Local News
Little visitors, big joy
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com As I write this, I am very excited about the upcoming visit of my daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. They are coming for what I call a fly-by visit, short and brief; but no matter how long the visit is, I still get…
Farmers Insurance® names Sandra Cavoto to Presidents Council
From staff reports Farmers Insurance® agent Sandra Cavoto has been named to the national insurer’s Presidents Council, the Los Angeles-based organization recently announced. Cavoto maintains an office in Clearing, at 6118 W. 63rd St., as well as in Burr Ridge and downtown Chicago. Membership in Presidents Council is the organization’s most elite honor for the…
Kaegi cheers passage of bill to help seniors, vets, people with disabilities
From staff reports Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi recently praise the passage of SB1975, a bill in the Illinois General Assembly that creates automatic renewal options for the people with disabilities and veterans with disabilities exemptions and expands income verification options for the low-income senior citizen exemption. The bill, which passed both the Illinois House…
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 • joan.hadac@gmail.com 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…
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Illinois News
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…
Giannoulias calls for disclosure of lobbyist contracts
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For decades, lobbyists in the Illinois Statehouse have been required to report how much they spend wining, dining and entertaining lawmakers. Currently, though, there is no law requiring lobbyists to disclose how much they are paid by corporations, industry groups or other special interest organizations. That…
Illinois Senate advances changes to state’s biometric privacy law after business groups split
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – It’s been more than a year since the Illinois Supreme Court “respectfully suggest(ed)” state lawmakers clarify a law that’s led to several multi-million-dollar settlements with tech companies over the collection of Illinoisans’ biometric data. On Thursday, a bipartisan majority in the Illinois Senate did just that,…
Illinoisans can now get documents notarized online
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinoisans who need a notary public can now access those services online through a new “E-Notary” portal launched by the secretary of state’s office. This process is one of the latest initiatives of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ ongoing effort to modernize the office and its services. Notaries…
Prairie Band Potawatomi becomes 1st federally recognized tribe in Illinois
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Nearly 200 years after Native Americans were forced out of Illinois, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has become the first federally recognized tribal nation in the state after a decision from the U.S. Department of the Interior last week. The move represents the first victory in the tribe’s…
Remembering Lee Milner
NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…
Capitol Briefs: Expansion of postpartum coverage, ban on kangaroos among hundreds of measures to pass House
By ALEX ABBEDUTO & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois kangaroo owners are one step closer to being forced to surrender their marsupials this week after the House passed a bill criminalizing their possession. That was one of more than 300 bills to pass the House ahead of a Friday procedural deadline.…
Pritzker says state ‘obviously’ needs to change 2010 law that shrunk pension benefits
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com With a month-and-a-half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system. But the governor this week also acknowledged in the strongest terms yet that any plans to finally get the state on track toward…