Local News
Boys Basketball Class 3A Playoffs | Evergreen Park tops Hillcrest for first regional title since 1974
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Some Evergreen Park players have deep roots in the community, but it was a newcomer that carried the Mustangs to a monumental win. Senior guard Tre Dowdell put up a game-high 30 points and Mustangs rolled to a 74-60 win over Hillcrest in the Class 3A Evergreen Park Regional championship game…
College Football | Northwestern football may play at SeatGeek
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent It appears that Chicago’s Big Ten team will be Bridgeview’s Big Ten team for at least one day. Maybe more. Northwestern has released its 2024 football schedule, but where the Wildcats will play their seven home games is unknown. Their home stadium, Ryan Field in Evanston, is undergoing a major facelift…
Girls Basketball | Nazareth tops Homewood-Flossmoor, heads to Illinois Final Four for fifth time in past six seasons
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Nazareth head coach Ed Stritzel has built his Roadrunners into a powerhouse program with a defense-first philosophy that is carrying the reigning Class 3A state champions through another deep postseason run. Four nights after Nazareth held Kenwood to a season-low 37 points in the Class 4A Mother McAuley Sectional championship game,…
Postseason Roundup | Mount Carmel wrestling wins fifth state title
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent During the regular season, only one wrestling team from Illinois beat Mount Carmel in a dual meet. Joliet Catholic got the better of the Caravan with a 38-27 victory on Jan. 18. That came two days after Mount Carmel lost to Crown Point (Indiana). The Caravan will be unable to square…
Area Sports Roundup | St. Laurence girls hoops has benchmark season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The St. Laurence girls basketball team’s historic season came to a close with a 42-29 loss to Hinsdale South at the Class 3A St. Ignatius Sectional on Feb. 22, but the Vikings hit some milestone’s in former Marist and Saint Xavier star Claire Austin’s first year as coach. The Vikings: •…
Fernway Park School receives kindness – and scooters
By Jeff Vorva Scooters. Dollars. Kindness. Those were the three themes of the day on Feb. 14 at Fernway Park Elementary School in Orland Park thanks to a group of high school athletes in the Buddy’s Helpers group. There were 102 students in first and second grade at the school who were greeted in the…
Comings & Goings: Joey’s Red Hots to open Monday in Orland Hills
By Bob Bong Co-owner Anthony Nardo is not one to miss an opportunity to expand the reach of the Joey’s Red Hots empire. The Orland Park-based chain of restaurants has set Monday, February 26, as the opening date for its newest Joey’s location, in Orland Hills. Nardo and his partner Nick Iozzo jumped quickly when…
No ruckus this time between Orland board, protesters
By Jeff Vorva More than 80 people crowded Orland Park’s Village Hall Monday night with many there to protest the village board’s decision not to draw up a resolution asking for a ceasefire in Gaza. Unlike a Feb. 5 meeting, in which there was yelling and chants and Mayor Keith Pekau having police clear the…
Worth approves new parking, traffic regulations
By Joe Boyle Two ordinances were passed at the Worth Village Board meeting Tuesday night requiring changes for pedestrian crossings and vehicular traffic. Police Chief Tim Denton said one ordinance needed to be amended regarding pedestrian and vehicular traffic. It needed to be made clear that individuals should not be walking along main streets and…
Palos Heights City Council rejects City Hall renovation
By Bob Bong Palos Heights aldermen rejected a $1.7 million renovation project for its aging City Hall building at a sometimes testy City Council meeting Tuesday night. Aldermen voted 5-3 to shoot down a plan that would have made some bathrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, moved the Building Department back to the…
Firefighter injured fighting Orland Park fire Tuesday morning
By Bob Bong One firefighter suffered minor injuries while battling a fire at a home in Orland Park early Tuesday morning. Orland Fire Protection District officials said the fire was reported at 3:35 a.m. on Feb. 20 in the 14700 block of Holly Court in Orland Park. The fire was brought under control after about…
Girls Basketball | Sandburg outlasts Romeoville for first regional crown since 2016
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent It was the Eagles’ game to win and no one was going to change the outcome. On its home floor against a Romeoville team that had not lost this year, Sandburg used overtime to defeat the Spartans, 62-58, on Feb. 15 for the Class 4A Sandburg Regional title. It is the…
Girls Basketball | Evergreen Park’s Scaduto signs off after career spanning four decades
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The box score does not always give the full story of a game. Evergreen Park visited Hinsdale South on Feb. 16 with the hope of winning a regional championship. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the game did not go their way. The Hornets jumped to an 18-3 lead in the first quarter…
Girls Basketball | LW Central scrapes by Stagg for Andrew Regional crown
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Stagg was hoping the third time was the charm. For three quarters, it was. But the Chargers couldn’t convert in crunch time and saw Lincoln-Way Central rally for a 36-33 victory in the Class 4A Andrew Regional title game Feb. 16. It was Stagg’s third loss — by a total of…
Girls Bowling State Finals | Stagg’s Arianna Araujo rolls to title
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Prior to the start of the IHSA girls bowling postseason, Stagg senior Arianna Araujo made a statement to her coach. “She told me that she was going to win state,” Chargers coach Rich Kowalczyk said. “I was like, ‘Let’s get through the regional first.’ But she had that much confidence in herself and…
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Capitol Briefs: Advocates push for guaranteed income, child care assistance
By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear the case of actor Jussie Smollett, who was convicted for staging a hate crime against him in 2019 in a case that drew criticism for Cook County’s top prosecutor. Smollett made what turned out to be…
Illinois teacher shortage persists, survey finds
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois continues to suffer from a shortage of teachers and other education professionals, although recent efforts by the state to ease the strain have made an impact. That’s according to the latest annual survey of school officials from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools,…
Bills in state Senate would further regulate battery storage and disposal
COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Two bills that would regulate battery disposal and storage are awaiting action from the full Illinois Senate after unanimous committee approval. Senate Bill 3481, sponsored by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, would require facilities that store electric vehicle batteries to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency…
Prisoner Review Board chair, member resign in wake of boy’s fatal stabbing by released inmate
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The longtime chair and a relatively new member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board have resigned, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office announced Monday. The governor’s office announced the pair’s resignations within hours of each other nearly two weeks after Crosetti Brand was released from Stateville Correctional Center. Brand is…
Highest-ranking woman in state police history reflects on experience as force looks to diversify
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com The night before Rebecca Hooks started at the Illinois State Police Academy in 2002, she spoke on the phone with her father and her brother – both of whom worked in law enforcement. Her father encouraged her, telling her she was strong and could get through the…
After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…
After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…
After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…
After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…
Capitol Briefs: Insurance reforms advance as Pritzker announces California trip
By PETER HANCOCK, JENNIFER FULLER & ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal for sweeping reforms in the state’s health insurance industry passed out of a committee Thursday and will soon make its way to the full House for consideration. Pritzker first outlined the proposal in his State of the…