Local News
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…
Stagg runs away with ISBE awards
By Jeff Vorva Stagg High School cleaned house in winning several Those Who Excel awards from the Illinois State Board of Education. The Charger Team Space at Stagg won an ISBE team award for meritorious service. Team members are Nicole Leibfried, Tricia Biel, Pat Wright, Jacob Randulich, Eric Elget, Ayaa Al Kurdi, Matt Seibt, Mary…
Expanded early voting now underway
From staff reports Expanded early voting for suburban residents kicked off on Monday at more than 50 polling locations in village halls, community centers, and courthouses across Cook County suburban communities. Suburban voters will have 53 sites to choose from to cast an early ballot in advance of the 2024 Presidential Primary Election on March 19. Early voting…
Palos Heights BP sells million-dollar scratch off ticket
From staff reports While stopping for gas, an Illinois woman decided to pick up a purple scratch-off ticket – her favorite color – to treat herself for her birthday. What she didn’t expect was to be in total shock after realizing the ticket that she purchased for $25 was now worth a cool $1 million.…
Police Reports
ORLAND PARK Assault Eushauna Dotson-Powell, 19, of Chicago, was arrested on Feb. 11 and charged with assault at Warren Barr, 14601 John Humphrey Dr. Police said she was screaming, cussing and spitting at staff. She was given a lifetime ban at Warren Barr and had a March 5 court date scheduled at the Orland Park…
Boys Basketball UIC Supersectional | Mt. Carmel headed to state semifinals for first time since ’85
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Mt. Carmel overcame a cold-shooting night and oulasted St. Patrick in overtime to win the UIC Supersectional to earn a trip to the IHSA Class 3A state semifinals. The 56-46 victory sent the Caravan to the final four for the first time since they won the Class AA state championship…
Boys Basketball Class 3A Playoffs | Thornton tops Brother Rice to advance to UIC Supersectional
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Brother Rice went toe-to-toe with Thornton in a hostile environment, but the Wildcats did what potential state championship teams do and played their best ball late to pull out a 61-54 win in the Class 3A Thornton Sectional title game. The game was played at the Wildcats’ home gym in Harvey,…
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Comings & Goings
Pritzker signs election bill to increase party power in primary elections
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Changes to primary election fundraising, the electoral college and the state’s voter registration database are now law after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a wide-ranging bill on Monday. The legislation, containing several unrelated election measures, passed near the end of the legislature’s spring session on a vote of 68-38 in…
U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban, for now
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines will remain in place, at least for now. The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will not take up any of the pending challenges to the law until the cases have been fully heard in lower courts. Illinois lawmakers…
ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com With fiscal year 2025 slated to begin Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers” this week, Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal…
After 9 months, state data begins to detail new pretrial detention system
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Nine months after cash bail ended in Illinois, the state is taking its first steps in publishing the data that crafters of the bail reform law saw as essential to judging its effectiveness. The data shows that judges in the 75 counties served by the Illinois Supreme Court’s…
ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com With fiscal year 2025 slated to begin Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers” this week, Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal…
Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The 6-3 decision saw the three liberal justices concur with the order. Three…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him. A jury last spring found those allies – former lobbyists and…
Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing. The package also expands tax…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Orland Park lays the groundwork for public speaking at meetings
By Jeff Vorva All was calm at the March 4 Orland Park village board meeting. And Orland Park officials want to keep it that way. During a Feb. 5 meeting, there was yelling and chanting from protesters who wanted the board to draw up a resolution requesting a cease fire in Gaza. Mayor Keith Pekau…