Local News
Area Sports Roundup: Evergreen Park dancers make history with first sectional crown
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Evergreen Park was the only team from the area to place in the state’s top 12 in competitive dancing last season. The Mustangs, who finished a program-best sixth in the state in Class 1A in 2021, are seeking an even better showing this year. Evergreen Park made history by winning…
Despite serious health woes, Reed ready to keep serving for Palos Park
By Jeff Vorva G. Darryl Reed knows his time on Earth could be short. He gets it. He doesn’t like it. But he gets it. The Palos Park commissioner has been dealing with intestinal failure for the past two years and his doctors have not been sugarcoating it. Reed, a former Marine and lawyer, is…
LaGrange man charged in Summit phone store robbery
From staff reports A LaGrange man has been charged with the robbery last week of the T-Mobile store at 5640 S. Harlem Ave. in Summit. Michael Lang Anderson, 26, was arrested in LaGrange after he was found hiding under some stairs, police said. Police said he robbed the store on January 10. Community activist Raul…
Major League Rugby coming to SeatGeek Stadium
Chicago Hounds expansion team to play games at Bridgeview facility By Bob Bong A new professional sports team will be playing its matches at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview next month. The Chicago Hounds, an expansion team for Major League Rugby, will be calling Bridgeview home when they begin their inaugural season in February. “We’re honored…
17 EPCHS students named Illinois State Scholars
Evergreen Park Community High School Principal Bill Sanderson announced that 17 students from the EPCHS graduating class of 2023 have been designated as Illinois State Scholars. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the state’s college access and financial aid agency, presents this prestigious recognition of academic achievement to exceptional Illinois high school students annually. This year,…
Home 2 Home Project calls Hodgkins home
By Carol McGowan The mission sounds simple: To transform the spaces of the formerly homeless by reclaiming and re-purposing gently used household items and furniture thus creating a “Home.” For Home 2 Home founder Janelle Towne, it’s been a long ride. It all started in November of 2016, when Towne’s seventh-grade daughter told her she…
Rev. Parker unveils new Emmett Till book in Summit
By Carol McGowan Nearly 150 people showed up to give support to Summit’s Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. last week on the day his much-awaited book was released. The book, officially released on January 10, is called “A Few Days Full of Trouble,” and is described as “revelations on the journey to justice for my cousin…
Oak Lawn carjacking victim fights back
By Bob Bong Two would-be carjackers picked on the wrong victim Wednesday afternoon in Oak Lawn. Two men armed with handguns attempted to carjack an unsuspecting victim about 3:30 p.m. in the 6500 block of West 89th Place, Oak Lawn police said in a release. The victim was able to gain access to a weapon…
Orland Grassland Volunteers to hold annual Brats n Burn
The Orland Grassland Volunteers will celebrate the winter brush clearing season with their annual Brats N’ Burn event on Saturday, January 28, from 9 a.m. to noon. After clearing small shrubs and small trees, they will be burning large brush piles to remove the debris. While they are clearing, the brats will be sizzling on the…
Palos West students gather mittens for charity
Students at Palos West Elementary in Palos School District 118 recently collected 945 pairs of mittens for the school’s annual mitten drive. The donated mittens were delivered to several organizations in need including a women and children’s shelter in Chicago, Joliet School District 86, a local charity collecting items for the people of Ukraine, and…
Chicago Ridge man charged in Palos Heights forgery
From staff reports A Chicago Ridge man was charged earlier this month with one count of forgery stemming from an incident that happened in October. Ammar Najjar, 45, was charged January 4 with a felony count of forgery, Palos Heights police said. Palos Heights police took the original report on October 21 from a resident…
Shepard JV cheerleaders win at Lockport; varsity records highest score ever
Over the long weekend, the varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders from Shepard High School hit the road twice to compete. They returned with new hardware. The junior varsity team, coached by Cecelia Welker, won first place at the Lockport Invitational and fourth place at the Oak Forest Bengal Invitational. Varsity, coached by Shepard graduate Felicia…
Worth welcomes new public works superintendent
By Joe Boyle Worth has a new superintendent of public works, and officials did not have to go far to find him. Ed Urban, who has served many years in the public works department, was unanimously chosen to become the new superintendent during the Worth Village Board meeting Tuesday night. Urban replaces Wayne Demonbreun, who had served…
Newman? Yes, Democrat Newman presented with Orland Park award by Republican Pekau
By Jeff Vorva In recent years, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau had more negative things to say about former Congresswoman Marie Newman than positive. When Pekau, a Republican, announced he was running for Congress in November 2021, he lumped the Democratic Newman in with Sean Casten and Nancy Pelosi and said they “put special interests,…
Kramarski to get an honorary street sign in Palos Heights
By Jeff Vorva It didn’t take long for former Palos Heights Dolores Kramarski to be honored by the city. Kramarski died Nov. 2 after spending 22 years on the city council. On Tuesday, that council voted to install a blue honorary sign at the intersection of Carmichael Avenue and 76th Avenue in her name. Alderman…
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Illinois News
‘Omnibus’ health care bill passed amid criticisms
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A law recently signed by Gov. JB Pritzker will extend the deadline for the state to transfer criminal defendants deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial from jail to a mental hospital. That same bill, House Bill 240, also gives nursing homes in Illinois two more years…
Veteran Statehouse reporter Hannah Meisel joins Capitol News Illinois reporting team
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS [email protected] Longtime Statehouse reporter Hannah Meisel has joined the Capitol News Illinois team as a full-time state government and politics reporter. She’s had a number of assignments covering the Statehouse and Illinois government since the 2014 legislative session, most recently serving as Statehouse editor for NPR Illinois from 2020 until after…
Replacing Illinois institution as secretary of state, Giannoulias makes modernization push
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – For newly sworn-in Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, customer service is the central mission as he assumes the state’s second-largest constitutional office, replacing the man who had held it for nearly a quarter century. “Modernization and bringing new technology is going to be at the forefront…
UPDATED: State preparing further defense of assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Monday filed a petition asking an appellate court to vacate a temporary restraining order that was issued late Friday afternoon blocking enforcement of the state’s recently-passed assault weapons ban. Raoul’s office filed the petition in the 5th District Appellate Court in…
State preparing further defense of assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders said they were disappointed but not surprised by a judge’s decision late Friday putting a temporary and limited halt to enforcement of the state’s recently-passed assault weapons ban. Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison issued the temporary restraining order late Friday…
Rifle Association files federal suit against assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Rifle Association has joined forces with other gun rights advocates in filing a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s new ban on the sale and manufacture of semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. It’s the latest legal challenge to the law, which went into effect…
DCFS, director face lawsuit filed on behalf of jailed wards
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on Thursday was named in a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of children in state care who have been held in juvenile detention centers after a judge ordered their release. Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert is a…
