The Clear-Ridge Little League is scheduled to start its games in April, but signup is occurring now. --File photo
Here’s a sure sign of spring
Local News
Baseball | Nick Bestrick fires one-hitter as Sandburg tops Mount Carmel
By Steve Millar Correspondent Some extra sleep did Nick Bestrick quite well. With Sandburg’s game against Mount Carmel postponed on May 12 because of rain, the Eagles had an unconventional two-site, two-opponent doubleheader — going to Plainfield East for a regularly scheduled game the morning of May 13 before coming home to host the Caravan……
Casten is special guest at Special Olympics event at Richards
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Special Olympics Illinois held various competitions throughout the state last week and the Region E Unified event at Richards High School on May 4 had a special guest. District 6 Congressman Sean Casten made the trip to Oak Lawn to greet some of the athletes, watch them in action and……
College Notebook | Concordia Chicago goalie McGee named to lacrosse all-conference team
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Ryan McGee is one of four Concordia University Chicago women’s lacrosse athletes to be chosen to the 2023 All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Team. McGee, a goalie who prepped at Nazareth, was one of two Cougars named to the All-NACC First Team. For McGee, this marks her third consecutive All-NACC First Team……
Baseball and Softball Wrap | St. Rita coach Nee honored with HOF nod
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer John Nee looks back with fondness at his early baseball days, when he was a big-time slugger playing with his friends for West Lawn’s baseball team. “Neighborhood baseball was all it could be,” Nee said. “Everybody played for their neighborhood team, and we have some really good teams at West……
Area Sports Roundup | St. Rita hoops coach resigns for job at St. Laurence
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The spinning carousal continues for the St. Rita basketball program. By the time the 2023-24 campaign rolls around, the talented team that picked up national attention last season will look a whole lot different — and it’s not just about players transferring. Roshawn Russell, who coached the Mustangs the past……
A ‘kind and giving heart’
. Family, friends remember columnist Joan Hadac From staff reports Those who knew Joan (Heelan) Hadac never seemed surprised that she landed in jobs where she helped people. It was simply her nature, her kind and giving heart, they’d say. A lifelong Southwest Side resident, Mrs. Hadac died at home in hospice care on May……
Baseball | St. Laurence senior Luke Geary embraces role in ‘pen
By Steve Millar Correspondent Many pitchers would prefer the certainty and routine of knowing when they were going to take the mound. St. Laurence’s Luke Geary, though, enjoys always being on-call. The senior is thriving in a bullpen role. “I really like it,” Geary said. “The starters have one day a week where they have……
Distance runner Dylan Jacobs has set records at every level, and he has his eyes on the Olympics
By Mike Walsh Correspondent If there is anything that Dylan Jacobs has learned over the years, it’s that Mom is always right. As youth growing up in Orland Park, Jacobs — now a standout runner at the University of Tennessee — played soccer, baseball and basketball. One day, he decided he was done with soccer.……
Neighbors
House GOP advances 2 human trafficking victim protection bills as others remain in limbo
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com After Illinois received another failing grade from a national advocacy group, state House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at further protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking. Shared Hope International, an advocacy organization that works to prevent sex trafficking, said in its 2023 Illinois report card that……
Hundreds of bills pass, including changes to state’s biometric data privacy law
By HANNAH MEISEL COLE LONGCOR & ALEX ABEDDUTO Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers passed more than 200 bills this week ahead of their scheduled May 24 adjournment. Many of the measures will soon head to Gov. JB Pritzker, including a bill that changes how damages accrue under Illinois’ first-in-the-nation biometric data privacy law.……
Pritzker pledges to expand access to mental health care in Illinois
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In the middle of Mental Health Awareness Month, Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton hosted a panel in Springfield this week at which he pledged to expand the state’s behavioral health services. With several dozen services providers from around the state in attendance, Pritzker……
With 1 week left in session, Pritzker admin says all revenue options remain on the table
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com While the governor’s office instructed its agency directors to prepare for $800 million in potential budget cuts last week, all facets of his plan to raise $1.1 billion in revenue to avoid those cuts remain under consideration. Read more: ANALYSIS: ‘Significant enough’ opposition to Pritzker’s revenue plan leads to……
Illinois launches summer food assistance program
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The state is launching a new program to provide food assistance during the summer for families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. Gov. JB Pritzker joined other state officials and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday to announce that Illinois will……
Lawmakers consider tax break for news publishers, state-sponsored journalism scholarships
By ALEX ABBEDUTO & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A new measure being debated in the Illinois General Assembly would create a tax credit for certain news publishers based on the number of reporters they employ. The proposal from Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, is part of a package of policies that he……
House gives OK to new state agency focused on early childhood programs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House gave final passage Thursday to a bill establishing a new cabinet-level state agency whose mission will be to provide a kind of one-stop shop for services focusing on early childhood development and education. By the time it’s fully operational in 2026, the new……
As vacated Centralia funeral home prepares for new tenant, owner makes a startling find
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com In the basement of a Centralia funeral home in a dark hallway off the embalming room, tucked inside a nook behind two steel plates and a door, a visitor found three disembodied, neatly wrapped human legs, two of them marked with names and dated to the 1960s. The……
Illinois Supreme Court considers expectation of privacy in hospitals
By DILPREET RAJU & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – While Cortez Turner was in a hospital room being treated for a gunshot wound to his leg in 2016, police took his clothes. Now, the Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether that action violated Turner’s expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. The……
Capitol Briefs: House OKs program for student teacher stipends – but not the funding for it
By PETER HANCOCK & ANDREW CAMPBELL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House approved a bill Tuesday to allow student teachers to receive stipends while earning their education degree, even though the money needed to fund those stipends is unlikely to be included in next year’s budget. House Bill 4652, by Rep. Barbara……