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5 days ago | 
forestparkreview.com | Bill Dwyer
A joyful chatter rose over the corner of Roosevelt Road and Troost Avenue late Saturday morning, as a large crowd turned out to honor both a brick-and-mortar Forest Park institution and the flesh and blood man who oversaw it for nearly half a century. More than 200 people gathered to pay thanks to McGaffer’s Saloon proprietor J. Patrick Malone, who operated McGaffer’s for 48 years until injuries from a fall inside the business led to its closure.
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2 weeks ago | 
forestparkreview.com | Bill Dwyer
Any critique of the two-part NBC 5 expose, “Who Killed Momo?” must come with a caveat. The criminal case into the murder of deposed Chicago mob leader Sam “Momo” Giancana is technically an open case. So both Oak Park and federal law enforcement will not officially release any documentation related to it. But for years there has been a slowly growing body of public facing documentation released through official and unofficial channels.
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3 weeks ago | 
forestparkreview.com | Bill Dwyer
McGaffer’s Saloon, a fixture in Forest Park that welcomed everyone and anyone who walked through its door for nearly half a century, didn’t get the sendoff it deserved or it’s many patrons wanted, following its sudden closing after proprietor JP Pat Malone was seriously injured in a fall last October. Plans were to re-open the business within a month or two, but it remained shuttered, and Malone said the building has been mostly cleared out. The building went on the market several months ago.
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2 months ago | 
chronicleillinois.com | Bill Dwyer |Kevin Beese
Once deep red, DuPage County has been trending Democratic for nearly a decade. On Tuesday, that trend culminated with a jarring thud, as Democratic candidates swept all but one of 49 contested DuPage township offices – although several races remain close with some mail-in ballots still to be counted.
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2 months ago | 
chronicleillinois.com | Bill Dwyer |Kevin Beese
Four years after she made history by defeating a longtime incumbent to become Belleville’s first female mayor, Patty Gregory was ousted from the mayor’s chair by a former political supporter and sitting city clerk. Voter turnout was only about 15 percent, but the ballots cast went overwhelmingly for challenger Jenny Gain Meyer. According to results from the St. Clair County Clerk’s Office, Meyer had garnered 3,399 votes (63 percent) to Gregory’s 1,972 votes.
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2 months ago | 
chronicleillinois.com | Bill Dwyer |Kevin Beese
First-term Peoria Mayor Rita Ali will spend another four years overseeing the city after a near landslide win over challenger John Kelly on Tuesday. Ali, who led in early voting, Election Day votes and mail-in ballots, was re-elected with 59.6 percent of the more than 16,700 votes cast in her race with at-large City Council member John Kelly. She won 9,950 to 6,753. Kelly was matter of fact in the wake of his loss, with a bow to the democratic process.
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2 months ago | 
chronicleillinois.com | Bill Dwyer |Kevin Beese
In one of the most closely watched mayoral races in the state, Aurora Ald. John Laesch beat two-term incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin to claim the top spot in the second largest city in Illinois. With all precincts reporting, Laesch had 9,078 votes, giving him a 700-vote edge over Irvin, 52 percent to 48 percent. Laesch won the mayor’s seat on his second attempt, having lost to Irvin in 2021.
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2 months ago | 
chronicleillinois.com | Bill Dwyer |Kevin Beese
In an otherwise dreadful night for Republicans in local races across much of the state, former Republican state Senate Minority Leader leader Bill Brady won the Bloomington Mayor’s Office in convincing fashion Tuesday. While Brady didn’t win a majority, he won a strong plurality in the three-way race. With all precincts reporting, Brady won by 2,411 votes over City Council Member Cody Hendricks, 47.9 percent to 33.35 percent.
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2 months ago | 
chronicleillinois.com | Bill Dwyer |Kevin Beese
Local organizers of a nationwide series of protest rallies April 5 say they intend to stand “indivisible,” but definitely not be invisible. Throughout Northern Illinois, thousands of citizens will gather at “Hands Off!” events to both vent their anger at the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk, and to put on notice a Democratic leadership many believe isn’t standing up to what they consider a clear authoritarian threat to democracy.
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2 months ago | 
chronicleillinois.com | Bill Dwyer |Kevin Beese
In an otherwise sleepy election season expected to see low voter turnout, several races in Belleville appear likely to garner more attention than usual. Incumbent Mayor Patty Gregory has lost the support of two former key allies and advisors, Gigi Dowling Urban and Kathy Kaiser. Urban had been administrative liaison for Gregory since she took office in 2021. She resigned in January.
