chicagotribune--2020-12-31--Column: Remote learning takes a toll on students’ mental health. But returning to classrooms won’t b

Column: Remote learning takes a toll on students’ mental health. But returning to classrooms won’t be easy either.

Clubs aren ’ t the same online .
Group projects aren ’ t the same online .
Band practice isn @ @ @ @ @ .
Social cues aren ’ t the same online .
The benefits of sitting and @ @ @ @ @ who don ’ t look like you or live like you or worship like you @ @ @ @ @ do are diminished , at least a little bit , online .

Teacher Lucy Baldwin communicates with her middle school students by way of remote learning during the first day of school at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy of Social Justice on Sept. 8, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
One of the loudest arguments for sending kids back inside their classrooms despite a raging pandemic is the toll that e-learning is taking on their mental health.
Remote learning is lonely. It is fraught with technical glitches that leave kids feeling powerless and overwhelmed. It strips the school experience of the spontaneity and laughter and lessons and friendships that spring up in hallways and classrooms and lunchrooms and playgrounds.
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It removes face-to-face interactions with a whole layer of grown-ups who, if we’re lucky, help our kids feel believed in, invested in, protected, admired, challenged in all the best ways.
________
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Columns are opinion content that reflect the views of the writers.
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Clubs aren’t the same online. Group projects aren’t the same online. Band practice isn’t the same online. Social cues aren’t the same online. The benefits of sitting and learning with and from people who don’t look like you or live like you or worship like you or believe exactly what you do are diminished, at least a little bit, online.
And these new challenges arrived when young people in America were already struggling mightily with their mental health. Suicides among U.S. teens and young adults had ballooned to the highest rates on record by 2017.
Early data shows living through a pandemic has increased depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges for people of all ages, particularly in Black and Latino communities, where the coronavirus has disproportionately sickened and killed people.
We should absolutely be prioritizing mental health in our discussions and decisions around COVID-19.
It’s important to remember, though: Kids returning to classrooms while the coronavirus rages are swapping one imperfect solution for another. They’re not walking back into their pre-pandemic school lives.
Teachers, in many cases, are tasked with teaching remote and in-person students simultaneously. Plexiglass and distancing measures necessarily preclude the physical closeness kids used to enjoy with their peers and teachers.
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Gone, in many school plans, are crowded, bustling lunch tables. Students have to sit at a cafeteria table alone or eat at their classroom desks. Gone also, in many school plans, are recess and team sports and music classes that encourage singing with abandon.
Present are the frequent reminders, some delivered with understandable panic, to fix your mask. Present is the fear of contracting a potentially fatal virus and bringing it home to your family. Or contracting a potentially fatal virus outside of school and passing it to your friends or your teacher or the security guard you used to high-five in the hall.
Those fears are real. That anxiety is real.
This may be why, in part, just 37% of Chicago Public Schools families plan to send their kids back when school buildings begin to open Monday.
Fear and anxiety and depression ride shotgun in a pandemic. We should do everything in our power to minimize them.
We should not pretend that returning to classrooms necessarily does so — not while a pandemic continues to roll through our nation and people continue to die at a terrifying clip. On Wednesday alone, 3,903 Americans died from COVID-19.
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I’ve waded in and out of the reopening schools debate for the past few months. It’s an incredibly complex, multifaceted topic. It becomes even more so in a public school district like Chicago’s, which serves more than 360,000 students from wildly disparate neighborhoods who are experiencing the pandemic — just like they experience Chicago — in wildly disparate ways.
As I wrote recently, I think the plan to force CPS teachers and staff back into buildings Monday is reckless and premature. Some readers agree with me; some vehemently do not. That’s OK. Very little about this pandemic has been met with a consensus.
My hope is that we don’t relax and assume kids are mentally and emotionally OK, simply because they’ve returned to their classrooms. My hope is we recognize the tremendous challenges that setup presents to their well-being as well.
Maybe, hopefully, heightened attention to and concern for our kids’ mental health will be a unifying takeaway from this pandemic. Maybe, hopefully, we’ll continue to talk and argue about it in the coming days and weeks and months — not always agreeing, but continuing to search for solutions, if not common ground.
Maybe. A gal can dream, on this final day of a hellish year.
Join the Heidi Stevens Balancing Act Facebook group, where she continues the conversation around her columns and hosts occasional live chats.
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hstevens@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @heidistevens13


Corrections and clarifications

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· Michael Phillips’ Talking Pictures column in Thursday’s Arts & Entertainment misidentified an actress in “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972). It was Carol Lynley, not Sue Lyon.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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chicagotribune--2020-12-31--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ .
The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or @ @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-12-31--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 133 new deaths, 8,009 new confirmed and probable cases and 99,426

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 133 new deaths, 8,009 new confirmed and probable cases and 99,426 new test results

Illinois announced 8,009 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Thursday for a total of 963,389 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 16,490 and 99,426 new test results for a total of 13.3 million @

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine tracked coronavirus cases, deaths and test totals from Jan. 22, 2020 through March 10, 2023, but is no longer providing this data. These charts will no longer be updated.
Check the Illinois Department of Public Health for the most up-to-date data for Illinois.
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-12-31--With COVID-19 vaccines for teachers possible by March, Chicago Teachers Union says reopening CPS sch

With COVID-19 vaccines for teachers possible by March, Chicago Teachers Union says reopening CPS schools now ‘doesn’t make any sense’

Arwady cited data from the Archdiocese of Chicago , which operates about 200 schools in Cook and Lake counties that @ @ @ @ @ in-person classes since last fall .
That data showed students in school had half the @ @ @ @ @ of school , and teachers had been infected at rates similar to “ adults in @ @ @ @ @ said .

Chicago Public Schools teachers and staff won’t be vaccinated against the coronavirus before buildings are due to reopen for in-person classes, but eventually school nurses will help administer the inoculations.
Teachers, along with other groups considered front-line essential workers, are slated to be in the second phase of vaccination, after the first-priority rollout for health care employees and long-term care facility residents and workers that began this month.
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Chicago’s public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said Wednesday that teacher vaccinations could potentially begin in March or late February at the earliest. That’s after the scheduled resumption of in-person classes in CPS, which is Jan. 11 for prekindergarten and some special education students and Feb. 1 for most kindergarten through eighth graders, unless they opt for continued remote learning. The first group of teachers is expected to report to schools Monday.
But Arwady, when asked during an online question-and-answer session why CPS planned to bring staff and students back before staff members are vaccinated, said the decision “doesn’t have anything to do with vaccination.”
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Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady gives an update about COVID-19 vaccines before receiving her first dose Dec. 29, 2020, at Malcolm X College in Chicago. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
She continued: “It has to do with the fact that we have seen, not just here in Chicago but around the country and around the world, that ... we don’t see schools driving community spread. We don’t see them as significant sources of infection.”
Arwady cited data from the Archdiocese of Chicago, which operates about 200 schools in Cook and Lake counties that have been mostly open for in-person classes since last fall. That data showed students in school had half the infection rate of those out of school, and teachers had been infected at rates similar to “adults in the community,” Arwady said.
In response, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates questioned in a tweet why CPS isn’t waiting to resume in-person classes until after spring break if vaccines might be available by March.
CTU has fought CPS reopening plans because of skepticism in the district’s ability to keep staff and students safe.
Thad Goodchild, CTU’s deputy general counsel, told the Tribune on Wednesday that, with vaccinations for educators being “so close on the horizon” and with officials forecasting a post-holiday spike in infections, “why in the world take the risk of more people getting exposed, getting sick and dying from COVID to avoid another six weeks of remote learning? It doesn’t make any sense.”
He questioned the comparison with Catholic schools, noting the archdiocese school system is a fraction of the size of CPS and its demographics are very different.
The union has also taken issue with the city’s shifting metrics for determining when it’s safe to open schools, and CTU spokeswoman Chris Geovanis said city officials are “just willfully ignoring newer research, which increasingly shows that schools are a greater source of risk when communities are contending with higher background rates of infection/transmission.”
Goodchild reiterated that “all options are on the table” for union members to address their safety concerns.
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“The law provides employees the right to decline unsafe work assignments,” he said. “We expect a lot of members will invoke that right.”
In her comments, Arwady noted that the vaccines require two shots several weeks apart so that, if educator vaccinations begin in March, it will be close to the end of the school year before such a distribution would be complete, and CPS will have many other safeguards in place already.
“There is no world in which I would be supportive of CPS coming back if I did not think that CPS had done all the things that were necessary and more to have a safe environment for staff and for children, and I’m really confident in the plans,” she said.
When the vaccine does become available to teachers, Arwady said, schools that have nurses will be trained to administer the shots to the staff and other schools will be provided a “vaccinating partner.”
A nurse in every school was one provision won by the union in its two-week strike in 2019, though it was expected to take a few years to reach that level.


chicagotribune--2020-12-31--An 82-year-old North Shore man lost his job during the pandemic. The community he’s served for gener

An 82-year-old North Shore man lost his job during the pandemic. The community he’s served for generations helped him find a new one.

Within days , there were hundreds of responses .
Some people suggested possible jobs or teaching ; one told him @ @ @ @ @ But the majority spoke of his kindness and how he always went above and beyond @ @ @ @ @ him at Parkway .
One Highland Park resident reminded Levin that he was Levin ’ @ @ @ @ @ the day and said he and a friend were talking about him recently and that @ @ @ @ @ care industry and would reach out for ideas .

For decades on the North Shore, pharmacist Eddie Levin has been helping families in sickness and in health, with a personal touch and an extra-mile attitude that has endeared him to generations of residents.
So when Levin recently found himself separated from his job at age 82, and at risk of losing his house, the community whose care has been his life’s work decided to repay all the goodwill that he’s built over the years.
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It would not be the first time the community has intervened to keep Levin employed.
For most of the past 25 years, Levin worked in the heart of Glencoe’s old-timey business district, at a location that has housed a pharmacy since 1916 and that Walgreens took over from Parkway Drugs in 2010. Levin owned Parkway for a few years in the 1970s, and he’d also run the now-defunct Hubbard Woods Pharmacy in neighboring Winnetka for 26 years.
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Pharmacist Eddie Levin, 82, works at Kedvon Pharmacy in Wheeling, where he was hired after appealing online for a new job. Levin worked at North Shore pharmacies for about 50 years before he said he was let go by Walgreens in August. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Over those years, public sentiment has made its mark.
Ten years ago, when Walgreens planned to do away with the Parkway name and many of its employees, the plan was met with an outcry from the community, as the Chicago Tribune reported at the time. Hundreds of complaints and a threatened boycott saved not only the name — today it’s known as Parkway Drug, A Walgreens Pharmacy — but also the jobs of many who worked there, including Levin’s.
But by Levin’s own account, and that of his former supervisor at Parkway, he faced new professional challenges during the last 10 years.
After Walgreens took over, Levin’s work shifted to compounding drugs. He was tucked away in a backroom, and customers saw him less.
But as Walgreens made changes to how it handled compounding, Levin was asked to become a staff pharmacist, according to Nancy Davis, his former manager at Parkway who is now retired. Despite Levin receiving intensive training by Walgreens, Davis said, the field is “completely different than 10 years ago,” something that Levin acknowledged as well. In August, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was let go, he and Davis said. Walgreens did not respond to requests for comment.
Without employment — and operating on the assumption that no one would want to hire an 82-year-old — Levin was sure he would have to sell his house in Glencoe, where he has lived for 50 years and raised his children.
He was going through his basement to start cleaning out the house when a friend suggested the social media site Next Door as a place to sell items. After looking at the site — and at the urging of friends that he should at least try to find a new job — Levin decided to post a message titled “looking for employment” along with his qualifications and phone number.
Pharmacist Eddie Levin, 82, outside Kedvon Pharmacy in Wheeling, where he was hired after appealing on social media for a new job. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Within days, there were hundreds of responses. Some people suggested possible jobs or teaching; one told him to consult an attorney. But the majority spoke of his kindness and how he always went above and beyond. Others said they missed him at Parkway. One Highland Park resident reminded Levin that he was Levin’s delivery boy back in the day and said he and a friend were talking about him recently and that he is in the home care industry and would reach out for ideas.
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“You have been nothing but wonderful to four generations of our family,” one Glencoe resident wrote. Another posted that for 25 years, her family has “counted on you behind the counter and in return we receive humor, professionalism and confidence. Thank you!”
Yet another Glencoe resident wrote that she’s known Levin for 51 years and that “it is not surprising that you are receiving all of these responses as you took such good care of both young and old. So now you see how much you are loved, appreciated and are aware of all the good you have done for so many people.”
Marilyn Zimmerman, a resident of Winnetka for 40 years, told the Tribune that she underwent a liver transplant 16 years ago and that, of the one medication she takes that’s compounded, she “will only let (Levin) do it.”
“He is probably the kindest person on this earth,” she said. “He is all goodness. I give him a lot of credit. Good old corporate America ate him up and spit him out.”
Jody Haas-Wolfson said that during the years her late mother, Kaye Haas, was ill with cancer, she depended on Levin to know the interactions of her medications, which he would personally deliver when she could not get there.
“As a daughter, you couldn’t be more grateful,” Haas-Wolfson said. “He is a gentle soul and touched everybody.”
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One person who read Levin’s post was Vlada Korol, another pharmacist who lives in Glencoe. In 2009, her newborn son was sick and needed a drug compounded. Her own pharmacy could not do it. But Levin did.
“I never forgot him,” she said. “He was so kind and so fast and didn’t hesitate to get it done.”
She remembered too the uproar when Walgreens planned in 2005 to let go of the staff.
“I remember signing the petition at Starbucks,” Korol said. “And I never write my title, but I made sure to sign my name and PharmD next to it so they would know another pharmacist signed it.”
Korol, 40, owns two Kedvon Pharmacy locations in Wheeling and Buffalo Grove, and said that after reading Levin’s job-seeking post, she could not wait to call him and offer him employment.
“He is a treasure,” Korol said. “What he knows younger pharmacists don’t know.”
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Emily Steadman of Evanston grew up in Glencoe. In 2008 she was a pharmacy student and worked at Parkway for the summer. She said he taught her about compounding.
“He was great, caring and nice and knew every customer by name,” Steadman said.
Davis was the pharmacy manager at Parkway for 10 years and was brought in when Walgreens first acquired Parkway in 2010. She was not warmly received.
“I was the face of evil,” Davis said. “Eddie put his arm around me and told everyone there to welcome me. I cannot express enough what that meant to me.”
Davis said she learned a lot from Levin, especially the importance of valuing community.
Levin recently started working at Kedvon Pharmacy with Korol and said it has been great. As for the outpouring of support, he didn’t think much could top the community response to saving his job in 2010, but this comes close.
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“I can’t thank the people enough for all the years of support,” Levin said. “They made me feel like it’s more than I deserved. I made a living taking care of people — that’s what my parents taught me. And I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Susan Berger is a freelance reporter.


chicagotribune--2020-12-31--Lightfoot meets with Anjanette Young as city inspector general opens investigation into raid case

“ It was literally somebody saying , mayor , here ’ s another one , ( some ) words to @ @ @ @ @ m paraphrasing , and I said let ’ s talk about it , let ’ @ @ @ @ @ risk officer Tamika Puckett ) involved , and there was a subsequent email from her @ @ @ @ @ on what are we doing , where are we on revising the search warrant protocols @ @ @ @ @ detailed update , ” Lightfoot previously said , summarizing the exchange .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot met with Anjanette Young on Thursday and the two had “a lengthy, very candid and productive conversation about the unacceptable raid” on the social worker’s home in which Chicago police handcuffed her naked, according to a joint statement.
Lightfoot and Young also discussed “a number of systemic changes necessary to address the wrongs done not only to Ms. Young, but also to other victims,” said the statement.
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The meeting, which was first reported by WBBM-Ch. 2, came on the same day the city’s inspector general announced an investigation into the matter and after previous talks for a private sit-down between Lightfoot and Young, followed by a public forum, fell through.
JOINT STATEMENT FROM MS. ANJANETTE YOUNG AND MAYOR LORI E. LIGHTFOOT:
"Today we met and had a lengthy, very candid and productive conversation about the unacceptable raid on Ms. Young's house and her pain." — Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) December 31, 2020
A day earlier, the city released 153 pages of emails about the February 2019 raid as Lightfoot continues to deal with what has become a major crisis for the first-term mayor.
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“We are both committed to continuing to identify areas of common ground relating to these issues and to working towards necessary policy changes together,” the statement said.
Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, meanwhile, has opened an investigation into the case, he said in an email to aldermen.
Ferguson made the announcement in an email to Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, and other members of the City Council. In the email, Ferguson said his office “has initiated and is proceeding with a formal inquiry into aspects of the search warrant execution at Ms. Young’s home and the handling of its aftermath by City departments and officials.”
Lightfoot previously said she is supportive of such an effort but also asked former federal Judge Ann Claire Williams to review the case and how it was handled.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is also looking into the Police Department’s handling of the February 2019 raid, but Lightfoot has been critical of the agency for being too slow in completing its investigation. A city spokesman previously said 12 Chicago police officers involved in the botched raid of Young’s home have been placed on desk duty.
In his letter to aldermen, Ferguson also said he’s seeking information about the Williams probe and COPA’s investigation.
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Emails released earlier this week show Lightfoot was told in November 2019 about “a pretty bad wrongful raid” in which police handcuffed Young while she was naked.
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Lightfoot initially said she had only learned of the raid, which occurred before she was mayor, earlier this month after WBBM-Ch. 2 aired police body camera footage that showed Young repeatedly telling officers who barged into her home that they had the wrong place.
Soon after, the mayor acknowledged that members of her staff told her about the raid via emails in November 2019, as Ch. 2 was reporting on search warrants being served at the wrong addresses. She also said she had no recollection of the emails.
“It was literally somebody saying, mayor, here’s another one, (some) words to that effect, I’m paraphrasing, and I said let’s talk about it, let’s get (former chief risk officer Tamika Puckett) involved, and there was a subsequent email from her because I was pushing her on what are we doing, where are we on revising the search warrant protocols, and she gave a detailed update,” Lightfoot previously said, summarizing the exchange.
In an email sent on Nov. 11, 2019, former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Susan Lee forwarded a summary of CBS’ reporting on the case to Lightfoot and said, “please see below for a pretty bad wrongful raid coming out tomorrow.”
The summary said Young was handcuffed by police, and officers “allegedly left her standing for 40 minutes handcuffed and naked while all-male police officers search her apartment.” The email noted that Young had been asking for the body camera footage but hadn’t heard back from police.
Half an hour later, Lightfoot responded to the thread by adding Puckett. Chief of staff Maurice Classen and communications director Michael Crowley also received the email.
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“I have a lot of questions about this one,” Lightfoot said. “Can we do a quick call about it? Is 10:00, ie 10 minutes from now possible?”
The controversy erupted earlier this month after Lightfoot’s Law Department attempted to block CBS from airing the body camera footage of Chicago police officers mistakenly raiding Young’s home.
Lightfoot’s office later disclosed that it failed to give Young’s attorney all of the body camera footage of the wrongful police raid on her home, a recurring problem for the city’s Law Department.
The Law Department’s top attorney, Mark Flessner, resigned over the scandal, and two of his high-ranking staffers also left.
Video of Young’s ordeal angered residents and activists. But the Lightfoot administration also has faced criticism for how it handled the recording and its release.
City lawyers initially filed a request to have Young sanctioned for allegedly violating a confidentiality order on the video, though the city later said it only wanted her lawyer sanctioned, before filing paperwork seeking to drop the matter altogether. A federal judge is still weighing whether to cite Young’s attorney, Keenan Saulter.
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gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-01-31--There’s a new sexual orientation called heteroflexible. And it brings health issues that need to be

There’s a new sexual orientation called heteroflexible. And it brings health issues that need to be addressed.

Legate and Rogge discussed heteroflexibles in a 2016 study where they created an algorithm that looks at survey participants ’ @ @ @ @ @ to produce a more data-driven look at sexual orientation .
The study included over 3,000 @ @ @ @ @ took about two years to complete .
In the study , 56 % of bisexuals @ @ @ @ @ same sex partner in the previous year , and for heteroflexibles , it was 42 @ @ @ @ @ She estimates that up to 15 % of the general population may identify as heteroflexible @ @ @ @ @ sample is needed for more research .

Nicole Legate, an assistant professor of psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, has published a study that formally identifies a new sexual orientation category, heteroflexibles. (Illinois Institute of Technology)
Labels, categorization, boxes. There are some, if not many, who don’t want any part of identifying themselves by others’ characterizations.
But, according to Nicole Legate, an assistant professor of psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, some categorization is vital when it comes to addressing health disparities in sexual minority groups (groups other than heterosexuals), including higher levels of distress, lower levels of self-esteem, and unprotected sex.
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It was while looking for those health disparities between heterosexuals and sexual minorities that Legate, with co-author Ronald Rogge of the University of Rochester, found a new sexual orientation category that they believe should be considered alongside heterosexuals, bisexuals and homosexuals. That category is heteroflexibles — men and women who identify as heterosexual but who are strongly attracted to or engage in sex with people of the same sex. Legate said this group does not identify as bisexual, which is why these individuals should be in their own unique category.
Heteroflexibles are much less out about their orientation, according to Legate, so they don’t talk about it to other people nearly as much as bisexuals or gay and lesbian individuals. And not offering that bit of information to a health provider could prevent a physician, for instance, from recommending getting tested or talking about PrEP, pre-exposure prophylaxis, to prevent against HIV since same-sex partners (regardless of how one identifies) tend to have greater risk for sexually transmitted infections.
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Legate and Rogge discussed heteroflexibles in a 2016 study where they created an algorithm that looks at survey participants’ identity, behavior and attraction to produce a more data-driven look at sexual orientation. The study included over 3,000 people in the U.S. and took about two years to complete. In the study, 56% of bisexuals said they had had a same sex partner in the previous year, and for heteroflexibles, it was 42%, Legate said. She estimates that up to 15% of the general population may identify as heteroflexible but that a larger representative sample is needed for more research.
“Against heterosexuals, they (heteroflexibles) showed higher rates of different kinds of risks and worse psychological functioning," Legate said. "The risk behaviors they showed in our study were things like problematic drinking, condom-less sex — so greater levels of sexually transmitted infections. There are so few studies out there about this group, and we have not yet uncovered the reasons why they might show this higher level of risk.”
Next steps, Legate said, include nailing down why heteroflexibles might engage in same-sex activity versus opposite sex activity, how many heteroflexibles there are and why this group shows certain health disparities.
The more accurate estimates are of sexual minorities in the population, the better prepared researchers and health care providers interested in studying health, epidemiological and psychology issues related to sexual orientation can be when addressing their needs.
“When you go to the doctor’s office, they don’t ask you for your sexual orientation,” Legate said. “I think educating providers about the fact that it’s OK to ask and that it is relevant in many cases just like knowing race and age — these are standard demographic questions that can give us a little extra health information or help us understand what groups may be at elevated risks for different things.”
Getting on the same page with a wider, yet standardized unified range of sexual orientations would be a tremendous advance in the sexual orientation literature, Legate added.
Sisters Danyelle Gray, left, and Dionna Gray are co-founders of "Womanish," a cultural movement centered on identity and perspectives of women and gender-nonconforming people. The movement will include a March exhibit featuring a number of multidisciplinary works of art submitted by women-identified artists. Danyelle Gray said another sexual orientation category does not seem out of place in 2020. (Lily McLaughlin)
The more recognition of sexual diversity, the less stigmatization there will be, Legate said. Local podcasters/marketing managers and sisters Dionna Gray and Danyelle Gray agree on that front — the more options in the sexual orientation spectrum, the better. The duo, with creative director Emily Dahlquist, are behind the upcoming monthlong “womxn-centered” gallery exhibition “Womanish” that explores nonbinary experiences by women-identified artists. Danyelle Gray said another sexual orientation category does not seem out of place in 2020.
“I feel like anything is possible, everything is so fluid, and I feel like they say sexuality is such a spectrum, so there can really be so many stops on the spectrum,” she said.
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“Since people are finally feeling a little bit more comfortable in having a voice, they can also kind of define their own stereotypes a little bit more,” Dahlquist added. “We all have a lot of different perspectives that we live with. And I think even in our lifetime/generation, we’ve seen LGBT go to LGBTQI to A to + and keep on going. I feel like the spectrum is just going to keep getting larger and larger and celebrated.”
drockett@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-31--Man charged with shooting another man to death, wounding Chicago cop with gunfire on West Side

Court records show Johnson has dozens of arrests dating back to 2002 , and at least seven convictions , including @ @ @ @ @ eluding for which he received probation ; a 2007 aggravated battery to a police officer @ @ @ @ @ to community service ; a 2009 manufacture or delivery of heroin , which carried a @ @ @ @ @ 2014 manufacture or delivery of heroin and cocaine , for which he was sentenced to @ @ @ @ @ he was convicted in 2012 , 2015 and 2017 of driving on a suspended or @ @ @

The Chicago police sergeant who chose to pursue the murder suspect who shot him rather than go to the hospital is “a real superhero,” a Cook County judge said Friday in denying the suspect bail.
The sergeant was working undercover Wednesday afternoon about 2:30 p.m. when he happened to witness Walter Johnson fatally shoot another man — and then, during a covert pursuit, Johnson turned his gun on the sergeant too, Cook County prosecutors said.
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Bleeding from a gunshot wound to the wrist and speeding toward Stroger Hospital, the sergeant spotted Johnson’s truck driving erratically on the Eisenhower Expressway, prosecutors said.
The two Harrison District tactical officers who had picked him up asked the injured sergeant if he wanted to keep going or try to chase the suspect.
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“The sergeant responded that they should forgo the hospital, and continue on to apprehend (Johnson),” Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret Hillmann said Friday.
After a hectic chase down the Eisenhower, Johnson’s white Dodge pickup careened across all lanes of traffic to exit at Damen Avenue, Hillmann said. He hit a semi-truck, lost control, hit other cars and finally crashed into a tree at the end of the ramp, she said.
Johnson then tried to flee on foot, with one of the Harrison District officers in pursuit. When Johnson tossed aside his red hoodie, a 9 mm Glock with an extended clip slipped out of it, prosecutors said. Attached was an extended magazine and a laser sight.
Officers took Johnson into custody, and he faces charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
The sergeant is "a real superhero,'' Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke said before denying bail for Johnson during the hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Johnson’s attorney, Mike Bianucci, said in court that Johnson is a lifelong Chicagoan with four children, ranging in age from 16 years to 7 months.
A woman was in the car with Johnson through the entire incident, prosecutors said. She told authorities that on Wednesday afternoon, Johnson picked her up and told her he needed to see his brother-in-law, according to Hillmann.
She said Johnson drove to the corner of Wilcox Street and Karlov Avenue, where he left her waiting in the car. Not long afterward, she heard gunshots, prosecutors said.
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Unbeknownst to Johnson, the undercover Chicago police sergeant was also nearby on an unrelated mission.
He was at the corner of Madison Street and Karlov when he heard the first gunshot, prosecutors said. He looked up and saw Johnson firing another shot at 26-year-old Devell Hill. Hill died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Walter Johnson (Chicago Police Department)
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After shooting Hill, Johnson took off running and got in the pickup, with the sergeant pursuing in the undercover car. When Johnson noticed the car following him, he pulled over and parked — then exited his truck and fired two shots at the sergeant’s passing car, before fleeing again — and getting on the Eisenhower, prosecutors said.
The sergeant was grazed in the upper arm and shot in the left wrist, prosecutors said.
Hill’s death came almost exactly two years after his brother Devin’s, who was fatally shot in West Garfield Park.
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Court records show Johnson has dozens of arrests dating back to 2002, and at least seven convictions, including a 2007 aggravated fleeing or eluding for which he received probation; a 2007 aggravated battery to a police officer for which he was sentenced to community service; a 2009 manufacture or delivery of heroin, which carried a four-year sentence; and a 2014 manufacture or delivery of heroin and cocaine, for which he was sentenced to four years. Additionally, he was convicted in 2012, 2015 and 2017 of driving on a suspended or revoked license.
Chicago Tribune’s William Lee contributed.
ayin@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--Ask Amy: Mom wants to celebrate son's success

Let them know : `` You do a very tough job .
I hope you will be gratified to learn @ @ @ @ @ his community service , has gone above and beyond in recognizing the impact of his @ @ @ @ @ seems to have turned his life around .
He never would have gotten there without @ @ @ @ @ are so grateful .
I 'm very proud to tell you that he will be @ @ @ @ @ crossed ) and has pre-enlisted in the Marine Corps . ''

Dear Amy: My son had a rocky start to high school, including participating in an event that led to juvenile detention and community service.
He went above and beyond his community service, spending more than the required hours scooping poop at a horse facility that serves handicapped children.
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He has turned his life around, and while still doing dumb 17-year-old stuff, it looks like he will graduate on time. He has pre-enlisted in the Marines.
I want very much to announce his graduation to his attorney, therapist, probation officers and others who were part of his rocky start.
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I REALLY don't want this to appear as a gift request, but I want to acknowledge those that made the event possible.
Can you suggest verbiage to convey that gifts are not required, but thank those professionals that made his success possible?
— My Son's Mom
Dear Mom: Wow, don't overthink this. You should approach this as a thank you message, conveying: "all hail and hallelujah, it looks like this young man will cross the finish line!"
Reach out to each of these people with a note (or email), acknowledging their efforts and compassion toward your son. Tell them that you are so grateful that "the system" worked for this one young man.
If you send a written note, send a copy to their supervisor. If you send an email, forward it to the supervisor.
Let them know: "You do a very tough job. I hope you will be gratified to learn that my son has completed his community service, has gone above and beyond in recognizing the impact of his actions on others, and seems to have turned his life around. He never would have gotten there without your efforts, and we are so grateful. I'm very proud to tell you that he will be graduating on time (fingers crossed) and has pre-enlisted in the Marine Corps."
If your son would like to follow up with a printed graduation announcement with his hand-written: "I made it! Thank you!" on the card, I guarantee it will be posted in the break room.
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No one will think you are trolling for gifts.
Dear Amy: I have coached a college athletic team at a very large university for over three decades.
In recent years it has become common for students to interject the phrase, "Thank you for understanding" when corresponding with me via email regarding conflicts with our practice schedule.
I have found myself getting more irritated when this phrase is used. These kids seem to assume that I DO understand their situation, which is often not the case.
I also interpret it as potentially meaning: "I'm doing this whether you like it or not, so you should accept it and excuse it."
Am I being too sensitive about this? Were I to respond or write a coach, professor, employer, etc., when I was younger, I would have phrased it, "I hope you can understand and forgive my absence."
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Is it a generational thing where the student is being respectful, but due to my own interpretations I am taking it disrespectfully?
— I Don't Understand
Dear I Don't: What these students are doing is to assume and express the privilege of people who don't believe they have to ask permission, but need only to thank you for understanding that they are following a certain course of action.
They are telling you what they are doing. They are giving you notice of their scheduling conflict, and you are to accept without question that they have other plans.
At the beginning of your season, you could try to train them to perhaps behave differently toward you. Tell them, "In case of a conflict, I expect you to contact me in advance and ask if you can be relieved or excused from training that day. Your schoolwork comes first. Things happen. I understand that conflicts arise, but if I don't excuse you from practice, then consider yourself not excused. Got it? Thank you for understanding."
Ask Amy Daily No-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Dear Amy: Your alarmed response to the question from "Newlywed" was truly bizarre. Her husband was being possessive. They worked together, and he wanted to continue to work with her. He didn't want to go to work without her and didn't want her to change jobs.
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Maybe this guy just really loves his wife! Your answer suggested that he was some kind of monster!
— Upset
Dear Upset: I genuinely hope I was overreacting to this. But where you saw devotion, I saw control. Control and possessiveness are not love.
Get the latest no-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning with our Ask Amy newsletter. Sign up here.
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
Copyright 2019 by Amy Dickinson
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--4 takeaways from Illinois’ 59-51 victory against Minnesota, the 1st-place Illini’s 7th Big Ten win i

4 takeaways from Illinois’ 59-51 victory against Minnesota, the 1st-place Illini’s 7th Big Ten win in a row

Cockburn , though , picked up his fourth foul with 10 minutes remaining , which put Illinois in a stressful @ @ @ @ @ of Saturday ’ s victory at Michigan with only five points and three rebounds .
@ @ @ @ @ worry for a freshman big man , but that was the first time he fouled @ @ @ @

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn celebrates with fans after the Illini's 59-51 victory over Minnesota. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Fire alarms went off Thursday night at the State Farm Center.
It was quickly announced that it was a false alarm, fans could remain in the arena and the game could proceed. The obvious joke: The Illini basketball team is on fire.
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With a 59-51 victory against Minnesota, the 19th-ranked Illini (16-5, 8-2) have won seven straight to maintain a share of the Big Ten lead with Michigan State. Illinois had to stave off the Gophers (11-10, 5-6) down the stretch after the visitors cut a 13-point deficit to one.
The Illini played cool and composed in the closing minutes, coming up with vital defensive plays — just like a team on a heater.
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Here are four takeaways from the victory.
1. Brad Underwood is coaching against complacency.
Illinois is going on an ego diet, according to coach Brad Underwood. How do the Illini plan to keep their momentum rolling?
“Don’t get fat,” Underwood told reporters in Champaign. “We’ve got to keep ourselves lean.”
In other words, don’t get comfortable. Don’t luxuriate in your new riches.
It’s rare territory for Illinois, which is on its longest conference winning streak since winning 15 in a row in 2004-05.
The Illini have a tough February with road games at No. 18 Iowa, No. 25 Rutgers and No. 24 Penn State and home dates with No. 15 Maryland and No. 14 Michigan State.
Like Underwood said, they need to stay hungry.
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2. Kofi Cockburn is a force — who must avoid foul trouble.
Brad Underwood praised Minnesota center Daniel Oturu ahead of the game, calling him a “lottery pick” in the NBA draft. Indeed, Oturu often looked like the Big Ten’s best with a game-high 20 points.
The fear heading in was that Illinois would have no match for him, but freshman Kofi Cockburn held his own. Despite foul trouble, he finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds — his ninth double-double.
Making that more impressive, Underwood revealed after the game Cockburn had just overcome a bout with the flu.
Oturu, who leads the Big Ten with 11.3 rebounds per game, was held to eight boards and only one on the offensive end. He showed some frustration after a miss and got sidetracked arguing with an official, which allowed Andres Feliz to race down the court for a basket.
Cockburn, though, picked up his fourth foul with 10 minutes remaining, which put Illinois in a stressful spot. He fouled out of Saturday’s victory at Michigan with only five points and three rebounds. Foul trouble is always a worry for a freshman big man, but that was the first time he fouled out this season.
Cockburn’s ability to stay on the court is vital. When he checked back in Thursday, he drew a foul on a rebound under the basket and sank two free throws for a 52-47 lead with less than 3 minutes to play.
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3. Illinois isn’t a one-man — or two-man — show.
Some nights it’s the Ayo Dosunmu show. Or the Kofi Cockburn act. But Illinois’ surrounding cast came up big against Minnesota.
It was clear as Brad Underwood planting a postgame kiss on Da’Monte Williams’ forehead.
“Just a happy moment,” Williams told reporters. “We got the win.”
If ever a scoreless player deserved a smooch, it was Williams. He was 0-for-3 from the field, but his late defense saved the game.
He came up with three consecutive defensive stops in the final 73 seconds: a steal that led to a Dosunmu drive on which he drew a two-shot foul, hitting one for a four-point lead; a block on a Minnesota 3-pointer; and a defensive rebound.
“He had an unbelievable stretch,” Underwood said.
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He wasn’t the only role player to find his niche.
Andres Feliz successfully drove to the hoop, finishing with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Trent Frazier added 10 points despite foul trouble.
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But it was on the boards where everyone got in on the action as the Illini outrebounded Minnesota 45-36.
Feliz grabbed eight rebounds, Williams added seven and Kipper Nichols and Giorgi Bezhanishvili snagged six each.
The varied contributions have helped the Illini win the last two games without the suspended Alan Griffin, who can return Sunday at Iowa.
4. Illinois has a ‘home, sweet, away’ advantage.
The Illini appear to be the rare team that brands itself road warriors while also having a strong home-court advantage.
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Illinois has a conference-best three Big Ten road wins, and the Illini also have one of the most hostile and lively home crowds in the conference. The Orange Krush student section was back from break, and the State Farm Center was sold out — and roaring.
The Illini also announced sellouts for upcoming games against Maryland and Indiana. Don’t discount the effect an energized fan base can have in college basketball.
“Unbelievable to have the Orange Krush tonight,” Underwood said.


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--Dylan Strome is back on the ice as the Blackhawks return from their break and prepare for a pivotal

Dylan Strome is back on the ice as the Blackhawks return from their break and prepare for a pivotal February: ‘It’s a huge month for us’

“ You think about it every day , no matter what , ” he said .
“ That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ re in , and everyone ’ s really competitive .
My kids are asking me @ @ @ @ @ standings , so it ’ s like , thanks , rub my nose in it @ @ @ @ @ , when you don ’ t have to prepare for the next day , you @ @ @ @ @ relax .
”

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The purpose of the All-Star break — at least for Blackhawks not named Patrick Kane — was to get away from hockey for more than a week, spend several uninterrupted days with family and friends and perhaps visit a quiet beach for a few days.
Jonathan Toews came back from his vacation with some color in his face, while Dylan Strome returned from a few days in the sun ready to practice for the first time since injuring his right ankle Jan. 7 against the Flames.
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Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton, try as he might, just couldn't put hockey out of his mind.
“You think about it every day, no matter what,” he said. “That’s just the business we’re in, and everyone’s really competitive. My kids are asking me where we are in the standings, so it’s like, thanks, rub my nose in it. At the same time, when you don’t have to prepare for the next day, you do get some time to relax.”
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Thursday’s practice at Gila River Arena was somewhat relaxed though energetic with an air of fun surrounding the drills. It began with throwing some pucks on the ice and letting a scrimmage break out among all the players at the same time.
The rest of the practice contained quite a bit of skating to help the players get their legs back in anticipation of Saturday’s game against the Coyotes, one of several teams the Hawks are chasing for a Western Conference wild-card spot.
“We can pick up two points and don’t lose a game in hand,” Colliton said. “It’s a big momentum builder for the team. We’ve had some games where we’ve (risen) to the challenge and we’ve had some games where we didn’t.
“If we lose the game, it’s not the end of the world, but it is a big opportunity. We’ve had a few days to get ready for it and we have a couple days to practice, so definitely the focus is there.”
The Hawks are not far removed from their best stretch of the season. Despite losing 4-3 to the Panthers in the final game before the break, they’ve won 11 of 16 and they put together a season-high five-game winning streak before the loss to the Panthers.
[ 5 key dates in a daunting February that could decide the Blackhawks’ postseason fate ]
Still, their work is cut out for them. They have 11 road games in February, all against playoff contenders.
“It’s a huge month for us,” Toews said. “Huge month for a lot of other teams, so the faster we can get into the playoff hockey mindset, the better. These are do-or-die games for us. We need points right now, so we can’t wait any longer.”
That’s why it’s good they’re getting healthier. Brandon Saad returned to the lineup from an ankle injury shortly before the break and had two goals in three games, and now Strome appears ready to return from his ankle injury that cost him seven games.
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It’s not certain he’ll play against the Coyotes, but he was skating at full strength and has one more practice Friday to determine if he’s ready for game action.
“A game’s a lot different than a practice,” Strome said. “(I’ll) try to push it pretty hard tomorrow. Felt pretty good out there, did a lot of skating. It’s an injury where you don’t want to make it worse.
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“I tried to skate a few times after it happened. Didn’t really help it. Felt OK to walk on, but the skating (is) a different story. Took some time off, got the right treatment. Feels pretty good now, so happy about that.”
When Strome got hurt, he initially thought he would miss a lot more than seven games. He made brief attempts to skate not long after the injury, but it took only a few seconds on the ice to realize he wasn’t ready.
The smart move was to rest and not push it.
“I got lucky,” he said. “Whatever it was, it just didn’t feel good right when it happened. It didn’t really hurt that much. I stood up and I just felt weak. I thought I broke my tibia or fibula or one of those around my leg. Didn’t feel good.”
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While Strome will return soon, Andrew Shaw is not on the trip and still has symptoms from a concussion he suffered in late November. Still, the Hawks are healthier than they have been in a month and hopeful they can continue a resurgence that had them three points out of a playoff spot entering Thursday’s games.
“The job isn’t done yet,” Colliton said. “We’ve got some work to do as far as our game goes, and (the Panthers loss) can be a little bit of a reality check for us. I’m not saying we played bad but not good enough.
“So after that good stretch of play where we did get a bunch of wins, it’s not the end of the world to have that game and remind us we have to show up every night and play as close to (a full) 60 minutes as we can.”


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--Zach LaVine set his sights on the 2020 All-Star Game in Chicago. After missing out on the roster, he

Zach LaVine set his sights on the 2020 All-Star Game in Chicago. After missing out on the roster, he’ll have to reexamine the NBA’s showcase weekend.

The Bulls have been a better team defensively without LaVine on the floor , but they are putrid offensively without @ @ @ @ @ , LaVine has been slightly above his career numbers this season in blocks and steals @ @ @ @ @ LaVine has had to win on his own , rescuing the Bulls for a double-digit @ @ @ @ @ on Jan. 18 and knocking down 13 3-pointers while scoring 49 and beat the Hornets @ @ @ @

BROOKLYN — Once characterized as simply a highlight-reel dunker or volume scorer, Zach LaVine has started to resemble something more as he’s become one of the pillars of the Bulls’ future.
He had one more goal in mind this season, one more accolade he wanted to add to the list — to become an All-Star. But LaVine was left off the 2020 NBA All-Star Game roster, which will put his participation in All-Star Weekend in Chicago next month into question.
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The Bulls have not had an All-Star since the 2016-17 season when Jimmy Butler, who was selected as a reserve for the Heat, made the team for the third straight season as a member of the Bulls.
NBA All-Star Weekend will be Feb. 14-16 at the United Center and Wintrust Arena. It marks the return of the event to Chicago for the first time since 1988.
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The reserves were revealed Thursday evening on TNT with seven players from each conference earning the nod. They will be split up among the two teams during the draft between team captains LeBron James of Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks.
Joining Butler as reserves from the Eastern Conference are Heat teammate Bam Adebayo, the 76ers’ Ben Simmons, the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, the Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis and the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum. The Western Conference reserves are the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, the Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert of the Jazz, the Thunder’s Chris Paul, the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram and the Rockets’ Russell Westbrook.
Joining James and Antetokounmpo as starters are the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, the Rockets’ James Harden, the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, the 76ers’ Joel Embiid, the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam, the Celtics’ Kemba Walker and the Hawks’ Trae Young.
When LaVine was acquired by the Bulls in the 2017 trade that sent Butler to the Timberwolves, the organization envisioned the 24-year-old growing into a player worthy of All-Star consideration. That’s why this season has been such an encouraging step forward for LaVine.
For a Bulls team ravaged by injuries, LaVine has played every game this season while averaging a career-best 25.1 points with 4.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. He’s become more consistent, scoring at least 20 points in 16 consecutive games this month, the best streak of his career.
As if he decided to make a statement for the voters this month, LaVine turned it up a notch, averaging 28.9 points per game on 46% shooting in January, eighth in the NBA in scoring among players who have played at least 10 games this month. His four 40-point games this season are tied for the third most in the NBA.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine speaks to the media following Bulls basketball practice at the Advocate training center, in Chicago, Monday, Jan, 27, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The Bulls have been a better team defensively without LaVine on the floor, but they are putrid offensively without him. For his part, LaVine has been slightly above his career numbers this season in blocks and steals. And consider the games LaVine has had to win on his own, rescuing the Bulls for a double-digit second-half comeback against the Cavaliers on Jan. 18 and knocking down 13 3-pointers while scoring 49 and beat the Hornets on Nov. 23.
“That guy’s been putting on a show for the past couple months,” Bulls forward Thaddeus Young said during a practice last week. “Been doing his thing. He’s been incredible.”
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With the All-Star Game returning to Chicago, there has been year-long anticipation surrounding LaVine, a back-to-back winner of the Slam Dunk contest in 2015 and ’16. Many have wondered how involved he will be this All-Star Weekend. That speculation only heightened after Aaron Gordon, whom LaVine narrowly edged to win the classic ’16 dunk contest, reportedly committed to participate in this year’s event. Gordon joins a field that includes Lakers center Dwight Howard and Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. LaVine could join Nate Robinson as the only players to win three dunk contests.
However, LaVine has made it clear in recent weeks that he wants to be known for more than dunk contests.
He has expressed more interest in competing in the 3-point contest for the first time — he’s shooting 38% from 3 while attempting a career-high eight per game. Most of all, he wanted to be an All-Star for the first time and be included in the showcase game before deciding if he would take part in other All-Star festivities.
“I would rather be in the game than be in the dunk contest,” LaVine said in Milwaukee earlier this month. “I think I’ve shown everything I can with dunking. I think I’ve shown I can win that pretty easily. If I’m in the game, I’ll think about doing it.”


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--Resident complaints about early morning snow removal noise lead Park Ridge aldermen to discuss restr

Resident complaints about early morning snow removal noise lead Park Ridge aldermen to discuss restrictions

Resident Mike Donahue said he learned snow removal is allowed during overnight hours when he called the police in mid-January @ @ @ @ @ from a company ’ s trucks and the roar of snow plows awoke him and @ @ @ @ @ .
The company was clearing snow from the properties of multiple neighbors , he said @

When two Park Ridge residents were awoken in the middle of the night by companies removing snow from their neighbors’ properties, they brought their complaints to the city.
Now, those complaints have prompted a discussion among members of the City Council as to whether restrictions on overnight noise should be extended to include snow removal by private companies.
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Though aldermen did not reach a consensus on prohibiting overnight snow removal, they did ask city staff to compile information on the policies of other municipalities and the matter is expected to return for discussion, possibly in February.
Currently, a city ordinance prohibits the use of noise-causing machinery between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. on weekends or holidays, but snow removal equipment is exempt from this law.
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Snow removal from city-owned property and streets by Park Ridge Public Works crews and government contractors is also exempt, according to the ordinance.
Resident Mike Donahue said he learned snow removal is allowed during overnight hours when he called the police in mid-January after the repeated beeping noise from a company’s trucks and the roar of snow plows awoke him and his family around 2 a.m. The company was clearing snow from the properties of multiple neighbors, he said.
While Donahue said he understands companies have work they need to perform, he expressed concern about the potential for repeated incidents of loud noise over an extended period of time during periods of frequent snowfall.
“I think we can find something that makes everyone happier,” he said.
A second resident, who was not in attendance for the meeting, reported being awoken by a snow removal company at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 12 and suggested the city prohibit this type of noise between certain hours, a memo to the City Council said.
After receiving the complaints, aldermen asked that the noise issue be placed on a City Council agenda for discussion, and this took place on Jan. 27.
Jim Brown, director of community preservation and development for the city of Park Ridge, said the city typically receives “one or two complaints” about snow removal noise per season.
Prior to 2005, the city did have overnight noise restrictions for private snow removal, but they were eliminated that year by a City Council vote, aldermen were told.
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First Ward Ald. John Moran said a “simple fix” might be to restrict private snow removal within residential districts during certain hours of the day, but allow work to take place any time within business districts.
Mayor Marty Maloney pointed out that banning overnight snow removal in residential areas could impact churches and schools, which are located within residential zoning districts.
Maloney suggested notifying the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce about the council’s discussion, but this was met with resistance from Moran, who insisted he was not proposing any changes for snow removal on commercial properties.
“I don’t want to stir the pot for something that’s unnecessary,” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned, we’re just fact-finding at this point,” said 3rd Ward Ald. Gail Wilkening. “We don’t know if we’re going to do anything. We just want more information. That’s all.”
jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter: @Jen_Tribune


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--Ex-Bear Zach Miller guest stars on ‘Very Cavallari,’ talks retired life

Cavallari said she and Cutler became close with Miller and his wife , Kristen , during Cutler ’ s final @ @ @ @ @ The Bears cut Cutler in 2017 , and then he played one season for the @ @ @ @ @ his retirement in April 2019 after suffering a gruesome leg injury , and now he @ @ @ @ @ of Nebraska .

Former Bears players Jay Cutler (left) and Zach Miller chat about retirement on an episode of "Very Cavallari" airing Thursday. The scene took place at Siena Tavern in River North in September 2019. (E! via YouTube)
Former Bears tight end Zach Miller seems to be following former quarterback Jay Cutler’s lead when it comes to retirement.
“I’m happy to be back home doing nothing,” Miller tells Cutler, and his wife, Kristin Cavallari, on Thursday’s episode of the E! network TV show “Very Cavallari.”
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“That’ll run its course,” Cutler told Miller.
“Jay plays basketball with some of the dads at school,” Cavallari said, referring to her young sons’ school.
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“Are you getting buckets, though?” Miller asked Cutler.
“Oh yeah, but that’s over at 7 a.m. Take the kids to school, and then it’s still only 9 a.m.,” Cutler said.
“He mows the grass three times a week,” Cavallari said about Cutler.
“You’re not pushing it?” Miller asked Cutler.
“No, I’m dad bod,” Cutler said as the others laughed. “I’m OK with it.”
That scene was filmed on Sept. 4, 2019 over dinner and cocktails in the lounge area of Siena Tavern in River North. Cutler and Cavallari visited Chicago to attend the Bears season opener against the Green Bay Packers and to check on construction of Cavallari’s Uncommon James jewelry and home goods store in the West Loop.
Cavallari said she and Cutler became close with Miller and his wife, Kristen, during Cutler’s final year with the Bears. The Bears cut Cutler in 2017, and then he played one season for the Miami Dolphins. Miller announced his retirement in April 2019 after suffering a gruesome leg injury, and now he lives in his home state of Nebraska.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and Bears tight end Zach Miller celebrate after they connect on a third quarter touchdown against the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field on Dec. 13, 2015. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Cavallari didn’t mention one of Cutler’s latest retirement activities in the dinner conversation. He designed a men’s bracelet that features a bottle opener for Uncommon James, as revealed on Thursday’s episode.
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The episode — which is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. — showcases the Nashville area, where the couple lives, and Chicagoland. Cutler and Cavallari visit Cavallari’s mom, Judith Eifrig, at her home in northwest suburban Tower Lakes. Cavallari, 33, said this is where she lived while attending Barrington Middle School at its Station campus. A Bears flag can be seen in Eifrig’s window on the episode.
Cameras also trail Cavallari and Cutler as they visit the Randolph Street space for her Uncommon James store about seven weeks before the October 2019 opening. Her contractors — Level Builders’ Myles Cunningham and James Oraha — get some screen time. The two specialize in building out retail and restaurant spaces, and they partnered on the now-closed Tzar Ultra Lounge in River North that featured a vodka vault.
Cavallari and Cutler are slated to return to Chicago to host a $200 evening at Uncommon James on Feb. 14.
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--Bakers Square bankruptcy closes five Chicago-area restaurants

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-01-30--Chicago police sergeant wounded in wrist by suspect in fatal shooting, then continues pursuit and pu

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

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

William Lee, Jeremy Gorner, Rosemary Sobol

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


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Girl, 1, and woman injured while held in a Gold Coast apartment, Chicago police say

Officers were called to the 400 block of East Ohio Street at about 3:30 a.m. for an apparent “ domestic-related @ @ @ @ @ man barricaded himself inside the apartment with two others , police said .
A SWAT @ @ @ @ @ .

A 1-year-old girl and a woman were injured while being held against their will in a Gold Coast apartment Monday morning that led to a SWAT response, according to Chicago police.
Officers were called to the 400 block of East Ohio Street about 3:30 a.m. for an apparent domestic dispute in which a man barricaded himself inside the apartment with two others, police said. A SWAT team was called to assist.
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When officers eventually gained entry, they found a 1-year-old girl suffering from injuries. She was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital in good condition. Police did not describe her injuries.
A woman, 31, also was injured and was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was listed in fair condition, according to police. Police did not describe her injuries either.
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Authorities later said three people were arrested and charges were pending. Additional details were not released.
Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Country Lakeshake is taking a ‘hiatus’ in 2020, with an uncertain future

The event set up at Northerly Island for the last five years , and made waves in 2019 for featuring @ @ @ @ @ performers in a genre known for dudes in hats .
Lakeshake was one of three @ @ @ @ @ Chicago area .
Country Megaticket boasted a strong lineup every year , and the Windy @ @ @ @ @ contender .
Lakeshake and Megaticket are both LiveNation productions , and the latter offers a @ @ @ @ @

Putting an end to rumors that began on social media in December, Country Lakeshake announced that the music festival will not be taking place in 2020.
The event set up at Northerly Island for the last five years, and made waves in 2019 for featuring a day with all women performers in a genre known for dudes in hats. Lakeshake was one of three big country events in the Chicago area. Country Megaticket boasted a strong lineup every year, and the Windy City Smokeout became another strong contender. Lakeshake and Megaticket are both LiveNation productions, and the latter offers a particularly strong 2020 lineup.
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After 5 amazing years of country music on the lakefront, we wanted to be the first to let you know that Country LakeShake will be taking a hiatus. Any future plans will be announced accordingly. pic.twitter.com/HtffEV5hXY — LakeShake Festival (@LakeShakeFest) January 31, 2020
Chicago has traditionally been a strong country music market, and for years supported Megaticket, which featured events running from June-September, Lakeshake in June and Smokeout in July. This story will update with future plans for any return of Lakeshake as they become available.


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Illinois state trooper injured in crash on I-57 near Riverdale

The accident happened around 2:30 a.m. on northbound I-57 near 138th Street , authorities said .
The trooper was taken @ @ @ @ @ Oak Lawn , where he was stabilized .

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


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Man, 85, found dead after fire breaks out in Aurora senior apartment complex

The man was found in an apartment on the fourth floor , authorities said .
His name was not released @

An 85-year-old man was found dead after a fire broke out in a senior apartment complex in Aurora early Monday, authorities said.
Firefighters were called to the Constitution House Apartments in the 400 block of North Constitution Drive just after midnight after a smoke detector activated an alarm.
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Richard Meaderdes’ body was found in an apartment on the fourth floor, authorities said. He was the only person living in the unit.
“When firefighters made it to the fourth floor, there was light smoke showing throughout so we had to search to find the unit,” Aurora Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Rhodes said. The Mercy Housing complex has 232 units and offers housing to income-eligible people age 62 and older.
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Meaderdes’ preliminary cause of death is smoke inhalation, Kane County Coroner’s Office officials said.
The fire itself was not very significant and was put out quickly, Rhodes said.
The fire caused $35,000 worth of damage with one unit a total loss. The cause is under investigation.


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--Column: Cubs spring training is only a week away. So is everybody still in?

Your 2016 MVP season is ancient history , and you and the Cubs haven ’ t come to an agreement @ @ @ @ @ So you , too , have to go , as soon as the Cubs can @ @ @ @ @ ’ t haunt them forever .
Because of circumstances beyond your control , your grievance @ @ @ @ @ manipulation lasted so long , it delayed the Cubs ’ chances of dealing you before @ @ @

There’s one week to go until Cubs pitchers and catchers report to Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz., and soon we’ll be hearing the familiar marketing mantra spreading the message of inclusion.
Everybody In.
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It was a wildly successful campaign that began in 2018, suggesting the team and its fans were all in this thing together, from the Mai Tai Guy to the players to the Rickettses. “Everybody In” conjured a warm, fuzzy image of everyone pulling on the same rope toward a championship. It worked so well in 2018, the Cubs brought it back last year.
And despite the back-to-back collapses that defined the endings of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, everybody is presumably in for another wild ride in 2020.
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Well, not everybody.
Not you, Joe Maddon.
Your .581 winning percentage — second-best among Cubs managers with three or more seasons — and four playoff appearances with the team’s only championship in more than a century couldn’t save you from taking the fall. The Cubs waved goodbye to you in October by praising your skills, predicting a bidding war for your services and rationalizing it was just a good time for a change.
“Sometimes you’re left with a choice between status quo or change and when you feel like change is necessary,” President Theo Epstein said upon Maddon’s removal. “This status quo was a great status quo, the status quo of a Hall of Fame manager. But sometimes change can still beckon, and that’s just where we are.”
So Maddon is gone, taking his talents and the Cousin Eddie to the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., where he can resuscitate another moribund franchise, just as he did with the Rays and Cubs.
Despite Maddon’s departure, Epstein’s threat of a roster reckoning has yet to happen, so everybody else apparently is in.
Well, except maybe for you, Kris Bryant.
[ Column: Kris Bryant losing his service time grievance is a win-win for the Cubs and a win-lose for Cubs fans ]
Your 2016 MVP season is ancient history, and you and the Cubs haven’t come to an agreement on your long-term value. So you, too, have to go, as soon as the Cubs can find a deal that won’t haunt them forever. Because of circumstances beyond your control, your grievance hearing over alleged service time manipulation lasted so long, it delayed the Cubs’ chances of dealing you before spring training.
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So unless that happens in the next week, Bryant will report to camp as a Cub without knowing whether he’ll remain a Cub on opening day. Good luck with that. Of course, until a deal is done, the Cubs expect Bryant to be “all-in,” or at least as all-in as business operations President Crane Kenney, whose status will always be quo as long as the Rickettses are around.
But aside from Maddon and maybe Bryant, it’s safe to assume everybody else is in for a 2020 season that could be one for the books.
Uh, well, not you, WGN.
Your 71 years of broadcasting Cubs baseball was commendable, and you helped spread the gospel of day baseball through the superstation, broadcaster Harry Caray and producer Arne Harris. If not for you, the Cubs would’ve been just another losing franchise without a national following, a Midwest version of the Padres.
But since his first day as the Rickettses’ version of “Mr. Fix-It,” Kenney has counted the days until the end of WGN’s Cubs contract. The new Marquee Sports Network will be coming to a TV near you in three weeks, assuming the TV near you is connected to a cable company that has struck a deal.
[ Cubs’ Marquee TV network will launch on Feb. 22 with new on-air talent — but still no deal with Comcast ]
Still, everyone seems confident the Cubs eventually will reach a deal with Comcast by the first scheduled Cactus League game Feb. 22. When that happens, everybody but Maddon, WGN and maybe Bryant can be all-in on the new season.
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Well, mostly everybody … but not you, former Cubs yoga instructor Christine Schwan.
For reasons never explained, your skills at stretching players, helping them relax in tense situations and expanding their minds were no longer needed. Like several others from the athletic training staff, you were part of an offseason purge that suggested the overall training methods were a significant factor in the Cubs’ collapse.
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Ditto for you, middle relievers Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop and Brandon Kintzler. While the Cubs relief staff finished fourth in the National League with a 3.98 ERA — in spite of closer Craig Kimbrel’s gaudy 6.53 ERA — you all were deemed overpriced and easily replaceable. Instead, the Cubs turned to a slew of younger, cheaper options for 2020 to pare payroll and avoid the luxury tax while bringing back the untradeable Kimbrel to close again.
[ With new arms and new rules, the Cubs face the unknown with their revamped bullpen ]
In the immortal words of Maddon: “Poom, poom.”
But, hey, no problem. Life goes on, and even without Maddon, WGN, Schwan, the veteran middle relievers and maybe Bryant, we can rest assured everybody else in Cubs Nation is in.
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Fans have stuck by this team through thick and thin, from the College of Coaches to Mike Quade and all disasters in between. They’ve watched far worse teams than the one that will convene next week in Mesa. And they’ll still have Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and other favorites to cheer for, not to mention Bryant for a while longer if the Cubs can’t work out a quick trade.
Sure, they booed Chairman Tom Ricketts and Marquee at the Cubs Convention, and they’ve spent the winter grousing on sports-talk radio about the team’s lack of spending. But the sun finally came out Sunday after 11 days of hibernation, and the sweet sight of the Cubs equipment truck leaving for spring training Monday will rekindle the love affair once again.
The slogan “Everybody In” again will reverberate from Wrigleyville to Waukegan, and all will be forgiven.
Then again, anyone seen Ronnie Woo lately?


chicagotribune--2020-02-03--In new docs, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber triumph over adversities even greater than fame

Musicians have been allowing cameras behind the curtain for decades , of course .
And any film needs conflict _ @ @ @ @ @ just deciding which subsidiary of Warner Music Group to release an album through , as @ @ @ @ @ Trying to Break Your Heart : A Film About Wilco.
” But in more and @ @ @ @ @ docs , the animating tension _ the thing to survive _ is the experience of @ @ @ @ @ of social media , when famous people , having effectively cut out the middlemen in @ @ @ @ @ message straight to their audience , suddenly receive way more scrutiny than they bargained for @ @ @ @ @ inevitably breeds other troubles _ the eating disorder Swift describes , for example , or @ @ @ @ @ ex Selena Gomez sings about on her latest album _ that then transform into fresh @ @ @ @ @ .

There's a scene near the beginning of Netflix's new Taylor Swift documentary, "Miss Americana," in which the pop superstar learns that her polarizing "Reputation" album hasn't been nominated for the top-tier Grammy Awards she once collected like coins. Swift is on the phone with her publicist, who's breaking the news gently but with the understanding that something has changed for her client; a camera on Swift's side of the call captures the action from a low angle that allows us to see the tears welling up in her eyes as she shares the realization.
"This is fine," the singer decides after a few seconds, eager to move from disaster to response. "I need to make a better record."
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That her plan didn’t succeed -- Swift’s 2019 “Lover” was similarly snubbed at the Grammys -- is beside the point (and not just because the legitimacy of the Recording Academy’s nominating process has since been called into question). The Grammy problem provides an obstacle, which is the fuel that “Miss Americana” runs on as it depicts a process of overcoming that has quickly become the default narrative in a growing field of pop-star documentaries.
It's the same tale at work in "Justin Bieber: Seasons," a 10-part reality series currently rolling out on YouTube in which the former teen idol attempts to chart a path out of the spiritual exhaustion that led him to call off his most recent world tour in 2017. And you can bet that we'll witness struggles of some kind in movies due soon from Rihanna (who's said to have sold her story to Amazon for $25 million) and Billie Eilish (who was reportedly paid the same amount by Apple).
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Justin Bieber arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Justin Bieber: Seasons," Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (Jordan Strauss/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Musicians have been allowing cameras behind the curtain for decades, of course. And any film needs conflict _ even if it’s just deciding which subsidiary of Warner Music Group to release an album through, as in 2002′s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.” But in more and more of these new pop docs, the animating tension -- the thing to survive -- is the experience of celebrity in the unforgiving age of social media, when famous people, having effectively cut out the middlemen in the media and taken their message straight to their audience, suddenly receive way more scrutiny than they bargained for. Life in the fishbowl inevitably breeds other troubles _ the eating disorder Swift describes, for example, or the anxiety Bieber’s ex Selena Gomez sings about on her latest album _ that then transform into fresh fodder for the amateur commentariat.
It's a self-reinforcing system in more than one sense: Flush with cash, streaming platforms are competing fiercely to strike deals with musicians likely to attract young subscribers who might not care enough about "Marriage Story" or "The Morning Show" to pay $9.99 a month; that demand has created a seller's market for ostensibly confessional material that promises to go beyond whatever the seller discloses routinely on Instagram.
The result of this arms race is that we're beginning to narrow the way we think about the reflection music offers of a creator's existence; only rarely now do we seem to frame superstars' work as anything other than a referendum on superstardom.
And let’s be clear: As much as they’re advertising an inside view -- establishing at least the illusion of relatability in an era when cheerleading fan armies prioritize the journey over the destination -- these projects are meant above all to promote that work. “Miss Americana,” which was directed by Lana Wilson (of the Emmy-winning abortion documentary “After Tiller”) with ample cooperation from Swift and her management, drops in on the singer in the studio as she’s recording “Lover”; its premiere Friday on Netflix comes shortly before Swift heads out on tour behind the album. “Seasons,” meanwhile, credits Bieber’s managers as executive producers and is part of an elaborate multimedia run-up to the Feb. 14 release of “Changes,” his first solo LP in five years.
In both cases, the various dramas depicted onscreen serve to raise the emotional stakes for each artist, which in turn boosts the perceived value of what they're creating. "I can never remake this album," Bieber says at one point in the studio, echoing Swift as he declares that it has to be perfect to meet the importance of its moment. What true Belieber, after seeing how hard he's (still!) working to live up to his fans' devotion, could hear anything less than a masterpiece?
For all the storytelling limitations of the triumph-over-x format -- and despite its encouragement of an increasingly cloistered notion of what pop is about -- real moments of insight are there to be had in “Miss Americana” and “Seasons.” Both docs spend a lot of time demonstrating their subjects’ musical bona fides, as when we see Bieber doing countless vocal takes for his song “Yummy” or we see Swift and her producer Jack Antonoff chipping away at a new tune until the right series of rhymes come tumbling out. All pop stars whine about not being taken seriously as musicians, but here we’re shown, rather than told, why that impression is unfair.
It's also fascinating to see how Swift and Bieber lean in different ways on the people around them for support. Bieber's wife, Hailey Baldwin, is a steady presence in "Seasons," curled on a studio couch, looking up from her phone to nod reassuringly as the singer figures out what he wants to say in his new songs; Swift, on the other hand, refers only vaguely to her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, who's hardly shown at all.
The singers' managers take similarly contrasting roles. Scooter Braun strikes a paternal (if somewhat infantilizing) tone when he talks about helping a vulnerable Bieber, who this month revealed he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, ease back into public life. Yet Wilson and Swift make a centerpiece in "Miss Americana" of a scene in which the singer pushes back against her handlers, including her father, as they try to persuade her not to wade into politics with her endorsement of two Democratic candidates in Tennessee's 2018 congressional race. (Swift's small-world battle with Braun over the rights he recently acquired to her old songs isn't covered in the movie.)
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Late in the Swift documentary we watch as she discovers that her efforts to sway the election weren't enough to defeat a Republican whose conservative views she says disgust her. Taking in the news, her face darkens briefly as she appears to weigh the considerable investment of her star power against a disappointing return. Then she snaps back to attention, looking almost relieved by defeat.
Phew: Another battle for another day.