chicagotribune--2020-02-28--How Chicago police will combat CTA crime spike: 50 more cops on ‘L’ patrols, new center for real-tim

How Chicago police will combat CTA crime spike: 50 more cops on ‘L’ patrols, new center for real-time monitoring of surveillance cameras

Beck said the new detective unit will focus on CTA-specific types of crimes , while traditional detective units will continue @ @ @ @ @ crimes on the CTA , such as shootings , homicides and robberies that lead to @ @ @ @ @ new unit to focus on less severe crimes can help it respond faster , through @ @ @ @ @ , detecting patterns and making arrests more quickly , he said .

Chicago police patrol the UIC-Halsted stop on the Forest Park branch of the CTA's Blue Line on Feb. 25, 2020. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police plan to beef up patrols and investigations to address a spike in crime on the CTA’s rail system.
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The department on Friday announced it will add 50 officers to the unit that patrols the “L,” bringing the total to 250. And, in a first for the department, each of those officers will be equipped with tracking devices for the department to better monitor and adjust how they’re deployed, interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck said.
The department will open a Strategic Decision Support Center in the downtown police district, which will give police a central location to monitor the system’s 32,000 cameras in real time. The center, to be funded in part by billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, will house a CTA crime analyst and four detectives dedicated to solving the most common types of crimes that plague the system, such as cellphone robberies and thefts, Beck said.
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“If someone steals a cellphone, time is of the essence if you’re going to use the tracker ability of the cellphone to make an arrest,” Beck said. Detectives will focus on making those types of arrests, and on monitoring “recidivists” who repeatedly commit crimes on the transit system, he said.
“Either we monitor them more closely when they’re riding the trains or ban them from the trains,” Beck said.
The realignment of police power on the CTA follows an increase in high-profile crimes, along with a boost in overall crime on the system, as documented in a September Tribune investigation. Crime doubled between 2015 and 2018 and arrest rates fell, despite the addition of cameras in every station and rail car, the Tribune reported.
The city ended 2019 with slightly less nonviolent crime on the "L" than the year before, but violent crime continued to rise. Several recent high-profile incidents, including a fatal shooting in a downtown CTA pedestrian tunnel, have focused public attention on the problem and prompted the department to announce more patrols.
Friday’s announcement appears more comprehensive, building on decisions made in the last year to increase the unit’s size and figure out how better to use technology to solve crimes.
A Tribune analysis of crime records shows arrest rates have improved slightly for thefts but not robberies, which involve force or the threat of force.
The department made arrests in just 11% of "L" robberies last year, a figure unchanged from 2018 and nearly half the arrest rate for robberies in 2015. As for thefts, the department’s arrest rate sank from about 7% in 2015 to 2% in 2018, but rebounded to 4% in 2019.
The department said crime to date this year has seen a slight decrease compared with the same time last year, and arrests rose. But Beck said he expects to see more improvement when the department adds the new officers to the Public Transportation Unit on March 4.
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All public transit officers will be deployed with GPS devices so the department can track their movements. Beck said the department has used GPS to track patrol cars, but never individual officers. It’s a way to better ensure officer safety, direct officers to crime scenes and ensure officers are deployed to places where crime is more likely to occur, he said.
“We want to make sure that everybody we have working there is at the right place at the right time,” Beck said.
Helping figure out where to deploy officers will be a CTA crime analyst, stationed at the new support center, Beck said.
Beck said the new detective unit will focus on CTA-specific types of crimes, while traditional detective units will continue to handle the most violent crimes on the CTA, such as shootings, homicides and robberies that lead to serious injuries. Allowing the new unit to focus on less severe crimes can help it respond faster, through pulling videos, identifying suspects, detecting patterns and making arrests more quickly, he said.
Griffin’s contribution would cover the build-out costs of the room, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. A budget was not yet available. Through the University of Chicago Crime Lab, Griffin has helped fund other rooms of this type and the detective bureau’s area technology centers, Guglielmi said.
Beck said traditional district officers will continue to do most patrolling of stations and platforms, while most of the Public Transportation Unit officers will be on trains. The department will continue to deploy tactical teams and undercover units to supplement the boosted patrols and investigations.
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The department is looking to change another way police help tackle CTA crime: officers working overtime. For decades, the CTA has paid for officers from Chicago and some suburban departments to work overtime patrolling the rail system. The last three-year deal, passed in 2017, anticipated that about 60 officers a day would patrol for extra hours.
Without going into specifics, because the Police Department is still in negotiations with the police officers’ union and CTA, Beck said the goal is that the department fill those slots “with the best, most motivated officers” available.
Regarding the idea of banning certain individuals from the system, Beck said at a Friday news conference at the Roosevelt Red Line station that such a ban could be pursued through a court order or settlement agreement. The CTA also has an ordinance that allows it to ban people from the system.
After the news conference, President Dorval Carter said a ban is a tool the agency is “reluctant" to use because of how important transit is for people. If the agency did pursue such a ban, it would work with the Chicago Police Department, he said.
The CTA has its own security team, which collects information from CTA cameras to give to police, and pays private guards, working in two-person teams, to patrol trains and platforms.
Kevin Ryan, vice president of security at the CTA, told the Tribune he hopes the CTA may be able to use private guards to help enforce “quality of life” issues on the system, such as the ban on smoking or playing loud radios.
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There have been increased complaints on social media about this type of rule-breaking. “People don’t seem to want to pay attention to the rules,” Ryan said.
Passengers at the CTA Roosevelt station on Friday said they were glad more police are being added to the system. “I’m scared to ride the Red Line at night,” said Nicole Rose, 38, of Lawndale.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Coronavirus taking a toll on Chicago companies. ‘You know a wave is coming.’

Less than half of the products for Macy ’ s-owned brands are made in China , but some of its @ @ @ @ @ percentage of their goods from there , he said .
The company is also expecting @ @ @ @ @ States to affect sales , but Gennette said it ’ s too soon to estimate @ @ @ @ @ .

Ally Marotti, Lauren Zumbach, Lisa Schencker, Robert Channick

AllCell Technologies employees Barry Kirkman, left, and Robert Mallett work on rechargeable battery cells on Feb. 26, 2020, in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. Kirkman wraps each cell with a plastic layer while Mallett wraps the cell brick with a fire retardant material. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
At AllCell Technologies’ facility in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, dozens of employees are cranking out lithium-ion batteries, destined to power drones, electric vehicles and more.
The key component of the rechargeable batteries comes from China and other Asian countries, where the coronavirus has caused factories to shut down or operate at reduced capacity, and travel restrictions have hindered shipping.
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Knowing the flow of parts could soon dry up, AllCell stocked up on materials to keep production going. That’s “a big financial burden” for a 40-employee company, said CEO Said Al-Hallaj.
“Who would have thought a small company from the South Side of Chicago would be impacted?” he said. “World trade wars, viruses, global epidemics. You would think, ‘I don’t have to plan for this, I’m not that big.’ … But that’s not the case.”
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AllCell Technologies' rechargeable battery cells come directly from China and other Asian countries, according to CEO Said Al-Hallaj. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
The spread of the coronavirus — and the effort to contain it — is rocking supply chains around the world, and Chicago-area companies are not immune. They are searching for alternative suppliers while they worry about how much slowed — or stopped — production will affect their bottom lines and their workforces.
Drug and medical device manufacturers in China are also being disrupted, causing shortages of certain medicines in the U.S.
Disruptions from the coronavirus are predicted to limit the growth of the global average gross domestic product to 2.3% this year, its weakest mark since 2009, according to financial forecaster Oxford Economics. In the U.S., GDP growth is expected to slow to 1.5%.
In a report, titled “No mask can prevent financial market contagion,” Oxford Economics predicts that if the coronavirus outbreak becomes a global pandemic, it could lead to a recession.
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Few expect a quick resolution.
Initially, the Lunar New Year celebration cushioned the economic fallout of the outbreak, as many factories and businesses in China typically close for one to two weeks for the holiday and workers travel home to visit family. American companies placed orders in advance of the holiday to ensure a steady supply. But that cushion is eroding.
“We’ve been lulled into a false sense of security,” said Justin Formella, chief strategy officer at MBX Systems, which provides server and computing equipment for streaming services, security companies and other customers.
The Libertyville-based company stocked up on storage and graphic processing hardware from U.S. distributors. But Formella said access to those products is becoming constrained.
“It’s like when there’s a tsunami, and you know a wave is coming," Formella said. “It’s just delayed in how it’s going to hit.”
The World Health Organization has confirmed more than 80,200 cases of the new coronavirus, called COVID-19, and about 2,800 people have died. Most of the cases have been in China.
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Though the epidemic appears to be slowing in China’s Hubei province, the virus’ epicenter, clusters of cases have popped up in Iran, South Korea and Italy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised travelers to avoid China and South Korea, and told older adults and those with chronic medical conditions to postpone nonessential travel to Iran, Italy and Japan.
In the U.S., stocks tumbled for seven consecutive days over fears coronavirus might become a pandemic, marking its worst week since 2008.
On Wednesday, health officials warned Americans to prepare for an outbreak. A total of 61 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the U.S., and no one has died, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Saturday, health officials in Washington state reported the death of a person from COVID-19, the first such reported death in the United States.
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U.S. consumers are just beginning to see the effects of a disrupted global supply chain, but it’s evident at companies of all sizes and in multiple industries. Apple, Microsoft and Macy’s are among the large companies that have warned about the effects of the virus on their business. How quickly they, as well as small local businesses, can recover remains to be seen.
The outbreak is affecting supplies of drugs and other medical products as well. The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement Thursday that a coronavirus-related disruption at a manufacturer in China is causing at least one drug shortage, though it did not say which drug.
Northfield-based Medline Industries makes hospital supplies such as masks and gowns, among other products. A spokesman declined to give specifics about how the virus is affecting its business, but it said in a statement that restrictions on exporting certain items, such as face masks, could lead to shortages or delayed shipments throughout the industry.
A large percentage of the protective equipment made in China is manufactured in the Hubei province, and the province has extended a mandatory factory closure through March 10, Medline said.
“Other medical supplies manufactured in the Hubei province — traditional wound care products, surgical drapes and gowns and some surgical pack components — likely will be impacted by the events in China if the restrictions continue for an extended time,” Medline said.
Abbott Laboratories’ manufacturing and research and development facilities in China are operational, spokeswoman Darcy Ross said in a statement. She declined to comment on whether the virus was affecting the north suburban-based company’s supplies or sales.
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Much of Abbott’s manufacturing in China focuses on its nutritional products, and China is a significant market for Abbott’s infant formula business, said Debbie Wang, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar.
She said Abbott’s overall sales in the first quarter could be soft as a result of the virus. It’s also possible that Abbott, which sells generic drugs outside the U.S., could, like other companies selling pharmaceuticals, have a tough time making those drugs because a number of active ingredients for medications come from China, she said.
It’s also possible, however, that Abbott could benefit, if it succeeds in making a test to diagnose the virus, she said. Abbott has confirmed it is working to develop a test.
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Outside of the medical industry, Logan Square-based Shop4ties had to turn away more than a dozen orders for apparel like ties and shirts because it wouldn’t be able to deliver orders on time, including one $18,000 order due March 13, said CEO and co-owner Becky Feinberg-Galvez.
AllCell Technologies employee Jerlene Jackson uses a heat gun to wrap rechargeable battery cells. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
All of the company’s products are made in China. Though Feinberg-Galvez has been in regular contact with her suppliers, some factories didn’t reopen until Feb. 17 or 18 and with only half their normal workforce, she said. A dye factory still hasn’t reopened, she said.
Shop4ties received its first shipment in about six weeks Monday and was able to fill two orders. In a typical month, the company would handle about 70 orders, Feinberg-Galvez said.
“We were looking at big growth this year, but our first quarter is going to be 25 to 30% of what it was last year,” she said. “It’s hard to know what the long-term effect will be.”
Shop4ties’ six full-time employees and three contracted graphic designers are fully aware of the situation, Feinberg-Galvez said. Without knowing how the outbreak will affect sales this year, they’re working to mitigate what they can. she said.
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Managing the situation is about the only thing U.S. companies can do at this point, said Phillip Braun, a clinical professor of finance at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. It’s still unclear whether employers will resort to layoffs.
“If this becomes a global pandemic, the results on economic growth are going to be even worse,” he said.
In South Elgin at Hoffer Plastics, the family owned custom injection molding company is awaiting four orders from a Chinese tool shop that was temporarily closed by the epidemic.
The Shenzhen factory has only recently reopened with a reduced staff, likely delaying delivery of metal molds needed to make plastic components used in everything from dishwashers to auto engines. “From a production standpoint, we need one mold to make millions of parts,” said Alex Hoffer, chief revenue officer.
Among the orders Hoffer Plastics is awaiting is a mold to make a plastic tube for an oral hygiene product used in hospitals. The mold was to be delivered by March 30, with Hoffer set to begin production on a “hot timeline” for a Chicago-area medical equipment manufacturer.
Delays on the $500,000 medical tube order could prove costly. “It won’t jeopardize the whole order, but it will be lost revenue for us in 2020,” Hoffer said.
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Hoffer Plastics employs 380 people working three shifts to produce about 3 billion parts a year, generating about $90 million in annual sales. The company is telling employees to stay vigilant and communicate about any changes in production or demand, Hoffer said. It’s business as usual, but there’s a heightened threat level in terms of uncertainty.
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Even companies with production in the U.S. have experienced coronavirus-related disruptions.
Hazel Technologies, which makes a product that extends the shelf life of produce and other foods, was awaiting delivery on a machine needed to make some of its products when the travel restrictions hit, said co-founder and CEO Aidan Mouat.
Unwilling to wait months, the Chicago company spent 10 times as much to buy the machine elsewhere, Mouat said. He said he had to reallocate resources from other projects to make that happen.
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Problems associated with the virus come at an inopportune time for companies that already have been forced to deal with tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by the Trump administration.
“It’s kind of a one-two punch,” said Joe Born, CEO of Chicago-based Bluetooth speaker brand Aiwa.
Born said he’s seen prices that consumers pay for electronics hiked — likely a result of the tariffs coupled with coronavirus issues — and his company might have to do the same.
A shipment of wireless earbuds that was set to arrive in early March will be delayed at least a month because of the coronavirus, Born said. Aiwa had to adjust marketing budgets and stop advertising that product.
For some companies, lessons learned from the tariffs or changes made to ease their blow have proved helpful.
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Best Buy has seen a dip in inventory due to coronavirus disruptions in the supply chain, but its suppliers are prepared after handling uncertainty around the tariffs, CEO Corie Barry told CNBC.
Vernon Hills toymaker Learning Resources stocked up on goods before the tariffs went into effect, reducing the coronavirus’ interruption on all but a handful of new items, said CEO Rick Woldenberg. Factories the company works with in China are opening back up and restarting production.
Some economists say tariffs could deliver a more serious blow to companies in Chicago and elsewhere because they are more permanent.
“The virus is a temporary thing," said Lawrence Officer, an economics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “In a few months, all will be back to normal.”
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Experts say it is difficult to predict how long the effects of the supply chain disruption will ripple through the global economy. Those that haven’t been hit hard are being cautious.
During a call with investors Tuesday, Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette said the company had felt delays in production of merchandise made in China but “nothing concerning yet.”
Less than half of the products for Macy’s-owned brands are made in China, but some of its vendors also source a significant percentage of their goods from there, he said. The company is also expecting reduced tourism in the United States to affect sales, but Gennette said it’s too soon to estimate the outbreak’s impact.
“We’re watching this one very, very carefully,” he said.
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chicagotribune--2020-02-28--What is the offseason plan? Are players and management on the same page? 8 questions about the near-

What is the offseason plan? Are players and management on the same page? 8 questions about the near- and long-term future of the Blackhawks.

“ We have to know where we ’ re going , ” McDonough said on WMVP-AM 1000 , according to @ @ @ @ @ have to do our best to get back to great .
But we have to @ @ @ @ @ way .
There has to be a process to it .
We ’ re in @ @ @ @ @ now .
Where we are right now is not unexpected .
”

It was a pivotal week for the Blackhawks. They parted with a goaltender many in the locker room considered to be a part of their Stanley Cup future and doubled down on a youth movement.
Comments about Robin Lehner’s trade to the Golden Knights — and how it happened — suggest differing views between players and management regarding how close the team is to contention.
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The week also was a snapshot of the Hawks season in a nutshell: Two close, frustrating losses against the Stars and Blues followed by a win against the Lightning that likely amounts to too little, too late.
The Hawks likely came to the realization that a tweak here and there won’t be good enough to win a championship, so they altered course.
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Here are questions that were answered about the team’s near- and long-term future.
1. What is the plan?
The Hawks aren’t in a full-on rebuild, but their latest moves signal they aren’t just retooling either.
President and CEO John McDonough sent the message during a podcast interview earlier this month: He wants the Hawks to be “great” enough to contend for the Stanley Cup again.
General manager Stan Bowman is turning the focus back to top-tier draft picks, believing it’s difficult to craft a Stanley Cup roster from free agency and the middle and lower rounds of the draft.
“The way you become a really dominant team, you have some high-impact players,” Bowman said. “You need to have as many of them as you can assemble, but they’re not easy to come by. Certainly hard to trade for. … When you’re signing a free agent, unless it’s a European guy, they tend to be older. They might have some good years left, but their best years are probably behind them.
“There’s no shortcut to it other than drafting and developing those players. Then the question is how do you acquire those.”
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman is focusing on the first few rounds of the NHL draft to build out the Hawks roster for next season. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The last two drafts are the most recent in which the Hawks had top-10 picks since 2006 and ‘07, when they drafted Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The Hawks selected Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach the last two seasons and second-rounder Alex DeBrincat in 2016, and all have made the roster. But low draft picks and trades during the Stanley Cup years, when the Hawks were buyers, deprived them of prospects who might have contributed today.
Acquiring young assets was the motivation for trading goaltender Robin Lehner to the Golden Knights and defenseman Erik Gustafsson to the Flames at Monday’s deadline. Between those two trades, the Hawks received 2020 second- and third-round picks, goalie Malcolm Subban and defensive prospect Slava Demin.
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Last summer, though, Bowman had a different mindset. He brought in Lehner on a one-year deal and traded three draft picks — including their original 2020 second-rounder — with the idea they could not only make the playoffs, but also make a deep run. In a sense, this season has been a reality check, motivating the Hawks to be sellers at the trade deadline and infuse more youth in the pipeline.
After Monday’s moves, the Hawks have seven draft picks, four in the first three rounds.
“That was the goal,” Bowman said. “There’s no question that the value in the draft is in the early part. The first few rounds, if you look at it historically, the vast majority of the players come out of the top three rounds.”
2. Are players and management on the same page?
The afternoon after the trade deadline, Patrick Kane acknowledged the results haven’t been there this season.
“We’re a team that’s trying to develop young guys; (at the) same time, you have some veterans that are playing some pretty good hockey,” Kane said.
He and Jonathan Toews co-authored three Stanley Cup runs, along with Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford, but they’re all north of 30, so they have a limited championship window.
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“I mean, that’s the goal,” Toews said. “Anything less than that is disappointing and frustrating.”
John McDonough’s and Stan Bowman’s moves indicate they’re strategizing for the long term.
“We have to know where we’re going,” McDonough said on WMVP-AM 1000, according to The Athletic. “We have to do our best to get back to great. But we have to do it in the right way. There has to be a process to it. We’re in a bit of transition right now. Where we are right now is not unexpected.”
Said Bowman: “When you trade players away, you’re worse in the present. That’s the way this business works. You can look at it from both sides. I understand some people are tilted one way or another. But for us it’s important to build up some assets and build for the future.”
3. How much say do the players have in the team’s direction?
Patrick Kane said John McDonough’s plans are “something we’ll have to discuss with him after the season and kind of see where everyone’s at. I’m sure there will be some conversations once the season’s over.”
Jonathan Toews said: “I’m not really commenting on the direction. That’s not really up to me to talk about.”
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Stan Bowman said he might talk to locker-room leaders such as Toews and Kane in the offseason but emphasized that circumstances change day to day.
“Their job is to play hockey, not so much to manage a team,” Bowman said. “I don’t think that’s really fair to them to bring them into the decision-making process. They’ve earned the respect based on what they’ve accomplished, but on a day-to-day basis — just like I don’t go down there and talk to them about their shift last night in overtime, the coaches do that — they have their job to do, and I have my job to do.”
4. Do the Hawks have more flexibility under the salary cap after the trades?
The Hawks saved $1.65 million by trading Robin Lehner and $1.2 million on the Erik Gustafsson deal. But while that gives some temporary cap relief, the Hawks have a lot of players to sign — or not sign. The salary cap is a challenge for most NHL teams and will continue to be for the Hawks.
“The cap is always a factor,” Stan Bowman said, though it wasn’t the driving force behind Monday’s trades.
Corey Crawford will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Dominik Kubalik, Dylan Strome, Drake Caggiula and newcomer Malcolm Subban are among the restricted free agents up for new contracts.
“I have to plan out our team and salary progression for young players as they take that step from their first contract to their second contract,” Bowman said. “You’ve got to look at where things might go. And then you’ve got to look at who’s locked up and who’s expiring. So the cap is always a factor in the decisions we make.”
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Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner, left, and defenseman Erik Gustafsson were traded at the deadline on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
5. If the Hawks dealt Robin Lehner and Erik Gustafsson for picks and prospects, why didn’t they get more bang for their buck?
“You take what’s in front of you.”
“The market speaks.”
“We were as patient as we could be.”
“Once you get past the deadline, their value drops.”
However Stan Bowman chose to put it, the underlying message was that he couldn’t get a first-round pick in return for either Robin Lehner or Erik Gustafsson. Both had expiring contracts, and teams aren’t likely to part with a first-rounder for a rental. It also didn’t help that both players went through a late-season rough patch: Lehner gave up at least four goals in four of his last five games with the Hawks.
Bowman went into the last hour of the trade deadline cementing the deals he could get.
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“We certainly did our best,” he said. “We certainly didn’t turn down any other deals. We did the best deals that were available to us, and that’s what we were tasked with (Monday).”
6. How serious where the Hawks about signing Robin Lehner?
Robin Lehner will be missed. Jonathan Toews called him a vocal leader who helped him be a better captain.
“He took a one-year deal to come here because he knew there was some experience in this room and there was a lot of potential here that was untapped,” Toews said.
Shipping out Lehner doesn’t seem to sit well with veterans who hoped the Hawks could’ve kept the goalie around for the next three to five years.
Stan Bowman declined to say how close the Hawks were to signing Lehner to a long-term deal, but Lehner reportedly said he “never got an offer.”
“It’s good if Robin wants to converse with you guys about it,” Bowman said. “In the past I’ve never found it to be really helpful because then whatever I have to say, you’re going to go back to Robin, and I’d rather not get into that back and forth.”
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Lehner will be a free agent after the season, so the Hawks could try again, right?
Don’t count on it.
“He’s not our player anymore, so I can’t say whether we’re going to be interested in him or not,” Bowman said.
7. What’s the plan for goaltending?
The Hawks want Corey Crawford to carry the load the rest of the season. And it seems they prefer to ease in Malcolm Subban and leave Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen in Rockford, where they’re getting experience.
But the Hawks have a decision to make in the offseason. They could try to re-sign Crawford, give Subban, Lankinen or Delia a try or pursue a free agent.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve mapped out who it’s going to be,” Stan Bowman said. “We have a lot of candidates, and we’ve got to make that choice between now and next season.
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“Malcolm’s still trying to solidify himself not only as an NHL backup, but also pushing himself to be an NHL No. 1. He’s at that age (26) when goalies start to take a step forward.”
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Subban said he doesn’t know when he’ll get his next opportunity in goal or how many looks he’ll get with his new team, but he plans to “just continue to work hard here and see where it goes.”
8. Will player development come at the cost of winning?
The two are not mutually exclusive, but growing pains seem unavoidable.
Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist and Alex Nylander have shown they can play in the NHL, but Stan Bowman wants to see them and others take the next step to become “impact players.”
“Hopefully it won’t be a couple of years where they start to take over games,” he said. “You see it in flashes, but that’s what you get with teenagers.”
Coach Jeremy Colliton said the players, particularly the younger ones, need to play more consistently — and quickly. Dominik Kubalik stepped up Thursday night against the Lightning with his first hat trick.
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Bowman agrees with Colliton: There needs to be accountability, even if the playoffs are out of reach.
“I think (Colliton’s) done a very good job of constructively working with them, guiding them to be better,” Bowman said. “It’s not playing with no consequences.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Chris Bukowski named ‘The Bachelor’ for Chicago stop of touring stage show. Here are 5 things to kno

Chris Bukowski named ‘The Bachelor’ for Chicago stop of touring stage show. Here are 5 things to know about him.

“ I have the most respect for Katie in the world .
I just don ’ t think our lives @ @ @ @ @ outside of ‘ Paradise.
’ It happens a lot , but we tried , ” @ @ @ @ @ had a lot working against us — not only from the show , but from @ @ @ @ @ of our castmates — so it was a constant uphill battle .
We just kind @ @ @ @ @ ground .
We ’ re still friends today .
We talk almost once a week @ @ @ @ @ all the time .
We ’ re still good friends .
I just think we @ @ @ @ @ take that next step in our relationship , from an engagement to marriage .
”

"The Bachelor" franchise veteran Chris Bukowski, a Bartlett native, will meet and "date" Chicago-area women in the first of two “The Bachelor Live on Stage” performances at the Cadillac Palace Theatre on March 14, 2020. ( JSquared Photography/Contour by Getty Images)
Just when you thought Chris Bukowski had run out of “Bachelor”-related shows to join, the suburban Bartlett native has been named “The Bachelor” for the first of two “The Bachelor Live on Stage” performances at the Cadillac Palace Theatre on March 14.
This will be Bukowski’s seventh notable “Bachelor” franchise appearance — a record for those keeping score. He is not. “Well, here’s the thing. I don’t consider it a full-on ‘Bachelor’ experience because it’s not televised,” he told the Tribune by phone. “It’s theater.”
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Bukowski will meet 10 local women at the 3 p.m. show, while “The Bachelorette” Season 13 contestant Kenneth “Diggy” Moreland will be “The Bachelor” for the 8 p.m. performance. Tickets start at $25 at broadwayinchicago.com.
The live, two-hour show, which has been on tour since mid-February, is a reimagining of the popular ABC network competition. Season 14 “Bachelorette” Becca Kufrin and Season 20 “Bachelor” Ben Higgins host. There are on-stage “dates,” rose ceremonies and some version of the fantasy suites — with probably a lot less steam than what’s shown on TV.
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“As far as what I’ve seen from the other (performances, the fantasy suite) is basically just a private conversation behind a screen where you can kind of see silhouettes of people, so it’s short and sweet,” Bukowski said.
The 33-year-old already has a lengthy “Bachelor” resume. He was on the most recent season of “Bachelor in Paradise,” where he was briefly engaged to California medical sales representative Katie Morton. It was his third time on that show. He also appeared twice on “The Bachelorette” and once on “Bachelor Pad.” He retired from reality TV in 2015, but now he’s finally “The Bachelor” — well, sort of.
“I hate to compare myself to Michael Jordan, but I’m going to say this is (like) after he went for his three championships, after he went to baseball for a couple years. This is my comeback story,” Bukowski said with a chuckle. Here are five things to know about him.
His return to ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ was ‘laid-back.’
Bukowski said joining the Season 6 cast of “Bachelor in Paradise,” which follows former “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” contestants as they date at a Mexican resort, was a last-minute decision. When he arrived to film, he found himself out of touch because it had been four years since he was on the show.
“I kind of went into this pretty blind this past summer because I hadn’t really watched the past three years prior to ‘Paradise.’ Honestly, I knew nobody. I knew (‘Bachelorette’ Season 14 contestant) Clay (Harbor). That’s about it,” Bukowski said. “When I first started doing (‘Bachelor’ shows), social media wasn’t huge. Now everyone is just talking about their social media and stuff. There was all this drama that already existed that I had no part of. I had no idea what half these people were talking about half the time.”
Chicago restaurateur Chris Bukowski and California medical sales representative Katie Morton got engaged on "Bachelor in Paradise" in 2019. (John Fleenor/ABC)
He still keeps in touch with Morton.
Bukowski and Morton got engaged on the Season 6 “Paradise” finale, which aired in September. The pair announced in December they had split.
“I have the most respect for Katie in the world. I just don’t think our lives meshed together once we got outside of ‘Paradise.’ It happens a lot, but we tried,” Bukowski said. “We had a lot working against us — not only from the show, but from the media, from some of our castmates — so it was a constant uphill battle. We just kind of never found a common ground. We’re still friends today. We talk almost once a week. We’re texting all the time. We’re still good friends. I just think we weren’t able to take that next step in our relationship, from an engagement to marriage.”
Yes, he shared crispy tater tots and caviar with ‘Bachelor’ alumna Katrina Badowski on Valentine’s Day, but it’s not what you think.
Bukowski was spotted dining with Badowski at Bandit in the West Loop on Feb. 14. Pilot Peter Weber had sent Badowski home on the premiere of “The Bachelor” season airing now.
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“We’ve hung out a couple times. She’s actually from the town over from where I grew up, so she’s from St. Charles. I’m from Bartlett. So we met up a few times and hung out, just as friends,” Bukowski said about Badowski. “Oddly enough, there were three other people that were supposed to meet us for dinner that night, and they just kind of bailed last minute. It ended up just being me and her, super casual. We’re friends.”
He’s hoping to settle in Chicago ‘sooner rather than later.’
Bukowski said he travels a lot for his job at a digital marketing agency based in the Los Angeles area. When he’s here, he stays at his River North condo or with family in the suburbs.
He opened a Chicago outpost of his Bracket Room sports bar near the University of Illinois in 2017, but said he’s “pretty hands off” there now because it’s operated by a different company. He hopes to make Chicago his full-time home, and not just because he recently became a Cubs season ticket holder.
Sox fans still have a chance with him.
“A Cubs fan is a bonus, but honestly, I wouldn’t mind dating a Sox fan too because it makes the rivalry real inside the house,” Bukowski said before listing what he’s looking for in a woman. “Someone that’s just ambitious, focused on hitting some kind of goals, whether it be career-wise or just personal growth. Someone that’s confident and that’s passionate, passionate about themselves, passionate about food. Honestly, Midwest girls are the best, so I think the best girls in the country come from Chicago.”
tswartz@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Cubs taking a close look at candidates for a bullpen that could be completely overturned from last y

Cubs taking a close look at candidates for a bullpen that could be completely overturned from last year’s opening day

“ We ’ re definitely going to start seeing what we have in guys , ” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy @ @ @ @ @ we bring them in ( in the middle of ) an inning ?
Can we @ @ @ @ @ All these things we want to test them with , they ’ re going to @ @ @ @ @ the regular season .

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Tyler Chatwood is the only returning member of the Cubs’ 2019 opening-day bullpen, and he’s likely to earn the fifth spot in the rotation.
That presents a daunting challenge for the team’s evaluators who are getting a second and third look at bullpen candidates in exhibition games.
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“We’re definitely going to start seeing what we have in guys,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said Thursday. “Can we bring them in (in the middle of) an inning? Can we give them one-plus innings? All these things we want to test them with, they’re going to be asked to do in the regular season.
“It is a new look from what we had in the past. It’s a new opportunity for guys to separate themselves and pitch in some big situations and make an impression. Some guys have already.”
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Allowing closer Craig Kimbrel and left-hander Kyle Ryan to progress at a deliberate rate has opened opportunities for other relievers with an eye on opening day as well as later in the season.
Ryan and Rowan Wick, for instance, didn’t make the 2019 opening-day roster but became prominent members of the bullpen by midseason.
“It could happen to four guys. It could happen to two guys. It doesn’t matter,” said Ryan, who was promoted from Triple-A Iowa after the first week. “Whatever will help the team win. In reality, we’re after one thing. We have to pull from the same rope.”
Only potential long reliever Alec Mills (also a candidate for the fifth starting spot), Casey Sadler and Duane Underwood Jr. are out of options, giving the Cubs plenty of flexibility to shuttle arms between Wrigley Field and Iowa.
“It was tough to (stay patient), but you have to,” said Wick, who made three round trips between Iowa and the Cubs before staying in the bigs for good July 22. “You don’t have a choice, right?”
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 It's another morning for Cubs baseball at Sloan Park on Feb. 17, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The Cubs are taking a look at Rule 5 draft pick Trevor Megill, who threw three wild pitches Sunday against the Dodgers but rebounded by striking out two during a scoreless inning Wednesday.
The Cubs must keep the 6-foot-8 Megill on the major-league roster for the entire 2020 season or offer him back to the Padres for $50,000.
“You see the stuff,” Hottovy said. “You see why we drafted him. He’s going to keep growing and keep developing and proving he deserves to be here.”
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The Cubs didn’t re-sign free agents Pedro Strop (Reds), Steve Cishek (White Sox) and Brandon Kintzler (Marlins), creating a need for dependable late-inning help in front of Kimbrel.
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“Every day is intriguing,” Hottovy said of the openings.
Jeremy Jeffress saved 27 games for the Brewers in 2016 and is expected to fill one of those spots. Dan Winkler could seize another if he can stay healthy and effective.
Winkler, who pitched his second consecutive scoreless outing Thursday against the Rangers, struck out 69 in 60⅓ innings with the Braves in 2018. His signature pitch is a cut fastball, and he displayed a fastball that topped out at 96 mph.
Sadler worked out of a jam Thursday by fooling Sam Huff on a slow curve and hasn’t allowed a run in his first two outings. The Cubs acquired Sadler six weeks ago from the Dodgers for minor-league infielder Clayton Daniel; he had a 2.14 ERA in 33 appearances with the Rays and Dodgers last year.
Sadler provides an intriguing dimension with the new rule stating a reliever must face at least three batters or finish an inning. The right-hander limited left-handed hitters to a .241 average in 2019.
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“You take 13 (pitchers) to start the season, but you know you use 20 to 22,” Hottovy said. “The more we can see these guys now, they may make an impression every day. And (manager) David Ross is seeing many of them live for the first time.
“(Ross) is definitely an impressionable guy, and guys have an opportunity to go out there and have a good first impression on him for sure.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-01--Police: Man found shot to death in unincorporated Maine Township near Niles

Walberg said police believe the man may have been shot a few blocks away , in the 9200 block of @ @ @ @ @ and investigators are looking for a white SUV with tinted windows that was seen in @ @ @ @ @ 9 p.m. Friday .

A 20-year-old man found shot to death on a street in unincorporated Maine Township near Niles Friday night has been identified as a resident of the neighborhood.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Hussein Damra, of the 8900 block of Lyons Street in unincorporated Maine Township.
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Damra was found shot Feb. 28 outside a home in the 9500 block of Greenwood Drive, a circular street of single-family homes one block west of the Golf Mill Shopping Center. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Cook County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Matthew Walberg said.
Damra sustained multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
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His home is located a little more than half a mile from the scene where his body was found.
Walberg said police believe Damra may have been shot in the 9200 block of Milwaukee Avenue in Niles, and investigators were looking for a white SUV with tinted windows that was seen in that area between 8 and 9 p.m. Friday.
The 9200 block of Milwaukee is located on the east side of Golf Mill.
No further details about the shooting have been released by police.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police is the investigating police agency, and Niles police are not assisting at this time, Acting Niles Police Cmdr. Anthony Scipione said.
Anyone with information about the homicide or the white SUV is asked to contact the Cook County Sheriff’s Police at 708-865-4896.
jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune


chicagotribune--2020-03-01--At C2E2, cosplay is king. How The Egg Sisters ‘do things that make us look not human’

CH : On Instagram , Facebook , and YouTube .
We don ’ t do a lot of commission work @ @ @ @ @ for a company .
A lot of the work that we do is for ourselves @ @ @ @ @ we share .
So we pick a project that has a lot of new things @ @ @ @ @ before , we figure out how to do it and then we share it with @ @ @ @ @ wrong , what we did right ) , so it ’ s kind of just @ @ @ @ @ with everybody .
On our website , we list every material we use and how @ @ @ @ @ can ask questions , we ’ re happy to help out .
I think that @ @ @ @ @ the cosplay community ; it ’ s a big circle of learning and sharing .
@ @ @ @ @ .

Courtney Holmes, left, spray paints her sister Dana McGuire to transform her into a Zandalari Troll from "World of Warcraft" at C2E2 on Feb. 29, 2020. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
People watching is never as fun as it is at is at the annual Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2). (If there is something comparable, do let me know.)
Talking to creatives who put their passion on the page to fans who recreate and reimagine that artwork into costumes to wear, C2E2 is a space where gawking and admiring craftsmanship put into the genre through the years is expected. It’s a place to be seen and make a scene -- where months can be spent on creating a 10-pound war hammer for Diane from the manga series, “The Seven Deadly Sins" and driving from Iowa to show off the ensemble or where a wife decides to bedazzle her husband’s Stormtrooper costume with 52,000 hand placed crystals to make a statement piece.
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Courtney Holmes, left, and her sister Dana McGuire, right, stand by their Zandalari Troll from "World of Warcraft." (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
So when people ask why you go to the convention? You just utter the words: Be Cos. Get it? Because the cosplaying. Cosplay brings out the masses, regardless of convention. (Case in point cosplayers at Wakandacon last summer.) Cosplay creation is where The Egg Sisters, Courtney Holmes and Dana McGuire, natives of Warrenville, live on weekends and nights after their day jobs of creating websites and serving as a legal secretary, respectively. The duo are actual sisters who have been creating creatures since they were children, says McGuire. Fans of monster movies, they liked to recreate the creatures and have plays in the basement. But it wasn’t until 2014 that the sisters have been trying to marry silicone, foam, mold-making, sewing and monster suits to make something unique on a large scale. The pair focus on creating one or two ambitious designs made from scratch each year, said Holmes.
At C2E2 this year, the sisters were guests at the BERNINA booth (BERNINA is an Aurora-based manufacturer of sewing and embroidery systems, a new Naperville store opened in November by Gayle Schliemann) showcasing their handiwork that is a troll of the Zandalari Allied Race from the “World of Warcraft” online role-playing game.
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Dana McGuire poses for a photo in her cosplay of a Zandalari Troll from "World of Warcraft." (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
“We like to do things that make us look not human – trolls, giant robot suits and lots of different material,” Holmes said. “We do something different each time we do a costume. We make a lot of organic things that aren’t crisp and perfect ... we like a lot of things that don’t really exist in the real world and we have to interpret them in our own way, and recreate them as opposed to a recreation of a character of a superhero that was already made and produced for a TV show. We tend to like things from video games. We like to go hard or go home, I guess. That’s the fun."
We talked with the Egg Sisters about their build process and women and LGBTQ representation in the cos community after talking on the Prop Shop Talk with the Women of SheProp panel — SheProp is a prop-making forum for women, trans, and non-binary artists and creators free of judgement and criticism. The sisters were on site this weekend doing a live cosplay makeup demonstration. The interview has been condensed and edited.
Courtney Holmes holds up images of the Zandalari Troll. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Q: How did you come into the cosplaying world?
CH: Since we were little kids we always made our own costumes. It was the first step of freedom when we were younger — our parents would drop us off and we’d go to the convention with our costumes. But not until 2014, did we open ourselves to research and learning. There are a lot of tutorials and outreach and other cosplayers out there showing how they made things. It was around then that we started looking at those things and trying really hard to make big pieces.
Q: How are fans finding the Egg Sisters?
CH: On Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. We don’t do a lot of commission work actually unless it’s for a company. A lot of the work that we do is for ourselves and what we learn, we share. So we pick a project that has a lot of new things we’ve never done before, we figure out how to do it and then we share it with everyone (what we did wrong, what we did right), so it’s kind of just sharing the experience of learning with everybody. On our website, we list every material we use and how to find it. Anyone can ask questions, we’re happy to help out. I think that’s a lot of the cosplay community; it’s a big circle of learning and sharing. It’s pretty cool.
Courtney Holmes and Dan Harte apply makeup to Dana McGuire as she transforms into a Zandalari Troll from "World of Warcraft." (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
Q: How big are the Egg Sisters out there on the cosplay scene?
CH: Maybe a slight big fish, in a small pond thing? I don’t know. There are a lot of cosplayers now, it’s hard to say.
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DM: We have a niche – doing the special effects stuff. We’re known for that.
Q: What conversations were going on at the panel?
CH: It’s not about making the costume accurate to the character portrayed in the movies, it’s about finding a character that you identify with or like and making it fit your body no matter what it is. I feel when we do that, we find really unique and interesting ways people make their costumes and sometimes it’s even better than the original.
DM: There was some talk about mansplaining – a lot of female-identifying builders deal with people that expect you don’t know what you’re talking about because you’re a lady. We’ve had it. And how to deal with that. A lot of it was also about the cosplay community and how it’s helped people get over their social anxieties and depression. Tips to craft safely, things to do to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. It’s all encompassing.
Dana McGuire sits while her sister Courtney Holmes and Dan Harte apply makeup and other prosthetics to transform her into a Zandalari Troll. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Q: Advice for people wanting to jump into cosplay?
CH: Make costumes that you like and not ones that you think are going to be popular and make it the way you want to make it — make it yours and don’t be afraid to try something new. Fully anticipate failing a lot, add that into your timeline. It’s okay because that’s how you learn. Lots of doing things over, you’ll always do it better the second time.
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DM: Don’t be afraid to reach out to other fellow cosplayers and makers. A lot of people (we’ve done it), put people up on this pedestal like ‘oh, I aspire to be like them.’ They’re just a person. They like building, they like talking about building and most of the time, they will be happy to help you or give you advice or share what they’ve done. The community is amazing.
drockett@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-01--What’s next for the Bulls after dropping to a season-worst 20 games under .500? 3 takeaways from the

What’s next for the Bulls after dropping to a season-worst 20 games under .500? 3 takeaways from their 125-115 loss to the Knicks.

“ How we arrived here ?
There are a lot of different factors , ” Zach LaVine said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ some people played up to par .
I don ’ t think we did the @ @ @ @ @ fight but we don ’ t get the end result that we need .
So @ @ @ @ @ .
You ’ ve got to do something to get those wins and stop stockpiling @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s a lot of things you ’ ve got to take into consideration @ @ @ @ @ to look at it in the offseason .
”

New York — There was so much optimism not long ago.
The Bulls started the season dreaming of a return to the playoffs. They believed their young core was ready to take a step forward and ditch the painful slog of a rebuild to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016-17.
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And even as this nightmare season began spiraling out of control quickly, the Bulls continued to cling to a sliver of hope that perhaps they could turn it all around when they all got healthy.
That all seemed so far away Saturday night after the Knicks handed the Bulls a 125-115 loss, their 10th in 11 games. It dropped their record to 20-40 — a season-worst 20 games under .500 and 6½ games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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The Bulls are all but eliminated from playoff contention as the calendar flips to March. They won only once in February, and the rest of the schedule offers few moments of reprieve, with 17 of the final 22 games against teams currently in playoff position.
“How we arrived here? There are a lot of different factors,” Zach LaVine said. “I don’t think some people played up to par. I don’t think we did the right things game to game. We fight, but we don’t get the end result that we need.
“So something has to change. You’ve got to do something to get those wins and stop stockpiling losses. There’s a lot of things you’ve got to take into consideration, and you’ve got to look at it in the offseason.”
Here are three takeaways after Saturday’s game.
1. Now comes the difficult task of finishing out this disappointing season.
About six weeks remain, and the Bulls are not within shouting distance of a playoff spot. So how will they approach the final 22 games? Will there be signs of progress to hang on to entering the offseason, or will they limp to the finish line?
“You have other stuff creeping into your mind,” Zach LaVine said. “You’re looking at the finish line instead of looking at the next day, and you have to fight that. I try to just focus on what I can, stick to my routine. I enjoy playing basketball. I had basketball taken away from me with my ACL injury for a while, gave me a new perspective on it. So since that, I try to play every game that I can.”
It’s not the first time LaVine has made a sort of open plea to the rest of his team to keep fighting and finish the season strong, rather than using the final stretch for an early extended vacation.
“Stay consistent. Don’t let that doubt creep in,” LaVine said. “There are going to be frustrations with the season, frustration with the losses. Obviously, you could play the blame game with injuries and ‘poor me.’ I don’t think anybody gives a damn about that. They’re going to try to get easy wins. You have to take pride in it. This is still our job. We have to go out there and compete and play.”
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Considering the changes to the front office that are reportedly on the way, players have plenty to play for. Some will prove they belong in the plans or take the chance to showcase themselves for another team.
But the Bulls thought they would be playing for so much more, or at least have the opportunity for something greater. Instead, there is the stench of stagnation. With Saturday’s loss, the Bulls own the seventh-worst record in the NBA — the same slot they drafted in the last two seasons.
“Now that I’m looking back, it’s like, damn, we’ve had so many injuries,” said center Wendell Carter Jr., who was playing his first game after missing 22 games with a high right ankle sprain. “I feel like we haven’t even had a full healthy team since I’ve been in Chicago. It just kind of sucks as a team.”
2. Wendell Carter Jr. is still playing his way back to full strength (and conditioning).
Wendell Carter Jr. quickly reminded the Bulls of what they had been missing defensively with his block of the Knicks’ Elfrid Payton on the first possession. On the first possession on the other end, Carter missed a hook shot, and after the game he acknowledged he already felt fatigued.
Wendell Carter Jr. shoots over the Knicks' Taj Gibson during the first half. (Mark Lennihan/AP)
Carter, who was playing his first game since Jan. 6, can be forgiven if his conditioning will take some time as the Bulls ease him back into the rotation. He played 18 minutes against the Knicks and scored just six points on 1-of-5 shooting with nine rebounds.
“It’s nothing like playing in the game,” he said. “Not really focusing on too much right now, just trying to get my second wind back. … (The ankle) felt OK. Certain movements kind of make it feel a little funny, but that comes with a sprained ankle. They say you’ve just got to work through that and eventually you won’t feel it.”
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Carter is one of the most important players for the Bulls’ future, so his return was a welcome sight even if he is still playing his way back up to speed.
But as the team remains hopeful to get a few more players back in the coming weeks, such as Lauri Markkanen and perhaps Otto Porter Jr., Carter’s return also underscores an issue they face in using the final month and a half for evaluation. Each returning player is likely to start under a minutes restriction and will need to be brought along slowly and mixed back into the lineup.
John Paxson, the Bulls vice president of basketball operations, said they still need to “see what we have” after injuries wrecked the team the last few months. They will have little time the rest of this season to get any sort of accurate assessment.
3. Coby White was good to go after his back injury.
Coby White was going through his routine before practice Thursday when he twisted the wrong way going up for a layup. He felt a pop and a sensation down his left leg, and the discomfort in his back threatened to derail the best stretch of his career.
After a few days of treatment, White woke up feeling much better Saturday morning, and after getting through a pregame workout without pain, he continued his scoring streak, dropping 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting against the Knicks. It was White’s fourth straight game with at least 20 points, a career high.
“I was literally just doing what I normally do before practice, and I tweaked my back,” he said. “If it was hurting enough to where I couldn’t play, I wouldn’t have played. But I felt like I could deal with it. It felt good out there. I really didn’t have (any) complaints.”
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Because Jim Boylen was uncertain about White’s status, he inserted Shaquille Harrison into the starting lineup against the Knicks to save Ryan Arcidiacono for the second unit. Boylen also limited White’s minutes a bit, not exposing him to long stretches on the floor and keeping him to 28 minutes.
It’s not the only injury suffered in warm-ups. Zach LaVine said he tweaked a quadriceps before the game and rode a stationary bike in the tunnel to keep loose. LaVine played the entire game and did not seem concerned about missing time going forward.
And while White says he might need to manage the back injury going forward, it became an afterthought during the game and after.
Considering the Bulls’ disastrous record with injuries this season, the team can breathe a tiny sigh of relief.
Here’s more coverage from Saturday’s game
The Bulls felt the impact of Wendell Carter Jr.’s return on the first possession of Saturday’s game.
Knicks guard Elfrid Payton drove toward the basket and made a move to get past Shaquille Harrison, only to be met at the rim by Carter, who swatted Payton’s shot away with his left hand before corralling the ball at the baseline. It was the kind of rim protection the Bulls were missing since Carter went down with a high right ankle sprain Jan. 6, and the defense had plummeted since then.
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“It definitely felt good to start the game off like that,” Carter said. “To make sure everybody knew that my presence was felt.”
Aside from that early highlight, Carter spent most of his first game back reacclimating himself. He scored six points on 1-for-5 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in 18 minutes in the Bulls’ 125-115 loss.
The Bulls dropped to a season-low 20 games under .500 at 20-40 in a season that began with postseason aspirations.
Injuries, inconsistencies and regressions have wrecked those once-high hopes, but the Bulls are starting to get healthy again even though Carter’s minutes will be limited for the time being while he still feels some discomfort in his ankle, which he acknowledged still felt “funny” at times.
It also became apparent quickly Saturday that he will need time to regain his stamina after sitting out so long.
The Knicks' RJ Barrett dunks over Tomas Satoransky during the first half. (Mark Lennihan/AP)
“I got winded first trip down the court,” Carter said with a laugh. “I’ve done plenty of sprints, plenty of different things throughout practice and things like that, but it’s nothing like being in an arena in front of a lot of people, banging and hitting other players.”
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Zach LaVine, who tweaked one of his quads during warmups but played a team-high 37 minutes, led the Bulls with 26 points. Coby White added 22 points for his fourth straight game with at least 20.
Despite the return of their best rim protector, however, the Bulls could not contain the Knicks inside. The hosts scored 76 points in the paint — the most the Bulls have allowed this season — and put together a rebounding advantage of 50-33.
“It definitely bothers me as a player,” Carter said. “I just feel like that’s a recipe for disaster. I feel like if we can’t be tougher as a team we’re going to lose that battle every time.
"I’m not gone blame it on me not being 100%, but I wasn’t playing physical enough tonight obviously. That’s something I just have to approach every game and make sure my presence is felt.”
Carter had been playing well in his second NBA season before the injury struck, averaging right around double digits in points and rebounds while the team credited him as the anchor of a surprisingly strong defense. The Bulls have watched as their defense has tanked in his absence. Carter’s time away, coupled with the loss of Kris Dunn last month, erased what had been one of the Bulls’ few strengths.
They were tied for sixth in the NBA in defensive efficiency (105.6) after 37 games before Carter was injured. In the 22 games after the injury, however, they ranked 22nd (113.7).
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“He has unbelievable feet and instincts for a guy that big and young,” Boylen said before the game. “He’s 280 pounds and he’s got feet like a 180-pound guy. He’s got feet like a boxer. He can move them, he can shift them, and he can stay in a stance for a guy that big for a long time.
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“He has tremendous defensive instincts and physical presence, and he embraces contact and collision, he’s intelligent.”
Carter’s return marked the first in what the Bulls hope will be a long line of players coming back from injury. They dressed only nine players for the last three games, and their rotations have been disjointed as players have been forced to fill roles they were not intended to play.
That makes the final 22 games somewhat of an evaluation period for the organization, a chance to determine where their core stands before an offseason that reportedly will bring changes to the front office structure.
Saturday provided the first pair of boosts to their lineup, with Carter’s return alongside forward Denzel Valentine, who played in his first game since a Feb. 2 hamstring injury cost him seven games. Valentine played 10 minutes in his return and scored eight points, all during a 63-second outburst at the end of the third quarter.
The Bulls are hopeful for more reinforcements soon. Lauri Markkanen, who is out with a pelvic injury, still has not been cleared for contact, but he has increased his activity on the court in the last few days. Otto Porter Jr.’s progress from a fractured left foot also continues to move along at a sluggish pace, and the team remains hopeful he will return this season even though he has not played since November.
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“I feel good for everybody coming back," LaVine said. “I just hope we can stay locked in and finish these games."
“I just try to focus on what I can do, and if I can look myself in the mirror and say I did everything that I can do to finish this game I’m happy with that.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-01--Man, 41, killed when he fell between train cars off Red Line platform at Roosevelt station

“ His foot became stuck and he was dragged a few hundred feet before the train was stopped by the @ @ @ @ @ statement continued .
He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with blunt force trauma and @ @ @ @ @ He later was pronounced dead .

A 41-year-old man died when he accidentally fell off the Red Line platform and between train cars at the Roosevelt station, officials said.
About 10:40 p.m. Saturday in the 1100 block of South State Street, the man, who has not been identified, “was walking on the Red Line platform when he fell in between the train cars as the train began moving,” according to Chicago police.
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“His foot became stuck and he was dragged a few hundred feet before the train was stopped by the operator,” the police statement continued. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with blunt force trauma and lacerations, authorities said. He later was pronounced dead.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office had not identified the 41-year-old as of Sunday morning. An autopsy was expected later in the day.
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Investigators said it is possible the man was intoxicated when he accidentally fell. Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-03-01--Column: The Yu Darvish-Christian Yelich beef is on hold — for now — but the Cubs-Brewers rivalry sho

Column: The Yu Darvish-Christian Yelich beef is on hold — for now — but the Cubs-Brewers rivalry should be a good one from Day 1

“ Yeah , we had an operating loss last year , ” owner Mark Attanasio said at the start of @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re going to run a baseball team properly , you really have to @ @ @ @ @ how you ’ re doing .
We had some ( losing ) years as we @ @ @ @ @ always want to keep our powder dry somewhat for the next opportunity , whether it @ @ @ @ @ offseason .
”

MESA, Ariz. —
Christian Yelich wasn’t around for Yu Darvish’s first Cactus League start Saturday afternoon at Sloan Park, so we’re not sure how the Brewers star would have responded to facing Darvish for the first time since their memorable Twitter beef.
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But after the Cubs’ 4-3 loss to the Brewers, Darvish said he missed seeing Yelich.
“Every time I really want to face him,” Darvish said. “He’s the best hitter in the league. I’m looking forward to facing him in the opening series.”
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So all’s good between your two?
“For what?” he said.
The Twitter thing?
“I don’t care,” he replied. “He’s the MVP. He can say whatever he wants.”
In case you weren’t paying close attention, the Cubs pitcher inadvertently ignited the feud in the fall by responding on Twitter to a video of Darvish stepping off the mound during a matchup against Yelich last summer at Miller Park.
Some interpreted it as Darvish seeing Yelich looking toward the outfield to steal a sign.
“I’m not sure what he’s trying to do,” Darvish tweeted that day. “But to be clear, his eyes move first. That’s why I step off.”
I'm not sure what is he trying to do.
But to be clear his eyes move first.
That's why I step off. — ダルビッシュ有(Yu Darvish) (@faridyu) November 15, 2019
Yelich wasn’t interested in defending himself. He simply tweeted back to Darvish: “Be better than this. No one needs help facing you.”
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Be better than this. Nobody needs help facing you https://t.co/DlUDwjJn4X — Christian Yelich (@ChristianYelich) November 15, 2019
Darvish tried to explain afterward he wasn’t accusing Yelich of stealing signs, but Yelich didn’t respond. At the Cubs Convention in January, Darvish said: “I don’t know him. I think he’s still mad.”
The story probably should end right there. No harm, no foul.
But because the Astros’ sign-stealing saga has stolen spring training, every sign-stealing accusation is an offshoot of the big picture.
Asked recently if the media would “drum up” the Twitter beef this season, Brewers manager Craig Counsell gave us his seal of approval.
“If anyone wants to give Yelich more motivation, I’m all for it,” Counsell said.
The Brewers seldom need any motivation against the Cubs, their big-market archrivals whose fans invade their stadium every spring and summer and turn it into their home away from home. This year will be no different, even if the Cubs did next to nothing this winter and the Brewers seemingly got worse by allowing Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas and others to leave as free agents.
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The roster moves pared the Brewers payroll from a franchise-record $134 million to around $109 million, according to rosterresource.com.
“Yeah, we had an operating loss last year,” owner Mark Attanasio said at the start of spring training. “If you’re going to run a baseball team properly, you really have to look at a rolling basis how you’re doing. We had some (losing) years as we were building, and we always want to keep our powder dry somewhat for the next opportunity, whether it comes next season or next offseason.”
In other words, Attanasio is counting on general manager David Stearns and Counsell to do more with less again, in spite of having the fifth-highest attendance in the National League in 2019.
It’s a vastly different lineup with veterans Justin Smoak at first and Eric Sogard at third, Omar Narvaez behind the plate and former White Sox slugger Avisail Garcia sharing time in right with Ryan Braun. Yelich moves to left field, while Braun also will fill in at first. The rotation also has been shaken and stirred with suboptimal additions such as Brett Anderson, Eric Lauer and Josh Lindblom. At least closer Josh Hader returns.
“It’s going to be a pretty good war in this division,” Cubs shortstop Javier Baez said. “They’ve got a pretty good team and they’ve got pretty good hitters. Same with Cincinnati. We’ve got to bust our butts to beat them. It’s all about competing and giving them everything we have. We’ll see how it goes with them.”
Yelich still hasn’t played this spring after rehabbing from a broken right kneecap that ended another MVP-caliber season in early September. Counsell said Yelich is fine, and the plan all along has been to bring him back slowly in spring training, perhaps eight or nine games in.
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The Brewers survived Yelich’s absence to earn a National League wild-card berth last year. How far could the Brewers have gone had Yelich not been injured?
“It’s natural to think about that, but at the same time everyone has to deal with having significant injuries,” Stearns said. “And we’re no different. I’m really proud of how our team stepped up over the final two or three weeks last year without Yelich. Making the run we did was really rewarding.”
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The more talented Cubs, meanwhile, collapsed over the final two weeks and missed the playoffs. Like the Brewers, they’ll enter the season with plenty of doubters.
“They’re still a good team,” Stearns said. “Don’t worry, Paul.”
Thanks, but I’m really only worried about the Brewers losing money despite having the league’s fifth-highest attendance. Did all the revenue go into a fund for Bernie Brewer’s new slide or for a bigger prize for the winner of the sausage race?
As for the Darvish-Yelich beef, Counsell called it “kind of silly” and thinks it will blow over.
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“That’s just Christian’s response to things,” Counsell said of Yelich’s Twitter game. “He’s got a unique way of responding. Sounds like that’s the way Darvish is too. I didn’t see anything wrong with it.”
Just another day in the Twittersphere, where beefs come out of nowhere, then disappear before you know it.
Check back again when Darvish and Yelich face off in the opening series in Milwaukee, just in case.


chicagotribune--2020-03-01--Chicago’s John Mulaney as Joe Biden on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ touts Michael Jordan’s Bulls glory yea

Chicago’s John Mulaney as Joe Biden on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ touts Michael Jordan’s Bulls glory years

Mulaney returned with an opening monologue that compared the founding fathers to the 1992 Chicago Bulls and questioned the wisdom @ @ @ @ @ Bill of Rights .
But what may linger longest from the night was his role @ @ @ @ @ sketch that took familiar comedy tropes about the frustrations of airline travel and fed them @ @ @ @ @ .

From Kevin Nealon in the ’90s up through recent turns by Jason Sudeikis and Woody Harrelson, Joe Biden has seen almost as many portrayals on “Saturday Night Live” as political campaigns. And, with “SNL” returning after a couple weeks off, the series added a new face to Biden’s ongoing 2020 Democratic campaign: comic John Mulaney.
The former “SNL” writer and creator of the recent kid-tilted Netflix variety show “John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch” and who went to St. Clement School in Lincoln Park became the latest to don Biden’s comb-over in a sketch that touched on the day’s South Carolina primary and the developing coronavirus crisis.
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The cold open began with Beck Bennett as Vice President Mike Pence, who has been placed in charge of information about the growing public health scare. "Even though I don't believe in 'science,'" Bennett's Pence opened his press conference, "this disease has been quite a test of my faith, just like dinosaur bones or Timothée Chalamet."
Kenan Thompson then appeared as Dr. Ben Carson to present an image of the virus — a wide-mouthed Stitch from Disney's "Lilo and Stitch" — before giving way to Fred Armisen's Mike Bloomberg. Asked by Bennett how he joined the gathered press corps, Armisen shrugged and said, "I just walked in coughing and everyone got out of my way."
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The sketch then expanded to the remaining Democratic field, including Bloomberg's debate nemesis in Kate McKinnon's Elizabeth Warren ("I may be fifth in the polls, but I'm number one in your nightmares," she crowed) and Mulaney, who appeared as the night's winner, Joe Biden: "Guess who just came in first in south Cracker Barrel?"
"Joe Biden?" Bennett's Pence questioned the latest face in "SNL's" roster of candidates. "You look ... different."
Mulaney then offered a play on Biden's penchant for non-sequitor storytelling ("Me and Nelson Mandela were palling around South Africa 'Green Book'-style," he began) before the return of campaign's presumptive Democratic front-runner, Larry David's Bernie Sanders, who offered his own response to the coronavirus. "You gotta admit folks, Universal Healthcare doesn't look too bad now, does it?"
Colin Jost also returned as Pete Buttigieg, who took his lumps from Rachel Dratch's Amy Klobuchar ("The moderate from the Midwest schtick is mine," she warned) before returning to David as Sanders, who extolled the virtue of bar soap over Purell. "You know who was a great handwasher? Joseph Stalin," David said. "Just sayin.'"
Mulaney returned with an opening monologue that compared the founding fathers to the 1992 Chicago Bulls and questioned the wisdom of the priorities of the Bill of Rights. But what may linger longest from the night was his role leading a gleefully bizarre mid-episode sketch that took familiar comedy tropes about the frustrations of airline travel and fed them through a celebrity-studded musical review.
Mixing up songs from "Phantom of the Opera," "Annie" and "West Side Story" into various complaints about LaGuardia Airport, the sketch made room for Jake Gyllenhaal as a man who justified his decision to travel in pajamas and Bowen Yang as a surgical mask-wearing "profiled Asian" to the tune of "Suddenly Seymour" from "Little Shop of Horrors" ("No, I wasn't in 'Parasite,' " Yang sang.)
Then, musical guest David Byrne arrived to play a baggage handler to close things out through a take on the Talking Heads’ “Road to Nowhere” recast as “Plane to Nowhere.” Like the best of “SNL,” the Mulaney-led sketch took flight on a determined path from the ridiculous to the sublime.


chicagotribune--2020-02-29--Ask Amy: Facebook 'friend' emerges in real life

I saw him at a fast-food place , and I was n't 100 percent sure I recognized him , but @ @ @ @ @ turned toward me , gave me a beaming smile and walked out laughing .
Later @ @ @ @ @ did not name me specifically , he made a post in one of the groups @ @ @ @ @ say he is a troll , at least someone now had proof he did n't @ @ @ @

Dear Amy: I live in a fairly large community, and I am a member of several local interest groups on Facebook.
Some are hobby-related, and some are community issues (and rant/raves about those issues).
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I'm curious about what someone should do if they happen to see another group member in public? Should one say hi?
Twice recently I have seen individuals in a public place and recognized them from these Facebook groups. In one case it was a lady from a hobby group I'm in, and both of us were in a hurry, but she recognized me too and gave me a quick smile and wave (and I did the same).
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The second instance was a gentleman who is a member of several of the issue-type groups. To be honest, he has gained a bit of a reputation as basically being a troll.
He is sarcastic and enjoys playing devil's advocate most of the time, but I wouldn't call him particularly derogatory.
I saw him at a fast-food place, and I wasn't 100 percent sure I recognized him, but as he left, he turned toward me, gave me a beaming smile and walked out laughing. Later that day, while he did not name me specifically, he made a post in one of the groups stating that while some might say he is a troll, at least someone now had proof he didn't eat like one.
I'm just wondering if in the future I should say hi to a local fellow member of a group?
— Facebook Flummoxed
Dear Flummoxed: Encountering someone in real life whom you know only in the online world can be a surreal experience. I'd compare it to encountering a local TV newscaster. You recognize the person -- but from where? Once you can accurately place the person, it can be too late.
Yes, if you enjoy benign interactions online, you should definitely say hello. I have been fortunate to form wonderful real-world friendships from people I've met online, and the beauty of community-based groups is that by the time you meet each other, you already know quite a bit about the other person.
However, if your instincts tell you to steer clear, then definitely do so.
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Dear Amy: My husband and I went to a diner. When we asked for the check, we were told that a family that had just left had paid for our dinner.
We both asked, "Why?"
The waitress said, "I don't know. They just did."
I asked if they were frequent customers, and the waitress said no.
We asked for the name on their credit card so we could thank them and were told that they paid cash.
We can't understand it. Do you have any idea why someone would do this?
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— Wondering Diners
Dear Wondering: The motivation behind this is simple: There are some kind and generous people in this world who enjoy performing anonymous acts of kindness.
You and your husband might have reminded them of their folks, or other loved ones in their own lives.
Maybe they just received a little windfall and wanted to celebrate by being generous. Or maybe some anonymous person had recently picked up their check, and they wanted to "pay it forward."
I hope this gesture makes you smile. (It makes me smile.) I also hope that you are able to accept this generosity with an open mind and heart. You could pay this forward by performing an anonymous act of kindness toward someone else.
Dear Amy: I read the letter signed "Survivor," who wants to confront her bully.
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I could be that bully.
Like the survivor, I was also sexually abused, beginning at age six. I didn't know how to ask for help and instead I would scream for hours and hours until I lost my voice. Also, like the survivor, no one helped me.
I became terrified of everyone and everything until I began hating everyone and everything. Especially myself.
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I wish I could tell the person I bullied that it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with me. That I thought I was somehow protecting myself by bullying her. It was how I kept people away from me. I think of her every day.
I try to live each day now by being kind. After years of alcoholism I finally got sober and I am trying to help others in their sobriety.
— Also a Survivor
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Dear Survivor: In my response, I pointed out that bullies are often victims, themselves. Congratulations on your own healing.
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--2020-02-29--‘Shoot him’: Viral video appears to show police shooting at Grand Red Line station

In the earlier video , retweeted more than 500 times , the two officers , a man and a woman @ @ @ @ @ , who is standing up until the officers appear to deploy the tasers , bringing @ @ @ @ @ the foot of an escalator that takes commuters up and away from the train platform @ @ @ @ @ the ground , the man continues to struggle against the officers ’ attempts to arrest @ @ @ @ @ to show .

Madeline Buckley, Alice Yin, Javonte Anderson, Jeremy Gorner, Rosemary Sobol

Police officers put up crime scene tape at the corner of Grand Avenue and State Street above the CTA Red Line Grand station on Feb. 28, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
In a viral video of a police shooting that Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls “extremely disturbing,” two Chicago officers appear to struggle to handcuff a man while one of them repeatedly yells “stop resisting” and then “shoot him" at the Grand station on the CTA Red Line just north of downtown Friday evening.
The struggle continues, and an officer yells at the man, “Put your f------ hands down." The man puts his hand over his eyes and appears to stagger, the video shows, and the officer appears to fire her gun at him. Another shot rings out as the man scrambles up the escalator.
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The graphic video of the police shooting was retweeted nearly 4,000 times, and elicited concerned statements from Lightfoot and high-ranking police officials. The Chicago Police Department released an unusually detailed statement that said the department had requested the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to respond “due to the potential criminal nature of this incident.”
This is the two minutes leading up to the previous video. (Twitter won't let me upload it all at once.) pic.twitter.com/rkWrIfSkpE — The Unaffiliated Critic (@FreeRangeCritic) February 28, 2020
“With the strong caveat that one perspective does not depict the entirety of the incident, the video is extremely disturbing and the actions by these officers are deeply concerning,’’ Lightfoot tweeted on Friday night.
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I have viewed the widely shared footage depicting the police-involved shooting at the CTA station. With the strong caveat that one perspective does not depict the entirety of the incident, the video is extremely disturbing and the actions by these officers are deeply concerning. — Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) February 29, 2020
On Saturday, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, “We have serious tactical concerns about what we saw,” with regards to the shooting that was captured on video.
Family members retained attorney Gloria Schmidt to represent them, Schmidt told the Tribune on Saturday.
“My focus right now is to ensure no facts are hidden about the incident,” she said.
Schmidt said her office is doing an “independent investigation into the facts.” Schmidt also represents brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, key prosecution witnesses who told police Jussie Smollett paid them to stage a homophobic and racially charged attack in January 2019.
Schmidt said the man, 33, was shot in the buttocks area and in the abdomen, has already had one surgery but will likely need multiple operations. She visited her client for the first time Saturday night after having issues gaining access to him.
The man was sedated after undergoing surgery, but medical staff would not say what his exact injuries were, Schmidt said. He does not have health insurance.
The man is a lifelong Chicagoan, Schmidt said. He currently works as a cook, and it was his day off when the incident occurred. He does not have children but is close to his family and 5-year-old nephew.
Schmidt said she’s been in communication with the family and the man who filmed the video of the shooting.
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The shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m. Friday as afternoon rush hour was underway at the busy subway station at 521 N. State St., just outside the Loop. Two officers assigned to the mass transit unit tried to stop a man whom they saw “jumping from train (car) to train (car),” which is a violation of a city ordinance, Deputy Superintendent Barbara West said at a Friday night news conference.
Police declined to answer when asked if a weapon was confiscated from the man shot.
The officers chased the man from the train and onto the platform, and then struggled to take him into custody, West said. Both officers deployed their tasers on the man, she said. “At some point” during the brawl, one of the officers discharged their gun, striking the man twice, West said.
Interim Chicago police Superintendent Charlie Beck is “extremely concerned and has significant questions about the incident,” according to a statement from the department.
The Twitter user posted two videos, one, which is 2 minutes and 21 seconds long, purports to show the events leading up to the shooting. The other, 2 minutes and 17 seconds long, appears to show the shooting.
In the earlier video, retweeted more than 500 times, the two officers, a man and a woman, struggle with a man, who is standing up until the officers appear to deploy the tasers, bringing him to the ground at the foot of an escalator that takes commuters up and away from the train platform. As he lies on the ground, the man continues to struggle against the officers’ attempts to arrest him, the video appears to show.
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In the other, more widely shared video, the man repeats: “I didn’t do nothing to you guys."
They continue to struggle, and the male officer yells: “Shoot him," according to the video. The female cop appears to pepper spray him.
The male officer yells, “Give me your hands" as the man continues to writhe on the ground at the foot of the escalator.
Still on the ground, the man struggles to move toward the escalator, the video appears to show. Both officers yell: “Stop resisting.”
The man stands up, still fighting the attempts to restrain him. The male officer again yells, “shoot him" and the female officer steps back. She yells, “Put your f------ hands down," according to the video.
The man appears to stagger, and he puts one hand over his eyes. The female officer appears to fire at him, according to the video. The man yells and tries to run up the escalator, according to the video. The officers follow up the escalator, and another gunshot rings out while the man is not in the frame.
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The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition but was stabilized after surgery, police said.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability will be investigating the shooting, as is routine, and both officers will be restricted from field duties and will be placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation. The department is conducting both administrative and criminal investigations, West said.
The officers started with the police department in late 2017, officials said.
“To ensure full transparency and accountability, I support Superintendent Beck’s decision to contact the State’s Attorney due to the potential criminal nature of this incident," Lightfoot tweeted Friday night.
By early Saturday afternoon, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the American Civil Liberties Union had weighed in:
“The Chicago Police Department contacted the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to review the officer-involved shooting that occurred at a CTA Red Line station on February 28, 2020 for possible criminal charges,’’ a statement from the state’s attorney’s office said. “We are working in partnership with the FBI on this investigation and will be unable to comment further while it is pending.”
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Rachel Murphy, staff attorney of ACLU of Illinois, said in an emailed statement that they called for a “full investigation into this event, with appropriate transparency and accountability.”
“Once again, we see evidence of the lack of meaningful de-escalation by Chicago police officers. A man who apparently did nothing more than jumped trains ultimately was shot yesterday by a police officer, an event captured on video by a fellow CTA rider,’’ Murphy said in the statement.
“The consent decree guiding police reform approved a year ago requires officers to use de-escalation techniques to prevent or reduce the need for force. Likewise, the decree mandates public input into policies that guide policing in Chicago. It is critical that the community be part of the dialogue around when and how officers may use force. Thus far, CPD has not adequately included the public in the process of developing these policies,’’ Murphy said.
The shooting came on the same day Chicago police unveiled plans to beef up patrols because of a spike in crime on the CTA’s rail system. The department announced it will add 50 more officers to the unit that patrols the “L,” bringing the total to 250. And, in a first for the department, each transit unit officer will be equipped with tracking devices to better monitor and adjust how they’re deployed.
The department is also opening a Strategic Decision Support Center in the downtown police district, which for the first time will give police a central location to monitor the system’s 32,000 cameras in real time.
Chicago Tribune reporters Annie Sweeney and Paige Fry contributed to this report.
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chicagotribune--2020-02-29--Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews score shootout goals to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the Panth

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews score shootout goals to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the Panthers

“ You never want to give up one late and have to take it to overtime , ” Crawford said @ @ @ @ @ chances , off the bar , kind of went back and forth , but it @ @ @ @ @ win in the shootout .
”

SUNRISE, Fla. — Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each scored in a shootout to lift the Blackhawks past the Panthers 3-2 on Saturday night.
Toews had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Drake Caggiula scored for the Hawks, who finished 2-2 on their trip. Corey Crawford made 38 saves and stopped both of shots in the shootout.
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“Would have loved to close it out in regulation,” Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. “That would have been easier on everyone.”
Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist, and Mike Matheson scored for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots.
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The Panthers have lost six straight home games. Their last home win was a 4-3 victory against the Kings on Jan. 16. The Panthers are 0-5-1 at home in February. They salvaged a much needed point.
“Tough loss, but we’ll take the point and move in the other direction,“ said Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, who is 1-1 against his former team. He coached the Hawks for 10-plus seasons and won Stanley Cups with the franchise in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
The Panthers are five points behind the Maple Leafs and three behind the Blue Jackets sin the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
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Down 2-1, the Panthers tied it when Matheson scored on a wrist shot from the right circle with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the third.
“We felt good about our odds going into overtime,“ Matheson said. “We created a lot of chances going into overtime. It's frustrating not to see them go in.”
The Blackhawks improved to 4-4 in overtime games this season.
“You never want to give up one late and have to take it to overtime,” Crawford said. “We had some chances, off the bar, kind of went back and forth, but it was nice to get that win in the shootout.”
Caggiula broke a 1-1 tie, deflecting a Connor Murphy shot from the blue line into the net at 6:21 of the second.
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The Panthers took a 1-0 lead when Hoffman skated in on a breakaway and backhanded the puck past Crawford 4:07 in. Hoffman leads the Panthers with 27 goals.
The Hawks tied it at 1 when Toews redirected an Adam Boqvist shot from above the right circle into the net at 12:54 of the first.