Local News
Volunteers from Brother Rice, St. Rita and St. Laurence help indigent on their final journey
By Nuha Abdessalam Father Larry Sullivan, a director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago and pastor of Christ the King Parish, joined County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and spoke words of love, respect, and God at the 35th annual committal service at Mount Olivet Cemetery. The service on June 6 at 1:30 p.m.…
Riot Fest abandons Chicago park for SeatGeek Stadium
By Bob Bong Last year, Lyrical Lemonade moved its Summer Smash hip-hop music festival from Chicago’s Douglass Park to Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium. Thousands of fans poured into the stadium at 7100 S. Harlem Ave. over the course of three days and, by most accounts, enjoyed the experience. Summer Smash returned to SeatGeek this weekend for…
Softball | Marist will play for state title for fourth straight season
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Marist returned to the state title game for the fourth straight season with a 7-1 victory over Mundelein in the semifinals, held June 7 at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria. The Mustangs (36-2) were making their first appearance at state since 1996. “We have a core group of returners,” Marist coach…
Record crowd sees Bay FC top Red Stars at Wrigley Field
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Historic Wrigley Field hosted its first professional women’s sporting event in 80 years when the Chicago Red Stars hosted Bay FC on June 8. An NWSL-record announced crowd of 35,038 came out on a cool, rainy evening on the North Side and saw the expansion team from the San Francisco Bay…
Softball | St. Charles North rides big inning over Marist for Class 4A state title
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The final game was in doubt until the late innings but, in the end, Marist came up short in its bid for a second consecutive state championship. St. Charles North (25-6) broke open a tied game by scoring five times with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, eventually capturing…
Boys Volleyball | Marist’s Nathen Toth named state finals MVP
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent With the IHSA boys volleyball state semifinals and finals championships held on the same day, the round of four tends to get overshadowed once the smoke clears. But Marist’s 28-26, 26-24 semifinal win over Glenbard West in a battle of two of the top five teams in the nation, according…
Brown family legacy continues in world of Illinois boys volleyball
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Brown family’s legacy continues in the world of boys volleyball. Twins Chris and Eric Brown helped Oak Lawn finish fourth in the IHSA volleyball tournament in 1993, the second year the boys state tournament took place. Though the twins graduated that year, that season served as a springboard for the…
Don’t sleep on grappling great | St. Rita grad Austin O’Connor starts MMA career with a win
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The “Irish Nightmare” was not about to be put to sleep. Austin O’Connor, a four-time IHSA state wrestling champion during his years at St. Rita, made his professional MMA debut on June 9; and despite some pre-match taunting from opponent Camden Fontenot — who claimed he would put O’Connor to sleep…
Comings & Goings: New business offers fresh and healthy smoothies
By Joe Boyle Rosa Prieto had been considering opening a business that provides refreshing drinks and food but was waiting for the right time. For Rosa and her husband, Jaime Prieto, that time has arrived. The Healthy and Delicious Smoothie Spot, 10408 S. Cicero Ave., Oak Lawn, officially opened on March 10. Since then, the…
Neighbors
Comings & Goings
Illinois News
State regulators work to avoid federal Clean Air Act sanctions
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois faces a deadline next month to either change the way it enforces air pollution emission limits on heavy industries or face federal sanctions that could eventually result in restricted access to billions of dollars in federal highway funding. But state agencies are working to avoid…
State regulators work to avoid federal Clean Air Act sanctions
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois faces a deadline next month to either change the way it enforces air pollution emission limits on heavy industries or face federal sanctions that could eventually result in restricted access to billions of dollars in federal highway funding. But state agencies are working to avoid…
Federal appeals court weighs constitutionality of Illinois’ assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court is now deciding whether state and local bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are constitutional. In a case that is being closely watched throughout the country – and one many believe is…
Illinois to make standard driver’s licenses available to noncitizens regardless of immigration status
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrants in Illinois with or without permission from U.S. immigration authorities will soon be able to obtain standard driver’s licenses that can be used for identification. Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed House Bill 3882, which will phase out the “Temporary Visitor Driver’s License,” or TVDL,…
State’s ‘rainy day’ fund hits record-high balance ahead of new fiscal year
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com There are no champagne toasts or fireworks, but when the clock strikes 12 a.m. on Saturday, it’s the start of a new year in Illinois – a new fiscal year, that is. And just as a new year is a time to contemplate recent accomplishments and make resolutions…
Capitol News Illinois to launch broadcast expansion, bolster southern Illinois presence with new hires
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Veteran journalists Jennifer Fuller and Molly Parker will join Capitol News Illinois’ newsroom this month, expanding the outlet’s southern Illinois, broadcast and investigative presence. Fuller joins CNI as its broadcast director, bringing more than two decades of experience in Illinois radio, television and digital media to the newsroom…
Pritzker signs bills altering Illinois’ health insurance market
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that will dramatically alter the health insurance market in Illinois. The measures establish a state-based exchange for policies sold under the Affordable Care Act and give the Illinois Department of Insurance the authority to modify or reject proposed rate increases.…
IDOT unveils 6-year, $41 billion plan for infrastructure projects
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation unveiled a plan on Friday for spending nearly $41 billion in federal, state and local funds over the next six years to repair and upgrade roads, bridges, airports, rail lines and other infrastructure throughout the state. The latest version of the…
State leaves 3 administrators in charge at Choate despite troubled history of resident care
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois & MOLLY PARKER Lee Enterprises Midwest This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Lee Enterprises, along with Capitol News Illinois. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. Allegations of patient abuse, cover-ups and misconduct continue…
Problems with abuse, neglect and cover-ups at Choate extend to other developmental centers in Illinois
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Lee Enterprises and Capitol News Illinois. By MOLLY PARKER Lee Enterprises Midwest & BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois This year, Illinois officials announced what seemed like a solution to the outcry over abuse and cover-ups at a state-run developmental center: Downsize the facility…