Local News
Shepard’s yearbook wins national recognition
By Kelly White Shepard High School students have worked tirelessly to create a yearbook for this academic year that was nationally recognized. The high school, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Palos Heights, was chosen as a Yearbook Excellence Contest recipient from Walsworth Publishing Company, a family-owned printing company based out of Marceline, Missouri. Walsworth produces…
Orland Park Public Library kicks off summer
By Kelly White Summer is nearly here and the Orland Park Public Library is ready for it. On June 8, the library, 14921 S. Ravinia Ave., hosted its second annual Summer Reading Challenge Kick-Off event themed, Read, Renew, Repeat. “There are multiple interpretations to this theme,” Jackie Boyd, Communications Manager at the Orland Park Public…
Boys Hoops | St. Laurence, Marist, Oak Lawn among teams striving to reach next level
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent High school boys basketball does not stop in March and pick back up in late autumn. For many players, playing hoops is a year-round commitment. AAU ball is a big reason for, that there are summer camps, shootouts or other events at most schools during the summer. The 21st annual…
Loss to Courage brings Red Stars’ winless streak to five games
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars historic start to the season is all but forgotten. In the last five matches, the Red Stars have failed to win, with the latest setback being a 3-1 loss on the road to North Carolina on June 23 in an NWSL battle. The Red Stars are 5-7-2…
Summer League Basketball | Illinois powers compete at Riverside-Brookfield Shootout
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent School’s out for the summer, but high school athletes across Illinois are remaining active during the summer sports season. This includes basketball players, who can be found at camps, open gyms, camps and even weekend tournaments. Among the more high-profile hoops action in the area was the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout, which featured…
Dana Rettke and Ryan Murphy heading to Paris Summer Games
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Area fans of the Summer Olympics will have extra reasons to cheer athletes from the United States in the upcoming Paris Games. Dana Rettke of Riverside is a member of the U.S. women’s volleyball team and Palos Heights native Ryan Murphy will represent the country in swimming. Rettke, a 6-foot-8 middle…
Palos Heights tax preparer convicted of Covid-relief fraud
From staff reports A Palos Heights tax preparer who operates a business in Bridgeview has been convicted on federal charges for fraudulently assisting customers in obtaining loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago on June 10 convicted Hadi Isbaih, 42, on all four counts…
Renovations begin on Shepard High School theater
By Kelly White Shepard High School, which prides itself in the fine arts, will soon have a beautifully reconstructed theater right on its Palos Heights campus. The Community High School District 218 Board of Education recently unanimously approved funding for the renovation of the Fine Arts Center at the high school at 13049 S. Ridgeland…
Orland Township event focuses on mental health
By Kelly White Orland Township is taking the time to focus on mental health. Residents were invited out to join Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady for an event called, Minds Matter 2024, on May 16 at Orland Township, located at 14807 S. Ravinia Avenue in Orland Park. “This was an excellent opportunity to connect with…
Corey Wolf ‘living the dream’ as new Shepard hoops coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent For Corey Wolf, obtaining the ultimate high school basketball prize started in the summer of 2007. Wolf was playing for a Richards team that had showed much promise, having gone 26-3 and winning a regional title the previous season. Then-Bulldogs coach John Chappetto let his players know when summer league play…
Staab header helps Red Stars forge draw with KC
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Heading into the weekend, only Kansas City and Orlando were unbeaten among NWSL teams. The teams were tied atop the league standings, with each sporting 8-0-4 records. They now share another common denominator: Both have forged draws with the Red Stars. Red Stars defender Sam Stabb’s header in the 90th minute…
Red Stars unhappy with Riot Fest conflict
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Among the bands that will headline the newly minted Riot Fest music festival are Chicago-area natives Fall Out Boy. The annual concert featuring an eclectic mix of musical acts will be held in Bridgeview Sept. 20-22 — and boy, oh boy, there is a lot of fallout from the Chicago Red…
It’s about time | Illinois high school hoops gets 35-second shot clock beginning with 2026-27 season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Count Sandburg sophomore Daniel Morakinyo as someone who can’t wait for the 2026-2027 basketball season. The rising guard/forward will be a senior that year, and he will embrace the IHSA’s implementation of a 35-second shot clock for varsity boys and girls basketball. “It’s a good feature,” Morakinyo said after a game…
Volunteers from Brother Rice, St. Rita and St. Laurence help indigent on their final journey
By Nuha Abdessalam Father Larry Sullivan, a director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago and pastor of Christ the King Parish, joined County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and spoke words of love, respect, and God at the 35th annual committal service at Mount Olivet Cemetery. The service on June 6 at 1:30 p.m.…
Riot Fest abandons Chicago park for SeatGeek Stadium
By Bob Bong Last year, Lyrical Lemonade moved its Summer Smash hip-hop music festival from Chicago’s Douglass Park to Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium. Thousands of fans poured into the stadium at 7100 S. Harlem Ave. over the course of three days and, by most accounts, enjoyed the experience. Summer Smash returned to SeatGeek this weekend for…
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Comings & Goings
Former lawmaker taken into custody amid delays to his corruption trial after sudden hospitalization
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Former Republican State Sen. Sam McCann, a onetime third-party candidate for governor, was taken into custody Friday morning ahead of his federal corruption trial on charges he misused campaign funds. The arrest caps a bizarre week that was supposed to have seen his corruption trial begin…
Misdeeds by Carlinville funeral home director spur legislative proposals
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The wrong cremains were buried in a national cemetery. Bodies cremated under the wrong name. The wrong ashes returned to families from coast to coast. An investigation into the mishandling of human remains has affected at least 80 families so far and continues to ripple out from…
Capitol Briefs: IDOT workers authorize strike; attorney general warns of AI election scams
By ANDREW ADAMS & JENNIFER FULLER Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Several Teamsters unions representing thousands of state highway workers have authorized strikes as contract negotiations between them and the state’s Department of Transportation continue. The eight local unions that authorized strikes are spread throughout Illinois and represent around 3,800 employees, including drivers, highway maintainers and…
In crisis, she went to an Illinois facility. Two years later, she still isn’t able to leave
By MOLLY PARKER & BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois mparker@capitolnewsillinois.com bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. Kaleigh Rogers was in crisis when she checked into a state-run institution on Illinois’ northern border two years ago. Rogers, who has cerebral palsy, had a mental health breakdown during…
Capitol Briefs: Tax credits for children, manufacturers among new legislative proposals
By ANDREW ADAMS COLE LONGCOR & ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com After failing to pass a child tax credit last year, advocates returned to Springfield Wednesday to propose a scaled back version of the policy which they say would still reduce child poverty and spur economic growth. The proposal, contained in House Bill 4917…
Trump’s Illinois ballot challenge to move forward
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A Cook County judge ruled Wednesday that a case seeking to bar former President Donald Trump from the March 19 Republican primary ballot in Illinois will move forward independently of a similar case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Following a brief hearing conducted by videoconference,…
Capitol Briefs: Lawmakers introduce police reform measures, advocates look to end tipped wage
By ANDREW ADAMS & ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — Families of gun violence victims are asking the state legislature to reform how police handle unsolved murder investigations through legislation introduced this week. House Bill 4753, sponsored by Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, would establish a procedure for families to request a review of…
Day in court postponed for former lawmaker who checked into hospital on eve of corruption trial
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – On what was supposed to be the third morning of a weeklong corruption trial of former State Sen. Sam McCann, the onetime third-party candidate for governor instead videoconferenced into U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless’ courtroom from his hospital bed. McCann, who checked himself into Missouri Baptist…
Indicted former lawmaker’s corruption trial up in the air after hospitalization forces delay
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Sporting a 5 o’clock shadow and a slight grimace, former Republican State Sen. Sam McCann held his phone very close to his face as he videoconferenced into a federal courtroom from his hospital bed in St. Louis late Tuesday afternoon. McCann’s sudden hospitalization has muddied the…
State Supreme Court denies state lawmaker’s bid to vacate gun ban ruling
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Supreme Court has again denied a request from a Republican lawmaker seeking to repeal the state’s assault weapons ban. Gov. JB Pritzker signed the ban on the sale, possession and manufacture of a long list of firearms, high-capacity magazines and certain accessories in January 2023. State…