Local News
Ex-McCook police chief sentenced to 27 months in extortion plot
By Bob Bong Mario DePasquale, the former police chief of McCook, was sentenced last week to more than two years in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to conspiring with the village’s former mayor to extort two businessmen out of tens of thousands of dollars. DePasquale, 50, was sentenced February 21 to 27 months…
Palos Heights police bust mail theft ring
3 arrested for allegedly stealing mail in Palos Heights, Palos Park By Jeff Vorva The good news is that lost mail involving residents of Palos Park and Palos Heights has been found. The bad news is that it may be a while before they get that mail back. Three people were arrested for their alleged…
Shepard student to take the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics
By Kelly White One Shepard High School student has been excelling in raising funds for this year’s Polar Plunge. Anastasia Kladis, a junior from Palos Heights, has raised nearly $2,000 for Special Olympics Illinois and hopes to keep the amount growing before she takes the plunge at school on March 7. “I have made a…
Fournier resigns from TTO to become judge
From staff reports The Lyons Township Trustees of Schools is accepting applications for a vacancy on their board, after Trustee Koula A. Fournier resigned earlier this month after being sworn-in as a Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court. Fournier was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to fill the Maloney vacancy of the 4th…
Cheesie’s coming to Garfield Ridge
. Popular ‘pub & grub’ coming to Archer/Nashville . By Tim Hadac A business strip in need of a shot of adrenaline is about get a bit of zing next month. Cheesie’s Pub & Grub, a well known favorite on the North Side, is bringing its casual dining fun to the vacant Lindy’s/Gertie’s building at…
Oak Lawn welcomes second Panda Express restaurant
By Joe Boyle A large crowd of customers began lining up outside the new Panda Express in Oak Lawn the morning of Feb. 15 and were not disappointed when they entered the restaurant. A major draw to the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony was that the first 88 customers to enter the restaurant would receive…
Evergreen Park officer arrests armed driver after traffic stop
By Joe Boyle What appeared to be a routine traffic stop resulted in the arrest of an armed man in Evergreen Park. At Monday’s Evergreen Park Village Board meeting, Police Chief Michael Saunders requested that Officer Adrian Ortiz receive a commendation for making an arrest of a suspect who may have been a danger to…
Palos Hills to start posting job openings
By Nuha Abdessalam The Palos Hills Economic Development Department will start making job postings accessible for locals to scope out the job scene. Mayor Gerald Bennett and aldermen highlighted the city’s flourishing local business climate during the city council meeting on Feb. 15. Ald. Donna O’Connell said the city’s Economic Development Department will be able…
Love is in the air at RomCon 2024
By Kelly White Love made an appearance at the local library this past weekend. Back by popular demand again this year, the Oak Lawn Public Library, 9427 Raymond Ave., Oak Lawn, held RomCon 2024, celebrating the romance genre on February 17. “RomCon is a time for fellow romance readers to get together to meet romance…
Richards students make blankets for kids with cancer
By Kelly White Richards High School students brought warmth and love to those who need it most this winter season. Under the supervision of Richards Activities Facilitator, Deborah Swanson, 75 students met after school on January 31 at the high school, 10601 Central Avenue in Oak Lawn, to make fleece comfort blankets for pediatric cancer…
Fernway Park School receives kindness – and scooters
By Jeff Vorva Scooters. Dollars. Kindness. Those were the three themes of the day on Feb. 14 at Fernway Park Elementary School in Orland Park thanks to a group of high school athletes in the Buddy’s Helpers group. There were 102 students in first and second grade at the school who were greeted in the…
Comings & Goings: Joey’s Red Hots to open Monday in Orland Hills
By Bob Bong Co-owner Anthony Nardo is not one to miss an opportunity to expand the reach of the Joey’s Red Hots empire. The Orland Park-based chain of restaurants has set Monday, February 26, as the opening date for its newest Joey’s location, in Orland Hills. Nardo and his partner Nick Iozzo jumped quickly when…
No ruckus this time between Orland board, protesters
By Jeff Vorva More than 80 people crowded Orland Park’s Village Hall Monday night with many there to protest the village board’s decision not to draw up a resolution asking for a ceasefire in Gaza. Unlike a Feb. 5 meeting, in which there was yelling and chants and Mayor Keith Pekau having police clear the…
Worth approves new parking, traffic regulations
By Joe Boyle Two ordinances were passed at the Worth Village Board meeting Tuesday night requiring changes for pedestrian crossings and vehicular traffic. Police Chief Tim Denton said one ordinance needed to be amended regarding pedestrian and vehicular traffic. It needed to be made clear that individuals should not be walking along main streets and…
Palos Heights City Council rejects City Hall renovation
By Bob Bong Palos Heights aldermen rejected a $1.7 million renovation project for its aging City Hall building at a sometimes testy City Council meeting Tuesday night. Aldermen voted 5-3 to shoot down a plan that would have made some bathrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, moved the Building Department back to the…
Firefighter injured fighting Orland Park fire Tuesday morning
By Bob Bong One firefighter suffered minor injuries while battling a fire at a home in Orland Park early Tuesday morning. Orland Fire Protection District officials said the fire was reported at 3:35 a.m. on Feb. 20 in the 14700 block of Holly Court in Orland Park. The fire was brought under control after about…
New Warsaw saga continues
. Neighbors to have a second say about banquet hall . By Dermot Connolly and Tim Hadac Several dozen Clearing residents interested in the future of the shuttered New Warsaw Restaurant & Banquets property, 6250 W. 63rd St., had their say last week. More than 50 people turned out on Feb. 14 at the Clearing…
McCook police arrest Chicago man in fatal shooting
By Bob Bong A Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in Saturday’s early morning shooting outside All Star Bar, 7949 W. 47th St. in McCook, which left one man dead and a second man wounded. Sisto A. Brito, 32, was charged Monday with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted…
Lyons awards outstanding Morton high school bowler
By Steve Metsch Desmond Zuro has loved bowling since the first time he sent a ball toward the pins at Bowlero Lyons on 47th Street. Six years later, the Lyons resident is one of the best high school bowlers in the state. A sophomore at Morton West High School, Zuro placed 19th of 180 bowlers…
Chemical spill on I-55 shuts down traffic for hours
By Carol McGowan Chemicals leaking from a semi-trailer truck that was stopped on the right shoulder of Interstate 55 near LaGrange Road in Summit caused the expressway to be shut down in both directions for most of the day last Friday, and caused traffic headaches in the surrounding area. All lanes were closed from just…
Illinois News
House gives OK to new state agency focused on early childhood programs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House gave final passage Thursday to a bill establishing a new cabinet-level state agency whose mission will be to provide a kind of one-stop shop for services focusing on early childhood development and education. By the time it’s fully operational in 2026, the new…
ANALYSIS: ‘Significant enough’ opposition to Pritzker’s revenue plan leads to call for cuts
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com When Gov. JB Pritzker proposed his budget for the upcoming fiscal year in February, he sought authority from lawmakers to raise more than $1 billion in revenue through various changes to the state tax code. Among other things, he sought to raise $526 million through extending an expiring…
State officials offer last goodbye to former Thompson Center as renovations begin
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State officials kicked off the private renovation of the building which once served as the state government’s Chicago headquarters. The James R. Thompson Center, as it was known under state ownership, was sold in 2022 to a development firm that is renovating the building for its…
Public officials seek greater oversight of prescription drug middlemen
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com As state lawmakers hold hearings targeting the role of pharmacy benefit managers – an influential arm in how the health insurance industry prices prescription drugs – multiple state agencies are considering how to better regulate the industry. Often referred to as pharmaceutical “middlemen,” PBMs act as third-party intermediaries…
Thousands of youths at risk of losing access to after-school programs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for community-based after-school programs say as many as 40,000 youths statewide could lose access to tutoring services, recreation and other extracurricular activities this summer unless Illinois lawmakers approve an infusion of funds to keep them going. “The time is now for legislators to act to…
Lawsuit alleges sexual abuse was rampant in state-run juvenile detention centers
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Rampant sexual abuse occurred unchecked for decades at Illinois’ juvenile detention centers, a new lawsuit filed on behalf of 95 former detainees alleges, citing hundreds of incidents over more than two decades. The plaintiffs were boys between 12 and 17 years old when the alleged abuse occurred and…
House GOP advances 2 human trafficking victim protection bills as others remain in limbo
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com After Illinois received another failing grade from a national advocacy group, state House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at further protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking. Shared Hope International, an advocacy organization that works to prevent sex trafficking, said in its 2023 Illinois report card that…
Remembering Lee Milner
NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…
Former state trooper who caused fatal crash halts effort to get driving privileges restored
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of two sisters in 2007 has abandoned his efforts to have a hearing into the restoration of his driving privileges – for now. Matt Mitchell, 45, requested at least two delays in the hearing after he failed…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…