Vol. VII No. 48 West Sub sold, PAGE 4
Al Capone’s Hillside grave defaced Nov. 23
Hillside police said no suspects detained, but most of the word “Evil” in red spray-paint has been removed
Speaker Welch reflects on growing House majority JERRY JER RY NOW NOWICK ICKI/C I/CAPI APITOL TOL NE NEWS WS IILL LLLINO N IS
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By LOCAL NEWS CURATOR The gravesite of famous Chicago mob boss Al Capone was defaced last week, according to reports by the Chicago Sun-Times and other media outlets. Hillside police said they discovered the word “Evil” in red spray-paint on Capone’s grave marker at around 1 p.m. on Nov. 23 at Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery, where Capone and his family are buried. A photo of the desecrated grave was posted on the Chicago History Instagram page, the Sun-Times reported. Hillside police said the graffiti was removed on the same day they discovered it, but the Sun-Times reported that bits of red paint still remained on the grave on Nov. 27. Police said no suspects were in custody. Last year, the Sun-Times reported, “an auction of Al Capone’s personal effects, including his favorite gun, garnered more than $3.1 million. More than 1,200 bidders from all 50 states and several countries participated.” Mount Carmel Cemetery is one of the most notable in the Chicago area. It’s home
NOVEMBER 30, 2022
State’s first Black House speaker says he has the support for another term, touts diversity of Democratic supermajority By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who recently announced he has the support for another term as House speaker, says he looks forward to governing with an even larger supermajority than he had during his first two years. “Expanding our caucus was definitely a priority of mine,” he said during an
interview with Capitol News Illinois. “But from a policy standpoint, we want to continue to build on the budget work that we’ve done. Expanding our caucus would not have been possible if people didn’t believe Democrats were doing the right things.” Welch, a Maywood native and Democrat from Hillside whose district spans much of Proviso Township, was elected speaker in January 2021 after most in the Democratic caucus refused to back longtime Speaker Michael Madigan, who’d been implicated in a bribery scandal and has since been indicted on corruption charges. During his first two years, Democrats held a 73-45 advantage in the House, and Welch used that to pass landmark legislation, including the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which provides state support for carbon-free energy production and seeks to phase out fossil fuel
power plants by 2045. That supermajority also enabled Democrats to control the redistricting process when lawmakers drew new maps for the General Assembly, congressional districts and the Supreme Court. In the elections that followed, Democrats widened their majority in the House by at least four seats – one race remained too close to call as of Monday – while also capturing a 5-2 majority on the state supreme court. In all, while Democrats who ran for statewide offices received, on average, about 55 percent of the vote, Democrats captured roughly 66 percent of the state legislative seats. When asked whether gerrymandering played a role in those results, Welch said it did not. “What I would say is that the maps See WELCH on page 6