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Local News
College Notebook | Freshman Luke Sefcik is a force for Chippewas
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Luke Sefcik, a Marist graduate who is playing baseball at Central Michigan, was named the Mid-American Conference’s Player of the Week for April 10. The redshirt freshman second baseman hit .625 while helping the Chippewas to a 3-1 record for the week. He collected 10 hits in 16 at-bats, drove in……
Baseball | St. Rita goes 4-1 over five-day stretch of games
By Steve Millar Correspondent Ryder Johnson knows his role in St. Rita’s offense. Hitting in the leadoff spot, the senior outfielder looks to wreak havoc and put pressure on the opposing defense. “With my speed, being at the top, it’s my job to get on base and start rallies,” Johnson said. “I scratch and claw……
Baseball and Softball Wrap | Sandburg trying to find footing as season hits halfway mark
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Sandburg softball team dropped 10 of its first 13 games to open the season, but the Eagles record heading into this week was not indicative of how well they have played at times. Their three wins during that stretch were each by 10 or more runs, beating Lyons, 11-1,……
Pro Sports Report | Dual braces doom Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars and the Chicago Fire II teams were on the losing side of scoring braces on April 22. For the Red Stars, it was double trouble against the OL Reign as Bethany Balcer and Jess Fishlock scored braces in a 5-2 Reign victory in a NWSL matchup……
Time for youthful joy to be on parade
. . By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com I love watching parades, especially ones that highlight our community’s boys and girls. One of the best examples of that is Clear Ridge Little League’s annual Opening Day Parade. This year’s parade is scheduled to step off at 9:30 a.m.……
Baseball | St. Laurence bounces back from trouncing with wins downstate
By Steve Millar Correspondent After the type of disastrous inning St. Laurence does not endure often, let alone at home, the Vikings did not go down without a fight. Lincoln-Way Central stunned the Vikings by scoring 10 runs in the top of the first inning of a non-conference showdown on April 12. St. Laurence answered……
College Notebook | North Central’s Precin finishes an unbeaten champ for 2nd straight season
By Mike Walsh Correspondent As senior seasons go, it’s tough to top the one authored by North Central College wrestler Robert Precin. Precin, an Orland Park resident, won his second consecutive national championship at 133 pounds at the NCAA Division III tournament held on March 10-11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia. He finished……
Elite wrestler Austin O’Connor aspires to be UFC champ
By Mike Walsh Correspondent There are 38 North Carolina wrestlers who stepped on the mat at least once for the Tar Heels this season. Nine competed in at least one match at 149 pounds. Seven battled at 165. At 157, however, there is but one name listed: Austin O’Connor. Competing as a graduate student this……
Crime out of control?
. . Neighbors fed up with ‘chaos’ By Tim Hadac Like many Chicagoans, Southwest Siders may be getting numb to weekly reports (at least during warm weather) of large groups of young people descending on the Loop and Near North Side and destroying property, as well as harassing and even beating tourists and others who……
Neighbors
Senate Democrats send $53.1B spending plan to House
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Two days after the General Assembly was scheduled to adjourn its spring session, Democrats in the Illinois Senate advanced a $53.1 billion budget to the House Sunday night, where leaders expect it to pass without changes. The fiscal year 2025 spending plan, which came together over a stretch……
Prairie Band Potawatomi land deal clears Senate, will head back to House
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is a step closer to acquiring a 1,500-acre state park in DeKalb County, much of which was once part of a reservation that was illegally seized from the tribe in the mid-19 th century. As the Senate worked through its last……
Budget negotiations will extend into next week as House leaves Springfield
By JERRY NOWICKI & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the General Assembly will go at least three more days past their self-imposed adjournment deadline after failing to pass a budget bill Saturday, although the spending and revenue framework were made public for the first time. “The House and Senate are……
Maternal health, abortion protection measures advance as session nears end
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final days of their spring legislative session, Democrats in the General Assembly advanced measures aimed at expanding and protecting aspects of maternal and women’s health care. If signed into law, the measures would expand insurance coverage of pregnancy and postpartum services, maintain abortion as a viable……
Health insurance changes targeting ‘utilization management,’ more will head to governor
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A package of health insurance reform measures that Gov. JB Pritzker called for at the beginning of the legislative session will soon be headed to his desk for his signature. The Illinois House gave final approval Saturday to a pair of bills that limit the ability……
Capitol Briefs: Republicans sue over law banning legislative candidate slating
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com One week after Gov. JB Pritzker signed an elections-related measure that his fellow Democrats quickly muscled through the General Assembly, Republicans sued over the new law, alleging the majority party is blocking ballot access to would-be legislative candidates. The law , passed early this month as the legislature’s……
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: Measure targets ‘legacy’ admission at public universities
By DILPREET RAJU, COLE LONGCOR & ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers missed a self-imposed Friday deadline for passing a budget, but they had approved more than 250 bills this week as of Friday afternoon. Amid the flurry of legislation was a measure prohibiting state universities from admitting students based on familial and……
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……
Capitol Briefs: Measure blocks interstate probes of abortion services
By PETER HANCOCK & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Authorities in Illinois would not be allowed to aid another state’s investigation of people coming to Illinois to seek abortions or other reproductive health care under a bill that cleared the General Assembly Thursday. House Bill 5239, which needs only a signature from……