Local News
By Steve Metsch The city of Countryside has put on hold building a dog park, but canines and their owners are still in store for a treat. The city council has unanimously approved a plan to permit dogs in City Park and Countryside Park this year. Previously, they were not allowed in the parks. While…
Read More
By Steve Metsch Countryside Mayor Sean McDermott thanked those who participated and attended the city’s eighth annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade that was held March 2, and had a nod to a classic rock band, too. “We had a great turnout, a beautiful day,” McDermott said at the March 13 city council meeting. The parade…
Read More
By Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on March 13.…
Read More
By Steve Metsch Bea Keenan said it’s “so cool, such an honor” having been selected queen of Countryside’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade at the Countryside City Council meeting Wednesday night. The parade, with a record 68 entries, steps off at 1 p.m. Saturday. Bea will ride on a float with her royal court of Dylan…
Read More
By Steve Metsch There’s a lot of money to be made in soup. Officials of BEDS Plus, had set a goal of raising $100,000 at its 12th Soup and Bread event at the Holiday Inn Countryside. They easily raced past that, Development Manager Erin Molek said. “We’re at about $110,000. Anyone who wants to keep…
Read More
By Steve Metsch The Countryside Police Department is getting two new squad cars. At the Jan. 24 city council meeting, Police Chief Paul Klimek received unanimous approval to purchase two Ford Interceptor utility squad cars from Westfield Ford, a dealership in Countryside. The amount will not exceed $105,000 and anticipated delivery of the cars is…
Read More
By Steve Metsch Tickets are selling fast for the annual Soup and Bread Event fundraiser for BEDS Plus. BEDS Plus helps vulnerable clients in the southwest suburbs with shelter, housing and supportive services. The goal is to raise $100,000, Development Director Erin Molek said. That’s a lot of soup, but she is confident some changes…
Read More
By Steve Metsch For the past 30 years, Fran Prokop has been a constant at meetings of the Countryside City Council and other committees. Prokop, who lives in a retirement community in Plainfield, was living in La Grange Highlands when she started as recording secretary in September 1993. The city council at its Dec. 13 meeting honored her…
Read More
By Bob Bong The holiday season also marks the beginning of the 2024 election cycle in Illinois as candidates in the March 19 primary have already filed their petitions to run. The 2022 primary was moved to June, but next year’s primary is moving back to its traditional third Tuesday in March date. The biggest…
Read More
By Steve Metsch The company that owns Tavern on La Grange have agreed to a settlement with the City of Countryside that will cost them thousands of dollars. The $14,350 covers unpaid fines and building code violations. A deal hammered out during a Nov. 1 hearing resulted in the fines being cut in half. One…
Read More
Boys Volleyball | Sandburg seeks 26th regional title
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Coming off the worst season in program history in 2023, Sandburg was not going to settle for anything less than better results this year. Past the midway point of this season, however, the Eagles had a record of 11-8. But they closed the regular season strong, winning 11 of their last…
Baseball | Red-hot Reavis looks to make noise in postseason
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Reavis is determined to send their head coach Don Erickson into retirement on a high note and will head into the postseason red hot and as South Suburban Red champions. The Rams defeated Oak Lawn 3-0 for the second straight day on May 15 to clinch the conference title. They followed…
Sports Bits | Rice boats at Carlyle Lake, Hawkeye DB and Do It Stevie’s Way
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Noteworthy sports briefs from May 12-19 • Brother Rice’s No. 1 boat of Joe Hall and Joe Judeh took 31st in the state bass fishing tournament, which wrapped up on May 18 at Carlyle Lake. The Crusaders had a two-day haul of 7 pounds, 12 ounces. The Crusaders’ No. 2 boat…
Nothing NU at SeatGeek
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent There was speculation that because of the renovations being done at Ryan Field, Northwestern would schedule a few football games at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview this fall. The Wildcats announced their schedule and no home games are listed at SeatGeek, but the situation is still fluid. They are opting to use…
College Softball | Close losses at nationals end Saint Xavier’s season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier softball team played three nailbiters in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament. But the end result was a 1-2 record to eliminate the Cougars from advancing. SXU (28-14) opened the tournament by nipping Bellevue (Nebraska), 5-4, in Sioux City, Iowa on May 13. Alexus Reese hit a…
Red Stars’ Naeher misses loss to Gotham
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The world’s best kept secret is still a mystery. The Chicago Red Stars are not releasing information to the public about the severity of a thigh injury or the status of world-class goalie Alyssa Naeher. What is known is that she did not play in a 2-1 loss to NWSL defending…
Shepard’s Kyla Motley cruises to two medals at girls state track finals
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Shepard junior Kyla Motley medaled in two events in the Class 3A girls state track and field meet, the finals for which were held May 18 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Motley finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 4 inches. She finished sixth in…
Illinois News
Dems release new Supreme Court district maps
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday released a new proposed Illinois Supreme Court district map, redrawing district lines to maximize Democrats’ chances of keeping a majority on the state’s highest court. Lines for the Illinois Supreme Court districts have not been redrawn since they were…
Abortion foes to challenge ‘culturally responsive’ teaching standards
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The leader of one of the state’s largest anti-abortion group told a legislative committee Tuesday that the group intend to file a legal challenge against the state’s new “culturally responsive teaching and leading standards.” Ralph Rivera, a lobbyist for Illinois Right to Life Action and the Pro-Family…
Bills decriminalizing HIV transmission, requiring media literacy education pass Senate
By SARAH MANSUR & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed measures decriminalizing the transmission of HIV and requiring public high schools to teach media literacy. Both measures have already passed the House and will need only a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law. House Bill…
Senate advances bills to provide menstrual hygiene products at universities, homeless shelters
By GRACE BARBIC Capitol News Illinoisgbarbic@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate passed two bills Tuesday that would advise state universities and colleges, as well as homeless shelters, to provide menstrual hygiene products in their bathrooms at no cost to users. Both bill sponsors cited “period poverty,” or the issue of not being able to afford…
CAPITOL RECAP: Redistricting committees scheduled amid Friday night map release
By Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – House and Senate redistricting committees will hold a series of public hearings this week on a proposed new set of legislative maps that Democrats released late Friday, despite the fact that official census data won’t be available until later this year. The Democrats’ decision to release the maps after…
Senate Republicans call for Prisoner Review Board appointees to testify
By GRACE BARBIC Capitol News Illinoisgbarbic@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Republican senators on Monday raised concerns about four Prisoner Review Board members who have continued to serve for almost two years despite not being confirmed by the Senate Executive Appointments Committee, a constitutional requirement in the state. In a news conference in Springfield, Republican Sen. Steve McClure,…
Lawmakers could redraw Illinois Supreme Court district maps
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Drawing new district lines for state and federal elections is the main focus for lawmakers when they begin the redistricting process every 10 years. But Illinois Democrats, who control all three branches of government, have some incentive to redraw the boundaries for the five Illinois Supreme Court…
Democrats unveil legislative map proposal, GOP calls it ‘Gerrymandering 101’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – House and Senate redistricting committees will hold a series of public hearings this week on a proposed new set of legislative maps that Democrats released late Friday, despite the fact that official census data won’t be available until later this year. The Democrats’ decision to release the…
Unionization amendment clears Senate
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate on Friday passed and sent to the House a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish a fundamental right of employees to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, lead sponsor of the measure in the Senate, said the amendment is a…
Court rejects lawsuit over state use of government bonds
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit Thursday that was brought by the head of a libertarian think-tank that challenged the state’s use of bonds to pay back state debt. The decision marks the end of the legal battle initiated by Illinois Policy Institute Chairman and…