Local News
New Year To Bring In New Laws for 2012
More than 200 new laws, covering everything from local library boards to murder, went into effect on Jan. 1, according to state Sen. Christine Radogno (R-41st).ÒThough many Illinois residents may not realize it, every Jan. 1 hundreds of new laws take effect in Illinois. While some of the measures will have a greater impact than…
Bridgeview Courthouse To Close Weekends
Bridgeview Courthouse will be closed on weekends. The decision comes at a time when the county looks to save money from every option. With the closings, couples who wish to marry or have a civil union before a judge on Saturdays and Sundays will have to go to the County Building at 119 W. Randolph…
Burbank Dist. 111 Sets Goals For New Year
Burbank School District 111 will begin the new year with new strategic planning goals in mind. The goals keep the best interest of the students in mind, but also work to improve communication among residents and non-parent residents of Burbank. Board members say they want to help develop a strong communication strategy and community engagement…
Opposition to Marquette Plan
Some Teachers, Parents Are Against Scheduled ‘Turnaround’ Status A press conference held on Dec. 22 at Marquette Elementary School, 6550 S. Richmond Ave., addressed the proposed turnaround slated for the school. Speaking at the press conference were teachers, parents and community activists who pinpointed what they consider to be the real problems with the Chicago…
Chicago Had A New Mayor, Blizzard in 2011
Taking a look back on 2011, residents will notice several good and bad things occurred. With 2012 approaching, residents have a fresh start at those New Year’s resolutions they never keep. While thinking about those resolutions, residents may want to remember that starting Jan. 1, the tolls will be raised. {{more}} This issue was just…
Local Masons Have History In Summit
For centuries, there has been an organization that has captivated many who are familiar with them. The name draws questions, speculation and, for some, a quest to learn more about them. The Freemasons. {{more}} Some regard them as a secretive organization, filled with information, known for their secret code words and handshakes. Those who are…
State Rep Looks Ahead to 2012
Local Official Looks at Positives That Occurred During Chaotic Year The new year is just around the corner. It is a time to reflect on 2011 and refer to the past 12 months in the past tense. For many, 2011 featured many highlights; for others, events took place that forever affected the state. {{more}} Unemployment…
Fuel Tax To Be Imposed In Bridgeview
The Dec. 21 meeting of the Village of Bridgeview Board of Trustees focused on the approval of various ordinances discussed at the Special Committee Meeting of Dec. 14. A Vehicle Fuel Tax will be imposed in the Village beginning on Jan. 1. Building and Zoning Trustee Claudette Struzik stressed that the tax would only put…
Looking Back At 9-11 And Revival in 2011
From a 9-11 monument to the retirement of a trustee, Oak Lawn, Bridgeview and Burbank have a lot to reflect on. One of the biggest stories for Oak Lawn was the dedication of the 9-11 First Responders Monument. After several fund-raisers held by the Oak Lawn Rotary Club, the day finally came. {{more}} The sculpture,…
Ohio Man Is Arrested For Local Incident
An Ohio man who struck three people while leaving Tiger Lounge, 8500 S. Harlem Ave., Bridgeview, has been charged with aggravated DUI and resisting arrest. Rene Rico, 28, was driving drunk in the parking lot of the bar at 3 a.m. on Saturday, struck two men in their late 20s, and a 19-year-old woman who…
Outrageous Actions By Sears and Gov. Quinn
The Illinois legislature and Gov. Pat Quinn said they would do everything they could to keep jobs in Illinois, that’s why they had to bail out Sears, saying they feared the Hoffman Estate’s based company would leave Illinois. The truth was that Sears was never going to leave Illinois, just close their corporate headquarters in…
Toys for Tots Donors Helps Save Christmas
Hours after the news broke that $25,000 had been embezzled from the Toys for Tots charity, donations began pouring in from across the community to help save Christmas for thousands of children. The independent biker charity based at 8900 S. Odell, in Bridgeview, collects toys to be distributed to the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for…
House Republicans Hammer Taxpayers
It’s been pretty clear since Barack Obama was elected president that the Republican Party has been going out of its way to block everything Obama tries to do. They’ve done that with everything, from healthcare to raising taxes on the super rich making more than $500,000 in taxable income a year. (By the way, when…
New Year Brings New Primary
Candidates Line Up for State Senate and State Rep Races Primary elections will be coming up in the new year. They will be held on March 20, 2012. Local elections will determine who will be the candidates in state senate and state representative races. Candidates running for office had a Dec. 5 deadline to file…
Yankee Star Granderson Visits Hale
Nathan Hale Elementary School had a bit of a surprise Tuesday with an appearance from a Major League Baseball player. New York Yankee Curtis Granderson spoke to two groups of students about the importance of education and discipline. Granderson grew up in Lynwood. He graduated from T.F. South High School. {{more}} His father, Curtis Sr.,…
Catalyst-Maria Is Step Closer
School Opens for K Through Fifth Grade, and Freshmen in 2012 The plans for Catalyst-Maria Charter School are set and in motion. Plans are for Catalyst-Maria Charter School to open in the fall of 2012 with pupils in kindergarten through fifth grade and the ninth grade who would share the Maria High School building at…
Students At Grimes Learn Gift of Giving
The holiday season is usually considered a time to reflect. Many think of ways to better themselves, while others take time to consider ways of helping their community strive to be prosperous. For Chicago Public School teacher Jenny Escobedo, her focus on bringing her seventh grade class closer began early in the school year. {{more}}…
St. Richard Offers Full Slate of Programs, Fun
School of the Month St. Richard Elementary School, 5025 S. Kenneth Ave., has been chosen as the News-Herald’s ÒSchool of the Month” for December. As the Archer Heights community was growing 75 years ago, so was the need for another Catholic parish. Thus, on June 8, 1928, Cardinal George Mundelein established St. Richard Parish. {{more}}…
Black Caucus Reviews Plan For Remap
A potential legal battle could take place with the City Council Black Caucus because of the new possible Chicago ward map. Burt Odelson, an election law expert schooled in the arts of negotiation and litigation has been hired by the Black Caucus. Getting approval from 41 to 50 aldermen would end the possibility of a…
Committeemen Candidates File For Primaries
From the last week of November through Monday, Dec. 5, committeemen candidates for the March primary had to file their petitions. The results are in and several candidates have stepped up to the plate. In the 13th Ward, Robert Handzik is the only candidate going up against Michael Madigan. {{more}} In the 14th Ward, Ed…
Illinois News
Senate votes to lift nuclear construction ban
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate approved a measure on Thursday that would lift a 1980s-era moratorium on nuclear power plant construction. Senate Bill 76, sponsored by Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, was approved on a 39-13 vote. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. “The…
Former ComEd CEO sought soft landing for Madigan chief of staff who was fired for sexual harassment
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – In the weeks following then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s forced ouster of his longtime chief of staff following allegations of sexual harassment, a high-ranking Commonwealth Edison official was considering how to help the disgraced Madigan ally. Tim Mapes had served as Madigan’s chief of staff for…
Senate passes bill protecting ‘child influencers’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that gives financial protection to children whose parents make money posting videos of them on social media. Those children are known as “influencers” because the videos, known as vlogs, are intended to generate interest in things like products…
Moon habitat named 2023’s ‘Coolest Thing Made in Illinois’
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Rosenberg Moon Habitat was named 2023’s “Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” Wednesday in a contest hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. The habitat is manufactured by Ingersoll Machine Tools in Rockford, in collaboration with the Institut auf dem Rosenberg of Switzerland. At a height of…
Senate advances bill to log abuse cover-ups in state health care registry
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A measure spurred by reports of abuse at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center passed the Senate unanimously Wednesday and will head to the House. The bill would prohibit health care workers who have been the subject of a substantiated claim of “material obstruction” of an…
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’: Secretly recorded videos show ComEd lobbyists discussing alleged bribery scheme
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Longtime Commonwealth Edison contract lobbyist Jay Doherty thought he was merely reminiscing and giving advice to a colleague and friend in a February 2019 meeting set up by ex-ComEd executive Fidel Marquez. But Marquez was wearing a hidden camera, having just a few weeks prior agreed…
Advocates call on regulators to reject natural gas rate increases
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Consumer advocates, environmentalists and Chicago residents gathered in front of the Chicago offices of Peoples Gas this week to call on the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject a proposed rate increase from the gas utility. Several advocacy groups, including the Citizens Utility Board, Blacks in Green…
Secretary of state backs proposal allowing noncitizens to receive standard driver’s licenses
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House advanced a measure last week that would allow noncitizen residents who are currently eligible for a “temporary visitor driver’s license” to instead obtain a “standard” driver’s license that can be used as identification. Lawmakers created the temporary visitor driver’s license, or TVDL, in…
Native American history, repatriation measures advance in Illinois House
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – In an effort to increase recognition of indigenous history and culture, lawmakers are considering measures to repatriate Native American remains and teach Native American history in public schools. Last week, lawmakers approved both measures that seek to address past harms inflicted on the Native American community…
Indoor vaping, cat declawing could be banned under recently passed bills
By JERRY NOWICKI & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate passed 68 bills this week while the House had advanced 284 as of Friday morning with hundreds more to go before their adjournment for the week. It was the first in a two-week stretch of legislative deadlines for bills to…
