Local News
Mt. Carmel tops Rice in big Blue battle
By Steve Millar Correspondent On a night when Mount Carmel honored one of its all-time best point guards — retiring the jersey of former Caravan and Illinois star Tracy Abrams at halftime — two of the Chicago Catholic League’s current top point guards staged an epic duel. Brother Rice junior Ahmed Henderson scored 31 points.…
Girl wrestlers make history as first IHSA state qualifiers
By Steve Millar Correspondent For Morton senior Karla Topete, Feb. 12 was a special day for a greater reason than just her winning a sectional wrestling championship. Topete and her teammates competed at the Andrew Sectional, one of four sectionals that marked the start of the IHSA’s first individual girls wrestling state series. For the…
High School Hockey: St. Rita drops two of three to Carmel, bows out of Kennedy Cup
By Steve Millar Correspondent St. Rita came out angry for Game 2 of its Kennedy Cup playoff quarterfinal series with Carmel. Two days earlier, the fifth-seeded Mustangs were run off the ice by the fourth-seeded Corsairs in a 5-0 loss in which they gave up three first-period goals and were never really in the game.…
Stagg girls hoops enjoying dream season
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The night before a signature victory over Lincoln-Way Central, Stagg senior guard Laila Bakarat had sweet dreams. “I dreamt about it the night before it happened,” she said. “I literally dreamt about winning. I woke up and said, ‘I hope this is reality.’’’ The reality was that she scored 32…
College Report: Former Stagg standout Kazanecki gives hoops one more year
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The idea was for Tom Kazanecki to finish his basketball career at St. Ambrose in 2021. The former Stagg hoops standout was even toying with the idea of starting a military career, even though he had an extra year of athletics eligibility remaining, thanks to seasons getting snipped because of…
Area Sports Roundup: Marist leads way with 11 wrestlers heading to state
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer An army of area wrestlers is headed to the state tournament, with 49 set to hit the mat in Champaign. During sectional action on Feb. 12, area wrestlers feasted on opponents. Marist will send 11 to the tournament, which begins Thursday at State Farm Center on the University of Illinois…
Man charged in string of armed robberies in Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Hickory Hills
By Bob Bong A Chicago man has been charged in a string of armed robberies that took place in Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Hickory Hills and other communities. He was charged February 2 for the December 28 robbery of the Shell station at 12121 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Palos Heights. Palos Heights police said they…
Campaign 2020: Civil Rights attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch to seek judgeship
By Ray Hanania Civil Rights attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch has announced her candidacy for one of two vacancies for judge in Cook County’s 4th Subcircuit in the June 28 primary election. Raines-Welch specializes in legal work for municipal governments, including cities, school districts, park districts and other local taxpayer-funded public bodies at an established municipal law…
Campaign 2020: 11 elected officials endorse Newman in primary
By Bob Bong Marie Newman’s bid to win the Democratic nomination in the new 6th Congressional District picked up steam Tuesday when 11 elected officials in Cook and DuPage counties announced they were endorsing her in the June primary over fellow incumbent Sean Casten. “Congresswoman Marie Newman has been a very strong and effective advocate for…
Owner dispels rumors of Royalberry closing
By Bob Bong Frank Salman, owner of Royalberry Waffle House and Restaurant in Palos Heights, has a simple message: “We’re not closed!” Salman said rumors have been rampant in the area that his restaurant of 17 years suddenly closed at the corner of 127th Street and Ridgeland Avenue. “We are not closed. We are going strong,”…
$900,000 Lotto ticket sold at Palos Heights 7-Eleven
By Bob Bong Local Lucky Day Lotto players best check their tickets for last Sunday’s mid-day drawing. A winning ticket worth $900,000 was sold at the Palos Heights 7-Eleven store. The winning ticket was sold at the store at 6350 W. 135th St., and matched all five numbers in Sunday mid-day’s drawing: 11-13-24-30-37. “Selling a…
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Illinois News
Potawatomi land transfer advances in Illinois House
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would help the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation expand their newly established reservation in DeKalb County advanced out of a state House committee Tuesday, despite concerns about the tribe’s long-term plans for the property. House Bill 4718 would authorize the state to hand over…
Illinois could be 19th state to phase out subminimum wage for disabled workers
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com After years of negotiations and continued opposition from service providers, Illinois appears poised to prohibit employers from using a federal exemption that allows them to pay individuals with disabilities less than the minimum wage. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established minimum wage law, but created…
Once again working through the night, lawmakers finalize $53.1 billion budget
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com After a near-derailment and an all-nighter to wrap up the General Assembly’s spring session, supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House gave final legislative approval to the state budget as the sun rose Wednesday morning. Despite holding 78 seats in the chamber, it took Democrats three tries to reach…
Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Members of a would-be union representing staffers in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office filed suit against their boss on Friday, asking a Cook County judge to force recognition of the union. The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, which formed in the fall of 2022, claims Welch’s…
Regulators slash Chicago gas utility’s rate request, setting up likely legal battle
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday once again reduced a request to increase customer rates from Chicago natural gas utility Peoples Gas. In November, the ICC paused all spending related to Peoples Gas’ controversial “safety modernization program” for replacing aging infrastructure and reduced its $404 million…
Ban on ‘captive audience’ meetings, AI regulations among 466 bills to pass this session
By ALEX ABBEDUTO, COLE LONGCOR, & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com A bill banning what unions refer to as employer-sponsored “captive audience” meetings about religion and politics has cleared both chambers of the General Assembly. It was one of 466 measures to do so during the Illinois legislature’s recently concluded spring session, including measures…
Would-be union of legislative staffers accuse Welch of undermining organizing effort
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Seven months after Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch advanced a measure that would allow legislative staff to unionize, members of his own staff on Tuesday blasted the speaker for allowing the bill to languish. The legislation has not seen any action since its passage…