Latest news with #Dolton
France 24
11-07-2025
- General
- France 24
Pope Leo's Illinois childhood home to become tourist site
The modest brick home in the Chicago suburb of Dolton, population 21,000, was sold by its current owner for $375,000, WGN television said. It said the owner had bought the house for $66,000 last year -- prior to Pope Leo's election as the first American pontiff -- and done extensive renovations. The Dolton village board of trustees voted earlier this month to purchase the three-bedroom house and turn it into an attraction open to the public. According to WBEZ Chicago radio, the parents of Pope Leo -- born Robert Prevost -- bought the house in 1949 and sold it in 1996. © 2025 AFP
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Pope Leo XIV's hometown reaches deal to buy his childhood home
Pope Leo XIV 's childhood home in Dolton, Chicago, has been sold to the village for $375,000, significantly exceeding its initial asking price. The modest two-story, three-bedroom house was originally listed for $219,000 in January before being pulled from the market after Prevost's election as pontiff. The property was subsequently sold via a luxury auction, with the village of Dolton securing the purchase for $375,000, well above the average house price in the area. The village intends to collaborate with the Archdiocese of Chicago to transform the property into a landmark, aiming to make it a valuable community asset. Local officials described the acquisition as a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to honor the pontiff's upbringing and draw new attention to the village.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Pope Leo's childhood home in Chicago sells for nearly double the asking price
Pope Leo XIV 's childhood home in Chicago has just sold – and for well over the initial asking price. Long before taking up residence in the Apostolic Palace this May, the pontiff – then known as Robert Prevost – grew up in a modest two-story, three-bedroom home in the south Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois. This week, the house on E. 142nd Place was sold to the village of Dolton at about 70 percent above the initial asking price, Steve Budzik, the agent representing the seller, told Bloomberg. The sale rounds off the home's journey since being placed on the market in January, months before Prevost, 69, emerged from the conclave as pope. The house was originally listed earlier this year for $219,000 after a local property developer bought it for $66,000 to renovate. After Leo stunned Americans and was elected pope on May 8, the seller pulled the home from the market and later announced a luxury auction, with a $250,000 opening bid. The village of Dolton ended up purchasing the property for $375,000, Budzik said. The average house price in Dolton is about $179,000, according to The village hopes to work with the Archdiocese of Chicago to turn the house into a landmark and 'a meaningful and valuable asset to our community.' 'I'm happy for the village,' Budzik said. 'I think they were the best buyer for that property, and it's great for win for them.' The village had previously considered using eminent domain to take ownership of Leo's former home before completing a deal to purchase the property this week. The Dolton board voted unanimously on July 1 to take control of the property with members calling it a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to do the home 'justice.' 'We can either seize this moment and move it forward, or we can let that moment go to an investor,' Dolton Mayor Jason House said at the board meeting. Photos from the village of Dolton's Facebook page last week show contractors doing work on the property's roof. 'The Pope's House continues to draw in people, bringing new energy and attention to our village,' the caption read. Leo's grounded demeanor is often traced back to his modest upbringing in the suburbs of Chicago's South Side. He spent his early years in Dalton living with his parents and his elder brothers, Louis and John, with his upbringing rooted in Catholic faith and Midwestern values. The world's most famous White Sox fan attended local schools and was heavily involved in his parish from a young age. Some of those who went to St. Rita High School with the pontiff affectionately refer to him as 'Father Bob.'
Chicago Tribune
11-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Daywatch: Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home in Dolton purchased
Good morning, Chicago. Dolton has closed on the purchase of Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home in the village, but what will happen with the modest brick building is up in the air. The village closed this week on the home, 212 E. 141st Place, paying $375,000, including commission fees, Mayor Jason House said yesterday. House said a steering committee is being organized to figure out how best to use the property. 'We will then lay out the plans to trustees and the community,' the mayor said. Read the full story here. And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including Ford recalling over 850,000 cars, several top CPS staffers leave the district and a former Cubs manager passing. Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History European officials reached a new deal with Israel to allow desperately needed food and fuel into Gaza, the European Union's foreign policy chief said yesterday, hours after an Israeli airstrike killed 15 people, including 10 children, waiting for help outside a medical clinic. The children's deaths drew outrage from humanitarian groups even as Israel allowed the first delivery of fuel to Gaza in more than four months, though still less than a day's supply, according to the United Nations. The recall covers a wide range of Ford and Lincoln-branded vehicles made in recent model years. That includes certain Ford Broncos, Explorers and F-150s, as well as Lincoln Aviators and Navigators, documents published this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration note. Several top Chicago Public Schools staff members have left the district following the departure of former schools chief Pedro Martinez. The five exiting officials include the district's chiefs of information technology, nutrition and multilingual education. The district's general counsel also left, as did the former CEO's chief of staff. Martinez's last day as district CEO was June 18. Federal prosecutors yesterday asked for nearly six years in prison for former ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain, whose unique position as a confidant to then-House Speaker Michael Madigan was at the center of what they say was a 'stunning' scheme to win the speaker's assistance with the utility's legislation in Springfield. 'McClain's plan was illegal to its core,' prosecutors wrote in their 48-page sentencing filing. 'In securing benefits for both Madigan and ComEd, McClain corrupted the legislative process and the internal control processes of a large, regulated utility … McClain's repeated overstepping of legal lines in this case is stunning.' As Country Club Hills District 160 reckons with board members' big spending on travel, the district's board approved personnel changes and voted to suspend its superintendent Tuesday. While the board approved the resignations of Southwood Middle School Principal Phillip Bazile and assistant principals last month, Tuesday's emergency meeting allowed them to appoint interim replacements and suspend Superintendent Duane Meighan for 10 days at the end of the month, district parent Sequoia Williams said. Like many Chicago Cubs managers who tried and failed to end the team's legendary championship drought, Lee Elia didn't last too long in his job. Elia managed 285 games for the Cubs from 1982-83, going 127-158 before general manager Dallas Green fired him during the '83 season. But Elia, who died Wednesday at age 87, will always remain a significant part of Cubs lore, thanks to a rant for the ages that's celebrated every April 29, the date of his 1983 tirade against what he called the 'so-called Cubs fans.' Related: The new agency in charge of regulating name, image and likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools yesterday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools. Those arrangements hold no 'valid business purpose,' the memo said, and don't adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit. The thing about the Martin Theatre is there's not quite enough room to dance. That didn't stop audiences from trying anyway on Wednesday, when Irakere, the storied Cuban band, visited Ravinia for its ongoing 50-year anniversary celebrations. It was a dance-worthy occasion, times three, with original Irakere members Chucho Valdés, Arturo Sandoval and Paquito d'Rivera — now all Latin jazz titans in their own rights — reunited onstage. Sketched out on an air sickness bag, the first Birkin handbag — the prototype for fashion's must-have accessory — sold for a staggering 8.6 million euros ($10.1 million), including fees, yesterday in Paris to become the second most valuable fashion item ever sold at auction. The winning bid of 7 million euros drew gasps and applause from the audience. The price crushed the previous auction record for a handbag — $513,040 paid in 2021 for a Hermès White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28. The 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' creator and 'Seinfeld' co-creator will act as executive producer, writer and star of the limited series consisting of six half-hour episodes, produced by the Obamas' company, Higher Ground. The show marks the 78-year-old David's return to HBO just over a year after the end of the 12th and final season of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.'
Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Pope Leo's Former Home Sells to Chicago Suburb at Premium
By Updated on Save The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV was sold to the village of Dolton, a south Chicago suburb, at a 70% premium to the initial asking price. The three-bedroom house about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of downtown Chicago was purchased for $375,000 in a deal this week, according to Steve Budzik, the agent representing the seller. Dolton plans to work the Archdiocese of Chicago to turn the property into a landmark.
