Local News
New ordinance requires rooftop safety measures for firefighters
A new ordinance, spearheaded by Ald. Marty Quinn (13th), will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, mandating rooftop safety measures to protect firefighters. In the event of a fire, light shafts, light courts, and skylights present grave danger to firefighters. These openings often lack guards or parapets, preventing firefighters from falling. The new ordinance requires…
July Chicago Lawn tornado victims can get repair help from FEMA
By 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 18, a Saturday morning, the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the southwest side, home to many Latino residents, was already bustling with energy along Kedzie Avenue near the intersection of 61st Street. It would be hard to believe that just three months earlier, on July 15, an EF1 tornado swept through…
Eduardo Seija, Curie earn first playoff berth since 2019
Eduardo Seija and his Curie teammates had plenty to celebrate on Oct. 24. Seija, a senior two-way starter at fullback and linebacker, scored the first touchdown of his career as the Condors shut out Urban Prep-Bronzeville 30-0 at Rockne Stadium to complete one of the state’s biggest turnarounds. A year after going 0-9, Curie is…
Area sports roundup: Stars to get the ‘Red’ out; SXU falls again
Starting in 2025, the Chicago Red Stars will tweak their brand. The team will be known as the Chicago Stars Football Club and will have a new logo. They are getting the “Red” out. “As the stewards of this club, Laura Ricketts, the ownership group and the leadership team believe it is time to evolve…
Postseason roundup: Marist’s Helena Klooster finishes fifth at state
Two of the best girls tennis players in Orland Park have taken each other on several times over the years during various tournaments. But they never had a match like this one. Marist’s Helena Klooster and Sandburg’s Estela Loureiro – both sophomores — met in the IHSA Class 2A state tournament consolation quarterfinals on Oct.…
Mike Walsh’s Football Top 10, Week 10
1. MARIST (8-1) Last week: Beat Notre Dame 34-0 This week: vs. Glenbrook South, Class 8A Comment: Jacob Ritter threw for three touchdowns and scored on a run for the RedHawks. 2. LYONS (9-0) Last week: Beat Proviso East 50-6 This week: vs. Joliet West, Class 8A Comment: This is the Lions’ first 9-0 team…
Shepard rolls past Eisenhower, looks ahead to playoffs
Shepard coach John Rone knows what his seniors have been through. That makes where they are – heading to the IHSA Class 6A playoffs – that much sweeter. The Astros finished 7-2 in the regular season and second in the South Suburban Red behind Richards at 5-1 after beating Eisenhower 31-6 on the road on…
Kenny Jager powers Chicago Christian past Aurora Christian
When Chicago Christian needs a play, chances are the ball will go to Kenny Jager. In a 28-21 road victory over Chicagoland Christian Conference rival Aurora Christian on Oct. 25, Jager carried 27 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns. “Kenny could potentially be the conference’s player of the year,” first-year Chicago Christian coach CJ…
Argo beats Evergreen Park, punches ticket to playoffs
Win and you’re in. The scenario couldn’t have been clearer for Argo in the final game of the regular season Oct. 25 against South Suburban Red rival Evergreen Park in Summit. The Argonauts needed to beat the Mustangs to clinch their third consecutive state playoff berth and sixth in program history. Mission accomplished. Javoris Cotton…
Illinois News
Federal judge rejects Illinois’ bid to end court oversight of disability programs
By MOLLY PARKER & BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois mparker@capitolnewsillinois.com bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com A federal judge on Friday denied Illinois’ request to end court oversight of its disability services. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, agreed with legal advocates who argued that the state still hasn’t met its…
Coroner’s affidavit shows as many as 800 human remains could have been misidentified
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com As many as 800 families across the country who patronized a Carlinville funeral home may never know if the remains on their mantles belong to their loved ones, according to an affidavit signed by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon. The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit pending against…
State law banning concealed carry on public transit ruled unconstitutional
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com A federal judge in Rockford has declared a state law banning concealed firearms on public transit systems unconstitutional – at least as it applies to four individuals who challenged it in court. But the law remains in effect for everyone else as the parties in the case consider…
Capitol Briefs: Secretary of state enlists high schoolers to encourage organ donation
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – The secretary of state’s office is launching a new program to enlist Illinois high schoolers to promote organ donation. The organ and tissue donation registry, a voluntary database administered by the secretary of state, catalogs peoples’ wishes regarding organ donation after death. On Tuesday, Secretary of…
Longtime Harris supporters do victory lap for their candidate at DNC
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – On a cold morning in late 2019, Illinois state Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, boarded a bus bound for Iowa to knock doors for then-U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency. At one particular door – one of many she visited in “mostly white…
Illinois Democrats see abortion rights as ‘fundamental’ issue in 2024
By PETER HANCOCK & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Illinois delegates to the Democratic National Convention focused their attention Tuesday on reproductive rights, which some leaders say could eclipse the economy as a defining issue of the 2024 election campaign. “We want to be able to take care of our families. We…
DNC brings thousands of pro-Palestine protestors to Chicago’s streets
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Protestors in Chicago this week have shut down streets, broken through security fencing, clashed with police and interrupted events associated with the Democratic National Convention. Rallies and marches have focused mainly on the war in Gaza and reproductive health care. Most protestors remained peaceful, but a…
Report shows Illinois union participation declining despite growth in new petitions
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Overall participation in labor unions has declined in recent years in Illinois, although the state has seen an increase in successful unionization efforts for the second year in a row. That’s according to the State of the Unions 2024 report, the latest installment in an annual…
Capitol Briefs: Stateville workers picket as relocation begins; flag redesign contest to open next week
By PETER HANCOCK & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Union workers planned to picket outside Stateville Correctional Center Thursday to amplify their concerns about how the planned closure and reconstruction of the maximum-security prison could affect their jobs and the state’s prison system as a whole. Calling for “No Chaos, No Layoffs,” members of…
Massey’s death underscores state delay in launching mental health response program
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com An Illinois law intended to help people with mental illness avoid confrontations with police had been on the books for three years when Sonya Massey was shot by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy. The Community Emergency Services and Supports Act, or CESSA, requires mental and behavioral health calls…