Updated 3/16/2021 2:41 PM
A proposed $87 million expansion of Rivers Casino hit the jackpot with Des Plaines aldermen on Monday night, getting an enthusiastic go-ahead from the city Council.
The next step for the project set to bring more gambling machines, a poker room, an events center and a new restaurant to the facility at 3000 S. River Road is consent from the Illinois Gaming Board.
A gaming board vote hasn t been scheduled, but the project is in front of them, Rivers spokesman Dennis Culloton said.
Plans call for the two-story addition to be built between the existing casino building and the four-story parking garage on the north side of the 20-acre property.
Updated 3/17/2021 11:23 AM
Days after her 9-year-old son was injured by classmates at Forest Elementary School in Des Plaines, a local woman led an anti-bullying protest at the campus Tuesday morning.
Amber Johnson said bullying is an ongoing problem at the school. The violence that left her son injured during recess Friday is just the latest example, she said.
I m absolutely furious, Johnson said. We want change.
About 30 parents and students participated in Tuesday s demonstration on a corner at Forest and Fifth avenues. Wearing masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they chanted and waved signs with messages including Don t be a bully! and Honk against bullying.
Des Plaines alderman says inclusion of city email address on campaign flyer was an error Des Plaines 5th Ward aldermanic candidates Carla Brookman, left, and Jennifer Nutley
Updated 3/13/2021 3:28 PM
A recent flyer promoting Des Plaines Alderman Carla Brookman s candidacy in the upcoming election featured her city email address and telephone number an apparent legal violation.
Both state law and the Des Plaines municipal code forbid public resources from being used on political campaigns.
Brookman, who s running for reelection in the 5th Ward, called the inclusion of that information an error. She said the person who designed the advertisement accidentally included the city contact information.
Watch debate between candidates for Des Plaines city clerk
Updated 3/12/2021 9:29 AM
Watch candidates for Des Plaines city clerk take part in a feisty joint interview with a representative of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.
The 30-minute exchange between Justin Cochran and Jessica Mastalski was recorded on Zoom on March 11.
They debated whether Cochran s job as chief of staff for State Rep. Martin Moylan presents a conflict as well as the issues raised by Mastalski s challenge to Cochran s filing petitions.
The election takes place on April 6. Mail-in voting begins on March 10, with early in-person voting to follow soon after. related
Fatal Des Plaines fire started at least seven minutes before first 911 call, new report states Grace Espinosa, 1, Allison V. Espinosa, 3, Genesis A. Espinosa, 5, Renata P. Espinosa, 6, and their mother, Cithlaly Zamudio, died in a Jan. 27 fire in Des Plaines. Courtesy of Violeta Gomez-Garcia A fire that killed a mother and her four young daughters in this Des Plaines home started on the second floor outside the family s apartment, essentially trapping them inside because there was no safe secondary exit, according to a newly released city report. Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer, January 2021 This photograph inside a house on the 700 block of West Oakton Street in Des Plaines shows the spot where a deadly fire began, as well as a space heater officials say may have ignited the blaze.