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Community rallies in support of young woman battling cancer By maRK gRegoRy editorial director
@Hear_The_Beard mark@buglenewspapers.com
A
nyone that ever spent time around Romeoville High School graduate Abby Smith knows that no matter if she was on the basketball court or the softball field, she was always as positive as she was relentless her pursuit of a victory for her teammates. A few things have changed over the years —her last name as changed to Talley, her battle is now in the game of life and her No. 1 teammate is only eight months old. Her attitude, energy and determination, however, are still the same. Roughly a month ago, the 26-year-old was newly married, raising a beautiful baby girl named Leia, was a full-time substitute teacher at her alma mater and was an assistant coach for the Spartans girls basketball team. Then, her life was flipped upside down when she was diagnosed with cancer. “After I had my beautiful baby girl, I went to get checked and the doctor suggested that I go to see someone to make sure it wasn’t serious and when I went, they did all these tests and it came back that I had breast cancer,” Abby said. “I did test positive for a mutation, so I probably was going to get it at some point in my lifetime, but Leia was the reason I was concerned and why I wanted to get checked and why I saw the doctor that day.
PGOTO COURTESY OF THE TALLEY FAMILY
abby Talley , 26, is battling cancer with the support of her new husband, Brandon, and infant daughter leia. she has also received support from the girls basketball team of Romeoville High school and the entire southwest prairie conference. “She literally saved my life. People say all the time that she is my little angel and I say, ‘yes, she is my angel.’” Despite the life-altering news, Abby is continuing to fight with a smile on her face as much as she can. “You have to stay positive
through everything,” she said. “There are two ways to approach this — you can continue to give yourself pity and be upset and miserable or you can take it head on, use the support you have and stay positive and get through it and that is what we have been doing.”
After graduating from McKendree University in 2018 as a member of the women’s basketball team, Abby returned to the Romeoville area. In May of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she married Brandon Talley and in July of 2021 gave birth to Leia — the couple’s
first child. “Getting married was something we were both excited for and then COVID happened, so that was a setback —but we still wanted to do it, so we made it happen,” Abby said. “That was a whirlwind and when we finally got to breathe
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Abby’s attitude can teach us all a lesson Over my years writing for area sports, I have covered a lot of athletes and some of the better ones, I have written multiple stories on — maybe a feature in high school and again in college or whatever. Athletes like Tuf Borland, Morgan Tuck or Olympian Jewell Loyd sit at or near the top of that list, but right up there is former Romeoville stand out, the former Abby Smith. The now married, Abby Talley, is an athlete I started covering when she was an underclassman starting on varsity for Romeoville’s basketball and softball teams. She went on to be featured when she battled back from severe injury or when she led her college team against Lewis University — the first time she had to play in Romeoville as a member of the visiting team. Writing stories about Abby was never something I had to do. I never had an editor telling me to get the next installment of her story. Writing about Abby was something I sought out. She was always a great inter-
view with interesting and intelligent things to say. Most importantly, she always appreciated someone telling her story. She always understood the bigger picture —that while she was talking about herself starting on varsity as a ninth or 10th grader, there was a fifth grader out there trying to be just like her. When she was talking about coming back from injury, she was inspiring an athlete out there thinking of quitting the rehab process or when she talked about what it took to be a successful college athlete, somewhere, there was an aspiring college athlete using her words as a how-to manual. I enjoyed every story I every decided to write about Abby — until this last one. Telling a story of a 26-year-old woman that is newly married with an infant daughter, who instead of being in a fight for sleep each night is in a fight against cancer. As I dialed her number and the phone rang, knowing she was hours away from another chemo treatment, I expected to hear the
worn out, tired voice of someone beat down by the crappy hand she had just been dealt. Instead, I heard Abby. As upbeat as the last time I talked to her after McKendree College played at Lewis University at the end of her basketball career. She answered the phone with a smile in her voice and positive attitude that shined through the phone —an attitude that made me feel like an idiot for thinking she would be any other way. It is that positive attitude that will get Abby through her trials and will make her an even stronger person o the other side, but even more than that, will make her an inspiration for everyone around her. Abby chose to be a teacher and coach in her professional life and while cancer has sidelined her
from doing either as a profession, she is teaching the most important lesson she will ever teach and coaching her team of supporters to follow her lead and remain as positive as she is as they take on this new opponent as one unit. Within minutes of hanging up with Abby, I sent a message to her mom, Rachel, whom I have got to know over the years as her parents and siblings were staples at Romeoville, on or off the field. What I had to say to Rachel was something I’m positive she already knew. I told her that she had raised an amazing young woman and that her positive attitude was truly an inspiration. I meant that. Hearing that never-give-up, we will win, tone in Abby’s voice made me believe it from the second we started our conversation and made me question why I expected anything less. Abby is a fighter — she always was. She will fight cancer the same way she fought opponents and the
same way she fought back from injury. And just like she did then, Abby will win — and I can’t wait to be there to tell the story.
IF yoU WanT To Help Supporters of Abby Talley have set up a Go Fund me page to help lessen the financial burden on the young family as Abby has to be off work and her husband, Brandon, takes time away from his job to be by her side. The fundraiser has already raised more than $26,000 out of a $30,000 goal to help the Tally family. If you would like to donate, visit the page at www. gofundme.com/f/lets-staypositive-with-abby.
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Troy Shorewood Elementary School celebrates 70th day of 70th year Troy Shorewood Elementary School recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of the school on the 70th day of this school year. The school was the first of the Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C schools and educated students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Today, the school educates students kindergarten through fourth grade, as do the newer four of Troy’s elementary schools. Older grades are now taught at William B. Orenic Intermediate School and Troy Middle School. Principal Sherri Blanchette said for the anniversary, students learned about the history of the school, and the day was celebrated with music games from the era. Tag was as big back then as it is today, she said, and students also learned about the board and card games students played then. Students and staff also dressed up in ‘50s regalia, had a door decorating contest, and made a list of “70 reasons we love Shorewood.” “We needed this celebration of learning,” Blanchette said. “Just think how many generations of families have attended this school.” Vicki Petrovic was a sixth grade stu-
dent at the school and now teaches third grade there. “I absolutely love Troy,” she said. “Then and now, there is a sense of community and family. Teachers really care about their students. There are so many good memories that are etched in my brain.” Troy Shorewood second grade teacher Kristi Kennedy attended the school herself in third through fifth grades. Her grandmother Vera Close began the family’s Troy Shorewood history by driving a bus for the school; her father Jim Close and his siblings attended the school when it was a junior high; her sixth grade daughter Ella went there; and her third grader Emelia goes there now. “I feel like it was family,” Kennedy said. “As an adult and teacher now, I still feel it’s a family. Everyone is kind and inviting and warm. The teachers there were the reason I wanted to become a teacher.” Blanchette said the school is going to create a mini-museum and is looking for donations of items from then and now. Information about donations can be obtained by calling Troy Shorewood Elementary School at (815) 577-7312.
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Republicans cite SAFE-T Act as reason Chicago man not charged with murder By gRace KInnIcUTT
Capitol News Illinois
Illinois House Republicans on Wednesday continued a push to repeal a criminal justice reform bill passed one year ago, citing the law as the reason a Chicago man was not charged with murder for his role in a shootout that left one bystander dead. A Cook County grand jury declined to indict Travis Andrews, 26, for the murder of Melinda Crump, 54, who was shot in the abdomen during a shootout initiated by Andrews while walking to a convenience store in December, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. While Andrews initiated the shootout by firing multiple shots at someone else, his bullet did not kill Crump. Bullets apparently fired by the intended target, who has not been identified, struck Crump in the abdomen. State law, in certain circumstances, allows a person who did not directly take the action that led to a death to be charged with first-degree murder. But reformers, in passing the criminal justice reform law, tried to lessen prosecutors’ ability to file those so-called “felony murder” charges if a person’s action doesn’t directly cause the death. The reform bill, called the Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T Act, passed during a lame duck session in January 2021. It changed one of three subsections to crimes contained under first-degree murder. Under the SAFE-T Act, it allows for felony murder charges of an individual if “he or she, acting alone or with one or more participants, commits or attempts
to commit a forcible felony other than second degree murder, and in the course of or in furtherance of such crime or flight therefrom, he or she or another participant causes the death of a person.” The previous version did not include the language which said “causes the death of a person.” Andrews was indicted on weapons charges in the shooting but not on the first-degree murder charge. While grand jury deliberations are secret, the Sun-Times reported that Assistant State’s Attorney
James Murphy told a judge during a hearing that jurors cited the SAFE-T Act as the reason for not pursuing the murder charge. “The Cook County grand jury’s decision not to indict Travis Andrews on first-degree murder because of the SAFE-T Act highlights what we have been saying all along,” Rep. Dan Ugaste, RGeneva said at a news conference Wednesday. “The SAFE-T Act has made Illinois a less safe place to live.” “How does [Gov. Pritzker] explain this dismal failure that
played out before the Cook County grand jury on this investigation,” House minority leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said. But Jobi Cates, executive director of Restore Justice Illinois, said the reforms “narrow the wrongdoings” and make it difficult to charge people with first-degree murder when they did not intend to kill the person who died. Cates said the change in the statute is intended to prevent the possibility of charging someone with a first-degree murder when the killing was committed by a
third party. “It’s a minor change to the statute, people can still be charged,” Cates said in a phone interview with Capitol News Illinois Wednesday. “We want to actually solve for violence,” she added. “We want to actually make communities safer.” Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, released a statement following the GOP news conference and grand jury’s decision, saying he hoped the person responsible for
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‘SAFE-T ’ from page 5 Crump’s death would be arrested. “The criminals who instigated and participated in the shooting that led to Melinda Crump’s death must be brought to justice,” Slaughter said. “I am glad Travis Andrews is facing more than a decade of jail time, and I hope the gunman who shot and kill Ms. Crump is found and charged with murder.” Republicans have continually claimed that the criminal justice reform bill has led to an increase in violent crime. In response, they filed House Bill 4499 to repeal the SAFE-T Act Among other provisions, the SAFE-T Act overhauls police certification and decertification, reforms use-of-force standards, increases police accountability and abolishes cash bail. “The Democrats insist on staying the course with the SAFE-T Act. They refuse to acknowledge the policies they passed are leading to spikes in crime,” Ugaste said. Durkin said that Illinois is becoming a “lawless state when it comes to crime,”
and that repercussions need to be put in place to prevent violent offenders. “We need to immediately repeal the failed Democrat law, the SAFE-T Act, before more tragedies occur,” Durkin said. Slaughter said the SAFE-T act makes the justice system more fair and effective and that “Republicans are continuing their scare tactics by twisting the law and the facts of this case in order to score political points in an election year.” Pritzker was asked about the Andrews case Wednesday in a news conference. “Well, let’s begin by saying that the crime that was committed and the death, of course, heinous and something that someone should have the book thrown at them for,” he said. “The fact is that what he’s been charged with, would result in, if convicted, 14 years in prison without possibility of parole. Not every crime will have first-degree murder as the charge that gets brought against somebody, but I am at least pleased that he’s been apprehended and that he will be prosecuted on those crimes.”
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W e d n es day, FE B R UA RY 16 , 2 0 2 2 | bug l e n e w spap e r s. c o m | pag e 9 ‘ABBY ’ from page 3 a little bit, three months later, I found out I was pregnant. We wanted kids, we just didn’t want them that early, but it worked out. After I had Leia, I though maybe then I can catch my breath —and then all this happened. I was in shock when I got the news. “This whole story is almost like a miracle. Because one thing, another thing happened and then I had signs and then found something that could have killed me. I wouldn’t have got tested right away — I’m 26, it is not common. Even the doctor said that my percent to get breast cancer at this age is like one percent. It is just crazy.” After her diagnosis, Abby attacked the disease the same way she attacked the basket full on and with all she had. “The doctors have been great. I told them that I just wanted to get it over with, so I found out the first week of January and I am already in my second dose of chemo in early February. We just attacked it head on,” she said. “I had like eight tests in one week after I found out, it was crazy how fast everything was going. But, I wanted it done and I want my old life back.” That life she had before luckily was filled with family, friends and colleagues that all have risen to the occasion to support her in this fight. “I have the biggest support system, best family and husband,” she said. “I have a lot of people that have my back right now. “They say, in sickness and health, well, he really got to learn that right away. When you think of that stuff, you think about when you are older and the kids are able to take care of themselves. I have an eight-month old so he is taking care of the baby and working full time, so he has ben amazing. He has ben so supportive and that is part of why I remain so positive. He has been awesome — I am blessed with him, too. I guess I have two angels.” While she is able to attack her disease head on, she said the hardest part is not being the one in control — not being the floor general that earned her the distinction of being a college athlete. “I don’t like sitting down and I don’t like letting people do stuff for me, but right now, everyone wants to help and I appreciate it. It is a new role that I have to take. I have to sit back and let people help me and it’s hard,” Abby said. “I’ve always had help, but it is hard when I don’t get to give back as much — it is hard to let people help. It is hard to ask for help,
too, but throughout these weeks, I have needed it. Without family and friends, this would be a lot harder. “I went from subbing and coaching and raising a little one to just fighting this head on with the little one by my side.” One of the places she has had an outpouring of support has been from the basketball community at Romeoville High School and throughout the Southwest Prairie Conference. An original idea of Spartan head coach Devin Bates turned into a rally of support from all the teams in the league. “When Devin approached me about doing the pink game at RHS, I said I would love it and my family would love to come out and support,” Abby said. “Everyone wants to do something these games were a way for all these coaches to do something for me and I appreciate it. I was blown away. At first it was just RHS, but then the whole conference wanted to do it and that was just amazing. I know a lot of the coaches are still there from when I played, but I was just a player then. It has been awesome
to see.” Bates said it did not take long for the conference to get involved. “(After she stepped away) our first home game was against Plainfield North and Michaela Reedy is a new coach there, a young lady that knew Abby through a friend, and before the game, Michaela and I had a conversation and she said she wanted to do more,” Bates said. “I told her I was creating the pink shirts and she wanted to do something — and her AD, Ron Lear, is the commissioner of the conference and he was at the game and after the game, Michaela and Ron talked and the next day, Ron Lear sent an email to all the coaches and athletic directors in the conference and let them know what was going on and from there, it really took off. “All the coaches reached out to me via email or text and told me what they were going to do — teams wore pink and had 50/50 raffles and gave her baskets. Plainfield Central went to the IHSA and the referees and asked if during the game with Romeoville if they could wear pink accessories
even though it doesn’t match the jerseys and they got the approval. Every time we have been on the road the second half of the season, every team has done something.” Bates said the outpouring of support has been more than he could have imagined. “It is really amazing. It speaks volumes to not only what she means to basketball around the area, but the impact she has on the other coaches and the teams in the conference,” he said. “Some of those coaches have been around, some of them haven’t, but the schools understand who she is and that shows what she means still to this day.” Basketball in the area also means a lot to Abby, which is why giving up her spot on the bench during this season has been one of the hardest parts of the battle this far. “I coached for a little bit before treatment started and the week before treatment started, I told the girls that I didn’t know if I could be as energetic and be able to be there for practices and games as much as I needed, so I made the decision to step back. Me and my
mom have gone to a few games in the stands,” Abby said. “Devin has been great and very understanding. It was a decision I made because I felt that if I couldn’t give 100 percent to the girls, I didn’t think it was fair to them. “The girls are amazing and they understand and couple of them reach out. That was one of the most difficult things, because I love basketball season. They have been so supportive and they are in high school, they don’t have to do all this, but they have and they have wanted to. It is really nice to see.” Abby started off her coaching career under Julio Carrasco, her former coach at Romeoville, but remained on after he stepped away —much to the pleasure of Bates. “It meant a lot,” Bates said, “I coached with Julio for 11 years. I started with the younger kids when Abby was on the upper level and the one thing I appreciated about her was not only her love for the game, but she worked so incredibly hard. That stuck with me. “To be able to have her as
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pag e 1 0 | Wednesday, FEBRUARY 16, 20 22 | bugle n e w s pa p e r s .c om ‘ABBY ’ from page 9 someone that made her name at Romeoville High School and someone that the girls look up to. She not only cares about the school, but the community and the kids. These young ladies look up to her so much and she gives them such a strength and confidence —and she doesn’t even need to say anything — she just walks in the room and things change. Her presence over the last couple years has been awesome.” The game plan Abby has to beat cancer is the same type she had as a player and coach — aggressive, resilient and in-your-face— and she wasted no time getting started. “I have 20 weeks of chemo and I have a countdown —I am 12.5 percent done with chemo. Then I have surgery,” she said. “I am having a double mastectomy, so
hopefully this never comes back to haunt me. Then, I have radiation and I will have some medications I have to take throughout the years.” Abby said the decision for the surgery is one she made with her husband for her health and her future. “The doctors aren’t going to tell you what to do with your body, but they are looking for a cure so I don’t have to come back,” she said. “They recommended it, but me and my husband were already talking about it. Since I have the mutation, it is common for ovarian cancer and skin cancer, so I have to be screened for all that. “The doctors are being so proactive, but they won’t give me a whole lifelong plan, because who knows where medicine will ne in 10 or 15 years.” Not only will Abby continue to be screened for cancers through-
out her life, but, now, so will her siblings — Skylar, Noah and Carter —will all now be ahead of the disease. “Leia didn’t only save my life, she saved all my siblings lives because now that I know I have the BRCA2 gene, my siblings have to get tested and can be proactive for them. So, they can thank me because I am taking the hardship for them,” Abby said. “It even goes as far as when we find out which parent it came from, we will go to aunts and uncles and cousins, so, if we can catch this, hopefully they are not in this place. “I will beat this and I can help my family along the way.” Her reach goes further, as Abby’s fight is bringing awareness to the forefront of the conversation for all the young female athletes in Romeoville, the SPC and across the state. “She has always been a strong
girl and she will fight through this. Her positive attitude impacts everyone. She still cares about everyone else,” Carrasco said. “It is great to be part of her life after I coached her. I was the son of a buck that yelled at her and coached her and then she came back and coached with me and seeing the young lady she grew up to be is awesome. “A 26-year-old young lady should not have to go through this, but if by chance this saves other young ladies, then that is a positive and she is such a strong person, I can’t wait to see how she impacts other girls is this world. That is where you see how much impact you have had in this life, when all these people are stepping up for her. I treated her like my own daughter. I want the people around her to support her and they really are.” Bates knows that Abby will
bring the same fight to beating cancer that she brought to beating the opponents of the Spartans. “Whether you are a believer or not, this is God’s plan and he picked the right person to bring awareness. He picked the strongest warrior to go through this and touch these young lives and bring awareness to these young girls,” Bates said. “She is determined, but the positive energy and positive vibe that she brings to difficult situations —it gives me chills. As an athlete, she was calm on the floor all the time and she brings that same calmness, that same mentality and same fight —that inner strength and that positive attitude she has with this whole thing is amazing. “There is no doubt in my mind that she is one of the strongest people I know and she will beat this.”
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