Joan Hadac
Skating is winter’s silver lining
Local News
Ordering open for triangle bricks
. Ongoing project honors military veterans By Tim Hadac Orders are now being taken for inscribed decorative bricks to honor local military veterans. The bricks will be added to those already installed at the triangle at 55th, Archer and Narragansett. The 4-by-8 inch bricks cost $30 each. For full details, visit bricksrus.com/donorsite/grcc. Sometimes called the……
Must boost railroad safety, García says
. From staff reports With railroad safety still in the headlines, U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th) this month joined 15 other Members of Congress in writing a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg urging the Department to implement stronger rail safety standards, specifically mandating the use and maintenance of wayside detector systems.……
Thousands of jobs for teens this summer
. Mayor launches 2023 One Summer Chicago By Tim Hadac Summer employment and volunteer opportunities for as many as 20,000 young people await, via the 2023 One Summer Chicago initiative launched last week by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The annual effort provides in-person job and life-skills training for city residents ages 14 to 24 from June……
Baseball | St. Laurence looks strong in early going
By Steve Millar Correspondent Luke Stulga is confident St. Laurence has a special team this season, but it’s about more than the talent highlighted by the many Division I recruits on the roster. “I think it’s the chemistry and relationships everyone has combined with the work ethic we have,” said Stulga, a senior outfielder. “Everyone……
Area Sports Roundup | Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team heads back to nationals
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Four for four. The NAIA will host its fourth Men’s Volleyball Championships on April 11, and Saint Xavier kept its record perfect in making it to every national tournament. The Cougars picked up an automatic bid on April 1 with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-22 victory over Judson University in the……
College Notebook | Sandburg grad Jake Ostema earns back-to-back awards
By Mike Walsh Correspondent The month of March has been very good to Olivet Nazarene men’s volleyball player Jake Ostema. The 6-foot-8 senior middle hitter earned consecutive Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the week honors. For the time period ending March 5, Ostema was named the CCAC Defender of the Week. The Sandburg graduate……
Finish line in sight
. With mayoral race close, turnout is everything By Tim Hadac With polls predicting an extremely close mayoral runoff on Tuesday, April 4, both Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson had their campaigns in high gear this week, rolling out final endorsements and exhorting voters to cast ballots. For the first time in his campaign, Johnson……
Frank Schuch, you’re the b-e-s-t
. . By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com So many signs of life as we pull out of this pandemic, like early-blooming daffodils after a long, harsh winter. One of those signs is the return of the annual spelling bee at Byrne Elementary School, after a two-year absence.……
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……