Local News
Girls Hoops Wrap | Stagg stuns Bloom to take Hillcrest Holiday Classic
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Stagg’s girls basketball team heads into the 2024 portion of the season with a good-but-not-great 10-7 record. But the way the Chargers closed out the 2023 portion of the campaign was spectacular. The Chargers won the 16-team Hillcrest Holiday Classic, held Dec. 27-29 in Country Club Hills. They earned a 45-44…
College Sports Reports | Hoops programs seek net gains in 2024
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A good chunk of the college basketball season has been completed. What have we learned about the men and women’s programs at Saint Xavier University, Trinity Christian College, Moraine Valley Community College and Morton College? Plenty. But there is more to be learned in the next few months. A look at…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Mt. Carmel wins Pekin Holiday Tourney; Brother Rice’s 15-game win streak ends at Hinsdale
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Mount Carmel extended its win streak to five games after defeating Normal West, East St. Louis and Lake Park at the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament. The Caravan’s 60-41 win over Lake Park earned them their third straight Pekin title. In the title game, Angelo Ciaravino finished with nine points, eight rebounds,…
Tosh Classic maintains spot among top holiday hoops tourneys in Illinois
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The 49th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic took place at York High School from December 26-30. The holiday season mainstay that would have been in its 50th year, but for the Covid-abridged 2020-2021 season, consisted of 32-teams, including some that are highly rated or expected to be contenders for deep postseason…
UBAM marks 25 years of serving seniors
. Partners with Fair Share to feed those in need . By Dermot Connolly The United Business Association of Midway recently marked the 25th anniversary of its Something for Seniors initiative by providing 52 boxes of food to Southwest Side seniors in need. UBAM’s tradition of holiday giving actually goes back to 1985, when the…
College Sports Report | Scorers light it up for SXU, Trinity, Morton
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Boom, boom, boom. Three area men’s college basketball players’ offensive games exploded on Dec. 16. At Saint Xavier, Cedric Johnson had 27 points as the Cougars topped Indiana University Northwest, 77-68, in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. Johnson shot 11-of-14 from the floor and scored the game’s first two…
Area Sports Report | Evergreen Park Wiffle Ball players aid Toys for Tots
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Toys for Tots was the big winner, but the players also had some fun. The Mustang Baseball Academy (MBA) joined the Evergreen Park High School baseball team for the third annual Wiffle Ball Tournament, held Dec. 13 at high school’s sports complex. Each player who participated got a spot in the…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Mother McAuley Class 4A Sectional will have local flavor
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The IHSA has announced its postseason assignments for girls basketball, and Mother McAuley will be the place to be in Class 4A. The 18-team McAuley Sectional features the hosts and Class 3A defending state champion Nazareth along with fellow area programs Morton, Reavis, Curie, Kelly, Lyons, Oak Lawn, Richards, Riverside-Brookfield…
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Illinois News
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…
Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans
By PETER HANCOCK and JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status. Those programs offer health coverage for low-income individuals who would otherwise qualify for…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: State unveils report on racial disparities among homeless populations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Tackling homelessness requires addressing racial injustice, according to a new report commissioned by the state’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. The report found that Black people are eight times more likely to experience homelessness than white people. Remedying this disparity, according to the report, would require “long-term…
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…
Bears pitch $3.2B stadium plan, but Pritzker still ‘skeptical’ despite team’s $2B pledge
By DILPREET RAJU & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The Chicago Bears laid out a $3.2 billion plan for a new domed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront on Wednesday afternoon, painting pictures of future Super Bowls and other major public events while pinning their hopes on yet-to-be-had conversations with the governor and lawmakers. The Bears…
Regulators weigh future of gas industry in Illinois, while clamping down on Chicago utility
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Natural gas is fueling a fight between consumer advocates, a powerful utility company and the state. Amid competing advertising campaigns, accusations of mismanagement and state decarbonization efforts, the Illinois Commerce Commission is starting a process that will shape how the state regulates the increasingly controversial industry. …