Local News
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Pulaski Road crashes raise concern
By Dermot Connolly Two major car crashes occurred last week on Pulaski Road, including one that split a vehicle in half. Police said a 50-year-old man driving south on Pulaski at about 4:44 a.m. June 23 was critically injured when his Toyota SUV was struck from behind at the 59th Street intersection by a Ford Mustang GT…
Wrightwood man is fatally shot in drive-by
By Dermot Connolly Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Wrightwood man and injuries to three others involved in a drive-by shooting and car crash on June 19 near 79th Street and Kedzie Avenue. Police said four males were in a car in the 3200 block of West 79th Street at about 2:35 p.m.…
Party becomes humanitarian effort for migrants
By Kathy Headley What started out as a nice spring block party quickly took a turn, becoming an emergency situation. As venders began arriving on the Friday morning of May 5, the warm air and slight breeze looked to predict the beginning of a perfect day for a block party. Hosted by SANAD (Social Services Assisting Neighborhood…
College Notebook | Illinois Wesleyan golfer Clifford sets program mark
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Illinois Wesleyan golfer Quinn Clifford has been lauded as a member of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team in men’s golf for the 2022-23 academic year. Clifford, a Brother Rice graduate and Chicago resident, is the first Titans underclassman men’s golfer to receive Academic All-America status. He was honored for…
Pro Soccer Report | Millonarios one-up Crystal Palace in festive game at SeatGeek
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer There was definitely a different soccer vibe at SeatGeek Stadium on July 26. The Bridgeview facility hosts the Chicago Red Stars and occasionally the Chicago Fire. The crowds for those games are relatively tame compared to international soccer. But during the Chicago Nations Cup Series battle between English Premier team…
Area Sports Roundup | Area baseball and softball stars on ESPN
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It’s easy to catch some of the area’s former athletes honing their crafts. You can find former Brother Rice star and Palos Park native Michael Massey belting home runs for the Kansas City Royals on MLB Network, ESPN or YouTube. During recent NBA seasons, Hickory Hills native and Stagg grad…
Comings & Goings: County approves $37 million Central Avenue bridge project
By Bob Bong The Cook County Board of Commissioners has approved $37 million for the reconstruction of the Central Avenue bridge over the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal in Stickney and Forest View. An additional $1.7 million was approved to replace sidewalk curb ramps along roadways throughout the county. The projects are designed to boost…
Comings & Goings: QuikTrip Travel Center opens in south suburbs
By Bob Bong Oklahoma-based QuikTrip, one of the nation’s leading convenience and gasoline retailers, opened a new Travel Center last week in Lansing. The Lansing location opened July 20 at 17355 Torrence Ave. at the former Kmart site. The new location features a larger lot and a more spacious store than a traditional QuikTrip. There…
Deadline to apply for Cook County property tax exemptions is August 4
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi announced that the deadline to apply for property tax exemptions is Friday, August 4. Exemptions are property tax savings that contribute to lowering a homeowner’s property tax bill. The most common is the Homeowner Exemption, saving a property owner an average of $950 dollars each year. The savings from exemptions…
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…