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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Softball | Jocelyn Hovanec scores two runs, Ks 12 in Chicago Christian win
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Chicago Christian is working to find its footing in the inaugural season of the Chicagoland Christian Conference. The Knights entered this week 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the CCC, putting them in fifth place with just two conference games to play among their final seven regular-season contests. The Knights have had…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Boys Volleyball | Marist hands Glenbard West first loss of season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Marist was scary good in the first set. The RedHawks won it 25-12. Even by Marist standards, that’s pretty impressive. Complete dominance. What’s even more stunning is that it came against the second-ranked team in the nation. The RedHawks, who came into the match ranked sixth in the country in the…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…
Countryside puts dog park on hold, will require leashes in two parks
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…
Illinois News
Study shows working mothers hard hit by pandemic-related child care burdens
By GRACE BARBIC Capitol News Illinoisgbarbic@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – New research shows pandemic-related child care burdens have magnified economic inequalities for women in the workforce in Illinois. That research was included in The Child Care Crisis in Illinois: A Survey of Working Mothers During the COVID-19 Pandemic, conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and…
Secretary of state calls for new Martin Luther King statue on Capitol grounds
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinois smansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White on Tuesday said it’s time for the state to construct a new statue commemorating Martin Luther King Jr., as the current statue’s rendering “does not properly reflect Dr. King,” White said in a news release. White said he would personally…
Chicago Auto Show to return in July as state prepares for return of large events
By TIM KIRSININKAS Capitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday the Chicago Auto Show will return in July, signaling the return of some larger-scale events amid declining COVID-19 positivity rates. The announcement comes one day after Pritzker announced the state could be moving forward to the “bridge” phase of reopening as early…
Catholic Church opposes governor’s proposed change to scholarship tax credits
By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Catholic Conference of Illinois is lobbying against proposed tax changes for the 2022 fiscal year that would reduce an income tax credit gained for donations to private scholarships. In a letter released Tuesday, Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago joined bishops representing the state’s…
Report into LaSalle home deaths raises questions about criminal probe
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Some Republicans in the General Assembly, including House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, are calling for a criminal investigation into the COVID-19 related deaths at the state-run LaSalle Veterans’ Home. The push for a criminal probe comes after a state investigative report was released Friday that found there…
Illinois economy shrinks 4% in 2020 despite 4th quarter growth
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois economy shrank by 4 percent in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on many of its sectors, although there were signs of a recovery taking place late in the year. Those preliminary numbers, released last week by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of…
Pritzker says state ‘in decent shape’ to further reopening as vaccination pace slows
By TIM KIRSININKAS Capitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday the state could enter the “bridge” phase to greater reopening as soon as next week, while the state’s vaccination rate continues to drop. Speaking at a news conference at Providence Hospital in Chicago, Pritzker said Illinois is nearing the necessary metrics to…
Emergency housing assistance bill will head to governor
By TIM KIRSININKAS Capitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate voted Thursday to pass House Bill 2877, which aims to extend emergency protections to renters and homeowners financially impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It needs only a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law after passing the House last week.…
Delivery service rules, limits on governor’s authority over unions advance
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate worked through a long list of bills Thursday as lawmakers prepared to enter the final stretch of the 2021 session. Those bills included new restrictions on third-party delivery services such as DoorDash, limits on the governor’s authority to interfere with collective bargaining agreements and…
Watchdog report documents widespread failures at LaSalle Veterans’ Home
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — A state watchdog report into the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home found multiple failures that contributed to 36 veterans deaths, stemming primarily from the home’s complete lack of infection prevention plans or policies. The report also found deficiencies in communication and staff training at…