Local News
Baseball | St. Laurence looks strong in early going
By Steve Millar Correspondent Luke Stulga is confident St. Laurence has a special team this season, but it’s about more than the talent highlighted by the many Division I recruits on the roster. “I think it’s the chemistry and relationships everyone has combined with the work ethic we have,” said Stulga, a senior outfielder. “Everyone…
Area Sports Roundup | Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team heads back to nationals
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Four for four. The NAIA will host its fourth Men’s Volleyball Championships on April 11, and Saint Xavier kept its record perfect in making it to every national tournament. The Cougars picked up an automatic bid on April 1 with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-22 victory over Judson University in the…
Pro Sports Report | Houston puts the freeze on Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer There was no cold field advantage for the Red Stars. The way Arin Wright saw it, the weather for the team’s 2023 home opener should have been an advantage. It was cold and windy at SeatGeek Stadium on April 1 in a 2-1 loss to Houston in front of an…
College Notebook | Sandburg grad Jake Ostema earns back-to-back awards
By Mike Walsh Correspondent The month of March has been very good to Olivet Nazarene men’s volleyball player Jake Ostema. The 6-foot-8 senior middle hitter earned consecutive Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the week honors. For the time period ending March 5, Ostema was named the CCAC Defender of the Week. The Sandburg graduate…
Finish line in sight
. With mayoral race close, turnout is everything By Tim Hadac With polls predicting an extremely close mayoral runoff on Tuesday, April 4, both Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson had their campaigns in high gear this week, rolling out final endorsements and exhorting voters to cast ballots. For the first time in his campaign, Johnson…
Frank Schuch, you’re the b-e-s-t
. . By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com So many signs of life as we pull out of this pandemic, like early-blooming daffodils after a long, harsh winter. One of those signs is the return of the annual spelling bee at Byrne Elementary School, after a two-year absence.…
Sweet surprise for police
Everyone likes cookies, especially when they’re Girl Scout cookies delivered by a sweet, smiling Scout–as illustrated by police at the Eighth District station last week. Officers, detectives and sergeants were delighted to grab one of 20 boxes of Thin Mints, S’mores, Do-si-dos, Samoas and other varieties from Charlotte Caughey of Brownie Troop 125. The young…
Egg prices drive chicken interest
Some becoming backyard farmers By Kelly White Complaints about the price of eggs have been so common in recent months, some folks who have never considered backyard farming are now thinking of buying a hen or two. To help educate people about the matter, The Feed Store, 5408 S. Harlem, is also hosting “Intro to…
Pro Sports Report | Alex Morgan converts PK and Wave tops Red Stars in opener
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Two of the best scorers in the NWSL made great first impressions to begin the 2023 season. The Chicago Red Stars’ Mallory Swanson, coming off a scoring explosion in the SheBelieves Cup earlier in the year, scored a tying goal on a penalty kick in extra time in the first…
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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…