Local News
Comings & Goings: Fogo de Chao coming to Orland Park
Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian steak house known for servers carrying slabs of meat on long skewers from table to table, announced last week that it had signed a lease to open a new restaurant in Orland Park. The new location at 15407 S. LaGrange Road would be the chain’s fifth Chicagoland restaurant. The 6,791-square-foot…
Local physician surpasses 500th robotic surgery at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital
Northwestern Medicine Palos Heights Hospital is celebrating an exciting milestone for one of its surgeons. Dr. Samer Rajjoub, a surgeon at Palos Hospital, recently celebrated his 500th robotic surgery with state-of-the-art da Vinci robots that allow surgeons to perform complex minimally invasive procedures with more precision, often leading to less pain for the patient post-surgery…
Palos East Elementary named National Blue Ribbon School
Palos East Elementary School in Palos Consolidated School District 118 has been named a National Blue Ribbon School award winner by the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, made the announcement on September 23 that Palos East Elementary has been named a 2024 National Blue Ribbon School. Schools are nominated by…
Pekau formally announces re-election bid and names slate
Even though he announced his intentions of running for another term in 2023, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau made a formal announcement on Sept. 30. He also announced his slate of trustees and clerk for the April 1 election at a dinner following his golf outing for veterans at Silver Lake Country Club. Current trustees…
Palos Heights approves façade grant for Golden Shoes
Palos Heights aldermen were busy last month approving payments for road projects and demolition as well as a façade improvement. On September 17, council members approved a $206,939 payment to Simpson Construction for demolition needed for the pool improvement project. Additionally, a request was approved to purchase required Illinois Department of Public Health double doors…
A Legacy of Compassion: How One Family’s Fight for Organ Donation Continues After Tragedy
Vikki Tulcus devoted her life to helping others as an advocate for organ donation, touching countless lives. As fate would have it, Tulcus became someone in desperate need of a donor. Her story is one of compassion, dedication and tragedy. Diagnosed with Wegener’s Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease, Tulcus faced her own need for an…
Orland Park Library Fall Blanket Drive Aims To Keep Seniors Warm
As the temperatures begin to drop, the Orland Park Public Library is helping to spread warmth to senior citizens in need. The Orland Park Public Library has partnered with Pathlights, a nonprofit organization that serves older adults, for a fall blanket drive. “As the cooler months approach, it’s heartwarming to see our community come together…
From Grass to Verona: Shepard Students Transform Outdoors for Unique Romeo & Juliet Experience
Duffy Donovan is a junior at Shepard High School who loves theater. At just 16, Donovan has landed the role of a lifetime—playing Juliet in the school’s first-ever outdoor performance of Romeo & Juliet. The outdoor setting was a requirement due to the ongoing renovation of the school’s Fine Arts Center. With Shepard High School’s…
Pro soccer report: Fire eliminated from MLS playoffs again
The Chicago Fire’s chances for the playoffs officially ended at SeatGeek stadium. With a 1-1 tie with Toronto FC on Sept. 28 in front of an announced crowd of 16,097 in Bridgeview, the Fire (7-16-9) have been eliminated from the Major League Soccer postseason picture for the 11th time in the past 12 seasons. “This…
Girls Volleyball | Hot time for Mother McAuley in rivalry win over Marist
Hot gym. Hot rivalry. It was all getting to Mother McAuley hitter Sydney Buchanan a little bit. So, during crunch time, she pounded kill after kill in the second set and the Mighty Macs took a 26-24, 25-23 road victory over Marist on Sept. 26 in a neighborhood rivalry game in a packed gym that…
Area Sports Roundup: St. Xavier football holds off Concordia Ann Arbor
St. Xavier’s football team got pressed a little in the fourth quarter when Concordia Ann Arbor (Mich.) returned a fourth-quarter interception for a touchdown to make it a one-score game. But kicker Peyton Benes relieved the tension with a 23-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 24 seconds to play in what turned out to be…
K.J. Morris kick-starts Brother Rice in romp past St. Patrick
As beginnings go, it’s tough to top the one that K.J. Morris provided his Brother Rice teammates. On the opening kickoff of the Crusaders’ 48-0 CCL/ESCC crossover victory over St. Patrick at Triton College in Week 5, Morris sprinted 95 yards for a touchdown. For an encore, Morris returned a punt 45 yards for a…
North Dakota State commit Myles Mitchell, Richards race past Argo
Fans at Friday night’s South Suburban Red matchup between Richards and Argo hoping to see running back Myles Mitchell at his best were not disappointed. Mitchell powered the Bulldogs to an impressive 41-0 victory in Summit, carrying 29 times for 191 yards and five touchdowns. The North Dakota State commit found the end zone on…
Vanderbilt commit Jack Elliott, Mount Carmel cruise by Benet
Through the first five games of the season, Mount Carmel has piled up 215 points for an average of 43 points per game. One of the primary reasons why the Caravan have been so successful thus far is the play of senior quarterback Jack Elliott. In guiding Mount Carmel to a 48-13 Week 5 CCL/ESCC…
Cornell commit John McAuliffe, Marist get past IC Catholic
Scoring points hasn’t been a problem this season for Marist. That trend continued in Week 5 as the Redhawks traveled to Elmhurst and defeated IC Catholic 34-26 in a CCL/ESCC crossover. Through the first five games of the season, Marist, which improved to 4-1 overall, tallied 148 points, good enough for an average of 29.6…
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Comings & Goings
Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in their deliberations over whether former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza bribed longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan via a no-work contract for the speaker’s political ally. After nearly 15 hours of deliberation…
High court: Smell of burnt cannabis is not cause for warrantless vehicle search
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Law enforcement officers in Illinois cannot rely on the smell of burnt cannabis alone to justify searching a vehicle without a warrant, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The decision was unanimous, though Justice Lisa Holder White did not take part in it. Writing for the court,…
State wraps up case in challenge to assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has…
Gun expert says assault weapons ban ‘describes the most popular firearms I’m involved with’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A firearms expert testified Wednesday that the weapons restricted under Illinois’ assault weapons ban include many of the most common firearms that American consumers use for self-defense. Steven Randall Watt, a combat veteran and retired law enforcement officer who now owns a private firearms…
Case of former AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan heads to jury
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – On Valentine’s Day in 2017, then-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza got some good news: After years of trying to push for legislation in Springfield that would save the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan had agreed to a…
State Supreme Court hears arguments in Jussie Smollett’s effort to overturn conviction
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in actor Jussie Smollett’s appeal to overturn his conviction on disorderly conduct charges for falsifying a hate crime. Smollett, who was an actor on the TV show “Empire,” was improperly charged with the same crime twice, his legal team…
Testimony continues in 2nd Amendment challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – An engineer who spent decades designing weapons for one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers testified Tuesday that the assault-style weapons now banned in Illinois are intended only for civilian use and cannot be easily converted into military-grade firearms. James Ronkainen, a former engineer…
Contractor’s unsecured databases exposed sensitive voter data in over a dozen Illinois counties
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Around 4.6 million records associated with Illinoisans in over a dozen counties – including voting records, registrations and death certificates – were temporarily available on the open internet, according to a security researcher who identified the vulnerability in July. The documents were available through an unsecured cloud storage…
Prosecutors rest case against former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing Madigan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – After years of pushing in Springfield, AT&T Illinois’ executive team was thrilled when the Illinois General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation that would get the company out from under expensive obligations to maintain its aging copper landline wires in Illinois. “Game over. We win,” AT&T Illinois…
Trial begins in challenge to assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – The owner of a gun store testified Monday that Illinois’ ban on the sale of assault-style weapons and large capacity magazines has had a significant impact on his business and prevented his customers from buying items they would normally use for self-defense, hunting, target…
