Illinois House passes bill to cut $1.6 billion from Medicaid

The Illinois House signed off Thursday on a measure to “save the Medicaid program” by making $1.6 billion in cuts that some lawmakers complained would hit the poor hard. A Chicago woman with a child in one Medicaid program said an alternative for her daughter ultimately would cost more.

Jobless rate in Chicago area falls to 9 percent in April

The unemployment rate in the Chicago area fell to 9 percent in April from 9.5 percent a year earlier, according to a report released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security Thursday. The rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, was unchanged from March. The Chicago …

Calumet City man among 12 charged in drug investigation

Chicago Police have arrested 12 people — including five in their 50s — allegedly involved in a drug market run by a Mexican drug cartel and Gangster Disciples that extends from Chicago’s South Side to the south suburbs.

Narcotics and South Chicago District police officers …

Bill seeks reprieve for Tinley Park center

A bill that would provide funding to keep the Tinley Park Mental Health Center operating beyond its planned July 1 closing has passed the Illinois Senate and is under consideration in the House, where Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) is the chief sponsor. Among other funding …

Brian Stanley: Whatever its origin, ‘Taps’ a moving tribute

Columnists don’t get a lot of requests. I regularly hear “You know ... you should write a column about X” and “You know what you can do with that column you wrote on X,” but I categorize those as suggestions. But to have someone write …

South Holland man pilots his way into hall of fame

It was back in 1965 that John Magon first looked to the heavens and decided he wanted wings. He came home from his dental practice one day and told his wife, Pat, he wanted to learn how to fly. She said no. “Then she said, …

Man dies in Park Forest apartment fire

An 82-year-old Park Forest man was killed Thursday in an early morning fire at his apartment, apparently caused by a lighted cigarette igniting his bed, police said. Francis Farabaugh, a cancer patient who was on supplemental oxygen, accidentally set fire to the bed in the …

Park Forest gets grant for green initiative

Park Forest is getting a $75,000 grant to help implement some of the goals of its “Growing Green” initiative.

Former Orland official lodges new complaint against fire district

The Orland Fire Protection District’s former human resources director this week filed a new lawsuit alleging she was fired for objecting to what she viewed as politically motivated hiring of part-time summer workers. A federal judge earlier this month dismissed a complaint Joanne Chavez Buchanan …

Sister Irenaeus had a ‘powerful presence’

Sister Mary Irenaeus Chekouras was remembered Thursday as a “tiny woman who exuded a powerful presence.”

Sister Irenaeus, who was president of St. Xavier University in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community from 1972 to 1982, died Tuesday at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park. …

Southland Memorial Day events

Alsip: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 450 will host ceremonies at noon Monday and noon Wednesday at the Afghanistan-Iraq War Memorial across the street from the post, 11800 S. Cicero Ave. A flag-raising, prayer and speech will comprise the ceremony. Food will be served. Beecher: …

Orland Park man is new OFPD chief

An Orland Park man who’s a fire lieutenant in the western suburbs and has long been involved in youth sports in the village was named Thursday as the new chief of the Orland Fire Protection District. Kenneth Brucki, 44, has worked since 1994 for the …

Cook County looking to cash in by selling naming rights

How does the Coca-Cola lobby at the 26th and California criminal courthouse sound? The Kraft Kafeteria at Stroger Hospital? Or even the Bianchi Busse Woods Bike Trail in the forest preserves? The possibilities abound, Cook County officials say, as they look to sell everything from naming rights to advertising at most of its real estate holdings — from the hospitals to forest preserve paths and nature centers to even the local jail as a means of generating new revenue streams.

Four hurt in crash in Palos Township

Four people were hospitalized with minor injuries Wednesday morning after a two-vehicle crash in Palos Township, police said.

One vehicle rear-ended another about 9 a.m. near 127th Street and Cicero Avenue, pushing the lead car into a stone street marker, police said.

The injured people …