Author: Voxtrend News
Naperville City Councilwoman Allison Longenbaugh is stepping down from her elected city position. Longenbaugh, whose term expires in 2027, announced her resignation at Tuesday’s council meeting, citing a job offer she received that conflicts with her ability to serve. Her vacancy is effective Aug. 25. “I love my career and I love serving on city council, which has made this a gut-wrenching decision not just for me but for my entire family,” she said. Longenbaugh lost her job at J.P. Morgan last February, a company she had been with for 31 years. While she could not disclose what her new…
Illinois consumers may face sticker shock when they shop for health insurance plans on the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange this fall — with most companies proposing double-digit-percentage price increases as they grapple with uncertainty about changes at the federal level. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, which has 238,000 Illinois residents on its exchange plans, is proposing an average rate increase of 27% across its individual exchange plans in Illinois. UnitedHealthcare of Illinois, which has about 32,000 Illinois residents on its exchange plans, is proposing an average rate increase of nearly 21%. Celtic Insurance Co.’s most recently submitted…
For years, city and state officials have marched Chicago toward a cliff. This budget season will determine if they have the will to finally pull back from the abyss. Leaders of three prominent Chicago civic organizations recently outlined principles in the Tribune that they hope will guide those officials as they tackle billions in budget deficits at the city, public schools and the CTA. Although sound, their admonitions seem almost quaint, reflecting a bygone era when elected officials exercised a modicum of responsibility for their constituents’ futures. Some history, juxtaposed with paraphrasing of the civic leaders’ recommendations, is illustrative: Don’t…
Fans of Mt. Everest and Red Hot Chilli Pepper restaurants in Evanston might have a new favorite in Glenview. The owner of the two restaurants recently opened his sixth restaurant, The Clove, at 1827 Waukegan Road, Glenview. It will feature guest chef nights and a rotating menu of entertainment. The new restaurant, which had a ribbon cutting Aug. 15, combines two concepts: an Indian-Nepali menu prepared in one kitchen, and an Indo-Chinese menu prepared in another kitchen. Ramakant Kharel, the restaurant’s owner, also anticipates using a third kitchen as a place to exhibit the staff’s cooking skills, similar to what…
The Chicago Cubs’ return to contention in 2025 has made home games a hot ticket at Wrigley Field, and to no one’s surprise, the team’s success on the field means another sizable ticket-price increase in 2026. Season tickets for Cubs games will go up between 5% and 8%, the team announced Thursday in its renewal letter to season ticket holders, with an average increase of 6%. Season ticket holders who renew through 2028 will be guaranteed tickets to the 2027 All-Star Game, Home Run Derby and all other All-Star events at Wrigley, with a maximum ticket increase of 3% in…
August is the best time of the year to take a dip in Lake Michigan, when its waters hover in the balmy upper 60s. Experts say so, and Chicago’s crowded beaches offer proof. But an invisible hazard can quickly turn a sunny day out into a sick night in. In 2024, over 300 beaches across the Great Lakes closed to visitors or issued swim bans or advisories due to the presence of bacteria in the water — mostly E. coli, from nearby surface runoff or sewer system overflows, especially during heavy rain — according to state and federal data. Bacteria levels…
A family-owned antique shop in the heart of suburban La Grange Park aims to rebuild after a recycling truck ran into its storefront Thursday morning. A truck drove into Heart’s Desire, a small business at 1014 E. 31st St., about 8 a.m. Thursday, Village Manager Julia Cedillo said. The crash shattered windows, ceiling boards and decades-old heirlooms. The driver was taken to Loyola Medicine, though there were no reported injuries, Cedillo said. Village agencies are now securing and assessing the area around the shop. Contractors were seen moving broken tables and shoveling concrete and stone shards out of the storefront.…
CyrusOne is warning those who live near its data center in Aurora that it will be doing another round of emergency repairs on Friday, and that those repairs will again require the use of backup generators which have in the past significantly impacted nearby residents. During similar repairs in April, the use of backup generators for multiple days straight caused consistently loud noise in the surrounding area, which some residents previously called “unlivable” and “horrible.” CyrusOne has since put in place a temporary sound wall blocking the site’s generators, with a permanent sound wall currently under construction. Further repairs were…
City Hall will soon have a far-reaching decision on its hands: How to dispose of a huge, growing pot of taxpayer money collecting in a North Side special taxing district that has quickly outperformed expectations. The district has already taken in just under $400 million since 2017. It is on track to pay off a major facelift of four Chicago Transit Authority stations and the century-old infrastructure connecting them way ahead of schedule and estimated to bring in just shy of $100 million annually by 2031. The billion-dollar question is whether the CTA will keep receiving cash infusions from the…
I applaud President Donald Trump’s attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Watching Monday’s extraordinary meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and various European leaders, I’m confident Russian President Vladimir Putin got the message: It’s time to make a deal before these nations bankrupt the Russian economy. My hope is a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy takes place soon — not in Moscow but at Camp David. This would be a big step toward Oslo, where the Nobel Peace Prize typically is presented. — Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach, California Public relations…