Hoop dreams end for St. Laurence girls
The dreams of basketball playoff glory ended for St. Laurence High School girls late last month, as the Black and Gold were upset at home by a scrappy De La Salle team.
The fifth-seeded Meteors started out cold and trailed 14-2 to the third-seeded Vikings after the first quarter, and were behind 23-15 at halftime. But De La Salle staged a huge comeback and roared back to win 44-38 to claim the program’s fourth IHSA regional title in girls basketball.
A number of the St. Laurence players are Clearing and Garfield Ridge residents.
–Photos courtesy of St. Laurence Sports Media
Local News
Morton College’s Miguel Cantu rakes way into record book
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent It had been a while since a Morton College baseball players claimed the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference MVP Award. It had been even longer since a Panther earned All-American status. The efforts of freshman first baseman Miguel Cantu this season ended both droughts. Cantu parlayed an impressive season into…
Rice grad Payton is Buster Posey Catcher of Year finalist
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent Louisville catcher Jack Payton has been named a finalist for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Payton, an Orland Park resident who prepped at Brother Rice, is one of three finalists along with Kyle Teel of Virginia and Ryan Snell…
Shepard alum Charlie Szykowny runs hot for Flames
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent It’s not that Charlie Szykowny didn’t enjoy his time playing baseball at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After all, he was a First-Team All-American in 2022, as chosen by D3Baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings. Szykowny, a Palos Heights resident and Shepard graduate, set a program season record that year with 18 home…
Area Sports Roundup | Area hoops teams compete in summer showcases
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Five area girls basketball teams participated in a monster girls hoops showcase and showed their skills to college coaches during the NCAA’s live period. The first Windmill City Weekend Live Event took place June 15-17 at Batavia High School. Each team competed in a four-team pool and then…
Area Sports Roundup | Autopsy determines ex-Nazareth football player had heart condition
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Nazareth community was saddened on Feb. 20 when it found out that graduate Ryan Keeler, who was attending and playing football for UNLV, had died in Las Vegas. It was revealed last week that the results of the autopsy performed on Keeler determined the 20-year-old UNLV football…
Pro Sports Report | Fire appear done in Bridgeview in 2023; Messi and Miami coming to Soldier Field in October
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Things will not get Messi in Bridgeview. And it’s likely that June 6 will be the last time SeatGeek Stadium in the village hosts the Chicago Fire soccer game in 2023. With the news that soccer legend Lionel Messi was going to sign with MLS team Inter Miami,…
Baseball Class 4A State Championship | Brother Rice falls to Edwardsville, takes 2nd for best finish since 1981
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Cole Van Assen helped take Brother Rice to a place it hasn’t been to since 1981. A state championship game. The Crusaders lost, 6-4, to Edwardsville in the IHSA Class 4A state final on June 10 at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet, but it was Van…
Neighbors
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…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Another caregiver at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna is facing charges for abusing a patient. A grand jury indicted Joseph A. Clark, 24, of Grand Chain, on a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of battery. Clark pinned a Choate resident to…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…
Pritzker signs bill creating new Department of Early Childhood
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday creating a new cabinet-level state agency dedicated to early childhood education and development. The new Department of Early Childhood, which will become operational in July 2026, will take over programs currently housed across three state agencies, including funding for preschool…
Speaker Welch rebuffs lawsuit from would-be staff union as ‘forum shopping’
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch is urging a Cook County judge to dismiss a lawsuit members of his staff filed against him last month seeking to force recognition of their union. In a new filing Monday, attorneys for Welch argued the Illinois Legislative Staff Association has no…
Advocates say SCOTUS ruling paves way for law ensuring abusers have guns confiscated
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com After the U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld a federal law that bars those under domestic violence-related restraining orders from owning guns, victim advocates say Illinois lawmakers should pass a measure to ensure firearms are actually confiscated in those situations. The legislation has been stalled for more than…
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…