chicagotribune--2020-02-05--CPS inspector general says Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked him to resign: ‘I was a demanding and

CPS inspector general says Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked him to resign: ‘I was a demanding and frequently impatient boss’

As was announced this week , I am resigning my position as the CPS Inspector General after five years .
I am proud of my service and proud of the people who have worked for me and what they were able to achieve .
I was a demanding and frequently impatient boss , and drove my employees hard , sometimes excessively hard , to achieve what they achieved .
My tough management style led to complaints by employees , some of which I think were justified .
( Reported complaints about my behavior are exaggerated , and allegations that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race or gender are totally baseless . )
That all led to an eventual discussion between me and Mayor Lightfoot in which she requested my resignation .
The law is clear that statutory officers have the right to be removed only for cause , and I could have contested in court whether I had truly given adequate cause to be removed .
However , after careful thought , I decided that it would be better for me and better for CPS to give the resignation the Mayor requested , so that the morale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quickly as possible and everyone could fully concentrate on the oversight and student-protection missions of the office .

Nicholas Schuler, the Chicago Public Schools’ inspector general who abruptly announced this week that he will leave the job, says Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked for his resignation.
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“I was a demanding and frequently impatient boss, and drove my employees hard, sometimes excessively hard, to achieve what they achieved,” Schuler, CPS inspector general since 2016, wrote in a statement released late Wednesday. “My tough management style led to complaints by employees, some of which I think were justified.”
However, he called reported complaints about his behavior “exaggerated,” and said claims that he discriminated against anyone on the basis of race or gender are “totally baseless.”
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But Schuler said the complaints eventually led him to a discussion with Lightfoot in which she requested his resignation, according to the statement.
Schuler said earlier this week that his resignation is effective Feb. 29.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a Tribune inquiry.
Schuler said the episode “has raised an important question about the continuing independence of the Office of Inspector General.”
He wrote that he is confident in the mayor’s dedication to an independent inspector general and hopes and expects her to “appoint a completely independent and outspoken IG.”
“This is an ideal time to enact that key structural repair to the IG’s governing law, namely, codifying precisely how the IG can be removed and that removal must be for cause and only after a public hearing,” reads Schuler’s statement. “I believe in the power of independent IGs, and I think they have helped to make Chicago finally ready for the reform that I believe is well underway.”
Schuler detailed some deficiencies he sees in the statute that establishes the Office of the Inspector General, specifically that it “is silent on the critical issue of how the IG can be removed and for what ground,” which can be exploited, according to the statement.
“I know from long dealings with CPS that many people there have been displeased by the tenacity of my efforts and my willingness to speak frankly and publicly about our work," he wrote. "Accordingly, I can’t discount the possibility that some within CPS seized upon the complaints against me in a calculated way with hopes of getting an IG more to their liking. “
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In response to Schuler’s resignation, Illinois Rep. Fred Crespo, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates, released a statement calling for a “truly independent” inspector general to be swiftly appointed in light of what he called the district’s “continuous inability” to adequately protect children. Crespo, vice chair of the House committee for curriculum and policies in elementary and secondary schools, noted that a new inspector general would join a task force he is on that seeks to end sexual abuse.
“The students of CPS and their families need an inspector general that will have a record of integrity, responsible leadership and most importantly, true independence,” Crespo said.
Here is Schuler’s full statement:
As was announced this week, I am resigning my position as the CPS Inspector General after five years. I am proud of my service and proud of the people who have worked for me and what they were able to achieve. I was a demanding and frequently impatient boss, and drove my employees hard, sometimes excessively hard, to achieve what they achieved. My tough management style led to complaints by employees, some of which I think were justified. (Reported complaints about my behavior are exaggerated, and allegations that I discriminated against anyone on the basis of race or gender are totally baseless.) That all led to an eventual discussion between me and Mayor Lightfoot in which she requested my resignation. The law is clear that statutory officers have the right to be removed only for cause, and I could have contested in court whether I had truly given adequate cause to be removed. However, after careful thought, I decided that it would be better for me and better for CPS to give the resignation the Mayor requested, so that the morale of the entire office could improve as quickly as possible and everyone could fully concentrate on the oversight and student-protection missions of the office.
This episode has raised an important question about the continuing independence of the Office of Inspector General. Among other deficiencies, the statute that gives life to the CPS IG is silent on the critical issue of how the IG can be removed and for what grounds. This inadequacy in the IG’s governing legislation can be exploited by those who wish to corral an independent IG. I know from long dealings with CPS that many people there have been displeased by the tenacity of my efforts and my willingness to speak frankly and publicly about our work. Accordingly, I can’t discount the possibility that some within CPS seized upon the complaints against me in a calculated way with hopes of getting an IG more to their liking.
However, I am confident that Mayor Lightfoot is firmly dedicated to independent IGs and knows the value of their work. I hope and expect that she will appoint a completely independent and outspoken IG.
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There are opportunities for progress here. In particular, this is an ideal time to enact that key structural repair to the IG’s governing law, namely, codifying precisely how the IG can be removed and that removal must be for cause and only after a public hearing.
I believe in the power of independent IGs, and I think they have helped to make Chicago finally ready for the reform that I believe is well underway.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Buffalo Grove to end court battle over pension benefits of firefighter who died of cancer

“ There is a promise that municipalities make to employees , that they will take care of them when something @ @ @ @ @ Mazur said .
“ I can ’ t think of a family who gave more @ @ @ @ @ lost a husband and father .
This can ’ t be a victory for Kim @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll be able to stop the harassment from her late husband ’ s employers @ @

Kim Hauber, the widow of Buffalo Grove firefighter Kevin Hauber, second from right, enters the court room with her daughters, from left, Nicole, Brooklyn and Megan at the Illinois Second District Appellate Court Dec. 10, 2019 in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The widow of a 51-year-old Buffalo Grove firefighter who died of colon cancer expressed relief Wednesday that the legal battle to receive her late husband’s full line-of-duty pension benefit has come to an end.
On Tuesday, the village of Buffalo Grove announced that officials have chosen not to appeal a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision that affirmed a 100% line-of-duty pension award for the widow of late firefighter Kevin Hauber, who died in 2018.
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“My daughters and I are happy that this is finally over and we can continue the grieving process,” Kim Hauber, 41, said Wednesday.
While the move by the Buffalo Grove Village Board means the case will not be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, village officials said in a statement that their decision to end the legal battle does not mean they agree with the ruling.
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“While we continue to disagree with the decision, we do not wish to pursue this matter further,” Village Manager Dane Bragg said in a statement.
“The village maintains this decision sets a dangerous precedent for all property taxpayers; not only for those who live in Buffalo Grove, but for all taxpayers in Illinois,” Bragg said. "The implications for other cases to occur where legal standards are not met and causation is not proven could prove financially devastating to an already stressed pension system in the State of Illinois.”
‘Not just fighting fires’: Cancer among firefighters causes alarm, uncertainty and heartbreak »
But Thomas Mazur, an attorney for the Hauber family, disagreed with the village’s contention that the case could set a precedent with negative consequences for taxpayers.
“It does not set a new precedent, but it does affirm the Illinois Pension Code, which says that firefighters or police officers who are injured or die in the line-of-duty can get the benefits they paid for through their careers,” Mazur said.
While Mazur said pensions are supplemented in part by taxpayer dollars, he said the “large majority” of the money comes from investment returns, and “members putting their own money into their pensions.”
“There is a promise that municipalities make to employees, that they will take care of them when something like this happens,” Mazur said. “I can’t think of a family who gave more than the Haubers, who lost a husband and father. This can’t be a victory for Kim, but at least she’ll be able to stop the harassment from her late husband’s employers.”
Buffalo Grove’s decision to end their fight over the Hauber pension award arrives after a lengthy court battle to overturn a 100% line-of-duty death pension benefit awarded to the family, which was approved by the village’s Firefighters’ Pension Board in 2018 and upheld in 2019 by a Lake County Circuit Court judge.
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Buffalo Grove appealed the circuit court’s decision to the Second District Appellate Court, where three appellate court judges ruled unanimously last month to uphold the 100% line-of-duty pension benefit for the Hauber family.
The family’s lawyers have argued that Hauber’s job duties and exposure to carcinogens contributed to his colon cancer.
Appellate Justice Joseph Birkett said last year that before making a ruling the lower court reviewed Hauber’s medical history, which found no history of colon cancer in his family, which was affirmed by genetic testing.
“He was 51, and otherwise in good health, and was not a drinker, and there’s no genetic predisposition found, and he was exposed to fires. The village’s own job description describes exposure to toxic substances,” Birkett said at the time. “Firefighters are exposed to cancerous substances, and in this case, there’s proof in the record that he was exposed to smoke and chemicals.”
Village officials have previously contended that Hauber’s widow, who is the mother of the couple’s four daughters, was only entitled to a surviving spouse benefit, which is equal to 75% of her late husband’s final salary of $101,549, or $76,161 annually.
On Wednesday, Kim Hauber said while she is thankful for the support she and her children have received from both friends and strangers, she remains disheartened that the village of Buffalo Grove put her family through a court battle.
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“It is upsetting that at the end of the day, my husband was just considered a liability and an expense to the village administrators,” Hauber said. “They ensured we relived his death over and over for the past two years. My hope is that no other employee or family ever has to go through this.”
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Lincoln Park High School scandal has sparked 4 investigations and top leaders’ removal. Here is how

Lincoln Park High School scandal has sparked 4 investigations and top leaders’ removal. Here is how the scandal unfolded.

People applaud other speakers Monday , Feb. 3 , 2020 during a CPS meeting after leadership changes were announced at @ @ @ @ @ ( Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune )

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chicagotribune--2020-02-05--United Airlines buys flight training school to build pipeline for 10,000 new pilots over the next de

United Airlines buys flight training school to build pipeline for 10,000 new pilots over the next decade

United said the academy , which will be renamed United Aviate Academy in September , will initially produce about 300 @ @ @ @ @ it hopes to expand that to 500 .
Graduates would be able to work as @ @ @ @ @ has partnered with to rack up hours of flying time required to qualify for entry-level @ @ @ @ @ such as ExpressJet , Air Wisconsin or Mesa Airlines .
Pilots in the Aviate program @ @ @ @ @ would be then eligible for jobs with United .

United Airlines pilots listen as airline President Scott Kirby speaks at a June 5, 2019, news conference at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. United announced Feb. 5, 2020, that it is buying a flight school in Arizona as part of its plan to hire 10,000 pilots in the next decade. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
United Airlines is buying an Arizona flight training academy to help train the more than 10,000 pilots the airline expects to hire within a decade.
The academy, currently operating as Westwind School of Aeronautics in Phoenix, will be part of a recruiting program United announced last year, called Aviate, that lets pilots join a pipeline to United with a conditional job offer early in their careers rather than waiting until they rise through the ranks at regional carriers or complete military service.
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Aspiring pilots will be able to enter the full-time academy with no flight experience and apply to join the Aviate program after earning a private pilot certification, United said. Students would graduate with the credentials needed to progress to the next stage in their career, working as a flight instructor, in nine to 12 months, the airline said.
Pilot jobs were scarce when the airline industry struggled after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and during the recession. Hiring has picked up as demand for travel has grown, and airlines have been bolstering recruiting programs in an effort to build up a pool of aspiring pilots before a wave of upcoming retirements leaves them shorthanded.
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United said last year it expects nearly half of its 12,500 pilots to retire within a decade, and over the next 20 years, Boeing estimates that airlines will need to recruit about 131,000 commercial pilots in North America and 514,000 more throughout the rest of the world.
United isn’t feeling a shortage now but wants to make sure the regional airlines that operate its United Express flights continue to have enough pilots, said Curtis Brunjes, United’s managing director of pilot strategy. Regional airlines are facing “a lot of competition for talent” and have been offering potential hires signing bonuses, he said.
United said the academy, which will be renamed United Aviate Academy in September, will initially produce about 300 graduates each year, but it hopes to expand that to 500. Graduates would be able to work as instructors at flight schools United has partnered with to rack up hours of flying time required to qualify for entry-level jobs with regional carriers, such as ExpressJet, Air Wisconsin or Mesa Airlines. Pilots in the Aviate program hired by the regional carriers would be then eligible for jobs with United.
[ Black United pilots allege discrimination in lawsuit, call for probe ]
Operating its own flight training academy also will give the airline more control over training. Brunjes said United’s curriculum could place extra emphasis on skills like managing automated systems or avoiding loss of control accidents. Training required for commercial pilots is “fairly modest when it comes to upset recovery and could be innovated,” he said.
United has not determined the cost of training but Brunjes said it would be comparable with other flight schools, which can cost $80,000 to $90,000 to complete. The airline said it is working with financial institutions and hopes to offer financing options. United also said it wants to broaden the pool of candidates by offering a scholarship program for female and minority applicants.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--New Trier grad pleads guilty to $10 million fraud to finance gambling and lavish Las Vegas lifestyle

The son of a radiologist father and a mother who works in real estate , Gorodetsky grew up in the @ @ @ @ @ New Trier in 2010 , records show .
His interest in gambling started in high @ @ @ @ @ his father ’ s Ameritrade account to make trades on his laptop in class , @ @ @ @ @

Robert Gorodetsky monitoring sports on his phone in an undated photo. He pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges Wednesday. (Jason M. Ogulik/USA Today Network)
Far from the lights and pizazz of Las Vegas, Robert Gorodetsky stood Wednesday in an austere federal courtroom in Chicago looking nothing like the high-rolling, casino-hopping gambler he’d long portrayed himself to be on social media.
Dressed in a dark suit and black glasses, Gorodetsky, a North Shore native and New Trier High School alum, spoke so softly that the judge asked him to move toward the microphone.
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But when U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo asked Gorodetsky to state what he did for a living, she still couldn’t hear his answer.
“He’s very soft-spoken,” said his lawyer, Chris Gair. “What he said was, ‘Professional gambler.’ ”
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Moments later, Gorodetsky, who once touted himself as the next big thing in sports gambling, pleaded guilty to stunning federal fraud charges alleging he stole nearly $10 million in a fraud scheme and blew it on outrageous bets and a high-end Las Vegas lifestyle.
Gorodetsky, 27, of Northbrook, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faces up to six years in prison, according to his plea agreement with prosecutors. He also must repay $7.2 million in outstanding losses.
Bucklo set sentencing for April 29.
With his custom cap stenciled with the word “GAMBLR,” high-end jewelry and luxury cars, Gorodetsky carefully cultivated his image on Instagram, regularly posting photos of himself hobnobbing with beautiful women and professional athletes under the moniker “Big Rob.”
But prosecutors alleged that while Gordetsky was making a name for himself, he was also orchestrating a massive fraud scheme against a single victim who invested millions of dollars with him in the mistaken belief that the funds were wisely invested and earning handsome dividends.
Instead, Gorodetsky was using the cash to fund his Las Vegas operation, placing reckless bets on sporting events and living a lavish lifestyle that was both celebrated on social media and scorned by some veteran gamblers.
In all, Gorodetsky stole nearly $10 million from the investor — identified only as Victim A — from 2014 to 2017, the charges alleged.
The son of a radiologist father and a mother who works in real estate, Gorodetsky grew up in the North Shore and graduated from New Trier in 2010, records show. His interest in gambling started in high school when he would use his father’s Ameritrade account to make trades on his laptop in class, according to news reports.
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He later went on to study at the University of Arizona but dropped out before completing his freshman year.
After a stint as a professional poker player, Gorodetsky’s profile as a maverick sports bettor rose dramatically in December 2017 with a lengthy USA Today profile labeling him “one of the most compelling and controversial” figures in sports.
The article described how Gorodetsky bet more than $1 million in one week that fall, dropping $350,000 on a single NFL Sunday and tens of thousands of dollars more on Major League Baseball games, the NBA, tennis, soccer and even high school sports.
Gorodetsky was known for placing wild, high-risk parlays with little or no research on the teams or players, according to the profile. He claimed to have won up to 65% of his sports bets — a figure instantly questioned by gambling experts in online blogs.
According to the criminal charges, over a four-month period beginning in February 2014, Gorodetsky fraudulently obtained more than $953,000 from Victim A “for the purported purpose of investing in the stock market.” Instead, he used the vast majority of it — $737,000 — for himself.
In July 2014, Gorodetsky falsely told the victim that his original investment had increased to $2 million due to successful trades but that “greater returns would be had in sports wagering,” according to the charges.
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Over the next three years, Gorodetsky continued to ask Victim A for more money, creating false statements that misstated the balance of the victim’s account, the amount and kind of wagers placed by Gorodetsky, as well as the profits and losses of those bets and Gorodetsky’s spending on luxury items, according to the charges.
In that time period, Gorodetsky spent at least $2.2 million of the victim’s money on items unrelated to sports bets, including to pay his living, travel and entertainment expenses, as well as purchase luxury cars and jewelry, the charges said.
According to the USA Today profile, Gorodetsky arrived at casinos wearing $6,000 Louis Vuitton hoodies and $2,500 high-top sneakers. He also rolled with a “colorful crew” that included a financial manager, an enforcer and a pickup artist, it said.
"It’s not just gambling. It’s a lifestyle,” Gorodetsky was quoted as saying.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--How will the undermanned Bulls prepare for Zion Williamson? ‘He’s a physical specimen, one of those

How will the undermanned Bulls prepare for Zion Williamson? ‘He’s a physical specimen, one of those once-in-a-lifetime type players.’

Williamson , 19 , has quickly taken off on a path toward stardom , captivating the basketball world in his @ @ @ @ @ back from a knee injury that delayed his debut .
In those first seven games @ @ @ @ @ points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 55 % from the field and 44 % on @ @ @ @ @ the Pelicans listed him as questionable for Thursday night ’ s game with a sprained @ @ @

It was only a preseason game, but Bulls coach Jim Boylen remembers the electric atmosphere at the United Center when Pelicans rookie phenom Zion Williamson visited Chicago.
He had yet to play in his first regular-season game, but he was already literally turning heads everywhere he went before the game. He lived near the rim and dominated the Bulls in the paint, scoring a game-high 29 points on 12-of-13 shooting.
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The Bulls had little answer for Williamson on that night at the start of October, but they are hoping for a much better response when they host the Pelicans on Thursday night.
“We were actually talking about some of the stuff he was doing in the preseason game like, ‘Man, he’s super-athletic’,” forward Thaddeus Young said. “When he’s driving to the basket, he just takes off. I think once it seemed like he took off from the free-throw line and he was just gliding.”
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Williamson, 19, has quickly taken off on a path toward stardom, captivating the basketball world in his first seven games after coming back from a knee injury that delayed his debut. In those first seven games, he is averaging 19.6 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 55% from the field and 44% on 3-point attempts. However, the Pelicans listed him as questionable for Thursday night’s game with a sprained right toe.
“He was a big part of our summer as a league and a big part of the fall, the hype for him," Boylen said. "And you saw our game here in preseason.”
Fans look for autographs from Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson after a game against the Bulls on Oct. 9, 2019. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
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The Pelicans are contending for a playoff spot and provide plenty of potential matchup problems for the Bulls, including All-Star forward Brandon Ingram. But Williamson is likely to command the most attention.
His unconventional combination of size, strength, speed and athleticism have made him a nightmare for opposing teams. Williamson is listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, and the Bulls do not have anyone available to replicate his size in practice. Young chuckled as he recalled memes that compared Williamson to the Marvel movie villain Thanos.
“You’re going to see (the hype) because you’re watching the games and looking at your social media feeds and stuff like that,” Young said. “I don’t pay attention to it as much, but you’re going to see it.
“I’m a guy that loves to see when young guys come into this league, get a lot of hype and is able to go out there and show what they can do. I think he has a great head on his shoulders and I’ve heard he’s a great kid.”
The Bulls, meanwhile, have watched as their frontcourt has been devastated by injuries. Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen will both miss the game with an injury and rookie center Daniel Gafford just came back from a dislocated thumb Sunday but twisted his ankle during his first stint and spent the rest of the game hobbling, though he seems likely to play.
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That will leave most of the responsibility on Young to contend with Williamson, a challenge he was looking forward to.
“He’s a physical specimen, one of those once-in-a-lifetime type players, very athletic, super athletic with a big, wide body,” Young said. “He’s a big, active guy. Biggest thing is keeping your body between him and the basket. You know he’s going to be athletic. You know he’s going to try to power through some guys.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Man shot on Blue Line train near UIC-Halsted station on Near West Side. ‘Appears to be a robbery,’ p

Man shot on Blue Line train near UIC-Halsted station on Near West Side. ‘Appears to be a robbery,’ police say.

Though the shooting occurred near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus , university officials released a statement saying the @ @ @ @ @ with the school .
The statement described the gunman as an African-American man standing either @ @ @ @ @ about 20 years old , wearing a dark jacket , bright red scarf and carrying @ @ @ @ @ ran northbound on Peoria Street and then westbound on Van Buren with the victim ’ @ @ @ @ @ UIC officials said .

A police officer, left, stands inside a train where a man was shot on the CTA Blue Line train in the 400 block of South Halsted Street in the University Village/Little Italy area of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2029. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
A man was shot Wednesday morning on a CTA Blue Line train near the UIC-Halsted stop on the Near West Side, according to Chicago police.
The victim was on the third car from the front of the train when he was shot in the back just after 10:30 a.m. in the 400 block of South Halsted Street, according to Chicago police spokeswoman Karie James.
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At an afternoon news conference near the Blue Line station, Chicago police said it appeared the victim and the gunman exchanged words before the shooting. As the victim was trying to leave the train, the gunman shot him and took his backpack before fleeing the scene.
"This wasn’t just a random act,” said Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Fred Waller. "It appears to be a robbery-related at this time.”
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The victim, described only as an adult male and approximately 30 years old, was taken by ambulance to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted that “detectives (were) actively speaking to witnesses” and investigators had “secured multiple video sources” from the CTA ... We are working in real-time to track direction of flight of the offender."
Surveillance photos of a man identified as a suspect in a shooting and robbery on a Blue Line train near the UIC-Halsted station on Feb. 5, 2020. (Surveillance photos via Chicago Police Department)
Though the shooting occurred near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, university officials released a statement saying the victim wasn’t affiliated with the school. The statement described the gunman as an African-American man standing either 6-foot-3 6-foot-4 inches tall, about 20 years old, wearing a dark jacket, bright red scarf and carrying a silver revolver. He ran northbound on Peoria Street and then westbound on Van Buren with the victim’s backpack and wallet, UIC officials said.
The shooing caused major delays on the Blue Line heading into the lunch hour, with trains in both directions bypassing the UIC-Halsted stop and running on the same track between LaSalle and Racine.
[ Teen charged with robbing two people on Red Line, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old ]
Police officers used yellow tape to block off a short stretch of the 400 block of South Halsted Street, including the entrance to the UIC-Halsted Blue Line stop. The officers, along with CTA employees, stood in front to redirect people trying to enter the station.
Serious crime aboard CTA trains, on the rise since 2015, have flared in recent months, particularly the Red and Brown lines. The violence, which includes robberies of expensive smartphones or random attacks on unsuspecting riders, have persisted despite the installation of 1,000 high-definition surveillance cameras at CTA stations last year.
Earlier on Wednesday, prosecutors charged an 18-year-old South Holland man with robbing two teenagers on the Red Line last month. On Tuesday, a street musician was stabbed by a woman at the Red Line’s Jackson station.
[ Street musician stabbed at Loop CTA subway station, woman arrested ]
The uptick in violence has led Interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck to increase police patrols.
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After Wednesday’s shooting, Amalgamated Transit Union 308 President Kenneth Dixon, which represents CTA’s transit employees, called for police, CTA, and the mayor to make a ”stronger effort” in preventing such incidents.
”These types of incidents are becoming too common," Dixon said.


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Barnes & Noble suspends reissues of classics with new multicultural cover images

“ The booksellers who championed this initiative did so convinced it would help drive engagement with these classic titles , @ @ @ @ @ chain .
`` It was a project inspired by our work with schools and was @ @ @ @ @ awareness and discussion during Black History Month , in which Barnes & Noble stores nationally @ @ @ @ @ wide selection of books to celebrate black history and great literature from writers of color @ @

Barnes & Noble is withdrawing a planned line of famous literature reissued with multicultural cover images that has been met with widespread criticism on social media.
"We acknowledge the voices who have expressed concerns about the Diverse Editions project at our Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue store and have decided to suspend the initiative," Barnes & Noble announced in a statement Wednesday.
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The author Adriana Herrera had called the books, scheduled to be launched this week, “the classics in blackface.”
This what happens when you try fix structural faults with a band aid. Publishing was not built to hold marginalized voices and they keep trying to shove us into the whiteness ship they've been driving forever, instead of stopping an building a new vessel where we actually fit. https://t.co/W13F9V1oYg — Adriana Herrera 🇩🇴⚡ (@ladrianaherrera) February 5, 2020
“Diverse Editions,” a joint project between Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House, featured 12 texts, including Lewis Carroll's “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,” Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein” and L. Frank Baum's “The Wizard of Oz.” The words are the same, but on the cover, major characters are depicted with dark-skinned illustrations by artists of “different ethnicities and backgrounds,” according to Barnes & Noble.
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“Diverse Editions” was announced at a time when the publishing industry is already facing scrutiny over the novel “American Dirt" and its depiction of Mexican life and culture. “Absolute TONE-DEAF decision-making,” Mexican-American writer David Bowles, a leading critic of “American Dirt," tweeted about “Diverse Editions.”
The decision also comes in February, which is Black History Month, an annual celebration of past and present achievement.
To much disbelief online, the organizers of “Diverse Editions” had said they used artificial intelligence in reviewing more than 100 older books and determining whether the race or ethnicity of a character is specifically stated. Few would argue that Alice from “Alice in Wonderland” or the title characters of “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” are fitting for a tribute to black history.
Uhhhh...this is not diversity, this is wrapping the same sweet with different colours and calling it Diverse Editions TM. Some of those 'classic' stories are quite...racist and a new cover isn't changing that. Also, why not just highlight work by POC authors and artists? https://t.co/FgIf9dXsoG — Charis Loke draws 📚✨🐉 (@charisloke) February 5, 2020
"They could have Googled, chosen a dozen books by actual Black authors that are classics & sent those out with fresh covers & a big event," author MIkki Kendall tweeted. “Add in bringing in contemporary Black authors to discuss these works & the whole thing is a win. They didn't do the easy or logical thing.”
In its statement Wednesday, Barnes & Noble acknowledged that the new covers were "not a substitute for black voices or writers of color, whose work and voices deserve to be heard.
“The booksellers who championed this initiative did so convinced it would help drive engagement with these classic titles,” according to the bookstore chain. "It was a project inspired by our work with schools and was created in part to raise awareness and discussion during Black History Month, in which Barnes & Noble stores nationally will continue to highlight a wide selection of books to celebrate black history and great literature from writers of color.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Matt Forte, Dave Wannstedt make cameos on ‘Chicago Fire’

Forte ’ s rep said Forte ’ s friend , “ Chicago Fire ” star Taylor Kinney , “ put @ @ @ @ @ showrunner Derek Haas .
Haas told the Tribune via a spokesman that he met Wannstedt @ @ @ @ @ and “ he ’ s such a big presence in Chicago and loves the ( @ @ @ @ @ that I thought , I got ta get him to Molly ’ s ( the @ @ @ @ @ at some point.
” Haas said it was a coincidence that Forte and Wannstedt ended @ @ @ @ @ .

Former Bears running back Matt Forte (left) makes a cameo on the "Chicago Fire" episode airing Feb. 5. He is friends with "Chicago Fire" star Taylor Kinney (right) in real life. (Adrian Burrows/NBC)
Do you miss seeing Matt Forte on your TV? The former Bears running back and former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt make cameos on Wednesday’s episode of “Chicago Fire.”
Forte — who was with the Bears from 2008 to 2015 — plays an “upstanding citizen” who aids in a rescue. Wannstedt — the Bears head coach from 1993 to 1998 and now a football analyst — is himself on the episode, which is scheduled to air on NBC at 8 p.m.
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Forte’s rep said Forte’s friend, “Chicago Fire” star Taylor Kinney, “put in a word” with showrunner Derek Haas. Haas told the Tribune via a spokesman that he met Wannstedt a few years ago, and “he’s such a big presence in Chicago and loves the (‘Chicago’) shows that I thought, I gotta get him to Molly’s (the show’s bar) at some point.” Haas said it was a coincidence that Forte and Wannstedt ended up on the same episode.
Forte is not the only former Bear on TV. Former defensive tackle Anthony “Spice” Adams co-hosts “The Great American Baking Show” on ABC. Former running back Thomas Jones has various credits including Marvel’s “Luke Cage.” Former linebacker Brian Urlacher had a memorable turn on the 2018 Sony Crackle comedy “Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy.” Former quarterback Jay Cutler plays a farmhand and jewelry designer on his wife’s E! network show “Very Cavallari.” Former Bears tight end Zach Miller made a cameo on last week’s episode.
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tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Chance the Rapper and Common headline the Celebrity Game rosters at NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago

At the top of the list are Chicago rappers Chance the Rapper and Common , who will serve as captains @ @ @ @ @ at Wintrust Arena and as ambassadors for All-Star Weekend in Chicago .
The pair also @ @ @ @ @ the 69th All-Star Game at the United Center .

NBA All-Star Weekend will descend on Chicago from Feb. 14-16 and a long list of celebrities will come along with the bright lights of the league’s main event, including some of the city’s most famous homegrown talent.
The NBA announced the official roster for the All-Star Celebrity Game on Wednesday, with a group that includes Chicago celebrities, basketball stars and recording artists.
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At the top of the list are Chicago rappers Chance the Rapper and Common, who will serve as captains in the Feb. 14 game at Wintrust Arena and as ambassadors for All-Star Weekend in Chicago. The pair also will perform at halftime of the 69th All-Star Game at the United Center.
ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon, a Chicago native and Northwestern graduate, will coach in the game. Both teams will include hometown favorites, athletes and entertainers.
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Wilbon’s “home” team will include several entertainers, including Common, Hannibal Buress and Jidenna. Smith will use his animated approach to coach an “away” roster with Chance the Rapper, Quavo and Lil Rel Howery.
The NBA and WNBA will be represented in the game as well as former DePaul and Young star Quentin Richardson and WNBA star Chelsea Gray are set to play on Wilbon’s team. On the other side, former NBA forward Darius Miles, WNBA star A’ja Wilson and former Bears defensive tackle Anthony “Spice” Adams will lace up for Smith’s team.
As is the case with many of this year’s festivities, the Celebrity Game will feature a new wrinkle. The event’s presenting sponsor, Ruffles, has created “The Ridge,” a 4-point line that players can shoot from during the game. Ruffles will donate $4,000 to the Special Olympics for every shot made from the spot.
Here are the rosters for the Celebrity Game:
Team Stephen A. (Away)
Captain: Chance the Rapper (rapper)
Quavo (rapper)
Taylor Bennett (rapper)
LaRoyce Hawkins (actor, “Chicago P.D.”)
Anthony “Spice” Adams (former Bears defensive tackle)
Marc Lasry (Bucks co-owner)
Ronnie 2K (2K Sports marketing director)
Katelyn Ohashi (gymnast)
Lil Rel Howery (actor, comedian)
A’ja Wilson (WNBA player)
Darius Miles (former NBA player)
Team Wilbon (Home)


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Cause of Cicero fire that killed boy, 5, his grandfather, narrowed down; arson not suspected

David Castellanos , 5 , and his grandfather , David Castellanos , both lived on the second floor of the @ @ @ @ @ was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived , according to information provided by the medical @ @ @ @ @ The boy had a faint pulse when he was found in the burning home and @ @ @ @ @ in Berwyn , where he later was pronounced dead .
His grandfather , who Cicero @ @ @ @ @ apparently died from smoke inhalation , was pronounced dead at the home .

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)
A day after a quick-moving fire in a Cicero apartment killed a 5-year-old boy and the grandfather he was named after, investigators said Wednesday they have ruled out the possibility the fire was intentionally set and have narrowed down possible causes, a town spokesman said.
The cause of the fire, which began after midnight Tuesday in the 4700 block of 12th Place, has not yet been determined, but investigators have ruled out foul play, Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania said in an email.
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“The cause of the fire is narrowed down to either an electrical or mechanical cause,” Hanania said. “They are having an electrical engineer reexamining the evidence and report to help pin the cause down further.”
David Castellanos, 5, and his grandfather, David Castellanos, both lived on the second floor of the two-flat on 12th Place which was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, according to information provided by the medical examiner’s office. The boy had a faint pulse when he was found in the burning home and was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, where he later was pronounced dead. His grandfather, who Cicero Fire Chief Dominick Buscemi said apparently died from smoke inhalation, was pronounced dead at the home.
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Cicero School District 99 was hosting a 4 p.m. vigil Wednesday at Liberty School, 4946 W. 13th St., to honor the younger Castellanos, who attended the school, according to Hanania. Buscemi planned to attend, he said.
“You don’t want to have any fires, but when you have fatalities that involve a child, it hits home,” the Buscemi said Tuesday.
Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Years ago Raymond Parcon went to prison for embezzlement. On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to a simil

Years ago Raymond Parcon went to prison for embezzlement. On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to a similar fraud.

Parcon ’ s embezzlement was an embarrassing episode for Arthur Andersen , which at the time was one of the @ @ @ @ @ U.S. and was known for helping set up internal controls for companies to prevent employee @ @ @ @

A quarter century after serving time in federal prison for embezzlement, a Naperville man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a strikingly similar fraud scheme alleging he swindled a woman’s estate out of nearly $90,000.
Raymond Parcon, 67, pleaded guilty to wire fraud during his first court appearance on the new charges before U.S. District Judge Martha Pacold.
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Under federal sentencing guidelines, Parcon faces up to two years and three months in prison when he’s sentenced on May 13. He also agreed in a plea agreement with prosecutors to pay $89,500 in restitution to the victims.
According to the charges, Parcon operated a tax-preparation business in Naperville and prepared returns for the victim’s estate after she died in 2015. The plea agreement identified the woman as the late Sharon Cerino, of Chicago.
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In April 2016, Parcon created a phony document claiming the estate owed about $66,000 in taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and gave it to the executor of the estate, who was Cerino’s nephew.
Parcon told the executor he’d paid the tax bill through his accounting business, even though he hadn’t paid a penny because the bill was phony, the charges alleged. The executor then cut a check to Parcon for the $66,000, according to the charges.
Parcon repeated the phony tax claims four more times in 2016, 2017 and 2018, collecting a total of more than $23,000 in supposed back payments from the estate, the charges alleged.
The scheme was nearly identical to what Parcon pulled when he worked for then-accounting giant Arthur Andersen as a tax manager beginning in the 1980s, records show.
In that case, Parcon admitted he falsified paperwork over a five-year period to make it appear that sizable checks had been sent to the IRS and Illinois tax officials to cover the company’s withholding obligations.
In reality, Parcon submitted those checks, sometimes for hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time, as payments on his personal tax debt and then claimed huge refunds from the IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue, court records show.
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Parcon pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $1 million and was sentenced in November 1995 to eight months in prison followed by eight months of home confinement — a significant break from sentencing guidelines that called for up to about three years behind bars.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said during the sentencing hearing that he felt the unusual departure was warranted because Parcon’s disabled mother and brother had no one else to care for them.
Parcon’s embezzlement was an embarrassing episode for Arthur Andersen, which at the time was one of the largest accounting firms in the U.S. and was known for helping set up internal controls for companies to prevent employee theft and fraud.
“It’s hard to believe Arthur Andersen … was not able to catch this earlier,” Gettleman said at the hearing. “It’s amazing to me.”
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Snubbing handshakes, as Trump did with Pelosi at State of the Union, more common as norms fall away

Trump is no stranger to critiques over his professional style .
He has previously described himself as “ a germ @ @ @ @ @ handshakes as “ barbaric.
” And throughout his presidency , Trump has been known for @ @ @ @ @ uncomfortable gestures .

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi extends a hand to President Donald Trump ahead of the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP)
Taking a pass on a handshake, as President Donald Trump did Tuesday night with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or even shaking hands awkwardly has become more common in politics and business as longstanding norms have fallen out of fashion, according to an expert on business etiquette.
In business especially, snubs can make or break a relationship, said Randall Iden, a professor of communication studies at Northwestern University.
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Shaking hands has long been considered a professional exchange. Recent incidents highlight a growing disconnect from traditional business and political norms, Iden said. Handshakes are also a mark of polite behavior, and to avoid giving or receiving one is to have an “awkward, uncompleted social moment,” Iden said.
“The handshake is ritual communication. It doesn’t have a specific communicative purpose, although it can," Iden said. “Not completing it indicates that something is out of the ordinary.”
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A handshake deal happens in politics after a negotiation for example, Iden said.
Tuesday saw an especially tense interaction between Trump and Pelosi before and after the State of the Union address.
Trump stepped onto the podium and handed navy blue folders containing his speech to Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. At that moment, Pelosi extended a hand. Trump did not acknowledge it and turned around to begin his speech.
Pelosi later came under fire for tearing up her copy of the State of the Union address.
“Everything about the State of the Union address is a ritual moment,” he said. "In all of those moments, there’s a tense balance between partisanship and national ritual.”
Iden pointed to previous presidents who would warmly shake the hands of those in their own party but more formally shake the hands of those in the other party.
Other recent perceived snubs also have had an impact, he said.
At the end of January, a video with more than 1 million views on Twitter showed Prince Charles walking by Pence without shaking his hand at a Holocaust remembrance event in Jerusalem. The video circulated across social media with many commenting on the prince’s perceived snub. Buckingham Palace and White House officials denied any malicious intent.
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Trump is no stranger to critiques over his professional style. He has previously described himself as “a germ freak” and referred to handshakes as “barbaric.” And throughout his presidency, Trump has been known for both his handshake snubs and uncomfortable gestures.
Back in May 2017, Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shared an awkward, long handshake during their first meeting. The prolonged and aggressive hand contact was seen as a battle of the handshakes, with both men refusing to lessen their grip.
“President Trump has a history of awkward ritual communication,” Iden said. “It’s always difficult to read the things he does and read if they are deliberate or personal habits, but there are awkward interactions.”
The Associated Press contributed.
jvillagomez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JessicaVillag


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Brandon Morrow is among 12 pitchers on the Cubs’ list of 21 non-roster invitees to spring training

Former closer Brandon Morrow heads the list .
Morrow , 36 , sidelined for the last 1½ seasons because of @ @ @ @ @ a $ 3 million buyout after the 2019 season and signed a minor-league contract in @ @

The Cubs have invited 21 non-roster players to spring training in Mesa, Ariz.,, including 12 pitchers.
Former closer Brandon Morrow heads the list. Morrow, 36, sidelined for the last 1½ seasons because of right elbow injuries, received a $3 million buyout after the 2019 season and signed a minor-league contract in December.
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The other pitchers invited were right-handers Jason Adam, Oscar De La Cruz, Dakota Mekkes, Caleb Simpson, Brock Stewart and Ben Taylor; and left-handers Rex Brothers, Danny Hultzen, Tyler Olson, C.D. Pelham and Wyatt Short.
Non-roster position players invited were infielders Carlos Asuaje, Trent Giambrone, Corban Joseph and Hernan Perez; catchers P.J. Higgins, Jhonny Pereda and Josh Phegley; and outfielders Noel Cuevas and Ian Miller.
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The first spring workout for pitchers and catchers is Feb. 12, and the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 17.
The Cubs also were expected to announce a new sponsorship with Nike and will rename their spring facility the Nike Performance Center.


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--The Unifieds are now in Chicago, a make-or-break, do-or-die audition week for anxious, hopeful theat

The Unifieds are now in Chicago, a make-or-break, do-or-die audition week for anxious, hopeful theater kids — ‘Break both legs!’

Kyle Wedberg , president of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts , a Louisiana performing and visual arts school @ @ @ @ @ as 20 students to Unifieds each year , he said .
“ We tell them @ @ @ @ @ ’ s stressful , it ’ s hard , but you will have more auditions @ @ @ @ @ you have in a career .
At no other time will you do eight auditions @ @ @ @ @ they come away knowing how to prepare , how to behave professionally , how to @ @ @ @ @ is in that room when they audition and who to send thank-you notes to later @ @

The Unifieds is a week of auditions held at the Palmer House and other Chicago hotels. It's where dozens of theater departments of universities from across the country converge to evaluate prospective high school students, all hoping for their shot. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Inside the Palmer House every February, for as long as anyone associated with the National Unified Auditions can remember — but then, isn’t that just like theater folk, to conveniently forget how long they’ve been around — the theater departments of several dozen colleges have converged on Chicago, bought hotel rooms and, as you go about your workday, staged a grueling Darwinian fight club of sorts for aspiring theater majors.
OK, perhaps that’s overstating things.
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On the other hand, no! Hold up!! These are theater kids! Many of them musical theater kids! Overstating, emoting, belting, putting on a show — that’s what theater kids expect!!
On Monday afternoon, Kayla Black, a high school senior from Cleveland dressed head to toe in black, slowed her breathing and centered herself in the middle of a crowded seventh-floor hotel hallway. She lowered her head slowly, she lifted it, she lowered it.
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Students slid past her.
But Black, preparing for an audition, getting into the mindset of Berniece from August Wilson’s “Piano Lesson,” remained rooted, steady, still, like a stone in a rushing stream.
Around the corner, another 18-year-old hopped in place and punched her fists into her cheeks like she was limbering up tenderloin, then stretched her jaw comically low, then popped open her eyes, as if waking from a trance. Around the corner from her, there sat a high school student from Seattle, in the dark suit and springy curls of a (even younger) Timothée Chalamet. Schools, he said, more to himself than a reporter, as if repeating a mantra, schools can make decisions about him but he has the power to decide his fate.
Several floors below, outside a closed conference room held by the musical theater program of Temple University, a dozen kids stretched, leaped in place, cracked knuckles.
They looked equal parts hopeful and edgy.
A faculty member cracked open the door and stepped into the hallway: “OK! All of you! I want to thank you for being here! Please bring just yourself inside! And a water bottle! Leave the rest in the hall!” Meaning presumably phones but also self-doubts and egos.
Unifieds — as everyone calls this annual gathering — is one-stop talent shopping, not just for prospective high school students looking to get accepted into a theater school, but for university theater programs, some of which discover a quarter of their incoming class at the Chicago Unifieds. Olivia Broadwater of Indianapolis sat with her hands on her lap outside an audition room for the musical theater program at University of Michigan, one of the most selective. Its freshman class of 22 musical theater students will be pulled from 1,400 applicants; 550 are invited to audition with 167 of those auditions here, during Unifieds.
“It’s tense, of course,” Broadwater said, “it’s a lot of people intensely trying to get into their zones. I’m calmer than I was earlier. But then you know, it’s just the rest of my life.”
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(L-r) Musical theater students Avery Jane Taylor of Dallas, Shelby Zimmerman of Tampa and Maryanna Tallemache of Austin with to audition at Unifieds, the week of auditions held at the Palmer House Hilton where dozens of theater departments of universities from across the country converge, Feb. 4, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
You think it’s a nervous time for high school seniors applying to colleges?
Try being a theater kid trying out for college theater programs. Unifieds are also held in Los Angeles and New York but the Chicago installment is the largest, with almost 70 schools participating — so many, that auditions here sprawl into more hotels around the Loop. It lasts about four days (or longer for some schools), with more than 1,000 students auditioning again and again and again; some students book as many as two dozen auditions, moving school to school, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., for days, alternating Rodgers and Hammerstein with Arthur Miller, pivoting from Shakespeare to jukebox musicals.
A mother from North Carolina, who worried she would affect her daughter’s chances with schools if she was named, said she put her other children through medical school and teaching programs, “but whoa — this is so many more times crazier than those.”
Alison Hook, of Somerville, Mass., put it even more bluntly: When her son got into theater, “I heard, ‘Be lucky it’s not sports.’ But let me tell you, the application process alone for this is a thousand times harder, you have an application fee, you have a pre-screening fee. Sometimes an auditioning fee. Should they audition on campus or Chicago? Make it past pre-screening, that doesn’t mean you’re accepted. It’s a (expletive) nightmare.”
The hallways are hot, choked with kids sitting on the floor, silently mouthing dialogue to themselves, singing lightly, the stress so palpable the wallpaper is probably sweating. A high school student from Minneapolis checked himself in a bathroom mirror, noticed a scaly rash, sighed dramatically then wrapped his neck inside a long heavy orange scarf.
“Nerves,” he said.
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Musical theater students warm up before auditions for the Western Michigan University theater program in a hallway at the Palmer House Hilton during Unifieds, the week of auditions held by dozens of theater departments of universities from across the country, Feb. 4, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Now and again, walking the Palmer, singing erupts behind walls, clear, loud, Sondheim, Miranda, Webber, the notes bending up like a National Anthem on Super Bowl Sunday.
Outside the auditions for University of Oklahoma, a young woman waited and bounced so slightly you would need a Geiger counter to register her quiet rolling tremors. A member of the faculty stepped into the hallway and looked at the schedule of auditions. He read out a few names but no one came forward. “Well if no one is here —,” he began.
“I’ll go,” the anxious student blurted.
“You ready?” the man said, surprised.
“Yes.”
“No time like the present.”
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Seated nearby in a flowing green dress was Duncan Cobb of Texas. “Break both legs,” she called after the student. Cobb is a sophomore at Texas Christian University, studying costume design, looking to transfer. “Everyone gets super nervous at Unifieds, but I went two years ago — I’ve lost my self-esteem. Last time, my parents spent thousands to be here.”
Indeed, Unifieds were first held in Chicago in the mid-’80s, as a way for families to save time and money, to avoid traveling the country and visiting schools and auditioning for months. It was the idea of Peter Sargent, who ran the theater department at Webster University in St. Louis. Sargent (who died last fall, at 82) met with John David Lutz, now-retired chair of the theater program at University of Evansville in Indiana. Lutz said their schools had been eager to find students outside the usual pools, Indiana and Missouri.
It’s since developed steadily, into an informal national gathering of theater kids.
One offering lessons beyond money and convenience.
ChiArts musical theater students Joanna Starr Poulos and Nicole Nicolaide joke around between auditions during the Unifieds. Other prospective students have traveled from Texas and Seattle to attend. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Kyle Wedberg, president of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a Louisiana performing and visual arts school, now takes as many as 20 students to Unifieds each year, he said. “We tell them, ‘Look, it’s stressful, it’s hard, but you will have more auditions at one time there then you have in a career. At no other time will you do eight auditions in a day.’ But they come away knowing how to prepare, how to behave professionally, how to take note of who exactly is in that room when they audition and who to send thank-you notes to later.”
Marcus Crawford Guy is an acting coach who attends Unifieds and prepares students for auditions, not unlike the way a standardized-test coach might prep clients for SATs. He said Unifieds are invaluable for simple fact that kids get to see how hard it really is.
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“You are preparing them for something inherently subjective,” he said, “so you focus on where they are skilled, what makes them unique. Look around this place, you see 100 girls with brown hair, but something sets each of them apart? That can be hard to draw out now when so many of them spend time on Instagram comparing themselves already.
“But I also think (Unifieds) can be useful because this career path, acting, is brutal long-term, and it’s not a bad thing for students to actually see how stiff their competition will be. After which they either level up or maybe reassess — is it what they really want? Because that competition they will feel at this? That never really goes away in this job.”
Sonja Eckleberry, casually waiting for her son to finish an audition, playing a game on her phone, as chill a stage mom as you get here, flew in from Pittsburgh, she said. She doesn’t know the theater world. When her son said he wanted to sing, dance and act for living, “I was not thrilled, to be honest.” She favored sports, but he’s “gotten really good and he’s gotten academic scholarships that frankly make all of this easier to deal with.”
Students wait for an audition at the Palmer House. Beyond the couple dozen schools officially represented at the Unifieds, many more come unofficially, piggybacking on the gathering. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Beyond the couple dozen schools officially represented, many more come unofficially, piggybacking on the gathering. Prospective students apply directly to the schools, not to the Unifieds. At Palmer House, hallways are lined with banners for theater programs, sometimes featuring the smiling portraits of famous alumni, pointing seemingly towards a familiar path to success. American Academy of Dramatic Arts, based in New York and Los Angeles, offers Paul Rudd, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway. University of Evansville had Rami Malek, who attended Unifieds in the late ‘90s, graduating Evansville in 2003.
One Oscar winner alone can help a school attract students, said Sharla Cowden, head of Evansville’s theater management program (and primary organizer of National Unified Auditions). It’s particularly helpful at a time when universities are struggling to explain the financial benefit of the humanities, theater departments are scaling back and colleges are promising more professional certainty than the arts offers (professional acting, by the transient nature of short-term roles, has famously high unemployment).
“A lot of (theater programs) have taken hits because high schools focus so much on STEM these days,” she said. “At the same, ironically, those same schools are telling students to think outside the box and get creative. Still, (Unifieds) has only grown.”
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You try telling a theater kid not to do something.
If there’s a single refrain dancing in the air at Unifieds, it’s that.
Students sit, with great hair, nice scarves, terrific pants suits, their headshots slipped into plastic folders, ripping at their cuticles, waiting to audition. They face into hallway corners, running lines to themselves, searching for quiet. Their parents sit nearby, telecommuting on laptops and reading suspense novels, lending distance. Understandably: Many of the students at Unifieds have memorized and rehearsed as many as a dozen pieces, somber monologues and Broadway showstoppers, yards of Shakespearean verse and tangles of Sondheim. Since each school has its own requirements, if you audition for, say, 17 schools, you very well may be performing as many as a dozen pieces from a dozen different plays.
Reese Parish, from Milwaukee, stood against a wall and, softly, sang “Waiting for Life” from the early ‘90s musical “Once on This Island.” She did not look rattled or anxious.
Her mother, across from her, looked stressed, fidgety.
But Parish just continued:
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“I’m here in the field / With my feet on the ground / And my fate in the air.”
Samantha Adams helps her daughter, Jennifer Moorhead of Tucson, Ariz., fill out an application at the Unifieds, the week of auditions held at the Palmer House. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Inside audition rooms, faculty wait behind tables, shuffling schedules and taking notes, smiling and thanking as prospective classes came and went. In the room for Southern Methodist University, associate acting professor Benard Cummings said: “What do we look for? Green and hungry. That’s enough. And trainable. You really can tell that in a lot of kids.” Many of the students here are theater stars in their high schools and they know it. Said Anne Schilling, another SMU associate professor, many kids arrive at Unifieds nearly sculpted, but she’s looking for “the students who didn’t have those opportunities.”
In the Evansville suite, during an audition, a Josh Gad-type with a Josh Gad voice nails his song, flubs his Shakespeare, shuts his eyes in frustration, and nails his monologue.
Then he sits before Amelia McClain, an assistant professor of performance, and after she tells him all of this is about looking for a right fit, he blurts out: “It’s very stressful.”
Yes, she says, smiling gently.
Down the hall, a moment later, a senior from Dripping Springs, Texas, stood before Lara Teeter, head of the musical theater program at Webster University, and waited a beat then launched into a series of complicated numbers, with alternating tempos attached to lots of emotion and timing. After about 10 minutes of this, she stopped, then exhaled.
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Teeter watched with a finger on his lips, then lowered his hand.
“How do you feel your audition went today?” he asked. “On a scale of one to nine?”
Exactly the kind of question you don’t want to be asked, exactly the kind of question you obsess over for hours, months and years — give yourself a nine and you’re cocky, a two and you lack conviction. The student, anxious, talented, doe-eyed, gave herself a six.
“You’re undervaluing yourself,” Teeter said. “Your monologue?”
“It felt good.”
“I thought so too. We only ask because we know what you guys are going through, we know you’re racing through auditions, going into hotel rooms that are too dry, full of nerves. And after four years of college, we just want you to be your own conservatory.”
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The girl from Dripping Springs smiled widely, swiveled in her boots and sailed away.
cborrelli@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--National signing day updates: Northern Illinois’ additions include a former Navy SEAL and Duke lacro

National signing day updates: Northern Illinois’ additions include a former Navy SEAL and Duke lacrosse player

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 .

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--2020-02-05--Montrose Avenue to close for 12 days for Metra bridge project

Lisle-based Judlau Contracting will erect a new steel bridge over the roadway as part of a $ 17.2 million project @ @ @ @ @ Grace Street to Balmoral Avenue on Chicago ’ s North Side , Metra said .

Metra’s project to replace 11 bridges along its Union Pacific North Line on the city’s North Side will require the closing of a portion of Montrose Avenue for 12 days.
Montrose will be closed at the Union Pacific tracks along Ravenswood Avenue from Monday through , Feb. 21, Metra said.
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East-west vehicular traffic will be diverted south along either Damen or Ashland avenues to Irving Park Road during the closure, Metra said.
Lisle-based Judlau Contracting will erect a new steel bridge over the roadway as part of a $17.2 million project to replace century-old bridges from Grace Street to Balmoral Avenue on Chicago’s North Side, Metra said.
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mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--‘The Assistant’ review: Julia Garner excels in gripping story set at the dawn of the #MeToo era

A waitress from Boise ( Kristine Froseth ) arrives , unannounced ; she ’ s the latest addition to the @ @ @ @ @ of assistants , someone who met the boss at Sun Valley .
Jane fields phone @ @ @ @ @ much-cheated-on wife of the boss ; mishandling one such call leads to an epic , @ @ @ @ @ see him on screen , though Jay O. Sanders plays the murmuring , seething voice @ @ @ @ @ By the midpoint of her day , and the movie itself , Jane feels like @ @ @ @ @ to the boss ’ s wife so that the mogul can enjoy a business meeting @ @ @ @ @ .
She goes to the human resources chief ( Matthew Macfayden , a weasel in @ @ @ @ @ with her account of probable sexual misconduct .
That scene becomes a remarkably subtle tour-de-force @ @ @ @ @ of its kind since Logan Lerman met Tracy Letts in “ Indignation .
”

Besides being the best American film of our new year, writer-director Kitty Green’s drama "The Assistant” confounds expectations and has the strange effect (on me, anyway) of simultaneously chilling and boiling the viewer’s blood.
Conceived just after the Harvey Weinstein revelations in 2017, and the long-overdue escape valve of the #MeToo movement, it’s a simple, coldly gripping story of one young woman, Jane, played with exquisite restraint and exacting precision by Julia Garner, making her way through a single work day at her place of employment.
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The air she breathes there, at a boutique Miramax-like company, is hazardous to her health: suffocating, joyless, full of gaseous male ego and quiet, rampant fear. This isn’t “Bombshell,” the Fox News takedown full of righteous, tidy comeuppances. Although full of the visual trappings of film noir, Green’s film has the nerve to stick to life as millions live it, still. If we choose to see this as a period piece, taking place at the crack of dawn of the post-Weinstein era, well, optimism is a wonderful thing.
Jane’s day begins before dawn. As one of several assistants to an unnamed film mogul, whose headquarters are in Manhattan (a long way from Jane’s place in Queens), she stays reasonably busy with copying scripts, copying headshots of various, studiously alluring actresses, arranging private cars to the airport for her boss’s forthcoming meeting in Los Angeles.
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But Jane’s work isn’t gender-neutral. Rather, the scut work she’s given, on top of everything else, is the work traditionally and persistently shoved in the woman’s direction. She orders the sandwiches. She tidies up the office of the boss. She notices an earring, next to a couch that, along with various other proclivities of the overlord, no doubt has a story or two to tell.
Julia Garner in "The Assistant." (Bleecker Street/TNS/TNS)
A waitress from Boise (Kristine Froseth) arrives, unannounced; she’s the latest addition to the film company’s pool of assistants, someone who met the boss at Sun Valley. Jane fields phone calls from the bitter, much-cheated-on wife of the boss; mishandling one such call leads to an epic, bullying reply (we never see him on screen, though Jay O. Sanders plays the murmuring, seething voice heard only fleetingly). By the midpoint of her day, and the movie itself, Jane feels like just another enabler, lying to the boss’s wife so that the mogul can enjoy a business meeting at a conveniently located hotel. She goes to the human resources chief (Matthew Macfayden, a weasel in bruh’s clothing) with her account of probable sexual misconduct. That scene becomes a remarkably subtle tour-de-force, and the best two-hander of its kind since Logan Lerman met Tracy Letts in “Indignation.”
Green’s eye in “The Assistant” owes a debt to the calm, unnerving visual compositions of Chantal Akerman’s “Jeanne Dielman," and the tricky, carefully blend of tones found in Green’s documentaries, notably the 2017 “Casting JonBenet," now on Netflix. There’s a moment when Jane starts bawling out the unseen limo driver outside by phone, as if the unseen toxins in the office environment had entered her bloodstream. How predatory, unchecked men set a tone in any sort of workplace acts as a central theme here. But the specificity of Garner’s work, minutely calibrated to reveal the effect of one slight and insult after another, makes “The Assistant” work as drama.
It won’t work for everyone: The Bleeker Street trailer, effective in many ways, sets audience expectations for a different sort of table-turning experience. I’m grateful the Australian native Green stayed true to her vision, and tough-minded to the end. The movie’s a sleek, icy variation on “Alien vs Predator,” with the predator off-screen, and the alienated woman depicted in nearly every frame, in a state of dread and wonder.
“The Assistant” — 3.5 stars
MPAA rating: R (for some language)
Running time: 1:25
Opens: Friday
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Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
mjphillips@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @phillipstribune


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--Column: Cubs fans brace for a Kris Bryant trade as Boston wails over Mookie Betts’ departure from th

Column: Cubs fans brace for a Kris Bryant trade as Boston wails over Mookie Betts’ departure from the Red Sox

The Cubs have followed the Red Sox ’ s lead for most of the last decade , from hiring Epstein @ @ @ @ @ to renovating Wrigley Field like Fenway Park to starting their own TV network like NESN @ @ @ @ @ waiting for the Rickettses to buy a Premier League soccer team to keep up with @ @ @ @ @ .
If they can do that , the only thing left would be to start @ @ @ @ @ Wrigley Field .

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Theo Epstein stood before a media horde at the Cubs Convention last month and offered a blunt assessment of a dire situation.
“It’s a bummer,” he said.
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Epstein could have been referring to a million things — his tight budget, an uneventful winter, the 8-8 Bears or the Astros cheating scandal among them.
But on this occasion the Cubs president was referring to Kris Bryant’s bout with the flu, which prevented the third baseman from meeting with the media for the first time since the end of the 2019 season.
It was indeed a bummer that Bryant couldn’t address his ongoing grievance hearing — which he later lost — or the incessant trade rumors — which remain just rumors for now — or his Hawaiian vacation that teammate Anthony Rizzo spoke about a day earlier.
“He told me he got a tan in Hawaii,” Rizzo said. “I didn’t believe him. He wouldn’t send me a picture.”
The flu took Bryant off the hook, so barring a post on social media, we’ll have to wait until spring training to hear his thoughts on such pressing matters.
“Bad timing,” Epstein said. “Better now than during the season.”
Bryant hopefully won’t be hampered by the untimely illness during the 2020 season, wherever he is playing.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 167 Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant stand at the plate during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on July 26, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Unfortunately for most Cubs fans, that probably won’t be on the North Side if Epstein is able to find the right deal before opening day. Bryant’s fate hangs over the franchise as the clock ticks toward spring training, at which point the focus must shift off Bryant’s status or risk becoming a distraction.
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The Red Sox’s big move Tuesday — pairing overpriced starter David Price with 2018 American League MVP Mookie Betts for a white-flag-style trade with the Dodgers — could be a harbinger for the Cubs trading Bryant, the 2016 NL MVP.
The Cubs have followed the Red Sox’s lead for most of the last decade, from hiring Epstein and his lieutenants in 2011 to renovating Wrigley Field like Fenway Park to starting their own TV network like NESN. We’re still waiting for the Rickettses to buy a Premier League soccer team to keep up with Red Sox owner John Henry. If they can do that, the only thing left would be to start selling hot lobster rolls at Wrigley Field.
Rest assured, Chairman Tom Ricketts is surveying the harsh reaction in Boston after the Betts trade and calculating how Cubs fans would react to a potential Bryant deal.
Not surprisingly, Red Sox Nation is aghast, which might be redundant.
A Boston Globe headline called the trade “one of the worst days in recent Red Sox history,” which presumably doesn’t include the day last month when they fired World Series-winning manager Alex Cora after MLB implicated him in the Astros cheating scandal.
Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy called the team the “Boston Rays” for emulating the Tampa Bay franchise’s annual downsizing strategy, and Twitter was filled with reminders that the Betts deal took place about 100 years after the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees — as if the two players were comparable.
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There’s no word yet from Ben Affleck or Matt Damon, but you have to assume most Bostonians are wicked mad. No sports town is more overdramatic than Boston, nor does one have more celebrity actors wearing their teams’ logos and popping up when those teams are winning.
It’s obviously a big loss for the city. Betts probably is bigger in Boston than Bryant is in Chicago, if only because Bryant hasn’t been as dominant the last two seasons as he was from 2015-17.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 74 Kris Bryant is introduced. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Like Bryant, Betts was included in trade rumors all winter because he and the front office couldn’t agree on a long-term extension and the Red Sox wanted to avoid paying luxury-tax penalties again. And like Bryant, Betts was a popular player who represented the franchise well on and off the field.
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But that’s where the similarities end. The return for Betts and Price — top Dodgers outfield prospect Alex Verdugo and unpolished Twins pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol — is presumably less than what the Cubs would get for Bryant, who has two years of team control remaining compared with Betts’ one.
But who knows? Maybe the Cubs will throw in a bad contract, as the Red Sox did, and accept less in return to save some money down the road. And even if Epstein were to get a better haul than the Red Sox did for Betts, there still figures to be a lot of teeth-gnashing about giving up a big-time talent in his prime.
Needless to say, many fans would consider it a bummer, no matter how many top prospects the Cubs get in return.
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But life will go on, and baseball will be played. Even if Bryant is dealt, Epstein will have other difficult personnel decisions to make as he tries to balance budget issues with trying to compete for a championship in this window to win.
So this could be the end of “Bryzzo” — or perhaps just the beginning of “Baezzo," a new combo platter featuring Rizzo and Javier Baez instead of Rizzo and Bryant.
“Realistically, for the next two or three years, there are a few of us that are uncertainties here,” Rizzo said. “You’re going to hear rumors flying, people writing this, people writing that. We have a job to do, and that’s to win and to win here.”
The goal hasn’t changed, even if the degree of difficulty might go up.


chicagotribune--2020-02-05--‘Joy ride’ driver arrested on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade route

Fans streamed into downtown Kansas City by the thousands early Wednesday for the parade and rally to celebrate the Chiefs @ @ @ @ @ in 50 years .
Some even camped out overnight to reserve choice spots along the @ @ @ @ @ the team from the intersection of Sixth Street and Grand Boulevard to the rally outside @ @ @

Margaret Stafford And Heather Hollingsworth

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An impaired driver taking a “joy ride” Wednesday along the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade route was put into a forced spin by law enforcement officers who then arrested the driver and another person at gunpoint, according to officials and video footage of the incident.
Clay County Sheriff's deputies threw out Stop Sticks and several patrol cars surrounded the car and stopped it as it approached the crowd near Union Station, police said. Video posted by WDAF-TV showed officers approaching the car with weapons drawn before taking two people into custody. The arrest happened around three hours before the parade began, and no one was injured.
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Mayor Quinton Lucas told the TV station that it was an impaired driver taking "a joy ride" and was not terrorism-related. He praised the quick response of the officers who responded, who were cheered by fans who witnessed the incident.
“We have even more heroes to cheer today,” Lucas said.
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Fans streamed into downtown Kansas City by the thousands early Wednesday for the parade and rally to celebrate the Chiefs' first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. Some even camped out overnight to reserve choice spots along the route, which will take the team from the intersection of Sixth Street and Grand Boulevard to the rally outside Union Station.
“This is so awesome,” said Shauntel Lyons, 40, of Kansas City, who was a Chiefs cheerleader from 2003 to 2005. “I learned so many great lessons from my time with the team. To see them bring home that trophy after 50 years is so gratifying. I'm just glad to be part of it.”
Fans bundled up for chilly conditions and the forecast said 2 to 3 inches of snow were possible during the parade.
The Kansas Legislature took the day off to celebrate and their Missouri counterparts scheduled a light workday. Many area businesses also planned to close or open on a reduced schedule. At Children's Mercy Kansas City, the emergency room at the main downtown hospital will be open, but appointments and some surgeries were being rescheduled or moved.
When the Royals won the World Series in 2015, an estimated 800,000 people flocked to the victory parade, shattering expectations in a city with a population of about 470,000 and a metropolitan area of about 2 million. Cellphone towers were overwhelmed by the throngs, and motorists began parking along side of the interstate and walking as exits jammed.
The city has learned from that experience, adding a temporary cell tower and increasing the number of portable toilets to 700 from 200. Officials also are boosting the number of lost child stations, which was deemed crucial after about 100 youngsters became separated from their caretakers in 2015.
To ease parking congestion, the city provided more than 400 buses to run free shuttles, which were pulling out of the drop-off sites every 20 to 30 seconds full of fans. During the Royals parade, commuter buses essentially failed and many fans didn't get to the parade site because the buses got stuck in traffic.
Police Major Chip Huth said law enforcement from 19 surrounding agencies would help to provide security for the masses.