College Notebook | Stagg alum on fire in pool for Illinois-Chicago
By Mike Walsh
Correspondent
One of the top performers at the recent three-day House of Champions Invitational held at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis natatorium was UIC women’s swimmer Taira Juronis.
Juronis, a Stagg graduate, won the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:16.49, nearly two seconds faster than the second-place swimmer. Juronis also bested her own preliminary time, which was also the fastest in the field, by nearly a second.
Juronis, a junior, took the 100-breaststroke title in 1:02.75. It was a personal-best and over a quarter of a second faster than she had ever swam the race. Juronis also was victorious in the 200 IM with an effort of 2:03.07.
Juronis also contributed to the Flames placing second in both medley relays. As a team, UIC tallied 13 medals (four gold, five silver, four bronze) and 634.4 points, good enough for second place as a team behind Indianapolis (653.9 points). The Flames were the highest-placing Division I team.
Individually, Juronis had the third-highest point total at 724.7.
“Taira is a standout swimmer,” UIC coach Ashley Dell stated on the Flames’ website. “She is the true definition of working hard and trusting the process. I can’t wait to see how she finishes out the season.”
What’s up Doc?
Sandburg alum Ricky Kwak was one of 22 football players from Marian University (Indianapolis) to garner a place on the 2022 Daktronics National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Football Scholar-Athletes Team.
Kwak, a safety, played this season as a graduate student while attending medical school. In 11 games for the Knights in 2022, Kwak finished with 19 tackles. He added three passes defended, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
Talkin’ Tim
Lyons alum Tim Slusarczyk is one of six Indiana Wesleyan men’s soccer players named to the fall 2022 NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete Team.
On the pitch, Slusarczyk appeared in 19 matches this season for the Wildcats, making 17 starts. The sophomore defender recorded his first career goal on Aug. 23 in an 8-1 win over Anderson, played a total of 1,265 minutes this season and finished with five points on a goal and three assists.
The Rockford Files
Sophomore defender Bianca Tovar was one of six Rockford University women’s soccer players chosen to the 2022 Academic All-District Team by the College Sports Communicators. The 2022 CSC All-District teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom.
Tovar, a graduate of Hancock, appeared in 17 matches this season for the Regents, tallying one goal for two points.
Local News
New laws taking effect
Spread the loveStatewide jump in minimum wage ‘just a start’ By Bob Bong and Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois Minimum-wage workers across Illinois will see a boost in their hourly pay to $12 per hour starting Jan. 1, while tenants in affordable housing units will be allowed to keep pets. Those are just some…
Three Wise Men at Snows
Spread the love Portraying the Three Wise Men at the Christmas pageant at Our Lady of the Snows School this year were Yarely Garibay, Noah Rosas and Amira Cepeda. The three eighth graders were part of “Las Posadas” a nine-night depiction of Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay and where Jesus Christ…
Pekau’s COVID-19 stance harms seniors
Spread the loveBy Ray Hanania Nearly 75 percent of the 800,000 Americans who died from COVID-19 were 65 years of age or older. That number jumps to almost 90 percent when you include those 55 years of age and older. The virus affects people differently. The younger and healthier more easily survive. For seniors, it is a…
- « Previous
- 1
- …
- 364
- 365
- 366
Neighbors
After 9 months, state data begins to detail new pretrial detention system
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Nine months after cash bail ended in Illinois, the state is taking its first steps in publishing the data that crafters of the bail reform law saw as essential to judging its effectiveness. The data shows that judges in the 75 counties served by the Illinois Supreme Court’s…
ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com With fiscal year 2025 slated to begin Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers” this week, Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal…
Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The 6-3 decision saw the three liberal justices concur with the order. Three…
‘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…
SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him. A jury last spring found those allies – former lobbyists and…
Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing. The package also expands tax…
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…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Another caregiver at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna is facing charges for abusing a patient. A grand jury indicted Joseph A. Clark, 24, of Grand Chain, on a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of battery. Clark pinned a Choate resident to…
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…
