southtownstar.suntimes.com

Former CC Hills police chief pleads guilty

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:11:39 -0500

Former Country Club Hills Police Chief Regina Evans pleaded guilty Monday to fraud and money laundering charges related to the misuse of a $1.25 million state grant to a non-profit organization she ran with her husband, Ronald Evans Jr. Evans, 50, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough in Springfield, where she entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, three counts of wire fraud and seven counts of money laundering. Her sentencing is set for Oct. 15. A status hearing for Ronald Evans, 46, Country Club Hills’ former inspector general, is set for Tuesday …

Teen gets probation for DUI crash that killed Tinley girl, 4

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:51:22 -0500

An Oak Forest teenager who pleaded guilty to being drunk when he fatally struck a 4-year-old girl who was chasing a ball in the street has been sentenced to probation and community service. Deandre Wolfe was 17 when he was charged as an adult in August 2011 with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI for the crash that killed Annabella Loerop, of Tinley Park, on May 9, 2012, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. Wolfe, who was 16 at the time of the crash, pleased guilty on June 13 to one count of aggravated DUI, according to Cook County …

Man accused of murdering son kills himself in jail cell

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:50:00 -0500

A man being held in the Cook County Jail on charges of murdering his son in 2012 hanged himself Sunday night while his cellmate watched the NBA Finals. Correctional officers found Enoch Hayslett unresponsive in his maximum-security division cell about 8:20 p.m. Sunday and attempted to resuscitate him, Cook County Sheriff’s office spokesman Ben Breit said. Hayslett, 27, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. An autopsy confirmed Hayslett died from hanging and ruled the death a suicide. Hayslett was accused of murdering his …

Oak Lawn police looking for suspect in stabbing after altercation over fireworks

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:43:40 -0500

Oak Lawn police are looking for a man who stabbed another man Monday night after a confrontation in an alley near 97th Street and Ridgeland Avenue, police said The 35-year-old victim was riding his bike through the alley at about 9:45 p.m. when he exchanged words with a juvenile who was setting off fireworks, police said. The boy’s father confronted the victim and stabbed him in the stomach with a knife before fleeing, police said. The victim went to a nearby house for assistance and was taken to Christ Medical Center, where he was treated and released, police said. Bob …

Orland Park OKs new trash pickup pact

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:54:13 -0500

Orland Park residents would, at least initially, pay less for garbage pickup under a new contract with Waste Management that was approved Monday by village trustees. The frequency of recycling collection will increase to weekly from the current alternating weeks, and residents can pick from two different sizes of wheeled carts for household trash and recyclables. The 10-year contract won’t change how yard waste is collected. The company, the village’s current waste hauler, will also take over the job of fall leaf collection, something now done by the public works department. Orland Park residents now pay $19.40 each month for …

Kadner: County finds funds for inmate care

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:52:09 -0500

There’s great news from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. The county has opened a $90 million medical center for county jail inmates who are drug addicts. Stories about the new facility last week didn’t mention the closing of the county’s Oak Forest Hospital, 159th Street and Cicero Avenue, to cut costs two years ago. Also overlooked was Cook County’s decision to break a pledge to replace the hospital with an Oak Forest Medical Center that would include an immediate care facility open 24 hours a day. When I called county Commissioner Deborah Sims (D-Chicago) about a decision to cut …

Joliet diocese and former priest facing sexual abuse lawsuit

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:09:23 -0500

A man who claims that a Joliet Diocese priest sexually assaulted him more than 36 times on various religious retreats during the 1970s has filed a lawsuit against the priest and the diocese. Former priest Lawrence Gibbs supervised the retreats at his cabin in Wonder Lake, Ill., where Daniel Gorski, now of Wheaton, claims Gibbs gave several teenage boys alcohol and pornography and had them play games, swim and perform other activities naked. Gorski, who was an altar boy at Christ the King Parish in Lombard while Gibbs served there, said he attended retreats at Gibbs’ cabin between 1977 and …

Orland Park thrift store to close

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:03:36 -0500

Thrift store operator Savers Inc. said Monday that it will close its Spree resale shop in Orland Park on July 15. The store, 15052 LaGrange Road, opened in early 2011, and Savers said the store will have specials and discounts in advance of the closing. Spree is located in the Orland Greens shopping center, where Art Van Furniture is renovating the former Dominick’s Finer Foods store. Spree is just north of the planned Art Van store. A spokeswoman for Savers did not offer a specific reason for the closing but said the decision was made after “careful consideration.” Savers said …

Businesses moving into, and within, New Lenox

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:03:36 -0500

A retail development under construction on U.S. 30 in New Lenox will feature six new businesses this fall. The 13,000-square-foot building, at 511 E. U.S. 30, near Wal-Mart, will house a Jersey Mike’s Subs, Pizza Hut carry-out, Verizon Wireless, Bedding Experts, Great Clips and one other tenant yet to be named. The project is being developed by McVickers Development and First Capital Advisors. “We are very excited to begin what we hope is a long-term relationship with McVickers Development,” said Chris Pope, principal at FCA, in a press release. Pizza Hut will vacate its existing restaurant at U.S. 30 and …

Internal police inquiry finds suburban cop lied when asked about sex abuse case

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:15:35 -0500

An internal police inquiry into Justice police officer Carmen Scardine, accused in a federal lawsuit of forcing a woman to perform oral sex in his squad car, found that he broke department policy, abused his police powers, lied about the incident and may have violated the law, according to documents.

Accused cop has bad service record

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:09:39 -0500

The Justice police officer who’s being sued for allegedly forcing a Burbank woman to engage in oral sex with him last spring has a police record of repeated departmental violations and suspensions. Besides the 27-day suspension from the sexual assault alleged in the federal lawsuit, Carmen Scardine was also suspended for a day in October 2011 after he refused to arrest a person who had threatened someone with a gun during a domestic incident. Before working in Justice, Scardine was a Posen officer and was disciplined four times, records show. In November 2005, Scardine walked into Braun School in Oak …

To ride brings pride: Kids with special needs learn to bike at New Lenox camp

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:50:58 -0500

On the fifth and final day of a camp at which students with special needs were taught how to ride a bicycle, June Calhoun wore her bright red T-shirt emblazoned with the letters “GAP” — “God Answers Prayers.” After four days of I Can Bike Camp at New Lenox School District 122’s Spencer Campus, her prayers had been answered. Her 8-year-old son, Joshua, actually rode his two-wheeled bike for a couple of minutes all by himself. During the weeklong camp that ended Friday, she saw a “big change” in Joshua, who has Down syndrome, she said. “When you have a …

Golf outing in Flossmoor a lift for blind veterans

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:40:00 -0500

Soldiering on just as they did in military life, nine legally blind U.S. veterans gave it their best shot at Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor on Friday morning for as many rounds of golf as they cared to play. The veterans, from all over the Midwest, came from the Hines Hospital Central Blind Rehabilitation Center for one of 14 golf outings planned in the northern Illinois area. “Idlewild’s a regular (participant of the program),” said Pat Douglass, the Blind Vet Swing Club coordinator. “They’ve been doing it for years. It’s been great.” For many of the veterans, just seeing the …

Soldier, back from Afghanistan, surprises nephew at Little League game

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:51:05 -0500

Gino Maldonado says he’s always had a special bond with his nephew Landen Sesol. “Ever since he was a baby, I was one of the only people who could stop him from crying,” Maldonado said. “I called him my partner in crime.” Serving overseas with the Army National Guard kept Maldonado apart from his 7-year-old partner. But the duo were reunited Saturday, when Staff Sgt. Maldonado, back from a 10-month deployment in Afghanistan, made a surprise visit to Sesol’s youth baseball game in Homewood. Sesol’s team, the Cardinals, were warming up prior to their game when the man he calls …

Rich Township SD 227 Board dismisses superintendent

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:24:16 -0500

The Rich Township High School District 227 Board fired Superintendent Donna Leak on Saturday by a 4-to-3 vote. “Recently, several issues related to the superintendent’s management of the district have come to the board’s attention,” said board president Cheryl Coleman, reading from a statement. “Such issues relate to the gross improprieties in the process of student expulsions, recommend that the board enter into unenforceable contracts with several administrators and improperly sanction or deny access of the district central office to a board member.” Such issues were irremediable and required Leak’s immediate dismissal without pay, Coleman said. Board members Betty Owens, …

Drivers roll out on Dixie Highway

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:24:06 -0500

Depending on where you’re driving, Dixie Highway goes by many names. In Chicago, Michigan Avenue follows the route of the original highway, while in Blue Island, it’s Western Avenue that hews to the road’s path. Farther south, Illinois 1 picks up the trail. On Saturday, owners of classic cars — more than 130 of them — traveled over a portion of the road during the annual “Drivin’ the Dixie” event. Starting in Blue Island, they followed the route south, stopping at points of interest such as Jebbens Hardware in Blue Island — the oldest still-operating business along Dixie Highway — …