History
It was founded in 1960 to serve Worth, Chicago Ridge, Palos Hills and Hickory Hills. The newspaper was known for many years as the Worth-Palos Reporter, the name signifying the two townships the newspaper serves (and still referred to as such by many older readers, despite not carrying that name since the mid-1980s). The paper eventually added Alsip, Crestwood and Bridgeview to its coverage area. The paid-circulation newspaper expanded again in 1983 into Oak Lawn – one of the largest municipalities today in south suburban Cook County – and Evergreen Park.
Charles Richards, then-owner of Regional Publishing Corp., purchased the newspaper in 1986. Most of the existing staff was retained as was the office in Chicago Ridge. A year later, the newspaper's office was moved to Regional Publishing's office at 12247 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights. The newspaper eventually dropped Alsip, Crestwood and Bridgeview from its coverage area.
It established an Internet presence in January 2006.
In October 2014, The Regional News and The Reporter and its sister newspaper, The Regional News, as well as the company's printing press, Palos Heights headquarters and other assets, were acquired by Southwest Community Publishing Co. The new entity will be called Southwest Regional Publishing Co.
The move closed the book on the Richards family's ownership of the two newspapers. The Richards family had owned The Regional News for 67 years. The Regional News, founded in 1941 and currently the oldest business in Palos Heights, was purchased by the Richards family in 1947. Carl Richards worked during his high school years as the "printer's devil" at a small weekly newspaper in the Ozarks when he decided someday he wanted to own and publish his own community newspaper. The family purchased The Reporter in 1986.
Former owner Charles Richards succeeded his father Carl Richards as publisher and served until his retirement in 2005.
The Southwest Regional Publishing Co. is affiliated with the Southwest Community Publishing Co.
It is an owner and operator of seven weekly newspapers in Chicago and the Southwest Suburbs, including the Desplaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, Archer Journal News, Clear-Ridge Reporter and City NewsHound. With the addition of The Reporter and Regional News, their combined coverage territory spans from Countryside and McCook in the north through Orland Park in the south.
Founded in 2012, the company is chaired by Steve Landek and includes veteran newspaper operator Mark Hornung.
Coverage
The Reporter places a strong emphasis on local news and is known as a "hyperlocal" newspaper, meaning it covers almost exclusively news and events relevant only to the people in the communities it serves, and rarely covers news outside those communities regardless of the magnitude.
It also has an award-winning sports section that covers local high-school and college athletics. Some subscribers get the newspaper solely for this section, called Sports Southwest.
The newspaper's arts and entertainment section, Out & About, includes movie reviews, an events calendar, and the occasional restaurant review. The section received second place in its class (Division C, which includes the largest non-daily newspapers in Illinois) in 2008 from the Illinois Press Association.
Alsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
Bridgeview is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the Chicago Loop. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 17,027.
Area codes 708 and 464 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the southern and western suburbs of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. The numbering plan area comprises most of western and southern Cook County, and eastern and southern Will County.
Chicago Lawn is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the southwest side of the city. Its community neighbors include Gage Park, West Englewood, Ashburn, and West Lawn. It is bounded by Bell Avenue on the east, Central Park Avenue on the west, 59th Street on the north, and 75th Street on the south, and is 13 km (8.1 mi) southwest of the Loop. Local citizens refer to the area as "Marquette Park," after the park in its center.
Moraine Valley Community College is a public community college in Palos Hills, Illinois. Founded in 1967, it is surrounded by the Cook County Forest Preserves. The college also operates satellite centers in Blue Island and Tinley Park, Illinois.
The Chicago Southland is a region comprising the south and southwest suburbs of the City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Home to roughly 2.5 million residents, this region has been known as the Southland by the local populace and regional media for over 20 years. Despite this relatively recent term, some older native Southlanders and current local advertisements colloquially refer to the Southland as the Southside, meaning on the southern side/border of Chicago as extended into the suburbs since some of them previously lived on Chicago's Southside but moved to the suburbs during post WWII white flight.
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, Stagg, or AAS, is a public four-year high school located at the intersection of S. Roberts Rd. and W. 111th Street in Palos Hills, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Consolidated High School District 230, which also includes Victor J. Andrew High School and Carl Sandburg High School.
Illinois's 6th congressional district covers parts of Cook and DuPage counties. It has been represented by Democrat Sean Casten since 2019.
Worth Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 152,934, with its most populous municipalities including Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park (19,943), Alsip, and Chicago Ridge. It was founded in 1849, when the county voted to subdivide itself into townships.
Illinois's 3rd congressional district includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Delia Ramirez since January 3, 2023. The district was previously represented by Marie Newman from 2021 to 2023, Dan Lipinski from 2005 to 2021, and by Lipinski's father Bill from 1983 to 2005.
Palos Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,836, with its most populous municipality being Palos Hills. The vast majority of the township's population resides in its eastern half; the half west of La Grange Road consists mainly of facilities in the Cook County Forest Preserves. In 1850 the small town of Trenton, Illinois changed its name to Palos; this recommendation was made by M.S. Powell, the local postmaster, whose ancestor supposedly sailed with Christopher Columbus from Palos de la Frontera. When it incorporated as a village in 1914, Palos officially became Palos Park. The neighboring communities of Palos Hills and Palos Heights incorporated at later points. All three municipalities lie completely or substantially within Palos Township.
The Community High School District 218 is a public high school district with offices in Oak Lawn, Illinois. As of 2017–18, there were 5,405 students enrolled in three high schools and an alternative high school. The district also owns two learning centers. The district superintendent is Ty Harding.
Consolidated High School District 230 is a public high school district headquartered in Orland Park, Illinois in the Chicago metropolitan area. It has over 8,300 students in three high schools.
Alan B. Shepard High School is a public secondary school located in Palos Heights, Illinois, It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. The school, along with Dwight D. Eisenhower High School and Harold L. Richards High School are part of Community High School District 218. Students who attend the school live in the communities of Palos Heights, Crestwood, Worth, Alsip, Robbins, and Calumet Park. The school is named in honor of Alan B. Shepard, the first American astronaut to travel into space and the fifth person to walk on the Moon.
Harlem Avenue is a major north–south street located in Chicago and its west, southwest, and northwest suburbs. It stretches from Glenview Road in Glenview to the intersection of East South Street and South Drecksler Road in Peotone, where it diverges into Illinois Route 50. At 54.1 miles (87.1 km), it is the third-longest street in the United States, after Telegraph Road in southeastern Michigan and O Street in Nebraska. For most of its length, it carries Illinois Route 43. There is a stop along the Metra's BNSF Line at Harlem Avenue and Windsor Avenue in Berwyn, Illinois. There is also a major transit center where Metra's UP West Line and the Chicago Transit Authority Green Line share a facility in Oak Park, Illinois. The northern terminus of Harlem Avenue is also nearby the Glenview station for both Metra's Milwaukee District/North Line and Amtrak intercity trains.
The mix of ethnic groups in Chicago has varied over the history of the city, resulting in a diverse community in the twenty-first century. The changes in the ethnicity of the population have reflected the history and mass America, as well as internal demographic changes. The groups have been important in the development of the city as well as players in occasional conflicts.
North Palos School District 117 is a school district headquartered in Palos Hills, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Cook County Board of Commissioners 6th district is an electoral district for the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
