16 year old denied to swim for the state championship due to her disability

Paralyzed from the waist down, 16-year-old Mary Kate Callahan relies solely on upper-body strength to power through the water in the 200-meter freestyle, her favorite race.

Accustomed to overcoming obstacles, Callahan is now fighting for the chance to swim in the state championship during the next school year.

The Fenwick High School student has been denied the opportunity to compete with her team because the Illinois High School Association lacks athletic competition standards for students with disabilities, according to a complaint drafted by the Illinois attorney general’s office.

The attorney general and Chicago-based disability rights group Equip for Equality are expected to sue the IHSA in federal court on Wednesday for discrimination, alleging that it violates the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, according to a copy provided by the attorney general Tuesday.

“I am a high school athlete, and I am like anyone else,” said Callahan of La Grange, who is named as a plaintiff. “We put in just as much effort as anyone else.”

The west suburban teen is the daughter of Jack and Joanne Callahan.

"I am ashamed of the state of illinois," her mother said.

After working for several months with administrators at the private Oak Park high school and the attorney general’s office on recommended reforms, IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman said he is “perplexed” by the lawsuit.

The state high school organization sued the attorney general’s office in April for “clarification on (the IHSA’s) obligations under the law,” said Hickman, adding that the move wasn’t intended to be antagonistic.

It’s possible, Hickman said, the IHSA might adopt a new policy in time for Callahan to qualify for the state swimming finals in November.

According to IHSA regulations, no framework or scoring system exists to allow disabled high school students to participate competitively in athletic events.

When Callahan swims at a meet, her score is not counted toward the team total. And because the state association hasn’t adopted accommodations for disabled athletes, she cannot qualify for the state finals.

Fenwick High School Principal Peter Groom said the school supports Callahan’s desire to participate in any athletic competition. He also acknowledged ongoing efforts by the high school association to resolve the situation.

“It seems to me that they are taking the issue very seriously,” he said. “They are making efforts to try to expand opportunities for disabled students at state competitions.”

Left without the use of her legs by a rare neurological disease she contracted as a baby, Callahan has spent most of her life in a wheelchair, according to the lawsuit. But in the swimming pool she moves swiftly through the water and craves the thrill of competition.

“That’s why I love swimming so much,” Callahan said. “You can fit in so easily with all the other swimmers who are able-bodied.”

Callahan, a junior, realizes that her graduation next year may come before any significant changes take place.

“I wanted to do this for the kids who are coming down the road,” she said.

Another Alcohol related wrong way driving is a good way to kill yourself not other people

A South Side man believed responsible for a wrong-way collision on the Bishop Ford Freeway last month that killed a longtime Chicago Tribune employee has died of his injuries, officials said.

Kenneth Owens, 24, was driving a black 1998 Chevy Malibu south in the northbound lanes when he struck a black 2003 Honda Accord driven by Ronnie Head, who then hit a tanker truck on April 30, authorities said.

Owens, of the 1400 block of East 66th Place, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after the crash. He was pronounced dead there Tuesday morning, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

An autopsy is scheduled for later today.

Head, 54, a Dolton husband and father of two adult children, was pronounced dead shortly after the crash. He had worked for the Chicago Tribune for 27 years as a press operator at the paper's plant at the Freedom Center.

Head's wife Sergenet said the couple were set to renew their wedding vows during their 30th wedding anniversary in June. She said she met her husband at a party at her sister's home and she knew right away that he was "my soul mate."

Illinois State police previously said they believed that the wrong-way driver had been drinking and that "alcohol appears to be a factor." According to state records, Owens was driving on a suspended license for not having proper insurance. His license was suspended in March.

Girl, 11, dies after being pulled from Bolingbrook pond

An 11-year-old girl died after jumping from a footbridge into a pond behind her Bolingbrook school during what witnesses said was a game with friends.

Divers pulled Jordan Oliver from the pond at Indian Chase Meadows Park about 45 minutes after she sank beneath the surface, according to Bolingbrook Police Lt. Mike Rompa. Paramedics administered CPR while taking her to Bolingbrook Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 8:08 p.m.

Witnesses told WGN-TV that Jordan was with friends on a footbridge over the pond around 5 p.m., jumping into the water while playing a game.

"First round, they all jump in. The girl said she couldn't swim," a witness told the station. "Second round, they went in. She jumped again." Jordan couldn't get to the shore and another girl "tried to hand her her foot. . .She jumped into the water to try to save her.

"By the time she tried to save her, the girl was already deep in the water."

Dive teams from the Bolingbrook and Naperville fire departments were called to the pond, which is behind Pioneer Elementary School in the 1400 block of Raven Drive, around 5:45 p.m.. She was found in about 12 feet of water around 6:30 p.m.

Jordan was remembered as a standout 5th grader at Pioneer.

"She was a very sweet, very responsible young lady and was an outstanding student," Pioneer Principal Carmen Killingsworth said in a statement.

A team of crisis counselors will be on hand at the school today, the principal added.

Guardian Angel gets knifed after trying to catch a theif

Four members of the volunteer security patrol known as the Guardian Angels were stabbed late Tuesday while trying to nab a man who robbed and pistol-whipped a rider on a Red Line train on the Near North Side, Chicago police said today.

The four men received minor cuts during the altercation that occurred at the Red Line's Clark and Division Stop at about 11:13 p.m., police said, citing preliminary information.

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Wildebeast attacked the Marquette Park neighborhood

A teenage boy riding his bicycle was shot and wounded Tuesday night on the city's Southwest Side, Chicago police said.

The boy, 14, suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle at about 8:45 p.m. near the intersection of Central Park Avenue and West 65th Street in the Marquette Park neighborhood, police said, citing early reports.

The victim was riding his bicycle on the street when a heavyset man got out of a passing car and yelled a gang slogan toward the boy before pointing a handgun and opening fire, police said.

The wounded boy was taken to area hospital, where he was expected to be treated and released, police said.

Authorities only had a vague description of the gunman and no description at all of the getaway vehicle.

Investigators suspected the shooting was gang related, adding that the victim had a street gang affiliation.

No arrests had been made in the shooting.

The Protesters start so lets see how many go to jail

A band of several dozen protesters marched up Halsted Street this evening from the South Side through Bridgeport, where some engaged in a shouting match with residents.
The marchers, some of whom covered their faces with hoods or bandanas, began their protest at about 51st Street and Halsted, chanting obscenities about police and police brutality.

About 20 bike-riding officers repeatedly rode to the front of the crowd of about 40 demonstrators and formed an angled line across Halsted Street to funnel them back onto the sidewalk. Then officers would walk their bikes next to the sidewalk to enforce the restriction. When protesters slipped in front again, the whole process would start over.

Some curious residents tagged along during the early part of the march, which was without incident until the marchers reached Chicago Police Deering District headquarters in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

There, angry local residents shouted at the protesters to leave, while police stood between them to prevent altercations. Some protesters repeatedly yelled "De-escalate" when things appeared to get tense.

After the confrontation, marchers continued up Halsted Street to Taylor Street, ending the march about 9:30 p.m. Police reported no arrests during the three-hour march.

It was at least the second small protest of the day as demonstrators gear up for this weekend's gathering of world leaders at the May 20-21 NATO summit.

Passenger file's against Metra after the train hit a truck in 2011

A passenger on a Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line train involved in a crash with a truck in Mount Prospect last May that injured three dozen people and killed the truck driver filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the railroad agency for his injuries.

The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court says the commuter rail agency was negligent because it allegedly used a train with no lights, no horn, inadequate brakes and an excessive number of rail cars.

The train was traveling east on the tracks near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Mount Prospect Road when it hit a concrete-carrying truck heading northwest on the Northwest Highway that tried to turn left onto Mount Prospect Road.

The lawsuit says Rafael Ortiz, the plaintiff, suffered from a number of permanent and temporary injuries to his head, body, mind, limbs and nervous systems for which he has had to pay medical bills.

The truck driver, Kazimierz Karasek, was killed in the wreck.