Local News
By Nuha Abdessalam As Ramadan was drawing to a close for Muslims worldwide, District 122’s Superintendent Joseph Matise, Oak Lawn Community High School’s Muslim Students Association club, and the district’s Parents Committee came together to create history. They hosted the first-ever Iftar dinner at Simmons Middle School on April 8, a significant event that hopes…
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By Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working with students…
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By Nuha Abdessalam A petition demanding the firing of a school psychologist at Ridgeland School District 122 for posting Islamophobic social media messages has gathered more than 1,400 signatures. The petition on change.org is “calling for the removal of the schoo psychologist Laurie Hoke for sharing posts and comments that are explicitly racist, Islamophobic, hateful,…
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North Palos School District 117 has announced that Christine Droba will become the next North Palos School District 117 Superintendent of Schools beginning July 1, 2024. The Board of Education selected Droba to fill this position following Dr. Jeannie Stachowiak’s retirement at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Stachowiak will be retiring after 21…
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By Joe Boyle An additional parking lot and an athletic fieldhouse has been approved for Oak Lawn Community High School. Joseph McCurdy, assistant superintendent for Oak Lawn Community High School District 229, gave a brief slide presentation detailing some of the plans for the parking lot and an athletic fieldhouse during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday morning. The Zoning…
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From staff reports Flexible, open-minded and adaptable are three qualities the new principal and assistant principal at Glen Oaks School cite as ingredients for continuing to build a culture of fun and success with both students and staff. Farah Daoud, who spent last year as assistant principal at the Hickory Hills’ school, was named principal…
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Seven new staff members have joined the team at Evergreen Park Community High School for the 2023-2024 school year. The newest Mustang educators were welcomed to campus earlier this month for a round table discussion and tour of the building. Martin Chappetto is the newest member of the EPCHS Counseling Department. He comes to Evergreen…
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By Jeff Vorva District 230 Supt. Robert Nolting gave a shout out to the seniors on the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee. The committee is made of students from all three high schools – Sandburg, Stagg and Andrew – who serve their time meeting with Nolting and other district officials to talk about concerns from the student…
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More than 200 Consolidated High School District 230 students from Amos Alonzo Stagg, Carl Sandburg and Victor J. Andrew High Schools recently received recognition for earning either a Seal of Biliteracy or a State Commendation Award. The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given in recognition of students who have attained proficiency in English and…
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By Dermot Connolly Stagg High School administrators, teachers and students all lifted ceremonial shovels at a June 2 groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of a two-year $15.5 million expansion project that will add 11 new classrooms, four science labs and much more at the Palos Hills school. The build-out at the District 230 school at 8015…
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Oak Lawn honor Fire and Public Safety Contest winners
By Joe Boyle The Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce presented awards to the winners of the 2023 Fire and Public Safety Coloring Book Contest at the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting on April 9. Fire Bureau Chief David Wheeler and Police Chief Daniel Vittoro were on hand to present the plaques, along with Oak Lawn Mayor…
Comings & Goings: Ross to replace Walt’s at Tinley Park Plaza
By Bob Bong When Walt’s Foods closed its Tinley Park location almost three years ago, it left a giant hole in the Tinley Park Plaza near 159th Street and Harlem Avenue. That hole will soon be filled with a new 22,000-square-foot Ross Dress for Less store and a 9,800-square-foot Five Below store. A construction fence…
SD122 celebrates end of Ramadan at Simmons Middle School
By Nuha Abdessalam As Ramadan was drawing to a close for Muslims worldwide, District 122’s Superintendent Joseph Matise, Oak Lawn Community High School’s Muslim Students Association club, and the district’s Parents Committee came together to create history. They hosted the first-ever Iftar dinner at Simmons Middle School on April 8, a significant event that hopes…
Hickory Hills adds new police officer
By Nuha Abdessalam Hickory Hills Police Chief Jason Bray welcomed Andre Showers as the city’s newest police officer during last week’s city council meeting. Aldermen and the community at the April 11 meeting helped celebrate the induction of the Showers, 21. He’s an Army veteran and a 2023 Cook County Correctional Camp graduate at Moraine…
Marist celebrates cultural diversity
By Kelly White Marist High School appreciates the wide array of culture that walks its campus hallways on a daily basis. In order to celebrate, the high school, 4200 W. 115th St., Chicago, hosted its second annual Celebration of Culture on March 14. During the free event, students, faculty and staff represented their different cultures…
Worth police join task force to combat auto thefts
By Joe Boyle An agreement has been reached between the villages of Worth and Thornton regarding participation in the Illinois Statewide Auto Theft Task Force. Worth Police Chief Tim Denton said the approval of the memorandum to participate in the task force is necessary. “It’s no secret that there has been an increase in auto…
Softball | Oak Lawn’s Kasey Jackson fans 5 in loss to Shepard
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn entered its South Suburban Conference matchup with Shepard having won six of its last seven games. The Astros — even hotter with seven straight victories after beginning the season with three consecutive losses — cooled off the Spartans (8-5, 4-2 SSC) for a day, winning 3-0 behind a complete-game…
Softball | Shepard blanks Oak Lawn behind CG from Kailey Selvage, 2 RBI from Madison Scapardine
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Temperatures are not the only thing starting to warm up in the Southwest Suburbs. Shepard, which began the season with three consecutive losses, defeated Oak Lawn, 3-0, on April 15 to run its winning streak to seven games. Astros junior pitcher Kailey Selvage tossed a complete-game shutout, striking out 15 Spartans…
St. Laurence grad Brett Buzzelli hurling for Carroll
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Carroll University senior right-hander Brett Buzzelli has been named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin’s Pitcher of the Week for April 8. Buzzelli was the winning pitcher in an 8-3 victory over visiting Elmhurst University in Game 1 of a CCIW doubleheader. The St. Laurence graduate tossed seven scoreless innings…
Fire II wins, draws
By Jef Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire FC II earned its first regulation victory of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season in a 2-0 clean sheet against Crown Legacy April 10 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Diego Konincks and captain David Poreba scored goals for the Fire. On April 14, the team had a 5-5 draw…
Illinois News
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
Lawmakers pitch sweeping changes to energy industry and Chicagoland transit system
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com A group of lawmakers and influential environmental advocates are calling for broad changes to the state’s energy industry and a massive increase in state oversight of Chicagoland’s transit system – which faces a projected $730 million budget shortfall. Advocates for the policy platform, which is broken up into…
Democrats flex muscle to kick off final month of session as revenues remain on track
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With about three weeks to go before the Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its spring legislative session, supermajority Democrats showed their strength this week as fiscal forecasters noted state revenues remain on track. April is typically a make-or-break month for state coffers, as income…
Former state trooper who caused fatal crash halts effort to get driving privileges restored
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of two sisters in 2007 has abandoned his efforts to have a hearing into the restoration of his driving privileges – for now. Matt Mitchell, 45, requested at least two delays in the hearing after he failed…
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Law enforcement community honors fallen officers at Illinois Capitol
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Six fallen police officers were honored at an annual memorial service outside the State Capitol Thursday. The Illinois Police Officers Memorial occurs annually on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to support their families. “No one…
Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
By JERRY NOWICKI HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. It’s a move that caused minority party…
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…
Election officials to weigh whether Darren Bailey and GOP operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated
By ANDREW ADAMS & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign. The State Board…