Former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan speaks with a Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound reporter on an unrelated topic in a 2019 interview. --File photo
Feds bust Madigan
Local News
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars lose star defender Davidson for season
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The Chicago Red Stars biggest loss of the exhibition season didn’t come during a game. It came during training. Defender Tierna Davidson will miss the season after tearing an ACL while practicing for the team’s second Challenge Cup game. Davidson is also a U.S. Women’s National Team member and will……
Area Sports Roundup: Lions grow together while winning Argo Invitational
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer A few last-minute changes in the schedule forced Lyons to head into the Argo Invitational with just two matches under its belt this season. While some of the other teams in the tournament had played more matches, the Lions adapted and won the 12-team tournament with a 5-0 record, including……
Biz leaders launch effort to serve seniors
Focus is on safety By Tim Hadac Several leading businesses serving the Southwest Side have forged a partnership to serve the community’s elderly residents. All Exterior Contractors, Mike Riordan State Farm Agency and First Rate Realty—all members of the Garfield Ridge Chamber of Commerce—are teaming up to offer safety inspections of seniors’ homes, all at no charge. Starting April……
Hale hails police as ‘Hawk heroes’
Honored by school for quick actions last year By Cosmo Hadac A handful of Chicago Police officers were hailed as Hawk Heroes by administrators, teachers and students at Hale School last week. The honor was bestowed at a sometimes loud, joyful assembly at the Clearing school, in recognition of officers’ swift action to keep the……
Byrne Bengals roar to Hale Park crown
The Byrne School eighth grade volleyball team has once again won a championship in the league at Hale Park. In the regular season which concluded earlier this month, the Bengals went 9-0. Then in the playoffs, they first defeated St. Symphorosa; and in the championship match, they knocked off St. Richard in straight sets, 21-7,……
Going out like a lion or lamb?
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com As I write this (March 23), the weather forecast I’m looking at for Marfch 31 calls for a high of 48 degrees with a 30% chance of rain. Does that mean March is going out like a lion or a lamb? I……
Top wrestler headed to college
Garfield Ridge resident Dorian Vaughns, a champion-caliber wrestler and senior at Kennedy High School, recently signed a letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Central College in Pella, Iowa, where he will don the red and white and compete for the Dutch, an NCAA powerhouse in wrestling. In a social media……
Newman notes fed funds for the CTA
From staff reports U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-3rd) recently said she has helped secure a $912.1 million award of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). The new grant funding from the American Rescue Plan will help the CTA keep workers on the payroll as communities across the region continue to……
Invite girls to Red Stars soccer camps
By Tim Hadac Southwest Side girls are invited to take part in a series of camps and clinics offered by the Chicago Red Stars. The Chicago Red Stars Elite Soccer Academy provides an immersive experience for young female athletes. The program focuses on a full-day structure, much like collegiate and professional players, with an emphasis……
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……