Local News
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Dread over car drifters on streets
. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by a brief…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer feedback where…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic, officials said.…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to appear legitimate.…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Boys Volleyball | Marist hands Glenbard West first loss of season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Marist was scary good in the first set. The RedHawks won it 25-12. Even by Marist standards, that’s pretty impressive. Complete dominance. What’s even more stunning is that it came against the second-ranked team in the nation. The RedHawks, who came into the match ranked sixth in the country in the…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…
Illinois News
Gov. Pritzker vetoes bill that would have allowed new nuclear construction
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday vetoed a bill that would have lifted a 1980s moratorium on the construction of new nuclear reactors. The passed in May with three-fifths majorities in both legislative chambers, meaning that if all of the members that voted for it also support an override…
‘No cell phone, no email’: Ex-FBI agent testifies Madigan relied on ‘tight inner circle’
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was elevated to that powerful position in 1983 – the same year Motorola launched the first-ever commercially available mobile phone and CompuServe applied to trademark the word “email.” But Madigan, who held the speaker’s gavel for all but two years…
37 workers at state-run developmental center targeted in PPP fraud probe
MOLLY PARKER Capitol News Illinois mparker@capitolnewsillinois.com At Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest, 37 employees have been fired, resigned or face pending disciplinary action after a state watchdog found that they defrauded a federal pandemic-era small business loan program. The employees who work at the state-run developmental center in south suburban Cook County include 32…
‘Protect the boss’ or faulty memory: ex-Madigan aide’s grand jury testimony scrutinized
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Taking occasional notes – a habit hard-wired after more than 25 years as Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff – Tim Mapes sat and listened to opening statements in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial in a federal courtroom on Wednesday. Mapes allegedly…
Officials unveil 2023 State Fair butter cow
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With the 2023 Illinois State Fair about to get underway, Gov. JB Pritzker and Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II officially unveiled this year’s butter cow. The cow was sculpted by artist Sarah Pratt and inspired by dairy farmer Lorilee Schultz, from Mill-R-Mor Dairy in…
160 years later, activist Elizabeth Packard honored in place of psychiatrist she exposed
By JERRY NOWICKI & MOLLY PARKER Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com In June 1860, Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard was committed to the Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane in Jacksonville by her husband, a Calvinist minister, for, in part, publicly disagreeing with his positions on religion, women’s rights and slavery. She remained there for more…
Pritzker signs bills expanding protections for Native Americans
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed a package of bills Friday extending cultural protections to Native Americans in Illinois and requiring the teaching of Native American history in public schools. At a bill signing ceremony in Schaumburg, Pritzker highlighted three historic sites that were significant in Native American…
Watchdog overseeing abuse, neglect cases at state-run facilities resigns for Chicago post
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com After serving nearly four years as the watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Peter Neumer will step down from his role overseeing investigations into the abuse and neglect of some of the state’s most vulnerable people. The department announced the move to staff on Friday, noting…
In perjury trial, Madigan’s ex-chief of staff will test limits of loyalty
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – In the summer of 2018, Tim Mapes’ name had only recently faded from unflattering headlines after he was forced to resign from three top jobs he held under powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Mapes, who’d served as Madigan’s chief of staff for more than two…
Pritzker signs bill aimed at ending homelessness
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Wednesday that seeks to effectively end homelessness in Illinois by marshalling the resources of multiple agencies into one effort. House Bill 2831 codifies an executive order Pritzker signed in 2021 that established the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and the…