chicagotribune--2020-01-09--3 takeaways from Illinois’ 71-70 win over Wisconsin, including Ayo Dosunmu’s spark in his sophomore

3 takeaways from Illinois’ 71-70 win over Wisconsin, including Ayo Dosunmu’s spark in his sophomore season

“ He ’ s got what you don ’ t coach , ” Underwood told reporters in Madison .
“ @ @ @ @ @ .
He ’ s fearless .
He ’ s very , very poised .
It @ @ @ @ @ guy .
He ’ s been in those moments so often and knows he ’ @ @ @ @ @ more often than not — and so do we .
”

Losing to Wisconsin has been a decade-long tradition at Illinois.
The Illini came into Wednesday’s game without a win at the Kohl Center in 10 years. They had lost 15 straight overall in the series since their last win in 2011. That finally changed with a hard-fought 71-70 victory in Madison, Wis.
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“It’s nice to get that monkey off our backs,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood told Big Ten Network.
Here are three takeaways from the victory.
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1. Illinois showed it can close out a game.
Close losses to Maryland and Miami stung, and a sloppy ending in the loss to Missouri was frustrating. But Illinois (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) finally proved it can end a close game convincingly.
The Illini remained on the Badgers’ heels for most of the game but needed a seven-point rally. They shot 61.5% in the second half and finished the game on a 15-7 run.
Trent Frazier, Ayo Dosunmu and Alan Griffin hit important 3-pointers down the stretch.
2. The victory was a resume builder.
As gratifying as it was to end the losing streak against Wisconsin, Underwood was right to quickly put the focus on the victory’s meaning in conference play. Road wins have been scarce. Illinois’ win was just the fourth by a road team in Big Ten play.
The Illini now have three wins against opponents in the top 25 of Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, including two in four days against No. 20 Purdue and No. 24 Wisconsin to go with their December win against No. 19 Michigan.
The wins set up a surprisingly meaningful showdown Saturday in Champaign against Pomeroy No. 34 Rutgers, winner of six straight.
3. Ayo Dosunmu is still the Illini’s spark.
The sophomore scored a go-ahead layup and a winning 3-pointer in the final minute and a half. He was a factor on both ends from start to finish, totaling 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting with six assists and five rebounds.
Dosunmu has experienced highs and lows this season — he scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting against Purdue — but this performance showcased his basketball smarts, reliability and importance to Illinois’ season.
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“He’s got what you don’t coach,” Underwood told reporters in Madison. “He’s not afraid. He’s fearless. He’s very, very poised. It takes a certain type of guy. He’s been in those moments so often and knows he’s going to make it more often than not — and so do we.”
Here is coverage from Wednesday’s game:
Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points — including a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left — to rally Illinois to a 71-70 victory over Wisconsin on Wednesday night at the Kohl Center.
The win snapped a 15-game losing streak in the series for the Illini (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten), who hadn’t beaten the Badgers since 2011 and hadn’t won in Madison since 2010.
Freshman 7-footer Kofi Cockburn scored 15 points and reserve guard Alan Griffin added 12, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
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Kobe King scored a game-high 21 points for Wisconsin (9-6, 2-2), which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
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King drained a 3 with 22 seconds left to pull Wisconsin to 71-70, but when the Badgers got the ball back after a missed free throw by Illinois forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili, D’Mitrik Trice missed a go-ahead bucket with three seconds left.
Micah Potter scored 13 points with nine rebounds and two blocks for Wisconsin. Potter, an Ohio State transfer playing in his fourth game since becoming eligible in late December, made all eight of his foul shots.
The teams traded the lead 10 times in the first half until Potter and King collaborated on a 9-1 Wisconsin run — capped by a King 3-pointer — that extended the Badgers’ lead to 28-21 with 3:57 left in the half.
King, who was 8 of 11 shooting, delivered eight of the Badgers’ first nine points to open the second half.
Illinois pulled within 54-52 with 9:50 left on a dunk by Cockburn, who picked up his fourth foul 17 seconds later.
The Badgers maintained a slim lead late in the second half but didn’t score a basket for nearly two minutes. The Illini tied the game at 63 on back-to-back 3s by Griffin with 3:22 left.


chicagotribune--2020-01-09--Sunday’s Deshaun Watson vs. Patrick Mahomes matchup might be tough to watch. But it should be appoin

Sunday’s Deshaun Watson vs. Patrick Mahomes matchup might be tough to watch. But it should be appointment TV for Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace.

“ That ’ s a part of it , ” Nagy said .
“ There ’ s realness to that @ @ @ @ @ m in there and we ’ re going through a play and it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m going to tell you it ’ s a bad play call .
@ @ @ @ @ better .
And that it ’ s my fault .
But then on the other @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re going to get this thing right , you better be honest with @ @ @ @

Some NFL coaches and players choose not to watch the playoffs if they’re not involved. Too painful, perhaps. Better ways to decompress. It just feels like a repellent.
Bears coach Matt Nagy is not a member of that fraternity.
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Nope, Nagy needs the playoffs in his veins. Even as a spectator, it provides a fix. He can’t look away.
“I watch it,” Nagy said late last month. “I do. Some people just shut it off. They don’t want to be a part of it. To each their own. I just think you learn from it.
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“For me, it burns me up the fact that I’m sitting at home and watching. I use that as my own personal motivation to get back there.”
You wonder then what Nagy was thinking and feeling as he watched on the Saturday evening of wild-card weekend. You wonder how he reacted as Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson hauled his team out of a 16-0 hole in the second half, rallying it into overtime with a combination of calm and confidence.
You wonder whether Nagy sprang from his seat like most of the audience when Watson faced an all-out Bills blitz on the final drive in overtime, got hit hard from his left and then his right, yet somehow managed to spin and stay on his feet, scrambling and dropping a clutch completion to running back Taiwan Jones.
The magic act produced a 34-yard gain that set up the Texans’ winning 28-yard field goal. It was, perhaps, the signature moment of wild-card weekend.
And now it gives Nagy another game to dial in on Sunday afternoon. Watson’s Texans move on to face Nagy’s mentor, Andy Reid, and Nagy’s former team, the Chiefs. The Chiefs are led by a superstar quarterback Nagy helped groom: Patrick Mahomes.
Watson versus Mahomes.
With a trip to the AFC championship game on the line.
With the Bears in the very uncomfortable role as subtext.
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How could Nagy not watch?
One more time
Yes, this dead horse has been beaten to a pulp. The Bears passed on Watson and Mahomes in the 2017 draft, trading up to No. 2 to select Mitch Trubisky instead. It was a decision far more layered and complicated than many knee-jerk critics want to acknowledge. And it’s a landmark moment that can become unfairly twisted by revisionist history.
Still, this is Chicago’s reality. And if Bears fans have already grown tired of the leaguewide admiration showered on Watson and Mahomes, if they have become agitated and exhausted by the constant “What might have been” lament, imagine if this is only the beginning.
What if Watson versus Mahomes becomes a regular January duel on the playoff stage?
What if Sunday is just the opening act of a decade-long rivalry in which two top-tier quarterbacks continue to run into each other on their chase for a Lombardi Trophy?
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, left, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes meet after the Texans beat the Chiefs 31-24 on Oct. 13, 2019, in Kansas City. (Colin E. Braley/AP)
And what if the Bears remain curious couch potatoes left to envy it all?
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Given all we know about Nagy’s tight relationship with general manager Ryan Pace and what we know about Nagy’s attraction to playoff football, one can guess the two Bears leaders will speak this weekend or at least send a flurry of texts as the postseason action continues.
Both men have promised to fix the problems with Trubisky and the Bears offense that turned 2019 into, in Pace’s words, “a season of regression.”
And that’s where Sunday’s Texans-Chiefs game could have real value if the Bears’ biggest decision makers can view it through honest eyes.
That play Watson made in overtime to help secure his first playoff victory wasn’t how it was drawn up in the Texans playbook. And it certainly didn’t unfold in the way it was practiced at any point that week.
Quite simply, it was a dynamic playmaker digging deep and making a play when his team needed him to. When his blockers failed him. When his athleticism and competitiveness helped him avoid a sack and a third-and-long and instead produced a game-winning play. In the playoffs.
“I just told myself to stay up,” Watson told ESPN’s Lisa Salters immediately after the game. “It’s do-or-die right now, and with all of that work I’ve been putting in in the offseason, I just had to make a play. I told the guys before the game, I put a card in their lockers and I said, ‘Let’s be great today.’ So somebody had to be great. Why not me?”
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‘When a play is there to be made’
Scan the highlights of Mahomes’ two seasons as a starter — the 17 300-yard games, the 76 regular-season touchdown passes, the 23 Chiefs victories in his 30 starts — and it’s easy to find examples of similar playmaking wizardry, of a star who has a knack for turning nothing into something on a consistent basis.
Patrick Mahomes hit 'em with the jump pass and Mecole Hardman TOOK OFF 🏃♂💨
(via @thecheckdown)pic.twitter.com/5NqCZIsotl — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 10, 2019
Read those last eight words again with emphasis. Turning nothing into something. On a consistent basis.
That’s what the Bears admit Trubisky has lacked in so many areas. Consistency.
“You see moments this year: ‘Aha! There it is!’ ” Pace said Dec. 31 at his end-of-season news conference. “And then we see the inconsistencies and the dips. You know? We need to figure out why that’s happening and work hard to solve that.”
As it relates to playmaking prowess, the inconsistency has become too jarring to ignore, the quality that has widened the gap between Trubisky and his two more accomplished draft classmates.
Trubisky’s flashes this season were the exception, not the rule. Too many examples exist where Trubisky had first downs or big plays or game-changing touchdown passes waiting but didn’t hit them.
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Sometimes he didn’t see the opportunity and didn’t throw.
At times he threw too far.
Or not far enough.
Against the Chiefs in Week 16, Trubisky overshot Allen Robinson on what should have been a 46-yard touchdown pass, and Nagy was left to deliver the cold truth on why that play — well-designed, well-timed, well-blocked — didn’t connect.
Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky throws a pass against the Chiefs on Dec. 22, 2019. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“I know it’s simple,” Nagy said. “I’m just saying when you get opportunities in a game, those are ones there where we all want to do our job.”
Later that week, after detailing the reality that the Bears need to get Trubisky more help on the offensive line and at tight end and with the way plays are called, Nagy was asked whether the best way of lifting the offense relied on the quarterback to make more plays when there are plays to be made.
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After all, on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit and a week later against the Cowboys, when Trubisky flashed his playmaking ability, the Bears won. Suddenly everyone in the organization and around town felt great.
Aha!
Right?
So isn’t some of this as simple as that? That the most important player on the roster just needs to make more plays when there are plays to be made?
“That’s a part of it,” Nagy said. “There’s realness to that. … If I’m in there and we’re going through a play and it’s a bad play call, I’m going to tell you it’s a bad play call. And that it could be better. And that it’s my fault. But then on the other end, OK, if we’re going to get this thing right, you better be honest with your side too.
“When a play is there to be made, you’ve got to make it. That’s the part where we’ve got to get both of those fixed. And we will. It takes good people and a collaboration and understanding the whys to do that. And that’s going to be our No. 1 focus.”
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The stage is set
Unfortunately for the Bears, the Texans and Chiefs aren’t experiencing those same growing pains.
While Nagy and Pace are busy collaborating to help Trubisky become, in Nagy’s words, “a master at understanding coverages,” while they are looking for ways to improve Trubisky’s footwork and trust in the pocket, Watson and Mahomes have reached a more advanced stage.
They’re immersed in the highs of playoff football, eyeing the next big play that ignites the next big win.
Mahomes’ ascent hit a speed bump this year when he dislocated his right kneecap in October, a serious injury that came on the heels of a sprained left ankle. He missed 2½ games.
But since his return, he has completed 66.7% of his passes, thrown for 1,851 yards and 11 touchdowns and posted a 99.3 passer rating. The Chiefs finished the regular season on a six-game tear that earned them a first-round playoff bye.
Bears fans saw firsthand in Week 16 what it looks like when Mahomes takes control of a game and doesn’t let go. The Chiefs came to Chicago and bounced the Bears out of the playoff hunt with a 26-3 tail-kicking.
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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes runs for a touchdown against the Bears on Dec. 22, 2019. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
After Watson’s own struggles contributed to that 16-0 deficit last Saturday against the Bills, he rallied to lead four scoring drives in his final six possessions. During that span, he went 13-for-14 passing for 193 yards and a touchdown. He added a 20-yard touchdown run, a two-point conversion run and a two-point conversion pass.
Somebody had to be great, right?
Watson and Mahomes have helped their teams win back-to-back division championships. Both have earned consecutive invitations to the Pro Bowl. Both of their teams believe they can reach the Super Bowl next month.
This is the sustained success — frequently sparked by great quarterback play — that so often eludes the Bears, who are left clinging to flashes.
Yet that’s where Sunday’s Texans-Chiefs game can prove illuminating, offering a lens into what the Bears are seeking.
The more plays Watson and Mahomes make, the more opportunity Pace will have to see what top-tier quarterback play looks like. And if he can’t see it, Nagy will have to remind him.
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These are the things we need out of our quarterback. And if Trubisky can’t provide them soon, then we better have urgent plans to find someone who can.
Publicly, anyway, Pace has been unwilling to concede that his decision to pick Trubisky over Watson and Mahomes was a misstep. Asked last week where the Bears missed in their pre-draft evaluation of Trubisky, Pace bobbed and weaved.
A special Bear Download podcast Get more www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-chicago-bears-mitch-trubisky-podcast-20191114-eo72vwdtgnaztob5vzrycm4u6u-story.html' target="_blank">analysis and behind-the-scenes scoop on the Trubisky-Watson-Mahomes story from Rich and Dan on the podcast
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” he said. “We’re still watching the guy grow. Again, he knows he needs to be more consistent. He knows he needs to play better. We know that too.”
Pressed on how he views Trubisky’s ceiling as an NFL starter after this turbulent and inconsistency-riddled third season, Pace said Trubisky’s potential is “wide open.”
“If we go back and look at a lot of young quarterbacks in the league,” Pace said, “historically, these (low) moments have occurred. It's just part of the growth process sometimes.”
Pace isn’t wrong. Not all young quarterbacks arrive in the NFL and hit the moving walkway to prolonged excellence. It’s just that the two quarterbacks the Bears passed on three years ago did.
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And now they’re facing each other in the playoffs. With the Bears and their success-starved fan base watching from home and possibly compiling more reasons to be burned up.
It promises to be an entertaining and revealing show. Depending on how you look at it.


chicagotribune--2020-01-09--Homeowners near the Great Lakes face a ‘very scary’ challenge: How do you handle a generation’s wort

Homeowners near the Great Lakes face a ‘very scary’ challenge: How do you handle a generation’s worth of water level changes in just a few years?

“ They know what ’ s going on , but are they really going to come back year after year @ @ @ @ @ know if they ’ ll have a place to tie their boat ?
Not knowing @ @ @ @ @ out , not knowing if you can take a walk down here and keep your @ @ @ @ @ does have an effect on our business .
”

CEDARVILLE, Michigan — On a frigid morning in late fall, resort owner Mark Engle studied the mangled planks and dock posts scattered along an ice-glazed channel that feeds into Lake Huron.
Les Cheneaux Landing Resort, tucked behind an archipelago of 36 islands off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, once had a 175-foot dock with slips for a dozen boats, a boathouse and a bait shop.
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In the past two years, Lake Huron rose through the floorboards of both buildings and overtopped the adjoining dock. Now, the weather-beaten boathouse sits stoically marooned, beset on all sides by crystal clear water.
All that Engle has left to carry him through the next tourist season is a small makeshift dock.
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“Man can’t seem to make anything big enough, strong enough to maintain an advantage over the lake,” Engle said. “I’ve been dealing with Lake Huron since 1982. And I’m afraid the lake is winning the battle.”
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 Mark Engle, owner of the Les Cheneaux Landing resort in Snows Channel at Les Cheneaux Islands, recently elevated and rebuilt his boat docks because of rising waters. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Near-record high lake levels have astonished residents and business owners in the tiny hamlet of Cedarville, an unincorporated waterfront community built around boating. The consternation isn’t solely from the high water — in 1986, lake levels were slightly higher — it’s also from the pace of the rise. Less than seven years earlier, many docks and boathouses were sitting on dry land.
In 2013, Lake Huron bottomed out, hitting its lowest mark in more than a century, as did Lake Michigan, which shares the same water levels, according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Around that time, the lake withdrew so far from the shore around Engle’s resort — then a collection of 12 rustic cabins and three docks — that mud was all that remained beneath his boathouse.
In just 3 ½ years, levels rose more than 4 feet and last summer peaked at nearly 6 feet above the record low.
“We’re living in a time period of extremes,” Engle said, looking out at a waterfront that has morphed into a graveyard of flotsam. “If you look at what’s happened in the last five or six years, it’s kind of scary. Very scary. And it’s out of our control.”
In a special report on climate change, the Tribune is visiting each Great Lake to discover how communities are evolving.
[ This series received financial support from the Pulitzer Center’s Connected Coastlines initiative. ]
Nowhere is coastal volatility more evident than Lake Huron, home to 30,000 of the Great Lakes’ 35,000 islands and its longest shoreline. Commerce, ecology and recreation all suffer the consequences of the erratic highs and lows of the lake.
Lake levels are governed by precipitation, runoff and evaporation, an equation that’s extremely difficult to forecast over six months, let alone over several decades, according to scientists. But foremost researchers on Great Lakes hydrology say they believe climate change is contributing to these steep swings between lows and highs, and could become more pronounced in the future.
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“There’s no way we can heat the Earth, change the moisture budget and not expect it to have an impact on the lake levels,” said Richard B. Rood, a professor in University of Michigan’s Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering.
A dock of an old boathouse at Snows Channel at Les Cheneaux Islands has been dismantled or washed away. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Climate change is amplifying variability in lakes that are naturally predisposed to fluctuation. Unlike lakes Ontario and Superior, which are regulated by dams and binational regulatory boards, lakes Michigan and Huron, measured as one body of water because they are connected at the Straits of Mackinac, have no such controls and consequently have experienced the greatest variation from record low to high in the Great Lakes.
“I think it’s reasonable to expect in the next 10 to 30 years, perhaps longer, one of the main outcomes of climate change might be more variability, higher highs and lower lows,” Rood said.
Scientists say human activity is changing the planet’s climate faster than at any point in modern civilization, heralding costly and, in some cases, life-threatening consequences in every region of the country, according to NOAA’s comprehensive 2018 report on global warming.
As the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases has spiked over the past century, the Earth’s warmer atmosphere is capable of holding additional moisture, which scientists say is resulting in more frequent and severe storms. Across the Great Lakes region, precipitation has increased 14%, and the frequency of heavy storms has risen 35% since 1951, contributing to widespread flooding. In the past two years, the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio each have endured a string of 12 consecutive months that have been the wettest in 124 years.
Boathouses are being separated from docks in the rising waters in Snows Channel at Les Cheneaux Islands on Nov. 20, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Water has filled the Great Lakes to the brim, affecting the entire region, from the most famous island in the Great Lakes — Mackinac Island, where parts of its 8-mile bike path and walking trail have been closed due to powerful waves — to the lesser known but just as picturesque Les Cheneaux Islands (pronounced lay-shen-no and meaning “the channels” in French).
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Twenty miles east of the Straits of Mackinac, the rugged and heavily wooded shorelines of Les Cheneaux Islands serve as a major migratory pathway for birds. They are home to some of the most pristine wetlands in the Great Lakes, serving as a vitally important fish habitat. Myriad wildlife traverse the rugged terrain, including black bears, gray wolves, beavers, muskrats and minks. And, tourism is the bedrock of many communities. The full-time population of around 2,000 people triples in the summer.
Here, it’s just as common, if not more so, for visitors to arrive by boat rather than by car. For locals, it is a rite of passage for children as young as 10 to learn to captain a boat. The area is known for its collection of antique wooden boats, specifically the sleek, mahogany Chris-Crafts of the early 20th century.
But the area is beholden to water.
An economic rise and fall
On a misty weekday morning, the serpentine waterways of Les Cheneaux Islands were covered by a veil of ice. Chad Cortes and his crew threw on heavy-duty canvas coveralls over multiple hoodies and cast off into the solitary waters.
Cortes, owner of North Shore Docking, keeps a full calendar. He constructs docks over the summer and chops timber in the winter. On this day, he was clearing a passage through the ice.
Shane Sutter breaks ice from a barge on Snows Channel at Les Cheneaux Islands on Nov. 20, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
A pontoon boat attached to a steel barge became a makeshift ice breaker. The water was still, save for the hum of the boat motor and the crackling of ice as they wended through Snows Channel. The signs of devastation were all around them.
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The water lapped precariously close to the exclusive Les Cheneaux Club, established in 1888 as the meeting place of the area’s pioneering families, on Marquette Island. Alligator Island was virtually submerged, with only treetops sprouting above water.
Pointing to a home where water encroached the backyard, Cortes said the owner had considered installing stone barriers for protection. However, those plans have been dashed. Once land is covered with water, according to state and federal law, it’s no longer private property — it’s a public thoroughfare.
“Right now, he’s in the process of trying to apply for permits to protect his yard, but the Corps of Engineers and the (state of Michigan) say that’s no longer his yard,” Cortes said. “For 30 years, it was his yard, and it’s not his property anymore.”
Most docks in the Les Cheneaux area are crib docks, sturdy structures built on top of wood-framed boxes filled with large stones. When lake levels fluctuate, these docks may need to be raised or extended.
James Keighley, center, owner of Patrick's Landing, talks to Mark Engle, right, owner of the nearby Les Cheneaux Landing resort, and Chad Cortes, of North Shore Docks, on Nov. 20, 2019. Cortes and his workers are rebuilding docks at Patrick's Landing. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
In recent years, many property owners have transitioned to the more expensive and less durable floating docks. These hybrid structures are solidly anchored to the shoreline like crib docks, but the majority of the structure rests atop a buoyant platform that rises and falls with the water.
Regardless of the choice of dock, property owners are often left waiting. Obtaining required permits from the Army Corps could take several months. And even when plans are rubber-stamped, the handful of local dock companies are booked for more than a year.
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This year alone, Cortes’ four-man team installed around 35 temporary stake docks and 10 crib docks.
“It’s definitely made for the busiest year of my life,” he said. “We’ve seen every company in town, whether its construction or docking, just swamped with work.”
Though Lake Huron’s levels peaked for the year in July, dock builders like Cortes are expecting a lot more work in 2020 as the water has remained uncharacteristically high into the winter months.
[ 5 things you might not know about Lake Huron, the ‘forgotten’ Great Lake ]
Lake levels are expected to top monthly records in January and February, when ice cover in the Great Lakes is generally at its highest. The combination of high water and ice, Cortes said, is a recipe for shoreline damage.
When water freezes and turns into ice, it expands and drives into the shoreline. Sturdy dock posts and cribs can typically withstand these forces. But when water levels creep up to the walls of boathouses or the planks of docks, the ice can push and pry them from their mooring.
This was the very process that formed the Great Lakes as glaciers gouged rock and soil during the last ice age, which began about 2 million years ago and culminated in melting snow and ice filling these pockets with water.
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Rhythm of the water
By this summer, Engle only had one permanent dock left where guests could tie up their boats, and it barely stood above water. Built in the early 1900s, the storied, wooden dock had welcomed steamboats carrying visitors from Mackinaw City at a time when most could only arrive to the cloistered lakefront community of Cedarville by boat.
The stalwart landing had withstood decades of capricious lake levels, storms, drought and harsh Michigan winters. An October storm destroyed it.
Now Engle fears it’s only a matter of time before vacationers go elsewhere.
“They know what’s going on, but are they really going to come back year after year if they don’t know if they’ll have a place to tie their boat? Not knowing if the beach is washed out, not knowing if you can take a walk down here and keep your feet dry. It really does have an effect on our business.”
A limestone quarry is the largest employer. A casino in the neighboring community supports a fair number of jobs. There’s also work in timbering and selling lumber in the densely forested outpost (how Cedarville earned its name). But the vitality of the community depends on tourism, according to Elliot Nelson, an educator with the Michigan Sea Grant.
“Tourism is the lifeblood of the community,” Nelson said. “So water levels like this impact everything up here. It’s not just ‘I can’t get to my summer home.’ It’s, ‘My whole resort that I make a living off of is flooding, and there’s not as many people coming.’ And less people come up during the summer, and the grocery stores are suffering.”
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Boats are constructed at the Great Lakes Boat Building School in Cedarville, Michigan, on Nov. 21, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Because much of the shoreline is sheltered, the Les Cheneaux waterways are known for their remarkably placid waters. Even when storms stir up waves on the outer banks of the islands, the channels remain mostly calm.
However, the community has always moved with the rhythm of the water. And both past and present residents have described the mysterious way the water swiftly rises and falls, not only seasonally or over the years but in a matter of hours.
Claude Dablon, a Jesuit missionary who lived in Cedarville in the mid-17th century, brooded over the phenomenal oscillation in historical records.
“Inconvenience arises from the tides, concerning which no fixed rules can be given. … We have at times noted such irregularity — in this action, and again such precision, that we cannot yet pronounce upon the principle of these movements, so regular and again so irregular."
Today the water still behaves irregularly.
One November morning, less than a mile downstream from Engle’s resort, a surreal sight greeted passersby: a boathouse drifting in the tranquil waters. The night before, an unexpected rise buoyed water levels roughly a foot, contorting an 80-foot pier and unmooring the building.
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A floating boathouse during a storm in Snows Channel on Nov. 21, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Still, mainlanders, like Engle, have reason to be grateful.
Peering out at Dollar Island, a tiny spit of land in the middle of Snows Channel where water has sidled up to the frame of a house, Engle wondered about his neighbor. For Kenneth Kloster Sr., there is no inland retreat.
“He’s in real trouble,” Engle said.
But Kloster was unperturbed as he recalled how he lucked into his unique home.
While vacationing at a colleague’s home on nearby Marquette Island in the summer of 1981, Kloster noticed a man nailing a sign to the Dollar Island boathouse. He hopped into his powerboat and cruised over.
“And lo and behold, there it was: a for sale sign,” Kloster recalled. “Three days later, I owned it. That was meant to be. It was a million-to-one chance that would happen.”
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A number of tales surround how the island got its name, but according to records, the federal government sold the island in the 1800s for a dollar. Kloster insists it was named for a fur trader who lost the island in a wager that was settled for a dollar.
Kenneth "Captain Ken" Kloster Sr. pilots his boat to his home on Dollar Island in Les Cheneaux Islands on Nov. 23, 2019. He bought the island in 1981 right before the record-setting high water levels of 1986. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
For nearly four decades, the island has been Kloster’s slice of paradise. He treasures the sights and sounds of boats passing by between Cedarville and the neighboring town of Hessel, and the remarkable stargazing.
But the lawn with the firepit is underwater. “The cave,” an outdoor domelike structure where Kloster once told his children scary stories, has been flooded. And the gazebo attached to the house by a walkway has been weighted down with large stones to keep it from drifting away.
Despite the circumstances, Kloster is an ardent optimist. He’s living in the home and renovating it over the winter.
“We made it through ‘86 water, and we will make it through this situation,” Kloster said.
Hard to pin down
Gauging lake levels — the balance of water flowing in and leaving — sounds simple. But it’s a complicated equation for scientists to project.
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Annually, the lakes start to rise in the spring as melting snow and rain pour into the Great Lakes and the many tributaries that feed into them. As the year progresses, warmer temperatures also cause lake water to expand, and levels generally reach their peak over the summer. The Great Lakes begin their seasonal decline in late fall and early winter when cold air rests over warm water, a time when high rates of evaporation can be seen as fog steams above the surface.
While these seasonal processes are routine, the degree of rise and fall hinges on which factors — precipitation, evaporation and runoff — dominate.
With climate change, precipitation patterns are expected to remain wildly unpredictable.
For every degree of temperature rise, the atmosphere can hold 4% more moisture, meaning there’s a potential for greater precipitation. Scientists are confident this has contributed to heavier bursts of rainfall and runoff in the Great Lakes region, perhaps heralding a wetter future.
Because they exchange water at the Straits of Mackinac, lakes Michigan and Huron share the same water level, and, together, scientists recognize them as the world’s largest lake by surface area. This sprawling lake surface — larger than the state of Pennsylvania — gives lakes Michigan and Huron an enormous area to catch the boosted rainfall the region has experienced over the past century.
“Precipitation anywhere in that surface area is going to add to that lake volume,” said Eric Anderson, a scientist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. “And if you have a drought, you’re opening up the whole surface for evaporation.”
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In addition, Huron, by itself, has the largest drainage basin — the area of land containing creeks, streams and rivers that flow into the lake. This makes it especially susceptible to abnormally wet conditions.
The Lake Michigan-Huron basin, in particular, has been seeing extensive storm patterns, University of Michigan professor Rood said.
“This has been magnified over historic times of wetness and flood, because heating due to climate change has provided more moisture for those storms,” he said. “It has to do with their locations, but ultimately it has a lot to do with the availability of water that would have a direct influence over the basin.”
But more intense storms don’t necessarily equate to overall higher long-term precipitation. In fact, research suggests these erratic downpours could be interspersed with prolonged drought, which supports the theory that lake levels may undergo more dramatic swings.
From the late 1990s to the early 2010s, when a strong El Nino weather pattern left the Midwest in the throes of crippling drought and heat waves, low lake levels were the prevailing narrative.
A warmer climate favors lower lake levels because higher temperatures increase evaporation. And, once that moisture rises into the atmosphere, it’s anyone’s guess where it will fall as precipitation. This is why water availability is among the hardest trends to predict.
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Lately, evaporation has also been hard to pin down because of highly variable ice cover.
In the past decade, the polar vortex phenomenon has visited the Great Lakes at least three times, essentially flash freezing the lakes and preventing evaporation. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as anywhere on the planet, and some scientists believe that warmer global temperatures are causing the polar vortex, the whirlpool of bitterly cold air perched atop the North Pole, to destabilize and spill into the Midwest and Northeast more frequently.
From 1973 to 2010, Great Lakes ice cover declined an average of 71%, but back-to-back polar vortex winters between 2013 and 2015 were the catalyst for resurgent water levels in lakes Huron and Michigan.
In March 2014, ice covered 92% of the Great Lakes, the most in 40 years. Because ice reflects sunlight, it keeps water temperatures low and, by blanketing the surface, prevents evaporation.
But that pool of cold air resting over the Arctic is dwindling. Though it may provide sporadic episodes of bone-chilling weather, it could eventually vanish, Rood said.
Once it does, Rood said that could pave the way for a long-term decline in lake levels.
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Polar opposites
While many millions of dollars have been spent in big cities like Chicago to protect and repair stretches of lakefront, small towns like Cedarville don’t have that luxury. In the Upper Peninsula, the small population gets less attention, and state and federal assistance is scarce.
It’s also a region where residents pride themselves on self-reliance.
During Lake Huron’s record highs and flooding in 1986, Mark Clymer, supervisor of Clark Township that includes Cedarville, recalls state aid was limited to the distribution of sand bags — without sand.
While devastation from the lake was considerable then, the extreme lows and highs of the past decade came at an especially vulnerable time on the heels of the Great Recession.
Many places in the Upper Peninsula, including Cedarville, had a longer road to recovery than most of the country. Clymer said financial woes prevented some residents from raising their docks and performing other work that would’ve insulated them from rising lake levels.
By the time real estate prices began to rebound and the economy started to perk up, residents were gobsmacked by a meteoric lake level rise that wrought widespread damage, complicating rebuilding efforts.
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Clymer’s township was one of five northern Michigan communities given a grant to brainstorm how to cope with lake level extremes and increasing storm intensity, among other climate change challenges.
In recent months, public officials and residents have laid out a number of pressing concerns, including erosion, water quality and infrastructure. Perhaps the greatest challenge is identifying who’s responsible for the damages.
“It’s more so about, who’s going to pay for the improvements,” Clymer said. “The insurance companies, the government or the people that own the property? There isn’t an easy answer. It’s only in a time of crisis like this that people open the hood and say, ‘Oh jeez. Maybe I should’ve changed the oil after 5,000 miles.’”
Robert Smith, president of Les Cheneaux Watershed Council, at his home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Nov. 20, 2019. "You're living on the lake, on the lake's terms," he said. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Forecasts by the Army Corps and NOAA anticipate Lake Huron will remain at near-record highs again this summer.
This raises the question: How does a community dependent on the lake persevere when it has to deal with extreme lows and extreme highs?
Clymer isn’t sure there is an answer.
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“One of the buzzwords out there is ‘adaptive management,’” Clymer said. “To me, those are polar opposites. You are either adapting to something or managing it. When you smush them together, it’s a train wreck.
“Management is about control,” Clymer continued. “Adaptability is about letting go of control and allowing things to unfold.”


chicagotribune--2020-01-09--Even with a court order, families struggle to find services for developmentally disabled adults: ‘We

Even with a court order, families struggle to find services for developmentally disabled adults: ‘We have great programs, you just can’t get into them.’

“ The state to its credit is now , I think , looking very seriously at an issue that needed @ @ @ @ @ '' Taylor said .
“ Obviously the ideal would be that people would receive services @ @ @ @ @ 18 , and I wish we were at that point and hopefully we will be @ @ @ @ @ but what we ’ re trying to do is ensure that this is done responsibly @ @ @ @ @

Charlene Synoga has spent the past year searching in vain for someone to help her 23-year-old son Jason.
Nonverbal and on the severe end of the autism spectrum, Jason needs to be bathed, dressed, fed and constantly supervised. But Synoga wants more for her son. She wants him to learn “everyday skills” — washing the dishes, grooming himself, crossing the street, going to the grocery store — and is hoping to find a day program that will teach him.
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So far, she said she has been rejected by 12 programs. After she thought she finally found one, she said she then realized the provider was woefully understaffed: Two staff members working with 11 young adults with severe disabilities confined to a classroom.
“I want my son to be able to get back to his routine,” Synoga said. “His whole life has changed so much, he’s miserable. ... It’s so hard because this isn’t fair to him. He could still be learning things."
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Some of his medical conditions, including thyroid disease and severe psoriasis, have worsened recently, and she blames the stress he has been under since he finished school last year. Frustrated at being cooped up, he often hands her his coat over and over until she takes him for a drive around the neighborhood. Sometimes he hits himself on the head repeatedly or tries to run away. He has gained a lot of weight.
“You can see the boredom in his eyes,” she said.
Nearly 20,000 people with disabilities in Illinois are on a waiting list to receive state aid after they age out of the state’s public education system, the Tribune reported last month. Most wait years before they are selected.
While the state is working to reduce the wait time by making funding more readily available, many people are still being left in limbo. Once they are off the list, some like Jason, are being turned away by programs that don’t have enough room or staff to handle their needs.
A single mother, Synoga works full time at home. She uses the state aid she receives from the Department of Human Services to pay someone to watch Jason while she keeps searching for a program.
“It’s really, really hard,” she said. “Every day is a rough day. They’re our kids, we want what’s best for them. ... What is out there for the low-functioning?”
She said she’s considering moving to another state — a decision others in her situation have made.
Illinois ranks among the worst states in the country for how it cares for people with developmental disabilities, according to Ancor, a national association of more than 1,600 private providers of services to people with disabilities. Since 2011, the state has been under a federal court order to do better. The question is, how much better can the state afford to be?
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The state spends at least $400 million a year on services and aid for the developmentally disabled, according to Allison Stark, director of the Human Services Department’s division of developmental disabilities. She estimates Illinois would have to double that amount to eliminate the wait for services.
There aren’t enough community programs and group homes, said Stark, who served as CEO of a community provider before being hired by the state. Some providers, strapped for resources, are unwilling to accept people who need highly skilled care.
"There has been a significant lack of investment in our community capacity for service providers, so that is a huge component to this problem,” Stark told the Tribune. “We want to fund more families and individuals to services, but we need to have services that they can go into that they want.”
Advances in medical care are helping people with disabilities live longer, further straining resources, she noted. “I wish I had an easy answer for why Illinois is in the state that we’re in,” Stark said. “Part of it is that we’re now in the process of investing more than we probably have in the past, and there has been a renewed commitment to trying to address the wait list.”
‘Reasonable pace’
There are roughly 19,500 people on a waiting list the state keeps of those who want state aid and services. About 8,200 of them are actively seeking services and about 11,300 anticipate needing services sometime in the future. Generally, no one under 18 is selected unless there is a “crisis situation” such as homelessness or abuse or neglect, according to Stark.
Under a “reasonable pace” provision in the court order, the state has promised that by 2025, no person will wait more than five years after their 18th birthday to receive state aid to pay for home care, job coaches or other services. The current wait is as long as seven years. Stark said the department is on track to reach its target.
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But families will still likely have problems finding programs near them or staffed well enough. A monitor appointed by the federal court has found the department out of compliance several times over the availability and quality of group homes and day programs in some parts of the state. The monitor also found services lacking for people with intense medical, behavioral or physical needs, and inadequate monitoring of services.
Ronnie Cohn, the court monitor, said a study on the quality and availability of community services is underway, with results expected in February. She acknowledged that whittling down the wait list “really is not that meaningful if you have nowhere to go.”
Sherri Schneider runs Family Benefit Solutions, an organization that helps families navigate the complex benefit system and find services. Selection from the waiting list can feel like “winning the lotto,” but the thrill is short-lived for families who struggle to find programs that match their needs.
“They may say they’re taking people off the list, but there’s not enough services for all these people,” Schneider said. “Even though the state is selecting people, they’re not creating enough community capacity. … We have great programs, you just can’t get into them or there are not enough programs.”
One of Schneider’s clients was selected from the waiting list to move her son into a group home. She cares for him alone, and she occasionally is injured by his aggressive behavior. Sometimes he needs to go to the emergency room to be calmed down. The client has spent the last four years contacting and visiting agencies throughout the state, but no one will take him, Schneider said.
‘Scrambling for nothing’
There are more than 300 providers of adult services, but the availability and scope differ across the state and even across Chicago.
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Nancy Hughes’ son Zachary made it off the list months ago when his behavioral problems grew worse. He was physically harming himself and losing skills he had learned in school.
But Hughes said her son hasn’t received state funding yet because services must first be in place. “The program options for people on the South Side of Chicago are limited and don’t have the capacity to do individual services that many adults with autism need," Hughes complained.
Gary Hake, director of an agency that covers 31 counties in southern Illinois, said service providers there face the same issues. “They’re underfunded and having a hard time recruiting staff,” he said.
Ellen Garber Bronfeld said it took a year to set up funding for her son to work at Perk Center Cafe in Glenview, a not-for-profit coffee shop that provides employment and vocational training to people with developmental disabilities. It has taken other families she knows two to four years to find agencies that will take them.
Some parents have quit their jobs and sought better services out of state once their children aged out of public education, according to Garber Bronfeld, co-founder of IPADDUnite, a networking and advocacy group.
“Those with higher needs are often left scrambling for nothing,” she said. “All of a sudden, you’re 22 and there’s nothing.”
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To help people while they are still on the list, the state Department of Rehabilitation Services offers job training and employment support. The state also funds grants, including the Illinois Lifespan program, which provides information, resources and family support.
But again, the funding, availability and geographic reach are limited, according to Meg Cooch, CEO of Arc of Illinois, another advocacy group.
She said the state has improved the process in the past year. Families are notified six months before a person is expected to make it off the list so they can at least begin looking and planning.
However, schools differ in how much guidance and preparation they offer to parents as people transition from public education to adult services. In rural areas, especially, there can be a lack of communication between the state, schools and families.
“It’s a fragmented system,” Cooch said. “The disability services and schools don’t always communicate."
June Oosterhoff-Hoops works with the families of 14- to 21-year-old students at the Elim School in Palos Heights to ensure they’re on the wait list for services. When they’re selected, she helps them choose adult programs in the community.
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Since the court order, more of her students are getting access to funding. But a lot of them are being turned away from programs.
“What we’re finding is that many of our students get denied based on the fact that programs are saying we just don’t have support based on our current funding stream,” she said. “It’s frustrating for our families to have funding and get denied from multiple placements and they don’t know what to do.”
‘Not a minimum wage job’
Experts in the field say a key problem is the low reimbursement rates the state pays providers.
Caretakers in group homes and staff at day programs are barely paid minimum wage, which creates a revolving door of staff as administrators struggle to find qualified people.
“This is not a minimum wage job and yet they’re getting paid, sometimes, less than minimum wage,” said Schneider, of Family Benefit Solutions. “If I can make more at Taco Bell, why would I want to change someone’s diaper and help them out? … It’s a very hard job, and people quit.”
In Illinois, the average number of people living in a group home is up to the federal maximum of eight, compared with the national average of two to three, Schneider said. The quality of life can suffer in larger group homes because there aren’t enough staff to accommodate everyone.
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“If there are six people living in a group home and four wish to go bowling, due to low staffing levels it is common for everyone to have to go bowling even if they do not wish to,” she said.
One family has tried to move their son from a state-operated developmental center into a community group home three times, Schneider said. Each time he was moved back to the center because he didn’t have enough support. One of the times, there was funding for a staff professional to help their son but no funding for a rapid response team in case of a crisis.
“Many organizations are hesitant to serve more difficult cases due to the low rates and the inflexibility of the services that are vital to meet their needs but are not available,” Schneider said. “He didn’t fail, the system failed him. I believe everyone should be able to live where you want to live and eat when you want to eat and turn the lights on when you want to turn the lights on.”
One provider, who asked not to be identified, said the lack of resources forces agencies to make difficult decisions, including the closing of group homes. One of the homes was in Cook County and cared for eight people, several of them with intensive needs who required around-the-clock support.
With only one staff member working in the home at a time, the agency asked administrators to step in and lend a hand to support shifts.
To begin to remedy the issue, the state increased the reimbursement rate by 3.5%, retroactive to July, and initiated a study on rate structure, according to Barry Taylor with Equip for Equality, a major advocate for people with disabilities that’s been involved in the legal action. It has also hired an outside consultant make recommendations.
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“The state to its credit is now, I think, looking very seriously at an issue that needed looking at for decades," Taylor said. “Obviously the ideal would be that people would receive services as soon as they turn 18, and I wish we were at that point and hopefully we will be that down the road, but what we’re trying to do is ensure that this is done responsibly with the capacity."
The governor’s office released a statement saying, “it took years to get to where we are today” and that Gov. J.B. Pritzker was “working every day to ensure our government is working for those who need it most.” He gave no details.
Crossing state lines
Anne Higley’s son was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. For years the family lived in southern Illinois and traveled to St. Louis for his medical care. When he was in seventh grade, they moved to Bloomington, Indiana, in search of a more inclusive school system, better transition services, future employment opportunities and support for their son.
“We pretty much knew we would not receive those things in Illinois,” Higley said. “It’s a painful lack of services for families.”
Finding better options in Indiana, they decided to stay. Higley’s son, now 25, attends college where he’s studying criminal justice. He has access to tutors and will start receiving waiver services in January, which Higley said will allow him to receive behavioral support services and have someone to help him as a personal assistant.
According to the Department of Human Services, more than 1,353 people were removed from the wait list last year because they moved out of state. It’s not known how many of them left in search of better services, but Illinois ranked 44th in a recent report on how well states’ Medicaid programs serve people with developmental disabilities and their families.
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“We are behind in Illinois comparatively,“ said Josh Evans, president and CEO of Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities. “But the benefit of being behind is we can look at what other states have done. … You can’t make these changes overnight.”
In Michigan, ranked 13th, there is no wait list for community-based services. Special education laws allow people to stay in school until 25. Services are supposed to begin within 14 days of a diagnosis, said Lynn Sutfin with the Michigan Department of Human and Health Services.
Wisconsin coordinates its home and community-based programs for people with developmental disabilities with the physically disabled and the elderly. This creates “a larger pool of funds to generate savings to support the continued expansion of home and community-based services and elimination of the wait list,” said Curtis Cunningham, assistant administrator for the state’s long-term care benefits and programs.
Wisconsin plans to eliminate the wait list by July 2021, he added.
After the Tribune reported on the length of the wait list, Taylor expressed concern that it would discourage people from signing up. He said those caring for adults with disabilities have more reason to be hopeful than they have in the past.
“I do have hope that the new administration is committed to improving the issues,” he said. “But it takes more than just philosophical commitment, it takes resources … fiscal commitment.”
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Nick’s future
In its story last month, the Tribune wrote about Nick Redfern who had been on the wait list for nearly seven years. Shortly after the story appeared, Nick’s mother got the call: Nick would be selected from the list in July.
Nick Redfern, who has autism, with his mother Susan Redfern in their Aurora home on Nov. 13, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“Having the letter, having the notification that we can get things going … there will be some hope again,” Susan Redfern said.
While “cautiously optimistic,” she is bracing herself for more waiting as she searches for programs willing to take Nick, who needs one-on-one attention.
She wants a program that will allow her son to build relationships with others. “My hope for my son and all the others is that they get things going for them that are useful and fulfilling,” Redfern said, “And get them out in the community like everyone else.”
Twitter @MarieCFazio


chicagotribune--2020-01-10--Semi-truck carrying waste rolls over on Dan Ryan, closing local outbound lanes during morning rush h

Semi-truck carrying waste rolls over on Dan Ryan, closing local outbound lanes during morning rush hour

About 4 a.m. , the semi-truck rolled over on the embankment of the local I-90/94′s outbound right shoulder near the @ @ @ @ @ the truck that was headed to a landfill instead spilled over the expressway , according @ @ @ @ @

A rolled-over semi-truck that was carrying waste left a putrid mess for clean-up crews and delays for Friday morning commuters on the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway’s local lanes.
About 4 a.m., the semi-truck rolled over on the embankment of the local I-90/94′s outbound right shoulder near the Chicago Skyway. Waste inside the truck that was headed to a landfill instead spilled over the expressway, according to Illinois State Police. The closure was cleared before 9 a.m.
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As clean-up crews work to wipe up the garbage, the Dan Ryan’s local southbound lanes from 47th Street until the Chicago Skyway will be closed. Drivers will be directed to the express lanes instead, police said.
No injuries were reported.
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ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-10--After a 12-year-old died by suicide, his family scoured their home for signs. Then they learned he r

After a 12-year-old died by suicide, his family scoured their home for signs. Then they learned he researched it at school.

When asking experts for best practices in monitoring her youngest son ’ s technology use , she learned about a @ @ @ @ @ sends parents and schools alerts when someone uses certain search terms .
She pays $ @ @ @ @ @ it for her family devices .
Schools can use it for free .
The monitoring @ @ @ @ @ public school districts , or private or charter schools in Illinois , 45 of which @ @ @ @ @ , according to a Bark spokesperson .

A hat for Carol Deely's organization, Gabriel's Light, is shown on a table in her Lincoln Park home on Dec. 3, 2019. Deely's son, Gabriel, took his life in November 2018 when he was 12. The family founded the nonprofit late last year in order to work with schools and parents to help them utilize monitoring technology. (Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune)
In his last school play performance, 12-year-old Gabe Deely played a member of the Lollipop Guild in the “The Wizard of Oz," waving a giant lollipop while wearing a brightly colored costume topped off with a red hat adorned with a yellow flower.
The seventh grader at St. Clement Catholic School in Chicago loved theater and choir. He approached his Lollipop Guild part with seriousness, but had fun with the somewhat whimsical role. He was a little nervous before the show, but his older sister, who played Auntie Em, was there with him.
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His family remembers him that night as a happy kid, doing a goofy dance and waving the lollipop.
Months later, just before Thanksgiving 2018, Gabe died of suicide.
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His family couldn’t make sense of it, having seen no warning signs. They struggled to even comprehend a child that young contemplating suicide.
[ The 911 for suicide help: Experts say a 3-digit hotline number would reduce stigma, save lives ]
Searching for an explanation about their son’s death, Carol Deely and her husband scoured the computers and phones at their Lincoln Park home. They found nothing.
Later, though, they learned he had used a school iPad to research suicide, leading them to believe that he was thinking about his death. They were heartbroken at what they believed was a missed opportunity for intervention.
“We thought we couldn’t be hurt any worse, but this was pretty close,” his mother said.
Carol Deely speaks about her 12-year-old son, Gabriel Deely, who took his life in November 2018. (Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune)
The iPad had been kept at St. Clement, a school in the Lincoln Park neighborhood that is overseen by the Archdiocese of Chicago. The Deelys received two weeks of search history from the school that showed that Gabe had researched bullying, along with suicide. He had also accessed sexually inappropriate content that should have been blocked.
“Many parents monitor their kids’ devices. I did,” Deely said. “I just assumed the school was too.”
The Deelys said that after they obtained the two weeks of search history for the iPad, they got a lawyer involved because they wanted the iPad with full search history from the school or the archdiocese. The school’s principal and vice principal told them they had to communicate with the archdiocese lawyers, with whom they negotiated to receive the search history. A letter Carol wrote to Cardinal Blase Cupich went unanswered.
[ From bankruptcy to suicide, PTSD can wreck the lives of first responders. A Woodstock firefighter wants to change that. ]
“Their actions compounded our grief,” she said. “They were more interested in protecting themselves than protecting children.”
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A spokeswoman for the archdiocese in December declined an interview and did not answer specific questions. In a statement, the spokeswoman said archdiocese schools “are required to implement systems to ensure it is not used to access digital content inappropriate for students” and that St. Clement had met that requirement.
Now, Carol Deely is on a mission to encourage schools and parents to use technology-monitoring software that would alert adults if children search for certain keywords, like suicide or guns. The technology grew popular after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.
She founded a nonprofit organization, Gabriel’s Light, to raise awareness for the issues and work with schools on monitoring their technology. Deely is also working on including educational programming related to bullying. She said she is seeking to obtain 501(c)(3) status for the organization. In the meantime, the group has set up a fund through the Chicago Community Trust, which partners with local organizations, to handle donations.
“You have to be diligent. If you’re going to give a child a device, it’s your responsibility,” Deely said.
‘So cheerful’
Carol Deely had her third child as she neared 40, but she and her husband, Brendan, wanted to continue expanding their family. So they adopted Gabe in 2006 through an agency that facilitates adoptions in Ethiopia. His middle name, Chufamo, was his Ethiopian birth name.
He was their first boy, joining a family of three girls, then 6, 4 and 3 years old. Later, the Deelys adopted their fifth child, another boy, from Ethiopia.
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[ A football player’s mental health led him off the field and toward new dreams ]
Gabe was born in July, and the Deelys brought him to their Chicago home just before Christmas. That first holiday, they were jet-lagged and tired with an infant, but they celebrated with family members and made it to Mass at St. Clement Church, where Carol and Brendan were married in 1996.
Gabe grew into a little boy who liked to make people laugh. He played basketball and other sports, mostly for the socializing. He was never competitive, his mother said. He liked acting and singing, often participating in school plays.
“He had this super cute smile,” Deely said. “It was hard to get mad at him.”
Carol Deely picks up a picture book inspired by her son, Gabriel, in her Lincoln Park home on Dec. 3, 2019. (Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune)
They visited Ethiopia several times, and Gabe met his birth family. They learned he looked a lot like his birth mother. He was once the model for a picture book about adoption. Around 5 years old then, he smiles from the cover of the book, his mouth open as if he was talking. The book is now propped on a coffee table in the family’s living room.
“He was just so cheerful,” Deely said, crying softly in her home, decorated throughout with touches of orange, Gabe’s favorite color. “We had such a close family.”
Suicides among children
The winter that followed Gabe’s death on Nov. 14, 2018, was a blur. The other four children dropped out of their activities. One of Gabe’s sisters wore the same outfit to school every day, until a teacher asked her if she needed money for new clothes. They did family therapy and individual therapy.
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“What was the first thing that made us happy again?” Deely wondered, months later. “I can’t remember.”
Though still struggling, the family is improving slowly, having survived all the “firsts” of the first year, like his birthday, and the first Christmas without him.
[ 123 children died in 2019 despite contact with Illinois DCFS, agency inspector general finds ]
Children can understand the concept of suicide around the age of 7, said Jonathan Singer, a professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago and president of the American Association of Suicidology. The youngest suicidal client he has had was 4.
“There is some research to suggest kids that age understand suicide better than they understand the concept of death by itself,” he said. “It’s easier for them to think about doing something to themselves that results in their death rather than just some abstract concept of dying.”
The number of young children dying by suicide remains a small proportion of total suicide deaths, making it difficult to study and determine patterns, Singer said.
In Cook County, there have been more than 2,300 suicide deaths since 2015, according to data from the medical examiner’s office. Of those, 68 were minors under the age of 18, and 14 were children under 13. The youngest reported suicide victim in Cook County since 2015 was 10.
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But a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in October found that the suicide rate among young people aged 10 to 24 rose from 2007 to 2017, even as it held steady in an earlier period from 2000 to 2007.
‘He was thinking about it’
When their examination of their home technology yielded nothing, the Deely family was still trying to understand what happened. So about two weeks after Gabe died, the St. Clement principal and vice principal came to their home at the family’s request.
They said they would hand over the iPad and help in any way they could, Deely said. Later, though, they told the family the archdiocese’s legal department said they couldn’t release the iPad, and the administrators stopped communicating with the family, Deely said.
A photo of Gabriel Deely is displayed in his family's Lincoln Park home. Gabriel, who took his life in November 2018, loved the color orange. (Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune)
Then, as the Deely family was facing their first Christmas without Gabe, they received the two-week search history from St. Clement, Carol Deely said. They learned he had used the school tablet to research suicide. Later, they received a death certificate from the Cook County medical examiner’s office that listed the death as a suicide.
“He was thinking about it," Deely said of the suicide. “How could we have missed it?” she said, beginning to cry.
Deely had signed an agreement when the school issued the iPad that said the school monitored it. She said she later learned from school administrators that they only individually monitored iPads if they had reason to be concerned. She also noted that her son had accessed inappropriate content that should have been blocked in a school.
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[ Study links daily racial discrimination to depressive symptoms in black teens ]
She worried about the contagiousness of suicides. If another student was using the school’s devices to plan a suicide, the school would not know. Parents might have a false sense of security, believing school devices to be monitored.
When asking experts for best practices in monitoring her youngest son’s technology use, she learned about a company called Bark, which sends parents and schools alerts when someone uses certain search terms. She pays $9 a month to use it for her family devices. Schools can use it for free. The monitoring technology is used in 155 public school districts, or private or charter schools in Illinois, 45 of which are in the Chicago area, according to a Bark spokesperson.
If someone searches suicide, for example, Deely gets an alert with suggestions on ways to handle it.
“It takes the monitoring away from a teacher or parent who would have to look through stuff,” Deely said.
The technology is most often used by schools to identify risks related to school shootings, though some of the monitoring software is still a work in progress, Singer said. He noted an example where a school was flooded with warnings after a bomb cyclone went through the area because students’ use of the word “bomb” triggered the alerts.
Schools also need to ensure they have the proper staff and expertise for screenings and intervention in order to react appropriately when they get alerts from the technology.
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“They need to set that up in advance,” he said.
Still, using technology to aid in suicide prevention is the way of the future, he said.
“We will be using technology moving forward as a way of identifying and responding to youth suicide risk,” Singer said.
[ Health class students get an exercise in empathy, because too often ‘we don’t share what we’re going through’ ]
As time has passed, the Deely family has slowly emerged from the raw freshness of their grief. It’s a bittersweet feeling. Deely is relieved the family has survived the first year, but the more time that passes, the longer Gabe has been gone, which hurts too.
The family wants something positive to come from their experience, so they founded the nonprofit, Gabriel’s Light, late last year in order to work with schools and parents to help them use monitoring technology.
One suburban school they have worked with had the monitoring technology, but realized it was not set up properly. The school corrected it the day before Thanksgiving, Deely said, and received an alert about a student. A social worker was able to intervene.
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“That’s the type of thing we want to do,” she said.
For 24/7 help, call the free and confidential National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
This story has been revised to indicate the Deely family had received a two-week online search history from St. Clement School.


chicagotribune--2020-01-10--Chicago pastor charged with bilking federal program to feed needy kids, spending $142,000 on a Bentl

Chicago pastor charged with bilking federal program to feed needy kids, spending $142,000 on a Bentley for himself

“ One of the worst things in the world is not to learn from your prior mistakes , ” he @ @ @ @ @ has me doing a self-evaluation on where I messed up prior so I won ’ @ @ @ @ @ the future .
”

New Life Impact Church, led by the Rev. Clarence Smith Jr., at 3540 W. Cermak Road in Chicago on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
The slogan once plastered outside the Rev. Clarence Smith Jr.’s storefront church on Chicago’s West Side promised to make the “ministry meaningful to the imperfect man.”
It turns out Smith has been far from perfect himself, federal authorities allege.
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Smith, who has led the New Life Impact Church in the Lawndale neighborhood for years, has been indicted on charges alleging he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a federal program intended to feed needy children, spending the money on a $142,000 Bentley luxury vehicle and other personal expenses.
It’s not the first time that Smith, 45, has been accused of financial malfeasance. Nearly a decade ago, he pleaded guilty in DuPage County to using forged signatures to swindle an elderly man’s estate out of more than $100,000, court records show.
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[ Accountant pleads guilty to $65 million fraud to finance homes, jets, yachts, Lamborghini dealership ]
In the years since, Smith has struggled financially at times, public records show.
In 2012, four years before purchasing the Bentley, Smith filed for personal bankruptcy, claiming he had only $20 in cash on hand and owed more than $80,000 in restitution from his DuPage conviction, according to court records.
He has been sued by at least two food supply companies for defaulting on contracts and currently owes more than $8,000 in overdue property taxes on his one-story brick church in the 3500 block of West Cermak Road, records show.
On a recent afternoon, the building appeared to be vacant, with the faded white tarp bearing the church’s name and slogan barely legible.
[ Feds file criminal charges against four former Outcome Health executives, alleging massive $1 billion fraud ]
Reached by telephone earlier this week, Smith referred questions to his lawyer, Timothy Roellig, who did not return multiple messages.
Smith, meanwhile, continues to actively promote the church on Facebook, posting lengthy videos of himself preaching and urging followers to come to worship. A Facebook post earlier this week appeared to refer to his legal troubles.
“One of the worst things in the world is not to learn from your prior mistakes,” he wrote Monday. “GOD has me doing a self-evaluation on where I messed up prior so I won’t do the same in the future.”
Smith remains free on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty in November to four fraud-related counts in U.S. District Court.
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[ ‘Windy City Rehab’ team facing multiple lawsuits, adding to HGTV show’s troubles ]
The charges marked the latest in a long line of Chicago-area preachers who have been accused of stealing from their congregations or social programs.
Smith’s case is startlingly similar to charges brought against Herman Jackson, a Cicero pastor convicted in 2015 of submitting false documents to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in state subsidies for day care centers. Jackson, too, was accused of using the stolen money to purchase a brand-new Bentley. He was later sentenced to five years in prison.
The indictment against Smith alleged he defrauded the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program that is administered locally by the Illinois State Board of Education and intended to provide meals for children in impoverished neighborhoods.
[ Ex-escort gets more than 4 years in prison for nearly $6 million fraud ]
As a sponsor of the program, New Life was responsible for feeding children at various locations in the city and billing the state for the services, according to the indictment.
Instead, over a yearlong period beginning in October 2015, Smith vastly inflated the number of meals he was serving, billing the state nearly $1 million that was paid out in two installments in July 2016, according to the charges.
Smith deposited the checks into New Life’s bank accounts and then withdrew it in cash at ATMs or by writing checks to pay for personal expenses, according to the charges.
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On July 21, 2016, less than a week after receiving the second check from the state in the amount of $825,695, Smith purchased a 2015 Bentley Flying Spur luxury sedan in suburban Des Plaines using a $142,000 cashier’s check, according to the charges.
Smith hid the fraud by falsely claiming to the state Board of Education that records of how many children he’d fed “had been damaged in a flood and were no longer available,” the indictment said.
[ CPS employees caught living outside Chicago limits and lying about it face dismissal: ‘It’s a steady, constant problem’ ]
At the same time Smith was allegedly overbilling the state for the meals, he was being sued in Cook County Circuit Court by a number of food vendors who alleged he’d stiffed them on bills, court records show.
One company, Reinhart Foodservice LLC, won a $512,000 judgment against Smith in 2015, records show. Another, C&C Dairy Inc., accused Smith in a 2016 filing of failing to pay for more than $45,000 worth of dairy products and supplies, the records show. Both lawsuits have since been settled.
On social media, meanwhile, Smith portrays himself as a holy servant of the community, posting on Facebook about never looking down on those in need “because God never looked down on us.”
“We can no longer impress the community with talk, but IMPACT the community with our walk," Smith wrote in one post from 2015, the year his fraud on the food program allegedly began.
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On the November day he surrendered to authorities on the fraud charges, Smith posted a selfie from the stands of a sporting event, writing, "Even After A Crazy 72 hours I’m gonna enjoy this game and my life.”
According to court records in DuPage County, Smith pleaded guilty in 2011 to a felony charge of financial exploitation of the elderly.
Prosecutors said he created a bogus document in June 2001 giving him unauthorized access to a credit union account of an acquaintance who had died months earlier. Smith then wrote a series of checks to himself from the account totaling $106,736, the records show.
Smith was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay full restitution to the victim’s estate, records show. He was also given two years of probation.
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Court records show Smith has repeatedly been accused of falling behind on his restitution payments. In fact, Paul Darrah, a spokesman for the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office, said prosecutors have sought to revoke Smith’s probation for failing to pay off the restitution.
Since he still owes restitution, Smith remains under the court’s supervision and regularly appears at the county courthouse in Wheaton to obtain permission to travel, records show. He frequently travels for “religious purposes” or “speaking engagements,” including to Cleveland, Orlando and Denver, court documents said.
Smith filed for bankruptcy in 2012, listing the $86,000 he still owed in restitution at that point as his largest outstanding debt, according to court records.
But the bankruptcy case was thrown out later that year because Smith never completed the required course on personal financial management, the records show.
Chicago Tribune’s Christy Gutowski contributed.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-09--Coyote caught on North Side Thursday evening, police say

The capture comes a day after a 6-year-old boy was bitten by a coyote at 4 p.m. Wednesday outside the @ @ @ @ @ 2430 N. Cannon Drive , about two miles away from where the coyote was caught @ @ @ @ @ unclear if the captured coyote was the same one that bit the 6-year-old .

A Chicago police officer and a Chicago Animal Care and Control worker carry a coyote out in a green bag after tranquilizing the animal behind a home near the corner of Willow and Fremont streets on Jan. 9, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Animal control workers caught a coyote Thursday evening on Chicago’s North Side, but authorities said it might not be known for weeks whether it’s the same animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy the day before about two miles away.
The coyote, which appeared injured, was spotted about 10 p.m. in the 1700 block of North Dayton Street, according to Chicago Animal Care and Control. Workers from the agency caught up with the animal about a block away and “safely” shot it with a tranquilizer dart. The coyote was about three blocks west of the Steppenwolf Theatre, not far from the intersection of North Avenue and Halsted Street.
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Animal control officials are attempting to determine if the captured coyote is the same animal that attacked a boy Wednesday afternoon outside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park, biting him on the head. Two DePaul University track team members were running nearby when the coyote attacked the boy and said they helped kick the animal away.
Animal control said Friday morning that DNA testing and evaluation of the captured coyote was expected to take a few weeks. An agency spokeswoman said the animal was being taken to a local animal rehabilitation center, where the DNA testing and additional evaluation will occur.
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THE COYOTE HAS LEFT THE BUILDING Last night, CACC inspectors responded to a call of an injured coyote at the 1700 block... Posted by Chicago Animal Care and Control on Friday, January 10, 2020
The boy was walking along a path in a park area near the museum when he came upon the coyote on a grassy hill, officials said. The boy may have startled the animal, which bit the boy. The child’s nanny and several bystanders came to the boy’s aid.
A spokeswoman for animal control declined to answer what would happen to the captured coyote if it is determined to be the same animal that bit the boy.
Officials said in a statement Friday they “will continue to aggressively patrol the area in response to any potential coyote sightings.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday said she was pleased with how officials handled the situation.
“Never did I think I’d be talking about alligators in one breath and coyote in the next, but I think (animal control’s director has) handled things very well, come up with a good plan, had the right experts in place,” Lightfoot said. “And we’re still out there being diligent because there’s lots of different sightings.”
Animal control, in its “Coyote Management & Coexistence Plan,” reports it receives approximately 450 service requests annually involving coyotes. Coyotes, the report details, “can only be harmed or removed if there is proof of imminent danger to a human’s life or property.”
A Chicago Animal Care and Control officer tranquilizes a coyote behind a home near the corner of Willow and Fremont streets on Jan. 9, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Ald. Brian Hopkins, whose 2nd Ward includes the museum, tweeted that “preliminary indications strongly suggest this is the animal involved ... waiting for DNA test results to confirm.”
The alderman said the coyote may also be the same animal that bit a man in the buttocks later Wednesday in Streeterville. Neither the boy nor the man — who showed up at a hospital with what he said was a coyote bite — suffered life-threatening injuries.
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The attack on the boy is believed to be the first by a coyote on a human in the Chicago area in at least a decade, said Kelley Gandurski, executive director of Chicago Animal Care and Control.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
poconnell@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-09--Ask Amy: Spouse is ensnared in alarming marriage

You could take the first steps by contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline ( thehotline.org or call ( 800 ) @ @ @ @ @ important to make sure you contact The Hotline safely -- if you and your husband @ @ @ @ @ and if he can check your phone or computer searches at work , you could @ @ @ @ @ your research and make the Hotline call from a friend 's computer or phone .

Dear Amy: I met my husband at my workplace.
After three years of dating, we recently got married. Now, our workplace has become really stressful.
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I have wanted to quit my job and change jobs for the past year, but when I brought this up, my husband (who was still my boyfriend at the time) was against it. I thought he was probably just being possessive.
After we got married, he still went deathly cold on me if I so much as mentioned quitting. The situation has become so bizarre that he won't even go to the office without me.
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What is the psychology behind this behavior?
— Newlywed
Dear Newlywed: When it comes to relationships, I seldom react with total certitude, because I acknowledge that most relationships are complex, layered, and -- with effort -- are often reparable.
However, I am alarmed by your situation. I believe that you should not only leave your job, but you should also leave this relationship -- and take extreme care when you do so, because -- based only on what you report -- this is a risky and potentially dangerous situation for you.
The psychology behind your husband's behavior is fairly transparent. Yes, he is being possessive. Now that you are married, he feels entitled to clamp down on his possessiveness, which has morphed into extreme control.
Given the dynamic in your marriage, you should take steps to avoid getting pregnant. Pregnancy and a child would likely delay or prevent your exit.
I hope you will take your situation extremely seriously and develop a safety plan for when you are ready to leave. Victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) are at an extremely heightened risk when leaving, and it is important to have a plan in place.
You could take the first steps by contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org or call (800) 799-7233). It is important to make sure you contact The Hotline safely -- if you and your husband share a computer at home and if he can check your phone or computer searches at work, you could be at risk. Do your research and make the Hotline call from a friend's computer or phone.
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I genuinely hope I am overreacting to your situation. I also hope you will take this very seriously.
Dear Amy: My daughter, "Annie," joined a local theater group five years ago. Her younger brother (there is a five-year age difference) is now old enough to join, and has asked to enroll.
She is livid. She says it is her "thing," and that letting him be part of it will ruin it for her.
Should I deny her brother the opportunity to participate in this theater group, or let him join, at the risk of upsetting her?
— Concerned Mother
Dear Concerned: As a sibling, I understand this dynamic. Each sibling quite naturally wants to have their own "thing." Many siblings instinctively avoid one another's specialties and special interests.
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As a parent, however, I don't think you should let your daughter push the family around. "Annie" does not get to own "theater" as an overall pursuit.
Dionysus, the Greek patron of the theater, would not be pleased.
You know the dynamic in your household, and if your son is interested in this mainly to bug his sister, then you should encourage him to pursue something else.
Otherwise, yes, I believe you should let your son join this theater group. Tell your daughter that -- if he's interested -- he deserves to pursue this, and that you are going to let him give it a try.
Unlike in sports, where a five-year age difference would put the children on different teams, these two are likely to perform in productions together. I encourage families to get their kids involved in theater because the sense of community and togetherness in performing encourages pro-social behavior.
Once Annie adjusts to this, it could be a bonding experience for both.
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I assume Annie will find a way to discourage her little brother from close contact during rehearsals, but you should caution your son to give his sister plenty of space. She is not going to want to hang out with him.
Dear Amy: I'm responding to "Grounded," whose retired husband was spending their money traveling while she worked.
Ask Amy Daily No-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
When someone asked me why I didn't accompany my husband on his "vacations," I simply told them that one of us had to be the responsible adult.
Pointed yes, but it answered the question without having to say much more.
— Elsie
Dear Elsie: Yep, that covers it nicely.
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Get the latest no-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning with our Ask Amy newsletter. Sign up here.
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
Copyright 2019 by Amy Dickinson
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency


chicagotribune--2020-01-09--Patrick Kane gets his 994th career point, but Blackhawks can’t recover from a slow start in a 5-2 lo

Patrick Kane gets his 994th career point, but Blackhawks can’t recover from a slow start in a 5-2 loss to the Predators

The Hawks got on the board midway through the second when Dominik Kubalik fired a wrist shot past Rinne for @ @ @ @ @ was the third straight game with a goal for Kubalik , who trails the Sabres @ @ @ @ @ for the lead among rookies .

For a little bit there, the Blackhawks really had us.
They were defying an array of injuries and looking like they were about to make a run toward respectability and, dare we say, the playoffs.
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Oh, but no. A pair of consecutive home losses, including Thursday’s 5-2 defeat to the Predators, has the Hawks once again closer to the basement of the Western Conference than to a playoff spot.
They’re eight points behind the Jets for the final wild-card spot and five points ahead of the Ducks for last place in the conference. That gap at the bottom could narrow even more very soon — the Hawks conclude a four-game homestand Saturday against the Ducks.
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Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s loss.
1. Where was the desperation from the start?
All of the boxes were checked for the Hawks to come out ready to play the desperate 60 minutes they always talk about but rarely display.
Turns out it was all talk again.
The Hawks were at home against a bitter rival that also happened to be the team directly ahead of them in the standings, and they still didn’t show up when the puck dropped.
If the Hawks can’t play like their season depends on it at a time like this, when can they? They have 37 games to figure it out, but after Thursday’s loss, they couldn’t explain it.
“We talked about it (before the game),” Connor Murphy said. “We needed desperation tonight, and we didn’t have that at the start. That’s got to be the first step to the next game for us.”
Focusing on the next game is all they can do, but that focus needed to be there for the first 20 minutes against the Predators. It wasn’t there until it was too late.
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The sad part is the Hawks probably had a better night overall. They had a strong second period, then dominated the third. That is, except on the scoresheet.
“The bottom line is we needed the desperation and urgency and work ethic in our game that we showed in the second and third period,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “We needed it in the first. They came out with it. They were skating, they were pressuring, they were on top of the ice, they were really hard on pucks.
“The effort we had in the first, we’ve had worse periods, and maybe that would’ve been good enough in November. But not in a game like tonight.”
Or in the previous game, a 2-1 loss to the Flames on Tuesday. The Hawks fell to 1-2 on their homestand with both losses coming against Western Conference wild-card contenders.
“Last two teams we played there, the motivation is pretty obvious,” Jonathan Toews said. “Our opponents showed up and we haven’t quite put in the effort. Got to be better.”
2. Is it time to put Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews together?
When all else fails — or when too many players are injured — it might be time to turn to Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the same line.
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Jeremy Colliton put his two best players together Thursday, mainly on a line with Dominik Kubalik, and they were dominant. They were on the ice for 12 shots for and only one against in 7 minutes, 13 seconds of even-strength play for a 92.31 Corsi percentage.
No. 14 of the season for Kubalik was gnarly#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/3uQE9g3Mwq — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 10, 2020
But viewing Kane and Toews together as some panacea would be misguided. While they have been on the ice for 11 goals scored and just eight allowed in 166:31 of even-strength ice time together this season, they have only a 47.54 Corsi percentage.
Colliton said he’s willing to have a Kubalik-Toews-Kane line, but he believes they would do better when moved together late in the game.
“When they’ve started together, it hasn’t worked out that well,” Colliton said. “They seem to play better when we spot them in for a shift here, shift there, or we’ll do it late in a game. But we look at everything to try to win.”
3. It was a historic night for Pekka Rinne.
The disappointed Hawks fans who hung around long enough saw some history before they left the United Center. For the first time in six seasons, and for just the 15th time in NHL history, a goalie scored a goal.
With the Hawks trailing 4-2 and having already allowed one empty-net goal, they pulled Corey Crawford again. Predators goalie Pekka Rinne stopped a dump-in attempt behind his net and airlifted a shot beyond the far blue line, and it slid into the Hawks net for his first career goal.
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For the first time since 2013... WE HAVE A GOALIE GOAL.
Bless you, Pekka Rinne. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/teY98yCmB9 — NHL (@NHL) January 10, 2020
Rinne is only the 12th goalie to score in an NHL game, including playoffs. Martin Brodeur scored three times and Ron Hextall twice.
The first NHL goalie credited with a goal was the Islanders’ Billy Smith, who was the last player on his team to touch the puck before an opposing player shot the puck into an open net on Nov. 28, 1979.
The first goalie to shoot a puck into a net was the Flyers’ Hextall on Dec. 8, 1987. Hextall did it again on April 11, 1989. One of Brodeur’s three goals for the Devils came when he shot the puck, and twice he was credited with a goal when he was the last player on his team to touch the puck.
While Rinne is the first Predators goalie to shoot a puck into a net, he’s not the first one credited with a goal. That honor belongs to Chris Mason, who scored against the Coyotes on April 15, 2006.
The last goalie to shoot a puck into an open net before Rinne was the Coyotes’ Mike Smith on Oct. 19, 2013.
This was the first game the Hawks were involved in in which a goalie scored.
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Here’s coverage from Thursday’s game:
It was ’80s night at the United Center, and for a little bit it seemed that might refer to the Predators’ margin of victory.
The Blackhawks settled down after falling behind in the opening minutes Thursday and dominated the third period, but they couldn’t recover in a 5-2 loss.
The Hawks dropped to 19-20-6 and blew a chance to leap over the Predators and escape last place in the Central Division. They also fell to 1-2 on their homestand with one game left Saturday against the Ducks.
Alex DeBrincat’s power-play goal with 14 minutes, 28 seconds left in the third pulled the Hawks within 3-2, but they couldn’t tie it despite outshooting the Predators 14-5 in the final period.
Nick Bonini and goalie Pekka Rinne added empty-net goals in the final minute.
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Patrick Kane assisted on DeBrincat’s goal to move within six of 1,000 career points.
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Viktor Arvidsson scored 3:16 into the game, Colin Blackwell scored his first NHL goal and Matt Duchene added his 10th of the season to give the Predators a 3-0 lead after one period.
The Hawks got on the board midway through the second when Dominik Kubalik fired a wrist shot past Rinne for his 14th goal. It was the third straight game with a goal for Kubalik, who trails the Sabres’ Victor Olofsson by two for the lead among rookies.
Another Hawks rookie, defenseman Adam Boqvist, had a rough night on the other end of the ice. Roman Josi walked right around Boqvist in the slot before his shot went off Arvidsson to put the Predators up 1-0.
Boqvist coughed up the puck to Yakov Trenin near the Hawks net, and Trenin fed it to Blackwell for the Predators’ second goal.
Another mistake cost the Hawks late in the first. Jonathan Toews tried to exit the zone, but his transition pass bounced off John Quenneville’s stick. Seconds later Duchene had the puck in front of the Hawks net, where he deked Corey Crawford to make it 3-0.
Crawford, who stopped 25 shots, started his third consecutive game and first since Robin Lehner was available after suffering a minor knee injury last week.