Local News
Dems amend SAFE-T Act to address cash bail
SW Side voters rip GOP for ‘fear mongering’ By Jerry Nowicki Capitol News Illinois and Tim Hadac Lawmakers last week passed a long-awaited amendment to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform’s provisions that will eliminate cash bail when the calendar hits 2023. The measure expands the list of crimes for which a judge can order…
Chicago Christian seeking new head football coach
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Chicago Christian is looking for a new football head coach. The Knights’ next coach will succeed Tom O’Connor, who in two seasons in Palos Heights compiled an overall regular-season record of 9-9. This season, Chicago Christian won its last four regular-season games, including a 19-0 decision over Ridgewood in Week 9,…
College Notebook: St. Laurence alum rewrites Greyhound record book
By Mike Walsh Correspondent As senior seasons go, it’s tough to top the one authored by University of Indianapolis running back Toriano Clinton. Clinton, who prepped at St. Laurence, was one of three Greyhounds chosen for the 2022 D2CCA All-Super Region 3 Team, and the only one to make the first team. This fall, Clinton…
Area Sports Roundup: Marist, Nazareth mourns deaths of coaches
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It was a sad week for two area schools. The Marist and local running communities were saddened by the death of Jon Gordon on Dec. 9, two days after sophomore Nazareth baseball coach Mario Ortiz. Gordon, the RedHawks’ boys track and cross country coach since 2017, died Dec. 9.…
Area Hoops Wrap: Holiday tournament season starts early at Oak Lawn
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Oak Lawn got a jump on the rest of the area basketball world when its girls holiday tournament opened for business Dec. 10. Most area boys and girls holiday basketball tournaments take place the week before or the week after Christmas. But Oak Lawn has a tradition of hosting its…
Holiday cheer continues at Hale Park
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com I hope your Christmas season is off to a warm and memorable start. Thanks to the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, the Midway Chamber of Commerce and everyone responsible for making the annual Christmas tree lighting in Wentworth Park and the annual Snack…
Hockey star headed to Wisconsin
Garfield Ridge resident Brooklyn Ramaglia, a star ice hockey forward with Team Illinois (the most respected Tier I, AAA hockey organization in the state), recently signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career with Concordia University (Wisconsin). She expects to wear the blue and white and play for the Falcons. She…
Boy Scout leads effort to refurbish playground
Weed-choked lot cleaned up and fixed By Tim Hadac About 2% of boys enrolled in Scouting have the drive and persistence to put in the years of work required to get them to the top and earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Anthony Santiago is one of them. While he is not yet officially an…
White Castle opens after renovation
Employees and community members are all smiles as they cut the ribbon to officially re-open the White Castle restaurant at 63rd and Cicero. A recent renovation means a spruced up interior, as well as what White Castle official John Whitaker called a “hospitality door” designed to make the drive-thru experience more comfortable and convenient, especially…
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Illinois News
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…
Election officials to weigh whether Darren Bailey and GOP operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated
By ANDREW ADAMS & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign. The State Board…
Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans
By PETER HANCOCK and JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status. Those programs offer health coverage for low-income individuals who would otherwise qualify for…
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: State unveils report on racial disparities among homeless populations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Tackling homelessness requires addressing racial injustice, according to a new report commissioned by the state’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. The report found that Black people are eight times more likely to experience homelessness than white people. Remedying this disparity, according to the report, would require “long-term…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
Bears pitch $3.2B stadium plan, but Pritzker still ‘skeptical’ despite team’s $2B pledge
By DILPREET RAJU & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The Chicago Bears laid out a $3.2 billion plan for a new domed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront on Wednesday afternoon, painting pictures of future Super Bowls and other major public events while pinning their hopes on yet-to-be-had conversations with the governor and lawmakers. The Bears…
Regulators weigh future of gas industry in Illinois, while clamping down on Chicago utility
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Natural gas is fueling a fight between consumer advocates, a powerful utility company and the state. Amid competing advertising campaigns, accusations of mismanagement and state decarbonization efforts, the Illinois Commerce Commission is starting a process that will shape how the state regulates the increasingly controversial industry. …
Komatsu mining truck named 2024 ‘coolest thing made in Illinois’
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…