Smedinghoff Funeral, Election Results and More: April 2013 in Review

We recap some of the top stories from Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, including local reaction to the Boston Marathon bombing and flooding throughout the area.

After the way April went, let's all hope for some beautiful May flowers. The showers were relentless, causing flooding throughout the area, but not enough to keep the community from lining the streets in the rain during U.S. diplomat Anne Smedinghoff's funeral. And though the Boston Marathon bombing was across the country, it hit home here.  Despite all of that, we can take away from April a new start: Local elections were also this month, and we welcomed some new businesses to the area. So in case you missed some of the top stories from April 2013, here's a recap of the month that was:  U.S. Diplomat Anne Smedinghoff Remembered as Compassionate, Adventurous River Forest resident Anne Smedinghoff "personified" the foreign service, …

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This Inspiring Story Brought to You by Grape-Nuts

Disabled Athlete Scores a Big Win for Handicapped Competitors in Illinois

A Chicago-area swimmer rose to the challenge to fight rules that discriminated against disabled athletes. Sponsored by Grape-Nuts.

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains. Nothing bothers Mary Kate Callahan. Now an active teen, Callahan’s life changed when she was 5 months old. A virus attacked her spinal cord and left her paralyzed from the waist down.   “I didn’t let that stop me,” Callahan says. Despite this challenge, she has accomplished more during the past few years than many do in a lifetime. Callahan visits schools and speaks to children about overcoming obstacles. She took third place in a triathlon. But her biggest success came in changing Illinois High School …

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Fenwick Student's Fight for Equality Opens Doors at State Meet This Weekend

Seven athletes from around Illinois will be among the first students with physical or visual impairments to swim at a state meet this year.

When 12-year-old Aaron Holzmueller watches the state swim meet at Evanston Township High School this weekend, he’ll be dreaming of racing in the event one day himself.  And that’s an incredible thing, says his mom, Birdy Holzmueller.  A seventh-grader at Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School, Aaron has cerebral palsy, and swims and runs triathlons for several local teams. This weekend’s state swim meet is the first time physically and visually impaired athletes, like Aaron, will be able to compete and score points in their own division.  “For him to be on the team and feel on the team and contribute to the team by potentially earning points … that’s an incredible thing,” Holzmueller says.  Aaron will one day have a chance to compete at the state…

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Disabled Fenwick Swimmer and IHSA Reach Settlement

Settlement reached between Mary Kate Callahan and the Illinois High School Association allows will allow disabled swimmer to compete in state events this year.

Equip for Equality, a advocacy group for people with disabilities, reported Sept. 18 that they and Fenwick High School senior Mary Kate Callahan have reached a settlement with the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) on Sept. 10. The settlement allows for Callahan, who uses a wheelchair, to compete in state swimming competitions this year. Callahan and Equip for Equality sued the IHSA in May to allow disabled students the right to compete in state meets. Previously, the IHSA did not have athletic standards for disabled students and did not allow them to compete in state meets. Earlier this month, in a video posted by the Chicago Tribune, Callahan talked about her desire to compete with her team and the hope that this year—her last at …

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Video: Disabled Fenwick Swimmer Hopes to Go to State With Team

Mary Kate Callahan, a Fenwick senior lost the use of her legs due to a rare neurological disease as an infant. She hopes to compete in the state swimming tournament and pave the way for other disabled athletes who are not allowed to compete in state meets

Mary Kate Callahan, of La Grange, is a swimmer and senior at Fenwick High School in Oak Park. Like her teammates on the swim team, Callahan trains rigorously to improve her times and compete against fellow swimmers. Unlike her other teammates, Callahan is wheelchair bound—her legs were paralyzed due to a rare neurological disease as an infant. Callahan was named a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit in May against the Illinois High School Association, the nonprofit that regulates high school competitions across the state. Unlike in many other states, Callahan is not allowed to participate in state meets because she is disabled. For Patch's story on Callahan's fight for equality, click here. Callahan hopes that this year, her senior year, she'll…

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Mary Kate Callahan's Fight for Equality

Backed by the Attorney General's Office and a disability rights advocacy group, Fenwick High School swimmer alleges in federal lawsuit the IHSA excludes her from competition.

Peppered by questions from TV and radio reporters, 16-year-old Mary Kate Callahan calmly explained her rigorous training routines and the struggle to simply compete alongside her peers in state competitions. "I train just as hard as everyone else," the Fenwick High School junior said. "You know we put in just as much effort as everyone else." Callahan, wheelchair-bound because of a paralysis of her lower limbs, is named as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association, the nonprofit regulating the interscholastic competitions across the state. The lawsuit, filed jointly by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's Office and Equip for Equality, a Chicago-based advocacy group, alleges the IHSA violated the …

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State Sues IHSA on Behalf of Paralyzed Fenwick Student

Mary Kate Callahan fights for right to compete in state athletic tournaments.

Fenwick High School junior Mary Kate Callahan, paralyzed in her legs, has been a standout student athlete, racking up accolades for her swimming, basketball and track accomplishments. At 14 years old, she swam for a chance to earn a spot in the 2016 Olympics (see video). Last year, she was named to the U.S. Paralympics All-American Team for discus and javelin events. But Callahan, 16, can't compete alongside her classmates in state-sanctioned tournaments because the Illinois High School Association doesn't have athletic standards for disabled students, according to a copy of a lawsuit expected to be filed in federal court Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reports.  The suit is expected to be filed jointly by Attorney General Lisa Madigan's …

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