Local News
Metra to add SouthWest Service Line trains on Jan. 16
Metra will upgrade the SouthWest Service Line schedule on Jan. 16, increasing the number of weekday trains on the line to 30 from the current 12 as part of a major service redesign pilot. “As we have done on other lines, we are adjusting the schedule on the SouthWest Service to meet increasing demand and…
First installment of property taxes due date pushed back to April 3
Cook County property owners will have an extra month to pay their First Installment property taxes this year, and their bills are already available online. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 5189 into law last month making Monday, April 3, 2023, the new due date. Property taxes are mailed twice a year. First Installment bills are…
Orland man sentenced to 2 years for killing pregnant mom, 3 kids
From staff reports Sean Woulfe, who pleaded guilty rather than face a second trial for reckless homicide in the deaths of a pregnant woman and her three young sons in 2017, was sentenced last week to two years in prison for each count. Woulfe will only have to serve two years as the five sentences…
Fundraiser to help buy service dog for Worth veteran
By Joe Boyle Worth officials are asking the community to help provide assistance for a local veteran to assist her in purchasing a service dog. Shireen O’Brien, a Worth resident who served as a Marine, has been dealing with a series of threatening illnesses since she concluded her service. O’Brien is a longtime member of…
Palos Park cadet program labelled ‘monumentally successful’
By Jeff Vorva Who knew in 1999 that a group of kids comprising a new police program in Palos Park would be this successful? The Palos Park Police Department’s cadet program is entering its 24th year and at Monday night’s village council meeting, Mayor John Mahoney and Police Commissioner Dan Polk looked back and praised…
Palos Park doctor pens bioterror novel
By Kyle Garmes Dr. Jenna Podjasek is an allergist/immunologist who trained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and now works in Oak Forest, but the Palos Park resident also has a passion for writing. Now, she has combined those two interests to publish her first novel. “Particles in the Air,” a bioterrorism-themed book that…
Man charged in Palos Heights forgery from October
From staff reports A Homewood man has been charged with a forgery case that dates back to October. Palos Heights police arrested Marcus Wade on January 4 and he was charged with a felony count of forgery stemming from an incident that happened October 21. Police took a report from resident that he had mailed…
Paving a path to the pros?
Sandburg grad Chris Toth optimistic about following his father’s footsteps to the NFL By Mike Walsh Correspondent When your father is able to list blocking for Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino on his resume, chances are pretty good that football is a strong component of your family’s lineage. Such is the case for Aurora…
Local Hoops Wrap: Scuffling St. Rita eyes big March
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer They have never had a nickname, such as the Fab Four. But that title could have applied. The foursome of James Brown, Morez Johnson, Josh Pickett and Jaedin Reyna came to St. Rita High with high expectations, with all four receiving scholarship offers from Northern Illinois before playing a single…
Area Sports Roundup: Mother McAuley has another national POY; Red Stars’ scorer has new last name
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer How many national players of the year can one team have? If you are the Mother McAuley volleyball team, you can have more than one. The Class 4A state champions are cornering the market in that regard. Less than a month after senior Gigi Navarrete won a national player of…
College Notebook | Stagg alum on fire in pool for Illinois-Chicago
By Mike Walsh Correspondent One of the top performers at the recent three-day House of Champions Invitational held at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis natatorium was UIC women’s swimmer Taira Juronis. Juronis, a Stagg graduate, won the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:16.49, nearly two seconds faster than the second-place swimmer. Juronis also bested her…
Boys Basketball | St. Laurence looks to keep good times rolling in 2023
By Steve Millar Correspondent A young St. Laurence team is hitting its stride and starting to believe. The Vikings took momentum into the New Year by winning four straight games at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic to capture the tournament’s consolation championship. “It was a pretty big boost getting those four wins,” sophomore guard Zerrick…
Boys Basketball | Stagg looking for a spark as conference play begins
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The return of Connor Williams and a fast start provided Stagg hope for its first back-to-back wins in nearly a month. A stifling Lockport defense and a slow finish thwarted that possibility. The Chargers scored only 13 points over the final 23:44 of the game and fell to the Porters, 43-31,…
Bridgeview police close off 95th Street near Tri-State because of oil spill and accident
From staff reports Bridgeview Police have closed down the eastbound lanes of 95th Street between 76th Avenue and Harlem Avenue adjacent to the Tri-State Tollway off ramp as a result of an oil spill that police believe may have been caused by an earlier accident and that may have caused one other accident. Westbound lanes…
44 inducted into National Honor Society at Evergreen Park Community High School
Evergreen Park Community High School inducted 44 new members into its National Honor Society in a ceremony held at the school on November 30. The school also honored the accomplishments of the 44 graduating senior members of NHS. The new members, mostly juniors, were inducted by EPCHS Principal Bill Sanderson and NHS Faculty Sponsor Ben…
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Comings & Goings
‘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…
At World Economic Forum, Pritzker plays role of Illinois’ ‘best chief marketing officer’
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – After his second-term inauguration amid a frenzied “lame duck” legislative session last week, Gov. JB Pritzker took the global stage this week at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The governor and high-ranking members of his staff joined a bipartisan delegation of U.S.…
Watchdog seeks harsher penalties in wake of abuse at Choate
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois & MOLLY PARKER Lee Enterprises Midwest This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Lee Enterprises, along with Capitol News Illinois. The watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services is seeking harsher penalties against health care workers who obstruct abuse and neglect investigations. IDHS…
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…
