
Indiana Wesleyan scrapes by Saint Xavier after missed 2-pt conversion
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Life is about choices. Sometimes, the result is to our benefit; sometimes it is not. In Saint Xavier’s loss to visiting Indiana Wesleyan on Sept. 16 at George R. Deaton Field in Mount Greenwood, head coach Mike Feminis was presented with an important decision to make with his team down a…

High School Football Wrap: Week 4 | St. Laurence has Ball in win over Providence
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Providence has won 10 state championships and finished runner-up four times, including last season in Class 4A. So how did St. Laurence’s student body celebrate the Vikings’ second-ever victory over the Celtics, 31-24, last Friday night in Burbank? With an old-fashioned field-storming. St. Laurence senior Aaron Ball scored the go-ahead touchdown…

Richards downs Oak Lawn in crosstown clash
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Merriam Webster defines a rivalry as “one of two or more striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess.” In sports, that makes both sides of any competition rivals, but the term is often reserved for a special matchup, of sorts. One of those is Oak Lawn and…

Pro Soccer Report | New owners watch Red Stars tie in front of record-setting crowd
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars put on quite a show for their new bosses. It was fun. It was exciting. It had a big crowd and it felt like a big-time atmosphere. But in the grand scheme of trying to make it to the NWSL playoffs, it didn’t mean much. The…

Area Sports Roundup | Trinity soccer champs to be inducted into HOF
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The first team in Trinity Christian College history to win a national championship will be honored in October. The Trinity Christian College Athletics Department announced the 2005 women’s soccer team as the newest member to its Athletics Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on Oct. 21 as…

Girls Tennis | Marist freshman Klooster a player to watch
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer When Helena Klooster was growing up, she tried a variety of sports and activities. Dancing and tennis were two of them. “I didn’t like dance at all,” Klooster said. “I would first have dance and I would head straight to tennis. “My mom said that I would look super sad…

Area sports report: Coyne Schofield signs three-year pro deal
By Jeff Vorva The new Professional Women’s Hockey League is forming, and Palos Heights native and Sandburg graduate Kendall Coyne Schofield will be a part of its historic first season. Schofield was one of the first three players to sign for the Minnesota franchise, a trio that also features fellow U.S. Olympians Kelly Pannek and…

Red Stars return to SeatGeek but long-term future a question mark
By Jeff Vorva After a long absence, the Chicago Red Stars will finally be playing a game at SeatGeek Stadium again. The Red Stars host Angel City at 5 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Bridgeview facility for the first time since Aug. 5. International breaks and other scheduling quirks have kept the team away from…

Antonio Clay-Jones carries Evergreen Park past Reavis
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent No deficit in sports is too great to overcome unless the double zeros on the clock are reached. Unfortunately for Reavis High School, that was the situation in their Week 3 matchup with Evergreen Park High School. Despite every Reavis Rams (1-2) effort to overcome their deficit, the Evergreen Park Mustangs…

Marist adds 5 athletes, wrestling team to sports Hall of Fame
By Jeff Vorva The Marist Athletics Hall of Fame is pretty crowded, with 111 individuals or teams recognized. But there is always room for more. Five more individuals and one team were honored Sept. 1 at halftime of the Brother Rice-Marist football game, won by the RedHawks in thrilling fashion, 30-24. Peter Bilecki, who graduated…

Football | Marist prevails as Winters chills Brother Rice comeback
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor “Do your job.” Former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau famously said it after a loss to a bad Washington Wizards team. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been quoted saying it, too. In both examples, the point was that each player must be singularly focused on and ultimately…

Pro Soccer Report | NWSL approves Red Stars sale; team beats Spirit
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The NWSL has given its blessing for the sale of the Chicago Red Stars. The league’s Board of Governors voted unanimously Sept. 1 to approve the sale of the Stars to an ownership group led by Laura Ricketts, who also has ownership ties with MLB’s Cubs and the WNBA’s Sky.…

Boys Soccer | Ahmed Dhalai helping Reavis to turnaround
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer One person can’t turn a struggling soccer program into a power. But he can make a huge difference. Ahmed Dhalai, the 2022 South Suburban Player of the Year while playing for Richards, transferred Reavis when his family moved to Burbank and found himself on a Rams team that won three…

Football Wrap • Week 2 | Sandburg tops Oak Forest to even record
By Mike Walsh Correspondent If Sandburg can be described in one word, it might be “resilient.” One week after a loss at home to St. Rita, the Eagles bounced back with a 26-11 win on the road over host Oak Forest on Sept. 1. Junior quarterback Anthony Shelton delivered an impressive performance, scoring on a…

Sandburg grad Feeney ready to help Bears
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer For the second straight year, the Chicago Bears will look to a Sandburg graduate to try to keep prized quarterback Justin Fields in one piece. Last year, it was offensive lineman Michael Schofield who picked up some game time with the team he grew up cheering for. This year, Dan…

Football | Chicago Christian scores 7 first-half TDs in romp
By Kyle Garmes Correspondent Football isn’t supposed to be as easy as Chicago Christian made it look in Week 2. Five players found the end zone for the Knights in a 52-6 victory over Clay, a school from South Bend, Ind. All those touchdowns, including multiple defensive scores, came in the first half. Some players…

Football | St. Rita rides big 3rd quarter past Sandburg
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Down seven points and having just forced the St. Rita offense into a three-and-out, Sandburg appeared to have momentum on its side a few minutes into the third quarter of the teams’ opening night matchup. Momentum, however, only lasts until it swings the other way. And when you are playing…

Week 1 Football Wrap | Brother Rice grinds out win over Maine South
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Brother Rice head coach Casey Quedenfeld was happy about his team’s 10-7 victory over Maine South on opening night. After all, beating a team the caliber of the Hawks and which is known for having a prolific offense, is a good start to the season. But … “There’s a lot to…

Pro Soccer Report | Milazzo goal forges draw, helps keep Red Stars’ slim postseason hopes alive
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars’ playoff chances are sliding from slim to nearly non-existent, but Orland Park’s Tatumn Milazzo is helping to keep hope alive. The defender from Orland Park scored her first goal of the season — the fourth of her career — in the 23rd minute. Her successful header…

Area Sports Roundup | Local artists win BMW Championship mural contest
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Miley McCullum is a member of Lyons’ varsity golf team. Kaylee Davenport of Mother McAuley doesn’t play golf at all. But the two have a common bond in the golfing community. They both had their artwork ideas on display at the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, held in Olympia Fields Aug.…

Football | Joliet West rides scoring flurry to win over Shepard
By Tim Cronin Correspondent JOLIET — Losses come with lessons, and often with hope. Such was the case for Shepard after a 34-14 season-opening loss at Joliet West on Aug. 25. The Astros were victimized by mistakes — some their own and some by an inexperienced officiating crew — and, while the Tigers earned the…

Football | Morgan Park blanks Richards in opener
By Kyle Garmes Correspondent It might be challenging to find positives after getting blown out on opening night, but Richards has reason to be optimistic despite being handed a 42-0 loss by visiting Morgan Park to kick off the 2023 season. For one, Richards suffered a convincing defeat at the hands of the Mustangs to…

Argo’s Patrick Greda is learning the ropes
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Argo senior Patrick Greda said that prior to three years ago, he had never punched anyone. He has more than made up for it since. Greda has been boxing for three years and is affiliated with the Chicago Heights Boxing Club. The Justice resident has racked up an amateur record…

Bobby Rush to retire after 15 terms
From staff reports U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, the state’s longest serving member of Congress, announced Tuesday he would not seek re-election this year, stepping down after almost 30 years of representing Chicago’s South Side and southwest suburbs. Rush, 75, formally announced that he will not run for a 16th term in Congress, but vowed to…

Stagg health team earns fourth straight Blue Ribbon award
By Jeff Vorva District 230 Supt. Robert Nolting likened the Stagg Health Education department to the New England Patriots. For the fourth straight year, Stagg won the Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in Education from the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Staff members said Stagg was the first school in Illinois…

Palos Heights: Business owners must choose whether to comply with mandates
By Jeff Vorva Palos Heights is not cracking down on businesses that violate Cook County COVID-19 mandates regarding proof of vaccinations. But the city will help if asked. Among the mandates, which started Monday, businesses including restaurants and gyms must have patrons show proof of vaccinations, which is a controversial topic for some. The Village…

Mayor reads hate mail before diving into COVID and crime issues
By Jeff Vorva Before Tuesday’s village board meeting, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau said he received a disturbing email. The mayor, who shoots from the hip when it comes to his beliefs is a controversial public figure and figures to get hate mail. This one was especially nasty. “I figured that since I got this…

Stepson charged in Evergreen Park murder
By Bob Bong A 24-year-old Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in the New Year’s Eve shooting of his stepfather in Evergreen Park. Brandon K. Kizer, 24, of the 8100 block of South Loomis in Chicago, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder in the death of Anthony Young, 52, on the morning of…

Honored for service to business
Fabis earns UBAM award By Dermot Connolly The United Business Association of Midway recently honored founding member Mary Fabis with a Lifetime Membership Award for Outstanding Service for her 35 years of work with the business organization she continues to serve as a board member. Fabis, now 92, has owned and operated Archer Travel agency…

She was a ‘Munchkin by marriage’
Mary Ellen St. Aubin dies at age 101 By Joan Hadac Mary Ellen St. Aubin once said that if her life could be summed up in a movie title, it might be It’s a Wonderful Life. That life came to a conclusion late last month. Mrs. St. Aubin was 101 years old. “I’ve enjoyed my…

Fire and ice
December was unseasonably dry and warm, but it was cold enough late in the month to form icicles on a Bedford Park Fire Department truck– even after it returned from a blaze that gutted a warehouse in the 6500 block of South Lavergne, just steps south of Clearing. The weather forecast for this weekend calls…

‘They made us look like fools’
Parents furious over one-two stumble by CPS By Tim Hadac As Chicago Public Schools were set to re-open earlier this week, parents of CPS students were still fuming over what most seemed to see as a two-part stumble by district administrators. “We did exactly what they asked of us, and they made us look like…

Toasting 2022 with champagne and herring
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] Hello everyone. So, the holidays are over. How did you celebrate? I love Christmas because I get to see family, some of whom I haven’t laid eyes on since Christmas 2019. New Year’s is a much quieter celebration. I have to admit,…

Richards principal walks 24 hours for a cause
Raises $20,000 for student scholarships By Kelly White Most people spend New Year’s Day relaxing. Richards High School Principal Dr. Mike Jacobson spent it on the treadmill. For the second year in a row, Jacobson inspired generous donations of more than $20,000 on New Year’s Day by walking 24 hours on a treadmill without stopping.…

Students help design new District 230 logo
By Jeff Vorva District 230 has a new logo. Students Tina Alkayed (Sandburg), Nycholas Golla (Stagg) and Trinity Walker (Andrew) teamed with Director of Communications Carla Erdey and Five Star Design branding specialist Laura Gilarski to work on the logo, which was unveiled at the Dec. 16 board meeting at Sandburg. “It’s a concept of…