Local News
By Carol McGowan After 25 years of serving the area, 22 of those at Indian Springs School District 109, Dr. Blair Nuccio is set to retire. Dr. Nuccio was the assistant superintendent at District 109 before becoming superintendent in July of 2017. Prior to that, he spent three years as the superintendent at Willow Springs…
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By Nuha Abdessalam As Ramadan was drawing to a close for Muslims worldwide, District 122’s Superintendent Joseph Matise, Oak Lawn Community High School’s Muslim Students Association club, and the district’s Parents Committee came together to create history. They hosted the first-ever Iftar dinner at Simmons Middle School on April 8, a significant event that hopes…
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By Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working with students…
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By Nuha Abdessalam A petition demanding the firing of a school psychologist at Ridgeland School District 122 for posting Islamophobic social media messages has gathered more than 1,400 signatures. The petition on change.org is “calling for the removal of the schoo psychologist Laurie Hoke for sharing posts and comments that are explicitly racist, Islamophobic, hateful,…
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North Palos School District 117 has announced that Christine Droba will become the next North Palos School District 117 Superintendent of Schools beginning July 1, 2024. The Board of Education selected Droba to fill this position following Dr. Jeannie Stachowiak’s retirement at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Stachowiak will be retiring after 21…
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By Joe Boyle An additional parking lot and an athletic fieldhouse has been approved for Oak Lawn Community High School. Joseph McCurdy, assistant superintendent for Oak Lawn Community High School District 229, gave a brief slide presentation detailing some of the plans for the parking lot and an athletic fieldhouse during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday morning. The Zoning…
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From staff reports Flexible, open-minded and adaptable are three qualities the new principal and assistant principal at Glen Oaks School cite as ingredients for continuing to build a culture of fun and success with both students and staff. Farah Daoud, who spent last year as assistant principal at the Hickory Hills’ school, was named principal…
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Seven new staff members have joined the team at Evergreen Park Community High School for the 2023-2024 school year. The newest Mustang educators were welcomed to campus earlier this month for a round table discussion and tour of the building. Martin Chappetto is the newest member of the EPCHS Counseling Department. He comes to Evergreen…
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By Jeff Vorva District 230 Supt. Robert Nolting gave a shout out to the seniors on the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee. The committee is made of students from all three high schools – Sandburg, Stagg and Andrew – who serve their time meeting with Nolting and other district officials to talk about concerns from the student…
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More than 200 Consolidated High School District 230 students from Amos Alonzo Stagg, Carl Sandburg and Victor J. Andrew High Schools recently received recognition for earning either a Seal of Biliteracy or a State Commendation Award. The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given in recognition of students who have attained proficiency in English and…
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Northern Illinois likely wrecks Notre Dame’s season
The Northern Illinois football team pulled off the biggest win in school history and the biggest stunner of the 2024 college football season thus far with a 16-14 win over 5th-ranked Notre Dame on Sept. 7 in South Bend. Three former area players are on the Huskies’ roster. Former Shepard star Roy Williams, a 6-foot-6,…
NFL Players Fathers Association honors Hall of Famer Steve McMichael
The Chicago Bears honored former defensive tackle and newly inducted Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve McMichael during the team’s home opener on Sept. 8 at Soldier Field. Three days earlier, McMichael he was honored by the National Football Players Father’s Association. The new vice president of that group is Orland Park Fire Chief Michael…
Girls Volleyball | St. Laurence strong on and off the court
The St. Laurence girls volleyball players are competitive on and off the court. On the court, the Vikings made it to Class 3A Supersectional play the past two seasons before ending those campaigns with losses to Joliet Catholic in 2022 and St. Ignatius in 2023. They are off to a big start this year, with…
Red Stars honor Olympians, then fall to Orlando
The Chicago Red Stars honored their four Olympians before the team’s Sept. 8 match with Orlando, but when went out and dropped a 1-0 decision to the first-place Pride in an NWSL game in front of an announced crowd of 7,291 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Olympic gold medalists Mallory Swanson and Alyssa Naeher, who…
Playoffs in doubt for Fire after loss to D.C.
Even playing in its former digs at SeatGeek Stadium couldn’t help the Chicago Fire. The Fire, playing for their MLS playoff life, took another step backward in a 2-1 loss to D.C. United in front of an announced crowd of 16,426 on Sept. 7 in Bridgeview. The Fire’s regular home is Soldier Field, but the…
Football | Lyons top Wheaton Warrenville South in Jon Beutjer’s return to alma mater
Back when he was breaking state and national passing records at Wheaton Warrenville South, Jon Beutjer proudly wore orange and black. Beutjer, the prolific passer who led the Tigers to the 1998 Class 6A title, was back in Wheaton last week; however, this time he was wearing royal blue and gold as the head coach…
Football | Sandburg’s Shelton throws 4 TDs in rout of Oak Forest
Whenever his team needs a lift or a teammate needs a pat on the back, Anthony Shelton is there to provide it. Shelton, Sandburg’s senior quarterback, can also throw touchdown passes. On Sept. 6 in Orland Park, Shelton threw four of them as the Eagles defeated Oak Forest, 43-12. Shelton was 15-of-16 passing for 283…
Stagg runs over Oak Lawn behind Olaf Kozub’s 351 yards and 4 TDs
After running wild in Stagg’s season-opening victory, Olaf Kozub bested that effort in Week 2 to help the Chargers to a second straight win. Kozub, a junior running back, totaled 351 yards from scrimmage, including 19 carries for 285 yards rushing (15 yards per carry) and scoring runs of 1, 29 and 65 yards in…
Football | Argo blanks Bloom for second straight shutout
Two games. Two wins. Zero points allowed. Life is good for Argo and head coach Phillip Rossberg. “A 2-0 start is nice,” Rossberg said. “We’ll take that.” On Sept. 6 in Summit, the Argonauts welcomed Bloom in a non-conference matchup. Anchored by the efforts of running back Steven Holmes and a strong defensive showing, Argo…
Worth to honor victims of 9/11 tragedy
Worth public officials will mark a couple of events honoring veterans and will remember the tragedy that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. Mayor Mary Werner mentioned that the Marrs-Meyer American Legion Post 991 will take part in the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Veteran Wall on Thursday, Sept. 5, in Monee. “Members of the post will…
Illinois News
East St. Louis forum to tackle persistent childhood poverty
By MOLLY PARKER Capitol News Illinois mparker@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois has the potential to eradicate childhood poverty, but it will require a concentrated, sustained effort in partnership with families and disadvantaged communities, says Tasha Green Cruzat, president of Children’s Advocates for Change, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on childhood wellbeing. This hope drives the focus of the policy…
Federal judge rejects Illinois’ bid to end court oversight of disability programs
By MOLLY PARKER & BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois mparker@capitolnewsillinois.com bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com A federal judge on Friday denied Illinois’ request to end court oversight of its disability services. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, agreed with legal advocates who argued that the state still hasn’t met its…
Coroner’s affidavit shows as many as 800 human remains could have been misidentified
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com As many as 800 families across the country who patronized a Carlinville funeral home may never know if the remains on their mantles belong to their loved ones, according to an affidavit signed by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon. The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit pending against…
State law banning concealed carry on public transit ruled unconstitutional
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com A federal judge in Rockford has declared a state law banning concealed firearms on public transit systems unconstitutional – at least as it applies to four individuals who challenged it in court. But the law remains in effect for everyone else as the parties in the case consider…
Capitol Briefs: Secretary of state enlists high schoolers to encourage organ donation
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – The secretary of state’s office is launching a new program to enlist Illinois high schoolers to promote organ donation. The organ and tissue donation registry, a voluntary database administered by the secretary of state, catalogs peoples’ wishes regarding organ donation after death. On Tuesday, Secretary of…
Longtime Harris supporters do victory lap for their candidate at DNC
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – On a cold morning in late 2019, Illinois state Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, boarded a bus bound for Iowa to knock doors for then-U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency. At one particular door – one of many she visited in “mostly white…
Illinois Democrats see abortion rights as ‘fundamental’ issue in 2024
By PETER HANCOCK & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Illinois delegates to the Democratic National Convention focused their attention Tuesday on reproductive rights, which some leaders say could eclipse the economy as a defining issue of the 2024 election campaign. “We want to be able to take care of our families. We…
DNC brings thousands of pro-Palestine protestors to Chicago’s streets
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Protestors in Chicago this week have shut down streets, broken through security fencing, clashed with police and interrupted events associated with the Democratic National Convention. Rallies and marches have focused mainly on the war in Gaza and reproductive health care. Most protestors remained peaceful, but a…
Report shows Illinois union participation declining despite growth in new petitions
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Overall participation in labor unions has declined in recent years in Illinois, although the state has seen an increase in successful unionization efforts for the second year in a row. That’s according to the State of the Unions 2024 report, the latest installment in an annual…
Capitol Briefs: Stateville workers picket as relocation begins; flag redesign contest to open next week
By PETER HANCOCK & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Union workers planned to picket outside Stateville Correctional Center Thursday to amplify their concerns about how the planned closure and reconstruction of the maximum-security prison could affect their jobs and the state’s prison system as a whole. Calling for “No Chaos, No Layoffs,” members of…
