A family of readers
Members of the Pindozzo family are all smiles after the successful conclusion of the seven-week Summer Learning Challenge at the Garfield Ridge Branch Library. The City of Stories initiative challenged both adults and children to read and participate in storytelling activities. Some 325 children participated from the Garfield Ridge Branch. Citywide, thousands participated. – Supplied photo
Local News
Area Sports Roundup: Marist and R-B alums caught up in the draft
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Marist and Riverside-Brookfield baseball fans were likely beaming with pride during this year’s Major League Baseball draft, which concluded July 19. Both schools had a pair of ex-players drafted. A look at who went where for the RedHawks and Bulldogs: — R-B’s Owen Murphy, who wrapped up his…
Rest easy, Nathan
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com I am heartbroken as I write to you today. It’s only been two days since my family lost our dog, a lovable mutt (a rat terrier mix, we were told when we adopted him from a shelter) named Nathan. He…
‘Me? A school bus driver?’
Spread the loveYes you, First Student says By Tim Hadac In a world where “Help Wanted” signs now outnumber “Wear a Mask” signs by about a thousand to one (or so it seems), employers across the board are scrambling to compete for prospective employees like never before. Having a leg up on the competition are…
City giving away bicycles
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A new program that will provide 5,000 free bikes, as well as maintenance and safety equipment, to Chicagoans by 2026, began earlier this week. Called Bike Chicago, the effort will see at least 500 bikes distributed to age and income-eligible Chicagoans throughout the program’s first year. Over the next four years,…
Prayers in the park, for peace
Spread the love A handful of Clearing and Garfield Ridge residents gathered last week at Hale Park to pray for peace, the well-being of police officers and an end to violence in the city. Organized by Clearing resident Jennifer New, the circle included several local faith leaders, as well as 23rd Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares.…
Veterans and families enjoy a banner day on Orland Park
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva When former Stagg teacher Diane Gurnea looks up and sees the banner displayed on Ravinia Avenue and 143rd Street in Orland Park, she can’t help but to be proud. Her father, John Langevin, and uncle, Robert Langevin, share a banner that was recently erected. The Village of Orland Park held…
It doesn’t have to be this way
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Today I begin on a note of profound sadness. One of our own, a Garfield Ridge police officer, took her own life recently. I normally don’t name suicide victims, but CPD Officer Patricia “Patsy” Swank left a young son behind,…
Patriot’s Day Parade a success
Spread the love Red, white and blue were the colors of the day, as several thousand men, women and children lined Archer Avenue late last month to enjoy the Garfield Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Patriot’s Day Parade. The GRCC’s next large public event is its Back to School Extravaganza, set for August. Details are…
Neighbors
Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan
By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on Friday – at least for now –…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
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…
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…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
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…
Judge blocks law that would have banned newly slated candidates from ballot
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A Sangamon County judge on Wednesday blocked the Illinois State Board of Elections from enforcing a new law that would have prevented certain General Assembly candidates who didn’t run in the March primary from getting on the November ballot. The move doesn’t void the bill in its entirety,…
“No Schoolers”: How Illinois’ hands-off approach to homeschooling leaves children at risk
By BETH HUNDSDORFER & MOLLY PARKER CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS investigations@capitolnewsillinois.com This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. It was on L.J.’s 11th birthday, in December 2022, that child welfare workers finally took him away. They arrived at his central Illinois home to investigate an abuse allegation and decided…
Brushing off concerns of overspending, Pritzker signs $53.1 billion state budget
By ANDREW ADAMS JERRY NOWICKI & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed the state’s $53.1 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, the largest in state history. The signing caps months of work – and tension – among top Democratic leaders in Springfield and within the…
Stalled bills: ‘Dignity in Pay Act,’ Prisoner Review Board changes fail to move
By ALEX ABBEDUTO, COLE LONGCOR & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com A bill eliminating the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities failed to pass the General Assembly ahead of its May adjournment, although sponsors say they hope to pass it when lawmakers return in the fall. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938…