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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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……
SXU puts up fight in softball nationals
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……
Boys Tennis | Lyons’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone win sectional doubles title
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The area produced a handful of boys tennis state qualifiers, but only one entry is headed to state as a sectional champion. At the Class 2A Lyons Sectional, the Lions’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone were doubles champs. The state meet opens May 23 at various sites in the north and……
Water Polo | Lyons boys win third state title; girls finish 3rd
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The best matchup of the IHSA boys water polo state tournament was arguably in the quarterfinals. That battle between Lyons and New Trier could have been considered the real state championship match. But no matter what, the Lions are state champions. Heading into the postseason, Lyons had just three losses, and……
Lyons water polo teams splash to state
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Both of Lyons water polo team qualified for the state quarterfinals. Lyons’ girls water polo team won its own sectional by beating Mother McAuley, 13-9, in the title game on May 11. The Lions will face York in the state quarterfinals on May 17 at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. This……
IHSA announces postseason assignments for baseball, softball, girls soccer
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The IHSA has announced the Class 3A and 4A baseball seeds were revealed and Nazareth, which is seeking its third straight state championship will have to do it in Class 4A after winning two straight in 3A in 2022 and 2023. The Roadrunners drew the top seed at the Reavis Sectional……
Red Stars win at home again, Naeher hurt
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The NWSL released a fun fact that is pretty darn fun for Chicago Red Stars fans. This year’s version of the Red Stars opened the season 3-0-1, scoring 10 points in the first four road games. They were the fourth team in league history to do that. According to the league,……
Hall of Fame volleyball coach Anna Marassa coach calls it a career
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Hall of Fame volleyball coach Anna Marassa is retiring. Marassa is the only girls volleyball coach in De La Salle’s history as she headed up the program in 2002 and racked up 538 victories, 10 regional championships and four sectional titles. She is also the boys coach and wraps up her……
Illinois News
CAPITOL RECAP: Pritzker signs redistricting plans; budget and ethics reforms approved
By Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed a pair of bills Friday, June 4, that redraw state legislative and appellate court districts, despite the fact that official U.S Census data needed to ensure equal representation has not yet been delivered. In a statement released Friday afternoon, Pritzker said he signed the measures……
Pritzker signs redistricting plans for state legislative, appellate court districts
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed a pair of bills Friday that redraw state legislative and appellate court districts, despite the fact that official U.S Census data needed to ensure equal representation has not yet been delivered. In a statement released Friday afternoon, Pritzker said he signed the measures……
CAPITOL RECAP: New legislative maps passed on little notice; budget and ethics reforms approved, but college sports gambling bill on hold
By Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed measures Friday, May 28, to redraw state legislative and judicial district lines, less than 24 hours after the bills implementing the maps were introduced. The latest versions of the legislative maps were released about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The actual legislation to implement them was released in……
Lawmakers pass bills to close ICE detention centers, enhance deportation protections
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinois smansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers passed bills advanced by the Legislative Latino Caucus that would close the state’s three immigrant detention centers and strengthen existing protections against local and federal law enforcement. The Illinois Way Forward Act, or Senate Bill 667, requires that the existing agreements between local jails……
Some bills pushed by Democrats fail to pass in final session days
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — In the final days of the legislative session, lawmakers passed bills to allow for college sports betting, to phase out isolation and seclusion practices at school, and to create more affordable housing units. Despite the hectic rush to move important legislation by the May 31 deadline, some……
Lawmakers pass follow-up criminal justice bill addressing police concerns
By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The General Assembly this week passed legislation addressing lingering concerns from law enforcement about a massive criminal justice reform omnibus passed earlier this year. Introduced by Chicago Democratic Sen. Elgie Sims, an amendment to House Bill 3443 would act as trailer legislation for the SAFE-T Act, a……
Deal reported to be near on energy overhaul package
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are staying open for business as they await a possible deal on a sweeping energy proposal that would keep the state’s fleet of nuclear power plants online while providing incentives for development of more wind and solar generation. Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, issued……
UPDATED: Limited in-state college betting bill passes House
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An omnibus gambling bill that would allow Illinois bettors to wager on in-state college sports teams on a two-year trial basis passed the House early Tuesday morning, hours after its introduction the day prior. Anybody wishing to make such a bet in Illinois, however, would need to……
UPDATED: Lawmakers pass $42.3 billion budget after 2 a.m.
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning to pass a $42.3 billion state budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that Democrats say would fully fund K-12 education and the state’s pension obligations while also paying down a sizeable portion of the state’s debt.……
Lawmakers pass stricter ethics standards, some Republicans say they’re watered down
By TIM KIRSININKAS Capitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, the Illinois Senate passed a bill aiming to improve ethics standards for elected officials after it was filed just hours earlier. An amendment to Senate Bill 539, introduced by Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, passed with bipartisan approval despite House Republicans’ concerns……