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Phil Kadner biography

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Phil Kadner’s column appears five times a week in the print edition of the SouthtownStar.

He was named the 2013 Illinois Journalist of the …

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Kadner: Trying their best to impress, quickly

There was a time when an unemployed person would wear out shoe leather looking for a job. Today, the unemployed haunt the Internet, sending out resumes to people they likely never will see. “You feel sometimes like your resumes just go into an abyss,” said …

Kadner: Bury ready to begin her vision quest

“It’s a wonderful day, a wonderful opportunity. A wonderful city.” “I guess you can tell I’m walking on air,” said Sandra Bury, hours before her swearing-in ceremony as Oak Lawn’s new mayor Tuesday night. Bury defeated Mayor David Heilmann in the April 9 village election, …

Kadner: Pull the trigger on gun law

Illinois still hasn’t passed a concealed-carry law despite a federal court order that it must do so by June 6. I am neither an opponent nor advocate of such a law. This is one of those issues where the arguments of both sides seem to …

Kadner: A travesty of a mockery of a sham

Mike Madigan really wants to raise suburban property tax bills. “This is going to happen,” the speaker of the Illinois House said last week, referring to the shift in funding pensions for suburban teachers from the state to local school districts. “There will be a …

Kadner: A factor in multiplying tax confusion

There may be someone who can explain how the property tax is calculated in Cook County, but chances are you wouldn’t want to talk to him. The property tax is probably the chief gripe of people who live and own businesses in the suburbs. Nobody …

Kadner: The congresswoman MADE N NY

When a new Illinois congresswoman drives a car with vanity license plates that read “MADE N NY,” it’s bound to attract attention. It becomes especially noteworthy when that congresswoman is Robin Kelly (D-2nd), who gained national renown due to the millions of dollars spent on …

Kadner: Whistle-blower still helping Posen

It has been three years since T.J. “Terrence” Whitcomb, 20 years old at the time, uncovered the theft of nearly $300,000 from the tiny Posen Park District. The college student, a newly elected member of the park board, wondered why recreational programs available to him …

Kadner: LaGrange Road project finally begins

Motorists this week are seeing the first signs of the long-awaited, much-dreaded, LaGrange Road widening project through Orland Park. Originally scheduled to begin last year, the state launched preliminary work on Monday that will lead to the removal of existing medians from 131st to 159th …

Kadner: Presta has big plans for Crestwood

Despite what anyone may have heard or read in the newspapers, new Mayor Lou Presta wants people to know the future of Crestwood is bright. “We’re close to finalizing a deal with the MWRD (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District) for all the land along Route 83 …

Kadner: Two brave women await a gift of life

Two south suburban women from very different backgrounds are in desperate need of someone to save their lives. Friends are holding a fundraiser for 19-year-old Josie Nordman, of Homewood, on May 11. The spunky girl who ought to have a bright future needs a double …

Kadner: A mission to adopt children in need

Traci and Scott Heim are just your typical parents of 10 adopted children from three foreign countries. Sveta, from Russia, who is now 15, was the first in 1998. “We were living the American dream,” Traci recalled. “We had a big house in the Brookside …

Kadner: Meeks explains calls on same-sex marriage

The Rev. James Meeks called my house to say “same-sex marriage should not be the law of the state of Illinois.” Actually, it was a robocall paid for by the African-American Clergy Coalition, with Meeks acting as the spokesman. The robocalls are targeting state House …

Kadner: Jury says you can’t just follow orders

“I was just following orders.” Those are among the scariest words an ordinary person can hear from the mouth of a government employee. They mean something terrible has happened. That people have probably been harmed. And that public officials engaged in criminal conduct simply because …

Kadner: Senate mandates insurance for athletes

A bill requiring catastrophic health insurance for student athletes passed the Illinois Senate on Wednesday. The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Napoleon Harris (D-Flossmoor), was inspired by the story of Rasul “Rocky” Clark, of Robbins, who became a quadriplegic after an injury suffered during an …

Kadner: Orland Park’s Ninety 7 Fifty to open

Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park, the luxury apartment complex that sparked a controversy in Orland Park, will open to receive its first tenants on Friday. I received a guided tour of the place Wednesday from Chris Kirles, a vice president for developer Flaherty & …

SouthtownStar’s Kadner honored as journalist of the year

SouthtownStar columnist Phil Kadner has been named 2013 Illinois Journalist of the Year by the journalism faculty of Northern Illinois University and representatives of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association. Kadner was chosen because of his long-running column and his commitment to local reporting, said Craig …

Kadner: Baby’s ‘miracle’ surgery on TV show

A mother remembers the day that doctors told her they’d have to insert a searing hot wire through her newborn baby’s navel, thread it through an artery and put a hole in his heart. “I said, ‘Sure. Do it!’ ” recalled Nanette McDonagh. Pregnant at …

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