Mary Stanek
Lesson learned about importance of shredding
By Mary Stanek
Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon
3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394
Happy Arbor Day! We celebrate on the 29th of April and hopefully plant trees.
I mentioned previously that there will be a paper shred event on June 4 at Byrne Elementary School in Garfield Ridge, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. I must stress again the importance of discarding important papers based on firsthand experience.
On the weekend of April 15, as my husband and I were busily preparing our taxes, we generated a lot of paperwork with confidential information. We did shred the papers in our strip-cut shredder and discarded them in our recycling bin.
Mary Stanek
The next morning our bin was missing. Yes, it appeared someone had stolen our blue can. We walked up and down the alley and everyone’s blue cart was in place.
So, our worst fears came to mind. Someone with nothing to do is piecing our information together. Or what if we were careless and left some unshredded? Robert immediately bought a cross-cut shredder for future use, but that is like closing the barn door once the horse is out. I took the proactive approach and signed up to Life Lock and notified all three of the credit-check companies of our situation.
Identity theft can be devastating, so please make use of these shredding events. Next time I throw out sensitive material, I just might top it off with some of my used kitty litter to deter the would-be thieves! Thank you, to 23rd Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares’ office for providing us with a new blue recycle cart almost immediately.
Last week I suggested maybe filling a bird feeder to celebrate Earth Day. I will now redact that comment. A highly virulent strain of avian flu has led to mass bird deaths in areas, including Cook County. Illinois residents are being asked to avoid feeding birds in feeders through the end of May. This influenza impacts wild and domestic birds in our state.
Visit the Archer Heights Branch Library from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 4. Lions Club International will be distributing certificates for free glasses and eye exams. There are certain eligibility requirements such as being uninsured with a Social Security number and a one-person income at $25,760 or below ($9,080 for each additional family member). You couldn’t have used the program within the last 12 months.
Three birthdays are coming up in the next week. Birthday greetings go out to Cynthia Aranda, Fabiola Mejia-Motalto and Sandra Ramirez.
Local News
Upset Specials: De La Salle girls crowned regional champs; Meteors boys shock Marian Catholic
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It was quite a 24-hours for De La Salle’s basketball teams. And it started out wrong. So wrong. On a snowy night when some area games were canceled because of a winter storm, the Meteors’ girls squad made the trek to Burbank to take on host St. Laurence…
Area Sports Roundup: Lyons and Sandburg lead contingent of area swimmers headed to state
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Lyons, which won state titles in boys swimming in 2016 and 2017 and took second in 2018, is bringing a huge contingent of athletes to the IHSA state meet this weekend. Lyons is sending three relay teams and individual qualifiers in four events to the event, which will…
Four Mount Carmel wrestlers win titles; Sandburg’s Zimmer, Shepard’s Reed settle for 2nd
Spread the loveBy Steve Millar Correspondent CHAMPAIGN — Heavyweight wrestling matches are often slow, defensive battles, but Mount Carmel senior Ryan Boersma decided early this season he did not want to compete that way anymore. “When I was young, a freshman and sophomore, I survived off defense,” Boersma said. “That doesn’t work in college so…
Love your dogs, protect your dogs
Spread the loveBy Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. –Josh Billings Let us love them back as well. Belonging to community groups on Facebook, I see so many…
Del Galdo named Super Lawyer for 12th straight year
Spread the loveLauded by suburban mayors for skills From staff reports A national legal magazine is out with its 2022 list of best Illinois lawyers and tapped eight Chicago-area attorneys as the state’s “super” local government lawyers–including Berwyn-based attorney Michael Del Galdo, a recognition that drew praise from several suburban Cook County mayors. “Super Lawyers” magazine,…
Mt. Carmel tops Rice in big Blue battle
Spread the loveBy Steve Millar Correspondent On a night when Mount Carmel honored one of its all-time best point guards — retiring the jersey of former Caravan and Illinois star Tracy Abrams at halftime — two of the Chicago Catholic League’s current top point guards staged an epic duel. Brother Rice junior Ahmed Henderson scored…
Girl wrestlers make history as first IHSA state qualifiers
Spread the loveBy Steve Millar Correspondent For Morton senior Karla Topete, Feb. 12 was a special day for a greater reason than just her winning a sectional wrestling championship. Topete and her teammates competed at the Andrew Sectional, one of four sectionals that marked the start of the IHSA’s first individual girls wrestling state series.…
High School Hockey: St. Rita drops two of three to Carmel, bows out of Kennedy Cup
Spread the loveBy Steve Millar Correspondent St. Rita came out angry for Game 2 of its Kennedy Cup playoff quarterfinal series with Carmel. Two days earlier, the fifth-seeded Mustangs were run off the ice by the fourth-seeded Corsairs in a 5-0 loss in which they gave up three first-period goals and were never really in…
College Report: Former Stagg standout Kazanecki gives hoops one more year
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer The idea was for Tom Kazanecki to finish his basketball career at St. Ambrose in 2021. The former Stagg hoops standout was even toying with the idea of starting a military career, even though he had an extra year of athletics eligibility remaining, thanks to seasons getting snipped…
Area Sports Roundup: Marist leads way with 11 wrestlers heading to state
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer An army of area wrestlers is headed to the state tournament, with 49 set to hit the mat in Champaign. During sectional action on Feb. 12, area wrestlers feasted on opponents. Marist will send 11 to the tournament, which begins Thursday at State Farm Center on the University…
Neighbors
As Medicaid redeterminations restart, about 73% of state’s recipients remain enrolled
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com About 73 percent of Illinois’ Medicaid recipients remain on the rolls after the first redetermination cycle following the COVID-19 pandemic, while approximately 660,000 recipients have been disenrolled. Speaking at a news conference in Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker celebrated the fact that 2.6 million Illinoisans remained on the rolls…
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…
For Many Illinoisans in Flood-Prone Areas, Buyouts Are the Only Way Out
By Laura Stewart, Illinois Answers Project April 23, 2024 DIETERICH, Ill. – Every day, Berdeena Leturno checks her email for an update on when the state of Illinois will finally pay her $80,000. It’s been over two months since she signed the paperwork to sell her flood-damaged home as part of a buyout program, and…
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Stateville may close as early as September under Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Stateville Correctional Center could close as early as September under a plan laid out by Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Friday. Top officials with the Illinois Department of Corrections testified in front of a key panel of state lawmakers. The 12 members on the General Assembly’s…
Labor-backed bill banning ‘captive audience’ meetings awaits House action
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With two weeks left before the General Assembly’s spring session is set to adjourn, negotiations continue on a labor union-backed initiative that would allow Illinoisans to skip religious and political work meetings without reprimand. Dubbed the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act,” Senate Bill 3649 advanced out…
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…
ANALYSIS: ‘Significant enough’ opposition to Pritzker’s revenue plan leads to call for cuts
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com When Gov. JB Pritzker proposed his budget for the upcoming fiscal year in February, he sought authority from lawmakers to raise more than $1 billion in revenue through various changes to the state tax code. Among other things, he sought to raise $526 million through extending an expiring…
State officials offer last goodbye to former Thompson Center as renovations begin
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State officials kicked off the private renovation of the building which once served as the state government’s Chicago headquarters. The James R. Thompson Center, as it was known under state ownership, was sold in 2022 to a development firm that is renovating the building for its…
Public officials seek greater oversight of prescription drug middlemen
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com As state lawmakers hold hearings targeting the role of pharmacy benefit managers – an influential arm in how the health insurance industry prices prescription drugs – multiple state agencies are considering how to better regulate the industry. Often referred to as pharmaceutical “middlemen,” PBMs act as third-party intermediaries…