Local News
Summit School District 104 may drop 5th-grade center
By Carol McGowan Summit School District 104 is considering dropping Wharton School as a fifth-grade learning center only and returning the elementary schools in the district to kindergarten to fifth grade. Heritage Middle School would remain the campus for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students. Using Wharton as a fifth-grade only learning center was adopted in…
‘Pumpkin Patch Church’ welcomes in Halloween season
By Kelly White First United Methodist Church has created a small-town fall festival feel right in the heart of the Oak Lawn Community. The church, 100th Street and Central Avenue, is having a pumpkin patch now through Halloween. It is open every weekday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until…
Palos Heights RAB changes made after heated debate
By Jeff Vorva Changes will be made to some of the duties and responsibilities of the Palos Heights Recreation Advisory Board but before the final vote, two city council aldermen had a heated disagreement. The council voted 7-1 at the Oct. 3 meeting to approve the changes, which originally had RAB members concerned. But the…
Macy’s brings first Market by Macy’s and Macy’s Backstage to south suburbs
By Joe Boyle Evergreen Park is the beneficiary of a new concept introduced by Macy’s that store representatives hope will become the model for shoppers in the years to come. Market by Macy’s officially opened Friday morning at what was the former site of Carson’s at 9700 S. Western Ave. in the Evergreen Plaza. The…
Palos Park police chief and commissioner concerned about bodycam funding
By Jeff Vorva Palos Park police officers will be required by the state to wear body cameras starting Jan. 1, 2025, but what happens in the coming weeks is of great interest to Police Chief Joe Miller and Police Commissioner Dan Polk. There is an obvious cost in providing these cameras to the cops but…
BEDS Plus eyes December opening for new Summit facility
By Carol McGowan If you’ve seen work being done at the former CEDA building in Summit, and are wondering what’s going on, it’s a new BEDS Plus facility that will be open by the end of the year. The building at 7666 W. 63rd Street is a $3.1 million public-private investment in long-term solutions for…
Nazareth to present ‘Harvey’ as fall production
Nazareth Academy is proud to present “Harvey,” the Pulitzer Prize winning play about an imaginary six-foot rabbit that delivers laughs while offering a lesson about how important friendship really is and how loyalty must withstand every single challenge. There is nothing quite like the friendship between Elwood P. Dowd and his best friend, Harvey the…
Soccer tournament brings players together for good cause
Last month, more than 100 high schools and thousands of male student athletes competed in a soccer tournament, sponsored by Body Armour. While the players competed on the field, they worked together off the field to collect and donate thousands of name-brand clothing items to a not-for-profit organization. Twenty-five of the players, representing the thousands…
Kendall Coyne Dream Big Park grand opening set for Oct. 17
Palos Heights and the Schofield Family Foundation will host a grand opening next week for the Kendall Coyne Dream Big Park. Ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Monday, October 17, at 8140 Misty Meadows Drive. The grand opening celebration includes a ceremonial ribbon cutting event with Palos Heights Mayor Bob Straz, Olympic Hockey…
Indian Head Park woman sentenced to 14 days in jail for role in Capitol riot
By Bob Bong An Indian Head Park woman will spend two weeks in federal jail for her part in the January 6 invasion of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Leticia Ferreira, 33, a Brazilian national, was sentenced last week by a federal judge in Washington to 14 days in jail, three years of supervised release,…
New restaurant will replace closed Gaslight Bar in Oak Lawn
By Joe Boyle Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer said he was confident that he could find a new business to replace the Gaslight Bar and Grill when it closed. Vorderer and the Oak Lawn Village Board found a new business in less than a month. At Tuesday night’s village board meeting, Vorderer welcomed Andre Solis, the…
GOP candidates to hold meet and greet at Brookfield Elks Club
Citizens for Matthew J. Schultz, the Republican candidate for the Illinois 21st House District, will be hosting a meet and greet for local candidates at the Brookfield Elks Club from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, October 14. Refreshments will be provided. Candidates also confirmed attending are: Kimberly Jagielski, who is running for Cook County Board of…
Evergreen Park runs for 330 yards in win over Shepard
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Losing to T.F. South in Week 6 did not sit well with Evergreen Park’s players. The Mustangs entered that contest with the chance to gain playoff eligibility with a win, but played their worst game of the season in an 18-7 loss to the struggling Red Wolves. They were determined…
Monteclar OT goal lifts Sandburg to first league title in 11 years
By Steve Millar Correspondent Keith Monteclar saw the play developing and knew he was about set off a celebration. When Lockport had a mix-up near its own goal in overtime, Monteclar was ready to pounce. “When he messed up, all I was thinking was, ‘We won conference, we won conference,’” Monteclar said. Monteclar came up…
Pro Soccer Report: Fire closes SeatGeek season with draw; Red Stars look to break Wave
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The final pro soccer game of 2022 at SeatGeek Stadium was fairly uneventful until things heated up toward the end. New England’s Dylan Borreo broke up the scoreless tie in the 88th minute and the Chicago Fire responded four minutes later in stoppage time with a goal from 19-year-old homegrown…
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Illinois News
Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in their deliberations over whether former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza bribed longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan via a no-work contract for the speaker’s political ally. After nearly 15 hours of deliberation…
High court: Smell of burnt cannabis is not cause for warrantless vehicle search
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Law enforcement officers in Illinois cannot rely on the smell of burnt cannabis alone to justify searching a vehicle without a warrant, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The decision was unanimous, though Justice Lisa Holder White did not take part in it. Writing for the court,…
State wraps up case in challenge to assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has…
Gun expert says assault weapons ban ‘describes the most popular firearms I’m involved with’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A firearms expert testified Wednesday that the weapons restricted under Illinois’ assault weapons ban include many of the most common firearms that American consumers use for self-defense. Steven Randall Watt, a combat veteran and retired law enforcement officer who now owns a private firearms…
Case of former AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan heads to jury
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – On Valentine’s Day in 2017, then-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza got some good news: After years of trying to push for legislation in Springfield that would save the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan had agreed to a…
State Supreme Court hears arguments in Jussie Smollett’s effort to overturn conviction
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in actor Jussie Smollett’s appeal to overturn his conviction on disorderly conduct charges for falsifying a hate crime. Smollett, who was an actor on the TV show “Empire,” was improperly charged with the same crime twice, his legal team…
Testimony continues in 2nd Amendment challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – An engineer who spent decades designing weapons for one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers testified Tuesday that the assault-style weapons now banned in Illinois are intended only for civilian use and cannot be easily converted into military-grade firearms. James Ronkainen, a former engineer…
