a bill sponsored by Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, and…
As recreational cannabis sales again hit record, Illinois AG calls for federal rescheduling
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com As Illinois’ recreational cannabis industry once again reported record sales for 2023, the state’s attorney general is calling on the federal government to reclassify the substance. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning the federal government believes it has “no currently accepted medical use…
Tracy Katz Muhl appointed to fill seat of resigned Rep. Jonathan Carroll
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsiillinois.com Tracy Katz Muhl, a Northbrook school board president and Northfield Township Democratic committeeperson, will fill former Democratic Rep. Jonathan Carroll’s 57th district seat. Carroll resigned earlier this month, saying in a written statement it was “in the best interest” of his family’s “physical and mental health.” Illinois law…
SCOTUS denies one appeal of assault weapons ban while another waits in the wings
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The U.S. Supreme Court has denied one request to review the Illinois assault weapon ban, but many believe the court is more likely to take up another challenge to the law later this year. The high court turned down a request by Republican State Rep.…
State awards over $10 million to Southern Illinois Healthcare Cancer Institute
BY CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com A $10 million state grant will help complete an expansion of cancer treatment services in southern Illinois. The grant was awarded as part of the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program to the Southern Illinois Healthcare Cancer Institute to complete an expansion of the Carterville facility. In addition, the facility was awarded…
Winter weather expected in much of Illinois this week
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com Much of Illinois is expecting its first major snowstorm of the season this week. The National Weather Service in Chicago on Monday issued a winter weather advisory for northeastern Illinois, including Chicago, and a winter weather warning for much of northwestern Illinois. Parts of central Illinois will also see some…
Illinois Supreme Court considers constitutional questions in 2019 murder case
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Supreme Court this spring will decide whether law enforcement should have read a woman her Miranda rights during an investigation into her son’s death. Macon County mother Jessica Logan and her legal team hope to overturn her 2021 conviction in which a jury found her guilty of murdering…
State opens migrant shelter, Pritzker talks supplemental spending plan
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com The state opened another shelter for migrants in Chicago on Wednesday, its latest step in dealing with an influx of more than 30,000 asylum seekers sent to Illinois from states on the southern U.S. Border since summer 2022. The new shelter is slated to host about 220 migrants in a…
Illinois proposal calls for expanding vote-by-mail
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com URBANA – As the 2024 election season draws near, voters in Illinois will once again choose whether they want to cast their ballots in person or by mail. But one lawmaker is proposing a bill in the Illinois House that could make that decision a lot easier, making…
As online DMV services plagued by no-shows, secretary of state launches changes
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched an online appointment system in September for Illinois drivers needing to come to a driver’s services facility, ostensibly to reduce wait times. The “Skip-The-Line” program introduced upgrades to the secretary of state’s website as well as a shift in policy, requiring appointments to…