Newman backs Starbucks unionization
Local News
Lopez announces mayoral run
Spread the lovePro-police alderman has been popular locally By Tim Hadac He does not represent Clearing or Garfield Ridge, but Raymond A. Lopez wants to. The 15th Ward alderman and Democratic committeeman last week announced his candidacy for mayor. With a simple tweet (“Chicago, I’m in!”), Lopez on April 6 signaled his candidacy. At a…
College report: Former Riverside-Brookfield star homers in four consecutive at-bats
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Former Riverside-Brookfield baseball standout Ryan Cermak is a leadoff hitter who is belting the ball like a cleanup hitter. The Illinois State University centerfielder hit three straight homers — including grand slams in consecutive at-bats— and broke a school record with 10 RBIs in a 15-7 victory over…
Pro Soccer Report: Fire II gets a point, but still no goals after three games
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The new Chicago Fire II team is winless and scoreless through three games, but coach Ludovic Taillandier knows wins and losses are not the team’s main focus. The Fire II, which tied Rochester 0-0 April 10 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, is a mix of youth and Chicago…
Get well soon, Moose
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com If you grew up in (or anywhere near) Clearing, you’ve heard of the Hill family–or at least Hill Hardware, which was located at 6314 S. Central and was founded by George Hill in 1909. Well, a member of the storied…
Little Leaguers to parade
Spread the love Weeks after tulips and daffodils herald the arrival of spring, the earliest hints of summer start to appear. This year, that means the youthful exuberance of the Opening Day parade of Clear-Ridge Little League, tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, April 23. The route is expected to run from the west parking…
Scouts seek help in feeding the hungry
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac The Scouts from Cub Scout Pack 4439 and Boy Scout Troop 1439 of Two Holy Martyrs Parish are participating in the Pathway to Adventure Council 2022 Scouting for Food Drive on Saturday, April 9 in Clearing and Garfield Ridge. All are asked to help the Scouts feed the hungry by…
Dog park moving closer to reality
Spread the loveQuinn hoping for late 2022 opening at Wentworth By Tim Hadac Hopes that Clearing and Garfield Ridge dogs would have a park of their own in 2022 have faded slightly, but 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn is nonetheless pushing for an opening by year’s end at Wentworth Park. Quinn recently told the Clear-Ridge…
More specialized ed resources, Newman says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A bill that would create a grant program at the U.S. Department of Education to increase partnerships between school districts and colleges to train and certify various Specialized Instruction Support Personnel programs (SISPs) was introduced recently by U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-3rd) and others. The Growing, Recruiting, and Obtaining Workers…
Funds flow again for local projects
Spread the loveWere briefly frozen after Madigan indictment By Tim Hadac Three public works projects affecting the Clearing and Grafield Ridge area appear to be back on track now that Governor JB Pritzker has given the green light to their state funding. Funding had been jeopardized briefly by a request from 10 state representatives (none…
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…