Desplaines Valley News

01/15/2025

🏠✨ New Life for Former Willow Swim Club
Developer plans townhomes and row homes for the site. Big changes ahead! 🏡 Get the details:

Townhouses and row homes, each costing around $750,000, will be built where the Willow Swim Club had been located for nearly eight decades. The former Willow Swim Club, 11300 W. 83rd Street, last saw swimmers in 2008. The site is at the northwest corner of German Church Road and Wolf Road. At the De...

01/15/2025

Hickory Hills is making moves! 💰🚧 New capital plans and wage exemptions just got the green light. 🏙️

The Hickory Hills City Council held its first meeting of the year on January 9, with Ald. Scott Zimmerman stepping in to lead in Mayor Mike Howley’s absence. The meeting addressed a range of city business, including financial approvals, ordinance updates, and plans for infrastructure improvements....

01/15/2025

🗑️🏘️ Worth Weighs Garbage Ordinance Changes
New adjustments could be coming soon. What’s the impact? 🤔

An ordinance that was recently passed to prevent garbage from overflowing from containers outside apartment complexes may be an unfair burden for some owners in Worth, according to one trustee. An ordinance passed Dec. 3 stipulates that all garbage, refuse and ashes collected shall be placed in meta...

01/15/2025

🚓📅 Beecher Police Blotter
Catch up on incidents from Dec. 25 - Jan. 4. 🐝

Disclaimer: Charges against each defendant are merely accusations, with all defendants presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. On December 26, Joaquin Romero-Perez, 57, of Schaumburg, was stopped for speeding and found also to never have had a valid driver’s license. He was charg...

01/15/2025

🚨🏫 Fire Sprinkler Debate Heats Up
Should schools drop the sprinkler requirement? The board weighs in. 🔥🤔

The Manhattan Board engaged in a spirited debate about whether St. Joseph School should be held to the village’s ordinance on fire suppression sprinklers or whether the village should re-write its code to exempt the school and others that may find themselves in similar positions. Village Attorney ...

01/15/2025

Palos Park Police Offitcer Bob Kosianis recognized by mayor and police chief for quick actions after spotting smoke coming from a home on his beat.

Palos Park Police Officer Bob Kotsianis was cited for calling for firefighters after he spotted smoke coming from a home Monday afternoon. Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich Walters on Tuesday praised Kotsianis for his actions Monday. “Monday afternoon, while on patrol, driving down 81st Avenue, Off...

01/15/2025

21-year-old charged in Garfield Ridge carjacking and stabbing.

A Chicago woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing two people and stealing a car in the 5100 block of South Rutherford Avenue at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 9.  Vanessa Delgado, 21, of the 6900 block of West 64th Place, was charged with two felony counts of attempted...

01/15/2025

🏞️✅ Manhattan Parks Make Big Moves!
Tax levy approved and executive director’s contract renewed. 🌟
Get the details.
📰

The Manhattan Park District passed its tax levy for the upcoming year, which reflects a 6.67% percent increase over last year’s tax revenue. The Park District Board also approved Executive Director Jay Kelly’s three-year contract for $144,432 for 2025, with incremental increases between four and...

01/15/2025

🏈🎓 NIU’s Roy Williams Lets His Game Speak!
Dominating on the field and making waves off it. 🌟

In the press release announcing the eight Northern Illinois football players who were named to the 2024 All-Mid-American Conference Team, defensive end Roy Williams is described by head coach Thomas Hammock as someone who “doesn’t say much but plays with a very physical mentality.” So, does th...

01/14/2025

Check out Mike Walsh's Boys High School Basketball notebook.

🏀 Danny Loftus Shines for R-B: Scored 31 points, including 25 in the first half, leading the Bulldogs to a 78-65 win over Nazareth.

🏀 Dynamic Duo: Loftus dominated inside while Cameron Mercer hit six 3-pointers, adding 23 points.

And more...

Riverside-Brookfield’s Danny Loftus started against Nazareth on Jan. 11 and didn’t take a breather till the 2:40 mark of the third quarter. He clearly earned a break after scoring 25 first-half points in the Bulldogs’ 78-65 road win. The 6-foot-3 senior guard finished with a game-best 31 point...

01/14/2025

🚗🛑 Parking Problems on Laurel Avenue
Morning drop-offs at the school are causing big challenges. What’s the solution? 🤔

Folks dropping off their children in the morning at La Grange Highlands Elementary School may notice a greater police presence. Problems with parking outside the school caught the attention of the Township of Lyons board and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department. Lieutenant Frederick Nowaczy...

01/14/2025

🏈✨ Keshaun Vaval is Unstoppable!
From standout plays to unmatched determination, he's taking Evergreen Park to the next level. 🌟

It was a holiday season to remember for Evergreen Park’s Keshaun Vaval. The 6-foot senior guard scored 117 points across four games at Rich’s Big Dipper, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. In his team’s first game post-Big Dipper, Vaval continued to put up big numbers, scoring a game-h...

01/14/2025

🏀🔥 Twins Power Sandburg to Victory!
The Johnson & Johnson duo are unstoppable on the court! 🦅💪

With four juniors in the starting five and just two seniors on the roster, Sandburg is still sorting things out at the varsity level. But two Eagles have had a strong bond for years, for obvious reasons — Will and Jonah Johnson are identical twins. “Telepathy, I guess you can say,” Jonah Johns...

01/14/2025

On your lunch break? Check out our Girls Prep Basketball Notebook by Xavier Sanchez.

🏀 Kacey Fitzpatrick Steps Up: Sophomore guard scored 13 points, leading Stagg to a 50-21 win over Richards. “I like to play up,” she said.

🏀 There's new Leadership at Richards : Tommy Makuch takes over as head coach with Jeff Kortz as assistant.

🏀 Richards Standout: Junior Ameera Martin led with 8 points and strong rebounding.

01/14/2025

Brookfield lands a $600K grant! 🎉🌳 Creekside Park is getting a fresh look with a new playground, shade shelter, and native plants. 🌞🌿

Brookfield was one of six southwest suburban communities that were awarded grants for local park district projects by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. More than $55.2 million in grant funding was awarded to 100 park projects throughout Illinois to help communities acquire land and to de...

01/14/2025

Exciting news for Orland Park! 🎉 The village has received a $600,000 state grant to fund Phase 2 of Schussler Park, which includes an all-inclusive playground designed for children of all abilities

Orland Park Director of Recreation and Parks Ray Piattoni said the village received a nice holiday gift when it was presented with an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant. The village received $600,000 in mid-December and it didn’t take long to figure out how to spend that gift. The ...

01/14/2025

Hickory Hills City Council celebrates the 2024 Lights of Hickory Hills winners. Shoutout to the families who lit up our neighborhoods with creativity and spirit! 🏡✨

Winners of the 2024 Lights of Hickory Hills Decorating Contest were recognized during the Jan. 9 city council meeting. One family from each ward earned top honors for their holiday displays, which brought festive cheer to their neighborhoods. First Ward Second Ward Third Ward Fourth Ward Two of the....

01/14/2025

Honoring Orland Park’s Trooper Clay Carns, who gave his life in service. 🙏🕊️ Our thoughts are with his family. 💔

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau took some time at the Jan. 6 village board meeting to praise the services of the late Clay Carns. Carns, 35, was an Orland Park resident and Illinois state trooper  who was struck and killed on Dec. 23 by a vehicle on Interstate 55 in the Channahon area.  The irony [....