chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Ask Amy: Couple faces a big city problem

Marrying someone you love while believing that you will be miserable is not a rational , healthy , or adult @ @ @ @ @ been together for seven years .
Marriage will not magically transform your personal preferences or @ @ @ @ @ Perhaps you two could agree to a year of a long-distance relationship , where you @ @ @ @ @ to live .
You could also research cities with outdoorsy reputations ( like Boston , @ @ @ @ @ , and Denver ) that might give you each the lifestyle you want .

Dear Amy: My boyfriend and I have been together for seven years, and we are still going strong. We have talked about marriage and want to marry one day. I believe that we will be married soon.
I will graduate from medical school this year. It was always my plan to live in a small town or very small city closer to beautiful nature, as soon as I graduate. I despise life in the big city and have always looked forward to the day when I would escape it.
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My boyfriend doesn't want to live in a small town -- ever. His career relies on him living in a city. He loves city life.
This is the biggest of several differences between us.
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I'm ready to give up my dreams to be with him, and even though I love him deeply, I think I'll be miserable.
I don't want to lose him.
Will this doom us? What can we do?
— Desperate
Dear Desperate: A doomed relationship could be your liberation.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States is projected to have a shortfall of up to 121,300 physicians by 2030, owing to older doctors retiring, and the increased needs of a rising number of elders requiring more doctors.
The physician shortage is most acute in rural areas. In small towns and small cities, your ability to provide health care will quite literally be a lifesaver. You will get to know your patients and their families. The fact that you are seeking a small-town lifestyle means that you will be personally happier, once you land in the right spot.
Over a decade ago, I left the big city and moved back to my rural hometown. Unlike you, I enjoyed life in the city -- but this morning I walked through the snowy woods as the sun came up. Life in the country, and being around others who also embrace this (sometimes challenging) lifestyle, is a daily tonic.
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Marrying someone you love while believing that you will be miserable is not a rational, healthy, or adult choice. You've already been together for seven years. Marriage will not magically transform your personal preferences or your life's goals. Perhaps you two could agree to a year of a long-distance relationship, where you each live where you want to live. You could also research cities with outdoorsy reputations (like Boston, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, and Denver) that might give you each the lifestyle you want.
Dear Amy: When our niece was a young, single mother of two, we took her and her young children into our home, and -- with the understanding that it was a loan -- helped her financially. She has made no effort to repay the near $20,000 she owes (for car repairs, etc.).
She's now engaged to a wonderful man (and pregnant again).
We want to warn her betrothed of her debts owed, but at the same time, we feel it's not our place to "rat" on her. So, WWAD (What Would Amy Do?).
— Conflicted in CA
Dear Conflicted: Here's what I wouldn't do: I wouldn't "warn" a fiance of a debt unless I had tried mightily to collect from the person who owes it.
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Your loan "understanding" might not even be a loan. Was this acknowledged in writing, or did you -- out of the goodness of your hearts -- take in a needy relative and her children and help this family to survive, with a vague understanding that you would be repaid some day?
You should communicate with your niece about this. If you have a valid agreement in place, review it with her and tell her that you expect to be repaid. Depending on what state the couple lives in, her debt will carry over into her new marriage and become the couple's debt, and, yes, her fiancé should be told.
Communicate respectfully and attempt to negotiate a reasonable repayment schedule for this substantial amount. There are online services that could help you to formalize this loan, with promissory notes and repayment tracking.
Ask Amy Daily No-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Dear Amy: "Going Nuts in Niagara" complained about the neighbors feeding local squirrels, resulting in a large amount of empty peanut shells on their property.
You should have suggested that the neighbors feed the squirrels shelled peanuts. Why didn't you?
— Wondering
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Dear Wondering: Mainly, I didn't think of it. Feeding the squirrels at all was the true "nut" of the problem, but I agree that offering them peanuts out of the shell would have eliminated some of the mess.
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(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
Copyright 2019 by Amy Dickinson
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Zach LaVine reportedly will compete in the 3-point contest during NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago

Earlier Monday , Bucks guard Pat Connaughton reportedly accepted an invitation to compete in the Slam Dunk contest , which @ @ @ @ @ players with Aaron Gordon , Dwight Howard and Derrick Jones Jr. already committed .
Competing @ @ @ @ @ never seemed to pique LaVine ’ s interest , although he admitted to being intrigued @ @ @ @ @ battle with Gordon after the two faced off in the 2016 dunk contest .

Bulls guard Zach LaVine burst onto the scene with his highlight-reel dunks, captivating audiences enough to win the Slam Dunk Contest in back-to-back years in 2015 and ’16.
This year, however, he has been focused on becoming known for more, and although he did not make the Eastern Conference roster for the NBA All-Star Game at the United Center on Feb. 16, he will participate in at least one event during All-Star Weekend.
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LaVine will compete in the 3-point contest, seeking to become the first player in NBA history to win the Slam Dunk contest and 3-point shootout, according to multiple reports Monday night.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine will participate in the NBA three-point contest at All-Star Weekend in Chicago, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2020
LaVine’s participation in NBA All-Star Weekend had been anticipated for nearly a year with the game returning to Chicago for the first time since 1988. Now the Bulls will have some representation during the Feb. 14-16 events at the United Center and Wintrust Arena.
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Earlier Monday, Bucks guard Pat Connaughton reportedly accepted an invitation to compete in the Slam Dunk contest, which set the competition at four players with Aaron Gordon, Dwight Howard and Derrick Jones Jr. already committed. Competing in yet another dunk contest never seemed to pique LaVine’s interest, although he admitted to being intrigued by the prospect of another battle with Gordon after the two faced off in the 2016 dunk contest.
Once LaVine missed his goal of making the All-Star team, his focus shifted. Instead of attempting to be the first player in NBA history to win three dunk contests, he decided to try to leave his mark on All-Star Weekend in another way.
The competition will be stiff. The rest of the players reportedly participating in the 3-point shootout include Kings guard Buddy Hield, Hawks guard Trae Young and Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
LaVine, who is shooting 37.6% from 3 while attempting a career-high 7.9 per game, had been open about his desire to compete in the 3-point contest for the first time. He has shown the ability to repeatedly knock down shots from beyond the arc, setting a Bulls record earlier this season with 13 3-pointers on Nov. 23 against the Hornets.
LaVine is aiming to become the third Bulls player to win the 3-point contest. Steve Kerr won it last in 1997 and Craig Hodges won in three consecutive seasons from 1990-92.


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Niles woman loses $7,500 in phone scam; Social Security Administration offers warning

In order to clear her name and prove she was not responsible for the crimes , the woman was told @ @ @ @ @ gift cards from Target and another four $ 500 gift cards from four different Best @ @ @ @ @ told police .
The caller reportedly stayed on the phone with the woman while she @ @ @ @ @ she then provided the PIN numbers to him , police said .

A Niles woman lost $7,500 in a phone scam after believing she was wanted for drug crimes in another state, police said.
The incident was reported to Niles police just days after the federal Social Security Administration announced it was launching a new public service announcement aimed at educating people about a growing number of scams involving the impersonation of Social Security officials.
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According to police, a 37-year-old woman reported on Jan. 28 that she had received an automated call from what she believed was the Social Security Administration and she was connected to a person who identified himself as an El Paso police sheriff.
The man, who said his name was Bill Watson, told the woman that a car, rented in her name, was found with 55 pounds of cocaine inside and that her name had also been used to commit $240,000 in credit card fraud, police said.
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In order to clear her name and prove she was not responsible for the crimes, the woman was told to purchase 11 $500 gift cards from Target and another four $500 gift cards from four different Best Buy stores, the woman told police. The caller reportedly stayed on the phone with the woman while she purchased the gift cards and she then provided the PIN numbers to him, police said.
Once the woman realized she had been scammed, the gift cards had already been used at several locations in California, according to police.
The Social Security Administration on Jan. 21 announced that public service announcement videos had been created with warnings about callers to who falsely claim to be Social Security representatives and seek cash or gift cards from their targets to avoid being arrested.
The office advises the public to never provide money or share personal information with such callers and to report such incidents at oig.ssa.gov.
“If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail a letter,” the office said on its website. “If a person needs to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options. People should never provide information or payment over the phone or Internet unless they are certain of who is receiving it.”
Niles Police Department Bureau Chief Robert Tornabene also advised members of the public to never send money to someone who has contacted them by phone or online.
With income tax filing season at hand, the chance for scams perpetrated by callers claiming to be with the IRS are also high, he said. Some of these scams have involved the threat of arrest, Tornabene indicated.
“The police department is never going to come and arrest you for a tax issue,” he said. “That will never happen.”
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Niles police have been visiting stores in the village, providing employees with information about the phone scams and directing them to question customers who are buying gift cards of high dollar amounts to make sure they are not sending them to phone scammers, Tornabene said.
Last month, a 95-year-old Morton Grove man mailed $10,000 in cash to an address in California after he was contacted by a caller claiming to be an agent with the Social Security Administration, police said. The caller told the man his social security number had been involved in a drug-related crime and the cash was needed or his bank account would be “confiscated” by the Drug Enforcement Administration, police said.
Authorities were reportedly able to stop the package of money from reaching its destination.
Three days earlier, the same man successfully sent $12,000 in cash to another address in California, believing he was helping drug enforcers capture a suspect, Morton Grove police said.
Tornabene said phone scammers prey on people of any age.
“They’re targeting everybody,” he said.
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jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Lincoln Park High School investigations include claims of sexual misconduct, retaliation, recruiting

Lincoln Park High School investigations include claims of sexual misconduct, retaliation, recruiting violations: CPS

“ CPS references serious allegations , and while we understand privacy , they are not telling anyone what these allegations @ @ @ @ @ , and the school community will be looking for answers to that tonight , ” @ @ @ @ @ of Monday ’ s community meeting .

Students from Chicago's Lincoln Park High School stage a walkout Feb. 3, 2020, to protest the suspension of school leaders and the boys varsity basketball season. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
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The investigations into alleged misconduct at Lincoln Park High School are wide-ranging and include claims of athletic recruiting violations, retaliation against witnesses, sexual misconduct and financial misconduct involving athletic program accounts.
In outlining the reasons why several school administrators were suspended and the boys varsity basketball season was abruptly halted late last week, school officials told hundreds of community members gathered Monday night that the moves were the result of “egregious and systemic policy violations.”
School officials said the alleged misconduct involved both students and adults, and also included failure to follow sexual misconduct reporting procedures, improper student discipline, dishonesty to families, allowing suspended employees to work, failure to create safety plans for students and interference with and withholding evidence from investigations.
Among the claims are that school leaders were aware of “student-on-student retaliation” against those who spoke to investigators and that it was not properly reported.
The school’s current leadership turmoil — with the principal, assistant principal, a dean and three basketball coaches now suspended or reassigned — began Jan. 2 when the district’s Office of Student Protections received a report of alleged misconduct during an “unauthorized” school basketball trip over winter break days earlier.
Audience members respond to speakers at a community meeting at Lincoln Park High School Monday evening following a rash of misconduct claims against staff members and students. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“While conducting the investigation, OSP finds additional serious policy violations and failures to follow proper protocols by adults to ensure student safety,” school officials said in a written presentation Monday evening.
In recent weeks, CPS investigators have uncovered “greater systemic policy violations by adults” as well as two separate complaints of sexual misconduct, one related to the girls basketball team, officials said. Both have prompted separate investigations.
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“I personally come in here with a heavy heart” knowing that “students were harmed” during alleged misconduct, Chief Schools Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova told the crowd.
Students in the audience pressed the chief of schools on whether decisions were reversible and some raised their voices when she said said they were not.
“I understand that this is not something that you would like to hear... This is not something I can change,” she said.
Despite the new revelations, many parents and students expressed anger toward school officials’ handling of the situation. The meeting was marked by emotional and sometimes heated exchanges, and after it concluded some community members angrily confronted CPS safety chief Jadine Chou, prompting security to escort her out.
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The meeting came hours after Lincoln Park High students walked out of classes Monday morning in protest of the removal of their school leaders and the suspension of the boys varsity basketball season just before playoffs are due to begin Tuesday.
About 10:30 a.m., teens began to emerge in droves from school buildings, pausing for a news conference at the edge of campus, where several students spoke publicly in support of interim Principal John Thuet, Assistant Principal Michelle Brumfield and Dean John Johnson, who were among those removed from their positions, Chicago Public Schools announced late Friday.
Outside school Monday morning, Romelle Howard, co-captain of the varsity basketball team, told the crowd he felt “disappointment, stress, confused” over the team’s suspension. He said the number of students who joined the protest shows “a lot of people support us.”
Howard said seniors like him might lose out on chances to be seen by recruiters. He also said students were given no specifics about the reasons behind the decisions.
“I hope we get our season back, get our coach back, (that) everything goes back to normal," Howard said.
Students from Lincoln Park High School walk back to school after staging a walkout and march Feb. 3, 2020, to protest sudden staff changes at the school amid misconduct allegations. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Students from Lincoln Park High School head back to school after walking out of class Feb. 3, 2020, in protest of the suspension of school leaders and the basketball season. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Hundreds of students participated in the walkout and, after the news conference, marched off school grounds, weaving through television crews and police officers and spilling out onto Armitage Avenue. Many toted hand-lettered signs asking that leaders be reinstated and that the basketball team be allowed to play this week, chanting, “What do we want? Answers” and, “Let them play! Let them play!”
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Parents have also been clamoring for more information about the staff removals, and many new details about the scope of the probe were revealed Monday evening by school officials, including that there are now four separate investigations underway.
But Marybeth Jones, a member of the Lincoln Park Local School Council, said fellow members were “shocked and blindsided” about the leadership suspensions when they received the news hours before it went public.
Jones — whose remarks prompted a standing ovation from fellow audience members — said she was dismayed such a “rash decision” was made privately, contrasting it with the “highly public principal selection process.”
Some students said they felt disrespected and chanted, “Where is the due process?”
Several speakers made reference to an alleged encounter involving students during the overnight basketball team trip to Detroit.
But one person commented: “I find it troubling people have so much to say about what they know so little about.”
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One person in the crowd questioned why the girls basketball team is allowed to play but the boys were suspended.
At the news conference during the walkout Monday, Lincoln Park junior Ella Wong, 17, said that the ousted leaders “made so many drastic differences ... in students’ lives. If that wasn’t true, we wouldn’t be walking out for them.”
CPS Chief Schools Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova speaks during a meeting Feb. 3, 2020, after leadership changes were announced at Lincoln Park High School. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Wong told the crowd that the school seemed to have “upped the security” Monday and had warned students there could be serious consequences for leaving campus. Students participating in the walkout would have to take an unexcused absence, she said.
But a CPS spokesman later said no students were going to be disciplined as a result of the walkout.
Student speakers said they’ve been reaching out to CPS officials and are prepared to protest at district headquarters in pursuit of answers and changes.
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The announcement late Friday of a leadership shake-up also included the news that Johnson, the dean, and boys basketball coach Donovan Robinson had been reassigned pending the outcome of investigations.
The moves followed the suspension of boys basketball coach Pat Gordon last month over a trip taken by members of the boys basketball team during winter break.
That was followed by a Jan. 25 announcement of an allegation that another staff member, the girls basketball coach, “engaged inappropriately with a student.”
Besides the walkout, an online petition seeks to allow the boys basketball team to resume play. The varsity team is due to play Perspectives/IIT Math & Science Academy on Tuesday in the Chicago Public Leagueplayoffs.
Lincoln Park parent John Moser also said he’s concerned about the lack of information provided by school officials about what’s going on.
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“CPS references serious allegations, and while we understand privacy, they are not telling anyone what these allegations are or what they involve, and the school community will be looking for answers to that tonight,” he told the Tribune ahead of Monday’s community meeting.
Moser said he wanted to emphasize the “incredible work” Thuet, Brumfield and Johnson had done in a relatively short time.
“It’s why the students walked out today, it’s why the students, teachers, parents and school community are upset,” Moser said. “It’s why almost 2,000 people have signed the petition supporting the administrators."
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Blackhawks claim defenseman Nick Seeler from the Wild off waivers and send Dennis Gilbert back to Ro

Blackhawks claim defenseman Nick Seeler from the Wild off waivers and send Dennis Gilbert back to Rockford

“ It ’ s been a kind of crazy day , ” Seeler said .
`` You go from not @ @ @ @ @ going to get picked up somewhere , to getting picked up by the team that @ @ @ @ @ next day .
So I didn ’ t have to travel very far and ( @ @ @ @ @ thankful and grateful for getting picked up by Chicago .

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nick Seeler didn't get much sleep Sunday night waiting to hear what the whims of the waiver wire had in store for him.
But when Seeler’s agent called in the morning, the 26-year-old defenseman learned he wasn’t going anywhere. At least not for a couple of days.
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The Blackhawks claimed Seeler off waivers from the Wild on Monday, allowing him to head over to the Xcel Energy Center from his Minneapolis apartment and practice with his new teammates ahead of Tuesday’s game.
“It’s been a kind of crazy day,” Seeler said. "You go from not knowing if you’re going to get picked up somewhere, to getting picked up by the team that the Wild are playing the next day. So I didn’t have to travel very far and (I’m) very thankful and grateful for getting picked up by Chicago.
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"I'm extremely excited to be part of this great organization and it was nice to get the first practice under your belt and get to know the guys a little bit."
One guy Seeler won’t get to know just yet is defenseman Dennis Gilbert, whom the Hawks sent down to Rockford on Monday after making him a healthy scratch for eight consecutive games.
Blackhawks defenseman Dennis Gilbert blocks a shot during a game against the Avalanche on Dec. 18, 2019. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
"Things happen quick," Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. "(Gilbert) had a stretch where he was really good for us and we couldn’t take him out. Then all of a sudden things kind of flipped and (Slater) Koekkoek does the same thing where he played so well we just didn’t feel like we could even rotate the lineup.
“We’re trying to develop young players and win at the same time. It’s a balancing act. But we want (Gilbert) to play games so he can make more of an impact down the road.”
Colliton indicated Seeler wouldn’t be in the lineup against the Wild. Colliton also wouldn’t commit to when Seeler would get some playing time. That would be par for the course for Seeler, who has been on the Wild roster nearly the entire season but was a healthy scratch for all but six games.
Seeler was sent to the Wild’s AHL team in January on a conditioning assignment and played in six games there, but when he returned on Jan. 15 he was back on the bench. He hasn’t played in an NHL game since Dec. 7.
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Last season, he appeared in 71 games, posting two goals and five assists, and seemed to have found a role as a physical defenseman. But the Wild went in a different direction during training camp and Seeler never was given an opportunity to reclaim his role from the previous season.
"Last year was a really good year in terms of getting games and getting experience under my belt," Seeler said. "This year's just been different. It's been challenging both mentally and physically. Sometimes change is good, and I think it was the right time for change."
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Seeler grew up in nearby Eden Prairie, Minn., as a Wild fan and attended the same high school as Nick Leddy, who also came to the Hawks in a trade with the Wild.
But whereas Leddy was a first-round pick and still a teenager when the Hawks acquired him for Cam Barker, Seeler was a fifth-rounder and joins the Hawks as a waiver-wire pickup who can add some depth to a depleted blue line.
Seeler was wearing a Wild T-shirt after Monday’s practice, a byproduct of still trying to get all his equipment and clothes situated. He said he never developed a hatred of the Hawks despite spending his youth cheering for the Wild.
“Honestly, no,” Seeler said. “I grew up watching them too. Especially when I was in high school. They were an unbelievable team.
"Obviously I was a Wild fan and we didn’t necessarily like them. It’s kind of ironic being with Chicago now. It’s pretty cool, though.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--16-year-old boy arrested in connection with Near North Side robberies

In 2019 , the entire Near North patrol district , which also includes the Lincoln Park area , recorded 509 @ @ @ @ @ at least 10 years , police statistics show .
The rash of robberies continued into @ @ @ @ @ the entire Near North patrol district in the first 12 days of January , the @ @ @ @ @ years for that period , the statistics show .

Chicago police arrested a 16-year-old boy as part of their investigation into a rash of robberies over the last month in the city’s downtown area and other parts of the Near North Side, authorities said Monday.
The teenager was arrested Friday in the robbery of a 70-year-old woman in mid-January in a part of the tony Gold Coast neighborhood that’s within a few blocks of Water Tower Place, the former John Hancock building and other iconic city landmarks.
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The teen was charged with a single felony count of robbery of a victim over 60 years old, police said. A police spokesman declined to disclose the boy’s identity because he’s younger than 18 and charged as a juvenile.
Chicago police first learned about the 16-year-old after he and several other people were arrested in a separate holdup in the south suburbs, authorities said.
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The woman in the Gold Coast holdup also identified the teen as the person who robbed her, police said.
She was robbed in broad daylight on Jan. 16 in the 800 block of North Dewitt Place. In that incident, police have said the woman was pushed by a robber, who grabbed her purse and fled in a car east toward Lake Shore Drive.
Police said they were now looking into whether the 16-year-old boy participated in the spate of other robberies in the downtown area and other spots on the Near North Side since late December.
These holdups were highlighted by the Chicago Tribune in a front-page article last month about how robberies have more than doubled in the last five years in a swath of the city’s central business district and some of the most affluent neighborhoods, including Gold Coast, Streeterville, Magnificent Mile, River North and several others.
Last year, robberies totaled 416 in those neighborhoods, just two more than in 2017 but more than double from 204 in 2015, according to city crime data.
In 2019, the entire Near North patrol district, which also includes the Lincoln Park area, recorded 509 robberies, its most in at least 10 years, police statistics show. The rash of robberies continued into 2020, with 23 for the entire Near North patrol district in the first 12 days of January, the most over the last five years for that period, the statistics show.
In the latest spate of robberies, police said the suspects typically drove to the Gold Coast area by car, often stolen, before jumping out, holding up a passerby and then quickly driving off.
“One of the challenges that we are facing is that (the area) is right off Lake Shore Drive,” Chicago police Cmdr. Daniel O’Shea told a crowd of concerned citizens last month. “These people are coming in stolen cars and getting off the drive. They are attacking people, and they’re getting right on Lake Shore Drive and going southbound.”
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Police presence around the Gold Coast, Magnificent Mile and Streeterville areas has been increased, O’Shea said. In addition to plainclothes tactical officers, O’Shea has used undercover cops as well as officers used to saturate hot spots in parts of the city seeing upticks in crime. The department also regularly assigns officers to overtime shifts along North Michigan Avenue.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Woman dies, Illinois state trooper and 2 others injured in crash on I-57 near Riverdale

There were three other women in the Nissan and two of them also were injured , Cepeda said .
A @ @ @ @ @ listed in serious condition at an area hospital and a 31-year-old woman from Chicago suffered @ @ @ @ @ she was also at an area hospital , officials said .
A 25-year-old woman from @ @ @ @ @

A 29-year-old woman was killed and three others, including an Illinois State Police trooper, were injured in a crash that shut down the northbound lanes of Interstate 57 near south suburban Riverdale on Monday morning, authorities said.
The accident happened around 2:30 a.m. on northbound I-57 south of Maplewood Avenue, officials said. The trooper, a 50-year-old man, had just left the scene of a fatal traffic crash when his squad car was cut off by a 2006 gray Nissan, whose driver lost control for an unknown reason, according to a statement from Sgt. Jacqueline Cepeda of the state police.
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State police initially said the driver of the Nissan, who died at an area hospital, was a man. In an update, Cepeda said the driver had been identified as Sindi Miller, 29, of Chicago; it was not immediately clear at which hospital she was treated.
An autopsy performed on Tuesday showed that Miller died of multiple blunt force injuries in the collision and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. It was unclear what, if any effect the ruling would have on the investigation.
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The gray Nissan was traveling ahead of the trooper’s 2011 white Ford squad car just before the crash, according to authorities. Miller, the driver of the Nissan, lost control and the trooper couldn’t avoid hitting the Nissan with his squad car. After colliding, both vehicles left the road and struck the left guardrail, Cepeda said.
The trooper was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized.
There were three other women in the Nissan, and two of them were injured, Cepeda said. A 46-year-old woman from Chicago was listed in serious condition at an area hospital and a 31-year-old woman from Chicago suffered injuries not considered life-threatening and she was also at an area hospital, officials said. A 25-year-old woman from Chicago was not injured.
While troopers investigated the crash, two of the northbound lanes of I-57 were closed between 147th Street and the Cal Sag Channel until about 9:45 a.m.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--20 youngest Super Bowl MVPs

20 youngest Super Bowl MVPs

Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a comeback win against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54 @ @ @ @ @ and third-youngest player to win Super Bowl MVP .

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chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Sorry, meat lovers: New Northwestern research confirms health risks, clashes with last year’s optimi

Sorry, meat lovers: New Northwestern research confirms health risks, clashes with last year’s optimistic report

The findings are consistent with prior research that has linked meat with poor health outcomes , but can feel like @ @ @ @ @ published in October in the Annals of Internal Medicine , that said there is insufficient @ @ @ @ @ meat intake .
Some public health experts questioned the accuracy of those conclusions and some @ @ @ @ @ called out for not disclosing industry funding on other projects .

Burgers are seasoned on a mini grill in 2014 before a Bears game at Soldier Field. A large new study conducted by researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine found that eating two servings of red meat or processed meat weekly is associated with a 3% to 7% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. (Jessica Tezak / Chicago Tribune)
Eating red and processed meat is linked to higher rates of heart disease and death, says a large new study — a finding that would be met with a big “duh” if it didn’t come on the heels of a controversial report suggesting people don’t necessarily need to eat less meat.
The new research, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that eating two servings of red meat or processed meat weekly is associated with a 3% to 7% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke, and a 3% higher risk of death from all causes.
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Eating two servings of poultry weekly was also linked to higher heart disease risk, but not overall mortality, said the study, which was conducted by researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The study’s authors urged more research on poultry before making any recommendations on intake because the study didn’t look at how the food was prepared, such as grilled or fried.
Fish was not associated with ill health effects.
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The findings are consistent with prior research that has linked meat with poor health outcomes, but can feel like whiplash given a report, published in October in the Annals of Internal Medicine, that said there is insufficient evidence to recommend people reduce meat intake. Some public health experts questioned the accuracy of those conclusions and some of the authors were later called out for not disclosing industry funding on other projects.
The report’s authors included researchers from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and McMaster University in Canada, among others.
Such conflicting conclusions can paralyze consumers trying to make healthful choices, erode trust in nutrition science or encourage some people to throw up their hands and indulge in steaks and burgers with abandon.
Norrina Allen, associate professor of epidemiology and pediatrics at Northwestern’s medical school, and senior author of the new study, points out that the reports try to answer different questions. Her study examined whether people who eat meat are more likely to get sick and die, whereas the fall report summarized existing literature to determine if there is enough evidence to show reducing meat intake makes a difference.
[ Less beef, more beans: Experts say the world needs a new diet ]
Asked for a takeaway, Allen said: “I hope people consider eating red and processed meat in moderation and try and consume more fruits and vegetables and whole grains.”
Nearly 30,000 men and women were included in the Northwestern study, which followed participants from six different long-term research cohorts for up to 30 years. It goes a few steps further than prior studies to isolate the effect of meat by controlling for individual risk factors and other aspects of a person’s diet, Allen said.
While the increased risk from two weekly servings is small — a serving being, for example, 4 ounces of unprocessed red meat or two strips of bacon — the risk increases the more meat people eat, the study said. The study does not establish causality.
The research has several limitations. A major one was that it was based on a self-assessment of what participants ate over a month at the start of the project, so any changes they made to their diets over the years were not taken into account. Participants were followed for a median of 19 years.
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Allen said it’s notable that there remained a significant relationship between illness and death and people’s diets decades before.
“There is still a risk based on what you ate 20 years ago,” she said.
The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association Strategically Focused Research Networks and the Feinberg School of Medicine.
aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--‘The Masked Singer’ Season 3 premiere: Here’s the star under the robot mask

“ We could have just done a special version behind the Super Bowl and maybe get celebrities in there and @ @ @ @ @ performance , and do some sub-section special of the format , ” said Fox alternative @ @ @ @ @ “ But we felt that would lose an opportunity .
So in the end we @ @ @ @ @ show and keep the integrity of the format there .
It is a regular show @ @ @ @ @ contestants who are actually in the series .
It ’ s super sized in the @ @ @ @ @ opening , we have Jamie , and we obviously have an opportunity to have a @ @ @ @ @ .
”

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead, if you have not watched the Season 3 premiere episode of “The Masked Singer,” which aired on Feb. 2 after the Super Bowl on Fox.
Weezy, we hardly knew ye. Hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne became the first celebrity to be unmasked on Season 3 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired on Sunday night immediately following the Super Bowl on Fox.
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If it’s any consolation for Wayne, who wore the show’s Robot costume, what will likely be the largest audience in the show’s history saw the big reveal at the end of the episode. Timing is everything, and Lil Wayne’s appearance -- and unmasking -- coincides with the release of “Funeral,” his new album and follow-up to 2018′s “Tha Carter V.”
On “The Masked Singer,” Wayne-as-the-Robot performed Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way.”
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"What makes the perfect Masked Singer? One part creativity and one part drive," he said, voice disguised, in the show's pre-taped package introducing Robot. "I relate to Robot because I've always felt the need to put on a tough outer shell. I think that makes me come across as inhuman, and that's stunted my potential. I've had my fair share of fame in certain circles. But I'm here to tip the scales and show I can be relatable to everyone. I really do have a heart and love to give."
Why did he choose the Robot as his character? "For kids, man, my kids. My kids watch the show with me and I know they'll like the Robot costume." The periodic table was featured in the clue package because of Wayne's multitude of platinum albums, he added.
None of the "Masked Singer" panelists guessed Lil Wayne's identity, including guest Jamie Foxx, who thought it might be former "Jackass" star Steve-O. Nicole Scherzinger guessed boxer Floyd Mayweather, while Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg thought it was another "Jackass" star, Johnny Knoxville. Robin Thicke thought it was snowboarding champ Shaun White, while Ken Jeong perhaps came the closest, guessing another hip-hop icon: Flavor Flav.
In the end, Lil Wayne didn't go nearly as far as his pal and occasional collaborator T-Pain, who won the show's first season last year. Lil Wayne was a huge get for "The Masked Singer," having sold over 100 million records worldwide and and five Grammy Awards. Producers and Fox execs have promised "bigger stars" in Season 3, and Wayne indeed lived up to that hype.
"This is the most shocked I've ever been on this show," Thicke said after the unmasking. Added Jeong: "This is the best reveal ever." Said Foxx: "We had no idea... I named some white guy!"
For the plum post-Super Bowl slot, Fox and the "Masked Singer" producers opted to kick off the show's third season, and introduce its 18 contestants, rather than produce a special with one-time only stars.
“We could have just done a special version behind the Super Bowl and maybe get celebrities in there and promise them a one-time only performance, and do some sub-section special of the format,” said Fox alternative series president Rob Wade. “But we felt that would lose an opportunity. So in the end we decided to do a launch show and keep the integrity of the format there. It is a regular show with six of the 18 contestants who are actually in the series. It’s super sized in the sense we have a big opening, we have Jamie, and we obviously have an opportunity to have a bit more fun with it.”
Opening the pre-taped show right after the big game, host Nick Cannon quipped, "We've got to thank the Super Bowl for being one amazing pre-show!"
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As for the competition itself, to manage the increased number of players, the show will now be divided into three segments of six contestants. After three of the first six singers are voted off, the second six will be whittled down to tree and so on, until there are nine players left at the end of the first set of rounds.
While previewing the show last week with Variety, executive producer Craig Plestis compared it to March Madness brackets: “It’s almost like a sports event.”
Here's how the groups will be broken down: Group A, as revealed on Sunday, includes White Tiger, Turtle, Miss Monster, Llama, Kangaroo and the just-unmasked Robot. Group B will feature Banana, Frog, Taco, Elephant, Mouse and Kitty. Group C has T-Rex, Astronaut, Swan, Bear, Night Angel and Rhino.
Per Fox, “the Season 3 contestants have amassed a combined 69 Grammy Award nominations, 88 Gold records, 11 Super Bowl appearances, three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, more than 160 tattoos and one title in the Guinness Book of World Records.” And specific to the post-Super Bowl episode, Cannon revealed that the Group A roster has appeared, combined, in nine Super Bowls.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--College football recruiting: Naperville Central’s Jadon Thompson flips from Illinois to Cincinnati o

College football recruiting: Naperville Central’s Jadon Thompson flips from Illinois to Cincinnati on eve of national signing day

The Irish actually signed 18 during the early period , but coach Brian Kelly released a statement Jan. 25 that @ @ @ @ @ Harrodsburg , Ky. , no longer is welcome to join the program after he was @ @ @ @ @ charged with breaking into a store and stealing guns .
Notre Dame was among the @ @ @ @ @ defensive back/wide receiver Cameron Martinez of Muskegon , Mich. , who committed to Ohio State @ @ @ @ @ t sign during the early period .
But Martinez reaffirmed his commitment last week and @ @ @ @ @ the Buckeyes on Wednesday .
With the January addition of graduate transfer wide receiver Ben @ @ @ @ @ Irish reportedly have 86 scholarship players for 2020 — one above the NCAA limit they @ @ @ @ @ the season opener — so it appears they may be done with the 2020 class @ @ @ @ @ 2021 group that ’ s ranked third in the country .
Another graduate transfer this @ @ @ @ @ especially in the secondary to offset the loss of Bartleson .

Joel Boyd, Teddy Greenstein, Shannon Ryan

College football’s national signing period is underway. Check back here for updates on Illinois, Northern Illinois, Chicago-area recruits and national developments. (Northwestern and Notre Dame did not announce any additions Wednesday after signing 17 players apiece during the early period in December.)
Northern Illinois
After signing 26 players in December in his first full recruiting cycle as Huskies coach, Thomas Hammock on Wednesday announced the addition of three transfers who are already enrolled — including one with an unconventional backstory.
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Greg DeLuca, a 28-year-old safety originally from New Jersey, spent the last six years in the U.S. Navy as a member of SEAL Team 10 and Special Reconnaissance Team 2. Before that he played four years on the lacrosse team at Duke, where he was a member of two national championship teams, while also playing two years of football as a walk-on. DeLuca joined the Huskies as a walk-on.
The other two transfers — junior college safety Woodly Appolon, a Montreal native, and graduate transfer quarterback Andrew Haidet from Houston Baptist — are on scholarship.
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🐾 WELCOME TO THE PACK 🐾
The NIU Huskies are proud to announce a new addition to our marksmen quarterbacks!!💪🏈🎯@andrewhaidet8
Transfering from Houston Baptist Univ. (TX)!!#NSD20 #TheHardWay #PlayLikeAHuskie pic.twitter.com/vBvDmgHSQU — NIU Football (@NIU_Football) February 5, 2020
In addition to DeLuca, the Huskies announced 11 other preferred walk-ons, including seven from Illinois high schools: Downers Grove North quarterback Drew Cassens, Lincoln-Way West wide receiver Billy Dozier, DeKalb linebacker Jalon Redmond, Maine West safety Jaden Dolphin, Sycamore safety Manny Dominguez, Neuqua Valley safety Patrick Hoffmann and Lake Park kicker Anthony Beacom.
Illinois
The Illini added the 13th member of their 2020 recruiting class Wednesday morning — and their first defensive back — when cornerback Tahveon Nicholson signed a national letter of intent.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Nicholson is a two-star prospect who played this past season at Palmetto Prep in Columbia, S.C., while working to become an NCAA academic qualifier, according to Illini Inquirer. Nicholson is originally from Jacksonville, Fla., and also had an offer from Florida Atlantic, where Illinois defensive backs coach Keynodo Hudson previously coached. He’s one of seven Florida natives in the class.
He fits coach Lovie Smith’s preference for defensive players who can create turnovers. Nicholson had four interceptions and forced a fumble last season. He also played on offense, totaling 721 receiving yards and 355 rushing yards, and is a candidate to return kicks and punts at Illinois, Illini Inquirer said.
Nicholson was the only high school recruit Illinois signed Wednesday. The Illini lost their highest-rated commitment and only in-state recruit Tuesday when Naperville Central wide receiver Jadon Thompson flipped his commitment to Cincinnati. Thompson signed with the Bearcats on Wednesday morning.
In large part because of its size, Illinois’ class has a national ranking of No. 88 in the 247Sports.com composite and 14th in the Big Ten.
“We’re excited to add another talented piece to our secondary,” Smith said in a university news release. “As I said in December, we knew this class would be small in numbers but feel like we’ve added talent and depth in several areas with this group of recruits. Like last season, we intend to add to this class with transfers during spring or summer if we find the right fit.”
Five-star offensive tackle Broderick Jones, who took an official visit to Illinois two weeks ago, signed as expected with Georgia, where he had been committed since April 2018.
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Area/state
In addition to Naperville Central wide receiver Jadon Thompson signing with Cincinnati, a handful of other top-40 prospects in Illinois signed Wednesday.
Morgan Park defensive tackle Shontrail Key — a former basketball player at Leo and Kenwood who didn’t play high school football until his senior season — picked Arizona.
Nazareth defensive tackle CJ West and Simeon cornerback Chau Smith, who committed over the weekend to Kent State and Washington State, respectively, also signed letters of intent.
National
Georgia held off Alabama in the race for the No. 1 class in the country. It’s the second time in three years coach Kirby Smart has signed the top class — the only two times in the last 10 years that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide haven’t finished at the top of the 247Sports.com composite team rankings.
The Bulldogs, who entered the day with a slim lead, signed a pair of longtime commitments on the offensive line, five-star tackle Broderick Jones and four-star center Sedrick Van Pran, who didn’t sign during the early period, and they flipped three-star cornerback Daran Branch from Mississippi.
But the key to Alabama not overtaking them was four-star defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson — at No. 61 in the composite rankings, one of the top uncommitted prospects entering the day — signing with Texas A&M over SEC West rivals Alabama and LSU. The Tide also lost a head-to-head battle to Missouri for three-star cornerback Ennis Rakestraw, and four-star defensive tackle Jayson Jones flipped to Oregon.
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Only nine of the nation’s top 100 recruits entered the day unsigned, and by the end of the day that number was down to two — both of them five-star prospects.
The mystery of the day involved defensive lineman Jordan Burch (No. 8) of Columbia, S.C., who committed to the hometown Gamecocks on the first day of the early period but didn’t sign. While Burch took an official visit to LSU two weeks ago, it appeared South Carolina had hung on when he put on a Gamecocks cap during a news conference Wednesday with other recruits from his high school. But as of 6 p.m. South Carolina hadn’t announced his signing, as he apparently had yet to submit a letter of intent.
(UPDATE: South Carolina announced Thursday night that Burch has signed with the Gamecocks.)
To sum up today so far: Jordan Burch donned garnet Carolina cap, said a few words about his HS teammates, declined interviews, mother declined to confirm if he'd signed LOI, HS coach says no LOI to his knowledge yet, Burch has left building in Carolina cap — Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) February 5, 2020
The other unsigned five-star, running back Zachary Evans (No. 16) of Houston, is expected to take his recruitment into the spring, with Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas A&M the current top contenders.
Here are the top 10 national classes in the composite rankings, plus where Notre Dame, Northern Illinois and the rest of the Big Ten ended up (number of signees and commitments in parentheses):
1. Georgia (25)
2. Alabama (25)
3. Clemson (23)
4. LSU (24)
5. Ohio State (25)
6. Texas A&M (26)
7. Auburn (26)
8. Florida (25)
9. Texas (19)
10. Tennessee (23)
14. Michigan (23)
15. Penn State (27)
17. Notre Dame (17)
20. Nebraska (24)
25. Wisconsin (20)
31. Maryland (27)
33. Purdue (21)
34. Iowa (21)
36. Minnesota (24)
43. Michigan State (22)
47. Northwestern (17)
58. Indiana (19)
63. Rutgers (20)
88. Illinois (13)
91. Northern Illinois (28)
Here’s our preview of national signing day:
The national signing period for Class of 2020 football recruits begins Wednesday, although with more than 75% of Division I prospects now signing during the early period in December, the “traditional” national signing day has lost a lot of its pomp and drama.
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Only nine of the nation’s top 100 players in 247Sports.com’s composite rankings didn’t sign early, and that trend also played out locally. Notre Dame (17 signees), Northwestern (17), Illinois (12) and Northern Illinois (26) signed the bulk of their classes in December, and 20 of the state’s top 25 prospects have already signed.
Nonetheless, teams will be putting finishing touches on their classes Wednesday. Here’s a summary of what to expect from the four local FBS programs.
Illinois
Early signees: 12.
Class ranking: 90th nationally, 14th in Big Ten.
The Illini’s highest-rated — and only in-state — commitment, four-star Naperville Central wide receiver Jadon Thompson, switched his commitment to Cincinnati on Tuesday. Thompson, who transferred from Marist to Naperville Central before his senior season, had been committed to Illinois since April but didn’t sign during the early period. He’s the fifth-ranked senior prospect in the state and No. 352 nationally.
BREAKING: 4 star 2020 WR Jadon Thompson has committed to Cincinnati #Bearcats — Chad Brendel (@ChadBrendel) February 4, 2020
Before Thompson’s flip, the most surprising development since the early signing period was the Illini getting five-star offensive tackle and longtime Georgia commitment Broderick Jones on campus for an official visit two weeks ago. However, Jones — the No. 11 prospect in the country in the composite rankings and the No. 2 tackle — is expected to sign with the Bulldogs after canceling his official visit to Auburn last weekend. Tahveon Nicholson, a two-star cornerback from Jacksonville, Fla., might be the only addition to the class Wednesday, according to Illini Inquirer’s Jeremy Werner. Illinois had hoped to bring in junior college safety Art Green, a former Tennessee commitment, for an official visit last weekend, but academic issues apparently squashed that. Coach Lovie Smith likely will look to the graduate transfer market again to address needs at wide receiver and on both lines; Werner says to watch Stanford defensive tackle Jovan Swann. Meanwhile, Illinois has been busy in the preferred walk-on arena, adding Yorkville quarterback Josh Beetham, St. Viator wide receiver Owen Hickey, Batavia offensive lineman Ryan Ingold, South Dakota tight end Tip Reiman and Texas wide receiver Hayden Metcalf.
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Notre Dame
Early signees: 17.
Class ranking: 16th nationally.
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The Irish actually signed 18 during the early period, but coach Brian Kelly released a statement Jan. 25 that three-star cornerback Landen Bartleson of Harrodsburg, Ky., no longer is welcome to join the program after he was arrested the day before and charged with breaking into a store and stealing guns. Notre Dame was among the schools in play for four-star defensive back/wide receiver Cameron Martinez of Muskegon, Mich., who committed to Ohio State in July but didn’t sign during the early period. But Martinez reaffirmed his commitment last week and said he will sign with the Buckeyes on Wednesday. With the January addition of graduate transfer wide receiver Ben Skowronek from Northwestern, the Irish reportedly have 86 scholarship players for 2020 — one above the NCAA limit they must be down to by the season opener — so it appears they may be done with the 2020 class and already focused on a 2021 group that’s ranked third in the country. Another graduate transfer this spring remains a possibility, especially in the secondary to offset the loss of Bartleson.
Northwestern
Early signees: 17.
Class ranking: 44th nationally, 11th in Big Ten.
Cameron Martinez said the Wildcats were in his final three with Ohio State and Notre Dame before the four-star Michigan athlete reaffirmed his commitment to the Buckeyes last week. Northwestern was eyeing Martinez at wide receiver, where the Wildcats got stung on early signing day when Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen flipped to Purdue. With Martinez seemingly off the table, Pat Fitzgerald might look at the transfer market to find a playmaker or two for new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian.
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Northern Illinois
Early signees: 26.
Class ranking: 89th nationally, 5th in MAC.
Can’t wait to start school on Monday 👨🏾🎓
It’s a new journey but the goal is still the same #StriveToSeeABetterDay 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/7RmLcJXFjp — The Wood🇨🇦🇭🇹 (@WoodlyAppolon) January 12, 2020
Coach Thomas Hammock already landed a large class in his first full recruiting cycle in DeKalb. The Huskies on Wednesday are expected to announce the addition of a couple of transfers — including junior college safety Woodly Appolon, who committed last month — and several preferred walk-ons.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Man charged with robbing people he met through Grindr dating app

In at least two of the incidents , the suspect used the stun gun after the victims refused to hand @ @ @ @ @ said .
In other instances , the victims turned over their property after the suspect @ @ @ @ @ gun .

Charges have been filed against a south suburban man accused of robbing people he met through the dating app Grindr.
Davion Johnson, 20, was charged with armed robbery and theft after he was connected to three attacks since last November, according to Chicago police.
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The robberies occurred on Nov. 5, Nov. 6 and Jan. 23. No other details were released. Johnson, of the 22400 block of Theisen Avenue in Sauk Village.
The arrest is apparently unrelated to another string of robberies tied to Grindr or other dating apps.
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Last week, police warned about at least five robberies in the Chicago downtown area that occurred after people met someone through a dating app. Once in a hotel room, the suspect displays a stun gun and demands money and other valuables.
In at least two of the incidents, the suspect used the stun gun after the victims refused to hand over their property, police said. In other instances, the victims turned over their property after the suspect threatened to use the stun gun.
Police said the robberies have occurred between Dec. 22 and Jan. 28.
Circuit Court Judge Susana Ortiz on Tuesday afternoon ordered Johnson held on $75,000 bail and electronic monitoring, if he posts bail. He is expected to face another judge at the Skokie Courthouse on Monday.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Maine South High School student diagnosed with whooping cough

The department advises that children receive a pertussis vaccine at 2 , 4 , 6 and 15 months of age @ @ @ @ @ to 6 years old .
Because immunity to the disease can lessen as the child @ @ @ @ @ to 12 years old should receive the Tdap booster vaccine , which protects against tetanus @ @ @ @ @ the department of public health said .

A case of whooping cough has been reported at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, the school announced this week.
According to a notice shared on Maine South’s website Tuesday, the Cook County Department of Public Health alerted the school that a Maine South sophomore had recently been diagnosed with pertussis, also known as whooping cough.
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A highly contagious bacteria infection, pertussis is spread through coughing and sneezing, and initial symptoms include a runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever and a mild cough that may progress to severe coughing fits, according to the Department of Public Health.
The department advises that children receive a pertussis vaccine at 2, 4, 6 and 15 months of age and a booster at 4 to 6 years old. Because immunity to the disease can lessen as the child gets older, children 11 to 12 years old should receive the Tdap booster vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, the department of public health said.
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No cases of whooping cough have been reported in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64, said Peter Gill, spokesman for the district.
More than a dozen cases of whooping cough have been diagnosed in recent weeks within schools in Oak Park and River Forest, the school districts have reported, and several cases have been reported at schools around Lake County as well.
jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Blackhawks rookies Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist are here to stay and helping lead the charge to the p

Blackhawks rookies Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist are here to stay and helping lead the charge to the playoffs: ‘They’re getting better all the time’

`` We ’ ve talked about before how the progression doesn ’ t always go in a straight line , @ @ @ @ @ .
`` But the fact they were able to come in and play and show @ @ @ @ @ our level , that really was a positive .
And then ( it 's ) @ @ @ @ @ them just the right amount to continue to improve and not so much that they @ @ @ @ @

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The debate over where Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist should be spending this season has largely ended.
A few outliers still insist Dach would have been better off dominating with the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades while Boqvist should have spent the whole season learning how to be a pro in Rockford instead of with the Hawks.
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The fact is that Dach and Boqvist, both 19, have developed into integral parts of a team that against all odds has turned into a playoff contender. It’s possible the Hawks could have found ways to fill their roles from within the organization or through trades, but general manager Stan Bowman didn’t find that necessary.
Less than a week after Dach’s NHL debut Oct. 20, Bowman told the Tribune that he suspected — perhaps hoped is a better word — that the No. 3 pick from last year’s draft would be a different player after a few months in the league.
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“When you have a young player — Kirby’s 18 years old (he turned 19 on Jan. 21) — he’s different than a lot of our players because his level right now in October is different than his level will be in February,” Bowman said in an Oct. 26 interview. “He’s going to demonstrate some growth in his game because this is all new to him.”
Well, it’s February and Dach is right on schedule. After scoring just one point in 28 games, he has four points in his last three games and has been charged with centering a line alongside Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad, no small responsibility for any player, let alone a rookie.
Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist looks to score against Maple Leafs goaltender Michael Hutchinson on Nov. 10, 2019. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Boqvist made his NHL debut Nov. 2 for a six-game stint and joined the team again in early December after Calvin de Haan suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. When Brent Seabrook was lost for the season soon after, Boqvist’s stay became permanent.
The ride this season has been bumpy for the Hawks’ top picks in the last two drafts — Dach with his scoring drought and Boqvist with a need to improve defensively — but they both have elevated their game at a key time in the season.
"We’ve talked about before how the progression doesn’t always go in a straight line," Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton. "But the fact they were able to come in and play and show that they can be at our level, that really was a positive. And then (it's) just about trying to give them just the right amount to continue to improve and not so much that they take a step back.
"And we’re not always going to be perfect on that, but to their credit, the focus has been really good and they’re getting better all the time."
Dach has been living with Seabrook and his family all season and has given Seabrook a lot of credit for teaching him how to be a pro on and off the ice. It also helped when Dach came to the realization that, unlike in juniors, being in the NHL was a job and people were fighting for spots in the lineup every night.
But he can’t point to a specific moment when he went from wide-eyed rookie to feeling comfortable.
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 38 Blackhawks center Kirby Dach celebrates after scoring in the first period against the Stars on April 6 2021, at the United Center. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
“It’s hard to tell,” he said. "I feel like when I wasn’t scoring or producing offensively I was doing good things defensively and building a good 200-foot game. And that’s a big part of today’s game is having that 200-foot ability in my game and it’s only going to help me and my teammates out on the ice.
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"Obviously, I'm starting to get some good chemistry with Kaner and Saader out on the ice. We're moving well and we're a line that likes to skate and create plays off the chance. But at the same time we have to be responsible in our own zone. We all have to take pride in that."
Going through this season together has been helpful for Dach and Boqvist, who became fast friends after Dach joined the organization last June. Not many teams have a teenager on the roster, let alone two who also play on the top power-play unit.
The Boqvist that Hawks fans are seeing this season is probably not the one they’ll see in the future, but he’s the one they need now. Boqvist is occasionally letting his offensive instincts show even as he tries to stay strong defensively.
On Saturday, Boqvist twice took Coyotes forward and former NHL Most Valuable Player Taylor Hall off the puck seamlessly to prevent scoring chances.
He has come a long way from the first few games of the season.
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“I’m still like — not nervous — but I’m more excited before games at the national anthem, the first shift,” Boqvist said. "I think that’s a good thing to just feel like, yeah, it’s a game. The first six games (I played) was more like stiff and nervous, but now I’m more like I want to go out there and play as good as I can and help the team to win.
“Of course, now when the playoffs come up and we’re going for the push, we need every point we can get. That’s more exciting when I go out there and help the team to win. Playoffs would be awesome to play first year and get some experience and learn and hopefully we can do that.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Zach LaVine picks the 3-Point Contest over Slam Dunk, eyeing a chance to become the first player to

Zach LaVine picks the 3-Point Contest over Slam Dunk, eyeing a chance to become the first player to win both: ‘I think I have a shot to do it’

“ Obviously , if I get in a rhythm , I think I can win it , ” LaVine said @ @ @ @ @ will be fun .
It will be different .
It will be something I haven @ @ @ @ @ I can go out and practice it .
Hopefully , the rims give me a @ @ @ @ @ guy .
”

The idea of participating in another Slam Dunk Contest never had much appeal for Bulls guard Zach LaVine.
He had already won the contest twice in his career, but if he reached his goal of making the All-Star Game roster, LaVine was prepared to make a run at all three of the premier events during NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, which will be held Feb. 14-16 at the United Center and Wintrust Arena.
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After missing out on the game, LaVine wanted to be involved in the weekend’s festivities in some capacity and settled on the 3-Point Contest. He will get his chance to represent the Bulls and leave his footprint on All-Star Weekend on Feb. 15 at the United Center.
“If I made the All-Star Game, I would’ve felt a lot better about doing the dunk contest,” LaVine said at practice Wednesday. “I feel like I don’t have a lot more to prove with that. The 3-point contest is something I’ve been wanting to do. I just think it will be fun.”
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LaVine will enter his first 3-Point Contest at an interesting time, with the NBA set to change the format and add two deep shots that will count for three points each, according to The Associated Press. This alteration will make each round a total of 27 shots instead of 25, and competitors will be given 70 seconds rather than 60 to complete each round.
LaVine could have had a chance to join Nate Robinson as the only player in NBA history to win three dunk contests in his career. Instead LaVine will have his own chance at history, vying to become the first player to win both the 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest.
“That was one of the things I thought of,” LaVine said. “I think it will be cool. And I think I have a shot to do it.”
Bulls guard Zach LaVine smiles after making a shot against the Timberwolves on Jan. 22, 2020, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The 3-point shootout is also quickly shaping up to be one of the most star-studded events of the weekend. LaVine’s competition is expected to include Buddy Hield, Trae Young, Damian Lillard and Devonte Graham, who reportedly accepted an invitation Tuesday.
LaVine is attempting a career-high 7.9 3-pointers per game this season and knocking them down at a 37.6% rate. When he gets hot from beyond the arc, he has shown the ability to take over games, like the night he knocked down 13 3-pointers to lead the Bulls to victory on Nov. 23 against the Hornets.
“Obviously, if I get in a rhythm, I think I can win it,” LaVine said. “I think it will be fun. It will be different. It will be something I haven’t done before so I can go out and practice it. Hopefully, the rims give me a friendly bounce for the hometown guy.”
LaVine is seeking to become the third Bulls player to win the 3-Point Contest, joining Steve Kerr (1997) and Craig Hodges (1990-92). But LaVine might also get some assistance from coach Jim Boylen, who revealed Tuesday he helped Marco Belinelli win the contest in 2014 when they were both with the Spurs.
“I can’t give away my secrets,” Boylen said with a laugh. “I talked to our equipment guys three weeks ago and had them order the same ball racks they use. Stuff like that.
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“Where do you put your money balls? What side do you grab the ball from? There’s a lot to it. What side of the floor do you grab the ball from? Zach has his own feel. He’s already a terrific shooter.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--‘Extremely tragic’: Blackened toys surround Cicero two-flat where 5-year-old boy and grandfather die

‘Extremely tragic’: Blackened toys surround Cicero two-flat where 5-year-old boy and grandfather died in fire

The boy went to Liberty Elementary School , according to Cicero District 99 , which said three other children from @ @ @ @ @ in the district and have been displaced by the fire .
It said the district @ @ @ @ @ leaders to arrange housing and other help for the family .

Paige Fry, Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Laura Rodríguez Presa

A firefighter exits the fire damaged two story apartment building following an early morning fire that claimed the lives of a five-year-old boy and an adult male in the 4700 block of W. 12th Place on Feb. 4, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The charred brick two-flat was surrounded by blackened toys, including a doll house and two small plastic cars, one orange and the other red.
David Castellano would often sit in front of the house in Cicero and watch his grandchildren play. He lived on the top floor with his 5-year-old grandson, named after him, and the others lived on the ground floor. Early Tuesday, Castellano and the boy died in their apartment after a fire whipped by strong winds engulfed the house.
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“They had little cars and bicycles. He would watch them out front while they played,” said Maria Talavera, a neighbor who lives two houses away. “This is extremely tragic. I hope they have the strength to deal with this loss.”
Firefighters received a call of smoke just after midnight and discovered the fire in the 4700 block of 12th Place, according to Cicero Fire Chief Dominick Buscemi. The entire back of the building and the back porch were burning when firefighters arrived, Buscemi said.
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Winds of more than 30 mph fanned the flames, and efforts to control the fire were “severely hampered” by gusts, he said. There were reports of people trapped inside, but damage to the front of the building made it difficult to enter.
“Our firefighters fought through the flames to get to the upstairs bedroom where we believed a man and a child and possibly others were located, but we couldn’t save them,” Buscemi said.
The boy did have a faint pulse, but “attempts to save the child failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene," Buscemi said. Firefighters found the body of the grandfather, and he "had apparently died from smoke inhalation.”
“You don’t want to have any fires, but when you have fatalities that involve a child, it hits home,” the fire chief said.
Max Garcia, a next-door neighbor who was evacuated during the fire, said he’s known the Castellano family for nearly 20 years. Garcia said the grandfather spent a lot of time with his grandchildren. Although not extremely close to them, Garcia said he shared some birthdays and they grilled together in the summer.
“They are a very close, loving and hardworking Mexican family,” Garcia said.
The boy went to Liberty Elementary School, according to Cicero District 99, which said three other children from the family were also students in the district and have been displaced by the fire. It said the district was working with Cicero community leaders to arrange housing and other help for the family.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
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kdouglas@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--26-year-old man stabbed on Loop CTA subway platform

A dispute broke out between the man and a woman at the Jackson Street Station in the State Street Subway @ @ @ @ @ to police .
The woman then pulled out a knife and stabbed the man , @ @ @ @ @ notification .

A street musician was stabbed in the arm after a woman began arguing with him at a Loop Red Line subway station Tuesday afternoon, according to Chicago police.
The woman, in her 30s, approached the 26-year-old guitar player around 1:35 p.m. at the Jackson station in the 200 block of South State Street and began arguing with him before cutting his arm with a knife, police said.
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The woman fled the station but was identified by witnesses and arrested. Police said charges were pending.
The man suffered a cut to the left arm and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition, police said.
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[Significant Delays] Red Line trains are running w/residual delays following earlier police activity near Jackson. Service is resuming, allow extra time. — cta (@cta) February 4, 2020
A woman who identified herself as the musician's sister said he's been playing on the Red Line for years. "He’s highly known by frequent riders and tourists," she said on a GoFundMe page seeking to raise $2,000. "His videos are posted all over YouTube and other platforms of social media."
She said the woman tried to push her brother onto the tracks before stabbing him. Her brother’s guitar and amplifier were damaged during the attack, she said.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Man walked through Joliet Walmart with sign on back that said, ‘Caution I have the Coronavirus,’ the

Man walked through Joliet Walmart with sign on back that said, ‘Caution I have the Coronavirus,’ then sprayed merchandise with Lysol, police say

As of Monday , there were 11 confirmed cases in the U.S. , including two in Illinois .
The two @ @ @ @ @ who recently visited Wuhan , China — the center of the outbreak — and her @ @ @ @ @ expected there will be more cases in the U.S. in the weeks ahead , health @ @ @ @ @ of the virus to Americans is believed to be low .

Surveillance photos show two individuals who entered a Walmart in Joliet and sprayed Lysol throughout the store while one of the subjects was wearing a sign inferring he had contracted the coronavirus. (Joliet Police Department)
A man donning a yellow face mask and a sign on his back reading, “Caution, I have the Coronavirus,” walked into a Walmart in Joliet on Sunday with another man and began spraying Lysol disinfectant around the store, police said.
Police are searching for the two men, believed to be in their 20s, who entered the Walmart at Illinois Route 59 and Theodore Street on Sunday afternoon, according to a police news release. Police were called to the store about 4:09 p.m. for the incident, but the men had already left the store.
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According to the news release, the two men sprayed a substance, which was later determined to be Lysol, on produce, clothing, and health and beauty items. Walmart estimates the loss of produce to be over $7,300 and cleanup costing more than $2,400, according to the news release.
Customers in the store witnessed the incident, and some confronted the men, said Sgt. Chris Botzum, a spokesman for the Joliet Police Department. Botzum said police do not believe anyone was exposed to the virus as a result of the incident.
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Botzum said it appears the man who was spraying the Lysol may have been recorded by the other man.
The two men were last seen leaving in a white 2003 GMC Yukon. Botzum said police have attempted to contact the owner of the Yukon but had been unable to make contact as of Tuesday morning. Police released surveillance photos of the men.
Anyone with information about the identity of the two men is asked to contact the Joliet Police Department’s investigation unit at 815-724-3020 or Detective Ryan Myers at 815-724-3056. Information about the incident also can be called into Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734 or online at crimestoppersofwillcounty.org.
As of Tuesday, the virus has killed at least 425 people and sickened more than 20,000 worldwide.
As of Monday, there were 11 confirmed cases in the U.S., including two in Illinois. The two Illinois cases are a woman who recently visited Wuhan, China — the center of the outbreak — and her husband. While it is expected there will be more cases in the U.S. in the weeks ahead, health officials say the immediate risk of the virus to Americans is believed to be low.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Service for baseball coach John Altobelli and his family — who died in the helicopter crash with Kob

Service for baseball coach John Altobelli and his family — who died in the helicopter crash with Kobe and Gianna Bryant — to be held at Angel Stadium of Anaheim

“ Needless to say ... there will be plenty of room so if you ’ d like to be a @ @ @ @ @ ’ d love to have you !
” Altobelli ’ s brother , Tony , @ @ @ @ @ post .

Judy Pratt lays flowers at a memorial for John Altobelli, the late coach of Orange Coast College baseball, who died in a helicopter crash alongside former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant in Costa Mesa, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020. Altobelli's wife, Keri, and youngest daughter Alyssa were also victims of the crash. (Kelvin Kuo / AP)
LOS ANGELES — A public memorial has been announced for three members of a family who died along with Kobe Bryant and others when a helicopter crashed in foggy weather last month outside Los Angeles.
The service for Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and daughter Alyssa will be held Feb. 10 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
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“Needless to say ... there will be plenty of room so if you’d like to be a part of this, we’d love to have you!” Altobelli’s brother, Tony, wrote Monday in a Facebook post.
Ok everyone .... we have official word. Memorial service for John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli will take place on Monday,... Posted by Tony Altobelli on Monday, February 3, 2020
Bryant, daughter Gianna and seven other people died Jan. 26 when the helicopter crashed into a hillside outside Los Angeles.
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A public memorial for the former Lakers superstar and his daughter is expected, but plans have not been announced.
The remains of all the victims have been released by the Los Angeles County coroner, online records show.
Also killed in the crash were Bryant friends Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton, and the helicopter pilot, Ara Zobayan.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Improvements planned for Green Bay Road in Evanston as part of long-term project

City officials are in the early planning stages of the project , which should also improve pedestrian access at intersections @ @ @ @ @ ; upgrade and synchronize traffic signals ; replace a water main ; update the streetscape @ @ @ @ @ according to a staff report .

This rendering shows one possible streetscape improvement on the northwest corner of Central Street and Green Bay Road. (City of Evanston)
Evanston is looking to overhaul the Green Bay Road thoroughfare from McCormick Boulevard to Isabella Street with planned upgrades that could improve safety and ADA compliance.
City officials are in the early planning stages of the project, which should also improve pedestrian access at intersections and in the business district; upgrade and synchronize traffic signals; replace a water main; update the streetscape and resurface the road, according to a staff report.
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City officials will hold a public informational meeting in February to learn more about what residents want to see in the project, said Ald. Eleanor Revelle.
Green Bay Road is a major north-south thoroughfare in north Evanston and runs through the Central Street business district. The Metra tracks run alongside Green Bay Road with a stop at Central Street. Pace buses also use the corridor.
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The street is surrounded by businesses, residences and schools.
For Revelle, the ADA compliance is one of the most important pieces of the project.
“There are a lot of aspects of the Green Bay Road corridor that are not ADA compliant,” Revelle said.
The northwest corner of the Green Bay Road and Central Street, for instance, requires stairs to get up to the sidewalk.
Fixing that stretch “will be really helpful,” Revelle said.
Early stakeholder meetings showed that businesses sought more pedestrian safety at intersections, on-street car parking and additional bicycle parking, among other requests.
The Phase I Preliminary Engineering Design Report should be complete this summer, and is considered to “be a good candidate” for Surface Transportation Program funding, administered by the Northshore Council of Mayors, according to the staff report.
The first phase of the project, which includes preliminary engineering and environmental studies, should be done this year, according to city officials.
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The second phase, which includes contract plan preparation, should be done in 2021. Construction should take place in 2023-2024.
The next community meeting will be 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Evanston Ecology Center.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Ex-state Rep. Luis Arroyo pleads not guilty to federal bribery charge

Last week , former state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty in a separate scheme to bribery and tax charges , @ @ @ @ @ with prosecutors that he took more than a quarter of a million dollars in payments @ @ @ @ @ or official action in Springfield , including $ 70,000 in “ protection ” fees from @ @ @ @ @ executive .

Ex-state Rep. Luis Arroyo, right, walks with his attorney, Michael Gillespie, to the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for his arraignment on Feb. 4, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Former state Rep. Luis Arroyo pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a federal charge alleging he offered to pay a state senator $2,500 a month in kickbacks in exchange for support on gambling-related legislation that would benefit an Arroyo lobbying client.
The not-guilty plea to the bribery charge is largely a formality, however. Arroyo has waived indictment and been charged instead in a one-count criminal information — a sign that he’s likely going to change his plea to guilty at a later date.
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Dressed in a gray suit and blue tie, Arroyo spoke only briefly during his arraignment, telling U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger that he understood his constitutional rights. Seeger set a status date for March 17.
Arroyo, 65, a Chicago Democrat who was an assistant majority leader, was originally charged in a criminal complaint in late October. He resigned Nov. 1, one week after his arrest and just hours before a legislative committee was set to consider his ouster from the General Assembly.
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According to the charge, Arroyo had sought an undisclosed state senator’s support on legislation involving video gambling sweepstakes games that would benefit one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients.
The state senator was wearing a wire for the FBI when Arroyo delivered the first of the promised $2,500 checks at a restaurant in Skokie on Aug. 22.
“This is, this is the jackpot,” the complaint quoted Arroyo as telling the senator as he handed over the check. Additional payments were expected to be made over the next six to 12 months, federal authorities alleged.
The Chicago Tribune has previously identified the state senator as Terry Link, a Democrat from Vernon Hills. Link has denied being the cooperating witness mentioned in the complaint.
Also involved in the alleged scheme was businessman James Weiss, the son-in-law of former Cook County assessor and county Democratic Party boss Joseph Berrios, whose house was raided by the FBI shortly before the charges against Arroyo were unsealed, the Tribune has reported.
Arroyo is one of four elected officials charged so far in an array of political corruption investigations that first came to public light in November 2018 when FBI agents raided the offices of Chicago Ald. Edward Burke.
Last week, former state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty in a separate scheme to bribery and tax charges, admitting in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he took more than a quarter of a million dollars in payments in exchange for his influence or official action in Springfield, including $70,000 in “protection” fees from a clout-heavy red-light camera company executive.
Sandoval, who resigned effective Jan. 1, is cooperating with prosecutors in the hopes of reducing his sentence.
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jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Review: Carrie Coon in ‘Bug’ is thrilling, old-school Steppenwolf — the greatest ‘Bug’ ever

Many of the most terrifying Steppenwolf performances — John Malkovich comes to mind — reside in actors moving through time @ @ @ @ @ who finally have bust their lid , gone for broke , and are no longer @ @ @ @ @ own actions .
Smallwood , whose work here is a series of thrilling fever blisters @ @ @ @ @ those moments in the second act of “ Bug , ” coming from the back @ @ @ @ @ intensity that you can feel the audience recoil in his wake .
Smallwood has worked @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve never seen him do work quite like this .
He has found @ @ @ @ @ internal dial , and he has figured out not only how to show us all @ @ @ @ @ , but to connect each movement with the requisite psychological logic in a play that @ @ @ @ @ with one foot in Ionesco-like neo-absurdism ) is very clinically and logically mapped out .

Like a sleeping Midwestern beast loosed from its cage of self-imposed timidity and graduate-school moralism, the old-school Steppenwolf Theatre came roaring back to life Monday night with the opening of “Bug,” Tracy Letts’ seminal, skin-crawling 1996 work about, depending on how you read the play, debilitating, delusional paranoia or the government’s ongoing tendency to experiment on its own citizens.
Once again, Chicago’s most famous theater has turned to Letts, its resident playwright with two shows this season on Broadway, including a transfer of “The Minutes,” which happens to be the last show at this theater to shock its audience like this one. But this time, Steppenwolf paired Letts (building on their New York collaboration with “The Man From Nebraska”) with the director David Cromer, a theatrical genius who emerged from the very same Off-Loop milieu as Letts and is always at his best when making like an emergency locksmith with revivals of profoundly observational plays ready to burst wide open. For those of us who are longtime students of Cromer’s work, “Bug” is a thrilling addition to the Cromer Chicago canon: this is his most spectacular piece of direction in this city since his seminal “Our Town,” one of the greatest Chicago productions of all time.
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And here’s the other thing. When I first reviewed “Bug” at A Red Orchid Theatre in 1996 starring Michael Shannon, I thought its milieu was big fun but that the plot was weird and far-fetched.
This brilliantly cast play is centered on Peter Evans (Namir Smallwood), a quiet man who finds himself occupying a crappy Oklahoma hotel room with Agnes White (Carrie Coon), a woman running from her abusive husband (Steve Key) and trying and failing to content herself with her friendship with R.C. (Jennifer Engstrom). Agnes and Peter get it on, so to speak (the characters spend a good portion of the night naked), but then Peter starts seeing bugs — little tiny critters burrowing under his skin and inside his eye sockets. Before long, Agnes sees them too. Bugs are everywhere. Peter says it’s all government experimentation gone wrong.
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Long before a quiet man named Dr. Sweet (Randall Arney) appears, we have figured out that the two main questions of this play are A) are the bugs real? And B) if so, who put them there?
The idea of being overheard by some version of the industrial-military complex in your private motel room took some swallowing in the 1990s. But not now, my fellow Americans, not now. Not with Alexa and Siri and Google Home all listening and watching, not with Big Tech excavating your data like a fevered Wisconsin mine owner. We invited all of those mercenary folks right into the most intimate and vulnerable areas of our lives. So you might say that time sure has ripened for a play probing the downside of a colossal societal decision taken without anybody fully reading the terms and conditions.
And then there’s the whole idea of viral transmission at work here. And who, friends, has not been thinking of late about all of that?
Carrie Coon and Namir Smallwood in "Bug" at Steppenwolf Theatre. (Michael Brosilow photo)
Many of the most terrifying Steppenwolf performances — John Malkovich comes to mind — reside in actors moving through time and space, playing characters who finally have bust their lid, gone for broke, and are no longer fully in control of their own actions. Smallwood, whose work here is a series of thrilling fever blisters, has exactly one of those moments in the second act of “Bug,” coming from the back of the stage with such intensity that you can feel the audience recoil in his wake. Smallwood has worked all over Chicago theater but I’ve never seen him do work quite like this. He has found the farthest reaches of his internal dial, and he has figured out not only how to show us all the positions of the needle, but to connect each movement with the requisite psychological logic in a play that (Letts being a formalist with one foot in Ionesco-like neo-absurdism) is very clinically and logically mapped out.
Coon, marking her first appearance as a Steppenwolf ensemble member, is every bit as potent. In her performance, which is deeply vulnerable and often profoundly sad, fans of this play on stage or screen will see what they have not previously experienced, but maybe already know about Coon.
Coon is married to Letts; demonstrably here, she understands the rhythms of her partner’s thinking and writing and she has an intuitive understanding of his particular marriage of black comedy, shock-horror and political fury. She removes all filters but never her on-stage intelligence, adding just a note of remove from her character’s terrible situation.
Coon makes it very clear that she is playing a victim of marital abuse and that insects also can have two legs.
It’s brilliant and hypnotizing both.
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Previous incarnations of “Bug” have been staged with limited dollars in unit sets. Not this one. Cromer has the budget, and the skill with theatrical transitions, to offer up a scenic coup de theater, in concert with the set designer Takeshi Kata. You always have a feeling something is going to happen inside that massive Steppenwolf proscenium, but Kata and Cromer still pull off something totally unexpected (or I, at least, did not see coming). Kata just designed the mentalist Derren Brown’s show on Broadway and, here, it is as if he has purloined the tools of that fine illusionist and thrown them in the face of Chicago-style realism, at once doubling down and folding the hand. This set is a stunner and well worth the price of admission, but the brilliant Heather Gilbert, that most Cromer-compatible of lighting designers, is part of that grand illusion, as is Joshua Schmidt’s playlist and Sarah Laux’s talkative costumes.
“Bug,” you should know, is not for the squeamish. What is these days?
But few things, surely, are as exciting for a Chicago theater-goer as seeing a work with such an off-Loop DNA being expanded and exploded in this way, now the work of mature but still-fearless artists who are at the peak of their international careers. I doubt Broadway has the capacity or appetite for more Letts this year, but you never know.
American discourse has so coarsened, and the nation’s checks and balances have so eroded, that we now are at the point where “Bug,” once a pulpy play, feels like it has become part of our not-so-shared architecture. That is hardly to be cheered, Lord knows. But it makes this show all the more worth the feeling.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
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Review: “Bug” (4 stars)
When: Through March 15
Where: Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St.
Running time: 2 hours
Tickets: $20-$125 at 312-335-1650 or www.steppenwolf.org


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Brendan Coyle, Mr. Bates on ‘Downton Abbey,’ is to return to Chicago theater this spring

Although a longtime stage actor , Coyle now is best known around the globe for playing the mysterious valet Mr. @ @ @ @ @ “ Downton Abbey , ” as well as its recent movie spin-off .
He previously @ @ @ @ @ in Conor McPherson ’ s “ St .
Nicholas , ” a play about a @ @ @ @ @ involved with a dangerous cult after falling in love with an actress .
At the @ @ @ @ @ desire to come back and work on one of Chicago ’ s storied stages .

Brendan Coyle is a Dublin theater critic in the Donmar Warehouse production of "St. Nicholas" by Conor McPherson, at the Goodman in 2019. (Helen Maybanks photo)
The actor Brendan Coyle will appear at the Goodman Theatre in artistic director Robert Falls’ March production of Brian Friel’s “Molly Sweeney,” the Goodman announced Tuesday morning.
Although a longtime stage actor, Coyle now is best known around the globe for playing the mysterious valet Mr. Bates in the TV show “Downton Abbey,” as well as its recent movie spin-off. He previously appeared at the Goodman Theatre in Conor McPherson’s “St. Nicholas,” a play about a theater critic who finds himself involved with a dangerous cult after falling in love with an actress. At the time, Coyle expressed great desire to come back and work on one of Chicago’s storied stages.
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The Goodman’s “Molly Sweeney” will also star Kate Fry and Christopher Donahue and will run from March 27 to April 26. More information at 312-443-3800 and www.goodmantheatre.org.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
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cjones5@chicagotribune.com