Mary Stanek

Will the month of March leave like a lion?

. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in our neighborhood…

Peggy Zabicki

Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings

. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is spring cleaning…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach for the…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Chicago Catholic League greats headed to Hall of Fame

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A handful of area stars will be inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The list features Kevin Bracken (St. Laurence, wrestling), Kevin Carberry (St. Rita, football), Matt Macievic (De La Salle, cross county and track), Mike McGrew (Mount Carmel, football), Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice, football) and…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Fire II tops Chicago City, advances to to second round of Hunt Open Cup

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire II picked up a late invitation to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and beat Chicago City, 6-0, on March 20 in front of an announced crowd of 810 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Giovanni Granda and midfielder Vitaliy Hlyut each made their professional debut and scored their first…

Julia Bianchi heads back on defense shortly after delivering a first-half goal for the Chicago Red Stars on March 23 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Red Stars top Seattle, open season with two wins for first time in franchise history

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Last year’s last-place finish notwithstanding, the Chicago Red Stars have had a pretty rich history of success. The franchise has seven NWSL playoff appearances and has finished runner-up twice (2019, 2021), and prior to 2022 had finished no lower than fourth in the league ‘s regular season standings for six consecutive…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

College Football | Marian (Indiana) and St. Francis highlight Saint Xavier 2024 home slate

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Saint Xavier has released its 2024 football schedule, which has the Cougars opening the season in Michigan. SXU will travel to the Detroit suburb of Southfield to play Lawrence Tech on Sept. 7 in a Mid-States Football Association crossover. The Cougars’ home opener kicks off at noon on Sept. 14 when…

Morton's Nariah Clay was named to the NCJAA Division II all-tournament team as the Panthers finished fifth in the nation. Photo courtesy of Morton College Department of Athletics

Morton College women’s hoops takes fifth in nation

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent For the second year in a row, the Morton College women’s basketball team finished fifth in the country. The Panthers closed out the 2023-24 campaign in Joplin, Missouri, with a 75-67 victory over Iowa Western on March 23 in the consolation championship game at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. It…

Marist's Jack Meader (left) and Nathen Toth face each other during a block attempt against Downers Grove North in the semifinals of the Marist Invitational on March 23. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Boys Volleyball | Marist tops Lockport for Gold at RedHawks Invite

By Randy Whalen Correspondent Marist enjoys getting its season going by hosting a tournament that is now in its 20th year. They had a good time again this season, going unbeaten over five matches in two days to win the Marist RedHawks Invitational for the sixth consecutive time. The RedHawks ended the tournament with a…

CRRNH_CosmoPhotoMDWArmory_032724

City wants to buy armory at MDW

. Has been vacant since 2017 .  By Tim Hadac For decades, it served military purposes, as well as Chicago’s gateway for Presidents stopping off in the city. But the Army National Guard Midway Armory, 5400 W. 63rd St., has been mostly vacant since 2017, when the Illinois Army National Guard ceased operations there and…

Illinois News

FULL TEXT: Pritzker's budget address

FULL TEXT: Pritzker’s budget address

Below is the full text of Gov. JB Pritzker’s State of the State and budget address, delivered Wednesday, Feb. 2 at the Old State Capitol in Springfield. Leaders, Members, Lt. Governor, First Lady…  Joining us today are a special group of distinguished guests… teachers, doctors, nurses and first responders. I want to sincerely thank ALL of…

Pritzker outlines $45.4 billion budget proposal, calling out his critics

Pritzker outlines $45.4 billion budget proposal, calling out his critics

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday offered a $45.4 billion general revenue budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that would include new spending on education and health care while also providing about $1 billion in tax relief that he said would soften the impact of inflation…

Comptroller says proposed budget could lead state to another credit upgrade

Comptroller says proposed budget could lead state to another credit upgrade

By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she expects the state’s credit rating to improve and the remaining bill backlog reduced under Gov. JB Pritzker’s $45.4 billion proposed budget. Another credit rating upgrade would be noteworthy, as the state had gone 23 years without receiving such a vote of…

Black and Latino caucuses voice support for proposed budget

Black and Latino caucuses voice support for proposed budget

By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus voiced their overall support for Gov. GB Pritzker’s budget in separate news conferences Wednesday, but said they will continue to push to address the lack of access to health care, affordable housing, economic development, and high…

CAPITOL RECAP: Pritzker touts fiscal record in proposing $45.4 billion budget

CAPITOL RECAP: Pritzker touts fiscal record in proposing $45.4 billion budget

By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday offered a $45.4 billion general revenue budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that would include new spending on education and health care while also providing about $1 billion in temporary tax relief that he said would soften the impact of inflation on Illinois…

GOP reintroduces crime reduction package; Pritzker touts public safety spending

GOP reintroduces crime reduction package; Pritzker touts public safety spending

By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Senate Republicans unveiled an updated package of crime bills this week that they say will help curb violent crime and provide a morale boost to law enforcement. It’s substantially similar to the package the GOP introduced three months ago during the fall veto session to little…

Nursing home group at odds with Pritzker over payment reform

Nursing home group at odds with Pritzker over payment reform

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A political battle is shaping up between Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and one segment of the nursing home industry over a key element of the governor’s budget proposal, expanding the state’s health care workforce, particularly in long-term care facilities. On Wednesday, Pritzker outlined a $45.4 billion…

New law ends parental notification in Illinois

New law ends parental notification in Illinois

By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law on Friday that ends parental notification, a requirement that doctors notify the parents of a minor seeking an abortion. “With reproductive rights under attack across the nation, Illinois is once again establishing itself as a leader in ensuring access to health care…

Illinois jobless rate falls to 5.7%

Illinois jobless rate falls to 5.7%

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The unemployment rate in Illinois fell three-tenths of a point in November to 5.7 percent as employers added 19,500 payroll jobs to the economy. Preliminary data released by the Department of Employment Security and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the biggest job gains during…

Illinois jobless rate falls to 5.7%

Illinois jobless rate falls to 5.7%

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The unemployment rate in Illinois fell three-tenths of a point in November to 5.7 percent as employers added 19,500 payroll jobs to the economy. Preliminary data released by the Department of Employment Security and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the biggest job gains during…