Local News
Old friends gather to review 65th Street successes
By Dermot Connolly Bedford Park Mayor David Brady discussed the development along the 65th Street corridor and the planned railroad underpass at Harlem Avenue at a recent United Business Association of Midway meeting About 30 members of the business organization attended the April 13 lunch meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel on Cicero Avenue, many of…
Need a safe driver? Meet Laverne Foltz
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com There were about 81,000 car crashes in Chicago last year. But don’t blame Laverne Foltz. The Garfield Ridge mother of two—and grandmother of four—is one of the safest drivers you’ll find anywhere. That matters because in a typical year, Laverne puts about…
Vikings win an ugly one
It didn’t exactly have the grandeur of a walk-off grand slam, but a win on an opponent’s error–ugly as it may be–can be just as thrilling, as the St. Laurence High School baseball team proved last week in its 4-3 victory over Marmion Academy. An attempted pickoff play at third base went awry, with the…
Thousands of summer jobs coming for youths
Lightfoot unveils One Summer Chicago 2022 From staff reports Mayor Lightfoot and several City departments and agencies have announced a variety of summer youth programming, including the 2022 One Summer Chicago (OSC) application. OSC 2022 will run from July 5 to Aug. 12 and marks the return of in-person job and life-skills training for youth…
Newman votes to aid small businesses
From staff reports U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-3rd) recently voted to secure relief for small businesses across Illinois. The Relief for Restaurants & Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act will deliver a total of $55 billion to replenish funding for restaurants across the nation. “As a former small business owner, I know that our local…
College Report: Area grads earn All-American honors, then win national title
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer National champions and All-Americans. Chicago Christian grad Zach Bulthuis, Marist alum Gene McNulty and former Lyons’ star Matt Slivinski were last week named All-American first-teamers by the National Volleyball Association/American Volleyball Coaches Association. Then they proved they were deserving of the honor, helping Carthage College win an NCAA Division III…
Pro Soccer Report: New-look Red Stars ready to open season
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer No Rory Dames. No Julie Ertz. No Sarah Gorden. No Katie Johnson. A lot of familiar faces will be missing when the 2022 Chicago Red Stars’ open the NWSL season on Saturday against Louisville, with the match scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. There is…
Area Sports Roundup: Glenbard West smacks Marist from ranks of unbeaten
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Two of the top eight boys volleyball teams in the country squared off April 23 and it didn’t go well for No. 4. Marist, which came into the Brother Rice Smack Attack tournament unbeaten and ranked fourth in the nation in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association’s poll released April…
A law enforcement ‘agency to be proud of’
Cook County Sheriff’s Office celebrates a century of growth From staff reports April marks the centennial celebration of the creation the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, an agency that has grown from patrolling Cook County with 32 sworn officers to a dynamic operation of nearly 500 officers devoted to promoting public safety, social services, and…
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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…