chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Bulls’ losing streak reaches 4 games with a 125-119 defeat to Zion Williamson and the Pelicans

The Bulls defense has been their calling card most of the season , as they have hovered around the top @ @ @ @ @ but they were picked apart in their third game without Dunn .
The Pelicans assisted @ @ @ @ @ field goals and shot 56.3 % from the field .
They scored 72 points in @ @ @ @ @ the end of the third quarter , they had 103 points , which led to @ @ @

Bulls guard Zach LaVine has watched the end of the last three games from a place he is not accustomed to: the bench.
Each of those games has ended in a Bulls blowout loss, including Thursday’s 125-119 defeat against the Pelicans that never was as close as the final score indicated, leaving a frustrated LaVine to watch helplessly from the sideline.
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“It sucks. If you don’t make a game of it, you’re going to lose,” LaVine said. “It sucks not being able to play.”
The Bulls spent most of the last month masking over the injuries that have depleted their rotation and putting the bulk of responsibility on LaVine’s shoulders. But this team is starting to look every bit like a team missing four of its top rotation players and far from the playoff contention that was within its grasp just about a week ago.
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Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s game.
1. The Bulls are sputtering toward the break.
Reinforcements are not coming until, at the earliest, the end of the month.
That’s approximately when executive vice president John Paxson said he expects some of the Bulls’ most important players, such as Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr. and Otto Porter Jr., to be able to return to the lineup. It’s why the Bulls did not make any moves before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline, Paxson said, because injuries had hindered the organization’s chance to properly assess the roster.
But leave it to Zach LaVine to inject a little bit of reality.
“I don’t know, at the beginning of the year, we lost games and we had everybody,” he said.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 16 Pelicans forward Zion Williamson drives on Bulls forward Thaddeus Young during the first half. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Indeed, the Bulls started 3-6 before Porter got injured. They navigated through the first two months with a nearly a full lineup (besides Porter, who has not played since November) and were below .500, struggling to continue any sort of positive momentum.
So while the idea is misguided that a fully healthy lineup is the cure to the Bulls’ problems, it’s also true the Bulls roster is overmatched right now.
They appeared lifeless for stretches against the Pelicans and are limping toward the All-Star break, having dropped four in a row. They also played Thursday’s game without Denzel Valentine (hamstring) and Daniel Gafford (ankle), although both players are expected to return in the next few days. In each of the three games since losing Kris Dunn, including Friday night in Brooklyn, where he sprained an MCL on the first play, the Bulls have given up at least 125 points.
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“I thought we weren’t not trying,” coach Jim Boylen said. “I thought they were better than us offensively.”
2. Zion Williamson brought his show to the United Center.
Perhaps the scariest thing for teams aiming to slow Pelicans rookie sensation Zion Williamson: He’s just getting started.
Thursday’s game was only the eighth of Williamson’s NBA career, and he is almost certainly not at 100% after missing the start of the season with a knee injury. Against the Bulls, the 19-year-old rookie was the most dominant player in the paint. He bullied and bulldozed past Bulls defenders. His athleticism appeared effortless, judging by how he leaped above the rim. His quickness seemed to defy logic.
Williamson led the Pelicans with 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting in just 25 minutes. He is shooting 57.4%, the best by a player in his first eight games since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984-85 and the third-best by any player in the shot-clock era, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Zion Williamson is shooting 57.4% this season, the best by a player through 8 career games since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984-85 (min. 100 attempts).
From @EliasSports, it's also the 3rd-best through 8 games by any player in the shot-clock era (min. 100 attempts). pic.twitter.com/yl4HKKF1TW — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 7, 2020
The Bulls saw Williamson during the preseason for a game at the United Center, and they had no answer for him then. Thursday’s game was no different.
“He looked pretty much the same as that,” Zach LaVine said. “He’s explosive, he’s big. Once he gets to his spot, he can elevate over pretty much everybody, coming from a guy who knows how to jump. His strength is crazy for a 19-year-old because you see his figure. We did a good job in the beginning to contain him. He didn’t take a lot of shots, but he was effective.
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“He’s not even 100% right now, you can tell. So he’s an extreme athlete.”
3. Adam Mokoka’s scoring barrage gave fans something to cheer about.
Thursday’s game was all but decided by the time Bulls guard Adam Mokoka checked in late in the fourth quarter, but he at least gave the home fans something to get excited about with a memorable scoring flurry.
No player in the shot-clock era had scored as many points in so little time before Mokoka unleashed a 15-point barrage in five minutes Thursday, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Mokoka knocked down all six of his field-goal attempts, including three 3-pointers, earning the adoration of the remaining crowd at the United Center, which serenaded him with a chant of “M-V-P.”
Mokoka had not scored in his first five NBA games, totaling 17 minutes, and then he put on a performance Zach LaVine compared to Tracy McGrady, who once scored 13 points in 33 seconds.
To make Mokoka’s moment even more memorable, he put on this performance in front of his mother, Rosette, who made the trip from France to watch the 21-year-old rookie play in the U.S. for the first time.
“Oh, that’s super cool. I’m glad that the fans, they’re happy for me,” Mokoka said. “To me that’s a blessing. And my mother, she just got here today, so to be able to score in front of her against this team and to make my first bucket in front of my mother, that’s really a blessing.”
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Here’s more coverage from Thursday’s game:
While the Bulls preach patience in the midst of the third season of their rebuilding process, the Pelicans accelerated their rebuild last summer. They ignited the process with a strong return in the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers, then they benefited from some lottery luck to land the No.1 pick in the draft, which they used to select phenom Zion Williamson.
The disparity between the rosters was on display during the Bulls’ 125-119 loss to the Pelicans on Thursday at the United Center. A late Bulls run made the score more palatable, but New Orleans led by 27 points at one point in the second half, forcing the Bulls starters to watch the closing minutes from the bench as the team dropped its fourth straight.
Williamson had his way in the paint, bulldozing past a shorthanded frontcourt with ease to score a Pelicans-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes. The Pelicans were not met with much resistance all night by the Bulls, who are missing their top two defenders, Wendell Carter Jr. and Kris Dunn.
“We’re beat up, man,” said Bulls guard Zach LaVine, who finished with 22 points. “It’s hard for us to stay in some games right now. That’s how I felt, you get frustrated with it. And you should be frustrated. If you’re not frustrated, that means you don’t care. So, I hope everybody’s frustrated.”
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The Bulls defense has been their calling card most of the season, as they have hovered around the top 10 in defensive efficiency, but they were picked apart in their third game without Dunn. The Pelicans assisted on 38 of their 49 field goals and shot 56.3% from the field. They scored 72 points in the first half. By the end of the third quarter, they had 103 points, which led to some boos.
“They were just picking us apart,” LaVine said. “They were playing harder than us. They were running us. ... They play extremely fast; they took advantage of our matchups. Thad (Thaddeus Young) did a really good job on Zion, but we got to help him, too.”
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The Zo-Zion connection is ridiculous 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ju6TM64Obc — New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 7, 2020
A late 23-4 run by the Bulls’ reserves, led by a spirited charge from guard Adam Mokoka, helped cut the deficit to four late before the Pelicans sealed the game. Mokoka scored 15 points in five minutes, making all six of his field-goal attempts. No player in the shot-clock era had scored that many points in so little playing time, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The 21-year-old rookie from France had not scored in 17 minutes of NBA action in five games entering Thursday.
It provided a brief bright spot for the Bulls on a day earlier defined by their inaction. They did not make a move before Thursday’s trade deadline because the organization did not believe it could properly evaluate its roster with so many injuries.
The Bulls have implored their players to hang on until they get back to full strength, which the organization hopes will be near the end of the month. Until then, perhaps they can draw inspiration from the Pelicans.
Although New Orleans also finds itself on the outside of the playoff race in the Western Conference, the Pelicans navigated through most of their season without Williamson and now look like a team with a bright future and a full, healthy lineup that appears to be clicking.
“My thought on that is we just keep practicing, we keep working at it, we keep looking at our mistakes and growing,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen said. “That’s the only way to survive is to evaluate how you play, fix what you can work at it and move forward. I don’t think there’s any secret sauce to it or secret remedy.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Lincoln Park High School leaders address growing safety concerns after day of student protests and s

Lincoln Park High School leaders address growing safety concerns after day of student protests and some altercations as another misconduct claim surfaces

Robinson , also a community relations representative at Michele Clark High School , then checked his email and saw that @ @ @ @ @ him an email stating he was removed from duty , with pay , as a @ @ @ @ @ the outcome of a pre-suspension hearing “ based on an allegation that , while coaching @ @ @ @ @ , you engaged in inappropriate communication with students.
” The day before , an investigator @ @ @ @ @ an email asking to interview him , according to a copy of the email provided @ @ @

Eli Grant, an LSC community member at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, talks to reporters regarding the changes in the administration at the school on Feb. 7, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Tensions at Lincoln Park High School resulting from a widening misconduct scandal were heightened Thursday by student walkouts, sit-ins and, in a few instances, physical altercations.
Amid the upheaval of multiple misconduct investigations and the removal of the school’s top administrators, concerns for students safety grew on Thursday as videos made the rounds on social media showing sometimes violent confrontations among students.
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That prompted school officials to release a statement to families late Thursday addressing the day’s events and saying they would bring in additional student support.
For the latest on the situation, with updates from Friday, click here.
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“While the student action was generally peaceful, there were a small number of altercations among students inside our school building that you may have seen reported,” the statement said. “While the images may be troubling, no students or staff were seriously injured as a result of this incident, and we are handling the situation in accordance with CPS policy. The parents of the impacted students have also been made aware.”
School officials also said “rumors involving gang activity in the vicinity of the school” prompted extra police and security when classes let out Thursday but no problems were encountered.
Yet as Chicago Public Schools officials seek to regain order at Lincoln Park High, another misconduct claim surfaced that one of the administrators brought in last week to take charge of the school has herself left “after determining she was not a good fit for LPHS,” according to a letter sent to parents.
A district spokesman confirmed later Wednesday that the administrator, Judith Gibbs, is the subject of “an allegation involving improper contact with a student.” CPS has not elaborated on the nature of the claim, but a widely circulated video appears to show an adult female momentarily placing her hand on the student’s chin after she reached for something in the student’s hand and he yanks it away.
Lincoln Park High School junior Jovani Muñoz talks to reporters outside of the high school Thursday. He said a newly installed administrator reached her hand out and held his chin momentarily during an encounter at the school Tuesday. She has since left the school. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
A Lincoln Park junior who said he’s the student in the video, Jovani Muñoz, left class Thursday morning and spoke to reporters outside.
Muñoz said he was pulled aside Tuesday before first period by one of the school’s security guards for not having his school ID visible. The newly appointed administrator arrived at the altercation a short time later and the situation escalated, he said.
“She reached for my pocket and snatched my arm. Right after that she grabbed my face,” he said. “The shock got me.”
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Muñoz said he was in school for most of the day and got progressively more upset.
Gibbs could not be reached for comment.
Social media traffic from inside the school and reports from parents suggest the school day was chaotic. Videos posted on Instagram from the school Thursday show students sitting in hallways holding signs. Other videos appear to show altercations breaking out among students and an ambulance pulling up in front of the building as students, officers and media stand by.
Chicago police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli later said authorities were called to school late Thursday morning for a report of a battery in progress but that the call did not generate a report. While police are aware of videos circulating of action inside the school, she said there were “no police reports related to things making waves.” The Fire Department said it took an 18-year-old woman from the school to a hospital for an asthma-related problem.
School officials said a second student was taken to a hospital after slipping on water.
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They also announced new student support measures to “promote a calm and supportive environment." The two new “adminstrators-in-charge,” for example, will visit every classroom starting Friday to hear student’s thoughts and concerns, and specialists from CPS’s offices of Social and Emotional Learning and Safety and Security will be on hand to promote tools like talk circles. A hotline and email has also been set up.
Since early January, several administrators and basketball coaches at Lincoln Park High have been removed or reassigned amid a widening scandal that has prompted five internal investigations against both adults and students as well as at least one police investigation. CPS officials have said investigators have uncovered multiple serious violations, including allegations of sexual misconduct, improper student discipline, recruiting violations, retaliation against witnesses and financial misconduct.
The varsity boys basketball team had to forfeit its city league playoff game Tuesday and has been withdrawn from the state postseason tournament.
Separately, Chicago police confirmed Thursday that they are investigating a report by a 15-year-old girl that she was sexually assaulted by a male at the school on Jan. 13.
Friday, school officials announced that interim Principal John Thuet and Assistant Principal Michelle Brumfield were removed from the school and Dean John Johnson reassigned. Brumfield confirmed to the Tribune that she has been terminated from CPS and placed on its do-not-hire list. According to Lincoln Park High’s Local School Council, Thuet was also terminated, though the district has not confirmed that or detailed why the administrators were removed, and Thuet could not be reached for comment.
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The school council also has sent letters to parents criticizing the handling of the situation.
“Based on what we have seen — like many of you who are writing to us — we remain unconvinced that the punishments in this case fits any alleged failures specific to administrators Thuet, Brumfield and Johnson,” a Wednesday letter from the council states. “We continue to see these administrators as dedicated educators who vastly improved safety and security — and administration generally — taking the fall for a culture of neglect that goes back years.”
The statement echoed one made by other students and parents who credited Thuet and Brumfield with making positive changes in the school since the fall and said the district has not disclosed adequate information about the administrators’ removals.
“We need our administration back,” said another student who left class Thursday and spoke outside the school. “Students are angry. Usually in the hallways people are happy and smiling. It’s been dead quiet. It’s really sad and depressing. All the kids’ heads are down.”
Speaking to the Tribune late Wednesday, Brumfield, the now former assistant principal, also said her termination was not explained. She said she was at school Friday when she was called to CPS headquarters and told she was fired.
A letter she was given, and which she provided to the Tribune, noted she was an at-will employee and stated in part: “A decision has been made to terminate your employment with Chicago Public Schools effective immediately.”
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“I just really didn’t understand it. I felt like, I asked questions, I didn’t get any answers, and I really left confused in a daze,” Brumfield said, “especially because if this is an ongoing investigation, no one had communicated with me about it.”
Leading up to her dismissal, Brumfield, who had a long career with CPS and started at Lincoln Park High in the fall, said she was not questioned or given any indication she was under investigation.
“I was literally speechless," Brumfield said. “I want Mr. Thuet and myself and the dean, I want us to get reinstated and to have our jobs back. We miss the kids. We miss the community, the parents.”
Donovan Robinson, a reserve coach who was brought in to help lead the varsity boys basketball team after head coach Pat Gordon was removed earlier in January, said he was on vacation and learned from a media report on Jan. 31 that he had been reassigned pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
Robinson, also a community relations representative at Michele Clark High School, then checked his email and saw that same date, CPS sent him an email stating he was removed from duty, with pay, as a community relations representative, pending the outcome of a pre-suspension hearing “based on an allegation that, while coaching at Lincoln Park High School, you engaged in inappropriate communication with students.” The day before, an investigator with CPS had sent him an email asking to interview him, according to a copy of the email provided by Robinson.
Robinson said he was not given any more specific information about the allegation against him at the hearing, which took place Tuesday, but that he was told his suspension would continue without pay.
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“I’m stressed out," he said. "I have not slept, I have not eaten right or anything, and nobody can tell me why I am suspended.”
The Local School Council for Lincoln Park sent another letter to families on Thursday that referenced the video that apparently shows Tuesday’s encounter between the administrator and the student.
“While she has been removed from the school, we were disappointed that the subsequent letter from CPS did not share the true circumstances of this sudden removal,” the letter stated. “At a time when we need transparency, healing and safety, they fell short. We were told these administrators were installed to make our school safer. That wasn’t the case.”
With all that’s been happening at the school, some students reported that they struggled to focus on anything other than the recent events, and some teachers told students they were free to participate in the protests.
During the first phase of Thursday’s sit-in, students reported multiple fights at school, though CPS officials did not provide information to the community until about 9 p.m. During fourth period, about 100 students left the building with signs and a bullhorn, chanting and walking a circuit around the neighborhood before returning to school.
Eventually, district officials came to the school and invited students to a talk in an auditorium, where video shows one district official assuring students their next leaders won’t be chosen without input from parents and students, and adding that possibilities included a student town hall and surveys.
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“We want to find someone that will love you and care for you and lead the school just like Thuet and Brumfield,” the official says. “You did have it and you will have it again.”
hleone@chicagotribune.com
jvillagomez@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo draft their rosters for the NBA All-Star Game in Chicago

Equipped with their lists , James and Antetokounmpo sat in front of the camera and listed off their selections .
@ @ @ @ @ started with his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis , the only All-Star from Chicago .
From @ @ @ @ @ until the final player was selected .

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, All-Star Game captains for a second straight year, took to TNT to select their rosters during a Thursday broadcast of “Inside the NBA.”
With a pool of 22 players available, the Lakers’ James and the Bucks’ Antetokounmpo, who led the league in All-Star votes, picked one by one to compile the rosters for the NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Feb. 16 at the United Center.
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NBA All-Star Weekend will be held Feb. 14-16 in Chicago, with events scheduled at Wintrust Arena and the United Center.
Equipped with their lists, James and Antetokounmpo sat in front of the camera and listed off their selections. James, of course, started with his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, the only All-Star from Chicago. From there, they took turns until the final player was selected.
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Here are the full rosters for each team, with starters marked with asterisks:
Team James:
— LeBron James, Lakers*
— Anthony Davis, Lakers*
— Kawhi Leonard, Clippers*
— Luka Doncic, Mavericks*
— James Harden, Rockets*
— Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
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— Ben Simmons, 76ers
— Nikola Jokic, Nuggets,
— Jayson Tatum, Celtics
— Chris Paul, Thunder
— Russell Westbrook, Rockets
Team Giannis:
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— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks*
— Joel Embiid, 76ers*
— Pascal Siakam, Raptors*
— Kemba Walker, Celtics*
— Trae Young, Hawks*
— Khris Middleton, Bucks
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— Bam Adebayo, Heat
— Rudy Gobert, Jazz
— Jimmy Butler, Heat
— Kyle Lowry, Raptors
— Brandon Ingram, Pelicans
The All-Star Game will be played differently this year, with every quarter played as a mini-game for charity before both teams play a final untimed quarter. After each quarter the score will go back to 0-0 and then in the final quarter the full score will be restored.
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At that time, the teams will aim for a target score of 24, a choice implemented in honor of Kobe Bryant, who died at 41 in a helicopter crash Jan. 26.
The winner of each quarter will net a victory for the team’s selected charity, which will receive a donation with each win. Team LeBron will play for Chicago Scholars, and Team Giannis will play for After School Matters.


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Judge denies bail for man with history of robbery and gun arrests charged with shooting on Blue Line

Judge denies bail for man with history of robbery and gun arrests charged with shooting on Blue Line train at UIC-Halsted stop

One of Waldon ’ s first arrests was for battery when he was 17 .
The charge was later stricken @ @ @ @ @ why .
He also was arrested in 2009 and 2010 on a range of charges @ @ @ @ @ aggravated use of a weapon and unlawful restraint , according to court records .
But @ @ @ @ @ Waldon pleaded guilty in one case to just robbery and , in the other , @ @ @ @ @ of a weapon .

Madeline Buckley, Rosemary Sobol, William Lee

A man with an arrest record going back 15 years has been charged with shooting a passenger on the Blue Line as it pulled into the UIC-Halsted stop, then grabbing a backpack off him as the doors opened, according to Chicago police.
Patrick Waldon, 31 and a parolee, was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, armed robbery and being an armed habitual criminal. He was arrested hours after police released photos from surveillance cameras around the station on the Near West Side.
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During his bond hearing on Thursday afternoon at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, a judge held him without bond.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi credited the photos with helping in the arrest. “You’re on camera and you will be caught," he tweeted.
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The victim, a 30-year-old man from the Near North Side, was shot in the lower right back and was taken to nearby Stroger Hospital in serious condition. He underwent surgery but his condition has since stabilized.
Witnesses told police that Waldon got on the Blue Line train at the Jackson station in the Loop about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, prosecutors said.
The rider, who had transferred from the Red Line to Blue Line at Jackson, noticed Waldon and another person watching him on the platform. Both boarded the same car as the victim. Waldon sat down near him.
As the train headed west, Waldon began talking to the man and demanding his backpack, but the victim ignored him and stood up at the car’s door as the train approached the UIC-Halsted stop.
Waldon then got behind him, demanded the backpack again and pressed the gun into the man’s back before shooting him.
“The offender approached and stood directly behind the victim, pulled out a silver revolver and shot the victim one time in the back at close range,” police said in a report. “The victim fell to the ground and, after the car doors opened, the offender took the victim’s backpack and fled.”
Witness behind Waldon saw the incident and it was also captured on CTA surveillance video.
The gunman may have had an accomplice, police said, because another man was seen talking to him after the shooting and also ran from the platform.
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Patrick Waldon (Chicago Police Department)
At a Thursday morning news conference at the department’s South Side headquarters, Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said CTA surveillance video shows Waldon on the CTA platform with the victim. They both get on the train, and Waldon sat right next to the victim, he said.
The video shows Waldon display a handgun, and the two struggle with the victim’s backpack, Deenihan said. Waldon ran off the train after the shooting.
Investigators used surveillance cameras to track the suspect from the CTA station to a nearby Target, where he threw away some items from the victim’s backpack, Deenihan said.
Detectives then received several tips about his identity when they pushed out surveillance images, he said.
A witness from the train identified Waldon from a photo array, he said.
“There were people on the train that came to this victim’s aid and stayed with him until emergency personnel came,” Deenihan said, adding that they also spoke with officers afterward. “Those people did a remarkable job. Without their help, the case is not solved either.”
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Waldon was taken into custody later in the day during a traffic stop in the 3000 block of West Harrison Street, about 2½ miles from the shooting. Authorities said he has been arrested at least 14 times by Chicago police and has four felony convictions on his record.
Waldon has “preyed on the people of Chicago for years,” interim Chicago Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said at the news conference.
One of Waldon’s first arrests was for battery when he was 17. The charge was later stricken but it was not known why. He also was arrested in 2009 and 2010 on a range of charges, including aggravated battery, aggravated use of a weapon and unlawful restraint, according to court records. But those charges were dropped and Waldon pleaded guilty in one case to just robbery and, in the other, one court of aggravated use of a weapon.
In 2013, Waldon was hit with 17 charges after an arrest in January. They ranged from armed home invasion to residential burglary, aggravated unlawful restraint and kidnapping. He pleaded guilty to armed robbery with no weapon, and the other charges were dropped, according to court records. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and was paroled in 2018.
Beck said he is meeting with CTA officials on Friday to discuss increasing police deployment on public transportation. “Obviously when crime occurs on public transportation, it affects everybody,” he said. “This is a system that affects all of Chicago.”
The shooting happened one day after a man was stabbed and injured Tuesday afternoon on the platform at the Red Line’s Jackson stop. Barbara Johnson, 38, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in a public place, both felonies. She is also charged with a misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property.
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Beck said the stabbing likely involved mental illness.
Serious crime aboard CTA trains, on the rise since 2015, has flared in recent months, particularly the Red and Brown lines. The violence, which includes robberies of smartphones or random attacks on unsuspecting riders, has persisted despite the installation of 1,000 high-definition surveillance cameras at CTA stations last year.


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Brookfield Zoo CEO Stuart Strahl plans to step down

With the 100-year anniversary of CZS approaching next year and family pulling him westward , Strahl said he thought it @ @ @ @ @ transition .
He has grandkids and a vacation home of his own in Montana , @ @ @ @ @ decided , “ if I had to choose between flying to Bozeman and visiting my @ @ @ @ @ of hours from my cabin I ’ d choose the latter .
”

Brookfield Zoo is looking for new leadership after Stuart Strahl, president and CEO of the parent Chicago Zoological Society, told his board he plans to retire, Strahl said Thursday.
In an interview with the Tribune, Strahl said in 17 years at the west suburban zoo, he takes pride in guiding attendance increases, hosting international zoological conferences and building such new exhibits as Great Bear Wilderness and Hamill Family Wild Encounters, the former Children’s Zoo.
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“The institution’s a lot stronger now than it was then,” said the 64-year-old Ph.D. with a long background in conservation. “We have more programs, more attendance on average.”
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Membership has grown from roughly 50,000 to 115,000 “member families,” he said, even as the budget for the zoo, which exists on Cook County Forest Preserve Land, has grown 50 percent, to over $60 million.
With the 100-year anniversary of CZS approaching next year and family pulling him westward, Strahl said he thought it was the right time for transition. He has grandkids and a vacation home of his own in Montana, he said, and he decided, “if I had to choose between flying to Bozeman and visiting my grandkids and driving a couple of hours from my cabin I’d choose the latter.”
Strahl, who previously worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society and the National Audubon Society on the Florida Everglades, joins a wave of not-for-profit Chicago CEOs stepping down but staying in place while their boards look for replacements. David Mosena at Museum of Science and Industry, Richard Lariviere at Field Museum and Elizabeth Glassman at Terra Foundation are in the same boat.
The zoo has seen lower attendance the last couple of years — 1.91 million and 1.99 million following averages routinely in the 2.2 million range.
“The last couple of years have been really challenging for us, really challenging,” because combinations of hot and rainy weather during key summer months kept attendance down, he said. And funding partnerships with the cash-strapped FPD have been challenging.
But with new strategic and master plans in the works, he said he is confident the zoo is on firm footing for the future.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Nurse practitioners have nearly tripled in Illinois, where they can now practice independently. Some

Nurse practitioners have nearly tripled in Illinois, where they can now practice independently. Some even use the title doctor. Should you be worried?

But the profession ’ s growth has come with controversy .
Some doctors ’ groups are concerned medical providers are @ @ @ @ @ costs at the expense of patient care .
Nurse practitioners , they say , are @ @ @ @ @ doctors to identify certain conditions and may miss important red flags .
And they ’ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve earned their doctorate degrees in nursing practice use the title “ doctor , @ @ @ @ @ for patients .

Elizabeth Hug had a choice: wait months to see a doctor to treat her fibromyalgia or visit a nurse practitioner in the same office immediately.
The Joliet resident decided sooner was better than later. She liked the nurse practitioner, Christopher Galloway, so much that she continued to see him, even when he went into private practice in Crest Hill. He was caring, accessible and a good listener, she said.
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Hug, her husband and two teenage children now visit Galloway regularly — instead of a primary care doctor.
“It’s kind of a different experience,” Hug said. “They just seem to know how to talk to people differently.”
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It’s an experience that’s becoming increasingly common, as the number of nurse practitioners in Illinois skyrockets, and some begin to work independently of doctors under licenses that became available in June. More nurse practitioners can mean more access to care amid a national shortage of primary care physicians. Nurse practitioners can handle many of patients’ most common complaints, but at a lower cost, their supporters say.
[ Northwestern Memorial Hospital plans to spend $78 million on project to relieve overcrowding in its ER ]
But the profession’s growth has come with controversy. Some doctors groups are concerned medical providers are using nurse practitioners to cut costs at the expense of patient care. Nurse practitioners, they say, are not as well trained as doctors to identify certain conditions and may miss important red flags. And they’re particularly troubled some who’ve earned their doctorate degrees in nursing practice use the title “doctor," which could be confusing for patients.
Illinois has more than 12,000 nurse practitioners, up nearly threefold from 2012. A nurse practitioner is a type of advanced practice registered nurse, which is a nurse with additional training, education and certification. They’ve long been providers at many urgent care clinics, but are increasingly showing up in primary care, specialty practices and hospitals. More than 400 Illinois advanced practice registered nurses have licenses to practice independently of doctors under a state law passed in 2017.
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Christopher Galloway, a nurse practitioner, works with nursing student Desiree Hilborn, right, as they examine Elizabeth Hug, at Elemental Care center in Crest Hill. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
After becoming registered nurses, nurse practitioners must have master’s degrees in nursing and at least 500 direct patient care hours to be nationally certified, while medical doctors go to four years of medical school and spend at least three years getting hands-on experience as residents. Some specialists do more.
Nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives — which are all types of advanced practice registered nurses — earned a median of $113,930 a year in 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Doctors and surgeons earned a median of $208,000 a year.
In 2017, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill allowing Illinois nurse practitioners who meet certain requirements to work without a formal relationship with a doctor, though they still can’t prescribe certain medications, such as opioids, without a doctor and they can’t sign death certificates.
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Twenty-two states allow nurse practitioners to work with total independence from doctors in their own practices, and 16 states, including Illinois, allow independence with some restrictions, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
To practice without an agreement with a physician in Illinois, advanced practice registered nurses must have an additional 250 hours of continuing education and at least 4,000 hours of clinical experience after attaining national certification.
The American Medical Association opposes legislation to allow nurse practitioners to work independently, saying in a statement they’re "valuable members” of physician-led health care teams, but “not a substitute for physicians.”
“Patients’ best interests are optimally served when they are treated in a physician-led team-based model of care,” the association said.
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Nurse practitioners are taking on roles doctors have filled in the past. For example, Edward-Elmhurst Health in the western suburbs decided in November to lay off about 15 of its urgent care doctors and instead use nurse practitioners, sources said.
Edward-Elmhurst spokesman Keith Hartenberger said in a statement that any advanced practice clinicians, such as nurse practitioners, will work under a doctor’s supervision. He declined to confirm the number of people affected, but said the decision to "move to a team model” was driven by “feedback from our patients that they are looking for a lower-cost alternative for walk-in care.”
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Most of the care provided at Edward-Elmhurst’s immediate care clinics is for low-level conditions such as sore throats, earaches and urinary tract infections, Hartenberger said.
“These visits are well within the scope of an advanced practice clinician’s license, and this model is being used by other centers throughout the nation,” he said.
Edward-Elmhurst is working with those affected by the change to find “alternative placement,” Hartenberger said.
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Physicians for Patient Protection, a national group that advocates for physician-led care, has criticized Edward-Elmhurst’s plans, saying they’re emblematic of a bigger problem.
Health systems “see these nurse practitioners and physician assistants as a cheaper labor force and have totally disregarded patient safety in the name of saving dollars,” said Dr. Amy Judice Townsend, a board member of Physicians for Patient Protection who practices in Texas. “There are a lot of things that come in that are routine, but some things … you have to have clinical experience to recognize it’s not something that’s just run-of-the-mill.”
A 2014 study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found advanced practice clinicians ordered more medical imaging tests for patients than primary care doctors.
Dr. Amber Price, who has a Chicago practice, Willow Pediatrics and Lactation, said she’s seen patients who were misdiagnosed by nurse practitioners. One child she saw early in her career had a serious problem that required hospitalization, but had been diagnosed with pink eye by a nurse practitioner, she said.
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“Doctors make mistakes, but we don’t miss obvious things,” said Price, who is a member of Physicians for Patient Protection.
Doctors groups have similar concerns about physician assistants, who perform many of the same tasks as nurse practitioners but have different training and education. But there are far fewer physician assistants in Illinois than nurse practitioners, about 3,700. Physician assistants’ education is modeled on medical school curriculum while nurse practitioners’ education is in nursing.
Physicians for Patient Protection also worries about confusion caused by nurse practitioners who use the title “doctor” because they’ve earned doctorates in nursing practice. Though the title is technically correct, some physicians worry patients will assume all who use it are medical doctors.
“It’s deceptive to patients,” Townsend said. “Patients, when they’re introduced to someone as a doctor in a clinical setting, are assuming the knowledge base is in clinical practice and that’s not the case."
It’s a issue that could become more prevalent now that the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, which acts as a resource for nurse practitioner education programs, wants to see all nurse practitioner programs offer doctorates of nursing practice by 2025.
Nurse practitioners point out that the initials after their names show their credentials, such as APRN, and Illinois law requires those who use the title “doctor" to “clearly state” they’re not medical doctors. The law also prohibits advanced practice registered nurses from using the titles “doctor” or “physician” in advertising.
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Galloway, the Crest Hill nurse practitioner who’s been treating Hug for years, said he uses the title “Dr.” because, like medical doctors and many professors, he earned the highest degree in his field. If anything, he said, medical doctors should be called physicians, not doctors, to clear up any confusion.
Nurse practitioners say fears about the quality of care they provide are unfounded.
“Nurse practitioners have been providing care for over 50 years and we’ve got 50 years of data that reinforces the fact that nurse practitioners are educated and trained to provide the care in these settings,” said Sophia Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
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When advanced practice nurses are involved in emergency and critical care, patients have shorter stays, shorter waits for consultation or treatment, and improved mortality rates, satisfaction and cost savings, according to a 2017 review of 15 studies published in Human Resources for Health. A 2014 study in the journal Nursing Outlook found states that allow nurse practitioners to practice without a doctor’s supervision have lower hospitalization rates and better health outcomes.
Nurse practitioners are also often the most viable option for patients because of the shortage of doctors, Thomas said. As baby boomers age, the U.S. will have a shortage of primary care doctors, with anywhere from 21,100 to 55,200 too few by 2032, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
There are still far more doctors in the U.S. than advanced practice registered nurses — 756,800 compared with 240,700 nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners in 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But the number of advanced practice nursing jobs is expected to grow 26% between 2018 and 2028, much faster than the average growth rate of 7% for doctors, according to the bureau.
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Many people decide to become nurse practitioners instead of doctors because they’re already registered nurses who want to build on their educations rather than start over, because they’re attracted to nursing or because going to medical school takes longer and costs more than earning a master’s degree in nursing, said Susan Swart, executive director of the Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing.
“Physicians understandably are concerned about this change, but I think the reality is it is a supply and demand issue,” said Hazel Seabrook, a managing director at consulting firm Huron, who’s worked as a nurse. “There aren’t going to be enough primary care physicians or physicians, period, in the coming years, so what do we do as a health care system to plug the gap?”
About 19% of consumers surveyed said they had trouble scheduling a new patient visit with a primary care physician in the last year, according to a national survey of 1,500 people conducted last year by the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute. City dwellers had a tougher time, with 32% saying they had trouble scheduling an appointment, though that may have had to do with insurance issues rather than a shortage of doctors.
Providers who rely on nurse practitioners are also reacting to cost pressures, Swart said.
“Everybody is challenged to provide the best care they can at the best cost savings,” Swart said. “If they have the ability to free up physicians to provide care for more complex patients, then utilizing an advanced practice registered nurse in those voids makes a lot of sense.”
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The lower cost of nurse practitioners is part of the reason Midwest Express Clinic relies heavily on them at its 17 locations in Illinois and Indiana, said Kaitlyn Steinberg, director of clinical operations at the company and a family nurse practitioner. Midwest Express has physicians at a few of its locations.
“We’re able to provide more affordable prices for our patients without sacrificing the quality of care," Steinberg said.
Dr. Daniel Weissbluth, whose pediatric practice has three offices in Streeterville, the South Loop and Bucktown, has eight pediatricians and five nurse practitioners. He’s long had nurse practitioners, who do well-child and sick-child visits when pediatricians are unavailable, or when parents simply prefer to see them over the doctors.
“Many patients choose to see nurse practitioners because their clinical skills and communication skills are very good, and they like that person,” Weissbluth said. “If at any point they ever feel that they’re unsure of the best course of action, there’s always a pediatrician there who can work with them and guide them.”
Most doctors expect to see fewer patients in coming years as the number of nurse practitioners grows, according to the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute survey. Some of the apprehension toward the spread of nurse practitioners may come from doctors who “resent people coming into their turf,” said Dr. Mark Werner, a director with consulting firm the Chartis Group.
“I think they sometimes see nurse practitioners as additional competition for their patients,” Werner said.
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Galloway, the Crest Hill nurse practitioner, wants to see the state allow nurse practitioners even more independence. Doing so would expand patients’ access to care, he said.
“I wish it wasn’t such a political battle between ourselves and doctors. We really need to be working together,” Galloway said. “There are enough patients to go around.”
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lschencker@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Lawsuit accuses Chicago police officer of using dangerous ‘mixed martial arts’ tactics on man who al

Lawsuit accuses Chicago police officer of using dangerous ‘mixed martial arts’ tactics on man who allegedly spit in cop’s face

A man who was body-slammed against a curb by a Chicago police officer after allegedly spitting in the cop 's @ @ @ @ @ and the city , contending he was the victim of a `` mixed martial arts @ @ @ @ @ him `` in danger of going blind in his left eye . ''

Bernard Kersh holds hands with his mother, Keshia Johnson, while walking with the Rev. Jesse Jackson after Kersh bonded out of Cook County Jail in Chicago on Dec. 6, 2019. Kersh was charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer after allegedly spitting at a police officer, apparently prompting the officer to body-slam Kersh to the ground. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
A man who was body-slammed against a curb by a Chicago police officer after allegedly spitting in the cop's face is suing the officer and the city, contending he was the victim of a "mixed martial arts takedown" that has left him "in danger of going blind in his left eye."
Bernard Kersh, 29, claims the officer is a trained mixed martial arts fighter known as “Bacon and Eggs,” and argues that his actions were intended to inflict “punishment or retaliation” rather than de-escalate the situation.
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The Chicago Police Department has removed the officer and his partner from active duty while it investigates the incident last Thanksgiving in Chatham on the South Side.
The officers, dressed in plainclothes and in an unmarked squad car, were on routine patrol about 4 p.m. Nov. 28 when they saw Kersh drinking vodka at a bus shelter at 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, prosecutors have said.
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One of the officers had taken away the vodka and was preparing to write Kersh a ticket for drinking on the public way when Kersh spit in the officer’s face, according to police and prosecutors.
According to the suit, the officer “wrapped his arms around Mr. Kersh and body-slammed Mr. Kersh, smashing his head into a concrete curb and knocking him unconscious.’’ The officer then “utilized a second MMA maneuver on Mr. Kersh — a forearm strike to his head,’’ the lawsuit alleges.
The suit claims the officers then stood over Kersh without providing first aid before “dragging his limp body’’ to their car.
Kersh refused medical treatment from an ambulance that arrived at the scene. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he had to be sedated in order to be treated, prosecutors said.
Kersh was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and spent five nights in Cook County Jail. “There was a substantial amount of spit, in liquid form, that landed in the eye of (the officer),” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said during Kersh’s bond hearing.
A bystander took video of a Chicago police officer as he hurled a 29-year-old man to the ground for allegedly spitting on him during an arrest Nov. 28, 2019. (Jovonna Jamison)
Murphy said surveillance video from a store on Cottage Grove shows Kersh licking the police officer’s face and spitting at him before the “emergency takedown.”
Kersh had been convicted in 2018 of spitting on a police officer and in 2011 of punching an officer.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot called video of the incident — widely circulated online — “very disturbing.” It renewed tensions over the department’s treatment of minorities.
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The lawsuit cites a January 2017 finding by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found Chicago police had a pervasive “pattern and practice’’ of civil rights abuses. “This incident is yet another example of the continuing injustice and maltreatment of disenfranchised minority citizens by CPD officers,’’ the suit states.
The suit also refers to the city’s failure to comply with a federal consent decree aimed at reforming the department.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Reputed gang member beat rival to death just half-hour after two placed in same cell in Cook County

Reputed gang member beat rival to death just half-hour after two placed in same cell in Cook County Jail, prosecutors say

While surveillance cameras didn ’ t capture the inside of the cell , footage from a camera on the tier @ @ @ @ @ window of the cell — showed an inmate inside raising his arm up and down @ @ @ @ @ detainee beginning at about 1:05 a.m. when a light turned on in the cell , @ @ @ @ @ is also seen grabbing the other man by his long hair and dragging him violently @ @ @ @

Christian Gonzalez, 24, was charged with murder in the beating death of his cellmate, Pedro Ruiz, 19, at Cook County Jail. (HANDOUT)
A reputed gang member was viciously beaten to death just half an hour after he was placed into a two-man cell in Cook County Jail with an inmate who belongs to a rival gang, Cook County prosecutors said Thursday.
A security video partially captured Christian Gonzalez, 24, beating Pedro Ruiz with a sock filled with bars of soap for 10 continuous minutes, prosecutors said. He also violently dragged Ruiz by his “shag hairstyle,” according to prosecutors.
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Investigators recovered a bloody, ripped sock in the cell and what appeared to be a bloody undershirt and boxers from Gonzalez that he was wearing under a clean set of jail scrubs, prosecutors said.
Gonzalez, a reputed member of the rival Satan Disciples street gang, later told a correctional officer that he beat Ruiz, 19, because he was a rival gang member, according to prosecutors. At a recorded interview later, though, Gonzalez said Ruiz was experiencing "breathing problems” and that guards took too long to respond, prosecutors said.
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Ruiz belonged to the Almighty Saints, a street gang that has long feuded with the Satan Disciples.
Calling Gonzalez “a danger to everybody,” Judge Arthur Wesley Willis ordered him held in the jail without bond at the Thursday hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Prosecutors laid out a timeline of the early-morning killing, but little remains known about why rival gang members were housed together, why standard security checks failed to register such a lengthy and brutal attack or why supervisors took more than 20 minutes to respond to the cell after a guard reported Gonzalez said his cellmate was “acting strange.”
Adding to the questions was the disclosure by the Chicago Tribune earlier in the week that Gonzalez was among five detainees who attacked a lone inmate Nov. 19 in a day room of Division 9, a maximum-security wing of the jail.
In a clip of surveillance video, five men are seen attacking a fellow inmate in November in a day room of Cook County Jail. (Cook County Sheriff's Office) (Chicago Tribune Handout)
Surveillance video obtained by the Tribune shows Gonzalez punched and kicked the 41-year-old victim before the other detainees stabbed him with a shank, beat him and stomped on his head. A few moments after leaving the victim lying in a pool of blood, Gonzalez and another inmate dropped a joker playing card on his body, Murphy said in court.
About seven minutes passed after the attack before correctional officers came to the aid of the victim in the day room, the video showed.
Gonzalez and the other four inmates were each charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and mob action, court records show.
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Last Friday, Ruiz was assigned to Tier 2C of Division 9 shortly after coming through court on an attempted murder charge, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said in court. It wasn’t until 12:30 a.m. Saturday that he was put in the cell with Gonzalez.
While surveillance cameras didn’t capture the inside of the cell, footage from a camera on the tier — if zoomed through a window of the cell — showed an inmate inside raising his arm up and down repeatedly as if beating another detainee beginning at about 1:05 a.m. when a light turned on in the cell, Murphy said. The inmate is also seen grabbing the other man by his long hair and dragging him violently, he said.
At one point during the 10-minute attack, Gonzalez slowed down as if he was growing tired, Murphy said.
Cook County jail detainee Pedro Ruiz, 19, was found fatally beaten inside his jail cell on Feb. 1, 2020. (Cook County Sheriff's Office)
Ruiz had been ordered held without bond Friday after his arrest for the shooting of a 21-year-old man on the night of Jan. 28 in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.
Gonzalez had been jailed since last June on charges in the 2017 shooting of a man whom multiple police sources have identified as a leader in the Saints. That shooting left the Saints leader in critical condition and a 3-year-old boy with minor injuries.
Asked why Ruiz was placed in the same cell with a rival gang member less than three months after he was alleged to viciously beat the other inmate, sheriff’s spokesman Joseph Ryan declined to comment other than to say that the department was reviewing “every facet” of the weekend killing.
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The sheriff’s office was still conducting its own internal review of the November beating when Ruiz was found beaten to death in his cell early Saturday, authorities said. Now the office has launched a separate internal review of the killing to determine if corrections officers followed proper protocol, Ryan said.
According to prosecutors, a guard performing a security check stopped by the cell door just before 1:30 p.m. Gonzalez said something was wrong with his cellmate, but the guard did not respond and left the tier.
A few minutes later, the guard radioed his sergeant that Gonzalez said his cellmate was “acting strange,” Murphy said.
Supervisors did not arrive at the cell for more than 20 minutes.
As officers tried unsuccessfully to revive Ruiz, Gonzalez was taken to a separate cell, where surveillance video showed him speaking to a correctional officer. Though the video has no audio, prosecutors said Gonzalez confessed to the guard that he beat Ruiz with a sock full of bar soap because he was a rival gang member.
Chicago Tribune’s Liam Ford, Peter Nickeas and Jason Meisner contributed.
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mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Faster coronavirus test kits are on their way to a Chicago lab from the CDC

Before testing can begin , officials must complete proper calibration and training and then will be approved for specimen testing @ @ @ @ @ next week , Arnold said .
This will allow for faster testing because the state @ @ @ @ @ to test on-site instead of sending all specimens to the CDC , she said , @ @ @ @ @ still require CDC confirmation , but negatives will not .

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is shipping these test kits for the novel coronavirus to laboratories in the U.S. and around the world. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
In hopes of quicker detection of the novel coronavirus that originated in China, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is distributing test kits this week to various labs across the United States, including a Chicago lab run by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The CDC-developed test kit is designed to produce results in as little as four hours after testing upper and lower respiratory specimens from people suspected of having the virus, which has mostly circulated in China. So far, 12 people in the U.S., including a Chicago couple, have tested positive for the virus, according to public health officials.
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Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said test kits are on their way to the state’s Chicago lab, along with about 100 other public labs across the U.S., though no other labs in Illinois. But additional CDC-qualified labs in the state could request their own kits in the future, she said.
Before testing can begin, officials must complete proper calibration and training and then will be approved for specimen testing, which should begin early next week, Arnold said. This will allow for faster testing because the state health department will be able to test on-site instead of sending all specimens to the CDC, she said, adding that positive tests will still require CDC confirmation, but negatives will not.
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“Right now, you have all specimens across the country being shipped to the CDC, who with 50 states and (Washington) D.C. … they have a long line to get into the queue,” Arnold said. “So (with the kits) hopefully there will be a much quicker turnaround time.”
The kits, which can each test between 700 and 800 specimens, will also be distributed to some international laboratories, according to the CDC. There are currently about 400 test kits in total.
“Our goal is early detection of new cases and to prevent further spread of the coronavirus,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield stated in a news release. “Distribution of these diagnostic tests to state laboratories, U.S. government partners and more broadly to the global public health community will accelerate efforts to confront this evolving global public health challenge.”
Before the kits could be distributed, the Food and Drug Administration earlier this week issued an emergency use authorization to bypass a clearance and approval process.
The novel coronavirus, cousin to SARS and MERS, started appearing in Wuhan, China, late last year. More than 24,000 people have been sickened, with at least 491 deaths, mostly in China, according to the World Health Organization.
kthayer@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-06--Commentary: I cover reality TV and found myself part of the story on Wednesday’s episode of ‘Black I

Commentary: I cover reality TV and found myself part of the story on Wednesday’s episode of ‘Black Ink Crew: Chicago’

We had , in fact , met at the shop on Dec. 10 .
Photographer Erin Hooley shot several pictures @ @ @ @ @ her .
Walker , a weekend DJ at WGCI-FM 107.5 , also made it seem @ @ @ @ @ after her appearance at WGCI ’ s Big Jam event at the United Center , @ @ @ @ @ posted days before .
Walker also said we spoke by phone about when the story @ @ @ @ @ dealt with the show ’ s publicist about that .

Several scripted TV shows film in Chicago, but not many reality shows do. There’s no “Real Housewives of Chicago” or “Love & Hip Hop: Chicago.” We don’t have our own version of “Jersey Shore” — “North Shore,” anyone? — or “Million Dollar Listing.”
That’s surprising because the reality shows that do call Chicago home such as HGTV’s “Windy City Rehab” and VH1′s “Black Ink Crew: Chicago” get a lot of viewers. So when a VH1 publicist reached out in November about the premiere of the sixth season, I was interested because “Black Ink Crew” has a strong fan base.
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The pitch was that show star Charmaine Walker had set up her own tattoo shop, 2nd City Ink, on the North Side. She had been fired from 9Mag, the Pilsen tattoo shop that is the focus of “Black Ink Crew: Chicago.” The publicist said that Walker was “dominating the tattoo game in a male-dominated business.” This was a story of female empowerment.
This turned out to also be a story about a Chicago business that had some issues — no website, no signs on the outside of the building. Most importantly, the shop was not registered with the Illinois Department of Public Health. Businesses that provide body art services such as tattooing and piercing are required to register with IDPH and get inspected. The story went online Dec. 18, 2019, and it was the subject of Wednesday’s episode of “Black Ink Crew: Chicago.”
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“So the shop’s not registered?”
Damn Charmaine’s getting no slack around 2nd City 😪#BlackInkCHI pic.twitter.com/0LGpt4o0ti — Black Ink Crew (@BlackInkCrew) February 6, 2020
Walker admitted that her shop was not registered with the state, but I watched with surprise as she misrepresented our interview and the timeline of the story’s release. I know, shocker, reality TV isn’t real — I’m just not sure how the inconsistencies served the greater story.
“I came up with the idea to have a local newspaper do a feature on 2nd City Ink, so I did a phone interview with the Chicago Tribune,” Walker said on the episode.
We had, in fact, met at the shop on Dec. 10. Photographer Erin Hooley shot several pictures of Walker after I interviewed her. Walker, a weekend DJ at WGCI-FM 107.5, also made it seem like the story came out after her appearance at WGCI’s Big Jam event at the United Center, when the story was actually posted days before. Walker also said we spoke by phone about when the story would run, but I dealt with the show’s publicist about that.
This is not the first time my reporting has been featured on “Black Ink Crew: Chicago,” and it seems like on next week’s episode, Walker takes issue with the interview I did with 9Mag owner Ryan Henry for the December story. I guess I’ll be tuning in since this may be as close as we get to “reality” TV in Chicago.
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--As Blackhawks look ahead to 5-game trip, Drake Caggiula laments disallowed goal in overtime loss to

As Blackhawks look ahead to 5-game trip, Drake Caggiula laments disallowed goal in overtime loss to Bruins: ‘One of my best goals that will never count’

“ It doesn ’ t really change anything , ” he said after practice at Fifth Third Arena .
“ @ @ @ @ @ there should be some accountability .
If we do something wrong or we make a @ @ @ @ @ fined for it or we get suspended or something like that .
It doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ say , ‘ Sorry , ’ after you take a penalty .
You still get @ @ @

It’s important to know when it’s time to move on, and Drake Caggiula, like the rest of the Blackhawks, didn’t lose any sleep over his disallowed goal late in the third period of Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Bruins.
Caggiula appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal with 1 minute, 5 seconds left in regulation, but an official ruled the puck had reached him via a hand pass from Olli Maatta.
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The goal horn went off and a celebration broke out before the Hawks realized the whistle had blown prior to Caggiula’s shot. Jonathan Toews said afterward an official told him the call on the ice was incorrect and admitted “it was his mistake.” However, the NHL released a statement Thursday that the right call was made.
“Having reviewed the play, our officiating department is certain that the on-ice officials got the call right,” an NHL spokesperson told NBC Sports Chicago. “Maatta redirected the puck with his glove, giving his team an advantage in a zone other than the defensive zone — which is how a hand pass is defined in the rule book. While it is difficult to determine whether the puck hit his stick before it went to a teammate, that is not relevant.
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"Possession and control by the same player who made the hand pass is required to nullify the hand pass — not just a deflection off that player’s stick. The whistle could have been blown earlier and a better announcement made, but neither change whether the call was correct."
On Friday, Caggiula still believed the call was wrong and said he heard an official fess up to making a mistake that cost him what he said was “one of my best goals that will never count.”
“It doesn’t really change anything,” he said after practice at Fifth Third Arena. “(But) I think there should be some accountability. If we do something wrong or we make a bad play, we get fined for it or we get suspended or something like that. It doesn’t really matter if you say, ‘Sorry,’ after you take a penalty. You still get the penalty.
“I just think there needs to be accountability. He admitted his mistake, that’s one big thing. It is what it is now.”
The inability to pick up the extra point in the standings hurt the Hawks, who are in a tight race for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. They open a five-game trip Sunday against the Jets with a chance to create some distance between them and the other contenders.
The Hawks also play the Flames, Oilers and Canucks before returning to Winnipeg to end the trip against the Jets on Feb. 16.
“It’ll be fun to play in big games,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “All five of them, those are against teams we’re battling with for position, and that’s fun.
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“It’s also nice to have these two days to practice and prepare. We had a day off (Thursday), so we’re able to go at it. It’s all about the two days here and making sure our game is as prepared as can be and we’re ready to compete on Sunday.”
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With so many playoff contenders, it can be a little confusing as to whom to root for when they play each other. But Colliton simplified things Friday.
“Best-case scenario is we get points,” he said. “That’s the best thing we can do. And no overtime in the other games. That’s basically the formula.
“But it’s fun. Of course you pay attention, and we’re watching games anyway. Winnipeg-St. Louis playing last night, so pay attention to that one. But it just means you’re in the mix and you’re relevant, and as a competitor that’s what you want to be.”
Adam Boqvist left Wednesday’s game in the second period with a right shoulder injury and didn’t practice Friday. But he was able to get in some skating before practice, and there’s a chance he won’t miss any games.
If he can’t go, newcomer Nick Seeler, picked up off waivers last week from the Wild, likely would see his first action with the Hawks.
“We’ll see,” Colliton said of Boqvist. “He was on the ice a little bit for today. We’re just trying to see where he’s at and we still have tomorrow where he could potentially practice, but we don’t play until Sunday, so there’s some time to figure that out.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--‘They shot Omar?!’ Clerk critically wounded after shooting two armed robbers during exchange of gunf

‘They shot Omar?!’ Clerk critically wounded after shooting two armed robbers during exchange of gunfire at Park Manor neighborhood store

One of the robbers , a 17-year-old boy , was shot in the left leg and left side of the @ @ @ @ @ taken to Comer Children ’ s Hospital .
Another robber , 34 , was shot @ @ @ @ @ he was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center .
The condition of both @ @ @ @ @ under arrest at the hospitals , were stabilized .

Chicago police secure a crime scene on East 71st Street between Michigan Avenue and the Dan Ryan Expressway after shots were fired in the area on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A 32-year-old store clerk was critically wounded by four armed robbers, two of whom were shot by the clerk when they grabbed a cash register at a convenience store on Friday afternoon on the South Side.
About 1:45 p.m., four males walked into a store in the first block of East 71st Street and announced a robbery. When one of them grabbed the cash register, the store clerk pulled his gun and shot two of the robbers, who returned fire, hitting him, police said.
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The clerk was shot in the chest by the robbers and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition. Earlier, police said he had been killed.
One of the robbers, a 17-year-old boy, was shot in the left leg and left side of the body. The boy was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital. Another robber, 34, was shot in the left leg and he was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The condition of both wounded suspects, who were under arrest at the hospitals, were stabilized.
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All four fled the store, but were caught by police a short time later and placed into custody.
Ribbons of police tape crisscrossed 71st Street from Michigan Avenue to State Street, disrupting business at a jerk chicken restaurant and a nearby barbershop.
Passersby asked, “What happened here?”
“Omar got shot,” would come the reply.
And then there was disbelief. “They shot Omar?!?”
Omar, a well-known and well-liked shop owner in the stretch of businesses, was shot and critically wounded. A community resident said Omar would frequently extend credit to customers who were short of cash.
A red SUV sat inside the crime scene with its doors open as a male was transported to an ambulance.
A resident of the community who lives on Indiana Avenue said police are highly visible on the busy corridor and that shop owners with ATM cash dispensers had been cautioned by police to be careful.
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Check back later for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--23 Chicago-area Roman Catholic parishes to close, merge in latest round of restructuring

Several of the new parishes to be created in the mergers haven ’ t been named yet , according to @ @ @ @ @ has a designated board that will evaluate candidates before deciding who will be named pastor @ @ @ @ @ pastors are expected to be named by a few months before the new parishes are @ @ @ @ @ archdiocese .

The Archdiocese of Chicago has announced another round of parish mergers that will close more than a dozen parishes across Chicagoland.
In total, the archdiocese announced 23 parishes would be consolidated into nine parishes, in what is the latest fallout from the archdiocese’s Renew My Church plan.
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From West Rogers Park to the East Side to Elk Grove Village and Waukegan, the latest announcement demonstrates the far-reaching impact the archdiocese’s Renew My Church plan continues to have on Catholics throughout the region, as it continues restructuring the archdiocese in response to changing times and declining membership. Earlier this month, the archdiocese announced the closure of five elementary schools.
Several of the new parishes to be created in the mergers haven’t been named yet, according to the archdiocese. The archdiocese has a designated board that will evaluate candidates before deciding who will be named pastor of each parish. All pastors are expected to be named by a few months before the new parishes are formed, according to the archdiocese.
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“All parishes will embark on the next phase of the renewal process to become a stronger, more sustainable presence for the future, capable of reaching more people in their work of making disciples of Jesus Christ, building communities with one another and inspiring witness in the world around us,” the archdiocese said in the release.
The announcement this week will bring the number of parishes in the archdiocese below the 300 mark, from more than 350 in 2016 and almost 450 in the mid-1980s. Since the early 1970s, the number of Catholics in Cook and Lake counties has dropped from more than 2.4 million to fewer than 2.2 million.
When first announced in 2016, the Renew My Church process, spurred by dwindling ranks of priests and declining numbers of parishioner, was expected to result in the closing of 100 parishes or more.
In practice, while a number of parishes have consolidated, many church buildings have remained open, at least for now, for weekend Masses.
[ Catholic schools in lower-income neighborhoods get $90 million in new funding — a massive investment as schools close across Chicagoland ]
Under the plan announced late Thursday by the archdiocese:
St. Rene Parish and St. Symphorosa Parish in the Clearing neighborhood will merge to form a new parish beginning July 1. The parish leaders will submit parish names to Cardinal Blase Cupich, and he will then decide on the parish’s permanent name. St. Symphorosa will serve as the parish church for the newly formed parish, and its school will remain open.
Four parishes — St. Bride, Our Lady of Heaven, Our Lady of Peace and St. Philip Neri — in the South Shore and Jeffery Manor neighborhoods, will be combined by July 1. The new parish will have a single school at St. Philip Neri. St. Philip will also serve as the parish church. The new parish’s name has not been determined.
Three parishes — St. Henry, St. Margaret Mary and St. Timothy — in the West Rogers Park neighborhood, will unite to form a new parish starting July 1. There will be no changes to Northside Catholic Academy, which has one of its two campuses at St. Margaret Mary, according to the archdiocese.
[ As Chicago-area Catholic schools close, parents hope new funding scheme signals church’s commitment to education ]
St. Simon the Apostle Parish in the Gage Park neighborhood will become part of St. Gall Parish, where St. Gall will operate as the parish church. There will be no changes to St. Gall’s school.
St. Clare of Montefalco in the Gage Park neighborhood will combine with St. Rita of Cascia Parish, with St. Rita serving as the parish church.
Four Far South Side parishes — Annunciata, St. Francis de Sales, St. George and St. Kevin — will unite to form a single parish beginning July 1. Annunciata will serve as the newly formed parish’s church and, St. Annunciata School will serve as the parish’s school.
St. Genevieve Parish and St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Parish in the Cragin neighborhood will be united to form a new parish on July 1. St. Genevieve will be the designated parish church and school.
St. Anastasia Parish and St. Dismas Parish in Waukegan will be combined to form a new parish beginning July 1. St. Dismas will be the parish church. St. Anastasia School will serve as the parish school.
St. Julian Eymard Parish and Queen of the Rosary Parish in Elk Grove Village will form a new parish on July 1. Queen of the Rosary will be the parish church, and Queen of the Rosary School will serve as the parish’s school.
[ Archdiocese, Big Shoulders Fund money to benefit Oak Park’s St. Catherine, St. Lucy school ]


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--Gonnella Baking lays off 40 workers as it stops fresh bread deliveries and transitions into frozen d

Gonnella Baking lays off 40 workers as it stops fresh bread deliveries and transitions into frozen dough

More than half of the workers being laid off are drivers , and the rest are administrative staff , Marcucci @ @ @ @ @ 10 of the workers whose jobs are being eliminated will be offered different positions at @ @

Gonnella Baking is laying off 40 workers as it shutters its fresh bread operation and completes its transition into the frozen dough market.
The Schaumburg-based bread-maker, which was founded in Chicago in 1886 and employs roughly 700 workers, delivered fresh baked bread to other bakeries and suppliers. But the company is increasingly focusing on its frozen bakery products, said Tom Marcucci, vice president of sales and marketing.
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Gonnella has two frozen dough facilities in Schaumburg and another in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania. The company also operates a baking facility in Aurora.
Loaves of bread are transported on automated cooling racks at a Gonnella Bread facility in Aurora in 2003. (E. JASON WAMBSGANS / CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
“We are moving away from our legacy business,” Marcucci said. “We are a major manufacturer of frozen dough, and we want to continue growing that side of the business.”
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Marcucci said Saturday is the last day the company will deliver fresh bread.
More than half of the workers being laid off are drivers, and the rest are administrative staff, Marcucci said. He said about 10 of the workers whose jobs are being eliminated will be offered different positions at Gonnella.
abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--‘A prank that went too far.' 19-year-old accused of walking through Joliet Walmart with ‘I have the

‘A prank that went too far.' 19-year-old accused of walking through Joliet Walmart with ‘I have the Coronavirus’ sign and his 17-year-old accomplice now face charges.

Tyler Wallace , of Joliet , remains in custody at the Will County Jail after he turned himself into Joliet @ @ @ @ @ male , who police said was with Wallace during the incident , has been charged @ @ @ @ @ conduct and criminal trespass and has been referred to juvenile court .

Surveillance photos show two people who entered the Walmart in Joliet and sprayed Lysol throughout the store while wearing a sign inferring they had contracted the coronavirus. (Joliet Police Department)
A 19-year-old who authorities say walked into a Joliet Walmart wearing a face mask and sign reading “Caution I have the Coronavirus” and began spraying Lysol around the store faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, retail theft and criminal trespass to property.
Tyler Wallace, of Joliet, remains in custody at the Will County Jail after he turned himself into Joliet police Thursday. A 17-year-old male, who police said was with Wallace during the incident, has been charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass and has been referred to juvenile court.
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During a court hearing Friday, Judge Brian Barrett lowered Wallace’s bail from $20,000 to $10,000. Wallace told Barrett he anticipates being able to post bond.
Barrett told Wallace he will not be allowed to visit Walmart. When Wallace asked if that meant all Walmart stores, Barrett encouraged Wallace to lay low.
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“Perhaps for a little while, you should just find a quiet place and stay there,” Barrett told Wallace.
Wallace will appear in court again March 6. The 17-year-old is scheduled to appear in juvenile court March 5.
The two teens entered the Joliet Walmart, Illinois Highway 59 and Theodore Street, on Sunday afternoon, Joliet police Sgt. Chris Botzum said. Wallace, who was wearing the mask and sign, allegedly began spraying a substance, later determined to be Lysol, on produce, clothing and health and beauty items in the store.
Police do not believe either teen has the virus.
“It appears to have a prank that went too far,” Botzum said.
Walmart estimates the loss of produce to be more than $7,300 and cleanup costs to be more than $2,400, according to a news release from the Joliet Police Department.
The coronavirus started appearing in Wuhan, China, late last year. More than 33,000 people have been sickened, with at least 600 deaths, mostly in China, according to the World Health Organization.
Nationwide, 12 people have tested positive for coronavirus in six states; 225 tested negative and 100 tests are pending, according to CDC statistics as of Friday.
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Two people from Illinois — a woman who recently visited Wuhan and her husband — had been hospitalized after testing positive but have been released.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter.
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chicagotribune--2020-02-07--Jane Byrne Interchange price tag has gone up again — the bill is now a quarter-billion more than ini

Jane Byrne Interchange price tag has gone up again — the bill is now a quarter-billion more than initial estimates

This year ’ s construction schedule is expected to be especially tough on drivers , with the closing early this @ @ @ @ @ outbound Ida B .
Wells Drive to the outbound Kennedy for demolition and reconstruction .
@ @ @ @ @ closure and reconstruction of the inbound Eisenhower ramp to the outbound Kennedy , as well @ @ @ @ @ outbound Ida B .
Wells ramp to the outbound Dan Ryan , and the inbound @ @ @ @ @ B .
Wells .

Construction continues along Interstate 90/94 at the Jane Byrne Interchange in Chicago on Dec. 11, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The price tag of the Jane Byrne Interchange’s reconstruction has jumped again, by $83.5 million, pushing the cost of the much-delayed project almost 50% higher than its original estimate.
The state blames the increase, in part, on poor soil conditions and stricter-than-anticipated city requirements.
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Started in 2013, rebuilding the juncture of the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways west of the Loop originally was estimated to cost $535.5 million and be finished in June 2018. A Tribune investigation last year detailed how the project quickly ran behind schedule, over budget and with conflicts over who was to blame — and the estimated cost was pushed up to $713 million.
Now, the project’s estimated tab has increased again, to $796.5 million, according to the 2019 Annual Update of the Jane Byrne Interchange Financial Plan, prepared by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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Crews work on the Jane Byrne Interchange on Feb. 6, 2020, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The increase includes $52.9 million in additional construction costs and $24.8 million in new engineering expenses, according to the report.
The report still predicts the state will finish the project and relieve drivers of years of traffic backups by Nov. 1, 2022. But IDOT officials, in an interview, cautioned there remains the possibility of more delays, depending on what crews find as they work and the fickle Chicago weather.
“So if we have a really wet April and May, that’s a big risk to schedule and costs,” said Steve Travia, engineer for project implementation at IDOT. The project will be particularly hard on drivers this year, with several closures planned.
Cost estimates on the project have gone up every year, but the 2019 increase is the largest annual jump since work began, according to state documents.
The revised price tag is due in part to the higher cost to build the retaining walls that line the east and west sides of Interstate 90/94. The state learned of “extremely poor soils in the project area” that required “very robust” retaining walls, the report said.
The IDOT report attributed the “substantially” higher costs for the walls to what it characterized as “new” rules imposed by the city of Chicago on how to build them. But the city told the Tribune the rules were “existing industry standards” that had long been in place, and the city issued “guidance” in 2016 to restate those rules.
IDOT told the Tribune the city didn’t publish the rules until 2016, after the project began.
Construction work on the Jane Byrne Interchange is seen Feb. 6, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
At issue are requirements about how much wiggle a retaining wall can have. IDOT initially worked off its own standard — an inch — but later learned of the city’s stricter requirements. City officials said the less-than-one-inch requirement comes into play when a project is close to buildings and utility lines.
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That has meant digging deeper to build more stout walls, said IDOT Region 1 Engineer Anthony Quigley.
“(With) the soil conditions out there, with the close proximity of the buildings, it made perfect sense to work with the criteria the City of Chicago was used to doing on these projects," Quigley said.
The soil around the project also has contributed to rising costs.
IDOT previously blamed engineering firms it hired for missing poor soil conditions that it said contributed to problems with a wall between the Eisenhower Expressway and University of Illinois at Chicago’s CUPPA Hall, home to the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.
During construction, the building sank so much that it left cracks in the foundation and made it impossible to shut some doors and windows, court records show. Deemed unsafe, it couldn’t be used for a year until repaired.
Officials told the Tribune that IDOT so far hasn’t sought any compensation from consultants or contractors over the issue and, more broadly, noted the difficulty with trying to determine soil conditions before a project begins.
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The Tribune also reported last year that some delays were attributed to the rerouting of utilities, with contractors blaming outside utility companies and city of Chicago crews.
Construction crews work Feb. 6, 2020 on the Jane Byrne Interchange, seen here in a view looking south from West Van Buren Street. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The state’s new report said reconstruction of the Adams Street and Jackson Boulevard bridges over the Kennedy Expressway will cost more due to “structural complexities.” Travia said it’s the unfortunate byproduct of having to build complex designs around an active roadway because some construction details aren’t able to be worked out until well into the project.
The junction, once called the Circle Interchange but also known unofficially as the “spaghetti bowl," has been rated as the biggest bottleneck for truck drivers in the nation by the Federal Highway Administration. The massive reconstruction project is intended to make the interchange safer and reduce traffic delays by more than 50%, according to IDOT.
Engineers knew the project would be complicated from the beginning, because it was confined in such a tight space and lanes had to remain open during construction. The agency also slowed work on the project when it made urgent repairs to another key highway entry point into the city, Interstate 55 at Lake Shore Drive.
Extra costs and delays are common for a project of this magnitude, said P.S. Sriraj, who runs the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He pointed to the biggest increase — surrounding the soil findings and retaining walls.
“Ideally you’d like to do full-scale testing of everything you can (before beginning work), but these are exceptional circumstances,” he said, noting the roadways had to stay open.
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“That’s what you get when you are trying to keep traffic moving and at the same time do a large scale reconstruction.”
In some major projects across the country, to help cut down on costs and late surprises, government agencies can employ a “design-build” model in which one contractor is hired to oversee the entire process, versus the more traditional model of a government agency hiring separate firms to handle separate parts of the design and construction.
But IDOT does not have that statutory authority. Quigley said he couldn’t speak specifically to the merits of it but said, in general, it would offer “another tool in the toolbox.”
Illinois is one of only five states with no design-build authority for transportation, according to the Design-Build Institute of America, a Washington, D.C.-based group that trains design-builders and advocates for the process.
Following last year’s Tribune investigation, IDOT officials acknowledged they could have communicated better with the public about project delays, and said they would do better.
Construction work on the Jane Byrne Interchange south of West Van Buren Street is ongoing on Feb. 6, 2020, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
IDOT established a special website — janebyrneinterchange.org — for drivers that includes documents and updates about the project. A key document is the annual financial plan update, in which IDOT must detail for federal authorities — who are footing most of the bill — any cost overruns and delays.
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While the annual report is completed in the fall, IDOT didn’t post the previous update until March 5, 2019, after the Tribune began asking questions about project delays. IDOT posted its latest update to the site on Jan. 7, six weeks after federal authorities approved it. IDOT said it took time over the holidays to prepare it for publication.
This year’s construction schedule is expected to be especially tough on drivers, with the closing early this month of the ramp from outbound Ida B. Wells Drive to the outbound Kennedy for demolition and reconstruction. Other work will include the closure and reconstruction of the inbound Eisenhower ramp to the outbound Kennedy, as well as ongoing work on the outbound Ida B. Wells ramp to the outbound Dan Ryan, and the inbound Kennedy ramp to inbound Ida B. Wells.
The Adams and Jackson bridges over the Kennedy will close for full reconstruction with a tentative reopening in 2022.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com
jmahr@chicagotribune.com