Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Painful to watch news reports on flooding The reports of the massive flooding in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey are depressing and remind me of floods that slammed Illinois in 1996. Flooding is so much more damaging to regional populations and governments are not equipped to handle it. By Ray Hanania Flooding isn’t like a…
Is the school year starting too soon? It’s the beginning of August and my son is already consumed with figuring out his high school schedule and buying his books and schools supplies. Isn’t that too early for young people to stop enjoying summer vacation and worry about school? By Ray Hanania When I was a…
Rauner protects suburban schools against Chicago fund grab Gov. Bruce Rauner won his battle against the bloated and failed Chicago public schools forcing the legislature to significantly cut-back additional funding to bailout Chicago and redistribute those monies to needy suburban and state school systems that had been ignored. The plan also allows a 75 percent…
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Orland Fire Protection District presents lifesaving commendations Good samaritans and Lifetime Fitness employees among those recognized by Orland Fire District Tuesday OFPD Fire Chief Mike Schofield and the Board of Trustees set aside time at the beginning of the August 22nd Board of Trustee’s meeting to receive the following awards: Firefighter Doug DePersia brought up…
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Weather gives Chicago suburbs light show Lightning lights up the skies over the Chicagoland South and Southwest suburbs Monday night in a rapid succession, and some thought might be a scene out of the SciFi movie “War of the Worlds.” By Ray Hanania The skies above gave the South and Southwest Chicagoland suburbs a real…
Village of Orland Park Vets Collect for Current Military The Village of Orland Park Veterans’ Commission will collect items for current military on Saturday, July 22. The care package collection will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Orland Park Veterans Center, 15045 West Avenue. “We’re happy to be able to collect…
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It’s our obligation, not politics, to support our Police The Village of Orland Park this year is distributing new vehicle stickers that salute the dedication and service of the nation’s Police. Police have come under attack because a few members have committed criminal, violent acts against civilians, unjustly killing suspects or asserting excessive violence in…
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Sports figures, activists warn of rising opioid crisis Sports figures, community leaders and activists warned Wednesday that heroin and opioid use has reached a crisis stage in suburban Chicagoland and is rising across the country. At a forum organized by the Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD), the National Football Players Fathers Association (NFPFA), Cook County…
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No injuries in fire that damaged three homes in suburban Chicago Three homes were damaged when broke out between two homes in Orland Hills, a Southwest suburb of Chicagoland. Photos and drone video shows extent of the fire View the Drone Video below Two Orland Hills families were displaced by a fire this afternoon, Monday April 24….
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Arrogance of the Orland Park Village Board The Orland Park Village Board is apparently pretending that village voters really didn’t mean to support “change” in the last election, voting to oust 24-year incumbent Dan McLaughlin and replacing him with a little known, well-intentioned challenger, Keith Pekau. The board has named Joe LaMargo, the former head…
Analysis: Why Pekau won and McLaughlin lost A poorly run re-election campaign by seven-term incumbent Mayor Dan McLaughlin combined with a hot-topic issue of salary and pension hikes, and a laser-focused issues campaign of a non-political challenger, Keith Pekau, running on the Republican Party banner did what no one thought could happen April 4 in Orland Park….
Muslims lose in backlash in Suburban Chicago elections Two Muslim candidates who had strong political backing lost their bids for election on Tuesday in Suburban Chicago contests. Dave Shalabi, who was appointed to a position on a local school board two years ago, lost his bid to remain on the influential school board. Bahira Karim fails in…
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Pekau defeats McLaughlin in Orland Park mayoral race Republican challenger Keith Pekau easily unseated 23 year incumbent Dan McLaughlin as Mayor of Orland Park in a contest that focused on the mayor’s bid to boost his salary by more than 375 percent and to spike his pension from $30,000 a year to $110,000. By Ray Hanania…
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Pekau says he won’t take pension benefit The high profile battle for the office of mayor of Orland Park in southwest suburban Chicago is fueled by the board’s decision to give the 23 year incumbent Mayor Dan McLaughlin a massive salary boost and huge pension after only one term in office. The salary and pension spike has…
Orland Mayoral race has state’s attention The battle between Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin and challenger Keith Pekau has the attention of the entire state apparently creating a wild election contest filled with a lot of unusual issues, supporters and claims By Ray Hanania The battle to lead Orland Park, one of the fastest growing suburbs…
Sports figures, activists warn of rising opioid crisis Sports figures, community leaders and activists warned Wednesday that heroin and opioid use has reached a crisis stage in suburban Chicagoland and is rising across the country. At a forum organized by the Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD), the National Football Players Fathers Association (NFPFA), Cook County…
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Orland Park sidesteps the will of the people The Orland Park Board approved a plan to significantly increase Mayor McLaughlin’s salary 375 percent from what it was (a 275 percent increase). But the board action ignores the rights of the village’s taxpayers and voters. Oct. 20, 2016 Des Plaines Valley News, The Regional, The Reporter…
How can movie reviewers all be so wrong? Tom Cruise knocks it out of the ball park in his latest movie “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.” Cruise costars with Cobie Smulders of TV’s “How I Met Your Mother.” And even better, the Marcus Theaters in Orland Park isn’t even finished with its renovation and it is…