Local News
Baseball | Sandburg tops Marist to open playoffs, but falls to LW West in regional final
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent For the second consecutive year, Sandburg’s season came to an end at the hands of Lincoln-Way West. The Eagles (21-12) fell to the Warriors, 6-1, in the Class 4A Sandburg Regional championship game on May 25. They had advanced to a second playoff game with a 7-3 comeback victory over Marist…
Emma Sears scores match’s lone goal as Louisville blanks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars are miles ahead of where they were last year. The team secured its 16th point on May 12. In 2023, it had to wait until July 7 to hit its 16th point during a season in which it finished in last place in the NWSL. Despite that,…
Sports Bits | St. Michael seventh-grader sets Illinois state record in 110-meter hurdles
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent • St. Michael School seventh-grader Tommy Walter set a grade-school state record en route to winning the Illinois Elementary School Association Class 2A 110-meter hurdles at the grade-school state meet held May 10-11 in East Peoria. Tommy set the Class 2A record in the event with a time of 16.31. •…
Water Polo | Lions, Eagles, Macs, Crusaders and Mustangs earn All-State honors
All-State water polo Lyons girls water polo standout Maya Mladjan was named to the Illinois Water Polo organization’s All-State first team. The Lions’ Delaney Judkins and Isabella Recker, and Mother McAuley’s Becca Engquist earned second-team honors. Sandburg’s Claire Donnell made the third team and the Mighty Macs’ Andi Moriarity made the fourth team. In the…
Chicago Christian’s Grace Mullin caps successful spring by committing to Air Force
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Grace Mullin has proven talents on the ground. In the future, the Chicago Christian graduate may show more talents in the air. After an incredible spring and track season, Mullin — who graduated May 23 — capped things off by committing to the Air Force Academy. This came less than a…
Boys Tennis State Finals | Lyons’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone take 2nd
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Two doubles teams from Lyons made deep runs at the IHSA Class 2A boys tennis state finals, with one of them bringing home some hardware. The boys state tennis finals were held at various sites in the north and northwest suburbs May 23-25. The Lions’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone won…
Postseason Roundup | Area teams still alive in playoffs
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Several area baseball, softball, boys volleyball and girls soccer teams were still alive in the postseason heading into this week. Among those was two-time defending Class 3A champion Nazareth, which is competing in Class 4A this season. The Roadrunners, Brother Rice and Mount Carmel won regional titles. So did De La…
Boys State Track Finals | St. Laurence’s Harley Rizzs wins 100m title, helps Vikings to 400m relay gold
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent St. Laurence junior Harley Rizzs was a member of the Vikings football team that earned a 2023 Class 4A state runner-up trophy the day after Thanksgiving. He bettered that two days before Memorial Day when he became the first St. Laurence track athlete to win an individual state championship. Rizzs won…
Boys Volleyball | Sandburg seeks 26th regional title
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Coming off the worst season in program history in 2023, Sandburg was not going to settle for anything less than better results this year. Past the midway point of this season, however, the Eagles had a record of 11-8. But they closed the regular season strong, winning 11 of their last…
Baseball | Red-hot Reavis looks to make noise in postseason
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Reavis is determined to send their head coach Don Erickson into retirement on a high note and will head into the postseason red hot and as South Suburban Red champions. The Rams defeated Oak Lawn 3-0 for the second straight day on May 15 to clinch the conference title. They followed…
Sports Bits | Rice boats at Carlyle Lake, Hawkeye DB and Do It Stevie’s Way
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Noteworthy sports briefs from May 12-19 • Brother Rice’s No. 1 boat of Joe Hall and Joe Judeh took 31st in the state bass fishing tournament, which wrapped up on May 18 at Carlyle Lake. The Crusaders had a two-day haul of 7 pounds, 12 ounces. The Crusaders’ No. 2 boat…
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Illinois News
Feds accuse ex-lawmaker of ‘greed, fraud and arrogance’ in misusing campaign funds
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Bass pulled no punches in describing former Republican state Sen. Sam McCann on the first day of his federal corruption trial on Tuesday. “This case is about greed, fraud and arrogance,” Bass said. “Greed for a lifestyle far beyond his means…fraud in…
Ex-Madigan aide sentenced to 30 months in prison for obstruction of justice attempt, perjury
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – For most of his adult working life, Tim Mapes only had one boss: former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. And for the more than 25 years he served as Madigan’s chief of staff, Mapes was known for his extreme loyalty to the powerful speaker. His office…
Gun rights groups ask SCOTUS to review Illinois’ assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In a long-expected move, national gun rights organizations are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Illinois’ ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines. In separate petitions filed Monday, the Colorado-based National Association for Gun Rights and the Nevada-based Firearms Policy Coalition asked the nation’s…
McCann trial delayed another day as he cancels plan to represent himself
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The federal corruption trial of former Republican state Sen. Sam McCann was delayed again on Monday, but this time for only one day to allow a court-appointed standby attorney time to take over his defense. McCann’s trial has been delayed numerous times since his February 2021…
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…