Karen Sala
So long, and see you around
By Karen Sala
Your correspondent in Gage Park
(773) 471-1429 • karen.sala@hotmail.com
Baby, it’s cold outside. It’s almost the end of January. I am so ready. I can’t wait for spring to get here. The only good thing about winter is when it’s over. However, I do like cooking and baking in the winter.
The ice in my alley has finally melted, and it’s back to cement–just in time to snow again. This ice was weird. It wasn’t lumpy and didn’t have ruts and ridges. It was like someone turned the hose on to make a skating rink. I’m glad it’s gone.
I’m really proud of myself because I have not done any online shopping this year. I go to work and come home. I don’t even know the last time I was in a store. Let’s see how long I can keep it up.
Karen Sala
The next holiday we can look forward to is Valentine’s Day on Monday, Feb. 14. I have been told that Easter merchandise is already on the shelves in some stores. I know time stands still for no man, but why do we have to go and rush everything?
I have decided this will be my last column in the Greater Southwest News-Herald. I have enjoyed keeping you posted on what was happening in the neighborhood. I hope you liked reading my column as much as I liked writing it.
I’m not exactly sure how long, but I have been writing it for many years. It was fun, but I don’t enjoy it like I used to. That means it’s time for a change. We need some new blood, someone else to take over. I met a lot of nice people, some of you in person and some through letters, cards and phone calls. I’ll never forget you.
Hopefully this pandemic is on its way out and we can get back to a normal life. Until then, please get vaccinated, wear your mask and try to stay healthy. I’ll see you around the neighborhood!
(Editor’s note: Thank you, Karen Sala, for your years of service to this newspaper, as well as the entire Gage Park community.)
Local News
Police Reports
Spread the loveCrime reports courtesy of swchicagopost.com. Police report information is provided by law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken, and people charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Man shot in Brighton Park A 50-year-old man was…
Sinai names new CEO
Spread the loveEzike will begin in June By Tim Hadac A physician who helped lead the state through the worst pandemic in a century has accepted the top job at Sinai Chicago, parent company of Holy Cross Hospital and affiliated clinics on the Southwest Side. Dr. Ngozi Ezike will begin her duties as president and…
Authentico workers protest
Spread the love Workers from Authentico Foods protest outside the company’s plant near 46th and Tripp late last week to protest what they called unfair firings by the company. Employees cited what they said are multiple workplace problems, including abusive managers, low pay, and insufficient breaks under Illinois law, the One Day Rest in Seven…
Treasure trove of historic photos posted by White
Spread the loveMore than 21,000 images available free of charge By Tim Hadac More than 21,000 historic photographs from the Eddie Winfred “Doc” Helm Photo Collection have been put online by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, in his de jure role as State Librarian and State Archivist. The photos are from the 1940s to…
Lightfoot plans to ease debt for drivers in poverty
Spread the loveNew debts eased, old debts erased From staff reports A plan to aid motorists in debt was unveiled last week by Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. The mayor said her Clear Path Relief Pilot program and the Fix-It Defense for compliance tickets “pave a viable roadway to economic stability for residents with outstanding fines…
Old friends gather to review 65th Street successes
Spread the loveBy Dermot Connolly Bedford Park Mayor David Brady discussed the development along the 65th Street corridor and the planned railroad underpass at Harlem Avenue at a recent United Business Association of Midway meeting About 30 members of the business organization attended the April 13 lunch meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel on Cicero Avenue,…
Newman votes to aid small businesses
Spread the loveFrom staff reports U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-3rd) recently voted to secure relief for small businesses across Illinois. The Relief for Restaurants & Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act will deliver a total of $55 billion to replenish funding for restaurants across the nation. “As a former small business owner, I know that…
College Report: Area grads earn All-American honors, then win national title
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer National champions and All-Americans. Chicago Christian grad Zach Bulthuis, Marist alum Gene McNulty and former Lyons’ star Matt Slivinski were last week named All-American first-teamers by the National Volleyball Association/American Volleyball Coaches Association. Then they proved they were deserving of the honor, helping Carthage College win an NCAA…
Baseball: Resilient Spartans rally late, force tie v. Mount Carmel
Spread the loveBy Steve Millar Correspondent Oak Lawn has built the confidence to know it can rally from a big deficit. “Usually in those types of innings, when we’re down, it just takes one man to get on base and then we all rally off each other,” senior second baseman Steven Hebel said after the…
Pro Soccer Report: New-look Red Stars ready to open season
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer No Rory Dames. No Julie Ertz. No Sarah Gorden. No Katie Johnson. A lot of familiar faces will be missing when the 2022 Chicago Red Stars’ open the NWSL season on Saturday against Louisville, with the match scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.…
Neighbors
Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan
By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on Friday – at least for now –…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Members of a would-be union representing staffers in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office filed suit against their boss on Friday, asking a Cook County judge to force recognition of the union. The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, which formed in the fall of 2022, claims Welch’s…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Jimmy Soto spent more than 42 years wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. In 2020, he was moved to the “F-House” at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a condemned unit, not because he was being punished, but because it was where the facility was housing individuals…
Judge blocks law that would have banned newly slated candidates from ballot
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A Sangamon County judge on Wednesday blocked the Illinois State Board of Elections from enforcing a new law that would have prevented certain General Assembly candidates who didn’t run in the March primary from getting on the November ballot. The move doesn’t void the bill in its entirety,…
“No Schoolers”: How Illinois’ hands-off approach to homeschooling leaves children at risk
By BETH HUNDSDORFER & MOLLY PARKER CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS investigations@capitolnewsillinois.com This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. It was on L.J.’s 11th birthday, in December 2022, that child welfare workers finally took him away. They arrived at his central Illinois home to investigate an abuse allegation and decided…
Brushing off concerns of overspending, Pritzker signs $53.1 billion state budget
By ANDREW ADAMS JERRY NOWICKI & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed the state’s $53.1 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, the largest in state history. The signing caps months of work – and tension – among top Democratic leaders in Springfield and within the…
Stalled bills: ‘Dignity in Pay Act,’ Prisoner Review Board changes fail to move
By ALEX ABBEDUTO, COLE LONGCOR & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com A bill eliminating the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities failed to pass the General Assembly ahead of its May adjournment, although sponsors say they hope to pass it when lawmakers return in the fall. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938…