Dan Chiarito is the new football coach at Chicago Christian after serving as an assistant in various capacities since 2009. Chicago Christian photo
Area Sports Roundup | Longtime football assistant gets to run show at Chicago Christian
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
Dan Chiarito has been with the Chicago Christian football program since 2009, and in that time has worked under head coaches Joe Hamstra, Eric Washington, Jim Bolhuis, Nick Cook and Tom O’Connor.
Now, he gets to run the show.
Last week, Chiarito was named head coach of the Knights. He succeeds O’Connor, who had a 9-10 record in two seasons.
The new head coach is a school behavior therapist for Esperanza Community Services in Chicago.
Chiarito has been the Knights’ JV coach and varsity assistant coach since 2011. He was a varsity wide receivers/pass game coordinator in 2010 and a sophomore offensive coordinator in 2009.
He is a familiar face around the Palos Heights campus, having served as the head freshmen basketball coach, a sophomore and varsity game-day assistant, and a coach at the Knights Hoops basketball camp.
Jacobs will be watched
Sandburg graduate Dylan Jacobs, a track star at Tennessee, is on the watch list for the Bowerman Award.
The award is the highest individual honor in college track and field and is awarded by the U.S. Track &Field and Cross Country Association.
The former Notre Dame star had a red-hot indoor campaign in his debut season at Tennessee, posting SEC conference records and all-time top five performances in both the indoor 3,000 meter and 5,000 meter. His season-best time of 7:36.89 in the 3K is the No. 2 performance in collegiate history and .47 seconds shy of the NCAA record, while his fastest 5K of 13:11.01 stands as the No. 3 all-time collegiate performance.
He starred at his first SEC Championships, winning the 3K in a meet record time of 7:52.49 and closing out Tennessee’s DMR gold medal performance with a 3:56 split over the 1,600-meter leg. His 12.5 points scored led the Vols to a fifth-place finish at the conference meet and were part of 35 points tallied by the UT men’s distance unit.
Stealing sensations
Saint Xavier senior softball outfielder Nicole Lovato set a program record with five stolen bases in an 8-0 victory over Central Baptist College of Arkansas on March 4.
The Minooka High School graduate also scored four times in the game. In her first 11 games, she is 11-for-11 in swiping bases, second on the team to Lyda Robinson, who stole 12 in 14 games.
Robinson, from Seneca High School, owned the previous record with four stolen bases in a game in 2020.
Dawber loaned again
The Chicago Red stars recalled Chelsie Dawber from her loan to Australia’s Adelaide United FC and loaned her to IFK Norrkoping in Sweden for the remainder of the season.
Dawber played in just four games for the Red Stars in 2022.
Teen Spirit
When the Red Stars host Washington on April 29 at SeatGeek Stadium, they may run into the youngest player in NWSL history. Chloe Ricketts, 15, has inked a three-year deal with the Spirit.
Local News
Plenty to celebrate in February
Spread the loveBy Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 “February is the month when days start to get long and gloomy nights to shrink.” –Anonymous. Thank goodness there are only 28 days this year. We are getting closer to March. But it’s silly to…
Obituaries Feb. 3, 2022
Spread the loveRONALD ADINT Ronald Adint, age 78, passed away December 17, 2021. Beloved husband of Cynthia, (nee Zalba) Adint; loving Father of Devin (Cynthia) Adint; dear grandfather of Rayna Adint, Nolan R. Adint, Micah D. Adint, and Kendra N. Adint; dearest brother of Nadia Adint, the late Victor Adint, and the late Leonard Adint.…
Storm scrambles waste pickup in Palos Park
Spread the loveOn Wednesday afternoon, the Village of Palos Park was informed by Republic Services that waste pickup is cancelled in the village, and all other communities they serve, for Thursday, February 3, due to the continued closure of landfill sites from the hazardous winter conditions. Thursday waste service customers will need to hold their…
Archer Avenue may go green
Spread the loveSt. Patrick’s Day parade planned By Tim Hadac Organizers of Garfield Ridge’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade are hoping the Lightfoot Administration will give a green thumbs-up to the small but festive celebration of all things Irish. For each of the last two years, City Hall withdrew its support and denied permits based…
No injuries in basement fire in Orland Park apartment
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A basement fire damaged a four-unit apartment building early Sunday morning in Orland Park. The fire was extinguished quickly and damage was kept to a small area of the basement, although smoke filled the building. Officials of the Orland Fire Protection District said there were no injuries and the cause…
Worth hires new management for Water’s Edge Golf Course
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Even an impending snowstorm could not damper the mood of Worth Trustee Laura Packwood regarding plans for the village’s Water’s Edge Golf Course. Packwood, who is the head of the golf committee, said that Orion, a company based out of Kansas City, Mo., became the official managers of Water’s Edge…
Cook County residents eligible for spay/neuter discounts in February
Spread the lovePet owners can bring their dogs and cats to participating veterinarians throughout Cook County to receive a $40 discount on spay or neuter services in February. The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control are offering the spay and neuter program during February – Spay and Neuter Awareness Month. More than 200…
Teen driver charged in crash that killed Alsip girl
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong A juvenile was charged by Palos Heights police Monday with reckless homicide and reckless driving in the December 27 crash that killed a 14-year-old girl from Alsip and injured six other people. Palos Heights police did not identify the juvenile because of the driver’s age. The driver was charged with…
Neighbors
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…
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…