dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--Rozner: Bob Frisk was as grand as they come

It was about 10 years ago that I was at dinner with Bob Frisk .
With us were mostly former coaches , nearly all of them Hall of Famers in their own regard .
It was not long after Frisk had retired from the Daily Herald , and when I suggested the Illinois High School Association ought to put something in Frisk 's name -- like the state basketball , softball or track finals -- one of them chuckled .
Dumb idea , said a coach .
Not big enough .
There 's nothing big enough .
That 's how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sports .
There 's nothing big enough .
Bob Frisk died Saturday at the age of 83 , spending his final days in hospice care after saying goodbye to his family .
During the 36 years I knew him , it was a short list of things that Frisk truly cared about .
His family , friends and high school sports dominated that list .
Like the best men of his generation , Frisk was devoted to his wife .
He never entirely got over her death 28 years ago , though he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ son-in-law and grandson .
They are what kept him moving forward , albeit slowly and at times over the years more reluctantly .
We had long conversations about how to survive those difficult and lonely nights .
Sleepless and endless , often it involved watching old movies or documentaries .
He adored Gene Hackman , a downstate guy , and especially in `` Hoosiers . ''
Mostly , he passed the time since retiring 11 years ago -- after 50 years as the shepherd of Daily Herald high school sports coverage -- by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Norm in `` Cheers '' when he showed up at a local gym or on the sideline , everyone wanting a piece of Bob , wanting to know how he was and what he was doing .
He took long walks and enjoyed being outside , and in our last conversation he asked that I soak a dirt mound in his front yard , the result of some torn up sod and a plumbing fix .
Makes me laugh when I think about it now , as if he did n't have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that moment , not long before he was wheeled into surgery .
But it is a fitting metaphor when you consider all he did to grow prep sports , and especially our coverage at the Daily Herald .
He liked college sports , the Olympics and some pro events -- especially the Masters -- but had a low tolerance for the disrespectful nature of today 's sports and the way the games were being artificially altered .
Bob was self-effacing in his reluctance to embrace technology or the impersonal nature of today 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the latest innovation .
It 's why he liked so very much Augusta National , and its tradition unlike any other .
To the very end of his 50 years , he had a typewriter at his Daily Herald desk that he employed to fill out requests for the photo department -- or leave encouraging notes for colleagues .
About as sweet a man as you could ever meet , he was tougher than he looked , willing when necessary to move on from those who could n't get out of their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , especially from those who worked for him , and did not consider journalism the vitriol of rip-and-slash writers with personal vendettas , who served merely to read their own words and feed their own egos .
Bob believed it was the reader -- not the writer -- who mattered most .
Above all , he would teach and praise , and as sports editor he gave this very young reporter his first beat in the spring of 1985 , high school softball , at a particularly rough time in my life .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a great learning experience as Bob 's beloved Prospect High School , led by Hall of Fame coach Bob Genzen and superstar pitcher Laura Stock , went downstate .
In building a terrific sports department , Bob hired , mentored or befriended so many great journalists who remained true to this newspaper and the profession , like Bruce Miles , Scot Gregor , Bob LeGere , Mark Ruda , Tim Sassone , Mike Imrem , Mike Spellman , Mike McGraw , Keith Reinhard , Jeff Nordlund , Kent McDill , John Leusch , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gabriel , Marty Maciaszek , Kevin Schmit , Orrin Schwarz , John Lemon , Jerry Fitzpatrick , Dave Oberhelman , Don Friske , Tom Prentiss , Bill Gowen , John Radtke , Jim Cook and Tom Quinlan .
It would be selfish now to thank Bob again for hiring me in 1984 , the day after the Cubs were eliminated by San Diego , Frisk waiting until after the playoffs and knowing I needed to keep vending to make a few extra dollars .
Selfish because it 's not about me or any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ career was so large and extended so far , and he meant so much to so many .
We all owe him a debt for the way in which he argued for integrity from , and respect for , coaches and parents , and the way in which he applauded effort and decency in sports .
He believed athletics were good for children , that the best lessons learned from competition can only help as children grow up and move into the workforce , getting married and raising their own kids .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coaches , parents and athletes , Bob would ask , would n't we then deserve exactly what we get from them ?
I will miss the conversations , miss the occasional breakfast , miss Bob 's warm and genuine smile that made you feel like it would all be OK , but again it feels selfish to talk now about what any single one of us got from him .
And we can pay tribute until the cows come home , but to borrow from one of his friends , there 's nothing @ @ @

Rozner: Bob Frisk was as grand as they come
Bob Frisk was a mentor to many and a friend to all. The former sports editor and columnist of The Daily Herald died Saturday. He was 83. Daily Herald File Photo
It was about 10 years ago that I was at dinner with Bob Frisk.
With us were mostly former coaches, nearly all of them Hall of Famers in their own regard.
It was not long after Frisk had retired from the Daily Herald, and when I suggested the Illinois High School Association ought to put something in Frisk's name -- like the state basketball, softball or track finals -- one of them chuckled.
Dumb idea, said a coach. Not big enough. There's nothing big enough.
That's how important Frisk was to Illinois high school sports. There's nothing big enough.
Bob Frisk died Saturday at the age of 83, spending his final days in hospice care after saying goodbye to his family.
During the 36 years I knew him, it was a short list of things that Frisk truly cared about. His family, friends and high school sports dominated that list.
Like the best men of his generation, Frisk was devoted to his wife. He never entirely got over her death 28 years ago, though he lived to brag about his daughter, son-in-law and grandson. They are what kept him moving forward, albeit slowly and at times over the years more reluctantly.
We had long conversations about how to survive those difficult and lonely nights. Sleepless and endless, often it involved watching old movies or documentaries.
He adored Gene Hackman, a downstate guy, and especially in "Hoosiers."
Mostly, he passed the time since retiring 11 years ago -- after 50 years as the shepherd of Daily Herald high school sports coverage -- by attending high school events.
He was like Norm in "Cheers" when he showed up at a local gym or on the sideline, everyone wanting a piece of Bob, wanting to know how he was and what he was doing.
He took long walks and enjoyed being outside, and in our last conversation he asked that I soak a dirt mound in his front yard, the result of some torn up sod and a plumbing fix.
Makes me laugh when I think about it now, as if he didn't have more important things to worry about at that moment, not long before he was wheeled into surgery.
But it is a fitting metaphor when you consider all he did to grow prep sports, and especially our coverage at the Daily Herald.
He liked college sports, the Olympics and some pro events -- especially the Masters -- but had a low tolerance for the disrespectful nature of today's sports and the way the games were being artificially altered.
Bob was self-effacing in his reluctance to embrace technology or the impersonal nature of today's communication. He had little desire for the latest innovation.
It's why he liked so very much Augusta National, and its tradition unlike any other.
To the very end of his 50 years, he had a typewriter at his Daily Herald desk that he employed to fill out requests for the photo department -- or leave encouraging notes for colleagues.
About as sweet a man as you could ever meet, he was tougher than he looked, willing when necessary to move on from those who couldn't get out of their own way.
He could not abide hypocrisy, especially from those who worked for him, and did not consider journalism the vitriol of rip-and-slash writers with personal vendettas, who served merely to read their own words and feed their own egos.
Bob believed it was the reader -- not the writer -- who mattered most.
Above all, he would teach and praise, and as sports editor he gave this very young reporter his first beat in the spring of 1985, high school softball, at a particularly rough time in my life.
It was the best possible distraction and a great learning experience as Bob's beloved Prospect High School, led by Hall of Fame coach Bob Genzen and superstar pitcher Laura Stock, went downstate.
In building a terrific sports department, Bob hired, mentored or befriended so many great journalists who remained true to this newspaper and the profession, like Bruce Miles, Scot Gregor, Bob LeGere, Mark Ruda, Tim Sassone, Mike Imrem, Mike Spellman, Mike McGraw, Keith Reinhard, Jeff Nordlund, Kent McDill, John Leusch, Joe Aguilar, Marty Stengle, Aaron Gabriel, Marty Maciaszek, Kevin Schmit, Orrin Schwarz, John Lemon, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Dave Oberhelman, Don Friske, Tom Prentiss, Bill Gowen, John Radtke, Jim Cook and Tom Quinlan.
It would be selfish now to thank Bob again for hiring me in 1984, the day after the Cubs were eliminated by San Diego, Frisk waiting until after the playoffs and knowing I needed to keep vending to make a few extra dollars.
Selfish because it's not about me or any of the names listed above. His career was so large and extended so far, and he meant so much to so many.
We all owe him a debt for the way in which he argued for integrity from, and respect for, coaches and parents, and the way in which he applauded effort and decency in sports.
He believed athletics were good for children, that the best lessons learned from competition can only help as children grow up and move into the workforce, getting married and raising their own kids.
If we don't expect better from our coaches, parents and athletes, Bob would ask, wouldn't we then deserve exactly what we get from them?
I will miss the conversations, miss the occasional breakfast, miss Bob's warm and genuine smile that made you feel like it would all be OK, but again it feels selfish to talk now about what any single one of us got from him.
And we can pay tribute until the cows come home, but to borrow from one of his friends, there's nothing big enough.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--Missed our livestream with Plain White T's? Here's where you can watch it

With the coronavirus menace still looming , the Daily Herald and Chicago Sound Check are using technology to keep readers @ @ @ @ @ Tim Lopez and Elmhurst 's Tom Higgenson , lead songwriters for DuPage County-born rock band @ @ @ @ @ took over the third episode of our weekly concert/interview series to play some favorites and @ @ @ @ @ their recent appearance on TV 's `` Listen to Your Heart '' and what 's @ @ @ @ @ and Higgenson performed to support Metro , a Chicago music venue the Plain White T @ @ @ @ @ Higgenson said .
Donation and merch purchases can be made at metrochicago.com .
The event @ @ @ @ @ Instagram and was sponsored by White Claw Hard Seltzer , can be found on Chicago @ @ @ @ @ and at chicagosoundcheck.com .

Missed our livestream with Plain White T's? Here's where you can watch it
Tim Lopez and Tom Higgenson (both far right) played some Plain White T's songs and chatted on the third of our weekly livestream concert/interview series Friday, May 15. Courtesy of Colin Lane
With the coronavirus menace still looming, the Daily Herald and Chicago Sound Check are using technology to keep readers and music fans entertained.
Tim Lopez and Elmhurst's Tom Higgenson, lead songwriters for DuPage County-born rock band Plain White T's, took over the third episode of our weekly concert/interview series to play some favorites and chat about the band, their recent appearance on TV's "Listen to Your Heart" and what's coming up next.
Lopez and Higgenson performed to support Metro, a Chicago music venue the Plain White T's played at often, Higgenson said. Donation and merch purchases can be made at metrochicago.com.
The event, which streamed live on Instagram and was sponsored by White Claw Hard Seltzer, can be found on Chicago Sound Check's Facebook page and at chicagosoundcheck.com.


Remembering Bob Frisk

To say Bob Frisk was a legend would be understating what he meant to the newspaper business and to high school sports .
For over 50 years , Bob carved the proper way to report on high school athletes , and he mentored countless journalists to report positively on high school sports .
Bob passed away Saturday morning at Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights .
He was 83 .
As a reporter and sports editor , Bob never shied from the negative , but one of his greatest niches was to turn those negatives to positives .
A humble man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he touched through his writing and his presence .
His legacy will live forever .
Following are some thoughts on Bob from people who knew him well .
Bob made a tremendous difference in high school sports .
But I think especially in girls sports because they were new and they needed publicity and in many cases they did not get it .
Bob picked up on that and made a big difference .
Because of that the Daily Herald was the leader in Illinois as far as getting the word out and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Bob was always positive and supportive of the changes that were being made to improve girls sports .
What stands out to me was the seriousness with which Bob approached the importance of young people playing games .
He was always , first and foremost , an advocate for the kids and their teams -- their unsung champion .
People frequently asked me about hypothetical cases : 'Do you mention the player 's name if he or she makes a huge mistake that costs the team a game ? '
I would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to check our policy on that , when in fact there was , and is , no written policy .
Rather , Bob 's leadership made it clear that high school reporting was an opportunity to record the achievements of our young adults .
The Bob Frisk unwritten rule goes something like this : Mistakes happen all the time in prep sports .
It 's fine to mention the sequence that decides an outcome , but blame is never to be directly pinned on an individual .
Likewise , a missed call , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , substandard facilities ... all are beside the point .
Talk to the athletes , Bob urged .
He was right , of course .
Theirs are the stories that make high school sports so compelling and unique .
As a writer , Bob had a commanding voice that he 'd earned through so many years of honing .
His columns had a ring of authenticity and artistry to them -- a prose version of what might happen if you combined the talents of Norman Rockwell , Paul McCartney and Steven Spielberg .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved in high school athletics as a coach and he would be covering occasional games .
We started talking and I found out I had a lot in common with him .
We were from the same area , went to the same high school ( Arlington ) and both had a great interest in high school athletics .
We just developed a lifetime friendship .
He was genuine , no doubt about it .
He had his column where he talked about high school sports .
That was real .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'm not saying he turned his head away from the professional sports but he just definitely liked the reality and honesty of the high school sports scene .
Bob was always excited about the softball season .
He attended a state softball tournament with me and he was always positive with everything the kids did .
I was just amazed at how much he knew about all the players .
I am really going to miss that guy .
He was one of the best .
I remember his gentleness .
Everyone seemed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prep sports advocate .
He never had a negative word to say about anyone .
I knew him since I started coaching in 1991 .
I knew him as the prep master then but we really became friends when he retired in 2008 .
He and Ken Grams were sages of past IHSA games and tournaments .
If one did n't know the answer , the other did .
Bob loved high school sports , college basketball and football .
I do n't know how to describe it -- those things were a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I first started going to Hersey games as a kid , Bob Frisk of the Daily Herald was a big deal and still is .
You immediately knew who Bob Frisk was in the sports world .
When I had the opportunity to play at Hersey and when I came back to the area and started at Prospect , for me , Bob has been the mainstay of suburban Chicago sports .
Anytime anyone says 'Daily Herald ' or says 'high school sports ' , I think Bob Frisk is synonymous with that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an absolute fixture at our games at Prospect .
You could always seeing him sitting behind the scorer 's table at Jean Walker Field House .
He 'd always send me an email and I would 'cc ' him on emails of our teams ' stats for the last decade and half and I know he appreciated that .
Often times he 'd comment on when our team was doing well and when it was n't doing well .
We developed a really close relationship over my coaching career .
He 's an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and character .
I 'm still trying to process what it means and what the suburbs would look like without Bob Frisk present .
It 's really hard to process .
Bob was the genuine article .
His wonderful personality endeared him to all the athletes and coaches he covered throughout his distinguished career , and his talent was evident in every story he wrote .
His passion for high school sports was second to none , and we were so lucky to have him sharing stories about high school sports for as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professionally , Bob Frisk was a treasure .
In my retirement when I came home , it was a privilege to walk the football sidelines or sit with him at basketball games .
After all these years , he still loved prep sports the most .
We 'd talk media , commiserate , reminisce , and often be politely interrupted by a coach , administrator , or former area student-athlete who Bob touched years ago with one of his many Daily Herald stories .
He was one of my earliest journalism mentors .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the success of the state-ranked Knights in the Tom Lundstedt era , I knew I wanted to get into sportswriting or some related field .
To get there , my 18-year-old mind thought I 'd better emulate Bob in college where he was a J-major and sports editor of the Daily Illini at U of I. Fortunately , I did that at Northern Illinois .
Every Thursday , I devoured Bob 's `` Kicking It Around '' Herald sports column and clipped out many of them .
His sports pages in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the blueprint for suburban high school sports print coverage .
So meticulous , Bob ran line scores of Little League Baseball games in the summer .
While we 've swapped emails , I have n't seen him since my visit to the Lutheran Home in November .
I 'm sure Bob would 've loved to be at the Prospect sectional boys basketball games in March .
Years after I was inducted into the media wing of the IBCA Hall of Fame , I discovered my two sponsors were Bob Frisk and Bud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and beloved mentors .
That made my month .
Heck , it still does .
We 're all going to miss him .
Going to the games without Bob will not be the same .

Remembering Bob Frisk
Legendary former Daily Herald sports editor Bob Frisk passed away Saturday at age 83. He worked for the paper for over 50 years. Daily Herald File photo
To say Bob Frisk was a legend would be understating what he meant to the newspaper business and to high school sports.
For over 50 years, Bob carved the proper way to report on high school athletes, and he mentored countless journalists to report positively on high school sports.
Bob passed away Saturday morning at Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights. He was 83.
As a reporter and sports editor, Bob never shied from the negative, but one of his greatest niches was to turn those negatives to positives.
A humble man, he earned ultimate respect from everyone he touched through his writing and his presence. His legacy will live forever.
Following are some thoughts on Bob from people who knew him well.
Former Prospect girls athletic director Jean Walker
Bob made a tremendous difference in high school sports. But I think especially in girls sports because they were new and they needed publicity and in many cases they did not get it. Bob picked up on that and made a big difference. Because of that the Daily Herald was the leader in Illinois as far as getting the word out and publicizing women's sports and girls sports.
Bob was always positive and supportive of the changes that were being made to improve girls sports.
Former Daily Herald prep sports editor Aaron Gabriel
What stands out to me was the seriousness with which Bob approached the importance of young people playing games. He was always, first and foremost, an advocate for the kids and their teams -- their unsung champion.
People frequently asked me about hypothetical cases: 'Do you mention the player's name if he or she makes a huge mistake that costs the team a game?'
I would half-jokingly reply that I'd be sure to check our policy on that, when in fact there was, and is, no written policy. Rather, Bob's leadership made it clear that high school reporting was an opportunity to record the achievements of our young adults.
The Bob Frisk unwritten rule goes something like this: Mistakes happen all the time in prep sports. It's fine to mention the sequence that decides an outcome, but blame is never to be directly pinned on an individual.
Likewise, a missed call, an obnoxious parent, an overbearing coach, substandard facilities ... all are beside the point.
Talk to the athletes, Bob urged. He was right, of course. Theirs are the stories that make high school sports so compelling and unique.
As a writer, Bob had a commanding voice that he'd earned through so many years of honing. His columns had a ring of authenticity and artistry to them -- a prose version of what might happen if you combined the talents of Norman Rockwell, Paul McCartney and Steven Spielberg.
Elk Grove softball coach Ken Grams
I first met Bob when I got involved in high school athletics as a coach and he would be covering occasional games. We started talking and I found out I had a lot in common with him. We were from the same area, went to the same high school (Arlington) and both had a great interest in high school athletics. We just developed a lifetime friendship. He was genuine, no doubt about it. He had his column where he talked about high school sports. That was real. It was his passion and his life. I'm not saying he turned his head away from the professional sports but he just definitely liked the reality and honesty of the high school sports scene.
Former Wheeling softball coach Pat Ritchie
Bob was always excited about the softball season. He attended a state softball tournament with me and he was always positive with everything the kids did. I was just amazed at how much he knew about all the players. I am really going to miss that guy. He was one of the best.
Former Buffalo Grove boys basketball coach Doug Millstone
I remember his gentleness. Everyone seemed to like him. He was the prep sports advocate. He never had a negative word to say about anyone. I knew him since I started coaching in 1991. I knew him as the prep master then but we really became friends when he retired in 2008.
He and Ken Grams were sages of past IHSA games and tournaments. If one didn't know the answer, the other did. Bob loved high school sports, college basketball and football. I don't know how to describe it -- those things were a long chapter of his life.
Prospect boys basketball coach John Camardella
When I first started going to Hersey games as a kid, Bob Frisk of the Daily Herald was a big deal and still is. You immediately knew who Bob Frisk was in the sports world. When I had the opportunity to play at Hersey and when I came back to the area and started at Prospect, for me, Bob has been the mainstay of suburban Chicago sports. Anytime anyone says 'Daily Herald' or says 'high school sports', I think Bob Frisk is synonymous with that. For me personally, he was an absolute fixture at our games at Prospect. You could always seeing him sitting behind the scorer's table at Jean Walker Field House. He'd always send me an email and I would 'cc' him on emails of our teams' stats for the last decade and half and I know he appreciated that. Often times he'd comment on when our team was doing well and when it wasn't doing well. We developed a really close relationship over my coaching career. He's an absolute testament to a man of integrity and character. I'm still trying to process what it means and what the suburbs would look like without Bob Frisk present. It's really hard to process.
IHSA assistant executive director Matt Troha
Bob was the genuine article. His wonderful personality endeared him to all the athletes and coaches he covered throughout his distinguished career, and his talent was evident in every story he wrote. His passion for high school sports was second to none, and we were so lucky to have him sharing stories about high school sports for as long as he did.
Northern Illinois SID Emeritus Mike Korcek
Personally and professionally, Bob Frisk was a treasure. In my retirement when I came home, it was a privilege to walk the football sidelines or sit with him at basketball games. After all these years, he still loved prep sports the most. We'd talk media, commiserate, reminisce, and often be politely interrupted by a coach, administrator, or former area student-athlete who Bob touched years ago with one of his many Daily Herald stories.
He was one of my earliest journalism mentors. By my senior year at Prospect and with the success of the state-ranked Knights in the Tom Lundstedt era, I knew I wanted to get into sportswriting or some related field. To get there, my 18-year-old mind thought I'd better emulate Bob in college where he was a J-major and sports editor of the Daily Illini at U of I.
Fortunately, I did that at Northern Illinois. Every Thursday, I devoured Bob's "Kicking It Around" Herald sports column and clipped out many of them. His sports pages in the 1960s were the epitome of community journalism and the blueprint for suburban high school sports print coverage.
So meticulous, Bob ran line scores of Little League Baseball games in the summer.
While we've swapped emails, I haven't seen him since my visit to the Lutheran Home in November. I'm sure Bob would've loved to be at the Prospect sectional boys basketball games in March.
Years after I was inducted into the media wing of the IBCA Hall of Fame, I discovered my two sponsors were Bob Frisk and Bud Nangle. Two prep sports media legends and beloved mentors. That made my month. Heck, it still does.
We're all going to miss him. Going to the games without Bob will not be the same.
• Daily Herald staff writer John Leusch contributed to this collection.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--Bob Frisk: The Daily Herald's social media before there was social media

To truly appreciate Bob Frisk and what he meant to high school sports and the Daily Herald , all you had to do was tag along with him to a game .
It did n't matter whether it was softball or baseball , basketball or football , track or volleyball .
Whatever the sport , Bob would arrive on the scene and a variety of friends and acquaintances -- coaches , parents , scorekeepers , announcers , athletic directors , referees , officials , trainers and boosters -- would spot him and come over to say hi .
And Bob @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handshake and a friendly greeting .
Former high school athletes often would take time during the event to say hello to `` Mr. Frisk '' and he would always want to know what they were doing , and how they were doing .
Before Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Snapchat and TikTok , Bob Frisk was our social media at the Daily Herald .
No one was more connected .
He knew everyone around high school sports , and everyone knew him .
And many of those who had never met him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beloved grandson -- through his insightful columns , which were often inspiring and always laced with a positive message .
Bob preferred to keep things simple .
He had one sister , one wife , one daughter , one son-in-law , one grandson , and one place of work -- the Daily Herald , where he showed up every work day at 7 a.m. for 50 years until he retired in 2008 .
A creature of habits , he liked to call his daughter every Sunday , eat at the same restaurants , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same TV shows , and fill his schedule with high school games .
Even with that singular focus and discipline , however , he had many loves .
He loved old-time radio and books , spending many hours in libraries and bookstores .
His home is filled with everything he could find on presidents , World War II , sports figures , great fiction and classics .
He loved Jack Benny , Bob Newhart , `` Seinfeld , '' `` Friday Night Lights '' and Turner Classic Movies .
Of course , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his list , along with `` Chariots of Fire , '' `` Seabiscuit , '' `` A League of Their Own , '' `` Miracle '' and so many other sports film classics .
He loved positive moments , and one part of his home is filled with trophies , plaques and other awards honoring his work as a writer and columnist .
He loved being inducted into three high school Hall of Fame classes ( Arlington , Barrington and Palatine ) , celebrating `` Bob Frisk Day '' in Arlington Heights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Distinguished Media Service Award given by the Illinois High School Association .
Although he received too many awards to mention here , he cherished them all .
Not as treasures to feed an ego , though .
They were simply positive reminders of a life well lived .
He loved everything about high school sports .
The teamwork and camaraderie , the bands and the cheer squads , the fight songs and the anthems .
He loved the opening night of the football season , Homecoming games , holiday tournaments , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nights .
Traditions also were very important to him .
Attending the Wheeling Hardwood Classic , the old Sleigh Bells game at Arlington High , and witnessing the Palatine Relays for 60-plus years in a row were among his favorite traditions .
After he retired , he loved his routine of going to breakfast gatherings with former coaches every Monday and Tuesday at various restaurants .
He looked forward to his Thursday night dinners with good friends Ken Grams and Doug Millstone , and Friday lunches with former colleague Dave Beery .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which he always began with this remark : `` So , how 's the family ?
Tell me about everyone . ''
We would talk about his family as well , and all of their interests , which expanded his views .
When Susan and Tom graduated from Indiana University , Bob ( a proud Illini grad ) adopted the Hoosiers as his second Big Ten team .
When they moved to Madison and became Badgers fans , he joined the fray as well .
He would even watch games with the Green @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so he could have one more thing to talk about with them .
And he proudly put on a Golden Gophers hat when his grandson began taking classes at the University of Minnesota .
When it came to his family , he was a man for all seasons .
While he wrote many advice columns to his grandson , Bob cared about a lot of people .
He reserved a special place in his heart for coaches , with Jean Walker and many of her contemporaries at the top of his list , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russ Attis .
He so enjoyed walking the sidelines with former coaches Fred Lussow and Ron Ashley , and others .
Two of his favorite coaches from Hollywood provided him with quotes that lived up to Bob 's standards for positive messages .
As Coach Norman Dale in `` Hoosiers '' said : `` If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential , to be the best that you can be , I do n't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game , in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
Every athlete in Bob 's eyes was a winner , and all it took was effort , as `` Friday Night Lights '' coach Eric Taylor reminded us with his favorite line : `` Clear eyes , full hearts , ca n't lose . ''
Bob was our emcee for many high school sports banquets over the years , and he loved honoring the conference winners and state tournament champions .
He told everyone in the crowd that this was a `` feel good night , '' and a time for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And , as always , he would remind them that although they were among the best of the best , they could n't have gotten there without their teammates , coaches and families .
That night , he would remind them , they were all winners and , like him , they would never forget their high school years .
After every such occasion , Bob would marvel at the speeches given by the athletes , and the maturity they displayed .
Every year , he would come away thinking our future @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He was so grateful that the Paddock family invested so much time , attention and resources in to high school sports and the young people in our communities .
Today , Bob would want all of us to be happy and stay positive .
Comfort his family , which he loved dearly , but celebrate his life and not mourn his death .
After all , he probably would look on the positive side : he has reunited with the love of his life , his wife , and together they 're @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seat to watch their grandson 's life unfold .
So , smile and be positive today and the days ahead because I 'm positive that we 're all better for having known Bob Frisk .

Bob Frisk: The Daily Herald's social media before there was social media
Bob Frisk thanks the crowd for honoring him on Bob Frisk night at the old Arlington Grace Gym during half-time of the Buffalo Grove vs. Palatine boys basketball game. Daily Herald file photo/December 2008
To truly appreciate Bob Frisk and what he meant to high school sports and the Daily Herald, all you had to do was tag along with him to a game.
It didn't matter whether it was softball or baseball, basketball or football, track or volleyball. Whatever the sport, Bob would arrive on the scene and a variety of friends and acquaintances -- coaches, parents, scorekeepers, announcers, athletic directors, referees, officials, trainers and boosters -- would spot him and come over to say hi. And Bob always had a smile, a firm handshake and a friendly greeting. Former high school athletes often would take time during the event to say hello to "Mr. Frisk" and he would always want to know what they were doing, and how they were doing.
Before Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, Bob Frisk was our social media at the Daily Herald. No one was more connected. He knew everyone around high school sports, and everyone knew him. And many of those who had never met him felt they knew him -- and his beloved grandson -- through his insightful columns, which were often inspiring and always laced with a positive message.
Bob preferred to keep things simple. He had one sister, one wife, one daughter, one son-in-law, one grandson, and one place of work -- the Daily Herald, where he showed up every work day at 7 a.m. for 50 years until he retired in 2008. A creature of habits, he liked to call his daughter every Sunday, eat at the same restaurants, exercise at the same time, watch the same TV shows, and fill his schedule with high school games.
Even with that singular focus and discipline, however, he had many loves.
He loved old-time radio and books, spending many hours in libraries and bookstores. His home is filled with everything he could find on presidents, World War II, sports figures, great fiction and classics.
He loved Jack Benny, Bob Newhart, "Seinfeld," "Friday Night Lights" and Turner Classic Movies. Of course, "Hoosiers" remains at the top of his list, along with "Chariots of Fire," "Seabiscuit," "A League of Their Own," "Miracle" and so many other sports film classics.
He loved positive moments, and one part of his home is filled with trophies, plaques and other awards honoring his work as a writer and columnist. He loved being inducted into three high school Hall of Fame classes (Arlington, Barrington and Palatine), celebrating "Bob Frisk Day" in Arlington Heights, and being among the first inductees of the Distinguished Media Service Award given by the Illinois High School Association. Although he received too many awards to mention here, he cherished them all. Not as treasures to feed an ego, though. They were simply positive reminders of a life well lived.
He loved everything about high school sports. The teamwork and camaraderie, the bands and the cheer squads, the fight songs and the anthems. He loved the opening night of the football season, Homecoming games, holiday tournaments, the playoffs, state championships and senior nights.
Traditions also were very important to him. Attending the Wheeling Hardwood Classic, the old Sleigh Bells game at Arlington High, and witnessing the Palatine Relays for 60-plus years in a row were among his favorite traditions.
After he retired, he loved his routine of going to breakfast gatherings with former coaches every Monday and Tuesday at various restaurants. He looked forward to his Thursday night dinners with good friends Ken Grams and Doug Millstone, and Friday lunches with former colleague Dave Beery. I treasured our Saturday breakfasts each week, which he always began with this remark: "So, how's the family? Tell me about everyone."
We would talk about his family as well, and all of their interests, which expanded his views. When Susan and Tom graduated from Indiana University, Bob (a proud Illini grad) adopted the Hoosiers as his second Big Ten team. When they moved to Madison and became Badgers fans, he joined the fray as well. He would even watch games with the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks so he could have one more thing to talk about with them. And he proudly put on a Golden Gophers hat when his grandson began taking classes at the University of Minnesota. When it came to his family, he was a man for all seasons.
While he wrote many advice columns to his grandson, Bob cared about a lot of people. He reserved a special place in his heart for coaches, with Jean Walker and many of her contemporaries at the top of his list, along with his old track coach, Russ Attis. He so enjoyed walking the sidelines with former coaches Fred Lussow and Ron Ashley, and others.
Two of his favorite coaches from Hollywood provided him with quotes that lived up to Bob's standards for positive messages. As Coach Norman Dale in "Hoosiers" said: "If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we're gonna be winners."
Every athlete in Bob's eyes was a winner, and all it took was effort, as "Friday Night Lights" coach Eric Taylor reminded us with his favorite line: "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose."
Bob was our emcee for many high school sports banquets over the years, and he loved honoring the conference winners and state tournament champions. He told everyone in the crowd that this was a "feel good night," and a time for rivals to embrace and celebrate the season. And, as always, he would remind them that although they were among the best of the best, they couldn't have gotten there without their teammates, coaches and families. That night, he would remind them, they were all winners and, like him, they would never forget their high school years.
After every such occasion, Bob would marvel at the speeches given by the athletes, and the maturity they displayed. Every year, he would come away thinking our future was even brighter with the next generation. He was so grateful that the Paddock family invested so much time, attention and resources in to high school sports and the young people in our communities.
Today, Bob would want all of us to be happy and stay positive. Comfort his family, which he loved dearly, but celebrate his life and not mourn his death. After all, he probably would look on the positive side: he has reunited with the love of his life, his wife, and together they're sitting in the stands with the perfect seat to watch their grandson's life unfold.
So, smile and be positive today and the days ahead because I'm positive that we're all better for having known Bob Frisk.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--High school sports dynasties: Girls No. 6, Benet volleyball

Editor 's note : The Daily Herald is counting down the Top 10 boys and girls high school sports dynasties over the past 20 years , two at a time .
We continue today at No .
6 with Benet girls volleyball and Hinsdale Central boys golf .
Nobody doubts Benet girls volleyball these days .
Not since 2011 anyway .
The Redwings own four state championships now , but that first one remains special to coach Brad Baker .
`` The first one is always sort of the one that until you do it you do n't know that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doubt in your mind .
I think everyone doubts you , '' he said .
Benet 's record during Baker 's 13 seasons as coach , and even beyond , is one of sustained excellence .
The Redwings have won 15 regionals in the past 20 years , including 13 straight .
They have won nine sectionals .
They have placed second at state twice and third once .
They have finished ranked in the top 100 in the nation 11 times in 13 years , including last year 's No .
2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a lot of talented athletes who have been willing to put in the work necessary to succeed at the highest levels of IHSA volleyball .
Benet has sent 58 players on to play college volleyball .
`` It 's not easy , but the kids just have been willing to continually work harder every year , '' Baker said .
It 's gotten so expectations have swung 180 degrees .
`` You ca n't win it all every year , '' said Baker , who is 476-53 at Benet and twice has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
`` People say you can .
You have to have the right group of kids , but the kids still work hard every year to give us a chance and put us in position to be there . ''
The Redwings were there in 2011 , 2012 , 2014 and again in 2019 , when they won the Class 4A championship against Wheaton Warrenville South .
The Redwings added a trophy to a 41-1 season .
There is no end in sight .
`` You hope it never ends .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids and kids want to work hard and want to be great .
...
I think we 'll have a chance to be good for a while , '' Baker said .

High school sports dynasties: Girls No. 6, Benet volleyball
Editor's note: The Daily Herald is counting down the Top 10 boys and girls high school sports dynasties over the past 20 years, two at a time. We continue today at No. 6 with Benet girls volleyball and Hinsdale Central boys golf.
Nobody doubts Benet girls volleyball these days. Not since 2011 anyway.
The Redwings own four state championships now, but that first one remains special to coach Brad Baker.
"The first one is always sort of the one that until you do it you don't know that you can. You always have that doubt in your mind. I think everyone doubts you," he said.
Benet's record during Baker's 13 seasons as coach, and even beyond, is one of sustained excellence.
The Redwings have won 15 regionals in the past 20 years, including 13 straight. They have won nine sectionals. They have placed second at state twice and third once.
They have finished ranked in the top 100 in the nation 11 times in 13 years, including last year's No. 2 finish.
The Redwings have been blessed with a lot of talented athletes who have been willing to put in the work necessary to succeed at the highest levels of IHSA volleyball. Benet has sent 58 players on to play college volleyball.
"It's not easy, but the kids just have been willing to continually work harder every year," Baker said.
It's gotten so expectations have swung 180 degrees.
"You can't win it all every year," said Baker, who is 476-53 at Benet and twice has been named the national coach of the year. "People say you can. You have to have the right group of kids, but the kids still work hard every year to give us a chance and put us in position to be there."
The Redwings were there in 2011, 2012, 2014 and again in 2019, when they won the Class 4A championship against Wheaton Warrenville South. The Redwings added a trophy to a 41-1 season.
There is no end in sight.
"You hope it never ends. You hope you can still continue to motivate kids and kids want to work hard and want to be great. ... I think we'll have a chance to be good for a while," Baker said.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--Constable: MLB still up in air, but tabletop baseball league cancels tourney

Owners and players are attempting to negotiate a deal to salvage the 2020 Major League Baseball season , but the suburban guru of an old-fashioned , tabletop game played with cards and dice just canceled the group 's annual Chicagoland APBA Tournament in Des Plaines .
`` We were going to have it in August and I pulled it , '' says Rob Spatz .
Cramming more than four dozen players into a Comfort Inn conference room for an entire Saturday just seems risky in this age of COVID-19 , says Spatz , 49 , who knows people who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , we had 48 players and a waiting list , '' Spatz says .
The first Chicagoland tourney in 2012 , before Spatz got involved , drew five players .
APBA players , including some from as far away as California , Cincinnati and Toronto , often make a weekend out of Spatz 's tournament , maybe attending a Friday night baseball game at the Schaumburg Boomers Stadium and going out for pizza on Saturday night after the trophy presentation .
Spatz did n't want to wait until July to cancel .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ based in Florida , Spatz says he did n't want to host an online version of the local tournament because that would sacrifice all the camaraderie and fun that comes from sitting across a table from your opponent and hearing the unmistakable sound of the dice emerging from the familiar shaker tube .
Created in 1951 by J. Richard Seitz , who died in 1992 , the American Professional Baseball Association game known as APBA ( pronounced app-bah ) uses actual MLB statistics to create a card filled with numbers for every player @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 11 to 66 , the game injects some randomness into players ' statistical probability , and leads to remarkably accurate results , Spatz says .
He learned the game from his father , Bob `` Pops '' Spatz , while growing up in Northbrook .
His dad , now 72 , still plays in APBA tourneys , alongside other fathers , sons , daughters , kids and moms .
Both President Bushes were players .
As teenagers , a buddy and I discovered APBA baseball and immediately became addicts , playing 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young police reporter working nights at the Daily Herald , I joined an APBA league that played our games at 1 in the morning , and led my team to a World Series triumph over the team compiled by late legendary sports writer Keith Reinhard .
As an adult , Spatz came upon the APBA Baseball page on Facebook .
`` Wow , there are other strange people out there , '' he remembers thinking .
Doug Schuyler of Antioch officially took over the task of organizing tournaments , beginning with the 2013 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spatz reached out to Schuyler before the 2015 tourney at the Grayslake Historical Society .
`` We met at a Buffalo Wild Wings .
We were rolling three games just to get back in the swing of things , '' remembers Spatz , who found it all coming back to him .
`` I had n't played the card and dice version for 15 years , but it 's like riding a bicycle . ''
Instead of four double-sided cardboard charts the size of old-time newspaper pages ( Spatz calls his the Dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uses a spiral-bound manual , and offers computer versions , too .
With Schuyler spending more time watching real baseball games played by his son T.J. , a catcher who already has committed to play for Indiana University when he graduates from Antioch High School in 2023 , Spatz now runs the local tournaments .
He 's too busy organizing and glad-handing to play in his tournaments , but Spatz does play in others .
He won a tournament in Michigan playing with the cards for the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan and see my name on the trophy , '' Spatz says .
A White Sox fan , he always enjoys playing with the White Sox teams of 1919 , 2005 and his favorite Sox team from 1983 .
Tournaments often have themes , such as you can only play with a team from before 1973 , or you can only select teams that had losing records .
Spatz played in one tourney where players could add one franchise player to each team , which allowed him to add slugging Frank Thomas of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White Sox , infamous for throwing that year 's World Series .
While APBA game stats often mirror the MLB numbers , there are a few quirks , Spatz admits .
For instance , St. Louis Cardinals rookie right fielder George Puccinelli batted just 16 times in 1930 , but had nine hits and three home runs , making his APBA card more powerful than Babe Ruth 's .
So Spatz enforces `` The Puccinelli Rule '' limiting the pinch hitter 's use to the 6th inning or later .
`` I do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing for fun , '' Spatz says , adding the competitors pay $ 20 to cover expenses but are just excited to share their passion with like-minded individuals .
`` Everyone is insanely cordial . ''
His wife , Kathy , does n't play , but `` understands it 's a labor of love , '' says Spatz , who often sneaks in some games by himself on weekend mornings before she gets up .
The APBA Baseball page had about 1,000 members on Facebook when Spatz joined .
Now it 's closing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week of the COVID-19 era .
`` Ever since this happened and people have been at home , there has been an uptick in people coming back to the game , '' Spatz says .
`` With what 's been going on in the real world , people miss baseball and there 's been a resurgence from people who used to play the game . ''

Constable: MLB still up in air, but tabletop baseball league cancels tourney
One of the beauties of the APBA tabletop baseball game is users can play teams from different eras. In this game, Rob Spatz, organizer of an annual tournament in Des Plaines, plays Anthony Rizzo and the 2017 Chicago Cubs against the 1983 White Sox with catcher Carlton Fisk. Courtesy of Rob Spatz
They don't play for money, but afficionados of the tabletop baseball game called APBA compete every year for the APBA Chicago World Series trophy. Organizer Rob Spatz recently canceled the 2020 tournament scheduled for August in Des Plaines because of fears about COVID-19. Courtesy of Rob Spatz
Created in 1951, the APBA tabletop baseball game has a cultlike following. Players roll dice, consult a manual and use individually crafted cards for each MLB player to determine the outcomes. Because so many fanatics have memorized the manual, experienced APBA players can finish a game in about 15 minutes. Courtesy of Rob Spatz
The more than four dozen tabletop baseball game players who attended last year's Chicagoland APBA World Series in Des Plaines generally spend an entire Saturday competing in a windowless room. Thinking that would be unsafe as long as COVID-19 is an issue, organizer Rob Spatz recently canceled this year's tourney set for August. Courtesy of Rob Spatz
The updated manual for the APBA tabletop baseball game features hundreds of results based on the statistics compiled by actual MLB players. Competitors roll the dice, and the result depends on the skills of the hitter, pitcher, fielders and other factors. Courtesy of Rob Spatz
As organizer of the annual Chicagoland APBA tabletop baseball, Rob Spatz, left, called off the tourney scheduled for August at the Comfort Inn in Des Plaines because of COVID-19 fears. The tourney was expected to draw more than four dozen players, including his dad, Bob "Pops" Spatz, right, of Northbrook. Courtesy of Rob Spatz
Owners and players are attempting to negotiate a deal to salvage the 2020 Major League Baseball season, but the suburban guru of an old-fashioned, tabletop game played with cards and dice just canceled the group's annual Chicagoland APBA Tournament in Des Plaines.
"We were going to have it in August and I pulled it," says Rob Spatz. Cramming more than four dozen players into a Comfort Inn conference room for an entire Saturday just seems risky in this age of COVID-19, says Spatz, 49, who knows people who have died from the virus.
"Last year, we had 48 players and a waiting list," Spatz says. The first Chicagoland tourney in 2012, before Spatz got involved, drew five players. APBA players, including some from as far away as California, Cincinnati and Toronto, often make a weekend out of Spatz's tournament, maybe attending a Friday night baseball game at the Schaumburg Boomers Stadium and going out for pizza on Saturday night after the trophy presentation. Spatz didn't want to wait until July to cancel.
Having recently played in an online tournament based in Florida, Spatz says he didn't want to host an online version of the local tournament because that would sacrifice all the camaraderie and fun that comes from sitting across a table from your opponent and hearing the unmistakable sound of the dice emerging from the familiar shaker tube. Created in 1951 by J. Richard Seitz, who died in 1992, the American Professional Baseball Association game known as APBA (pronounced app-bah) uses actual MLB statistics to create a card filled with numbers for every player. Using two dice to get results from 11 to 66, the game injects some randomness into players' statistical probability, and leads to remarkably accurate results, Spatz says.
He learned the game from his father, Bob "Pops" Spatz, while growing up in Northbrook. His dad, now 72, still plays in APBA tourneys, alongside other fathers, sons, daughters, kids and moms. Both President Bushes were players. As teenagers, a buddy and I discovered APBA baseball and immediately became addicts, playing 12 hours straight at times. As a young police reporter working nights at the Daily Herald, I joined an APBA league that played our games at 1 in the morning, and led my team to a World Series triumph over the team compiled by late legendary sports writer Keith Reinhard.
As an adult, Spatz came upon the APBA Baseball page on Facebook. "Wow, there are other strange people out there," he remembers thinking. Doug Schuyler of Antioch officially took over the task of organizing tournaments, beginning with the 2013 tournament at the Woodstock Public Library. Spatz reached out to Schuyler before the 2015 tourney at the Grayslake Historical Society.
"We met at a Buffalo Wild Wings. We were rolling three games just to get back in the swing of things," remembers Spatz, who found it all coming back to him. "I hadn't played the card and dice version for 15 years, but it's like riding a bicycle."
Instead of four double-sided cardboard charts the size of old-time newspaper pages (Spatz calls his the Dead Sea Scrolls), the game now uses a spiral-bound manual, and offers computer versions, too. With Schuyler spending more time watching real baseball games played by his son T.J., a catcher who already has committed to play for Indiana University when he graduates from Antioch High School in 2023, Spatz now runs the local tournaments. He's too busy organizing and glad-handing to play in his tournaments, but Spatz does play in others. He won a tournament in Michigan playing with the cards for the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays.
"It's cool when I go to Michigan and see my name on the trophy," Spatz says. A White Sox fan, he always enjoys playing with the White Sox teams of 1919, 2005 and his favorite Sox team from 1983. Tournaments often have themes, such as you can only play with a team from before 1973, or you can only select teams that had losing records. Spatz played in one tourney where players could add one franchise player to each team, which allowed him to add slugging Frank Thomas of 1994 to the roster of the 1919 White Sox, infamous for throwing that year's World Series.
While APBA game stats often mirror the MLB numbers, there are a few quirks, Spatz admits. For instance, St. Louis Cardinals rookie right fielder George Puccinelli batted just 16 times in 1930, but had nine hits and three home runs, making his APBA card more powerful than Babe Ruth's. So Spatz enforces "The Puccinelli Rule" limiting the pinch hitter's use to the 6th inning or later.
"I do not play for money. We're playing for fun," Spatz says, adding the competitors pay $20 to cover expenses but are just excited to share their passion with like-minded individuals. "Everyone is insanely cordial."
His wife, Kathy, doesn't play, but "understands it's a labor of love," says Spatz, who often sneaks in some games by himself on weekend mornings before she gets up. The APBA Baseball page had about 1,000 members on Facebook when Spatz joined. Now it's closing in on 4,000, and growing every week of the COVID-19 era.
"Ever since this happened and people have been at home, there has been an uptick in people coming back to the game," Spatz says. "With what's been going on in the real world, people miss baseball and there's been a resurgence from people who used to play the game."


dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--The Deal at 30: 'Everyone kept waiting for something to happen in Prairie Stone'

This article was produced in partnership with the ProPublica Local Reporting Network .
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power .
In the mid-2000s , Sears , the village of Hoffman Estates and a private developer decided to go into show business together .
They agreed to build the Sears Centre , an 11,000-seat entertainment venue that was expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people a year from across the region to watch top music acts and sports teams .
The village would finance the project with $ 55 million in bonds .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the notes .
Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod reassured taxpayers that the arena would pay for itself -- and bring in an additional $ 1 million a year in tax revenues .
`` We 're very confident that the arena will be successful , '' he said in 2004 .
When the glittering arena opened in October 2006 , the debut acts were Duran Duran , Bob Dylan and Lionel Richie .
A number of minor league sports teams have called it home , most recently the Chicago Bulls developmental league team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for itself with truck pulls , bull riding , wrestling and mixed martial arts .
Local high schools celebrate graduations there and community groups hold book fairs and other events .
Still , the venue has struggled to fulfill its promise .
Since opening , it has never posted a profitable year .
When the private developers , Minnesota-based Ryan Companies US , threatened to walk away from the money-losing venture , village officials took over the center in 2009 .
Today , the Sears Centre is a demonstration of the risk of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars .
Hoffman Estates taxpayers are now on the hook to pay off the bond , which will cost $ 108 million over the full term of the note .
Government subsidies for cultural and entertainment venues are not unusual in the suburbs .
But Hoffman Estates ' support for the Sears Centre stands out .
A private project that was not supposed to cost taxpayers anything instead accounts for 14 % of the town 's $ 107 million annual expenses in 2018 , the last year for which figures are available .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ arena 's expenses exceeded its revenues -- was $ 1.5 million .
Over the past decade , Hoffman Estates has used nearly $ 14 million from the general fund and other village accounts to help cover the arena 's losses .
McLeod blamed poor management and a recessionary economy for the arena 's financial picture -- now further clouded by the coronavirus pandemic , which may prevent large crowds from gathering in the near future .
`` I think it is working out successfully , '' McLeod said .
`` We got a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got the Windy City Bulls . ''
McLeod , who voted for the original deal that brought Sears to Hoffman Estates as a village trustee in 1989 , acknowledges that development in the special taxing district as a whole has not lived up to all the promises made three decades ago .
But he said Sears Centre brought entertainment and income to the suburb .
Village officials said taxes from nearby businesses lured by the presence of the arena cover its annual losses .
`` It 's a great amenity with the community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` We have a hospital that does n't pay taxes , but it 's a great amenity for our people .
Not everything is for profit . ''
The path to the construction of Sears Centre began in 1989 , when Sears , then Illinois ' largest private employer , threatened to move its headquarters from the famous Sears Tower in downtown Chicago to another state .
To keep Sears from departing , Illinois politicians awarded the company hundreds of millions of dollars ' worth of tax incentives to build its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Estates .
The business park , called Prairie Stone , would feature office buildings to hold a plethora of Sears ' vendors and suppliers that would , it was assumed , want to be near the retailer , as well as other big companies that would follow Sears to the village .
A second wave of hotels , restaurants and other stores and service shops , which Sears and village leaders likened to a town center , would turn the former farmland into an economic mecca .
All told , Sears headquarters and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs , including Sears ' workforce , or so it was thought .
Hoffman Estates would grow larger and wealthier , its population expanding , its housing market heating up and its tax coffers overflowing .
But Prairie Stone showed problems from the start .
Months after Sears completed its corporate headquarters , the company built the first pair of office buildings .
The company halted work on two other planned buildings in September 1992 .
The reason ?
`` Low demand , '' according to a Sears spokesman at the time .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to attract businesses , hampered by false starts and stalled projects .
Frustrated by the slow pace of development , Sears churned through three commercial real estate developers hired to market Prairie Stone in less than a year .
`` Everyone kept waiting for something to happen in Prairie Stone , '' said Ron Culp , a former vice president of public relations and government affairs at Sears .
`` I do n't think the buy-in was as big as [ Sears ] might have anticipated with the big brands putting operations out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was village manager when Sears came to Hoffman Estates , said Sears charged too much for land and rent .
And the company overestimated demand for office space .
`` We were asking : 'So what 's up ?
Where 's the development ? '
'' Burchard recalled .
`` And not much was happening .
It was pretty quiet . ''
Transformco , a holding company run by Eddie Lampert that now owns Sears , declined to comment .
Ryan Companies US officials declined to comment .
Since development was slow , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not produce enough in taxes to pay off the bonds that Hoffman Estates issued to finance the Sears project .
Under the terms of the agreement , Sears had to make up any shortfalls .
Between 1999 and 2007 , Sears paid nearly $ 83 million to cover deficits .
The jobs never materialized , either .
Depending on who was doing the counting , Prairie Stone generated somewhere between 4,300 and 11,000 jobs by 2016 -- less than a quarter of what was projected .
Nor did tax revenue growth live up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district to generate an additional $ 626 million in property tax revenues by 2012 , but it only generated about half that amount in inflation-adjusted dollars .
And parts of the area remain vacant .
Of the nearly 800 acres in the special taxing district , 184 are undeveloped .
The village was saved from having to use taxpayer funds to cover deficits .
But local officials did not receive nearly the revenue they were expecting .
Projections called for government agencies to receive a combined $ 175 million in tax revenues by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 years of the deal , local taxing bodies collected only $ 50 million , less than a third of what was originally forecast .
Hoffman Estates had long wanted to boost its profile and bring in additional tax revenue .
Neighboring Schaumburg was thriving as the region 's premiere commercial and shopping destination .
Rosemont , about 20 miles east on I-90 adjacent to O'Hare International Airport , had made big bets on an indoor stadium , a concert hall and a convention center , and it was paying off with new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visitors .
In 1998 , the village made efforts to attract the Chicago Bears and , in 2003 , it tried to lure the Chicago Fire professional soccer franchise .
Both attempts failed .
Then , in 2004 , an opportunity arose after voters in nearby Prospect Heights defeated a proposed entertainment arena .
Hoffman Estates saw a chance to replace Poplar Creek -- the beloved outdoor music venue that closed in 1994 after Sears demolished it for the development of the Prairie Stone business park .
Sears and village officials decided that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anchor an entertainment district within Prairie Stone that would deliver the shot of adrenaline the special tax district needed .
To build it , Hoffman Estates agreed to issue $ 55 million in bonds .
Sears donated 35 acres , took a 25 % ownership stake and purchased the naming rights .
Ryan Companies , the Minnesota developer that controlled the remaining 75 % , would build and run the entertainment center .
Besides civic pride , another underlying rationale of the arena was to increase revenues in the special tax district , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sears needed to pay off the money it had spent to build its headquarters , village roads and other infrastructure .
James Terrell , a vice president in charge of Sears ' real estate holdings at the time , and village officials pushed for the new arena , according to a summary of a deposition in a lawsuit between local Community Unit District 300 and Sears over revenue from the deal .
The arena `` would energize '' the Sears ' development , according to court documents summarizing Terrell 's viewpoint .
Michael @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's park district board and a longtime Hoffman Estates resident , was part of a group of locals that wanted to stop the arena development in 2005 .
Rossiaky warned village leaders that an arena was a bad idea because unlike the Prairie Stone development , where Sears agreed to pay off any shortfalls in revenue flow , the village would be responsible for repaying the bonds if the Sears Centre failed .
`` They were closed off to what anyone said , '' Rossiaky said .
`` They did n't care .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
McLeod and other proponents of the project argued that the Sears Centre would be the linchpin to creating an entertainment district called `` Poplar Creek at 59-90 , '' after the old concert venue by Route 59 and the I-90 tollway .
It would be a tourist destination that would include restaurants and a hotel and water park .
The new arena `` will put Hoffman Estates back on the map , '' McLeod said in 2005 .
`` This would be another feather in our cap . ''
After just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the developers -- blaming a bad economy -- threatened to let the arena go into default .
Instead , the village took it over in December 2009 .
`` Our biggest worry was that they would go belly up and they would stick Hoffman Estates with the bill , '' Rossiaky said .
`` And that 's what 's happened . ''
Over the past decade , the village has moved nearly $ 14 million from its general fund and other accounts to make up for the arena 's losses , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 150,000 in 2016 to a high of $ 3 million in 2009 .
Last year , the Sears Centre hosted 89 events -- far from initial estimates that projected 140 shows and games a year .
Village taxpayers now pay to keep the arena in business .
Between 2014 and 2018 , the most recent year available , the arena brought in an average of $ 10.7 million annually in operating revenue , while costing $ 12.4 million per year to run , according to village figures .
Each year , the village @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average deficit of nearly $ 2 million .
In addition , the village must pay for upkeep and improvements at the arena -- costs that , before the outbreak of the coronavirus , were projected to reach $ 2 million over the next seven years .
Since the village owns the venue , it no longer collects the more than $ 1 million a year in property taxes that the stadium used to generate .
McLeod blamed the center 's shortcomings on an inexperienced developer , poor marketing and a bad economy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it was put in was , 'We 're going to have many more venues around it , restaurants and all that stuff . '
And then the recession hit , '' McLeod said .
McLeod has not given up on Prairie Stone .
In recent years , a Main Event family entertainment center and a Duluth Trading Company retail store have opened , but only after the village added additional tax breaks to lure the businesses to the site : $ 750,000 in entertainment tax rebates for Main Event and $ 225,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Cabela 's opened a hunting and fishing superstore in Prairie Stone in 2007 .
To snag the outlet , Hoffman Estates agreed to provide $ 18 million in tax rebates to the $ 2 billion-a-year company .
It also agreed to exempt from property taxes the store 's elaborate taxidermy dioramas and aquarium displays .
Those include `` Conservation Mountain , '' a two-story fiberglass mountain with artificial trees , a waterfall and stuffed animals such as deer , bears and waterfowl that occupies about 15 % of the store 's 185,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tax exemption would allow it to save $ 5.5 million in property taxes over 20 years , about $ 275,000 a year .
The logic ?
Under the agreement , the displays belong to the village .
And they have a special designation .
Cabela 's displays are now Hoffman Estates ' only publicly owned museum .
McLeod said the Cabela 's deal was worth it .
`` I 'm not particularly a big fan of this sort of stuff , '' McLeod said .
`` But it 's the cost of @ @ @ @ @ @

The Deal at 30: 'Everyone kept waiting for something to happen in Prairie Stone'
Thirty years after the tax deal that brought Sears headquarters to Hoffman Estates, the development that had been expected to spring up around it has been slow.
This article was produced in partnership with the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
In the mid-2000s, Sears, the village of Hoffman Estates and a private developer decided to go into show business together.
They agreed to build the Sears Centre, an 11,000-seat entertainment venue that was expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people a year from across the region to watch top music acts and sports teams. The village would finance the project with $55 million in bonds. The center would generate the revenue to pay off the notes.
Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod reassured taxpayers that the arena would pay for itself -- and bring in an additional $1 million a year in tax revenues.
"We're very confident that the arena will be successful," he said in 2004.
When the glittering arena opened in October 2006, the debut acts were Duran Duran, Bob Dylan and Lionel Richie. A number of minor league sports teams have called it home, most recently the Chicago Bulls developmental league team. The arena has built a niche for itself with truck pulls, bull riding, wrestling and mixed martial arts. Local high schools celebrate graduations there and community groups hold book fairs and other events.
Still, the venue has struggled to fulfill its promise. Since opening, it has never posted a profitable year. When the private developers, Minnesota-based Ryan Companies US, threatened to walk away from the money-losing venture, village officials took over the center in 2009.
Today, the Sears Centre is a demonstration of the risk of entangling private corporate interests and public tax dollars.
Hoffman Estates taxpayers are now on the hook to pay off the bond, which will cost $108 million over the full term of the note.
Government subsidies for cultural and entertainment venues are not unusual in the suburbs. But Hoffman Estates' support for the Sears Centre stands out. A private project that was not supposed to cost taxpayers anything instead accounts for 14% of the town's $107 million annual expenses in 2018, the last year for which figures are available. The operating loss -- how much the arena's expenses exceeded its revenues -- was $1.5 million.
Over the past decade, Hoffman Estates has used nearly $14 million from the general fund and other village accounts to help cover the arena's losses.
McLeod blamed poor management and a recessionary economy for the arena's financial picture -- now further clouded by the coronavirus pandemic, which may prevent large crowds from gathering in the near future.
"I think it is working out successfully," McLeod said. "We got a good general manager there. We've got the Windy City Bulls."
McLeod, who voted for the original deal that brought Sears to Hoffman Estates as a village trustee in 1989, acknowledges that development in the special taxing district as a whole has not lived up to all the promises made three decades ago. But he said Sears Centre brought entertainment and income to the suburb. Village officials said taxes from nearby businesses lured by the presence of the arena cover its annual losses.
"It's a great amenity with the community and the surrounding area," McLeod said. "We have a hospital that doesn't pay taxes, but it's a great amenity for our people. Not everything is for profit."
The path to the construction of Sears Centre began in 1989, when Sears, then Illinois' largest private employer, threatened to move its headquarters from the famous Sears Tower in downtown Chicago to another state.
To keep Sears from departing, Illinois politicians awarded the company hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of tax incentives to build its headquarters and a business park in Hoffman Estates.
The business park, called Prairie Stone, would feature office buildings to hold a plethora of Sears' vendors and suppliers that would, it was assumed, want to be near the retailer, as well as other big companies that would follow Sears to the village.
A second wave of hotels, restaurants and other stores and service shops, which Sears and village leaders likened to a town center, would turn the former farmland into an economic mecca.
All told, Sears headquarters and Prairie Stone would create 30,000 to 45,000 jobs, including Sears' workforce, or so it was thought. Hoffman Estates would grow larger and wealthier, its population expanding, its housing market heating up and its tax coffers overflowing.
But Prairie Stone showed problems from the start. Months after Sears completed its corporate headquarters, the company built the first pair of office buildings. The company halted work on two other planned buildings in September 1992. The reason? "Low demand," according to a Sears spokesman at the time.
Over the years, Prairie Stone struggled to attract businesses, hampered by false starts and stalled projects. Frustrated by the slow pace of development, Sears churned through three commercial real estate developers hired to market Prairie Stone in less than a year.
"Everyone kept waiting for something to happen in Prairie Stone," said Ron Culp, a former vice president of public relations and government affairs at Sears. "I don't think the buy-in was as big as [Sears] might have anticipated with the big brands putting operations out there."
Peter Burchard, who was village manager when Sears came to Hoffman Estates, said Sears charged too much for land and rent. And the company overestimated demand for office space.
"We were asking: 'So what's up? Where's the development?'" Burchard recalled. "And not much was happening. It was pretty quiet."
Transformco, a holding company run by Eddie Lampert that now owns Sears, declined to comment. Ryan Companies US officials declined to comment.
Prairie Stone's struggles hit Sears and local agencies hard.
Since development was slow, the property value of the district did not produce enough in taxes to pay off the bonds that Hoffman Estates issued to finance the Sears project. Under the terms of the agreement, Sears had to make up any shortfalls. Between 1999 and 2007, Sears paid nearly $83 million to cover deficits.
The jobs never materialized, either. Depending on who was doing the counting, Prairie Stone generated somewhere between 4,300 and 11,000 jobs by 2016 -- less than a quarter of what was projected. Nor did tax revenue growth live up to expectations. Projections called for the district to generate an additional $626 million in property tax revenues by 2012, but it only generated about half that amount in inflation-adjusted dollars.
And parts of the area remain vacant. Of the nearly 800 acres in the special taxing district, 184 are undeveloped.
The village was saved from having to use taxpayer funds to cover deficits. But local officials did not receive nearly the revenue they were expecting. Projections called for government agencies to receive a combined $175 million in tax revenues by 2012. Yet, over the first 20 years of the deal, local taxing bodies collected only $50 million, less than a third of what was originally forecast.
Hoffman Estates had long wanted to boost its profile and bring in additional tax revenue.
Neighboring Schaumburg was thriving as the region's premiere commercial and shopping destination. Rosemont, about 20 miles east on I-90 adjacent to O'Hare International Airport, had made big bets on an indoor stadium, a concert hall and a convention center, and it was paying off with new hotels, restaurants and an influx of visitors.
In 1998, the village made efforts to attract the Chicago Bears and, in 2003, it tried to lure the Chicago Fire professional soccer franchise. Both attempts failed.
Then, in 2004, an opportunity arose after voters in nearby Prospect Heights defeated a proposed entertainment arena.
Hoffman Estates saw a chance to replace Poplar Creek -- the beloved outdoor music venue that closed in 1994 after Sears demolished it for the development of the Prairie Stone business park.
Sears and village officials decided that a new sports and entertainment arena could anchor an entertainment district within Prairie Stone that would deliver the shot of adrenaline the special tax district needed.
To build it, Hoffman Estates agreed to issue $55 million in bonds. Sears donated 35 acres, took a 25% ownership stake and purchased the naming rights. Ryan Companies, the Minnesota developer that controlled the remaining 75%, would build and run the entertainment center.
Besides civic pride, another underlying rationale of the arena was to increase revenues in the special tax district, which had not delivered the returns that Sears needed to pay off the money it had spent to build its headquarters, village roads and other infrastructure.
James Terrell, a vice president in charge of Sears' real estate holdings at the time, and village officials pushed for the new arena, according to a summary of a deposition in a lawsuit between local Community Unit District 300 and Sears over revenue from the deal.
The arena "would energize" the Sears' development, according to court documents summarizing Terrell's viewpoint.
Michael Rossiaky, a trustee on the village's park district board and a longtime Hoffman Estates resident, was part of a group of locals that wanted to stop the arena development in 2005.
Rossiaky warned village leaders that an arena was a bad idea because unlike the Prairie Stone development, where Sears agreed to pay off any shortfalls in revenue flow, the village would be responsible for repaying the bonds if the Sears Centre failed.
"They were closed off to what anyone said," Rossiaky said. "They didn't care. They just wanted to bulldoze it through."
McLeod and other proponents of the project argued that the Sears Centre would be the linchpin to creating an entertainment district called "Poplar Creek at 59-90," after the old concert venue by Route 59 and the I-90 tollway. It would be a tourist destination that would include restaurants and a hotel and water park.
The new arena "will put Hoffman Estates back on the map," McLeod said in 2005. "This would be another feather in our cap."
After just four years of poor attendance and losses, the developers -- blaming a bad economy -- threatened to let the arena go into default. Instead, the village took it over in December 2009.
"Our biggest worry was that they would go belly up and they would stick Hoffman Estates with the bill," Rossiaky said. "And that's what's happened."
Over the past decade, the village has moved nearly $14 million from its general fund and other accounts to make up for the arena's losses, with amounts varying from a low of $150,000 in 2016 to a high of $3 million in 2009.
Last year, the Sears Centre hosted 89 events -- far from initial estimates that projected 140 shows and games a year.
Village taxpayers now pay to keep the arena in business. Between 2014 and 2018, the most recent year available, the arena brought in an average of $10.7 million annually in operating revenue, while costing $12.4 million per year to run, according to village figures. Each year, the village must use general funds to cover an average deficit of nearly $2 million.
In addition, the village must pay for upkeep and improvements at the arena -- costs that, before the outbreak of the coronavirus, were projected to reach $2 million over the next seven years.
Since the village owns the venue, it no longer collects the more than $1 million a year in property taxes that the stadium used to generate.
McLeod blamed the center's shortcomings on an inexperienced developer, poor marketing and a bad economy.
"I think part of the plan when it was put in was, 'We're going to have many more venues around it, restaurants and all that stuff.' And then the recession hit," McLeod said.
McLeod has not given up on Prairie Stone. In recent years, a Main Event family entertainment center and a Duluth Trading Company retail store have opened, but only after the village added additional tax breaks to lure the businesses to the site: $750,000 in entertainment tax rebates for Main Event and $225,000 in sales tax rebates for Duluth Trading.
Cabela's opened a hunting and fishing superstore in Prairie Stone in 2007. To snag the outlet, Hoffman Estates agreed to provide $18 million in tax rebates to the $2 billion-a-year company.
It also agreed to exempt from property taxes the store's elaborate taxidermy dioramas and aquarium displays. Those include "Conservation Mountain," a two-story fiberglass mountain with artificial trees, a waterfall and stuffed animals such as deer, bears and waterfowl that occupies about 15% of the store's 185,000 square feet.
Cabela's estimated that the tax exemption would allow it to save $5.5 million in property taxes over 20 years, about $275,000 a year.
The logic? Under the agreement, the displays belong to the village. And they have a special designation. Cabela's displays are now Hoffman Estates' only publicly owned museum.
McLeod said the Cabela's deal was worth it.
"I'm not particularly a big fan of this sort of stuff," McLeod said. "But it's the cost of doing business these days."


dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--Second day of search ends without finding woman who fell into river

Search efforts concluded Saturday night without finding the 18-year-old West Chicago woman with autism who was swept off a bridge into the West Branch of the DuPage River in Winfield shortly before 6 p.m. Friday .
More than 100 search and rescue personnel and volunteers scoured the West Branch DuPage River from Winfield to Warrenville on Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m .
Boats equipped with sonar and infrared-equipped underwater drones were also used according to Tony Martinez , director of community relations at the DuPage Forest Preserve District .
Martinez said once water levels subside and the weather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue with assistance from partnering agencies .
On Friday , the woman was walking with her two dogs on a flooded pedestrian bridge at Winfield Mounds near Geneva and Woodfield roads .
A witness riding his bicycle nearby said he saw the woman get swept away by the current as she walked through waist-high water on the bridge .
The witness tried to assist her until he lost sight of her as she was swept away .
He said her parents confirmed that she is a frequent visitor to the trail .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 11 p.m. on Friday before starting over on Saturday .
Martinez said one of the dogs , a Chihuahua , was found alive .
`` We encourage people to exercise caution with floodwaters and to play it safe , '' Martinez said .
`` Water is deceiving and very powerful . ''
`` Our hearts go out to the family at this tragic time , '' said DuPage Forest Preserve District Police Chief David Pederson .
`` We are very appreciative of all the help we have received from the numerous agencies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''

Second day of search ends without finding woman who fell into river
Rescuers were searching for a woman Friday who was swept into the West Branch of the DuPage River near downtown Winfield, along with two of her dogs. A fire ladder truck and rescue boats were being used. Courtesy of ABC 7 Chicago
Rescuers were searching for a woman Friday who was swept into the West Branch of the DuPage River near downtown Winfield, along with two of her dogs. One dog was rescued. Courtesy of ABC 7 Chicago
Search efforts concluded Saturday night without finding the 18-year-old West Chicago woman with autism who was swept off a bridge into the West Branch of the DuPage River in Winfield shortly before 6 p.m. Friday.
More than 100 search and rescue personnel and volunteers scoured the West Branch DuPage River from Winfield to Warrenville on Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Boats equipped with sonar and infrared-equipped underwater drones were also used according to Tony Martinez, director of community relations at the DuPage Forest Preserve District.
Martinez said once water levels subside and the weather is more conducive, recovery efforts will continue with assistance from partnering agencies.
On Friday, the woman was walking with her two dogs on a flooded pedestrian bridge at Winfield Mounds near Geneva and Woodfield roads.
A witness riding his bicycle nearby said he saw the woman get swept away by the current as she walked through waist-high water on the bridge. The witness tried to assist her until he lost sight of her as she was swept away.
He said her parents confirmed that she is a frequent visitor to the trail.
The search for the woman went on until 11 p.m. on Friday before starting over on Saturday.
Martinez said one of the dogs, a Chihuahua, was found alive.
"We encourage people to exercise caution with floodwaters and to play it safe," Martinez said. "Water is deceiving and very powerful."
"Our hearts go out to the family at this tragic time," said DuPage Forest Preserve District Police Chief David Pederson. "We are very appreciative of all the help we have received from the numerous agencies and volunteers who assisted in this exhaustive search."


dailyheraldchicago--2020-05-16--Minorities, elderly represent higher rates of COVID-19 infections, deaths

Higher rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths among suburban minority communities and the elderly population is concerning health officials .
In DuPage County , home to communities hardest-hit by the pandemic , Latinos comprise 27.5 % of confirmed cases and 14.5 % of the county 's population .
African Americans make up 5.4 % of confirmed cases and 5.3 % of the population .
Asians represent 6.4 % of cases and 12.6 % of the population , and whites account for 27.3 % of confirmed cases and 79.7 % of the population .
Mortality rates per 100,000 population are : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 29.4 % , Latinos , 19.8 % , and Asians , 16.3 % .
Nursing home deaths represent 49 % -- 1,975 -- of Illinois ' 4,058 COVID-19 fatalities as of Friday .
DuPage County had 1,475 confirmed cases in nursing homes and 245 deaths , Illinois Department of Public Health data shows .
`` Most of our outbreaks are occurring in long-term care facilities , '' said Karen Ayala , DuPage County Health Department executive director .
Health officials are working with the nursing homes to make sure administrators understand and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing and have adequate protective gear for employees and residents .
Phone calls , texts , webinars , social media and virtual PSA campaigns are some of the ways census officials are reaching hard-to-count suburban populations .
Illinois ' census self-response rate is 64.3 % as of Friday , while the national rate is 59.3 % .
Suburbs with a high minority population , such as Aurora , 66.4 % , Carpentersville , 68.4 % , Elgin , 66.8 % , and Mundelein , 73.3 % , are faring better than the national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response at 2020census.gov/en/response-rates .
The self-response period , online or by phone , is extended through Oct. 31 .
Shoaib Khadri , former president of the Islamic Center of Naperville , says the mosque is offering COVID-19 support services to the larger community , including a free telehealth clinic , grocery and prescription pickup for seniors , and making masks for health care facilities and nursing homes .
COVID-19 support The Islamic Center of Naperville is offering COVID-19 support services , including a free telehealth clinic , grocery and prescription pickup for seniors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with licensed counselors and psychiatrists , and making masks for health care facilities and nursing homes .
`` We offer a slew of services for the entire community , not just to the Muslim community , '' said Shoaib Khadri , ICN former president , during a virtual panel discussion hosted by Safe DuPage on community resources available to those impacted by COVID-19 .
The Naperville City Council will vote on Tuesday , May 19 , to adopt a resolution celebrating diversity and denouncing acts of racism , intolerance and unlawful discrimination .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bill Liu , chairman of Chinese community outreach appointed by the late Mayor George Pradel , urging council members to condemn actions that unfairly stereotype and single out Asian Americans .
Their concern was motivated by the reported March 21 attack on a 60-year-old Chinese American man jogging on a Naperville trail and offensive remarks made by a speaker during the April 7 virtual council meeting .
`` The resolution demonstrates to our residents that racism and discrimination are not to be tolerated in our city , '' said Chen , a resident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too , that Asian Americans do n't have to be just victims of discrimination but can speak up to change things . ''
As suburban mosques remain dormant due to Illinois ' ban on mass gatherings , many Muslims will be celebrating Eid virtually this year .
Eid al-Fitr , on Sunday , May 24 , marks the culmination of the monthlong observance of dawn-to-dusk fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan .
The Zakat Foundation of America in Bridgeview will be hosting a free , family-friendly virtual Eid-in-Place show at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , poetry , and other art forms .
The lineup includes prominent American Muslim scholar Imam Zaid Shakir , hip-hop artist and speaker Brother Ali , stand-up comedian , actress and writer Zainab Johnson , poet and actor/screenwriter Amir Sulaiman , Pearls of Islam Caribbean fusion music singing duo Sakinah Lenoir and Rabiah Abdullah , and British stand-up comedian and writer Shazia Mirza .
Azhar Usman , the show 's producer and stand-up comedian , formerly of Des Plaines , is co-hosting the event with stand-up comedian Danish Maqbool , and actor and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roles on the `` Conan '' show , Marvel 's `` Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D . ''
and `` Lady Dynamite . ''
To register for the Facebook Live show , visit eidinplace.eventbrite.com .
• Share stories , news and happenings from the suburban mosaic with Madhu Krishnamurthy at mkrishnamurthy @ dailyherald.com .

Minorities, elderly represent higher rates of COVID-19 infections, deaths
Higher rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths among suburban minority communities and the elderly population is concerning health officials.
In DuPage County, home to communities hardest-hit by the pandemic, Latinos comprise 27.5% of confirmed cases and 14.5% of the county's population. African Americans make up 5.4% of confirmed cases and 5.3% of the population. Asians represent 6.4% of cases and 12.6% of the population, and whites account for 27.3% of confirmed cases and 79.7% of the population.
Mortality rates per 100,000 population are: African Americans, 47.2 deaths, whites, 29.4, Latinos, 19.8, and Asians, 16.3.
Nursing homes
Nursing home deaths represent 49% -- 1,975 -- of Illinois' 4,058 COVID-19 fatalities as of Friday. DuPage County had 1,475 confirmed cases in nursing homes and 245 deaths, Illinois Department of Public Health data shows.
"Most of our outbreaks are occurring in long-term care facilities," said Karen Ayala, DuPage County Health Department executive director.
Health officials are working with the nursing homes to make sure administrators understand and follow infection control guidelines, provide COVID-19 testing and have adequate protective gear for employees and residents.
Census outreach
Phone calls, texts, webinars, social media and virtual PSA campaigns are some of the ways census officials are reaching hard-to-count suburban populations.
Illinois' census self-response rate is 64.3% as of Friday, while the national rate is 59.3%. Suburbs with a high minority population, such as Aurora, 66.4%, Carpentersville, 68.4%, Elgin, 66.8%, and Mundelein, 73.3%, are faring better than the national average. Check out your community's response at 2020census.gov/en/response-rates.
The self-response period, online or by phone, is extended through Oct. 31.
Shoaib Khadri, former president of the Islamic Center of Naperville, says the mosque is offering COVID-19 support services to the larger community, including a free telehealth clinic, grocery and prescription pickup for seniors, and making masks for health care facilities and nursing homes.
The Islamic Center of Naperville is offering COVID-19 support services, including a free telehealth clinic, grocery and prescription pickup for seniors, family support and group therapy sessions with licensed counselors and psychiatrists, and making masks for health care facilities and nursing homes.
"We offer a slew of services for the entire community, not just to the Muslim community," said Shoaib Khadri, ICN former president, during a virtual panel discussion hosted by Safe DuPage on community resources available to those impacted by COVID-19.
For support services, call (630) 345-4243 or visit icnmasjid.org/covid-19.
Anti-racism initiative
The Naperville City Council will vote on Tuesday, May 19, to adopt a resolution celebrating diversity and denouncing acts of racism, intolerance and unlawful discrimination.
It stemmed from residents Nancy Chen and Bill Liu, chairman of Chinese community outreach appointed by the late Mayor George Pradel, urging council members to condemn actions that unfairly stereotype and single out Asian Americans. Their concern was motivated by the reported March 21 attack on a 60-year-old Chinese American man jogging on a Naperville trail and offensive remarks made by a speaker during the April 7 virtual council meeting.
"The resolution demonstrates to our residents that racism and discrimination are not to be tolerated in our city," said Chen, a resident for 48 years. "It demonstrates, too, that Asian Americans don't have to be just victims of discrimination but can speak up to change things."
A virtual Eid
As suburban mosques remain dormant due to Illinois' ban on mass gatherings, many Muslims will be celebrating Eid virtually this year.
Eid al-Fitr, on Sunday, May 24, marks the culmination of the monthlong observance of dawn-to-dusk fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Stand-up comedian Azhar Usman, formerly of Des Plaines, will be hosting a virtual Eid show on Sunday, May 24, organized by the Zakat Foundation of America. - Courtesy of Azhar Usman
The Zakat Foundation of America in Bridgeview will be hosting a free, family-friendly virtual Eid-in-Place show at 4 p.m. featuring Muslim comedy, music, poetry, and other art forms.
The lineup includes prominent American Muslim scholar Imam Zaid Shakir, hip-hop artist and speaker Brother Ali, stand-up comedian, actress and writer Zainab Johnson, poet and actor/screenwriter Amir Sulaiman, Pearls of Islam Caribbean fusion music singing duo Sakinah Lenoir and Rabiah Abdullah, and British stand-up comedian and writer Shazia Mirza.
Azhar Usman, the show's producer and stand-up comedian, formerly of Des Plaines, is co-hosting the event with stand-up comedian Danish Maqbool, and actor and comedian Paul Elia, known for his roles on the "Conan" show, Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Lady Dynamite."
To register for the Facebook Live show, visit eidinplace.eventbrite.com.
• Share stories, news and happenings from the suburban mosaic with Madhu Krishnamurthy at mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com.