Local News
Spoto takes title as Orland Township’s Senior Idol
By Kelly White Beautiful voices rang out through the Orland community this past week. Held on March 7, Orland Township’s Senior American Idol was an annual event that brings together talented seniors to showcase their musical abilities. Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady and the Board of Trustees invited seniors out for exciting evening filled with…
Palos Park wants to keep grocery tax
By Jeff Vorva Palos Park officials want to keep their grocery tax. Recently, Gov. JB Pritzker said he was planning on getting rid of the state’s 1% grocery tax. The axing of tax, which goes to municipalities, would allow shoppers to save a small amount of money – a dollar for every $100 spent. But…
Shepard, O’Hara and Friends collect purses
Shepard High School staff members joined graduate Catherine O’Hara this month in collecting purses to donate to victims of domestic violence. Shepard staff members donated more than 100 purses to the campaign, an annual effort at O’Hara and Friends salon at 70th Avenue and 127th Street in Palos Heights. The purses, all in prime condition,…
Ryan and Khalil looking for Democratic nod for Burke’s former seat
By Jeff Vorva Kelly Burke would love to hand the ball off to fellow Evergreen Park resident Rick Ryan for her 36th District state representative seat. Palos Hills’ Sonia Khalil would love to intercept those plans. Ryan and Khalil are battling it out for the spot that Burke held since 2011. They are on the…
High School Baseball | Oak Lawn tops Crete-Monee in season-opener
High school baseball season got underway March 11, and Oak Lawn started the season with a 12-5 victory over Crete-Monee at Ozinga Field in Crestwood. For the Spartans, senior Brett Gatch had two hits including a home run while driving in four runs. Senior Kyle Bader had two triples and three RBI, and senior Charlie…
Boys Basketball | DePaul Prep holds off Mount Carmel for Class 3A title
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Competing for and winning state championships are not new for Mount Carmel. Except in basketball. The Caravan football and wrestling teams have already won state titles this school year — the second consecutive championship for the former and the second in three seasons for the latter — but the basketball program’s…
Chicagoland Christian Conference teams meet in 1A third-place game
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Catholic League made headlines when Blue powers Mount Carmel and DePaul met in the boys basketball IHSA Class 3A state championship game. But the first-year Chicagoland Christian Conference also had a banner season. The league, which features local program Chicago Christian, had two teams in the Class 1A final…
St. Laurence names Roshawn Russell new boys hoops coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent St. Laurence announced on March 8 that Roshawn Russell will replace Byron Burt as the Vikings boys basketball coach. Russell was Burt’s assistant this season, in which the Vikings won the Chicago Catholic League White and a Class 3A regional title. Russell previously coached at St. Rita and owned a 72-42…
Sandburg grad Kendall Coyne Schofield lends voice to ‘Inside Out’ sequel
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Lewis Black. Amy Poehler. Paula Poundstone. Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And Kendall Coyne Schofield? Yes, Schofield — known for her international hockey prowess — joins those celebrities and others in Disney/Pixar’s film “Inside Out 2,” which will be released in theaters June 14. In a news release, the…
Red Stars Report | Mallory Swanson is back on the pitch and ready for a big season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Red Stars’ season opens March 16 and star player Mallory Swanson can’t wait. The prolific scorer, who during the offseason signed an NWSL-record deal that will pay her $400,000 a year through 2028, missed all but two two games for the Red Stars last season with a torn left patellar…
College Basketball | St. Xavier men’s, women’s players earn all-conference honors
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Three SXU men’s basketball players earned all Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference honors. Senior guard Cedric Johnson claimed all-CCAC first team honors and junior forward Andre Brandon was named to the second team. Freshman forward James Stevenson was named CCAC Freshman of the Year in addition to being on the all-freshman team.…
College Men’s Volleyball | SXU’s Oviedo has big day versus old mates at Concordia Irvine
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team have played such a tough schedule this season that the Cougars are ranked 11th in the nation despite entering this week with a 7-8 record. The NAIA team finished 1-2 during a recent California trip after being swept by No. 3 Vanguard University and No.…
Morton College qualifies for nationals in fourth straight season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Four for IV. For the fourth consecutive season, the Morton College women’s basketball team won the Region IV championship on March 9 to qualify for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national tournament. The Panthers beat Carl Sandburg, 102-59, at Rock Valley College to to clinch their spot at…
Florida group acquires Chicago Ridge Mall
By Bob Bong Chicago Ridge Mall opened in 1981 on the former site of the Starlite Drive-In Theater, which had closed in 1979 after a three-decade run. It was expanded in 1986. It has had several owners over the years including the Lenhdorff Group, which bought the mall in 1986 and turned around and sold…
Woman says pro-Palestinian posts cost her spin cycle job
By Nuha Abdessalam A Palos Hills native says she was let go from a part-time second job as a spin instructor because of her social media posts supporting Palestinians. Chrysa Jonas had been a spin instructor at Heights Cycle in Palos Heights (and its former incarnation as Revival Cycle) since December of 2020. She says…
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As Medicaid redeterminations restart, about 73% of state’s recipients remain enrolled
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com About 73 percent of Illinois’ Medicaid recipients remain on the rolls after the first redetermination cycle following the COVID-19 pandemic, while approximately 660,000 recipients have been disenrolled. Speaking at a news conference in Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker celebrated the fact that 2.6 million Illinoisans remained on the rolls…
Capitol Briefs: Republicans sue over law banning legislative candidate slating
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com One week after Gov. JB Pritzker signed an elections-related measure that his fellow Democrats quickly muscled through the General Assembly, Republicans sued over the new law, alleging the majority party is blocking ballot access to would-be legislative candidates. The law , passed early this month as the legislature’s…
For Many Illinoisans in Flood-Prone Areas, Buyouts Are the Only Way Out
By Laura Stewart, Illinois Answers Project April 23, 2024 DIETERICH, Ill. – Every day, Berdeena Leturno checks her email for an update on when the state of Illinois will finally pay her $80,000. It’s been over two months since she signed the paperwork to sell her flood-damaged home as part of a buyout program, and…
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Stateville may close as early as September under Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Stateville Correctional Center could close as early as September under a plan laid out by Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Friday. Top officials with the Illinois Department of Corrections testified in front of a key panel of state lawmakers. The 12 members on the General Assembly’s…
Labor-backed bill banning ‘captive audience’ meetings awaits House action
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With two weeks left before the General Assembly’s spring session is set to adjourn, negotiations continue on a labor union-backed initiative that would allow Illinoisans to skip religious and political work meetings without reprimand. Dubbed the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act,” Senate Bill 3649 advanced out…
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…