Palos Heights Chooses Roads Up for Repair in 2012

The Palos Heights City Council granted funding to the city's 2012 road program, pending a final budget. See what roads will get attention this year.

The Palos Heights City Council awarded funding Tuesday night to the 2012 Roads Program that will upgrade several roadways throughout the city. The annual program received $274,969 in funding, pending the approval of the entire budget. Seven streets have been targeted for improvement this year. During his State of the City Address last week, Mayor Robert Straz said that since 2001, 27 of the city's 55 miles of roadways have been resurfaced. You can watch a video of the full speech on PHTV's Patch blog. The following projects have been identified as part of the 2012 program: Wards 1, 2 and 3 are each home to two of the projects, while Ward 4 is receiving one. 

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Palos Heights Mayor Reflects on Economic Growth in State of the City Address

Mayor Robert Straz recounted the new businesses and economic expansion that has come to Palos Heights over the last year.

With several large-scale construction projects currently underway, Palos Heights Mayor Robert Straz used his State of the City address to detail economic development over the past year.  Speaking at a Palos Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Straz highlighted the Jewel Osco expansion project and Palos Community Hospital remodeling project as signs of economic growth in Palos Heights.  "With people like yourselves and the great volunteers I think we have a great future," Straz concluded.  The mayor stressed that the city's ability to maintain a budget surplus every year since 2002 has made numerous projects possible. The city was also able to use that surplus to pay off all municipal debts, Straz said.  The fact that Palos Heights has funds…

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Voting in Primaries is Crucial

Cook County Commissioner Liz Doody Gorman writes about the importance of voting in local elections.

“Decisions are made by those who show up.” Our right to vote is the most fundamental right we have as citizens. The right to elect those who will lead us and the right to remove those from office when they forget what they were sent to do should be viewed not only as a right but as a duty for good citizens. Elections are the cornerstone of our freedoms and liberties. In 2012 we will be electing people to serve us at every level of government – state representatives and senators,certain countywide officials, Members of Congress and the President of the United States. Each of these have the potential to affect the most important issues facing each and every citizen this year such as the economy, health care, immigration and gun control, just…

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Obama's Advisor Headed to South Suburbs for Fundraiser

Prairie State Trustee and Chicago Heights Resident Wendell Mosby explains the purpose of the under-40 fundraiser.

David Axelrod will be in the South Suburbs next week for a fundraiser supporting President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Axelrod is not a household name, but many who closely followed Obama's 2008 campaign have heard of him. He was the then-candidate's campaign advisor, who picked up the title "Senior Advisor to the President" after the election. Axelrod is now back on the campaign trail. "He is the architect for the ‘08 campaign," said Wendell Mosby, a Chicago Heights native and co-chair for Gen44 helping to promote Axelrod's visit. Gen44 is an under-40 fundraising program under Obama for America and it is comprised of "next generation of leaders, young entrepreneurs, social innovators and activists," according to the Obama's …

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Lipinski: Abortion, Contraception Health Plan Rules for Opposed Groups Violates Rights

While visiting Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Catholic School Monday, Congressman Dan Lipinski praised Catholic schools’ role in education, while voicing displeasure with the health care bill requirement.

U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski may be pro-life, but he supports a form of choice when it comes to birth control and abortion treatment. The Illinois Democrat believes schools, non-profits and other groups openly aligned with religious organizations have the right to not offer contraception, birth control or abortion-inducing drugs as part of their health insurance benefits. The Democrat congressman recently expressed his disapproval with President Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 notice that private employers will have to cover birth control, even those who are religiously opposed to such treatment. “The exemption is so narrow that only the churches themselves where Catholic priests are administrators will be exempt,” Lipinski said Monday. “Cardinal Joseph …

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Palos Park Approves Bike and Walking Path Along LaGrange

The Palos Park Village Council is moving forward with plans to construct a pathway along LaGrange Road.

Palos Heights Considering Annexation of Palos South Middle School

Palos Consolidated School District 118 has asked that Palos be incorporated into Palos Heights.

For those unfamiliar with the area, the often confusing lines between unincorporated and incorporated areas of Palos can go unnoticed. One minute you are in the City of Palos Heights, the next unincorporated Cook County. District 118 hopes to bring a bit of clarity to their end of things by petitioning Palos Heights to annex Palos South Middle School into the city. "We feel it is in the best interest of our students and our parents," said school board president Susan Hennessy. The school is currently considered unincorporated Cook County and as such receives police assistance from the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Anthony Scarsella, assistant superintendent for District 118, told the Palos Heights City Council during last week's meeting …

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From the Editor

Watch: Palos Patch Talks Top 2011 Stories with Channel 4

A recap of the most read and discussed stories of 2011 on Palos Patch.

Last week I stopped by PHTV's studio to talk about the top 10 stories of 2011 on Patch. I chose the stories based on a few factors. Many were the most widely read posts on the site. Some like the Granat murders and TCF Bank robbery gained national attention and brought huge numbers of people to the site. Others were examples of Patch's overall mission, to tell the stories of the people who live in the Palos area and why they matter to their community.   Channel 4 has always been incredibly supportive of the site and I thank Ron and Sue Jankowski and Jordan Huenink for inviting me to appear. Here are the links to all of the stories I mentioned: 

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