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The Clearing Branch Library recently saw an overflow crowd of women, men and children eager to see performances by students of the Boitsov Classical Ballet School, as well as professional dancers invited by Madame Elizabeth Boitsov. The Boitsov School is located at 6102 S. Archer. – Photo courtesy of Kim Hernandez

Yet another artistic triumph for the Boitsov School

By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Have you ever been excited about seeing a great film, concert, stage performance or sporting event—so much so that you marked it in red ink on your calendar, months in advance—only to miss it? That’s what happened to me recently, when I…

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Back to School sales tax holiday kicks in on Friday

With the start of a new school year fast approaching, state Rep. Fran Hurley is encouraging parents to take advantage of a state sales tax decrease on school supplies, clothing, shoes and other items over a 10-day period from Aug. 5 through Aug. 14. “Back-to-school shopping can sometimes be a real hit on a parent’s…

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Clear-Ridge Reporter and NewsHound August 3, 2022

Alex Costa, No. 1, was named Trinity Christian College's Male Athlete of the Year for 2021-22. The Oak Lawn resident is a Richards grad. Photo by Trinity Christian College

Area Sports Roundup: Costa and Busker named top athletes at Trinity; St. Rita’s Talty to kick for Tide

By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Former Richards volleyball standout Alex Costa led the NAIA with 508 kills and 613.5 points last season. Not a bad season for the Trinity Christian College sophomore. It gets even better. Last week, Costa was named TCC’s Male Athlete of the Year. The Oak Lawn native also had top numbers…

Alyssa Mautz (center) is joined by her teammate for a ceremony Saturday at Soldier Field before the Red Stars' loss to San Diego. Mautz retired and will be an assistant women's soccer coach at Texas A&M. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Pro Soccer Report: San Diego rookie Shaw, 17, scores lone goal in 1-0 win over Red Stars

By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The pregame attention went to 32-year-old Alyssa Mautz. The postgame attention – and surely a lot more attention to come – went to 17-year-old Jaedyn Shaw. Mautz announced that last Saturday’s game against the San Diego Wave would be her final last for the Chicago Red Stars. She has accepted…

Bobby Frasor (right) stepped down last week as Brother Rice's basketball coach after seven years at the helm. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Bobby Frasor steps down as coach at Brother Rice

By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The wins. The mosh pits. The jokes. These are just a few of the things that will be missed by Bobby Frasor, who stepped down last week as the basketball coach at Brother Rice and is leaving the world of hoops. Frasor was a star player for the Crusaders who…

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Citizens, cops fighting crime

‘National Night Out’ events set for next week By Joan Hadac Hundreds and perhaps more than a thousand Southwest Side men, women and children are expected to take a public stand against crime at the Chicago Lawn (8th) Police District’s annual National Night Out Against Crime celebration, set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2 at…

Joan Hadac

Time for Grandma to smile again

By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com As sad as my columns were for the last two weeks (if you missed them, they’re posted at southwestregionalpublishing.com), it’s that much of a relief to write about something joyful. Something wonderful is happening to me next week. My grandsons are coming…

In addition to traditional carnival fare like ridges, food and games of chance/skill, Family Fest often showcased the talents of neighborhood children. --File photo

Cuties at the carnival

Giving the Two Holy Martyrs Family Fest plenty of “Awww” moments earlier this month were colorfully costumed children from Darla’s Dance Center, 6236 S Central. – Supplied photo

Chicago Police Department

City expands access to police exam

Daley College one of seven testing sites  By Tim Hadac As police retirements and resignations continue to greatly outpace recruits graduating from the police academy, the Lightfoot Administration has announced expanded access to the police exam. In-person police officer entry exams are set for all City Colleges locations on select dates this month. Men and…

Illinois News

Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation

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

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

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…

Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision

Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…

Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan

Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan

By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on Friday – at least for now –…

‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan

‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…

Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?

Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?

By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children.  The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…

Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict

Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Members of a would-be union representing staffers in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office filed suit against their boss on Friday, asking a Cook County judge to force recognition of the union. The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, which formed in the fall of 2022, claims Welch’s…

Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign

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…

Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details

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…