Palos Heights native and Sandburg graduate Kendall Coyne Schofield.
Kendall Coyne Dream Big Park grand opening set for Oct. 17
Palos Heights and the Schofield Family Foundation will host a grand opening next week for the Kendall Coyne Dream Big Park.
Ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Monday, October 17, at 8140 Misty Meadows Drive.
The grand opening celebration includes a ceremonial ribbon cutting event with Palos Heights Mayor Bob Straz, Olympic Hockey gold-medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield, NFL Super Bowl Champion and current Chicago Bear Michael Schofield and additional honored guests.
The Kendall Coyne Dream Big Park has been designed for children of all abilities and their families. With a strong focus on inclusivity, the park features sensory pieces of equipment, a smooth rubber floor and a variety of other playground elements that welcomes all children.
The development of the park and the playground was partially funded through the generous contribution from the Schofield Family Foundation.
The grand opening is supported by the City of Palos Heights, Adidas, CCM Hockey, Chipotle, Harper Collins Publishing, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bears.
At the park opening, the Bears will stage a Mini Monsters Youth Clinic, which stresses the importance of healthy eating, physical activity and proper hydration through non-contact football drills. The Chicago Blackhawks will also stage an inflatable hockey rink for use during the event.
Kendall is a native of Palos Heights. She attended Palos West, Palos South, and Carl Sandburg High School and grew up in the same neighborhood as the park.
Kendall is a longtime member of the United States women’s national hockey team and the current team captain. Over the span of her 14 years with USA Hockey, she has captured 24 medals in international competition. She has competed in three Winter Olympic Games, winning a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and silver medals at the 2014 and 2022 Winter Olympics.
Her first book, “As Fast As Her: Dream Big, Break Barriers, Achieve Success” was released earlier this year and reached No. 1 on the Amazon charts in several categories.
Michael Schofield is a native of Orland Park. He also attended Sandburg High School and went on to play at the University of Michigan. Currently, he is an offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears. Now in his ninth NFL season, he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2014 and was part of the Broncos’ 2016 Super Bowl championship. He also played with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Carolina Panthers.
Local News
Mayor ‘out of control,’ hero says
Spread the lovePolice ranks ‘thousands’ short, dispatcher tells Scottsdale By Tim Hadac It’s not every day that a City worker has the courage to attend a public meeting and call a mayor “out of control.” But Keith A. Thornton Jr. did exactly that earlier this week on the Southwest Side. A 911 dispatcher hailed as…
Rockie is the new kid on the block
Spread the love While some folks see heavy snowfall and curse the skies, children across the Southwest Side seemed thrilled with last week’s winter windfall. Schools cancelled classes, and kids like 9-year-old Rosie Arroyo showed her creativity by working with her father, Raul, to build a snowman in front of their home near 49th and…
Brother Robert May, St. Laurence Hall of Famer
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Brother Robert Liguori May, C.F.C. was an Edmund Rice Christian Brother for 70 years, but he was best known for his 26 years of service at St. Laurence High School. Brother May died Jan. 30 at age 87. He was an active member of the St. Laurence community from 1978…
Kaegi, legislators, advocates unveil affordable housing initiative
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi was joined by state legislators and affordable housing advocates earlier this week to launch the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program, a new form of property tax relief recently signed into law. Kaegi worked with legislative partners who passed the law last spring, including State Sens.…
Lopez nixes dibs
Spread the love While calling dibs on parking spaces in the winter is an informal tradition in the city, 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez recently reminded his constituents in Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, Gage Park and West Englewood that no one may call dibs indefinitely. He instructed his Streets and Sanitation ward superintendent…
St. Dan’s Summerfest to return
Spread the lovePopular event was gone for several years By Tim Hadac Details are just starting to emerge, but it looks like St. Daniel the Prophet Parish’s Summerfest will return in 2022, after an absence of several years. The family-focused event is set for Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19 on parish grounds at…
Skating is winter’s silver lining
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. As I write this, snowmageddon is raging outside. I’m not sure how many inches we have as of yet, or how many we will end up with; but I hope by the time you read this, we are…
Property tax bills due soon, Pappas says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recently mailed nearly 1.8 million Tax Year 2021 First Installment property tax bills. Payments are due March 1, 2022. The First Installment is 55% of the previous year’s total tax. Exemptions that can reduce a property owner’s taxes are applied to the Second Installment bill.…
Marchers welcome in St. Patrick’s Day parade
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Southwest Side organizations are welcome to march in the community’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, set for Saturday, March 12. It is anticipated that local schools, churches, Scout troops, youth athletic associations and others will have units in the parade. Units will have to register in advance with parade organizers.…
Neighbors
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…
Thousands of youths at risk of losing access to after-school programs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for community-based after-school programs say as many as 40,000 youths statewide could lose access to tutoring services, recreation and other extracurricular activities this summer unless Illinois lawmakers approve an infusion of funds to keep them going. “The time is now for legislators to act to…
Lawsuit alleges sexual abuse was rampant in state-run juvenile detention centers
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Rampant sexual abuse occurred unchecked for decades at Illinois’ juvenile detention centers, a new lawsuit filed on behalf of 95 former detainees alleges, citing hundreds of incidents over more than two decades. The plaintiffs were boys between 12 and 17 years old when the alleged abuse occurred and…
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…
Remembering Lee Milner
NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…
Former state trooper who caused fatal crash halts effort to get driving privileges restored
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of two sisters in 2007 has abandoned his efforts to have a hearing into the restoration of his driving privileges – for now. Matt Mitchell, 45, requested at least two delays in the hearing after he failed…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…