Local News
Volunteers give Palos Heights a spring cleaning
By Kelly White Palos Heights works hard to keep its city beautiful. Gathering residents together for a day of cleaning and fun was the Palos Heights Green Team with a Clean Up Day on April 13. “This event invited everyone in our community to do their part in combating pollution by having a fun morning…
Comings & Goings: Ross to replace Walt’s at Tinley Park Plaza
By Bob Bong When Walt’s Foods closed its Tinley Park location almost three years ago, it left a giant hole in the Tinley Park Plaza near 159th Street and Harlem Avenue. That hole will soon be filled with a new 22,000-square-foot Ross Dress for Less store and a 9,800-square-foot Five Below store. A construction fence…
Orland Park Library collecting candy wrappers
By Kelly White Candy has taken on a whole new life at one local library. The Orland Park Public Library, 14921 S. Ravinia Ave., Orland Park, is happy to announce the launch of its very first Trash or Treasure candy wrapper recycling campaign. The Trash or Treasure program helps reduce the waste that accumulates around…
Palos Heights Knights of Columbus donate to GiGi’s Playhouse
Grand Knight John Laskey and Past Grand Knight Brian Mellenthin of St. Theodore Guerin Knights of Columbus Council 14057 presented a check for $1,500 to GiGi’s Playhouse of Tinley Park, one of several donations to local groups resulting from the Knights of Columbus’ Fall Tootsie Roll Drive. One of the most recognizable activities of the…
Worth police join task force to combat auto thefts
By Joe Boyle An agreement has been reached between the villages of Worth and Thornton regarding participation in the Illinois Statewide Auto Theft Task Force. Worth Police Chief Tim Denton said the approval of the memorandum to participate in the task force is necessary. “It’s no secret that there has been an increase in auto…
Softball | Oak Lawn’s Kasey Jackson fans 5 in loss to Shepard
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn entered its South Suburban Conference matchup with Shepard having won six of its last seven games. The Astros — even hotter with seven straight victories after beginning the season with three consecutive losses — cooled off the Spartans (8-5, 4-2 SSC) for a day, winning 3-0 behind a complete-game…
Softball | Shepard blanks Oak Lawn behind CG from Kailey Selvage, 2 RBI from Madison Scapardine
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Temperatures are not the only thing starting to warm up in the Southwest Suburbs. Shepard, which began the season with three consecutive losses, defeated Oak Lawn, 3-0, on April 15 to run its winning streak to seven games. Astros junior pitcher Kailey Selvage tossed a complete-game shutout, striking out 15 Spartans…
St. Laurence grad Brett Buzzelli hurling for Carroll
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Carroll University senior right-hander Brett Buzzelli has been named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin’s Pitcher of the Week for April 8. Buzzelli was the winning pitcher in an 8-3 victory over visiting Elmhurst University in Game 1 of a CCIW doubleheader. The St. Laurence graduate tossed seven scoreless innings…
Fire II wins, draws
By Jef Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire FC II earned its first regulation victory of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season in a 2-0 clean sheet against Crown Legacy April 10 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Diego Konincks and captain David Poreba scored goals for the Fire. On April 14, the team had a 5-5 draw…
Red Stars sans Swanson fall to Angel City
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Playing without scoring star Mallory Swanson, who was nursing a hip injury, the Chicago Red Stars lost for the first time this season, dropping a 1-0 decision April 13 to Angel City in front of an announced crowd of 3,168 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Angel City (1-2-1) started the day…
Chicago Red Stars and Bay FC to play at Wrigley Field
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Chicago Red Stars forward Ally Schlegel loves Wrigley Field. “I adored Wrigley the second I went to my first Cubs game,” Schlegel said. “I fell in love with it thinking it was the perfect sporting experience with how they built it up down there.” She will go from a fan in…
Trinity Christian College names new hoops coaches
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Trinity Christian officials were busy on April 11 ushering in new eras for its basketball programs. Trolls Athletic Director Wendy Reid announced that Jordan Mast is taking over the men’s basketball program, while Jasmine Porter has been named women’s hoops coach. Mast comes to the school in Palos Heights after five…
Reavis baseball coach and Hall of Famer Don Erickson to retire after season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A deal is a deal. Longtime Reavis baseball coach Don Erickson has said he would retire after his son, Sam, graduates from high school, so he can watch Sam play in college. Erickson doesn’t get to many of his son’s high school games because Sam plays at Downers Grove South. Sam…
Palos Park residents, mosque reps discuss noise issues at council meeting
By Jeff Vorva What could have been an explosive situation was actually quite civil. Some Palos Park residents were angry about loud activity and behavior of some members of the Palos Islamic Center the past two years and sounded off at the April 8 village council meeting. Fresh on their minds was noise late into…
Midlothian man arrested for Orland Park carjacking
From wire reports The Orland Park Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect in a vehicular hijacking that occurred on the evening of April 3. Shawn Flores, a 44-year-old Midlothian resident, faces charges following his apprehension on April 4. The incident began when a male victim was forcibly removed from his vehicle at gunpoint…
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Comings & Goings
Ahead of cash bail’s end, state’s replacement pretrial justice system takes shape
By JERRY NOWICKI & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Beginning Monday, state courts in Illinois will be prohibited from jailing individuals who are accused – but not convicted – of crimes simply because they cannot afford to post bail while they await trial. Monetary bond will be abolished in favor of a system that…
Disparately resourced public defenders prepare for the end of cash bail in Illinois
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois on Monday will become the first state to fully abolish cash bail through an act of the legislature — a major criminal justice overhaul spurred by the advocacy of a progressive faction of the Democratic Party that’s grown increasingly powerful in recent years. The reform goes into…
Illinois House Speaker’s staff could test limits of Workers’ Rights Amendment
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Efforts to form a union by staff in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office could provide an early and unexpected test of the new Workers’ Rights Amendment to the Illinois Constitution. Brady Burden, a staffer in the speaker’s office who is part of the organizing committee…
‘Thunderdomes of controversy and strife:’ Giannoulias testifies before U.S. Senate committee
By JENNIFER FULLER Capitol News Illinois jfuller@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was in Washington, D.C. this week to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee regarding a new state law aimed at deterring book bans. LISTEN TO THIS STORY: Capitol News Illinois · IL Secretary of State testifies before U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee…
Former trooper seeks restoration of driving privileges nearly 16 years after fatal crash
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com For years, former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White blocked attempts by an ex-state trooper to regain his driving privileges after a high-speed crash that caused the deaths of teenage sisters on a busy St. Clair County interstate in 2007. But after White’s retirement, Matt Mitchell is taking…
Former trooper seeks restoration of driving privileges nearly 16 years after fatal crash
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com For years, former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White blocked attempts by an ex-state trooper to regain his driving privileges after a high-speed crash that caused the deaths of teenage sisters on a busy St. Clair County interstate in 2007. But after White’s retirement, Matt Mitchell is taking…
State Fair reports nine-year attendance high
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois State Fair – a multi-million annual agriculture festival in Springfield – reported a nine-year attendance record this year. The state Department of Agriculture, which hosts the fair each year, reported on Tuesday that about 708,000 people attended the fair, an 11 percent increase from 2022. Department…
Copay requirements paused for noncitizens on state health plan
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The state has paused a new policy requiring certain noncitizens enrolled in a Medicaid-like health insurance plan to pay copayments for certain services, instructing health care providers to refund any such payments they have already collected. Omar Shaker, the interim chief of administrative rules at the…
Battery manufacturing plant coming to Illinois – with $530M incentive deal
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com A new battery manufacturing plant is set to open in northern Illinois next year after the state offered more than $330 million in tax incentives to make it happen. Gotion, a Chinese battery manufacturing and development company, announced on Friday that it will build a lithium-ion battery manufacturing…
Complaint alleges ComEd violated state law by raising fees on customer bills
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com A group of businesses filed a complaint with state regulators last week alleging that Chicago electric company Commonwealth Edison improperly raised customer bills this summer. The complaint – centered on a portion of the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that allows utilities to recoup carbon mitigation investments…