Knights of Columbus do a sweet deed
Members of the Knights of Columbus from Two Holy Martyrs Parish recently hit the streets of Clearing to raise funds to aid people with intellectual disabilities–giving Tootsie Rolls to all who donated. Pausing for a photo are Art Smith, Linda McCullough, Sara Eminhizer, Jennifer Kolasa and Mike Smolek – Supplied photo
Local News
Health officials link Legionnaires disease to Burbank church
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong St. Albert the Great Church held masses as usual last Sunday just days after state and Stickney Township health officials said bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease was detected in the Burbank church’s cooling tower. A cluster of cases of the disease reported to health officials put the onset dates of…
Move over, 3 Rs
Spread the loveSt. Sym’s new STEM lab adds 4 Cs By Cosmo Hadac Officials at St. Symphorosa School last week cut the ribbon to open their new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) studio, which they said will help give students the tools they need to succeed in the digital age. “In my mind we needed…
Your chance to thank a police officer
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com You may recall Clearing native Robert Swiderski’s inspiring, two-day, 80-mile run across the city in June 2021—running to all Chicago Police Department district stations to help prevent suicide among law enforcement officers. This year, the avid runner plans to start…
Crusaders raise funds on Archer
Spread the love Still basking in the afterglow of their season-opening 27-14 triumph over Roosevelt, members of the Kennedy High School football team stand at Archer and Normandy and encourage motorists to eat at McDonald’s last week. The restaurant donated a portion of sales over a three-hour period to the team. Between sales revenue and…
Pigskin Wrap: St. Rita trips up Rice
Spread the loveMt. Carmel, Argo, Evergreen Park and Lyons improve to 2-0 By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Longtime rivals St. Rita and Brother Rice had not played each other since the Chicago Catholic League merged with the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Brother Rice is in the league’s Blue Division while St. Rita is in the…
‘Jobs, jobs, jobs’ in gear-making
Spread the loveDaley College cuts ribbon on machining center By Steve Metsch Glancing around the new American Gear Manufacturers Association National Center in partnership with Daley College, Michael McKernin said “if I could hire six guys right now, I’d hire them.” Such is the need for well-trained people in the machining and manufacturing industry, he…
A good woman in ‘the storm of her life’
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com If you attended Kennedy High School in the early 1980s (especially if you were class of ’85), you may recall Christina Sarelli as a classmate from the Crusaders volleyball team or from the Drama Club. Her sister, Angelina (Sarelli) Malone,…
Little student, big welcome
Spread the love St. Symphorosa School must seem huge to a 4-year-old on her first day of school last week, but the warm welcome she and others received from preschool teacher Pauline Baisa and others made the day less daunting. The school at 6135 S. Austin is accepting last-minute registrations for the 2022-23 academic year…
St. Faustina sets new RCIA session
Spread the loveFrom staff reports St. Faustina Kowalska Parish will begin its fall RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) sessions on Sunday, Sept. 25 at the church, 5252 S. Austin. RCIA is the Catholic Church’s way of initiating new members. It is a learning and loving process in which conversion of heart brings one to…
Neighbors
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…
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…
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…
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…
As Illinois session ends, lawmakers’ attempt to reinstate wetland protections fails
by JENNIFER BAMBERG Investigate Midwest jennifer.bamberg@investigatemidwest.org In 2006, 19-year-old Jessica Whinston inherited 20 acres of land that her grandparents once farmed in Quincy, Illinois. The land had sat dormant since the 1980s and was overgrown, but Whinston and her husband Bradley worked to turn it into a productive farm. The couple were eventually able to…
Elections board dismisses illegal campaign coordination complaint, declines to clarify law
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – State elections officials on Tuesday indicated they were unlikely to step in to clarify what constitutes illegal campaign coordination after voting to dismiss a complaint alleging such coordination in the 2022 campaign for governor. At their monthly meeting in Chicago, Illinois State Board of Elections members…