Local News

Treasure trove of historic photos posted by White
More than 21,000 images available free of charge By Tim Hadac More than 21,000 historic photographs from the Eddie Winfred “Doc” Helm Photo Collection have been put online by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, in his de jure role as State Librarian and State Archivist. The photos are from the 1940s to the 1980s.…

Old friends gather to review 65th Street successes
By Dermot Connolly Bedford Park Mayor David Brady discussed the development along the 65th Street corridor and the planned railroad underpass at Harlem Avenue at a recent United Business Association of Midway meeting About 30 members of the business organization attended the April 13 lunch meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel on Cicero Avenue, many of…

Need a safe driver? Meet Laverne Foltz
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] There were about 81,000 car crashes in Chicago last year. But don’t blame Laverne Foltz. The Garfield Ridge mother of two—and grandmother of four—is one of the safest drivers you’ll find anywhere. That matters because in a typical year, Laverne puts about…

Vikings win an ugly one
It didn’t exactly have the grandeur of a walk-off grand slam, but a win on an opponent’s error–ugly as it may be–can be just as thrilling, as the St. Laurence High School baseball team proved last week in its 4-3 victory over Marmion Academy. An attempted pickoff play at third base went awry, with the…

Thousands of summer jobs coming for youths
Lightfoot unveils One Summer Chicago 2022 From staff reports Mayor Lightfoot and several City departments and agencies have announced a variety of summer youth programming, including the 2022 One Summer Chicago (OSC) application. OSC 2022 will run from July 5 to Aug. 12 and marks the return of in-person job and life-skills training for youth…

Newman votes to aid small businesses
From staff reports U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-3rd) recently voted to secure relief for small businesses across Illinois. The Relief for Restaurants & Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act will deliver a total of $55 billion to replenish funding for restaurants across the nation. “As a former small business owner, I know that our local…

College Report: Area grads earn All-American honors, then win national title
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer National champions and All-Americans. Chicago Christian grad Zach Bulthuis, Marist alum Gene McNulty and former Lyons’ star Matt Slivinski were last week named All-American first-teamers by the National Volleyball Association/American Volleyball Coaches Association. Then they proved they were deserving of the honor, helping Carthage College win an NCAA Division III…

Pro Soccer Report: New-look Red Stars ready to open season
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer No Rory Dames. No Julie Ertz. No Sarah Gorden. No Katie Johnson. A lot of familiar faces will be missing when the 2022 Chicago Red Stars’ open the NWSL season on Saturday against Louisville, with the match scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. There is…
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Illinois News

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…