Spread the love

Local News

Sammy Malcolm

Pro Report | Sammy Malcolm leads Toronto to win over Hounds

By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Sammy Malcolm. Chicago Hounds fans may remember that name for a long time. And not for a good reason. Malcolm was not just in the middle of things, he was the whole scoring show for Toronto as he tallied all Arrows points in a 27-26 victory over the Hounds on…

Palos Park native Steve Desmond in front of a marquee banner advertising the movie "A Knock at the Cabin," which he co-wrote. (Supplied photos)

Palos Park native helps write screenplay for ‘Knock at the Cabin’

By Dermot Connolly Palos Park native Steve Desmond, 40, has been thinking about making movies for most of his life, and now one he co-wrote can be found in a theater near you. Desmond and his screenwriting partner, Michael Sherman, share writing credits with director M. Night Shyamalan for the screenplay for “Knock at the…

Mayor Keith Pekau presents an award to 100-year-old Lea Luchini at the Feb. 20 board meeting. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Village honors 100-year-old who has lived in Orland Park for 50 years

By Jeff Vorva The Village of Orland Park honored resident Lea Luchini, who is enjoying a couple of milestone celebrations. She turned 100 on Feb. 15 and this is the 50th year she has lived in Orland Park. Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau read a proclamation recognizing Luchini at the Feb. 20 village board meeting.…

Assistant Supt. John Lavelle gives an update on the Stagg High School expansion project at the Feb. 23 District 230 meeting. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Price tag for Stagg expansion grows to $15 million

By Jeff Vorva The Stagg High School expansion project has a heftier price tag than originally thought. Consolidated High School District 230 officials were bracing for the project to cost roughly $12.5 million. At the Feb. 23 board meeting at Andrew High School, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services John Lavelle told the board that now…

Shepard's Assistant Principal Marie Cerwin dives into chilly waters at Shepard's Polar Plunge on March 2 at the school, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights. (Supplied photos)

Shepard students have taken the plunge.

By Kelly White The high school, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights, honored Special Olympics Illinois with a unique school-based Polar Plunge on Thursday, March 2. “This year was our biggest group plunging yet,” Ashley Lythberg, Special Education Teacher (POWER PE teacher) and Special Olympics Coordinator at Shepard, said. “Every year is special, but since…

The Class 3A girls basketball state champs celebrated on Monday at Nazareth Academy. (Photos by Steve Metsch)

Nazareth girls ‘seal the deal,’ share state title glow at rally

By Steve Metsch The girls’ basketball team at Nazareth Academy did indeed live up to its slogan. Head Coach Eddie Stritzel said that after finishing second to Carmel in Class 3A one year ago, the team’s slogan for the 2022-23 season was “seal the deal.” “That’s great,” he said. “But with it comes a lot…

St. Germaine School, 9735 S. Kolin Ave., Oak Lawn, has a brand new Innovation Lab thanks to the Germazing Ducks, a small, volunteer-based fundraising committee. (Supplied photos)

Germazing Ducks lend a hand at St. Germaine

Latest project is a new Innovation Lab By Kelly White St. Germaine School has a new Innovation Lab thanks to the Germazing Ducks, a small, volunteer-based fundraising committee shaped and formed by parents, teachers, and staff members. The Innovation Lab at the school, 9735 S. Kolin Ave., Oak Lawn, is a remarkable feat built around…

Worth police officers dived into a pool Saturday to raise funds for the Special Olympics during the annual FOP Polar Plunge at Altman Park. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Worth police officers take a plunge for Special Olympics

By Joe Boyle The Worth Police Department is paid to serve and protect its citizens. But on Saturday afternoon, they were called on for special duty — taking a plunge for a good cause. The Worth Fraternal Order of Police held its seventh annual Polar Plunge at Altman Park. The police department, along with the…

Palos Heights police officers will host their own Polar Plunge on Saturday, March 11.(Photo courtesy of Palos Heights Police Department)

Polar Plungers ready to invade Palos Heights

By Jeff Vorva For more than 10 years, a group of Palos Heights police officers have gone south to take a Polar Plunge in Manteno. This year, the cops will stay home. The frigid water in Manteno will be replaced by frigid water in Palos Heights. Palos Heights Police will host their first Polar Plunge…

Larry Yott poses with a photo of him taken on the day he joined the Palos Heights Police Department on Feb. 28, 1973. Yott retired as the police chief on Saturday, March 4. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Retired chief Yott used tools to build a strong police force

By Jeff Vorva For the first time since Feb. 27, 1973, Larry Yott is not a member of the Palos Heights Police force. Let that sink in for a moment. Saturday, March 4, was his last official day as a Palos Heights cop and he retired as the force’s longtime chief. William Czajkowski took over…

reporter worth welcome sign

Worth to dispose of old public works equipment

By Joe Boyle With spring just around the corner, the Village of Worth is preparing to dispose of public works equipment that has become dated and no longer useful. Mayor Mary Werner has authorized through an ordinance the disposal of the equipment that has become old and obsolete. Trustee Brad Urban, who is the head…

Neighbors

Comings & Goings

Illinois News

Lawmakers advance measure to regulate ride-shares as ‘common carriers’

Lawmakers advance measure to regulate ride-shares as ‘common carriers’

By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers are considering a bill that would treat ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft as “common carriers,” opening them up to the same level of liability as other forms of public transportation. House Bill 2231 passed on the House floor this week with a 73-36…

Nuclear option: Illinois grapples with the future of nuclear power

Nuclear option: Illinois grapples with the future of nuclear power

By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – A measure allowing the construction of new commercial nuclear power plants has bipartisan, bicameral support in the state legislature as the body considers its next steps in meeting carbon-free energy goals while maintaining grid reliability. Its advocates say the measure would open the door for the…

Wiretaps show Madigan, through McClain, forced ally out of legislature to protect himself

Wiretaps show Madigan, through McClain, forced ally out of legislature to protect himself

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – In fall 2018, longtime former State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, received a phone call from Mike McClain, who had spent decades lobbying for electric utility Commonwealth Edison after 10 years in the General Assembly. McClain was delivering a message from House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was…

House panel debates ranked choice voting

House panel debates ranked choice voting

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are debating whether the state should join a growing list of jurisdictions in the United States that allow voters to pick more than one candidate for an office, ranking them in order of preference rather than choosing just one. Ranked choice voting, or as…

Madigan looms large in trial of ex-ComEd lobbyists, exec

Madigan looms large in trial of ex-ComEd lobbyists, exec

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan isn’t set to go on trial for racketeering and corruption charges until next summer, but his decades of power in Illinois government and politics loomed large Wednesday as opening arguments got underway in a related case. Madigan’s name was uttered…

Transit agencies look to the state to help make up projected $730 million budget gap

Transit agencies look to the state to help make up projected $730 million budget gap

By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Officials with the state’s largest transit agencies met with lawmakers on Tuesday to sound the alarm for what Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director Leanne Redden called a “looming operational crisis.” “By 2026, the region will face an annual budget deficit of nearly $730 million per year,”…

Pritzker: Tax cuts on the table if state revenues continue to exceed expectations

Pritzker: Tax cuts on the table if state revenues continue to exceed expectations

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – With two months to go before the legislature adjourns and current-year revenues continuing to smash expectations, Gov. JB Pritzker said he and legislative leaders are considering tax cuts. His comments came one week after the legislature’s nonpartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or COGFA, increased…

[adsanity_group align='alignnone' num_ads=1 num_columns=1 group_ids='4285']