Local News
Casten romps over primary foes in 6th Congressional race
By Bob Bong Three-term Congressman Sean Casten easily defeated two challengers in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in the 6th Congressional District. “First and foremost, thank you,” he said. “Thank you to the voters who have entrusted me once again with their vote. Thank you to the volunteers who knocked on doors, made phone calls, and helped…
Baseball | Oak Lawn rolls over Crete-Monee to open season
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn traveled to Ozinga Field in Crestwood to open the season against Crete-Monee at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, home of the Windy City Thunderbolts. The Spartans climbed to a big lead early and never turned back as they went on to defeat the Warriors, 12-5. Sophomore starting pitcher John Olejniczak…
Baseball | Stagg tops Chicago Christian in season-opener
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Spring has a different set of challenges for high school sports compared to those played in the winter and fall. The most common and most unpredictable hurdle is the weather, without fail. The start of 2024 high school baseball season lucked out, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 60s and sun shining…
Hoops team featuring De La Salle players wins 2nd straight Unified Basketball state title
By Mike Walsh Correspondent For the second consecutive season, the team comprising students from De La Salle and Southside Occupational Academy are IHSA/Special Olympics of Illinois Division II Unified Basketball state champions. The De La Salle-SOA unified team etched its name into the state annals via a 64-59 victory over St. Patrick-Vaughn Occupational on March…
Softball | Mother McAuley seeks to right ship
From Staff Reports The 2024 season is off to an uneven and somewhat rocky start for Mother McAuley. The Mighty Macs opened the spring with consecutive losses — 9-3 to Oak Forest on March 11 and 18-1 to Benet on March 13 — before getting off the schneid with an 18-1 win over Stagg on…
Boys Basketball | Players from Evergreen Park and Brother Rice to ball at prospect showcase
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Five players from the area have been invited to play on the South Suburban Team at the Illinois Hoop Prospect Senior All-Star Games scheduled to be played March 24 at Joliet Junior College. Brother Rice’s Zavier Fitch and Ty Wooten join Evergreen Park’s Nolan Sexton, Marist’s Darshan Thomas and Stagg’s Connor…
Girls Basketball | George Shimko takes reins for Mustangs
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent One longtime area basketball coach will succeed another at Evergreen Park. George Shimko, who brought success to the girls basketball programs at Queen of Peace and St. Laurence, has been named the new girls hoops coach at Evergreen Park. He will succeed Bruce Scaduto, who retired after 27 years with the…
De La Salle tabs Harold Blackmon as next football coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A pair of familiar coaches from the area have landed in new spots. Harold Blackmon, who has been head football coach at St. Laurence and Oak Lawn, has been named coach at De La Salle. George Shimko, a former girls basketball coach at Queen of Peace and St. Laurence, will serve…
Red Stars, rugby will highlight big weekend at SeatGeek
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Things will get busy in Bridgeview this weekend. The Chicago Fire II will host its season opener against Toronto FC II at 6 p.m. Friday, March 22 at SeatGeek Stadium. The following day, the Chicago Red Stars make their 2024 home debut against Seattle at 3 p.m. Rugby invades the stadium…
Red Stars Report | Cooks provide recipe for success in Red Stars’ win over Utah
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Lorne Donaldson era is already Cook-ing. The new Chicago Red Stars coach enjoyed a victory in his debut with a 2-0 triumph over Utah in the NWSL season-opener for both teams on March 16 at America First Field in Sandy, Utah. The game was the first in franchise history for…
College Sports Wrap | Morton College OF Angelo Luna slugs two grand slams in one day
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Area college baseball sluggers had a grand time on March 16. Former St. Laurence standout Angelo Luna, a sophomore outfielder at Morton College, hit two grand slams and drove in 10 runs over two games as the Panthers beat Highland, 7-3 and 18-5, in a doubleheader at home. Luna has crushed…
College Notebook | Ex-Mount Carmel wrestler Sergio Lemley takes fourth in Big Ten
By Mike Walsh Correspondent One reason the Michigan wrestling team has been successful this season is freshman Sergio Lemley. At the Big Ten tournament, Lemley won three of his five matches to finish fourth at 141 pounds. The Wolverines placed second with 123.5 points behind conference champion Penn State (170.5). In the consolation semifinals, Lemley,…
Man accused in McCook murder to plead not guilty
By Steve Metsch Sisto Brito, the man charged with murdering a Blue Island man in McCook in February, will plead not guilty at his upcoming arraignment, his attorney said. A brief status hearing was held Friday morning before Associate Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mohammed M. Ghouse in Room 103 of the Bridgeview Courthouse. Ghouse…
Softball | Sandburg tops Richards, Crete-Monee to begin rebound season
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent With a blank slate, unblemished record and all goals still theoretically intact, beginning of the season for any sports team offers — if nothing else — hope. Teams are looking to start fresh and either rebound from a season that failed to meet expectations, or build on the success from and…
Casten, Garcia face primary foes in congressional primaries
By Bob Bong Incumbent 6th District Congressman Sean Casten has another primary campaign on his hands. In 2022, he and fellow incumbent Marie Newman squared off in a heated campaign after they were both thrown into the newly drawn district, which runs from Orland Park to Lombard. This time, he’s facing off with newcomer Mahnoor…
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Illinois News
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…
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…