Local News
Palos Heights considers TIF district for business corridor
By Dermot Connolly The Palos Heights City Council is considering creating a tax-increment financing district to generate funding to update the Harlem Avenue business district. Mayor Bob Straz discussed that during a wide-ranging State of the City address to the Palos Area Chamber of Commerce on March 26 in the Palos Heights Recreation Center. Palos…
Green Team of Palos Heights plans Clean Up Day
By Kelly White The Green Team of Palos Heights does just what its name implies and works hard to keep the city green and beautiful. “The mission of the Green Team is basically to raise awareness and educate the community about environmental efforts that protect and restore the environment in our community, recognizing that sharing…
Girls Soccer | Stagg, Reavis looking for more
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The final match of March for both Reavis and Stagg ended in a 0-0 draw on March 28 in Burbank. The Rams (2-4-1 entering this week) are led by third-year head coach Konrad Dziedzic. This season’s team captains include seniors Alaina Hernandez and Olivia Smcyz. “The captains play a huge leadership…
Sports Bits | Aaliyah Flores named St. Laurence hoops MVP
• Shepard alum John Economos was named to the National Hellenistic Hall of Fame. Economos was a Regional News-Reporter Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 1995. • Marist boys basketball coach Brian Hynes was named District 3 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. • St. Laurence freshman Aaliyah Flores was named the…
College Baseball | Saint Xavier and St. Francis combine for 68 hits, 11 HRs
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent In a showdown between two of the top teams in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, St. Francis (Illinois) won a strange and windy doubleheader over Saint Xavier, 21-4 and 30-14, on March 26 in Chicago. Yes, those were baseball scores. The teams combined for 68 hits and 11 home runs over…
Brother Rice baseball field to get major upgrade
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Brother Rice is getting an upgrade to its baseball field. The project has been in the planning stages for years, but the Covid-19 pandemic and projects around the school have put it to the back burner. But the school announced last week that the project will commence this summer. The completely…
Baseball | St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus gets 500th career win
From Staff Reports St. Laurence defeated Naperville North on March 30 to give longtime Vikings coach Pete Lotus his 500th career victory. The Vikings beat the Huskies, 3-0, in Burbank. Two days earlier, Joe Olsen and Enrique Villanueva combined to allow just one run on four hits over five innings, and senior Matthew Carrano hit…
Pro Soccer Brief | Fire II draw with Philly
The Chicago Fire II played its first home MLS NEXT Pro game of the season and tied the Philadelphia Union, 1-1, on March 27 at SeatGeek Stadium. Harold Osorio scored his first goal of the season and goalie Patrick Los was busy making eight saves.
Red Stars’ Swanson and Naeher heading to SheBelieves Cup
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Two Chicago Red Stars are heading to the SheBelieves Cup with the U.S. women’s team. Forward Malloey Swanson and goalie Alyssa Naeher will be among the players representing the U.S. in a game against Japan on April 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Stars’ Nadia Gomes will be playing for…
Swanson scores in Red Stars’ draw with Pride
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent After missing most of the 2023 NWSL season due to surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson knew she would have to ease into things in 2024. First-year coach Lorne Donaldson was expecting Swanson would return to form five or six games in. Whether she…
Comings & Goings: Freddy’s closes in Orland Park
By Bob Bong Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers closed its doors in Orland Park for the last time on March 7 and all of the signage has been removed. No reason for the closing was given on the restaurant’s Facebook page and an email to Freddy’s corporate offices went unreturned. Phone calls and emails to…
Boys Volleyball | Stagg ends Marist Invite with win over Riverside-Brookfield
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg outlasted Riverside-Brookfield in a marathon first set, winning 36-34, then followed that with a 25-20 clincher on March 23 to finish seventh in the Silver divison at the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational. The Chargers went 2-3 in the tournament. They opened pool play on March 22 at the Marist…
Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite
Shepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to the Marist…
Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights
By Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in 2019, aldermen…
Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party
By Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program Coordinator Krisa…
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Comings & Goings
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…
Pritzker signs bill creating new Department of Early Childhood
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday creating a new cabinet-level state agency dedicated to early childhood education and development. The new Department of Early Childhood, which will become operational in July 2026, will take over programs currently housed across three state agencies, including funding for preschool…
Speaker Welch rebuffs lawsuit from would-be staff union as ‘forum shopping’
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch is urging a Cook County judge to dismiss a lawsuit members of his staff filed against him last month seeking to force recognition of their union. In a new filing Monday, attorneys for Welch argued the Illinois Legislative Staff Association has no…
Advocates say SCOTUS ruling paves way for law ensuring abusers have guns confiscated
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com After the U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld a federal law that bars those under domestic violence-related restraining orders from owning guns, victim advocates say Illinois lawmakers should pass a measure to ensure firearms are actually confiscated in those situations. The legislation has been stalled for more than…
Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Jimmy Soto spent more than 42 years wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. In 2020, he was moved to the “F-House” at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a condemned unit, not because he was being punished, but because it was where the facility was housing individuals…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…
As Illinois session ends, lawmakers’ attempt to reinstate wetland protections fails
by JENNIFER BAMBERG Investigate Midwest jennifer.bamberg@investigatemidwest.org In 2006, 19-year-old Jessica Whinston inherited 20 acres of land that her grandparents once farmed in Quincy, Illinois. The land had sat dormant since the 1980s and was overgrown, but Whinston and her husband Bradley worked to turn it into a productive farm. The couple were eventually able to…
Elections board dismisses illegal campaign coordination complaint, declines to clarify law
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – State elections officials on Tuesday indicated they were unlikely to step in to clarify what constitutes illegal campaign coordination after voting to dismiss a complaint alleging such coordination in the 2022 campaign for governor. At their monthly meeting in Chicago, Illinois State Board of Elections members…