Local News
Willow Springs to host Chicago Blues Challenge July 30
By Steve Metsch The village of Willow Springs will have the blues this summer. The village and the Windy City Blues Society will host the Chicago Blues Challenge, scheduled from noon to 10 p.m. July 30. It’s a good fit with the Windy City Blues Society, Willow Springs Village Administrator Ryan Grace said on May…
After 40 years of teaching, Larocca will ‘miss the kids’
By Steve Metsch For the past 40 years, Mary Pat Larocca has come to work to the same building and worked in the same room. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Larocca, 61, of Oak Park, has taught 40 years of kindergarten students at Ideal Elementary School in Countryside. June 3 will be her…
Pro Soccer Report: Fire II get first win; Red Stars fall to San Diego
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer When the soccer world woke up on May 15, the Chicago Fire II had not won an MLS NEXT Pro game and the Chicago Red Stars had not lost a regular-season game this season. That all changed late that afternoon. The Fire II won the first game in their short…
Baseball: Oak Lawn seeks to right ship as playoffs loom
By Steve Millar Correspondent Oak Lawn junior Jack McGlynn has been unable to do much of what he loves the most this season. A partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm has prevented him from pitching, but for seven innings early in the year. McGlynn was coming off an impressive sophomore season during…
Area Sports Roundup: Marist knocks off Glenbard West in battle of nationally ranked volleyball teams
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Power on power didn’t work the first time around. Power here and there, mixed in with some savvy soft shots, did the trick the second time. In a battle of two of the top 11 teams in the nation, according to the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association May 11 rankings,…
Postseason Roundup: Lyons water polo teams vault to state via sensational sectionals
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Anyone looking for thrills and close matches at the two Lyons water polo sectionals were out of luck. Anyone rooting for the hosts, however, had a ball during that 24-hour stretch May 13 and 14. The Lions boys crushed Riverside-Brookfield, 17-5, in the semifinals and St. Rita, 12-3, in the…
OLCHS to honor ‘Sully’ with baseball field dedication May 17
By Brian Frangella Any Oak Lawn Community High School student who participated in athletics anywhere from 1973-2014, odds are Skip Sullivan coached or taught them in one way or another. He spent an entire lifetime going to school, excelling in sports, and coaching as a Spartan. He was truly one of a kind. So, when…
Evergreen Park kicks off farmer’s market
The Evergreen Park Farmers Market kicked off on Thursday, May 5, at Yukich Field, 89th Street and Kedzie Avenue. The market is back again for the 18th season, happening every Thursday from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. until Oct. 24.
Son charged in murder of Chicago Ridge man
By Bob Bong The son of a man found stabbed to death in his Chicago Ridge home early Monday morning has been charged with second-degree murder. Francisco Duran, 21, was charged Tuesday in the death of his father, Salvador Duran, 47, Chicago Ridge Police Chief Jim Jarolimek said in a release Wednesday. Jarolimek said police…
Road rage shooting upsets Oak Lawn officials
Village proclaims Skip Sullivan Day By Joe Boyle Rising crime has Oak Lawn officials concerned, especially after reports of a road rage shooting that took place in the village Tuesday night just before the village board meeting. According to Oak Lawn Police Chief Dan Vittorio, two men began shouting at each other from their vehicles while driving…
Naz’s Amelia Garcia wins Golden Apple teaching award
By Bob Bong Amelia Garcia, a teacher at Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park, was one of 10 teachers in Illinois to receive the 2022 Golden Apple award for Excellence in Teaching last week. Garcia, who teaches 10th- and 11th-grade English, was surprised with the award at a school assembly on May 4. “This is really…
Keyser promoted to police sergeant in Bridgeview
By Steve Metsch After 24 years working on the Bridgeview Police Department, Kenneth Keyser finally has the job he’s been waiting for. Keyser, 49, was promoted to sergeant at the May 4 meeting of the village board. He’ll be in charge of the midnight shift, starting at 10 p.m. and working until 6 a.m. But…
Pro Soccer Report: Cup runneth over — Red Stars v. Washington postponed because of exhibition tourney
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer SeatGeek Stadium was empty the night of May 7. The NWSL game between Washington and the Chicago Red Stars that had been scheduled was postponed, and will be played at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 8. The reason? It wasn’t weather related. It was a cool but dry night. A decent…
College Report: Illini football names scholarship after former Orland top cop Tim McCarthy
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Many area residents know Tim McCarthy as the former longtime police chief of Orland Park. Those who know history know McCarthy was a U.S. Secret Service agent who took a bullet for President Ronald Reagan during John Hinckley Jr.’s assassination attempt in 1981. Not as well known is that McCarthy…
More road closures this week for Roberts Road, 87th Street
From staff reports Road closures with detours are scheduled for this week on Roberts Road and 87th Street to accommodate bridge beam removal for the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project. In addition to overnight closures, this work will require a weekend-long closure of both local roads at their intersection under I-294. Delays are expected. On Roberts Road under I-294, up to two…
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Illinois News
Former lawmaker sentenced in bribery scheme
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Former state Rep. Luis Arroyo was sentenced this week to nearly five years in prison for his role in a bribery scheme involving a state senator and one of Arroyo’s private lobbying clients who sought favorable legislation for the sweepstakes gambling industry. Arroyo, 67, is a…
Republican governor candidates on the issues
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Abortion, January 6, Donald Trump, Critical Race Theory and whether Joe Biden is rightfully the president of the United States were the basis of questions asked to a field of six Republican candidates for Illinois governor Tuesday. A pair of debates took place on two stages…
CAPITOL RECAP: Republican candidates debate
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – The six Republican candidates for Illinois governor faced off Tuesday night in Chicago, albeit on two separate debate stages, hours after a shooting at a Texas elementary school that dominated a large portion of the debates. A scheduling conflict between two TV networks – WGN and NBC 5 –…
ANALYSIS: Illinois’ official U.S. census numbers have not changed
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday that he is asking President Joe Biden and the federal government to increase Illinois’ share of federal funding to reflect the results of a recent Census Bureau study showing the state was very likely undercounted in the 2020 census. The news…
GOP debate: Candidates address rising crime, Texas school shooting
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The six Republican candidates for Illinois governor faced off Tuesday night in Chicago, albeit on two separate debate stages, hours after a shooting at a Texas elementary school that dominated a large portion of the debates. A scheduling conflict between two TV networks – WGN and…
GOP Floor Leader Batinick ready to ‘pass the baton’
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House Republican Floor Leader Mark Batinick, a self-described “policy guy,” came to Springfield with the goal of pushing good policy. A father of five who resides in Plainfield with his wife, Batinick said after eight years in the General Assembly, it was either time to…
Longtime lawmaker reflects on time in General Assembly, calls it ‘honor of lifetime’
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – House Majority Leader Greg Harris, the number two Democrat in the Illinois House of Representatives, never imagined landing the role of state representative – or that he would leave office feeling that he has been successful at it. The first openly LGTBQ leader in Illinois History,…
