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Photo via: Will County Jail   A Joliet man has been arrested after he crashed into a building while under the influence. Arthur Vidmar, 83, was arrested on Saturday, Nov. 20 after he allegedly drank “a pint of vodka” and crashed into the KFC on Larkin Avenue.  According to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, Vidmar was driving through the KFC drive-thru around 4 p.m. As he exited the drive-thru, he struck the side of the building, drove over the sidewalk and then over the street curb into Larkin Avenue. He continued driving West, crossed the median and began heading towards the southbound lane on Larkin Avenue.  Prosecutors say Vidmar "could not successfully complete the rest of the 90-degree turn and struck the essentially stationary Honda Pilot”.  The driver of the Honda was a 67-year-old victim who was heading east on Oneida Street waiting at a stop sign about to turn right.  ​​ "The Honda had moved only slightly past the traffic light. The impact of t...

A new Portillo's location has opened its doors on Monday in the Village of Plainfield Illinois. Much like other Portillo's locations that have opened in recent years, this new location will be drive-through and pick up only. According to NBC5Chicago,  the mayor of Plainfield John Argoudelis is thrilled to have a Portillo's in the Village of Plainfield as he shows optimism over the potential success for this new Portillo's. This new location is said to be the fourth drive-through and pick up only location in the Chicagoland area. The only downside to the opening of this new location is the fact that it will reside one town away from the Shorewood location, which could potentially lower the number of customers even more. Portillo's is an iconic Chicagoland staple, one that even has other locations across America. This corporate enterprise is very well known for the food they serve such as their Italian beef and Chicago style hotdog. Portillo's is typically seen by...

USF Encounter published after setbacks Cover for the newest Encounter. Photo Via: the USF Encounter By Rodolfo Flores Today at the University of St. Francis (USF) students may walk around and see the latest edition of the Encounter on the racks once again. This however did not come without many bumps in the road, both seen and unseen by students.  The first, and potentially biggest, setback that will be felt for the foreseeable future is the budget cuts that the Encounter faced. Along with every other club, the Encounter’s budget was cut by 25% due to the current financial situation of the university. In light of this, many ideas were thrown around on how to effectively share the Encounter with students across campus. The solution to this problem came in a two part plan. One part was to cut down on the physical copies, having only 100 copies of the Encounter on racks around the campus. The other part of the plan to try and get the stories out still to all of the students was to pos...

D4vd case continues to develop By: Scarlett LaBuda Image from BBC Celeste Rivas Hernandez was a runaway who would be absent from her home for months at a time. In September, her body was found in the trunk of a Tesla belonging to the rising music sensation, D4vd.  Many speculations have been made, and the story took the spotlight for news publications for weeks. Fans of D4vd were finding correlations that connected D4vd closely to Celeste and even speculated that the two were involved romantically despite the illegal age gap present. Celeste was found after her 15th birthday, but it was estimated by medical examiners that she died before then at 14 years old. D4vd was 20 years old when pictures surfaced of him and 14-year-old Celeste together. The LAPD previously had not officially connected D4vd to the victim despite Rivas being found in his vehicle. The Los Angeles medical examiner is currently withholding the findings from the autopsy report, claiming that it could jeopardize th...

Photo credit: UofStFrancis X BY: Morgan Jensen The University of St. Francis (USF) is hosting its annual lighting of the Creche on its main campus at 500 Wilcox St in Joliet. This event will be on Dec. 2 at 4:30 PM. Guests are invited to the Western entrance of the Motherhouse outside and the Fireside Lounge for these festivities.  The lighting and blessing of the Creche is a Christian tradition of praying over a nativity scene. This is meant to celebrate and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. University students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members are invited to prepare for the Christmas season.  Traditionally two separate events are being combined on the USF campus this season. Making an appearance at the Creche event is nobody other than Mr. Santa Claus himself. There will be photo opportunities available along with festive drinks and treats. Registration is required and can be found online at stfrancis.edu/alumni/events/.  Following the Dec. 2 event is Chri...

  Photo via: Will County Jail A Joliet man spent just two days in jail following a domestic disturbance case.  Lorenzo Figueroa, 25, was arrested this past Sunday in connection with allegations of strangling his girlfriend.  Joliet police responded to the 500 block of Emmett Street following reports of a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, officers reported hearing the couple yelling at each other.   After opening the door, officers noticed the victim was visibly upset and appeared to have scratches on the center of her neck. The victim told officers to take Figueroa away.   According to testimony, the victim had asked Figueroa to watch their child while she showered. Figueroa proceeded to throw a toy at the victim, telling her to give it to their child which resulted in an argument.  The victim told Figueroa she wanted to end the relationship which prompted him to throw the child's bouncy chair at her, hitting her in the chest. Figueroa then push...

 On Friday, November 28, the City of Joliet will formally welcome the Christmas season with its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. This will be the first time the event has been conducted in the newly finished City Square. The event will start at 5:15 p.m. and the Joliet Central High School Choir will sing. Darra Glavan, who lives in Joliet, gave this year's 35-foot Norway Spruce. She and her family will be the ones to ignite the tree. The evergreen is decorated with 2,000 energy-efficient lights that were bought with the 2025 Powering the Holidays Grant from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and ComEd. The City of Joliet got $2,500 from the grant and $500 from the city to help pay for the high-efficiency lights that would light up City Square. This will help lower energy expenses and have less of an impact on the environment in the long run. The Joliet City Center Partnership (CCP) will put on the 27th Annual Light Up the Holidays Festival and Parade right after the ceremony. It wil...

 Back in March of 2023, the Walmart Supercenter in Plainfield Illinois faced closure according to the Plainfield Patch . On Thursday, the mayor of Plainfield told a reporter from the Plainfield Patch that a home decor showroom and warehouse. According to the Plainfield Patch, the mayor had not revealed what brand this new store will be under but had also stated that this business has another location in Chicago. This home decor showroom and warehouse in Plainfield is reported to be a new suburban site for this expanding business chain. The purpose for this site to be bought out is due to the Walmart in Plainfield had not been successful with their customers according to the Plainfield Patch. The decision to close the Plainfield location had also come to be after the Walmart corporation evaluated all of their stores across the country. The owners of this new home decor showroom and warehouse are still in the process of putting a business plan together as well as figuring out the nam...

photo credit: Mykhalio Buchynskyy, via Google reviews BY: Morgan Jensen Hands of Hope Illinois has the main objective of sharing the gospel through the giving of food. This is the organization's way of living out the Gospel. They are able to help in the way that they do through building connections with local businesses and other ministries. The organization has Hope Centers in Indiana, Parkland and Joliet. The Joliet Hope Center is a private non-profit community assistance ministry located at 511 Oak Leaf Ct. Unit A. They supply food and household items at a heavily discounted rate. In order to shop, you must be a member. After shopping at the Hope Center you may go back into the entrance and visit the gift table. At the gift table members are allowed to choose one item for every $25 that they spend.  To become a member, you must go to the Hope Center with a photo ID. New members are given a membership card and have an annual membership fee of $5. Members do not have to reside in ...

  Fighting Saints basketball first double header this Wednesday Merrick Small goes up for a layup. Photo via: USF Flickr Account By Rodolfo Flores This Wednesday, Nov.18, the University of St. Francis (USF) men’s and women’s basketball teams will host their first doubleheader of the season in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) matchup. Both teams will host Viterbo University at home at the Pat Sullivan Center, with the women playing first at 5 p.m. and the men following them with a projected start time of 7 p.m.  The women’s team comes into the game a perfect 6-0 to begin their season, including winning their first conference game against Governors State on Saturday. They have won every game by at least a double digit lead, including four games where they lead by over 30 points.  Senior guards Tykara Harrison and Le’Lani Harris have both scored their 1,000th collegiate point thus far in the season while leading the team in scoring with 15 and 13.3 points ...

Tree Lights are back at The Morton Arboretum  By: Scarlett LaBuda Picture from The Morton Arboretum website   The Morton Arboretum, located in Lisle, Illinois, has opened up its Christmas tree light exhibit. The exhibit runs from November 15 to January 3, and tickets are going fast. This is the 13th year that The Morton Arboretum lights up its tree-lined walking paths, and the theme is drawing in a crowd.  Last year, USA Today recognized this attraction as one of the top 10 botanical garden holiday light exhibits in the country. The Morton Arboretum website explains more about the exhibit, “Bring family and friends to see Illumination : Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum and be amazed by how light, color, and music transform a magnificent landscape of trees. Guests of all ages will delight in the festive features and stunning light displays found along a fully ADA-compliant trail running through The Morton Arboretum’s gardens and tree-filled landscapes.” New this year...

 Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans said on Monday that Detective Pete Ranstead has been formally recommended for termination after more than a year on paid administrative leave. This comes after an internal probe into an alleged domestic abuse incident. Evans stated in a statement, "Today, Detective Peter Ranstead was officially told that he was fired from the Joliet Police Department after a long internal investigation into an alleged domestic battery incident that happened in September 2024." "The Joliet Police Department is based on being responsible and doing the right thing, both on and off duty. The people of Joliet deserve nothing less. Ranstead, who is 42 years old, had been on paid administrative leave for 13 months. He had made almost $104,835 by August, plus stipends and allowances under the police union's contract. These included $2,100 for court costs, $4,430 for holiday pay, and $750 for clothing. Ranstead was arrested in October 2024 when police in J...

  After 72 years of business, Joe's Hot Dogs is set to be sold to a new owner. According to the Joliet Patch Matt Rittof the listing agent for Joe's Hot Dogs, stated that the owner is asking for a price of $1.2 million for when he sell out his business to its next owner. Rittof had stated that this business is one that could easily make the money immediately as one of their strongest financial years was 2020 (the Covid pandemic) despite being shut down for a couple of months. According to the Joliet Patch Joe's Hot Dogs has sold 100,000 hotdogs each year. Joe's Hot Dogs is also said to have a basement which could be beneficial for potential storage space for if renovations needed to happen for this Joliet establishment. Matt Rittof is optimistic that Joe's Hot Dogs will find the right buyer as he believes this is a business that will thrive straight into the future. For the past 25 years, Joe's Hot Dogs has been under the management of Jill Huffer, the granddaug...

Photo Via: Joliet Police A Joliet woman has been arrested for the second time in two weeks.  Artesia Titus, 30, was arrested again this past weekend in connection with allegations of leaving  her children home alone.  Joliet officers responded to an apartment at Riverwalk Homes on the 300 block of Broadway street to conduct a welfare check. Officers located a 6 and 7-year-old girl as well as an 8-year-old boy, alone in the apartment. Officers placed them in protective custody. According to Dwayne English, a spokesman for the Joliet police, Titus arrived at the apartment 10 minutes after the children were taken into custody, and said she was the mother of the children.  Titus was placed into custody without incident and was officially charged with child abandonment and endangering the life or health of a child.  The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services were notified about the incident and responded to the apartment, according to English.  Acco...

  Playoff Volleyball at USF The women celebrate an ace. Photo via: USF Flickr Account By Rudy Flores Playoff Volleyball will be returning to the University of St. Francis (USF) for the first time in almost a decade. The Fighting Saints will be taking on Indiana University of South Bend (IUSB) Titans at 7 p.m. at the Pat Sullivan Center. During the regular season, the Saints accumulated 18 wins overall on the season including having a conference record of 14-4, the most wins in a conference season since 2016. That year was also the last time that the Saints won a playoff game, where they made it all the way to the NAIA national tournament. Overall, USF finished second in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) standings, with the same record as Saint Xavier University (SXU), who they won a tiebreaker for second place. This allows them to host a quarter-final matchup in the tournament, while also having the possibility to host a semi-final matchup if USF wins against IU...

Image from Getty Images   68th GRAMMY Award nominations announced By: Scarlett LaBuda The 68th GRAMMY Award nominations were announced for 2026. The GRAMMY’s are music based awards that are set to honor the best recording, composition and artists from that year. The GRAMMY Awards honor those who produced music between August 2024 and June 2025 at the awards show set for Feb. 1,  2026.  Winners of these awards are determined by the Recording Academy’s Voting Members which consists of a peer group composed of music creators, including artists, songwriters, producers, engineers and more. These members review every GRAMMY award nomination and vote for the winner. These winners are then announced on what is considered “Music’s Biggest Night” for anyone in the industry. This sets the stage for the precedent that the GRAMMY’s are music’s only industry recognized peer-voted honor. This year marks history for the awards show as they are introducing two, brand-new, nomination categ...

Orland Campus via: Google reviews BY: Morgan Jensen Ashburn Baptist Church has locations in Orland Park, Chicago, Frankfort and Crystal Lake. The church central office is located at their Orland Park campus at 15401 Wolf Road. Ashburn's main mission is to help people find new life in Jesus. They have Spanish speaking services at the Chicago location with more to come soon in Aurora and Willow Springs.  Tommy Thompson is the Lead Pastor of Ashburn. In this role he is responsible for the leadership and missional direction of the many sites that Ashburn has. He is also the pastor at the Orland Park location. Tommy and his wife, Vicki, have been married for over 30 years.  With the upcoming Christmas season Ashburn is hosting a "Whoville Family Christmas Night". This event will be on Dec. 6 from 5:00 p.m. and last until 7 p.m. at the Orland Park campus. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their most "Who-tastic Christmas attire" presented with the challenge of winn...

 The City of Joliet is asking people who live there to a virtual community meeting about the I-80 Des Plaines River Bridge Community Plan. The event will take place on Thursday, November 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. Participants will be able to give their thoughts on ideas for making the community better. City officials said in a statement on November 5 that the meeting will demonstrate the draft community vision, talk about local needs, and show fresh ideas for trails and leisure areas. The ideas were made based on feedback from people in the community over the previous few months. Organizers made it clear that this meeting is a chance for citizens to have a say in how $3.5 million in Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) mitigation funding would be used to help the Joliet neighborhood. The message said, "This is your chance to help shape the future of our neighborhood." "The more people we hear from, the better our community plan will be." Th...

  Senior Guard Tykara Harrison reaches 1,000 career points Tykara Harrison drives to her right. Photo via: gofightingsaints.com By Rudy Flores Senior Guard Tykara Harrison has reached another milestone in her college basketball career, netting her 1,000th point of her college career. The point came in the Fighting Saints win over Huston-Tillotson University on Nov. 3, where Harrison led the team with 24 points.  Harrison joined the Fighting Saints as a transfer from Southeast Missouri State University prior to her sophomore year. She immediately made an impact, leading the team in scoring and making her way into the starting lineup during the second half of the season. For her efforts, Harrison was voted onto the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC)’s All-Second team.  In her second season, Harrison helped lead the team to their first NAIA tournament appearance since 2022 while eclipsing the 500 point mark on the season. One of her best games came in the open...

  Picture Source:  https://www.linkedin.com/  Commercial Driving Academy is a small minority-owned business in Joliet, Illinois. They specialize in transportation training for truck drivers and heavy lifters. According to the " Joliet Patch " Commercial Driving Academy even provides training for veterans who are in the process of a career transition.   Commercial Driving Academy also offers courses in states such as Oklahoma, Georgia, and South Carolina. Commercial Driving Academy's courses last four weeks with an outline of written tests and on-the-road training for CDL workers. The Commercial Driving Academy of Joliet Illinois is located off 3301 Mound Road a few miles away from the Joliet Transfer Station. According to the " Commercial Driving Academy " website the teachers for their CDL program have 40 years of experience when it comes to driving and instructing future CDL workers. Commercial Driving Academy also has nationwide connections that help ensure C...

Photo credit: SBC via Google BY: Morgan Jensen Shorewood Baptist Church is located in Joliet at 113 Republic Ave. The church has a monthly event called "Coffee with the Pastor". The event takes place before service on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. This is a great opportunity to connect deeper with the church. At this event attendees are welcome to coffee and donuts as well as conversation with the pastor. This is a good time for potential first time visitors to learn some more about the church history or how the church works. This is also a great moment for people to learn some more about the opportunities that there are at the church.  There is also something for members at this event. If you have any questions about the church or just want to have a casual conversation with the pastor this is a designated time where you know you can find him. Sunday service follows this event. You can join the congregation every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.  There are other outreach events that the church wi...