Local News
Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.
All Exterior Contractors earns Midway Chamber award
‘ Hailed for helping homeowners in time of need By Tim Hadac Two years ago, when Midway Chamber of Commerce President Mary Ellen Brown announced that All Exterior Contractors was the MCC Business of the Month—for a second time—she said half jokingly that perhaps the home improvement company should win the coveted award every month.…
Sweet sales team
The lemonade was cold and the sales team was sweet last week near 54th and Rutherford. Three Garfield Ridge children: Joey Sherman, 6; Jimmy Sherman, 3; and Abby Verner, 7, presumably with help from the charming 8-month-old Nico Sherman, proved to be an effective marketing tool to raise funds for their block’s party, set for…
Invite special-needs kids to ballgame
. Business leader launches ‘Cool Kids Club’ By Tim Hadac Parents of special-needs boys and girls living in Clearing and Garfield Ridge are invited to enjoy a Chicago Dogs baseball game this month, courtesy of a local business leader. “Few things are more fun, more American than enjoying a baseball game in the summertime,” said…
Scout helping domestic violence victims
. . Seeking donations of toys, clothing By Tim Hadac A Garfield Ridge Boy Scout is seeking donations to help victims or domestic and or sexual violence, as well as people with substance abuse disorders. Andrew Salinas, of Troop 810 (sponsored by Our Lady of the Snows Parish), is working to collect new or…
Area Sports Roundup | Jillian Cosler wins Illinois State Junior title
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Jillian Cosler made a two-day trip to her grandfather’s hometown. And, like her grandpa, she came out a winner. Cosler, an Orland Park resident who graduated from Sandburg in May, won a one-hole playoff to claim the 44th Illinois State Junior Girls Golf Championship, held Aug 1-2 at the Aldeen…
Charge Garfield Ridge man in stabbing
. . Tattoo artist was hospitalized, now recovering at home . By Tim Hadac A 45-year-old Garfield Ridge man has been charged with one felony count of aggravated battery and one misdemeanor count of battery in connection with an attack at a West Lawn tattoo shop. Jon M. Lasso, of the 5100 block of South…
Keeping calm, carrying on
. . By Tim Hadac Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound Editor (708) 496-0265 • tim@hadac.com Four years ago, my dear wife—Joan Hadac—began writing this column. In that column (published Aug. 7, 2019), Joan introduced herself and added, “I hope to keep you up to date on what’s going on in the neighborhood, and there is always…
Cook County to host Back-To-School Birth Certificate Days
With the first day of school fast approaching, the Cook County Clerk’s Office will offer extended weekend hours on select Saturdays in August for families seeking to obtain birth certificates to complete their child’s registration for school. The Clerk’s Office will be hosting Back-to-School Birth Certificate Days on Saturday, August 5, and Saturday, August 19,…
Garfield Ridge salutes first responders
Neighborhood Watch holds first ‘Meet Your Beat’ By Joe Boyle The Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch organization held its inaugural community event to salute police and firefighters Saturday at St. Faustina Hall. And members and residents were in agreement on one thing — this won’t be the last. The neighborhood event was provided for Garfield Ridge…
Warn residents about variety of scams
By Joe Boyle If it seems to good to be true, it usually is. Ariel Berchtold, digital marketing manager for the Better Business Bureau of Northern Illinois, informed residents who attended the Archer Heights Civic Association meeting earlier this month that the old axiom usually proves to be true. Berchtold told the audience at St.…
Illinois News
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…
Pritzker signs bill creating new Department of Early Childhood
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday creating a new cabinet-level state agency dedicated to early childhood education and development. The new Department of Early Childhood, which will become operational in July 2026, will take over programs currently housed across three state agencies, including funding for preschool…
Speaker Welch rebuffs lawsuit from would-be staff union as ‘forum shopping’
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch is urging a Cook County judge to dismiss a lawsuit members of his staff filed against him last month seeking to force recognition of their union. In a new filing Monday, attorneys for Welch argued the Illinois Legislative Staff Association has no…
Advocates say SCOTUS ruling paves way for law ensuring abusers have guns confiscated
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com After the U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld a federal law that bars those under domestic violence-related restraining orders from owning guns, victim advocates say Illinois lawmakers should pass a measure to ensure firearms are actually confiscated in those situations. The legislation has been stalled for more than…
Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Jimmy Soto spent more than 42 years wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. In 2020, he was moved to the “F-House” at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a condemned unit, not because he was being punished, but because it was where the facility was housing individuals…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…
As Illinois session ends, lawmakers’ attempt to reinstate wetland protections fails
by JENNIFER BAMBERG Investigate Midwest jennifer.bamberg@investigatemidwest.org In 2006, 19-year-old Jessica Whinston inherited 20 acres of land that her grandparents once farmed in Quincy, Illinois. The land had sat dormant since the 1980s and was overgrown, but Whinston and her husband Bradley worked to turn it into a productive farm. The couple were eventually able to…
Elections board dismisses illegal campaign coordination complaint, declines to clarify law
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – State elections officials on Tuesday indicated they were unlikely to step in to clarify what constitutes illegal campaign coordination after voting to dismiss a complaint alleging such coordination in the 2022 campaign for governor. At their monthly meeting in Chicago, Illinois State Board of Elections members…