Local News
Last home game a winner for Red Stars
By Alison Moran What a way to end a season at home. It was a perfect night for a cool game of soccer, with temperatures in the upper 50s and no rain dampening the field. In front of 4,488 of the Red Stars’ faithful at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, the Chicago Red Stars defeated KC…
Marie Vachata gets a fond farewell from Lyons
By Steve Metsch Pat Wideman will never forget the first time she met Marie Vachata. “When I first moved to Lyons 50 years ago, she was the very first neighbor who welcomed me to Lyons,” Wideman said while sitting on a bench outside the village hall. Vachata resided two doors down on 46th Street when…
Bridgeview rents out former golf dome site for parking
By Steve Metsch The village of Bridgeview stands to make nearly $5 million by renting out space to park trucks where the golf dome formerly stood. The village will be paid $45,000 per month in an agreement that runs through September 2030. That comes to $540,000 per year and $4.86 million over the nine-year contract.…
Steve’s Bite holds grand opening
By Kelly White Palos Heights welcomed in a new business last weekend. Steve’s Bite, 11906 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights, held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on October 15. The store officially opened its doors over the summer, and owners Sufian “Steve” and Kifah Syouri said they could not be happier to…
Summit’s Rev. Clemons named to township’s Mental Health Commission
By Steve Metsch The Township of Lyons has a new member on its Mental Health Commission. The Rev. Jeffrey Clemons, of Antioch Baptist Church, 7513 W. 64th St., Summit, is joining the commission. His appointment won unanimous approval from the township board at its meeting on Oct. 12. He is the first African-American on the…
Lake Katherine pays homage to the mighty oak
By Kelly White Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanic Gardens celebrated the oak tree during the month of October with a cleverly named, Oak-tober Fest last weekend. “We wanted to have an event that was more of a fall festival in addition to the Monarch Celebration that we hold in September,” Gareth Blakesley, Director and…
Coyne Schofield to be honored as IBAM’s Person of the Year
By Jeff Vorva Palos Heights hockey legend Kendall Coyne Schofield is picking up a huge award Friday night and it doesn’t have much to do with hockey. Schofield was named the Irish Books, Art and Music Person of the Year and will be honored at the group’s 13th Awards Gala Oct. 22 at the American…
Evergreen Park welcomes own fields of dreams and honors Sexton
By Jeff Vorva Brand new fields and a retired mayor were the stars of the show on Oct. 14. Evergreen Park High School had a grand opening of its new turfed baseball and softball fields. The fields were used in late spring, but this event was to celebrate the fields and show them off to…
Bedford Park’s Wintrust Sports Complex is a ‘one-stop’ monster
By Jeff Vorva The Wintrust Sports Complex has not even held its grand opening yet in Bedford Park, but it’s already bringing ESPN to town in July. The facility’s general manager, Wade Walsh, said the American Cornhole League will host its Final Chase at the new site and ESPN will be broadcasting the finals on…
Rev. Edward Stockus dies, pastor emeritus at St. Hugh Parish, served Oak Lawn parishes
Rev. Edward S. Stockus, pastor emeritus of St. Hugh Parish in Lyons, passed away Saturday, Oct. 9. He was 90 years old. Fr. Stockus was born on Jan. 21, 1931, in Chicago. He attended St. Rita High School, the University of Illinois, University of Dayton, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Loyola University and pursued…
A ‘businessman with a heart’
Colleagues pay tribute to Jim Vondrak By Joan Hadac In a business world frequently competitive to the point of being harsh and even cruel, James C. “Jim” Vondrak stood out as a businessman with a heart. The scion of a Southwest Side newspaper family, Mr. Vondrak owned and operated a chain of community newspapers led…
She bleeds blue
Officer Maureen O’Neill retires after 38 years By Tim Hadac If things appear a little unglued in the commander’s office at the Chicago Lawn (8th) District Police Station, it’s because Officer Maureen O’Neill recently retired after serving in the district for 38 years, 7 months and 1 day. “It’s fair to say that in some…
Purple for a purpose
Taking a momentary break from tying purple ribbons around trees and fenceposts at West Lawn Park last Saturday are CPD Officers Sarai Trevino, Maria DeLaTorre, Raymond Tracy and Jose Supulveda, and Shari Grassmuck and Nancy Arroyo. The group made the park go purple in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. DVAM has been a national…
Scouts march in Houby Parade
Members of Boy Scout Troop 1441, sponsored by St. Mary Star of the Sea Holy Name Society, participated in the annual Houby (Czech word for mushroom) Parade, held in suburban Cicero earlier this month. Scouts enjoyed food vendors, live music, games and a carnival. Any boys ages 11 to 17 from any school interested…
Rush wants lower phone rates for inmates
From staff reports U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-1st) this month continued his push for his Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act (H.R. 2489) in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. The bill would ban the commissions that prisons and other confinement facilities receive from communications providers, which are the primary cause…
Scouts set pancake breakfast fundraiser
From staff reports Boy Scout Troop 465 and Cub Scout Pack 3465 will host a pancake breakfast fundraiser from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7 at Five Holy Martyrs Church’s Abramowicz Hall, 4327 S. Richmond. Meals will consist of pancakes, sausages, eggs, orange juice, milk, coffee and tea. Meals are priced at $8…
Greene, Calmeca set for heating, cooling repairs
From staff reports Two public schools—one in McKinley Park and the other in Brighton Park—are among seven public grade schools set to receive improvements Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced last week. Nathaniel Greene School, 3525 S. Honore, will be given $159,000 in TIF funds for heating and cooling system repairs. Calmeca…
Tabares leads way to big success for police
Raises $21,000 for protective vests By Joan Hadac When 23rd Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares planned her annual Get Behind the Vest pancake breakfast at St. Daniel the Prophet Church, her goal was to surpass last year’s total of $10,500. To say she succeeded is an understatement. After the final pancake was sold at the drive-through…
Argo celebrates Homecoming, names West Gym for Helen Mallis
By Carol McGowan It was a chilly morning last Saturday, but the spirit at Argo Community High School was as warm as ever for its homecoming parade and dedication of West Gym. The parade kicked off from Summit Park at 9 a.m., with over two dozen participants. Marchers reached the school on 63rd street just…
Oak Lawn Park District unveils new Brandt Park
By Kelly White The Oak Lawn community takes great pride in its many parks. The Oak Lawn Park District Board of Commissioners invited local area residents out to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony at the newly renovated Brandt Park, 89th and Tulley Avenue, Monday evening. “All of our playgrounds are on a Master Plan list…
Illinois News
Heavy workload expected next week as lawmakers cancel Thursday session
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The legislative action was light during the General Assembly’s first week of fall session, and lawmakers in both chambers left town a day early after leadership canceled the Thursday session. That means bigger items, such as a vote on congressional maps and potential changes to the…
Federal court throws out June legislative maps, declines to send issue to bipartisan commission
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A three-judge federal court panel in Chicago ruled Tuesday that the legislative redistricting plan that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law in June – before official 2020 U.S. Census numbers were available – was unconstitutional because the population variances among districts violated the “one-person, one-vote” doctrine.…
State ramping up vaccine booster campaign
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday urged eligible Illinoisans to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot and called on skilled nursing facilities to make booster shots available to patients and staff by Thanksgiving. Currently anyone who received the Pfizer vaccine and is over 65 years of age…
State worker vaccine deadline extended to Oct. 26 for first dose
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced Monday that his administration has reached agreement with multiple trade unions requiring certain state workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but it is extending the deadline for workers to get their first shot to Oct. 26 while negotiations continue with the state’s…
Lawmakers returning to Springfield to consider congressional remap, more
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ first congressional remap draft is out but changes could be in store as lawmakers return to Springfield Tuesday for the first of their final two weeks of scheduled session in 2022. It’s customary for lawmakers to meet each fall to consider overriding or accepting any…
CAPITOL RECAP: New congressional maps unveiled ahead of veto session
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly released a proposed set of new congressional district maps Friday, just days before lawmakers return to the Statehouse for the start of their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 19. All states redraw their congressional districts following each decennial census. The proposed new…
UPDATED: New congressional maps unveiled ahead of fall veto session
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly released a proposed set of new congressional district maps Friday, just days before lawmakers return to the Statehouse for the start of their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 19. All states redraw their congressional districts following each decennial census.…
Tax summaries show Pritzkers made $5 million last year – not including family trusts
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign released summary documents of his 2020 tax returns Friday, which showed the first family reporting $5.14 million in adjusted gross income, all from taxable interest and dividends. The campaign released seven pages summarizing the governor’s and first lady MK Pritzker’s returns, which…
Democrats release draft congressional maps
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers released the first draft of new congressional maps Friday, the latest step in a process that occurs every 10 years after the U.S. Census and could impact the balance of power in the U.S. Congress. The new maps are only a draft and will…
Report: Nursing homes in crisis with staff shortages
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – A new report released Wednesday says staffing shortages at nursing homes in Illinois have reached crisis proportions and that people of color are most at risk of suffering the consequences. That’s because those individuals are more likely to live in understaffed facilities or in “ward” rooms…
