![dvn seatgeek summer smash2 2023 The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival shattered attendance records at SeatGeek Stadium last year. (Photo courtesy of SeatGeek Stadium)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/dvn-seatgeek-summer-smash2-2023-1024x683.jpg)
The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival shattered attendance records at SeatGeek Stadium last year. (Photo courtesy of SeatGeek Stadium)
Festival crowd smashes attendance record at SeatGeek Stadium
By Bob Bong
When SeatGeek bought the naming rights to Toyota Park in 2018, it promised to bring premier concerts, international sporting events and music festivals to Bridgeview.
That promise was delivered in spades last weekend when more than 100,000 people descended on Bridgeview to attend the three-day Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival, breaking attendance records at the stadium that was built in 2006.
The crowd of mostly young people came to see more than two dozen of the biggest hip-hop bands performing on three stages Friday, Saturday and Sunday including Friday night’s closer Kid Cudi.
The crowds were bigger than those that came to see Jimmy Buffett, Jennifer Lopez or Eric Clapton at previous concerts or watched the Chicago Fire in its early days.
This year’s festival was moved from Douglass Park on Chicago’s West Side, where it had been held since 2018, to the stadium originally built for soccer.
Police reported traffic jams as the thousands of fans made their way down Harlem Avenue to the stadium, but overall, the crowd was well-behaved.
In addition to the music, fans were treated to an assortment of foods from vendors ranging from Portillo’s, Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant Kasama, and the Tamale Guy, to cult favorite Harold’s Chicken.
There was also a restaurant operated by Brian Fisher, the former chef at Entente, that was serving dishes inspired by artists performing at the festival.
Besides the food and music, SeatGeek was decorated with funhouse-style mirrors, giant Minions, and even a miniature basketball court.
Local News
![MaryStanek Mary Stanek](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/MaryStanek-768x1024.jpg)
Loving the Archer Heights Library
Spread the loveBy Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 Well, that’s it, folks. The holidays are over. Next up in the market are Valentine’s Day candy, paczki, corned beef, Guinness and Peeps. Easter this year is on April 17. I will have to mention…
![PeggyZabicki Peggy Zabicki](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PeggyZabicki-1024x768.jpg)
New year, old challenges
Spread the loveBy Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 It’s a new year and a time for new beginnings. Many of us will be starting a new diet program. I plan to do this as soon as I’m done eating the remaining Christmas candy and cookies at my house. Wish me luck!…
![kathyheadley2021 Kathy Headley](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/kathyheadley2021-869x1024.jpg)
Two ladies gone, but not forgotten
Spread the loveBy Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 Guessing you have already read the sad news about the passing of Mary Ellen St. Aubin. For those of you that didn’t know, she grew up right here in Chicago Lawn, on 63rd and Richmond, and…
![Funeral-Flowers.4 logo Funeral-Flowers.4 logo](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Funeral-Flowers.4-logo.jpg)
Obituaries for Jan. 6, 2022
Spread the loveMacARTHUR ANTIGUA MacArthur Antigua, 79, of Palos Hills, passed away on December 25. He was the beloved husband of Flordevilla Galinato Antigua, loving father of MacArthur Antigua, and Lora Lee Banzali; Cherished grandfather of Meera Antigua, Leela Antigua, Livy Banzali, Faryn Banzali, Zayla Banzali; devoted son of the late Marcial, Sr. and Paciencia…
![reporter brandon kizer mugshot (2) Brandon Kizer](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/reporter-brandon-kizer-mugshot-2-1.bmp)
Stepson charged in Evergreen Park murder
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong A 24-year-old Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in the New Year’s Eve shooting of his stepfather in Evergreen Park. Brandon K. Kizer, 24, of the 8100 block of South Loomis in Chicago, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder in the death of Anthony Young, 52, on the…
![Scan_0018 Scan_0018](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Scan_0018.jpg)
Richard A. Dolejs, owner of Dolejs Realty and Property Management dies
Spread the loveRichard A. “Dick” Dolejs, 81, of Burr Ridge, passed away suddenly on December 17. Mr. Dolejs was a well-known Realtor-property manager. He was born January 10, 1929 in Chicago to Andrew M. Dolejs and Marie Jungvirt. He attended Farragut High School, Millikin University, Northwestern and John Marshall Law School. He served in the…
![GSWNH_FabisAward_010722 Mary Fabis (right) shows her award from Anita Cummings. --Greater Southwest News-Herald photo by Dermot Connolly](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GSWNH_FabisAward_010722-1-1024x768.jpg)
Honored for service to business
Spread the loveFabis earns UBAM award By Dermot Connolly The United Business Association of Midway recently honored founding member Mary Fabis with a Lifetime Membership Award for Outstanding Service for her 35 years of work with the business organization she continues to serve as a board member. Fabis, now 92, has owned and operated Archer…
![GSWNHFireAndIce_010722 GSWNHFireAndIce_010722](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GSWNHFireAndIce_010722-768x1024.jpg)
Fire and ice
Spread the love December was unseasonably dry and warm, but it was cold enough late in the month to form icicles on a Bedford Park Fire Department truck– even after it returned from a blaze that gutted a warehouse in the 6500 block of South Lavergne, just steps south of Clearing. The weather forecast for…
Neighbors
![After 9 months, state data begins to detail new pretrial detention system After 9 months, state data begins to detail new pretrial detention system](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SCOIL-FILE-JN-opt2-cbthEX-1024x683.jpeg)
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 ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ILLINOIS-LAWMAKERS-PRITZKER-opt1-JMjS50-1024x753.jpeg)
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 Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/240627-AVELAR-AA1-MkHa17-1024x682.jpeg)
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 ‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/240614-Logan-Prison-yard-signs-DoZFBM-1024x768.jpeg)
‘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 SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/240103-MADIGAN-ALT-AA-Rcr9BK-1024x683.jpeg)
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 Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/240626-PRITZKER-AA-1ErpEg-1024x682.jpeg)
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? Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ctc-calcArtboard-1-4x-1001-t2mth2-1024x682.jpeg)
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 Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/240614-PRITZKER-AA1-ViOzVJ-1024x682.jpeg)
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 Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/240610-CHOATE-CHARGE-OPT1-FB1xpE-1024x503.jpeg)
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’ State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/FLASHING-LIGHTS-SQUAD-POLICE-00971-ilpWzw-1024x682.jpeg)
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…