Good Week for:
Kindergarteners and Pit Bulls: Two Chicago Heights women are showing some love for members of their community—the young and impressionable, the furry and misunderstood. Meet Wanikka Vance, who started up Foundations 4 AdVANCEment, a private kindergarten academy in Crete aimed squarely at educating children from low- to medium-income families. Meanwhile, fellow Heights resident Tracy Garcia that she says has gotten a bad rap.
Rolling with Ronald: Fourteen local bowlers took to the lanes, with a group of very special guests. The Oak Lawn Community High School bowling team welcomed families from Ronald McDonald House for a "Sunday Funday." Leading up to the event, the team collected $11,000 to cover a day of smiles and spares for the families, who enjoyed lunch, bowling and gift bags stuffed with coloring books, puzzles and candy.
Portillo's Fans: Mouths are watering in New Lenox, where a new Portillo's is coming closer to fruition. The village won over owner Dick Portillo, who was choosing between several towns for the new location. But New Lenox will have to kick back some of the sales tax revenue the hot dog hotspot could bring in. They were willing to barter to seal the deal, said Mayor Tim Baldermann.
Bad Week for:
Playing Ball with Michael Albanese: A Frankfort youth sports coach and convicted sex offender, police said Albanese continued to coach local children in sports in violation of the state's child sex offender laws, according to Frankfort Patch. He also faces charges in Wisconsin, where he's accused of lewd and lascivious behavior by three women who told cops they saw Albanese masturbating naked near the highway.
Little Old Ladies: A mugger in Oak Lawn knocked an 87-year-old woman to the ground and ran off with her rosary and her purse on March 30. Cops found her standing by her car with asphalt in her hair.
Animal Lover Larry Draus: The Cook County sheriff's department investigator was the key witness in the animal cruelty trial of Dawn Hamill, the owner of Dazzle's Painted Pastures, where police seized more than 100 malnourished and neglected animals in 2011. But Draus is under federal indictment, accused of taking bribes, which prompted a judge to declare a mistrial in the Hamill case. It'll start all over again, without Draus.
