Mary Stanek
Restaurant wall comes alive with art
By Mary Stanek
Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon
3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394
Soar up high with the beauty and grace of a butterfly–Unknown author.
My favorite watering hole in years past, Andy’s, at 57th Place and Pulaski, has been a restaurant now for a few years. I recently noticed what they did with the outer wall on 57th Place. It is beautiful. An array of butterflies is flying out of the wall into the sky. It is a pleasure to look at.
The butterflies appear to be monarch butterflies, which are known for their migratory patterns. From the northern United States they travel many miles to their wintering spots in Mexico and Southern California.
Mary Stanek
The Sts. Bruno & Richard School Breakfast with Santa will be held on the 18th from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free, but there will be items for purchase such as breakfast, photos and raffle tickets. This event will be held at the Kenneth campus gym, 5025 S. Kenneth.
The Staneks have been a part of the St. Bruno community for many, many years. Thus, remembering Deacon Sal Villa, who has ministered for half of a century at St. Bruno, a celebratory Mass of Thanksgiving will be held on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 4:30 p.m. at St. Bruno Church in his honor.
All parishioners are encouraged to attend this Mass. Afterward please join Deacon Sal in the school campus hall. For more information, please call the parish office at (773) 585-1221.
The next general membership meeting of the Archer Heights Civic Association is Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the St. Richard Parish Hall. It is predicted to be crowded. Rocc Bolden from U-Haul Company of South Chicago will present some design concepts for the future U-Haul storage facility near the Cicero Avenue Corridor. The drawing of the prizes for the annual fundraiser will also take place. Finally, this will be the first meeting were cake and coffee will be served, thanks to the lifting of the pandemic restrictions.
AHCA President Thomas S. Baliga made a very good point in a note in the group’s December newsletter. In a nutshell, he pointed out that at this time of year, we no longer see neighbors interacting with each other and children playing on our blocks. What we see are dark, deserted strips of concrete. So, doesn’t it make sense to leave the porch light or living room light on to help light up our blocks? It will also help the workers coming home from their jobs in the dark feel more secure.
Even walking my Oliver gets a bit creepy now after 5 p.m. What was the parade of dogs around the school starting at 6 p.m. or so, now starts by 4 p.m.
Happy Birthday wishes go to Sister Mary Beth Bromer on the 12th.
Local News
Newman notes fund infusion for Metra
Spread the loveFrom staff reports U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-3rd) recently announced that she has helped secure a $513.6 million award of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (Metra). The new funds are intended to help transit agencies around the country maintain service and keep workers on the…
International soccer tournament coming to Bridgeview
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Thirty-two soccer teams from North, Central and South America will be at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview this summer, vying for their share of a $100,000 prize. Copa Mariachi Chicago will be played at the stadium June 4 and 5. The winning team will get $80,000, and the second-place team pockets…
Grappling girls get their day at inaugural state finals
Spread the loveBy Jason Maholy Sports Editor The last weekend of February 2022 was an historic one for Illinois high school athletics, as female grapplers from across the Prairie State converged on Bloomington for the inaugural IHSA girls wrestling state finals. The state finals were held Feb. 25 and 26 at Grossinger Motors Arena in…
Boys Basketball: R-B, Lyons and De La Salle among seven area regional champs
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer St. Rita, Mt. Carmel, De La Salle, Curie, Lyons, Riverside-Brookfield and Nazareth survived the boys basketball regional wars last week and advanced to this week’s sectional action. Marist and St. Laurence were both a shot away from possibly joining them. Marist, the 10th seed in the Class 4A…
Area Roundup: R-B’s Harrison Nolan dives into record books
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Team USA diver Harrison Nolan capped off his high school career in a huge way. The Riverside-Brookfield senior smashed the record books en route to winning the IHSA state diving championship. The boys state swimming and diving finals were held Feb. 25 and 26 at the FMC Natatorium…
Police Reports
Spread the loveShot in the head and killed on Hermitage A 28-year-old man was shot in the head and killed as he sat in a vehicle in the 5300 block of South Hermitage at 6:05 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20. Police said the victim was approached by three unknown men who surrounded the vehicle and demanded…
Masks for the moment
Spread the loveSchools still requiring face coverings By Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois and Tim Hadac With all the machinations in Springfield over mask mandates for schools, parents in the city this week wondered if and when their children may remove their masks at school. “This is crazy,” said Brighton Park resident Ana Sanchez-Nowak. “Kids…
‘Will be great for everyone’
Spread the lovePete’s coming to 87/Kedzie, Curtis says By Tim Hadac Pete’s Fresh Market, which had been planned for the vacant Luther South High School site at the northeast corner of 87th and Kedzie, will instead move into the vacant Ultra Foods site on the northwest corner of the intersection. “This will be great for…
Tigers on Archer Avenue
Spread the love State Rep. Theresa Mah (center) shares a joyful moment with Governor JB Pritzker at last week’s new year’s parade near Archer Avenue. This month begins the Chinese lunar new year, the Year of the Tiger, which will last into early January 2023. Mah’s district includes McKinley Park, which has a large and…
Apply for violence prevention funds, Preckwinkle says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Community organizations engaged in violence prevention are invited to attend a series of virtual information sessions for the upcoming Gun Violence Prevention & Reduction Grant opportunity. The information sessions will help local organizations understand the application process for nearly $50 million in funding that will be awarded in the city and suburban…
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…