Joan Hadac
They had my back when I was stuck
By Joan Hadac
Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge
(708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com
We’ve dug out from snowmagedon, and I want to personally thank the three people on 61st Street who came to my rescue when I got stuck in the snow.
I was nervous and I was making all the mistakes a driver could make. I finally stepped out of my minivan to call out to a woman shoveling snow. She came over with her shovel and dug me out.
A gentleman who had been driving away, backed up his car, parked and came over. He got behind the wheel of my vehicle to slowly back me out of the drift.
Another driver pulled over, pulled out his car mats and put them under my front wheels. I stood and watched them perform a miracle and get me back on the unplowed street in the tracks earlier drivers had made.
They gave me great advice, including keeping a shovel in my car and rock my car, don’t floor the gas to become unstuck. I’m sorry I didn’t get your names—I was flustered–but my thanks is heartfelt. This is another reason why I love living in this community: neighbors who care about and take care of each other.
Holiday fun
If you celebrated Valentine’s Day, I hope you had a wonderful holiday. It’s nice to be remembered by your sweetheart, even if it’s just with a great big hug from the heart. Yes, it’s wonderful to be remembered with candy and flowers, but it’s the love that counts.
There’s a holiday coming up in March that I’m especially excited about. I’m talking about St. Patrick’s Day. What I’m even more excited about is the parade being held the Saturday before, Chicago’s Working Families Archer Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade stepping off at noon Saturday, March 12 at Archer and Oak Park. The route will take parade participants east to Narragansett.
Parade organizers have named the late CPD Officer Ella French as Honorary Grand Marshall. Proceeds will benefit Get Behind the Vest, a Chicago Police Memorial Foundation effort to provide protective vests to police officers. If you want participation or sponsorship information, email ArcherParade@gmail.com before Friday, Feb. 25.
So wear your green and come join your neighbors to celebrate. Hopefully, spring will have sprung and it will be a beautiful day. Personally, I can’t wait to see all the smiles, especially on the kids’ faces.
Odds ‘n ends
Catholic parish downsizing, consolidation and renaming are not new to Clearing and Garfield Ridge. We’ve seen St. Camillus and St. Jane de Chantal become St. Faustina Kowlaska. We’ve seen St. Symphorosa ad St. Rene Goupil become Two Holy Martyrs. The latest is St. Joseph and St. Blase becoming Blessed Martyrs of Chimbote Parish.
I mention this because St. Joe’s has always included the westernmost section of Garfield Ridge. If you live in Garfield Ridge and are a member of St. Joseph, you can visit stblase.org to learn more about the new parish.
There are Masses at both St. Joseph and St. Blase churches. The parish office number is (708) 458-0007 and office staff can be reached from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The Clearing Night Force reminds us that the Chicago Police Chaplains Ministry fundraiser with Portillo’s is set for 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, Wednesday, Feb. 16. You need a flyer and may use your smartphone. There are a few locations honoring the flyer, but locally you can visit the Portillo’s at 56th and Harlem. When you do, 20 percent of the proceeds will be directed to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. Have a delicious meal from Portillo’s and help protect our police. Sounds like a good deal to me.
I hope everyone has a great week. Take care of yourselves. See you next week.
Local News
Brother Rice’s 11-game win streak ends with loss to Leo
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer In seemingly a blink of an eye, Brother Rice picked up as many losses as it had all season. The Crusaders headed into last weekend’s action with a 21-2 record and was 10-0 in the Chicago Catholic League Blue. But Friday night, they suffered a 56-50 setback to…
Area Sports Roundup: Six area girls bowling teams headed to sectionals
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Six area girls bowling teams are headed to sectionals. Reavis and Stagg won IHSA regional titles last Saturday, and four other teams have advanced to this weekend’s action. Reavis won its own regional at Palos Lanes in Palos Hills with a 5,378 in six games, well ahead of…
Marist cheerleaders takes 2nd in state
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer After Marist’s cheerleaders watched a video of their state finals performance on Feb. 5, there were some long faces and tears as the girls filed out of the video room and into the cooling-off room. After a long meeting, there were more long faces. “I’ve had better days,”…
Archer Avenue may go green
Spread the loveSt. Patrick’s Day parade planned By Tim Hadac Organizers of Garfield Ridge’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade are hoping the Lightfoot Administration will give a green thumbs-up to the small but festive celebration of all things Irish. For each of the last two years, City Hall withdrew its support and denied permits based…
Let us grow, let us grow, let us grow
Spread the love The weather outside may be frightful, but the learning at St. Sym’s is delightful, is the message implied in a bulletin board designed by third grader Olivia Hernandez. School officials said Olivia was given the opportunity to design the bulletin board as a reward for the kindness she shows at school. Catholic…
Cold weather, warm hearts
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. Welcome to February, the shortest month of the year, jam-packed with holidays like Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday–which are usually bundled together into Presidents Day–Groundhog Day, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday and Super Bowl Sunday. (Some of us just check…
‘Once in a lifetime’ funding coming
Spread the loveGov’t. invites biz owners, non-profits to apply From staff reports Local business owners and community-based non-profit leaders are invited to attend an online meeting designed to raise awareness of the American Rescue Plan Act and other economic recovery funding opportunities, and better understand what they need to do to be eligible for these opportunities. Dubbed…
Crime fighters will meet
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Residents of Police Beat 812 (Clearing, west of Central Avenue) are invited to attend their next CAPS meeting, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9. The meeting will be held via Zoom in a webinar format. To obtain instructions and passcodes, call the Chicago Lawn (8th) District CAPS Office at…
Neighbors
Potawatomi land transfer advances in Illinois House
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would help the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation expand their newly established reservation in DeKalb County advanced out of a state House committee Tuesday, despite concerns about the tribe’s long-term plans for the property. House Bill 4718 would authorize the state to hand over…
Illinois could be 19th state to phase out subminimum wage for disabled workers
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com After years of negotiations and continued opposition from service providers, Illinois appears poised to prohibit employers from using a federal exemption that allows them to pay individuals with disabilities less than the minimum wage. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established minimum wage law, but created…
Once again working through the night, lawmakers finalize $53.1 billion budget
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com After a near-derailment and an all-nighter to wrap up the General Assembly’s spring session, supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House gave final legislative approval to the state budget as the sun rose Wednesday morning. Despite holding 78 seats in the chamber, it took Democrats three tries to reach…
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…
Regulators slash Chicago gas utility’s rate request, setting up likely legal battle
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday once again reduced a request to increase customer rates from Chicago natural gas utility Peoples Gas. In November, the ICC paused all spending related to Peoples Gas’ controversial “safety modernization program” for replacing aging infrastructure and reduced its $404 million…
Ban on ‘captive audience’ meetings, AI regulations among 466 bills to pass this session
By ALEX ABBEDUTO, COLE LONGCOR, & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com A bill banning what unions refer to as employer-sponsored “captive audience” meetings about religion and politics has cleared both chambers of the General Assembly. It was one of 466 measures to do so during the Illinois legislature’s recently concluded spring session, including measures…
Would-be union of legislative staffers accuse Welch of undermining organizing effort
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Seven months after Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch advanced a measure that would allow legislative staff to unionize, members of his own staff on Tuesday blasted the speaker for allowing the bill to languish. The legislation has not seen any action since its passage…
Lawmakers OK bill to require ‘faithful’ electors in 2024, loosen campaign finance rules
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Illinois appears likely to join most of the rest of the country in requiring that the state’s Electoral College votes go to the winner of the state’s popular election. The measure is part of a broad package of election-related legislation…
Once again working through the night, lawmakers finalize $53.1 billion budget
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com After a near-derailment and an all-nighter to wrap up the General Assembly’s spring session, supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House gave final legislative approval to the state budget as the sun rose Wednesday morning. Despite holding 78 seats in the chamber, it took Democrats three tries to reach…
A security camera caught an employee beating a patient. It took 11 days for anyone to take action.
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. Cameras in the common areas of Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center were supposed to make the troubled southern Illinois facility safer for the approximately 200 people with developmental disabilities who live there. But…