chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Investigators complete interviews with survivors of Lisle cigar lounge shooting: ‘A true motive is n

Investigators complete interviews with survivors of Lisle cigar lounge shooting: ‘A true motive is not yet clear’

Bullock and Graham described the incident but could not provide much detail on the relationship between Rieves and McMullan , @ @ @ @ @ , Wilke said .
He noted , though , that Rieves and McMullan seemed to @ @ @ @ @ Humidor .

The parking lot of the Humidor cigar lounge in Lisle, where a shooting on Jan. 24, 2020, left several current and former Illinois State Police troopers dead or wounded. The shooter, a 51-year-old woman, died by suicide at the lounge, according to police. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Investigators have finished interviewing the two men who survived a shooting Friday night in a Lisle cigar lounge, but their accounts did little to explain the attack, in which a retired Illinois State Police trooper was killed, police said.
“A true motive is not yet clear, and will be tough to find due to the circumstances of the case,” Lisle’s acting police chief, Ron Wilke, said Tuesday.
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Lisa V. McMullan, 51, shot and killed retired ISP Trooper Greg Rieves, 51, and injured retired Trooper Lloyd Graham, 55, and off-duty Trooper Kaiton Bullock, 48 before she turned the gun on herself, Lisle police said. She died at the scene at the Humidor, at 1600 Ogden Ave. in the west suburb.
Bullock and Graham described the incident but could not provide much detail on the relationship between Rieves and McMullan, which remains unclear to investigators, Wilke said. He noted, though, that Rieves and McMullan seemed to know each other from the Humidor.
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“We do know they had some relationship, but the extent of it differs depending on whom we interview,” Wilke said.
Surveillance video shows McMullan sitting behind the three men in a “media room,” watching a big-screen television. About 10:10 p.m., she stands up, draws a handgun and fires shots at the three “without apparent provocation,” according to the Lisle Police Department.
Before the shooting, McMullan wrote: “I hate you … hope you two die!” along with Rieves name and the name of another man on the wall of her Hyde Park condo, Lisle police said. The second man referred to in the message is not a police officer.
“It certainly appears based on the evidence on her condominium wall that she was very upset with Greg,” Wilke said. “Why she was so mad has not been determined.”
Rieves retired last year after a 22-year career with the Illinois State Police.
Rieves’ 81-year-old mother, Hattie Rieves, on Saturday told the Tribune that she did not know why anyone would target her son.
“He was a very, very good guy,” she said.
McMullan has no known criminal history, according to the Lisle Police Department. She had a valid firearm owner’s identification card and concealed carry license through the Illinois State Police.
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Wilke said the investigation remains ongoing. They plan to release audio from police dispatchers and police reports when the investigation is complete.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Kobe Bryant’s remains ID’d through fingerprints as NTSB releases new video, says chopper was in ‘ste

Kobe Bryant’s remains ID’d through fingerprints as NTSB releases new video, says chopper was in ‘steep descent at high speed’ before crash

The new video , posted on Twitter , received some negative reaction from fans who found it disrespectful , but @ @ @ @ @ the NTSB ’ s mandate to inform the public and prevent future incidents .
It @ @ @ @ @ debris , examining small components one at a time before shipping them to be reassembled @ @ @ @

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chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Beer and basketball? Northwestern could soon sell alcohol at Welsh-Ryan Arena

The license permit fees would cost $ 6,000 annually , according to the proposal considered by the council .
Alcohol @ @ @ @ @ days where a sporting , recreational or other entertainment event is happening at the arena @ @ @ @ @ sold while food service is also available .

A view at the renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena, the home of Northwestern basketball. Fans could be able to buy alcoholic beverages at arena events, pending Evanston City Council approval. (David Banks / Chicago Tribune)
Northwestern University is one step closer to gaining approval for a request to sell alcohol at basketball and other sporting events at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The proposal was introduced to the Evanston City Council Monday and moved forward on a 5-4 vote. Aldermen Melissa Wyne, 3rd Ward; Tom Suffredin, 6th Ward; Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward; and Cicely Fleming, 9th Ward; voted against the application. The item must return to council for final approval before the permit is issued.
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The application from Levy Premium Foodservice Limited Partnership is for a liquor license that would permit the sale of alcohol at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena to people at least 21 years old, to be consumed at the sporting arena, according to the staff report.
The license permit fees would cost $6,000 annually, according to the proposal considered by the council. Alcohol sales would be restricted to days where a sporting, recreational or other entertainment event is happening at the arena. Alcohol could only be sold while food service is also available.
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A private club area for high-dollar donors at the arena serves alcohol, but sales are not currently allowed at the home of Northwestern basketball.
Evanston’s Liquor Control Review Board recommended issuance of the license on a 3-1 vote at the group’s Jan. 8 meeting, according to the staff report.
While the council did not discuss the item at their Monday meeting, the proposal has generated controversy in the past. It follows a pilot project approved by aldermen last year allowing the university to host for-profit entertainment at the arena.
Neighbors concerned about the additional events also expressed concerns about spectators and fans drinking in the arena and then stumbling out into what is primarily a residential part of town.
If approved, Northwestern would join University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Purdue University in West Lafayette and other Big 10 schools in allowing alcohol at their large sporting events.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--For first time in 33 years, Adler Planetarium installs new telescope to make stars brighter, clearer

She is looking forward , for instance , to an event the week of July 20 , when people who @ @ @ @ @ around 3:30 a.m. on the week ’ s first clear morning and “ see all @ @ @ @ @ for the first time ” at the Adler , using the telescope , Nichols said @

Mark Hanson, left, and Matt Dieterich, technicians from PlaneWave Instruments, install a 24- inch reflective telescope in Doane Observatory at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago on Jan. 28, 2020. The new 24-inch model replaced a 20-inch one and collects 44% more light than the old telescope, according to the Adler. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
It took three days to dismantle the Adler Planetarium’s old telescope late last fall. Putting the new one in took only about two hours Tuesday morning, said Michelle Nichols, the Chicago space museum’s director of public observing.
“It went about as smoothly as it possibly could have,” she said, the only small hitch coming when a couple of metal plates were stuck together by grease and had to be separated with a mallet.
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The new, 24-inch telescope occupies the Doane Observatory immediately east of the main planetarium building along Lake Michigan. It will give Adler astronomers and visitors better optics, more detail and brighter, more pinpoint images of stars compared to the 33-year-old instrument, with a 20-inch-diameter main mirror, that it replaces, she said.
“It allows us to share the sky with as many Chicagoans as we can,” said Nichols. “It allows the experience to be as good as we can possibly bring it.”
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Mark Hanson, left, and Matt Dieterich technicians from PlaneWave Instruments install the 24- inch reflective telescope in Doane Observatory at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
But not right away. First the Adler has to essentially calibrate the new instrument, dial in its focus, learn its operating system and “train about 70 people to operate it,” she said. “It’ll be a few months. It’ll be ready to go when the planets are nice and visible in our evening sky this summer.”
She is looking forward, for instance, to an event the week of July 20, when people who sign up will show up around 3:30 a.m. on the week’s first clear morning and “see all seven planets in the sky for the first time” at the Adler, using the telescope, Nichols said.
This new sky-penetrating power comes at a bargain price. All in, the new instrument cost about $100,000, compared to a $157,000 price tag on its predecessor, or about $355,000 in 2019 dollars.
“Telescopes are not investment tools,” Nichols said drily.
The new telescope is the CDK 24, an f/6.8 corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph telescope, and it is “an innovative solution for unsurpassed astroimaging quality at an affordable price,” says its manufacturer, PlaneWave Instruments of Adrian, Mich.
“The stars will be pinpoints from the center of the field of view out to the corner of the field of view,” pledges the CDK 24 product page.
This is the third telescope installed in the Doane Observatory, which opened in August, 1977, with a fairly basic 16-inch instrument. It used the extra money earned from people coming to view Halley’s Comet in 1985 and 1986 to upgrade to the 20-inch, research-grade reflector telescope in 1987, according to the planetarium.
Adler says it will use the just-installed 24-inch model in a new research program for high school and college students later this year. And although the 2020 schedule is not out yet, it will continue its “Doane at Dusk” viewing events, free monthly opportunities to use the telescope and talk with Adler astronomers.
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sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Column: Kris Bryant losing his service-time grievance is a win-win for the Cubs and a win-lose for C

Column: Kris Bryant losing his service-time grievance is a win-win for the Cubs and a win-lose for Cubs fans

“ I don ’ t think the Cubs ’ decision with what ’ s going to happen with Kris Bryant @ @ @ @ @ Boras ’ business , ” Manfred replied .
“ I think the Cubs — I @ @ @ @ @ make decisions that are best for the long-term competitiveness of that club , and focusing @ @ @ @ @ ( is ) with a club on a day , or days , I don @ @ @ @ @ fair evaluation of what the club is up to .
The Cubs are in the @ @ @ @ @ ’ s going to make them the most competitive over the longest period of time @ @

The Cubs picked up their first win of 2020 with the technical knockout of Kris Bryant in his grievance hearing, but whether it’s time to hoist the “W” flag at Wrigley Field is debatable.
An arbitrator’s decision to deny Bryant’s grievance over his 2015 spring training demotion means the Cubs can keep him under contract through 2021, as expected, theoretically keeping their window to win open for at least two more years.
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But it’s more likely the win means only that the Cubs will get more in return for Bryant when they trade him to stay under the luxury-tax threshold and bring back some young talent to an organization that has failed to draft and develop any stars since Bryant’s arrival.
So it’s a win-win for the Cubs and a win-lose for Cubs fans.
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“It’s going to be a whole lot different, this team without him,” Javier Baez recently said of the Bryant trade rumors. “But we’ll see what happens. If that happens, we’ll see who’s coming (back), who’s not. Hopefully we keep Kris here his entire career. ... If (a trade) happens, I don’t know what is going to be the reaction of the fans — and the players, to be honest.”
We already know how Cubs fans will react.
Few are happy the popular third baseman is even on the trading block or that the Cubs’ only free-agent signings have been outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and reliever Jeremy Jeffress, a couple of cheap pickups of players returning from injuries. Watching the Reds sign Nicholas Castellanos on Tuesday was the capper to one of the most depressing offseasons in years.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 167 Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant stand at the plate during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on July 26, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
But while most of the returning Cubs would be upset at the loss of Bryant, they won’t be as upset as fans. They’re used to the business of baseball, in which no one is considered irreplaceable. If the players from the 2016 championship had their way, the Cubs would have re-signed Dexter Fowler and Jake Arrieta, neither of whom has lived up to his hefty free-agent contract, making management’s decision to part ways look wise.
No one wants to believe the Cubs can come out ahead in a Bryant trade, but it can be done. If the Cubs do trade Bryant, the onus would be on President Theo Epstein to convince fans it was the right decision.
Epstein declined an interview request Wednesday.
How do White Sox fans feel about the Chris Sale trade three years later? After Yoan Moncada’s breakthrough season in 2019 and the promise of Michael Kopech after Tommy John surgery, most would probably say they are happy with it.
The Cubs could get a return that would benefit the organization for five or six more years. A Bryant trade also would facilitate the signing of Baez — the Cubs’ most valuable asset — to an extension. The sting of Bryant leaving would be quickly replaced with the happiness over Baez staying.
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Most fans have forgotten Bryant was demoted on the same day as Baez and Addison Russell, who also were first-round picks and two of the organization’s top prospects at the time.
“I probably can be in this game for a long time and not send down three players that talented on the same day ever again,” Epstein said that afternoon in Mesa, Ariz.
While Baez eventually turned out to be as big a star as Bryant, if not bigger, he wasn’t ripping up the Cactus League that spring, and no one seemed concerned his demotion was connected with service time manipulation. No grievance was filed. There were no angry denunciations from Baez’s agent about his not making the team despite getting a late-season call-up in 2014. And there was not a peep out of Baez himself.
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The focus was all on Bryant, who became a cause celebre around baseball. After agent Scott Boras ripped the Cubs’ decision to demote his client, I asked Commissioner Rob Manfred at a spring training game in Fort Myers, Fla., what he thought about the move.
“I don’t think the Cubs’ decision with what’s going to happen with Kris Bryant is really any of Mr. Boras’ business,” Manfred replied. “I think the Cubs — I know the Cubs — will make decisions that are best for the long-term competitiveness of that club, and focusing on whether a particular player (is) with a club on a day, or days, I don’t think is a fair evaluation of what the club is up to. The Cubs are in the best position to decide what’s going to make them the most competitive over the longest period of time.”
Boras said he believed the “integrity” of the sport was under assault and said the service time loophole should be fixed in the next collective bargaining agreement.
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“My job is to clarify things,” he told me that spring. “When the commissioner says (Bryant’s status is none of my business), I don’t agree with it, and the union doesn’t agree with it. When the commissioner says it’s none of our business to represent a player as an attorney ... that’s why I sent him (former union chief) Marvin Miller’s book. I said, ‘Apparently you didn’t read this.’ ”
The loophole wasn’t fixed in the next CBA, so the players have no one to blame but themselves. If it was that important, the union should have fought harder for a change.
There’s no need to feel sorry for Bryant, who will make $18.6 million this year and should command more than $250 million when he becomes a free agent after 2021.
He lost a battle, but he’ll win the war, wherever he winds up.


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--A sushi bar in a hotel room? Sushi Suite opening in Hotel Lincoln, offering 60-minute omakase dinner

A sushi bar in a hotel room? Sushi Suite opening in Hotel Lincoln, offering 60-minute omakase dinners

In the lounge area , there are snacks and cocktails available .
At the sushi bar , executive chef Kin @ @ @ @ @ and Cagen in New York City ) will deliver a 17-course omakase dinner ( most @ @ @ @ @ bite ) that will take exactly one hour .

A suite inside Hotel Lincoln has been converted into a sushi bar and cocktail lounge, dubbed Sushi Suite 202. (Barry Brecheisen)
Chicagoans soon will be able to check into a hotel-room “dining suite” for an intimate sushi-sake experience like no other. Well, like two others.
Sushi Suite 202 will debut Feb. 14 in the Hotel Lincoln (1816 N. Clark St.). The brainchild of SimpleVenue, an innovative company by owners Michael Sinensky and Erika London, Sushi Suite 202 is patterned after similar operations the pair has launched in New York City and Miami.
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The format is simple. Check in at the front desk, receive a key for room 202 (looking from the outside like any other hotel room, except for the fire-red door frame) and enter a jewel-toned room with velvet lounge seating, cushy ottomans and a six-seat sushi bar.
In the lounge area, there are snacks and cocktails available. At the sushi bar, executive chef Kin Wangchuk (formerly of Masa and Cagen in New York City) will deliver a 17-course omakase dinner (most courses consisting of a single bite) that will take exactly one hour.
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The price for such a dinner? A most reasonable $125, a sum that includes tax and tip.
“Our motto is Sushi For the People,” said Sinensky, “so we priced it affordably.”
[ Find Chicago’s best sushi experience at Mako, chef B.K. Park’s omakase restaurant ]
Omakase meals often cost considerably more — Sushi San’s $45, 45-minute omakase a notable exception — but, Sinensky points out, often last 2 1/2 hours or so.
“Our feeling is, you can come in early, or leave late, but at the counter — one hour.” he said. “This can be a once-a-week, once-a-month experience, as opposed to a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Other notable details include a sake-dispenser that guests operate themselves (three sake tastings, $30), toiletries for purchase (in case you forgot this was a hotel room) and the ability to book an adjoining room to spend the night.
Reservations for February and March are now live at sushisuite.com.


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Jussie Smollett seeking dirt on Chicago’s ex-top cop Eddie Johnson in legal fight with city

Sources have told the Chicago Tribune that Ferguson ’ s office obtained video footage showing Johnson drinking for a few @ @ @ @ @ Oct. 16 with a woman who was not his wife at the Ceres Cafe , @ @ @ @ @ at the Chicago Board of Trade building .
Later that night , when officers responded @ @ @ @ @ Johnson ’ s home , Johnson rolled down the window on his police vehicle partway @ @ @ @ @ drove off , the sources said .

Actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Cook County Jail on March 16, 2022, after he was ordered to be released pending appeal of his conviction and 150-day sentence. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Attorneys for actor Jussie Smollett have subpoenaed a slew of documents about the scandal that led to the ouster last month of Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, including any paperwork showing he was “untruthful or misleading in any statement.”
The seemingly odd request indicates an apparent attempt to paint Johnson as untrustworthy as part of Smollett’s countersuit against the city’s attempt to collect overtime pay incurred by police during its investigation last year into the then-"Empire" actor’s claim that he had been beaten in a racist and homophobic attack.
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Johnson was one of Smollett’s harshest critics, making several impassioned public comments accusing the actor of orchestrating a fake hate crime on himself last January.
To Johnson’s apparent surprise, Cook County prosecutors abruptly dropped charges against Smollett in March, leading the city to sue the actor to try to recoup $130,000 incurred by police in overtime while investigating the alleged hoax.
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Smollett, who has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, has since filed the countersuit against the city, claiming that the prosecution was malicious and caused the actor extreme distress. His attorneys have publicly accused Johnson of making false statements about key evidence in the case.
A court filing by city attorneys Wednesday shows Smollett’s team has subpoenaed Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s office for a vast array of paperwork on Johnson.
[ A timeline of the Jussie Smollett case ]
His attorneys want to know, among other things, how much the city spent to investigate Johnson’s alleged wrongdoing and whether any attempts were made to recoup those costs. They have also requested any documents showing if evidence in the Johnson investigation was destroyed or altered.
The city has objected to the subpoena, saying it was filed improperly under the wrong legal procedure.
Johnson was found asleep in a running car at a stoplight near his home in the Bridgeport neighborhood in October. He was fired in December, weeks before his retirement, after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she learned that Ferguson’s office had uncovered evidence that Johnson had lied about what happened in October.
[ Editorial: Kim Foxx, Jussie Smollett and the questions special prosecutor Dan Webb should answer ]
Sources have told the Chicago Tribune that Ferguson’s office obtained video footage showing Johnson drinking for a few hours on the evening of Oct. 16 with a woman who was not his wife at the Ceres Cafe, a popular restaurant and bar at the Chicago Board of Trade building. Later that night, when officers responded to a 911 call near Johnson’s home, Johnson rolled down the window on his police vehicle partway, flashed his identification and drove off, the sources said.
The Smollett case has drawn national attention and continues to fuel criticism as State’s Attorney Kim Foxx faces a reelection fight.
Police concluded that the actor staged the attack near his home in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood on Jan. 29, hiring two brothers to carry out the hoax while using racist and homophobic slurs and shouting that he was in MAGA country — a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.
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[ Column: Kim Foxx’s ever-evolving excuses in Jussie Smollett case leave questions hovering over state’s attorney’s race ]
Smollett was charged with faking the crime, but Foxx’s office abruptly dropped all 16 counts of disorderly conduct with little explanation at an unannounced court hearing.
The legal fallout continues to reverberate. In August, former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb was named a special prosecutor and given a broad mandate to investigate the case, including looking into if Smollett should again be criminally charged for his actions that night.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Chicago police sergeant wounded in the wrist by suspect in fatal shooting, then continues pursuit an

Chicago police sergeant wounded in the wrist by suspect in fatal shooting, then continues pursuit and pulls gun on him

“ While en route to the hospital , the officer and the transporting unit observed the offender in the pick-up @ @ @ @ @ Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said at the hospital .
The driver asked the sergeant , @ @ @ @ @ to go directly to the hospital or should they apprehend the offender .
He elected @ @ @ @ @ .
’ ’

William Lee, Jeremy Gorner, Rosemary Sobol

Police guard the 4100 block of West Madison Street, near a shooting scene where a Chicago police officer was wounded in the wrist, in the West Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago on Jan. 29, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
A Chicago police sergeant was wounded in the wrist as he tailed a white pickup truck suspected in a fatal shooting, then was picked up by other officers and continued the pursuit, pulling a gun on the suspect after he was stopped near Stroger Hospital, according to authorities.
The 36-year-old suspect was arrested, and a gun was confiscated, police said. The officer was taken to Stroger, across the Eisenhower Expressway, and was listed as stable. The man who was killed was 26.
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The sergeant had been working undercover in an unrelated investigation when he saw the man shot in the head around Madison Street and Karlov Avenue around 2:30 p.m., police said.
Police stand outside Stroger Hospital after an officer was wounded in the wrist by gunfire near the 4000 block of West Madison Street on Jan. 29, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police Interim Superintendent Charlie Beck, left, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot attend a news conference at Stroger Hospital after an officer was wounded in the wrist by gunfire in West Garfield Park on Jan. 29, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The sergeant pursued the suspect’s truck about a block south to Wilcox Street, where the suspect fired twice and hit the sergeant in the wrist, police said.
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Harrison District tactical officers in the area met up with the sergeant and started driving him east toward Stroger, police said. “We have the officer in our car, we’re driving him to Stroger right now,” an officer radioed. “He’s got a gunshot wound to his left forearm.”
On the way, the sergeant spotted the suspect and the tactical team started chasing the truck.
“While en route to the hospital, the officer and the transporting unit observed the offender in the pickup truck," Chicago police Interim Superintendent Charlie Beck said at the hospital. The driver asked the sergeant, “Did he still want to go directly to the hospital or should they apprehend the offender. He elected they should apprehend the offender.”
Police vehicles seal off the area from 4000 to 4200 West Madison Street on Jan. 29, 2020, in Chicago. A police sergeant witnessed a shooting on the street and pursued the suspect, resulting in the officer being shot, according to police. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
The truck was stopped at Harrison Street and Damen Avenue, about 3 miles from where the sergeant was shot, police said.
At some point, the sergeant pulled his gun, but the suspect got away from him on foot before the tactical officers arrested him a short distance away, police said. A gun from the suspect was confiscated.
The officer, in his early 40s, has been on the force for more than 20 years, Beck said. “He is resting. His family is at his side. He is lucid, he is talking to his children on the phone."
Beck turned things over to trauma surgeon Dr. Leah Tatebe, who treated the officer.
“He is expected to be released in the next 24 hours,” Tatebe said.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke next, thanking all the officers working in the area as a “larger part of the team” for their efforts “to take care of one of their own."
“There’s no question that the officer’s work today in recognizing a danger that the community was in (as the gunman fled) … ended up saving other lives," Lightfoot said.
“We owe him and the rest of the team a debt of gratitude," Lightfoot said.
“Anyone who ever doubts that our officers are courageous, fearless, selfless and run towards danger to serve the public, today is another testimony to that fact that they do all of those things every single day," Lightfoot said, adding she was glad no other lives were lost.
Beck took questions from the media, saying no other suspects were being sought and confirming that while other officers have been shot at, the sergeant was the first officer to be shot in 2020.
No charges had been filed as of Wednesday evening for the alleged gunman, who has dozens of arrests dating back to 2002, when he was acquitted for armed robbery.
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Records show the suspect has at least seven convictions, including a 2007 aggravated fleeing or eluding for which he received probation; a 2007 aggravated battery to a police officer for which he was sentenced to community service; a 2009 manufacture or delivery of heroin, which carried a four-year sentence; and a 2014 manufacture or delivery of heroin and cocaine, for which he was sentenced to four years.
Additionally, he was convicted in 2012, 2015 and 2017 of driving on a suspended or revoked license. He was sentenced to one year in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, 24 months of probation for the 2015 conviction and one year in the IDOC for the 2017 conviction.


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Former TV anchor Rafer Weigel says he shouldn’t have been fired after legal battle involving 2 ex-gi

Former TV anchor Rafer Weigel says he shouldn’t have been fired after legal battle involving 2 ex-girlfriends and allegations of revenge porn

According to earlier testimony and court documents , Weigel emailed the Valparaiso woman to tell her Browne had accessed his @ @ @ @ @ the woman sent to him .
Browne allegedly then sent these images to the woman @ @ @ @ @ to her children ’ s school .
The Valparaiso woman also sought an order of @ @ @ @

Rafer Weigel is shown downtown Chicago on Jan. 29, 2020. He was fired from Fox 32 on Monday. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Former TV anchor and reporter Rafer Weigel said Wednesday he was wrongfully fired from his job at WFLD-Ch. 32 because he was caught up in a legal battle involving two ex-girlfriends and allegations of revenge porn.
Weigel’s contract with the station was to run through August of this year. However, Fox 32 claimed he violated the morals clause of the contract by bringing notoriety to the station, Weigel said Wednesday.
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His lawyer and his union representative are set to meet with Fox officials Thursday to discuss a possible resolution. Weigel does not know if the company will offer him severance.
“I’ll just let my team, my union and my lawyer, do their job and kind of surrender,” Weigel said. “That’s kind of been the theme of my life these days.”
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Fox 32 did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday and Wednesday.
Weigel was suspended from the station in late October after a Valparaiso woman was granted an order of protection against him and details of her case became public.
The Valparaiso woman and Weigel had a brief relationship, according to testimony, and she said he continued to harass her after the two broke up.
Kathy Browne of Richmond, Virginia, another ex-girlfriend, was charged in late September with misdemeanor distribution of an intimate image in the criminal case.
According to earlier testimony and court documents, Weigel emailed the Valparaiso woman to tell her Browne had accessed his phone and downloaded compromising pictures the woman sent to him. Browne allegedly then sent these images to the woman and threatened to send them to her children’s school. The Valparaiso woman also sought an order of protection against Browne.
On Jan. 15, the misdemeanor charge of revenge porn and the order of protection against Browne were dismissed.
After his suspension, Weigel began inpatient treatment for sex and love addiction.
“I know people are going to snicker when I say that I’m a love addict, I think people are going to roll their eyes, but at the end of the day it is a real thing, and I’m not making excuses for my behavior by any means,” Weigel said.
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He hoped that if he underwent treatment, Weigel said, and took accountability for his actions, the station would give him another chance, but that was not the case.
On Monday, Weigel announced on Twitter that he had been let go.
“Today my career at Fox32 has come to an end,” Weigel tweeted. “Despite having my case cleared in court, Fox32 let me go. I absolutely acknowledge I made some poor decisions in my life and have learned from them."
Weigel said Wednesday he was grateful for the awareness this situation brought him about his own personal struggles.
“No one should feel sorry for me,” Weigel said. “I made bad decisions and I own those decisions."


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Judge declines to make prosecutors reveal the names of two R. Kelly accusers to his lawyers

The charges allege that Kelly filmed his sexual encounters on multiple occasions with Jane Doe # 2 , who was @ @ @ @ @ The other alleged victim , labeled Jane Doe # 3 in court records , was @ @ @ @ @ her early 20s when Kelly invited her to Chicago for an apparent interview but then @ @ @ @ @ for three days , drugged her and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious , @ @ @

A courtroom sketch shows defense attorneys Ashley Cohen, from left, and Jennifer Bonjean with singer R. Kelly at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Sept. 14, 2022. (Cheryl Cook / Chicago Tribune)
Two of R. Kelly’s accusers will remain anonymous even to the singer himself until just before he faces trial, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday.
Given Kelly’s alleged history of witness tampering and intimidation, prosecutors have a valid reason to keep the women’s names under wraps, U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly decided.
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Kelly is facing a sweeping racketeering indictment in New York alleging he and his associates recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual contact with Kelly, then isolated and threatened them to keep them under his control.
He also faces separate charges of sexual misconduct in federal court in Chicago as well as Cook County criminal court.
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In the case in Brooklyn’s federal court, Kelly’s attorneys sought the two names — they already knew the identities of the other four alleged victims — saying they could not otherwise adequately prepare for trial.
The charges allege that Kelly filmed his sexual encounters on multiple occasions with Jane Doe #2, who was underage at the time. The other alleged victim, labeled Jane Doe #3 in court records, was a radio station intern in her early 20s when Kelly invited her to Chicago for an apparent interview but then locked her in a bathroom for three days, drugged her and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious, prosecutors alleged.
Prosecutors balked at the request to divulge their names to the defense but agreed to let the defense know their identities at least two weeks before trial, scheduled for May 18.
As evidence of Kelly’s alleged intimidation, prosecutors cited his federal indictment in Chicago alleging he paid off witnesses and victims to change their stories to rig his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County.
In a recent court filing, prosecutors also said Kelly, being held in a federal jail in downtown Chicago, used a jail staffer’s phone to make at least one call, circumventing security measures. In addition, an undisclosed attorney smuggled in a letter — marked “Legal” in an attempt to keep authorities from checking its contents — during a jail visit in November.
In her four-page written ruling, Donnelly agreed with prosecutors, noting that judges “routinely” deny requests for victims’ identities in racketeering cases such as the one brought against Kelly.
Kelly is first scheduled to go to trial in April on the charges in Chicago’s federal court.
Kelly, 53, whose legal name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, also faces four separate Cook County indictments accusing him of sexually abusing or assaulting four women — three underage at the time.
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Last week, Cook County prosecutors announced they would first take him to trial in September on charges alleging he sexually abused his then 24-year-old hairdresser in 2003.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Catholic schools in lower-income neighborhoods get $90 million in new funding — a massive investment

Catholic schools in lower-income neighborhoods get $90 million in new funding — a massive investment as schools close across Chicagoland

“ We will still have a role , ” Rigg said .
“ These will still be archdiocesan schools , @ @ @ @ @ employees of the archdiocese , but Big Shoulders will be a far more regular presence @ @ @ @ @ really be on the front lines of setting strategic goals for the future .
”

Students walk toward their lunchroom at St. Pius V Elementary School in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2020. St. Pius V is one of the 30 schools selected by the archdiocese and the Big Shoulders Fund to receive part of a $90 million investment. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
A new partnership between the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Big Shoulders Fund will funnel tens of millions of dollars into Catholic schools in Chicago’s lower-income communities over the next decade, a massive investment that comes amid widespread challenges to keeping schools open.
The archdiocese and Big Shoulders, a local not-for-profit, will invest more than $90 million in 30 Catholic schools located predominantly on the city’s South and West sides, officials announced Wednesday.
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Big Shoulders will donate $47.5 million to schools from Auburn Gresham to the Austin neighborhood over the next 10 years. The archdiocese will provide nearly $45 million, officials said.
“Big Shoulders will take a larger role in setting academic and financial goals at these schools, so they’ll be even more engaged and involved with the schools,” said Jim Rigg, superintendent of Catholic Schools.
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Big Shoulders was established in 1986 to support Catholic schools in the neediest areas of Chicago. It supports 75 Chicago-area schools, and 80% of the students are minorities, according to its website.
The hefty investment will give the not-for-profit 51% control of the 30 schools, said Joshua Hale, president and CEO of the Big Shoulders Fund.
Sixth graders at St. Pius V Elementary School in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood in class on Jan. 28, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Kindergarteners speak to transplant nurse Vanessa Flores during her visit to St. Pius V Elementary School in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood for career day at the school on Jan. 28, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Joshua Coakley, the father of a fifth grade student at St. Malachy Catholic School in the Near West Side, praised both the archdiocese and Big Shoulders for working together to do what’s best for the students.
“It’s clear they care about all their students,” he said. “No matter where they’re from.”
Another St. Malachy parent, Yvonne Corona, experienced the work of Big Shoulders firsthand. Her daughter attends St. Malachy tuition-free after receiving a scholarship from Big Shoulders.
“I know they help students and parents,” she said. “They’ve been doing good, and I’m glad they’ll continue to be around to support us.”
Moving forward, Big Shoulders will work more closely with school principals and also have the authority to hire principals, Hale said.
“We hope that this near $50 million investment helps create stronger communities and give more children access to quality education and help close the economic gap,” Hale said.
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While Big Shoulders will have more involvement, the schools will still be run by the archdiocese and the local parishes.
“We will still have a role,” Rigg said. “These will still be archdiocesan schools, the employees will still be employees of the archdiocese, but Big Shoulders will be a far more regular presence in the schools and will really be on the front lines of setting strategic goals for the future.”
This announcement comes as Catholic schools continue to close their doors in the face of declining enrollment and financial challenges. Earlier this month, the archdiocese announced the closure of five schools.
But Rigg said the 30 selected schools are not at risk for immediate closure. Instead, they were selected because they represent Chicago’s higher-poverty populations.
“We know that many of these schools sit in troubled neighborhoods across Chicago,” Rigg said. “We believe that Catholic schools are anchors for these neighborhoods and vitally important to our ongoing mission to serve all types of families in Catholic education.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich called the partnership between the archdiocese and Big Shoulders a “historic agreement.”
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“Our Catholic schools are true beacons of hope; changing lives, developing engaged citizens through school choice and contributing to the common good of our great city,” Cupich said in a written statement.
Big Shoulders will “invest heavily on the academic side,” including curriculum development, technology in the classrooms and student scholarships, Hale said. They will also be focused on identifying and attracting “great” teachers and principals.
“I think it’s critical for the future of Chicago,” Hale said of the Big Shoulders and archdiocese investment in the schools. “We need strong community-based organizations.”
Principals at the selected schools applauded the agreement between the archdiocese and Big Shoulders, optimistic that the extended agreement would bring financial stability to schools in lower-income areas.
“This gives us so much more security,” said Pat Dwyer, principal at St. Malachy. “We can not only provide more to our students, but now we can look ahead to the future.”
Philip Bazile, principal at Augustus Tolton Catholic Academy, echoed Dwyer’s enthusiasm. From tutoring students to helping fill out paperwork, Big Shoulders has been an aid to the South Side school for years, Bazile said.
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“Even more so than the money, they dedicate their time to us,” he said. “It’s fitting they’re called Big Shoulders. They’re like a shoulder you can rely on for real.”
janderson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Gamer-friendly Atari Hotel bringing ‘immersive experiences’ to Chicago

Murphy said the firm has been scouting sites in Chicago and moving fast to get an Atari Hotel in the @ @ @ @ @ ve been to Chicago a number of times ... probably about a dozen times in @ @ @ @ @ ” Murphy said .

Atari announced this week a deal with GSD Group to build hotels, like the one rendered here, in major cities that use the video game brand as a lodging and hospitality theme. (Atari)
Anyone who grew up with Atari, the video game company known for arcade brands like “Asteroids” and “Pong” as well as a home game console, will have a chance to relive those memories in a theme hotel coming to Chicago.
Atari announced this week a deal with GSD Group, a Phoenix-based firm, to build hotels in major cities centered around the iconic brand. The first location will be in Phoenix, with additional hotels in Chicago; Las Vegas; Denver; Seattle; San Francisco; Austin, Texas; and San Jose, California.
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GSD Group CEO Shelly Murphy said the firm, along with Napoleon Smith III, producer of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film franchise reboot, will be in charge of hotel development and design. True North Studio, a Phoenix-based commercial real estate developer, also will be involved with building Atari Hotels.
Under a licensing agreement, Paris-based Atari will receive 5% of hotel revenues.
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Murphy said the firm has been scouting sites in Chicago and moving fast to get an Atari Hotel in the city. “We’ve been to Chicago a number of times ... probably about a dozen times in the last six months,” Murphy said.
[ Be our guest! Chicago lands on top travel lists for hotels, bars and experiences ]
The Chicago hotel would be bigger than the hotel in Phoenix, she said. Construction on that hotel is expected to begin later this year.
Atari Hotels said its locations will offer “immersive experiences” for all ages, including virtual and augmented reality, and certain locations will house esports events.
Smith said in a news release that the hotels will have a “nostalgic and retro meets modern" design.
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abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Judge confines Chicago madam to home for posting help-wanted ad for ‘kink friendly’ fetish workers w

Judge confines Chicago madam to home for posting help-wanted ad for ‘kink friendly’ fetish workers while awaiting prostitution trial. ‘We’re not talking about a kink in an electrical line.’

“ She can get a job at a store , she can do other kinds of employment , but not @ @ @ @ @ she describes as legal in nature , '' Valdez said at the time .
“ @ @ @ @ @ a different line of work at this stage .
And if you win the case @ @ @ @ @ .
”

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a West Side madam placed on home confinement for violating the bond set in her prostitution case by posting a help wanted ad seeking “kink friendly” employees to work at her “playhouse.”
Prosecutors had sought to jail Jessica Nesbitt pending trial, arguing in a filing last week that Nesbitt thumbed her nose at the court’s order to stay away from the sex industry while her charges were pending.
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Nesbitt’s attorneys, however, said the ad placed by Nesbitt on the fetish site sexyjobs.com was an innocuous attempt to rent out her three-flat building in the 2400 block of West Augusta Boulevard for “pole fitness” and "erotic yoga” events.
In her ruling Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez bristled at the suggestion that the ad wasn’t sexual in nature, saying it was clearly “not a sewing circle” that Nesbitt was looking to put together.
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“I don’t think there needs to be any more said about what kind of individual she was seeking to hire,” Valdez said. “We’re not talking about a kink in an electrical line. ... I’d made it very clear to Ms. Nesbitt that she needed to get a whole new line of work."
But the judge said the violation — while troubling — did not rise to the level that required Nesbitt to be locked up, particularly given that she’s a single mother of a teenage son.
Instead, Valdez ordered Nesbitt, who also goes by the name “Madame Priscilla Belle," to remain on home confinement while the charges are pending. She will be allowed to leave her residence only for court appearances and medical or religious appointments.
Nesbitt, 31, was charged in a 13-count indictment unsealed in September with prostitution, conspiracy to commit prostitution and illegally structuring bank withdrawals to evade reporting requirements. She has pleaded not guilty and has been free on a $250,000 unsecured bond.
Her business, Kink Extraordinaire, touted itself on social media as a legal outlet for fetishes, role-playing, “forced interactions” and “taboo exploration.”
“Follow us for day-to-day open kinky fun at our play space, birthday spankings, stories of erotica, holiday spice, and exclusive play party updates,” read one Twitter post from 2018.
The indictment, however, alleged that from 2010 to 2017, Nesbitt placed ads on websites such as backpage.com and eros.com offering paid sex with herself and at least six employees.
Nesbitt also emailed invitations to her clients for paid sex and fetish parties, including events titled “Halloween Mischief” and “Black Tie Bizarre,” the indictment said.
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In addition to acts of prostitution carried out in Nesbitt’s building, she arranged for herself and her employees to perform sex acts in California, Washington, Florida, Indiana, Nevada and Wisconsin, the indictment alleged.
The most serious charges carry up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
In setting bond, Valdez told Nesbitt she was forbidden from engaging in any fetish-related activities — including role-playing or use of sex toys — while awaiting trial.
Valdez also rejected a plea from Nesbitt’s attorney, Barry Sheppard, to allow her to continue to do phone sex while on bond.
“She can get a job at a store, she can do other kinds of employment, but not the types of activities that she describes as legal in nature," Valdez said at the time. “In other words, get a different line of work at this stage. And if you win the case, then you go back.”
According to prosecutors, Nesbitt made no effort to find legitimate work. Instead, she placed an online ad in December promising an extraordinary opportunity at a Chicago “members only” club.
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“The Premier Playhouse was designed for the kink friendly and has been providing legal fun for 10+ years,” the ad said. “We need charming classy individuals who love the spotlight and who can welcome curious newcomers and seasoned Kinksters to our incredible and luxurious 5 floor playhouse. Apply now!”
Sheppard said Wednesday it appeared that prosecutors had “some kind of grudge” against his client.
“I don’t know if it’s a moral offense,” he said.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--16 cult pizzas in Chicago you don’t know — unless you’re part of the cult

Pizza here is a respite .
Grab a seat in the window at Pizza Castle in Gage Park — there @ @ @ @ @ — and admire the homemade collages of photographs of its regulars , pasted together as @ @ @ @ @ stretching back decades .
The red sauce is great , the grease is ample ; @ @ @ @ @ , is begging to be cut into triangles then folded and shoveled in your mouth @ @ @ @ @ Since 1973 , Pizza Castle has been a cramped sliver of a strip-mall anchor .
@ @ @ @ @ to stand , customers hover at the take-out counter , chatting up owner Rich Jensen @ @ @ @ @ succinctly and proudly described their modest place in the multiverse : “ Everyone has their @ @ @ @ @ give up on , you know ?
And we happen to be this neighborhood ’ @ @ @ @

Cult pizza — which is what I call Chicago pizza that has a substantial following yet doesn’t always work its way to best-of lists, inspire lines of tourists or rattle reflexively off tongues that brag about Chicago being the greatest pizza town in America — is our everyday pizza.
It’s your neighborhood pizza, it’s the pizza you grab on the way home, the pizza you crawl into when 6 inches of snow cover the ground and the pizza you return to decades after you have moved away somewhere. Its makers occupy Chicago storefronts that are closer to urban wallpaper, everywhere and nowhere, seen and not seen, necessary to live here yet taken for granted, paradoxically rooted in your personal history though somehow underrated.
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Cult pizza is family.
Odd as it is to suggest a parallel world of local pizza consumption — operating in plain sight, away from the fashionable, the trends, the food writers, the calcified mirage of a deep-dish Chicago pizza mecca — that’s exactly how I’ve come to see cult pizza, as a multiverse.
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And like any multiverse, a handful of planets seem to soak up all the oxygen, meanwhile the sky is full of stars, each an alternate reality burning brighter the closer you stand. The pizza in this multiverse transcends critical thought. Typical physics don’t apply. Pizza here is sometimes great, sometimes trash, but always comfortable. Outside the cult, it may leave no impression, it may taste like an imitation. Either way, it’s rarely a benchmark pizza, and never a famous pizza. Its ovens were not shipped from Italy, its dough likely didn’t ferment for days.
But the heart wants what it wants.
The cult abides.
I mention this because we are in Pizza Season.
January, February, March. We stay closer to home and prefer the familiar.
The pizza is ripest about now. And so, not long ago, in anticipation of this most magical time of the year, I took a self-guided, not-at-all-thorough tour of the Chicago pizza multiverse, on an earnest mission of understanding, on the hunt for what might be regarded as the most unappreciated pizzas (outside their already sizable followings) in the Chicago area.
Nate Gaschler, 12, and Cooper Gaschler, 13, have pizza Jan. 21, 2020, at Bill's Pizza in Mundelein. The pizzeria dining room resembles a hunting lodge, with taxidermic animals all about. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Beginning with Bill’s Pizza & Pub in Mundelein, in many ways the ultimate cult pizza parlor: You might not exactly see the attraction, but then, who really cares what you see?
Bill’s resembles a hunting lodge. Its seats are dark pews, its walls are covered in taxidermic foxes, deer and raccoons; those mounted fish alongside your head come direct from founder Bill Kwiatkowski and the three generations of family that have run Bill’s since it opened in 1957. Bill was just a teenager at the time; now he’s 80. The Double Decker pizza (which Bill’s claims to have invented) is the star of the menu. The cut is tavern-style, the sauce is somewhat like gravy, the crust is firm, the onions curl through amorphous globs of cheese — it all feels as if it’s always been like this. Same goes for the peanut shells crunching beneath your feet (you’re encouraged to toss them on the floor) and Bill’s brown facade — “the ugliest dark brown you’ll ever see,” said Bill’s grandson Erik Rouse with some pride.
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Rich Jensen takes an order over the phone while his son Rick Jensen makes pizzas Jan. 22, 2020, at Pizza Castle in Gage Park, where they have been turning out tavern-style pies since 1973. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Place matters in the pizza multiverse, arguably as much as pizza.
Pizza here is a respite. Grab a seat in the window at Pizza Castle in Gage Park — there are only five, total — and admire the homemade collages of photographs of its regulars, pasted together as class photos of sorts, stretching back decades. The red sauce is great, the grease is ample; the pizza, tavern-style again, is begging to be cut into triangles then folded and shoveled in your mouth. But more importantly: Since 1973, Pizza Castle has been a cramped sliver of a strip-mall anchor. Because there’s nowhere to stand, customers hover at the take-out counter, chatting up owner Rich Jensen and son Rick, who succinctly and proudly described their modest place in the multiverse: “Everyone has their pizza that they will never give up on, you know? And we happen to be this neighborhood’s pizza.”
Permanence is its own attraction.
Indeed, there are so many aging, quietly imbedded pizza parlors like this within a brief drive from Midway, I came to regard 63rd Street as the Midway Pizza Corridor. Think scalloped paper plates and wood-paneled walls, waitresses standing on their feet for a dozen hours, serving customers hunched into vinyl booths beneath framed clippings published during presidential administrations long gone. The pizza places here look as if they have always been here, as if they came up from the soil ages ago, and now refuse to budge. None more so than Palermo’s of 63rd Street in Chicago, which started in 1961, founded by Antonio and Carmella Calderone, Sicilian immigrants whose son Frank still operates and cooks at the restaurant.
I went on a Sunday. The dining room resembled a once-bustling banquet hall, the waitresses wore Bears shirts, and the cushion in my booth was so unsteady I could have been sitting on a waterbed. Frank Calderone, his hair white and slicked, his eyebrows dark and bushy, emerged from the back with his apron stained by tomatoes. He shook hands with a former regular, a guy who was visiting from Florida. The man told Calderone that, in Florida, he can’t get decent pizza anymore.
Calderone threw up his hands in outrage.
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He went back to the kitchen and returned with ice cream sandwiches, not only for the old friend but for everyone in the dining room. He did this just because. Older now, Calderone is still recognizable from photos on the wall. When we talked later, he noted no less than three times the very day the Chicago Daily News said he had the best pizza in the city: Aug. 31, 1971.
Permanence, however, can be an illusion.
No one would confuse Our House — not a decade old, and better known as the traveling pizza kitchen from baker Rachel Post, a summer staple of Green City Market and Logan Square farmer markets — with an institution. You grabbed a pizza, sat in the grass for an impromptu picnic. The reliable pizzas and devoted following looked timeless. Except it wasn’t: Our House is now closed, Post told me. Not enough people paid for that experience, she said. They took pictures of her domed, Tatooine-like oven, but they didn’t necessarily buy anything.
The pizza at Lefty's in Wilmette is a kind of compromise between deep dish and the pan pizzas popularized by Burt's and Pequod's. (Chris Borrelli/Chicago Tribune)
In the pizza multiverse, a vulnerability is never far from a strength.
The sauce at Palermo’s has a sugary sweetness that might make many pause — and yet without that sweetness, it’s not a Palermo’s. Small distinctions are enormous gulfs in the multiverse.
Consider the very good Lefty’s Pizza Kitchen in Wilmette, only a year and a half old and already pulling a hardcore following (and likely to expand north into Highland Park soon). Lefty’s adheres closely to a North Shore tradition of pan pies with bright chunky tomato and burnt, near-caramelized ends. Which makes sense. Owner John Munao was a partner in the revived Burt’s Place in Morton Grove, the famed pan-pizza originators. Yet Lefty’s pie is a compromise, with a doughier base than deep dish, never scorching a crust like Burt.
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Likewise, without its rich sauce and rolling browned meadows of cheese, it’s hard to imagine distinguishing Joe’s Italian Villa in Palos Heights from a million other tavern-style crusts in the Southwest Suburbs. But it’s great pizza, around since 1947 exactly because of those subtleties. Detail matters: The cash register is analog, the booths are terrible red-black-green vinyl. Even the chef illustration on the to-go box is theirs, a kind of fat ghost in a toque.
The wonderfully simple pizzas (served only Thursdays through Sundays) at Smack Dab in Rogers Park are perfectly balanced, slightly greasy, zero-pretense, slightly spicy, East Coast-style thin pies. (Chris Borrelli/Chicago Tribune)
Not that every place in the pizza multiverse is a shade removed from another place.
Smack Dab in Rogers Park — which has the best pizza in Chicago you had no idea about — is actually a breakfast spot and bakery on Clark Street that at night, from Thursday through Sunday only, delivers a perfectly balanced, slightly greasy, zero-pretense, slightly spicy, East Coast-style thin pie. It would rather hit all the classic slice-and-a-Coke notes of an old-school pizza parlor than reinvent the wheel. Yes, Smack Dab wears progressive politics on its sleeve to such an admirable degree — they sell “Gender is over if you want it” T-shirts — that you might assume they’d strive to innovate or at least they’d be afflicted with that Chicago comfort-food disease of not leaving well-enough alone.
But no.
“Truth is I wanted pizza that was just a bit better than what I grew up with,” said owner Axel Erkenswick, “and what I grew up eating (in Edgewater) was trash, but fun to eat.”
The sausage (with pickled onions) at Bob's Pizza in Pilsen, which opened this summer. (Chris Borrelli/Chicago Tribune)
Which is a good description of many cult pizzas.
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Bob’s Pizza in Pilsen, wowing its gentrifying neighborhood since it opened in summer, strikes a similar balance. There’s nothing low-rent here; its crust, also East Coast-thin, is made with beer instead of water, allowing a chewy tang that’s malty and rich; its ingredients include the trendy (honey) and counterintuitive (pickles). But hugging a residential corner alongside Mexican markets, with its old Zaxxon machine set to free-play, football on wide-screens and cheese that stretches for days, its heart is at home. And home is specific.
Stix N’ Brix on Armour Square Park, about two years old, within cheering distance of the White Sox, offers smart, somewhat small wood-fired pizzas that, at a glance, resemble those floppy, orthodox Neapolitan pizzas found in slews of places across town. Except owner Mario Scalise doesn’t want that authentic flop. Fashionable as Stix N’ Brix appears (brick walls, fig-jam pizzas, Monday night yoga classes), the dough isn’t pushed outward to the edges for a pillowy crust but leveled across, allowing for a meatier bite.
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Scalise wonders aloud, in fact, if they might be a touch too unusual for Bridgeport, if this isn’t their proper home, if they wouldn’t fare better maybe in the West Loop: “You ask people in this neighborhood what the best pizza is and people tell you immediately that it’s Phil’s,” he said, referencing another, more-ingrained Bridgeport spot, one that’s 60 years old, with a following that, like many cult followings, can be difficult to comprehend if standing outside.
The Locale pizza with bright tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, locally made sausage and organic mushrooms on a thin, yet chewy crust at Forno Rosso, 3719 N. Harlem Ave. (Chicago Tribune)
Home is like that.
You know you’re at Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana in Dunning when they refuse to cut a pizza into more than four slices (or six, if you plead). Or at Rosangela’s in Evergreen Park — started 65 years ago — when the place is packed before rush hour even begins, everyone in the wooden pews knows everyone else and a little more browned bubbling is allowed than typical of other tavern-style, cracker-crust joints.
You know you’re at Barone’s of Glen Ellyn when the crust is full of air and the deep dish comes with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese already sifted on the top of the sauce. Owner Dena Colie said what I had heard, more or less, from many owners of cult pizza parlors, that the customers who move away tend to harbor a palpable craving for their home.
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Union Squared ladles the sauce on top of the cheese and other ingredients. (Jim Young/for the Chicago Tribune)
It’s called nostalgia and for a long time it was thought about as a clinical ailment and often diagnosed in soldiers who spent years from home, missing their friends and families. It might explain why Dante’s Pizzeria in Logan Square and Avondale remains such a criminally underrated cult — perhaps those glistening, thin UFOs of cheese that stretch out 20 inches wide and occupy whole tables are more cravable to East Coast expats than native Chicagoans? It could justify why Union Squared in Evanston — light, nearly-focaccia blocks with tomato sauce ladled across the top of the ingredients, better known as Detroit-style — has had trouble expanding outside its hardcore neighborhood following, closing downtown and Wrigleyville locations not long after opening. Pizza feels tribal, said Union Squared co-owner Vince DiBattista, “so people assume they already know what they like.”
Barnaby's of Northbrook is known for thick, granular crusts with curled ridges. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
And what they like, in Northbrook, what they have liked since the Johnson administration, is this place called Barnaby’s. Think granular crusts with a generous amount of cornmeal and curled ridges that wouldn’t look out of place on an apple pie. Orders are placed at the counter and numbers are read through a deep-toned intercom. Booths are dark wood. Natural light barely penetrates the dining room, which lends a feeling of eating inside a sepia-toned Polaroid. Complimentary cheese and crackers sit on the front counter, just like at your aunt’s, in 1976. The food’s OK, but Barnaby’s is often packed. I can’t say I understand this, but then I was too busy sipping the root beer (served on tap) to drink the Kool-Aid.
cborrelli@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--New Era’s ‘Team Describe’ MLB hat line highlights Chicago in the most stereotypical way possible — d

New Era’s ‘Team Describe’ MLB hat line highlights Chicago in the most stereotypical way possible — deep-dish pizza

Many of the logos featured on the front of the hats are fitting .
The Phillies ’ `` P '' @ @ @ @ @ Liberty Bell and the Yankees ’ “ NY ” emblem is placed alongside the Statue @ @ @ @ @ teams were predictably assigned the city ’ s iconic flag .

New Era’s decision to celebrate Chicago in its “Team Describe” series likely came from a good place, but the hat company didn’t exactly stick the landing.
The Cubs and White Sox, teams with classic logos and iconic brands, were included in a 10-team campaign that highlights important landmarks and popular food items in each baseball city. Customized patches are included on the front and back sides of each hat.
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Many of the logos featured on the front of the hats are fitting. The Phillies’ "P" logo is paired with the Liberty Bell and the Yankees’ “NY” emblem is placed alongside the Statue of Liberty. Both Chicago teams were predictably assigned the city’s iconic flag.
Things get interesting when you turn the hats backward as New Era shifts from more suitable symbols to ... tacos?
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So Cubs and White Sox fans, what do you think of these new caps from @NewEraCap called “Team Describe,” that features the Chicago flag in the front and deep dish pizza in the back? @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/QFwevgXvqZ — Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) January 29, 2020
In the campaign geared toward engineering geographical pride, the the Dodgers hat features tacos. The Red Sox were given a lobster roll. The Giants hat has sushi on the back. And the food highlighted for both Chicago teams — you guessed it — is deep-dish pizza.
Clearly, different food is associated with different geographical regions, but this was an odd turn. As any Chicago resident who has experienced a pizza-stained shirt will tell you, food and clothing shouldn’t mix.


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Bakers Square bankruptcy closes five Chicago-area restaurants

The company said financial trends have been negative since 2017 , as the restaurants struggled with declining sales .
It @ @ @ @ @ million last year and $ 11 million in 2018 , according to the bankruptcy filing @ @ @ @ @ , the company has 22 Bakers Square and 159 Village Inn restaurants in operation .

Bakers Square has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after closing locations over the weekend in Orland Park, Alsip, Lansing and northwest Indiana. (Bob Bong / Daily Southtown)
Citing increased competition and declining foot traffic, Bakers Square has shuttered five of its Chicago-area restaurants as the owner of the iconic chain — best known for its pies — seeks bankruptcy protection.
Nashville, Tennessee-based American Blue Ribbon Holdings, which operates the Bakers Square and Village Inn restaurant chains, closed 33 locations and laid off about 1,100 employees across the U.S. to reduce losses, according to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing Monday in Delaware federal court.
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In addition to the restaurants, the company’s Legendary Baking unit operates a pie baking facility in suburban Oak Forest and a distribution center in Chicago.
Bakers Square restaurants in Libertyville, Lansing, Alsip, Orland Park and Merrillville were among those closed Friday in what the company called a “tough but necessary” decision. Ten Chicago-area Bakers Square restaurants will remain open, including one city location in Chicago’s Norwood Park.
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[ Bar Louie gastropub chain files for bankruptcy, closes 38 restaurants ]
“This is never an easy decision to make and one driven by many business factors," the company said in a news release. “It is important to note that all team members will be relocated to another nearby location or provided a severance package.”
The company said financial trends have been negative since 2017, as the restaurants struggled with declining sales. It reported losses of $7 million last year and $11 million in 2018, according to the bankruptcy filing. After the store closings, the company has 22 Bakers Square and 159 Village Inn restaurants in operation.
American Blue Ribbon, which acquired the chains out of bankruptcy in 2009, has obtained a $20 million line of credit to continue running the restaurants while exploring “a variety of strategic and structural initiatives” to position the company for success.
[ Old Bay’s new ‘limited edition’ hot sauce sells out in less than an hour, crashes website ]
A spokesman did not respond to requests for further comment Wednesday.
Bakers Square has been a casual restaurant and pie destination in the Chicago area for more than 40 years. Beginning as an independent Des Moines, Iowa, restaurant renowned for its homemade pies, the Midwest chain was launched in the early 1970s as Poppin’ Fresh Pies by then-owner Pillsbury.
The concept of going to a restaurant for the promise of pie caught on quickly, with 15 Poppin’ Fresh locations in the Chicago area by 1976.
In 1983, Pillsbury sold the chain, which had expanded to 69 restaurants in several Midwest cities, to Vicorp, a Denver-based restaurant group. The deal included 32 Poppin’ Fresh locations in Chicago — the most of any city.
The following year, the restaurants were rebranded as Bakers Square, but the draw remained pie offerings such as French Silk. A 1984 television campaign reassured customers that the new name didn’t change the end game — getting a slice of pie for dessert.
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The restaurant group, which also operated the Village Inn chain, ran into financial difficulties during the Great Recession and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2008, closing 132 restaurants under both banners.
In 2009, Vicorp Restaurants sold both the Bakers Square and Village Inn chains to American Blue Ribbon Holdings, a newly formed investment group, for $55 million.
Pies remained central to the business model with Legendary Baking, the company’s manufacturing operation, supplying more than 25 million pies annually to its restaurants, as well as independent bakers and other retail and grocery customers.
French Silk lovers need not despair. The company is pledging to bake on throughout its bankruptcy “without interruption,” according to its news release.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Old Bay’s new ‘limited edition’ hot sauce sells out in less than an hour, crashes website

The transformation of Old Bay from spice blend to sauce was announced only Tuesday , but all three available products @ @ @ @ @ bottles ( $ 12.99 ) , 3-pack of 5-ounce bottles ( $ 9.99 ) and @ @ @ @ @ 11.29 ) — sold out in less than an hour online , according to a @ @ @ @ @ s parent company McCormick .

Spice maker McCormick & Co. released an Old Bay-flavored hot sauce Wednesday. It sold out in less than an hour online. (Jerry Jackson)
Here’s some good news: Beloved seasoning salt Old Bay has created a limited edition hot sauce, featuring its famous flavor profile, for the first time in the brand’s 81-year history.
Here’s some bad news: The hot sauce, which was released Wednesday morning, has already sold out.
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The transformation of Old Bay from spice blend to sauce was announced only Tuesday, but all three available products — a 3-pack of 12-ounce bottles ($12.99), 3-pack of 5-ounce bottles ($9.99) and a 64-ounce jug ($11.29) — sold out in less than an hour online, according to a representative for Old Bay’s parent company McCormick.
Eventually fans crashed the website. Disappointed, would-be customers tweeted about the site malfunctioning or dead-ending at “502 Bad Gateway” pages, leaving them without sauce. The McCormick rep wrote in an email that Old Bay was expecting a strong response based on social media, but not this big:
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“From what I understand, people kept refreshing the page and were ready when the product went on sale,” she wrote.
Your ❤ for all things OLD BAY may have broken the Internet. 🔥 Thanks for always being ready to try something new. SOLD OUT, but RESTOCKING. Please stay tuned! — OLD BAY (@OLDBAYSeasoning) January 29, 2020
A restock is coming, she confirmed, and they plan to share the news via social media when the hot sauce will be available again.
For those who were able to snatch some during this first round, hope you ordered plenty.
adlukach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Review: In ‘Verböten,’ Jason Narducy dares to create a punk musical set in 1980s Chicago

That ’ s partly due to a blistering central performance from McCabe , who here does the kind of work that makes the argument that wherever “ Verböten ” might go next , McCabe certainly should be along for that ride .
Most of the kids in “ Verböten ” come from complex families , at least in their own minds , and the show deals with three of the omnipresent and timeless states of teenage-parent relationships : embarrassment , alienation and love .
I know whereof I speak here and full disclosure requires me revealing that I saw the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at various telling moments , turned from the stage and stared directly at me , as if ensuring that whatever Jason or Tracey or Chris or Zack were saying/feeling had sufficiently imprinted itself on my limited consciousness .
For better or worse , this is very much a show about the relationships between fathers and sons , and you can imagine demographic combos like mine finding food here for post-show discussion , especially those dads who really were in a punk band and now have kids who can not quite believe that ever @ @ @ @

Just as “Hamilton” is not entirely a hip-hop musical, so “Verböten,” the very sweet and promising new musical at the House Theatre of Chicago with clear off-Broadway prospects, is not entirely a punk show.
That’s not to say its composer lacks punk bonafides — Jason Narducy went on to front the band Split Single and played bass with Superchunk and Bob Mould of Husker Du fame. Nor is to say that “Verböten,” which happens to be the name of the band that Narducy founded during his school days in Evanston, lacks numbers filled with thrashy, distorted guitar sounds in the vein of the Ramones or Naked Raygun. It’s fair to say that a healthy portion of the movement you will be watching at the Chopin Theatre consists of teenagers jumping up and down in their basements, irritating their parents upstairs.
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But Narducy — who proves himself here to be a very effective theatrical songwriter — has been smart enough to offer a broader musical palette. In essence, the teenage members of “Verböten" play and sing, ahem, within the punk penumbra while their parents, who are a pretty big part of the story, sing the kind of classic stuff that a music-loving middle-aged person would have been listening to in the early 1980s. Take it all together and “Verböten” already has a better original score than plenty of the shows I’ve seen of late on Broadway. Plus it has a rare calling card, the sheer audacity of trying to create a musical rooted not in Sid and Nancy, but in all-American, Midwestern punk. Assuming we can all settle on what that means.
The simple story involves Jason (Kieran McCabe), Tracey (Krystal Ortiz), Chris (Matthew Lunt) and Zack (Jeff Kurysz), otherwise known as Verböten, spilling out their teenage angst. This hardly is the first musical about using a rock band as a means of escape from being misunderstood by your parents (“School of Rock" and so on), but it’s a perennially appealing narrative. The book, written by Brett Neveu, is a kind of quest: Will our heroes make it through their big Wrigleyville gig at the Cubby Bear without (a) losing their teenage minds; (b) beating up their parents; (c) being beaten up by their parents; or (d) imploding internally? That is the order of musical business, not that any of the characters in the show would think of their precious musical expression in such mercenary terms.
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Let us first all agree that premiering a new musical is very difficult, especially when your book is from from scratch, notwithstanding the Narducy autobiographical underpinnings. And let’s further stipulate that task is especially hard at a midsized Chicago theater, without enhancement money from Broadway producers and the like. “Verböten” still needs a lot of work, but it’s already well worth seeing (and developing), especially if you are a fan of Narducy’s music or, really, any of the aforementioned bands. For a show only just up on its feet, it holds together remarkably well. And it’s touching, a crucial asset for a punk musical.
That’s partly due to a blistering central performance from McCabe, who here does the kind of work that makes the argument that wherever “Verböten” might go next, McCabe certainly should be along for that ride. Most of the kids in “Verböten” come from complex families, at least in their own minds, and the show deals with three of the omnipresent and timeless states of teenage-parent relationships: embarrassment, alienation and love. I know whereof I speak here and full disclosure requires me revealing that I saw the show with my own 16-year-old who, at various telling moments, turned from the stage and stared directly at me, as if ensuring that whatever Jason or Tracey or Chris or Zack were saying/feeling had sufficiently imprinted itself on my limited consciousness. For better or worse, this is very much a show about the relationships between fathers and sons, and you can imagine demographic combos like mine finding food here for post-show discussion, especially those dads who really were in a punk band and now have kids who cannot quite believe that ever was even possible.
As the angsty lead Tracey, though, Ortiz makes sure it’s not an all-male desert out there, singing the bejesus out of the role and articulating one of the most fascinating things about teenage culture — the constant search for an organizer who, when found, doesn’t relish dealing with the problems of everyone else.
Tracey has loving parents (they’re played by Paul Brian Fagen and Jenni M. Hadley), making the intergenerational role-playing symmetrical, in its way. You got one angry dad (quite well played by Ray Rehberg), one kind but unappreciated pop (Marc A. Rogers), a weird sister (Marika Mashburn), a ready and willing stepdad (Jimmy Chung) and, well, regular decent folks. Sound to you like the sociology of Evanston in the early 1980s?
Neveu’s writing is witty and sweet throughout, although for such a localized show he should add more neighborhood references beyond one bar. The book could use more specificity. More importantly, some of the other relationships are underwritten, especially between Jason and his stepdad and, it seems to me, if you’re doing a punk musical, you might as well ponder more of the place of the genre in the American psyche, then and now.
Director Nathan Allen’s enthusiastic staging is very aptly toned to the material, employing a talented cast that plays multiple instruments and never falling into the trap of overstaging characters who would have hated to be so controlled. On opening night, there were some sound issues with head mics: Allen would be better off finding ways to employ hand-held microphones throughout (as in “Spring Awakening”), not only to focus on the performative aspect of the material but to showcase his powerful young singers.
All that said, “Verböten” is like the yin to the yang of the Green Day musical “American Idiot,” an indictment of youth lethargy. By contrast, Neveu and Narducy see punk as a kind of rite of passage, a meeting point and a temporary escape valve for adolescents going through stuff at home. Unlike most musicals about the biz, we never even get to the agents and the other stultifying suits. The Cubby Bear is all.
And, frankly, that is the far more common story.
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Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “Verböten” (3 stars)
When: Through March 29
Where: House Theatre of Chicago at the Chopin Theatre, 1849 W. Division St.
Running time: 2 hours
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Tickets: $30-$50 at 773-769-3832 or www.thehousetheatre.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Bears QB Mitch Trubisky had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder

Trubisky was injured six plays into that Vikings game .
He missed the rest of that 16-6 victory and the @ @ @ @ @ in London .
He played the final 11 games of the season with a harness @ @ @ @ @ He insisted the injury did not hinder him more than the standard toll of football @ @ @ @

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky underwent surgery shortly after the season to repair the partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed. ESPN first reported Wednesday that Trubisky had surgery.
The postseason procedure was widely expected after Trubisky’s left shoulder popped out of joint and back in when he was sacked on Sept. 29 against the Vikings.
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Trubisky is expected to participate in the on-field portion of the Bears offseason program, which can begin April 20. That it’s his non-throwing shoulder is crucial to such a relatively fast return.
Trubisky was injured six plays into that Vikings game. He missed the rest of that 16-6 victory and the following game against the Raiders in London. He played the final 11 games of the season with a harness on his left shoulder. He insisted the injury did not hinder him more than the standard toll of football affects any player.
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His regression in his third season was a leading reason why the Bears finished fourth to last in the NFL in scoring and second to last in yards per play. The Bears were worst in the league in yards per pass attempt.
The Bears have said Trubisky will be their starting quarterback next season.


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Ingrid Michaelson ‘The Notebook’ musical will have world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare, based on m

Ingrid Michaelson ‘The Notebook’ musical will have world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare, based on movie and Nicholas Sparks novel

“ The Notebook ” is the steamy story of a romance between two teens from different social classes in 1940s @ @ @ @ @ that carries them through the rest of their lives .
The musical will premiere at @ @ @ @ @ Pier , with performances Sept. 22 to Nov. 8 .
The show will be cast @ @ @ @ @ and will open Chicago Shakespeare ’ s subscription season .

Rachel McAdams as Allie and Ryan Gosling as Noah in the 2004 movie "The Notebook" from New Line Productions. (Melissa Mosely / AP)
Hoping to emulate the success of the musical “Six” last summer, Chicago Shakespeare Theater plans to stage the world premiere of “The Notebook,” a new musical based on the 1996 Nicholas Sparks romance novel and the hit 2004 film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. The score has been penned by Ingrid Michaelson, the Swedish-American singer-songwriter, and the book is from playwright and TV writer Bekah Brunstetter (“This is Us”).
And the show will be directed by Michael Greif, a blue-chip Broadway director best known for “Rent.”
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An early reading of the project featured Vanessa Hudgens in the lead role, but that was some time ago and Chicago Shakespeare said Wednesday that casting has not yet been announced. Well-known Broadway names, though, are likely.
“The Notebook” is the steamy story of a romance between two teens from different social classes in 1940s North Carolina, a love that carries them through the rest of their lives. The musical will premiere at the Yard Theater on Navy Pier, with performances Sept. 22 to Nov. 8. The show will be cast in New York and Chicago and will open Chicago Shakespeare’s subscription season.
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This is a further collaborative project between Chicago Shakespeare and the Broadway producer Kevin McCollum (“Rent”) and Chicago Shakespeare, with Kurt Deutsch also listed as a lead producer.
Chicago Shakespeare’s Rick Boynton said the show was “concentrating on Chicago,” but this clearly is a pre-Broadway tryout, given the players assembled, although any production path to Broadway has yet to be announced. Tickets go on sale at a later date this winter; more at www.chicagoshakes.com/TheNotebook.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Former Springfield Mayor Frank Edwards and his wife, Sangamon County Coroner Cinda Edwards, killed i

Former Springfield Mayor Frank Edwards and his wife, Sangamon County Coroner Cinda Edwards, killed in plane crash

The lights of emergency vehicles can be seen behind rescue personnel as they stand along a gravel lane that leads @ @ @ @ @ airplane crash near in Springfield , Ill. , on Jan. 28 , 2020 .
( @ @ @ @ @

The lights of emergency vehicles can be seen behind rescue personnel as they stand along a gravel lane that leads to the sight of an airplane crash near in Springfield, Ill., on Jan. 28, 2020. (Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Former Springfield, Illinois, Mayor Frank Edwards and his wife, Sangamon County Coroner Cinda Edwards, were two of the three people killed when a small plane crashed in a central Illinois field, authorities said Wednesday.
The crash Tuesday also killed John Evans, 69, of Glenarm, said Jim Allmon, chief deputy coroner for Sangamon County.
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Edwards, 69, was appointed mayor by the Springfield City Council in December 2010 after the death of Mayor Tim Davlin. Cinda Edwards, 63, had been coroner since 2011.
The twin-engine Piper Aerostar went down around 3 p.m. Tuesday in an unincorporated area of Sangamon County.
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The plane was attempting to land at Abraham Lincoln Capitol Airport in Springfield when the pilot reported having trouble with the plane’s instruments, the Sangamon County Sheriff's Department said.
Also killed in the crash was a dog.
Then-Springfield Interim Mayor Frank Edwards appears in 2010. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register)


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Kris Bryant loses his service time dispute with the Cubs, keeping him under contract through 2021

Instead , the Cubs said Bryant needed more seasoning and opted to start Mike Olt at third base .
Bryant @ @ @ @ @ after 12 days in the minors — preventing him , by one day , of @ @ @ @ @ time , which constitutes a full season and would have allowed the 2016 National League @ @ @ @ @ agent after 2020 .

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant stand at the plate during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on July 26, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The Cubs maintained control of third baseman Kris Bryant for the next two seasons, the Tribune confirmed Wednesday, after arbitrator Mark Irvings ruled that the team wasn’t trying to manipulate his service time by optioning him to Triple-A Iowa for the first 12 days of the 2015 season.
The ruling, which came after a hearing involving the Cubs and the Major League Baseball Players Association, allows the team more time to seek an extension with Bryant, 27, or trade him.
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ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the news of the ruling, which is going through final reviews before being announced, the report said.
Bryant’s representatives unsuccessfully argued that their client should have been placed on the 2015 opening-day roster on the basis of his .425 average, nine home runs and 15 RBIs in 40 at-bats in spring training.
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 27 Kris Bryant enters Wrigley Field for the first time as a Cub for his MLB debut on April 17, 2015. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Instead, the Cubs said Bryant needed more seasoning and opted to start Mike Olt at third base. Bryant was promoted to the Cubs after 12 days in the minors — preventing him, by one day, of earning 172 days of service time, which constitutes a full season and would have allowed the 2016 National League MVP to become a free agent after 2020.
“We’re fairly confident in what the outcome is going to be,” Cubs President Theo Epstein said Dec. 9.
Epstein expressed frustration in how long it took to reach a decision. The grievance was filed in October.
“The timing … is a bit frustrating,” he said. “I understand these things take time. … But we’re operating with what is our understanding of what the likely outcome will be moving forward.”


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Riot Fest announces first headliner: My Chemical Romance

Reunions have been a specialty of Riot Fest since its founding in 2005 .
The festival has seen comeback shows @ @ @ @ @ Replacements to the Misfits .

The band My Chemical Romance pose in the press room for Spike TV's "Scream Awards 2006" at the Pantages Theatre on October 7, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)
My Chemical Romance will headline Riot Fest when the festival returns Sept. 11-13 to Douglas Park.
The band reunited last year after a seven-year hiatus. During its initial 11-year run, the quartet was celebrated for heart-on-sleeve lyrics and over-the-top Gothic theatricality.
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Reunions have been a specialty of Riot Fest since its founding in 2005. The festival has seen comeback shows by bands ranging from the Replacements to the Misfits.
Promoters said Wednesday the rest of the lineup would be announced in the spring.
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Three-day tickets (starting at $139.98) for the festival’s 2020 edition are on sale at riotfest.org.
Greg Kot is a Tribune critic.
greg@gregkot.com
Twitter @gregkot


chicagotribune--2020-01-29--Thanks to Stephen King’s ‘The Outsider’ and Netflix’s ‘Pandemic,’ our fears are as close as the clos

Thanks to Stephen King’s ‘The Outsider’ and Netflix’s ‘Pandemic,’ our fears are as close as the closest TV

Having read the novel , I know where we are headed .
Or think I do , because series creator @ @ @ @ @ not imaginative .
The author of such fine novels as “ The Wanderers ” and @ @ @ @ @ ” he ’ s been a creative force of such television shows as “ The @ @ @ @ @ The Deuce.
” He wrote most this series ’ episodes , getting artful aide from @ @ @ @ @ Lehane .
Together and with others they have — so far — effectively combined the @ @ @ @ @ with a paranormal excursion .

Actress Cynthia Erivo is an investigator in the HBO miniseries "The Outsider," a television adaptation of Stephen King's novel. (Provided by HBO)
There is so much to fear in this world and in this city. It is hard to escape.
It was so much simpler when Franklin D. Roosevelt , delivering his first inaugural address as president in 1933, said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
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Roosevelt had never watched TV and was thus not daily bombarded with its frightening images, whether of the fictional, all too real or relatively benign type (“Blizzard Watch”). Fostering our fears and fueling our collective sense of dread, TV delivers, and millions eagerly accept.
Consider two programs currently available for your viewing.
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“The Outsider” is based on a novel by that master of horror and fear and unease. His name is, of course, Stephen King and this series premiered on HBO some weeks ago. In its four episodes to date (No. 5 airs Sunday) it has provided some terrific acting, a darkly distinctive visual style, a pile of bodies and plenty of reasons for bad dreams.
It begins with the body of a dead young boy, found in the woods, bloody and abused. Detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) begins to gather evidence and all of it points to the killer being his friend Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman, who directed the first two episodes), a husband, father and Little League coach. He is arrested, swears his innocence and offers very solid proof that he was not in town the day of the murder.
What follows, having seen the first four of the show’s 10 episodes, is captivating and, yes, frightening. Other people die, plenty of them and in all manner of ways, and things get especially enigmatic (some might think confusing), especially after special investigator Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo, an Academy Award nominee for her title role in “Harriet”) gets involved, making good if unnerving use her extrasensory-perception abilities. With each spooky step she appears to be guiding viewers onto a supernatural highway.
Having read the novel, I know where we are headed. Or think I do, because series creator Richard Price is nothing if not imaginative. The author of such fine novels as “The Wanderers” and “The Lush Life,” he’s been a creative force of such television shows as “The Night Of” and “The Deuce.” He wrote most this series’ episodes, getting artful aide from another acclaimed novelist, Dennis Lehane. Together and with others they have — so far — effectively combined the elements of a police procedural with a paranormal excursion.
They benefit greatly by fine acting from their cast, notably Mendelsohn; Julianne Nicholson as Terry’s wife Glory; Mare Winningham as Anderson’s wife; Bateman, who is also an executive producer; and Gibney who is, in a word, captivating.
They all are responsible for helping build a sense of foreboding, as is a nameless hooded character lurking at the edges of the action. Start watching and you are likely to get hooked until the end, even if you have to consult a dictionary for the definition of doppelganger, which is — I’m save you some time — “An apparition or double of a living person.”
While doppelgangers may the stuff of legend, pandemics are very real and Netflix provides “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak,” a six-part streaming documentary series that arrives on the heels of the coronavirus, which is so dominating headlines and news flashes that is makes this series frighteningly relevant, if not wholly satisfying.
It begins with a search in a suspected mass 1918 grave site in Pennsylvania and the unsettling fact that World War I soldiers returning from battle helped spread the Spanish flu virus so widely that more than 100 million people died worldwide.
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Though much of its focus in on the U.S., the program traverses the globe to explore the possible sources that could cause the next devastating influenza epidemic. In India, Vietnam, Guatemala, Lebanon, Egypt and the US/Mexico border, it examines worldwide healthcare preparations (or lack thereof) in place to combat diseases and explores what many are doing to try to prevent disaster.
The series is filled with facts, peppered with such alarming and chilling sentences as these:
“A future flu pandemic would likely kill hundreds of millions of people”
“All it would take is one person to spread a virus around the globe.”
“When we talk about another flu pandemic happening, it’s not a matter of if, but when.”
There is a palpable, and understandable, sense of urgency as the program punctuates the need to prepare against epidemics and explores the expensive quest to create a universal flu vaccine. This is powerfully captured in Jake Glanville, the founder of a biotech company called Distributed Bio. He and his colleagues are working to create just such a vaccine, a mission made more difficult because it is completely funded out of pocket.
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He is among the show’s many heroes, who come in the shape of doctors and scientists battling against such foes as under-funding in research and health care, those of the vociferous anti-vaxxer movement, misinformation and political red-tape. It is sad to listen to Holly Goracke, the only doctor on her shift at a rural Oklahoma hospital, wonder if such small facilities as hers might be ignored in the face of a large-scale outbreak.
Yes, this series will fuel some of your fears. The coronavirus is not mentioned but given how frequently it peppers current news, it will surely be lurking ominously in your mind. The show is quite capably produced by Zero Point Zero Productions, known for making some of the shows for the late Anthony Bourdain. While it may smack a bit of fear mongering, it delivers much information and food for thought.
Whether you partake of these programs, well, that’s your call. But either might cause you to remember another of Stephen King’s bestsellers. “The Stand” gives us a planet in chaos after a strain of influenza is accidentally released and kills 99 percent of the world’s population. Published in 1978, the novel was made into a 1994 television miniseries starring, among many, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald and Gary Sinise.
More than 19 million people watched each episode of the four-part series and there is another miniseries based on the book in the works, set to premiere later this year. Maybe you’ll watch it, adhering to something Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do one thing every day that scares you," having no idea that television would make that so, so easy.
rkogan@chicagotribune.com