chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Column: Is Chris Collins on the hot seat at Northwestern? Should he be?

But that ’ s not to say Collins deserves a pass .
His Wildcats are 34-51 since Gonzaga ’ s @ @ @ @ @ through the cylinder in Salt Lake City to effectively end the greatest season in program @ @ @ @ @ in the Big Ten last season and are threatening to repeat with a 1-10 start @ @ @ @ @ 3-17 finish .

Northwestern alumni were so enamored with Chris Collins in 2017, some took offense when writers dubbed him “Basketball Fitz.”
Pat Fitzgerald, they argued, is “Football Collins.”
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Now some of those same people are flooding inboxes and replying to tweets with this question: Is Collins on the hot seat?
The answer: No.
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Should he be? No.
But that’s not to say Collins deserves a pass. His Wildcats are 34-51 since Gonzaga’s Zach Collins put his hand through the cylinder in Salt Lake City to effectively end the greatest season in program history. They bottomed out in the Big Ten last season and are threatening to repeat with a 1-10 start that KenPom.com projects as a 3-17 finish.
Momentum flushed.
Opportunity lost.
So what has gone wrong?
Some of it’s bad luck, but a lot of it is on Collins for questionable decisions on and off the court.
Let’s start with the “on”: The Wildcats’ failures down the stretch Saturday against Purdue were both jarring and totally predictable. Northwestern also collapsed against DePaul, Hartford (yes, Hartford) and Indiana.
The Wildcats took a 58-50 lead on the Boilermakers with 4:34 to play. Then they played not to lose and did just that. The excruciating final stretch featured four missed shots (all 3-pointers) and two turnovers, with Pat Spencer driving into traffic and Ryan Young losing an unnecessary dribble under the basket.
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And the NU defense yielded an open, albeit long, 3-pointer to Sasha Stefanovic, who is tied for fourth in the Big Ten in 3s. Stefanovic nailed it to cap an 11-0 finish.
Northwestern fell to 1-6 in close games as defined by leading or trailing by one possession in the final five minutes.
Sure, it marked progress after the Wildcats got slaughtered at Michigan State 79-50 three days earlier.
And, yes, Northwestern is a young team, as Collins regularly reminds reporters.
A Super Bowl commercial for Northwestern Men's Basketball: pic.twitter.com/yxKizGDVPZ — Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) February 3, 2020
“We closed this game with three freshmen and a sophomore,” he said.
The excuse was valid in November and December, maybe January. Where are we now in the calendar?
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Oh, yeah, Groundhog Day. It fits.
In 2018, the year after the Wildcats were America’s darlings, Northwestern was doomed because of having to play in soul-sucking Allstate Arena. Last year’s team supposedly was wrecked because freshman point guard Jordan Lathon, the heir to Bryant McIntosh, was denied admission five months before the season. This year’s refrain is: But we’re so young.
OK, but a lot of other teams are too.
Northwestern is paying for recruiting whiffs, recruiting misses (i.e. signing the wrong players), a lack of patience (Rapolas Ivanauskas felt he should transfer to Colgate), getting almost nothing from incoming transfers Ryan Taylor and A.J. Turner and not developing players such as Pete Nance, the highest-rated recruit in program history. Nance looks lost, unsure if he’s a big man or a perimeter player.
The team is long but ranks 13th in the Big Ten in rebounding margin. What does that say about its toughness?
Collins has gotten unlucky with injuries, ranging from Ivanauskas’ shoulder to Aaron Falzon’s knee to Vic Law’s toe to this season’s ailments — Anthony Gaines’ season-ending shoulder injury and Boo Buie’s stress fracture that came shortly after he tore up Michigan State and DePaul for a combined 51 points on 62% shooting.
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As for Lathon, it’s hard to claim he would have been a savior. After a promising freshman season at UTEP, he’s a backup whose shooting percentage in 2020 is 0. He is 0-for-17 in eight games.
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Fortunately for Collins, Jim Phillips is the kind of athletic director who would have stuck with Mike Krzyzewski after Coach K went 11-17 in his third season at Duke.
He’s the one who gave Bill Carmody every opportunity to break through, the one who laughed when some grew hostile toward Fitzgerald after back-to-back 5-7 seasons.
Phillips sees a promising nucleus of Buie, Young, Miller Kopp, Robbie Beran and Nance (if he can improve), to be supplemented next season by a healthy Gaines, borderline top-100 recruit Ty Berry, top-250 big man Matt Nicholson, athletic William & Mary transfer Chase Audige and at least one grad transfer to be named.
Will those additions (minus Spencer) be enough to get Northwestern into the NCAA Tournament picture? That’s a stretch.
But Collins, in his seventh season with a contract that runs through 2025, will receive the gift of time from an athletic department that values its NCAA-best 98% graduation rate. It also values continuity.
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Have you heard about the Big Ten basketball program whose coach made the NCAA Tournament once in his first 11 seasons — and was brought back for a 12th?
The coach is Joe McKeown. His women are 19-3, tied atop the Big Ten standings at 9-2. And he reports to work at Northwestern.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Vaginal Davis, a groundbreaking artist and performer, now has a groundbreaking show at the Art Insti

Vaginal Davis, a groundbreaking artist and performer, now has a groundbreaking show at the Art Institute, ‘The White to Be Angry’

The Art Institute exhibit marks a new era for the artist .
The museum is the first institution in the @ @ @ @ @ work , putting it on display to celebrate her and look at a pivotal time @ @ @ @ @ to preserve lo-fi art .
Exhibit co-curators Hendrik Folkerts and Solveig Nelson have created a @ @ @ @ @ events to encompass the diverse iterations of the artist ’ s work and how they @ @ @ @ @ will come to the museum on Wednesday for a free artist talk and on Feb. @ @ @ @ @ will perform to pay homage to Homocore ’ s legacy .

In the 90s, genderqueer performance artist Vaginal Davis created comedic movies on Super 8 and 16mm film with no budget that were constantly rejected by gay and lesbian film festivals. She was often considered to be on the fringe of both the LGBTQ community and the alternative punk scene.
Instead, she created her own community and was part of the founding Homocore movement, a nationwide scene that reinterpreted hardcore punk through queer cultures, zines and music groups of the decade that influenced the feminist punk Riot Grrrl movement. Now she has a video show at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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“Because I wasn’t thought of as sexually attractive within the mainstream (heteronormative) gay scene, there wasn’t a place for me sexually,” Davis said, who was born intersex. “So I was able to just concentrate on keeping myself occupied by doing creative and artistic things.”
Davis is known for her self-published zines, flamboyant and provocative drag performances that challenged authority, films and music in a cappella bands like the Afro Sisters, ¡Cholita! and metal group Pedro, Muriel, and Esther, also known as PME, which performed at local punk venue the Empty Bottle, previewed by the Chicago Tribune in 1995.
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The Los Angeles native, who has lived in Berlin since 2005, has deep Chicago connections and views the city like a second home. She was part of the local Homocore front, during which time she and her group PME recorded its first album, “The White to Be Angry” produced by Steve Albini in 1998.
The next year, Davis directed and produced her prolific video of the same title, which was her declaration challenging constructions of race, class and gender by addressing white supremacy in the political gamut — a critical piece of art that is circling back to the cultural sphere with an exhibit at the Art Institute, “Vaginal Davis: The White to be Angry,” giving the artist a mainstream platform to express her artwork and shed light on her influence, history and contributions to the queer art scene.
“I try not to be all dogmatic and preachy but let people make their own connections,” Davis said about the film. “It parallels all the things that have been going on more recently with all this toxic masculinity.”
“The White to Be Angry” is a visual album of songs that each reference a different film director and comment on race, identity, homosexuality and white privilege through white alt-right characters separated by sequences of appropriated TV footage.
A video still from "The White to Be Angry," a new show about the video work of Vaginal Davis, up until April at the Art Institute. (Art Institute of Chicago)
In her eyes, the current political climate and fear tactics from the Trump administration has created a toxic environment for gender equality and diverse communities, reminiscent of the Reagan era. Davis said it’s funny — and scary — that the themes she hit on in the ’90s are still prevalent.
The Art Institute exhibit marks a new era for the artist. The museum is the first institution in the world to collect her video work, putting it on display to celebrate her and look at a pivotal time in history and culture and to preserve lo-fi art. Exhibit co-curators Hendrik Folkerts and Solveig Nelson have created a program surrounding the exhibit with events to encompass the diverse iterations of the artist’s work and how they influenced each other. Davis will come to the museum on Wednesday for a free artist talk and on Feb. 21, local punk bands will perform to pay homage to Homocore’s legacy.
“What I hope that showing her work in Chicago at this moment in time does is allow the complexities of that history to come forth and to allow more access to it,” said Folkerts.
Nelson said the relevance of “The White to be Angry” questions the relationship between skinheads and white supremacy at a moment when the latter seemed to be a subculture. On the other hand, it looks at an analysis of white supremacy as the dominant culture, she said, which can feel true today from a political perspective.
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“Vaginal seemed very ahead of her time in an ability to analyze both and take some agency over how those fantasies and images are circulating,” Nelson said. “It’s a conceptual art piece and much of it destabilizes language and what we think we know about these topics.”
Davis’ call on racism was true to who she is as a person, said Mark Freitas, co-founder of Homocore Chicago along with Joanna Brown. Homocore Chicago, active from 1992 to 2000, booked punk shows at venues like Czar Bar, the Empty Bottle, Fireside Bowl and more. He said Davis was one of the group’s first big show and her individualism stood out.
“Vag is always Vag,” said Freitas. “Vag is never another personality that is put on. This is who she is all the time.”
She herself said her individualism is one of the reasons she’s still around today. Brown remembers Davis similarly as the “epitome of glamour and cutting edge no one else was doing.”
“It was more than a drag show, it was a complete lifestyle that she lives that was so beautiful,” Brown said.
Reflecting on her Chicago days, Davis remembered a 1999 show at cultural jazz venue HotHouse, formerly in the South Loop until its storefront closed in 2007, in which her punk songs were rearranged into a jazz style by Scott Free, a musician and member of Homocore Chicago who hosts the longest-running queer performance series in the country in Uptown called Homolatte. Backed by a 5-piece jazz combo, the songs surprised Davis because they were a full flip from punk.
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Free, who called Davis the goddess of queer punk, said the jazz performance blew people away because of its originality.
“She told me to start playing the first song and she was not going to come out, and at some point I should just stop,” Free said with a laugh. “After tension filled the room, she came on stage dressed as (a) psychic, doing an improv sketch in drag while jazz played in the background.”
Davis’ prominence in the punk scene and her continuous efforts to challenge authority has made her an influential icon. Free and the founders of Homocore Chicago said she deserves to be recognized at a large institution like the Art Institute.
“It's gratifying to see great art finally get its recognition and to wider audiences too,” Freitas said of the new exhibit.
Davis credits her artistic influence to the simple fact that she didn’t die. On a more serious note, she said the new generation and those part of the modern queer punk scene are looking to Davis as inspiration, thanks to her work as a professor, artist, and lecturer, which has helped put Davis on the social media map. Former students created a Facebook fan page and an Instagram page for the artist, who calls it pentagram.
“I go in and out of vogue every seven years,” she said. “I’ve been around for so long, I kind of get rediscovered.”
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Through April 26, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave. For information, visit www.artic.edu. (Lecture at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Art Institute Fullerton Hall. Free, registration required)
Ariel Parrella-Aureli is a freelance writer.
ct-arts@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @chitribent


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Portillo’s still plans to open on Chicago’s Northwest Side, just a year behind schedule

Portillo ’ s , whose other Chicago locations are in River North and the South Loop , has been expanding @ @ @ @ @ it five years ago from founder Dick Portillo , who started the business selling hot @ @ @ @ @ a parking lot in Villa Park in 1963 .
The chain now has more than @ @ @ @ @ .

Portillo’s fans awaiting the opening of the chain’s promised restaurant on Chicago’s Northwest Side can rest assured that it is still coming — just a year behind schedule. (Grace Wong / Chicago Tribune)
Portillo’s fans awaiting the opening of the chain’s promised restaurant on Chicago’s Northwest Side can rest assured that it is still coming — just a year behind schedule.
The purveyor of hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and chocolate cake shakes a year ago announced plans to open its third city restaurant at Addison and Kimball streets, on the border between the Avondale and Irving Park neighborhoods, by the end of 2019.
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That didn’t happen, but the company is still “very much looking forward to opening” the restaurant, said Randall S. Guse, Portillo’s vice president of real estate.
[ Portillo’s has a new food truck to sling hot dogs, Italian beef and cheese fries across the country — and you can vote where it goes next ]
“It has taken longer than expected to start construction, but we look forward to putting a shovel in the ground in the next two months and opening later this year,” Guse said in an emailed statement.
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At 9,900 square feet and with a “Roaring ‘20s” theme, the new Portillo’s will have seating for more than 280 people, an outdoor patio, a parking lot and a double drive-thru.
Portillo’s, whose other Chicago locations are in River North and the South Loop, has been expanding rapidly since Berkshire Partners purchased it five years ago from founder Dick Portillo, who started the business selling hot dogs from a trailer in a parking lot in Villa Park in 1963. The chain now has more than 60 restaurants across the U.S.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Cards Against Humanity buys parody website ClickHole

“ We are thrilled that Cards Against Humanity has made the very ill-advised financial decision to give us the funding @ @ @ @ @ supplies , such as staplers and TI-83 graphing calculators , ” ClickHole said in a @ @ @ @ @ are giving us the rare opportunity to work with total creative freedom and to run @ @ @ @ @ , which will undoubtedly result in us bankrupting our company .
This can only end @ @ @ @

Dave Pinsof, left, and Eli Halpern of Cards Against Humanity sell the popular game at Gen Con, one of the world's largest gaming conventions, in Indianapolis in 2013. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Cards Against Humanity, the irreverent Chicago-based card game company, bought satirical website ClickHole on Monday from G/O Media for an undisclosed price.
The all-cash deal separates ClickHole, a 6-year-old parody of clickbait websites filled with purposely inane listicles and quizzes, from humor website The Onion, which created it. The sale was first reported by BuzzFeed — one of the websites ClickHole set out to satirize.
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“We are thrilled that Cards Against Humanity has made the very ill-advised financial decision to give us the funding we need to buy business supplies, such as staplers and TI-83 graphing calculators,” ClickHole said in a news release. “They are giving us the rare opportunity to work with total creative freedom and to run our business with zero oversight, which will undoubtedly result in us bankrupting our company. This can only end in disaster.”
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G/O Media, formerly Gizmodo Media Group, is an assemblage of popular websites that also includes The A.V. Club, Jalopnik, Jezebel, Deadspin and The Root. Matt Goodman, a spokesman for G/O Media, gave few details Tuesday about the reasons for the sale, saying it was “a business decision.”
ClickHole was launched under previous owners in 2014 as an offshoot of The Onion. Spanish language broadcaster Univision bought The Onion websites in 2016. Boston-based private equity firm Great Hill Partners bought the digital media portfolio, which had been combined with the remnants of Gawker Media, for an undisclosed price in April.
Founded through a Kickstarter campaign in 2010, Cards Against Humanity has carved out its own niche with a popular party game known for politically incorrect, cutting-edge humor.
“We wanted to purchase ClickHole because we think the team is extremely funny and we wanted them to have the same independence that we are lucky to enjoy,” Max Temkin, co-founder of Cards Against Humanity, said in an email Tuesday.
[ Cards Against Humanity group put up 90-foot taunt of Donald Trump ]
Temkin said ClickHole will remain independent and be majority employee-owned in partnership with Cards Against Humanity, which will supply funding and own a minority stake. ClickHole’s five-person editorial staff will come over to the new corporate entity as part of the deal, Temkin said.
It is unclear if ClickHole will be relocated to the Bucktown offices of Cards Against Humanity, but the operation will remain in Chicago, Temkin said.
ClickHole will be leaving the G/O Media fold, and The Onion’s offices at 730 N. Franklin St., just as Deadspin, the irreverent sports website shut down last fall by a mass exodus of New York staffers, moves in with plans to boost its staff and relaunch.
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[ Chicago-based Cards Against Humanity doles out pieces of Maine island ]
Last month, G/O Media announced it was relocating Deadspin to Chicago after a monthslong standoff between the digital media publisher and the union representing the more than 20 writers and editors who resigned in protest over the website’s direction under private equity ownership.
Jim Rich, who was named editor-in-chief of Deadspin on Jan. 23, opened the Chicago editorial office last week to begin the task of rebuilding the dormant website. There is no target date for relaunch, Goodman said.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Corruption trial for Chicago Ald. Edward Burke won’t happen until at least mid-2021

Prosecutors said in a court filing last week that they wanted to go to trial early next year .
But @ @ @ @ @ have yet to review much of the potential evidence , the judge decided there were @ @ @ @ @ point to set a specific trial date .

Indicted Chicago Ald. Edward Burke will be more than halfway through his record 13th full term in City Council by the time he faces trial on federal racketeering conspiracy charges.
During a brief status hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Dow blocked off his schedule beginning in May 2021 for what’s expected to be a monthlong, blockbuster trial featuring dozens of undercover recordings made by then-Ald. Daniel Solis.
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Prosecutors said in a court filing last week that they wanted to go to trial early next year. But after defense attorneys noted they have yet to review much of the potential evidence, the judge decided there were too many variables at this point to set a specific trial date.
For now, the case could go before a jury anytime between May and July of next year when Burke will be 77.
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“Start thinking about, in that window, what would work for everybody,” Dow told lawyers for both sides.
Neither Burke nor his two co-defendants, longtime 14th Ward political operative Peter J. Andrews and real estate developer Charles Cui, attended Tuesday’s hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. The judge had waived their appearances at the routine hearing..
Burke, 76, a Democratic stalwart and dean of the City Council, was originally charged in a criminal complaint in January 2019. He was indicted four months later on 14 counts including racketeering, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.
Meanwhile, Burke easily won reelection in February 2019 despite the cloud of the charges hanging over his campaign. He would be up for reelection in 2023.
The 59-page indictment outlined a series of schemes in which Burke allegedly tried to muscle developers into hiring his law firm, Klafter & Burke, to appeal their property taxes. Among the projects Burke tried to capitalize on was the massive $800 million renovation of the old main Chicago post office in the West Loop, according to the charges.
Andrews was accused of assisting the alderman in attempting to shake down two businessmen seeking to renovate a Burger King restaurant in the 14th Ward.
The indictment also accused Cui of hiring Burke’s law firm in exchange for the alderman’s help with a sign permit and financing deal for a project in the Portage Park neighborhood.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
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Prosecutors said in their recent court filing they’ve turned over to the defense more than 44,000 pages of records so far, as well as additional electronic discovery and numerous boxes of hard evidence.
In the coming months, prosecutors said, they will be turning over additional evidence on cooperating witnesses in the case.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, said in the filing that they believe that material is “vast” and made up almost entirely of undercover recordings.
Solis, a longtime Burke ally, began working with federal investigators in 2016 after he was himself secretly recorded by a developer. Solis, who abruptly announced his retirement in late 2018, has not been charged with wrongdoing.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Buffalo Grove teen, known for bringing the suburb its first Pride parade, named Human Rights Campaig

Buffalo Grove teen, known for bringing the suburb its first Pride parade, named Human Rights Campaign youth ambassador

“ It ’ s a huge deal to me , ” said Molly about being selected for the position .
@ @ @ @ @ because our family has been following HRC for a while .
We have lots of @ @ @ @ @ such good work .
It ’ d be really amazing to work for them and @ @ @ @ @ country .
”

Molly Pinta, a Buffalo Grove teen known for spearheading Buffalo Grove's inaugural Pride parade this summer, was named a 2020 Human Rights Campaign Foundation youth ambassador. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Molly Pinta was 12 years old when she began the work to bring Buffalo Grove, her hometown, it’s first ever Pride parade last summer.
The inaugural event, which was held June 2 and brought more than 7,000 attendees and had more than 80 groups and organizations participate, was put on by The Pinta Pride Project, the nonprofit founded by Molly and her parents.
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Shortly after, Molly led Chicago’s annual Pride parade as the youth grand marshal, becoming the youngest to hold the position to date.
These are no small feats, and yet, there’s more for the now eighth grader.
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Molly has been named a 2020 youth ambassador for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). She is among 12 other teens and young adults in the country to receive the honor, which is through HRC Foundation’s Youth Well-Being Program.
As a youth ambassador for HRC, Molly and other LGBTQ advocates will lend their voices, expertise and experiences “to raise awareness about the most pressing concerns facing LGBTQ youth,” according to the website.
The youth ambassadors serve a two-year term and have to apply for the position. This is Molly’s first year, as it is for four others.
“It’s a huge deal to me,” said Molly about being selected for the position. “It means so much because our family has been following HRC for a while. We have lots of bumper stickers and they do such good work. It’d be really amazing to work for them and do good work for the country.”
One of the biggest opportunities the position provides is allowing the youth ambassadors to meet one another, as well as other leaders, at HRC’s national conference, explained Carolyn Pinta, Molly’s mother.
The annual conference is specifically for “youth-serving professionals to learn how they can create safe, inclusive and welcoming environments for LGBTQ youth,” according to the HRC Foundation’s Youth Well-Being Program’s website. The conference will be held in Washington, D.C., this year and starts next week.
“I am so excited to meet the other youth ambassadors (at the conference),” said Molly. “They’re probably amazing role models and a lot of people who are just like me who want to make change to the world. They do amazing activism and I would love to hear their experiences since they’re all across the country.”
All 13 of the youth ambassadors will play a special role in the conference, such as speaking or being on a panel, explained Carolyn Pinta. Molly will have the honor of speaking at the conference’s opening ceremony.
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“I’m a little nervous, but I hope I do well,” said Molly, who already has a speech prepared. “I’m really excited about it.”
Molly and her family first learned about being an ambassador more than a year ago in the fall, said Carolyn Pinta, but they had to wait a year since Molly wasn’t 13 yet, the minimum age to apply for the position.
“We reached out a year later and went through the whole application process,” said Carolyn Pinta.
Molly was at school when she learned she got the position. Her mom, who works as a Spanish teacher at her daughter’s middle school, pulled her out of class to quietly share the news.
“I jumped up and down and ran back into class smiling,” said Molly. “I was so, so excited, it was amazing.”
Both sets of Molly’s grandparents will accompany her on the trip, until her parents, who are both teachers, arrive a little later.
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“We’re so excited to just let her spread her wings and fly,” said Carolyn Pinta. “I am going to try not to step into anything at all, and just let her take on the persona of who she is.”
chrjohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Shannen Doherty says she is battling a recurrence of breast cancer that has progressed to stage four

`` I 'd rather people hear it from me .
I do n't want it to be twisted .
I @ @ @ @ @ be a court document .
I want it to be real and authentic , '' @ @ @ @ @ want people to know from me , I just did n't want them to know @ @ @

Shannen Doherty is battling a recurrence of breast cancer that has progressed to stage four, telling fans “it's a bitter pill to swallow.”
"I definitely have days where I say, ‘Why me?’ And then I go, ‘Well, why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us do," Doherty told “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. "I don't think I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."
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The actress from “Charmed” and “Beverly Hills, 90210” first revealed she had breast cancer in 2015 and charted her battle with the disease and its remission on social media.
She said one reason she came forward to say it has returned is because her health conditions could come out in court. The actress has sued insurance giant State Farm after her California home was damaged in a fire in 2018.
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"I'd rather people hear it from me. I don't want it to be twisted. I don't want it to be a court document. I want it to be real and authentic," Doherty said. "I want people to know from me, I just didn't want them to know yet."
Doherty, 48, has been working on a reboot of “BH90210” and kept the diagnosis mostly secret. “People with stage four can work, too. Our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do,” she said.


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--We taste Old Bay Hot Sauce — which sold out in an hour — and it’s really good

I have a bottle of Old Bay Hot Sauce .
Here , on my desk .
You can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ according to McCormick & Co. of Maryland , the owners of Old Bay , small @ @ @ @ @ reach grocery stores , sometime this month .
Then you can have it .
But @ @ @ @ @ you want to spend $ 30 on eBay for 10 ounces of what will retail @ @ @ @ @ have to wait .
Last week , when Old Bay made a surprise announcement about @ @ @ @ @ many could not wait ; perhaps you heard , when a first batch of the @ @ @ @ @ through the Old Bay website , it sold out in less than an hour .

Old Bay Hot Sauce tastes as idiosyncratic as its Baltimore home, with vinegar at the front, and a touch more bite then the original seasoning mix. (McCormick & Co.)
I have a bottle of Old Bay Hot Sauce. Here, on my desk. You can’t have it. Soon, according to McCormick & Co. of Maryland, the owners of Old Bay, small bottles of the stuff will reach grocery stores, sometime this month. Then you can have it. But at the moment, unless you want to spend $30 on eBay for 10 ounces of what will retail for $3.49, you have to wait. Last week, when Old Bay made a surprise announcement about the new hot sauce, many could not wait; perhaps you heard, when a first batch of the hot sauce went on sale through the Old Bay website, it sold out in less than an hour.
Perhaps, during a week defined by probable pandemics, certain Brexits and foundational fears about the sturdiness of democracy, we need a manufactured crisis.
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If so, your ridiculousness was not in vain.
Having spent a weekend with Old Bay Hot Sauce, I can assure you: It’s a wonderful thing, a blessing, a milestone in our cultural record that must not go unremarked upon.
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In other words, really good.
I asked several people here at the Tribune, fans of hot sauces, to take a taste, and in a moment, share their thoughts. But first, my own: You’re struck immediately by how tangy it is, the distilled vinegar in its recipe waving at the front of your tongue. (My wife thought it makes everything taste vaguely like a bloody mary.) Next, you notice it’s not super hot, that it probably won’t win over fans of extreme sauces. However, as a fan of hot sauce that doesn’t obscure the food beneath it, this was appreciated. (Old Bay Hot Sauce should not be mistaken for a novelty condiment trotted out to test your steel taste buds.)
Instead, it offers just a touch more bite (probably thanks to aged cayenne pepper) than the distinctive, 81-year-old seasoning itself, which is a proprietary mix of several spices, including mustard, paprika, pimento, celery salt and cardamom. Old Bay recommends it for soups and chili, but I found it worked like a dream on chips, crackers or leftover fried chicken eaten while standing in your kitchen at 2 in the morning. You get the heat and a pungent whiff of vinegar in tandem, then a second crack of heat, and then your food.
It tastes, I suppose, like a hot sauce for people who want to be thought of as hot-sauce people — but less gentrified than that sounds — a little too unique to satisfy everyone.
Meaning, it’s as idiosyncratic as its Baltimore home, which, for decades, held Old Bay close to its chest. Gustav Brunn, the creator of Old Bay, was a German Jew who fled Germany with his family in the late 1930s; as legend has it, he carried only a spice grinder. He saw the need for a ready-made seasoning for local crab boils and made his name. Ever since, the Chesapeake Bay region has been synonymous with heaps of blue crabs covered in the fine red crust of Old Bay. But slowly, yellow and blue metal Old Bay canisters found their way into Southern seafood recipes and pockets of New England. (No less than Red Sox great Ted Williams tossed Old Bay into his chowder.)
Today, across the country, it’s not unusual to find Old Bay on french fries, in bloody marys and potato salads, and sprinkled into buckets of popcorn; no less than Alinea has coated the oyster crackers that it makes for its own chowder with a dusting of Old Bay.
Can Old Bay Hot Sauce expand the cult? During a newsroom tasting, I heard:
Joe Gray, Tribune food editor: “If you sprinkle the dry (Old Bay) blend on a chicken sandwich, you’re eating those spices. This is more of a medium to carry a flavor along.”
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Carmel Carrillo, entertainment editor (former Baltimore resident): “Oh, there’s an unexpected sweetness — it’s not a hot sauce really, but it does have a certain kick.”
Ariel Cheung, real estate editor (and former food writer): “Reminds me of the vinegarness of a New Orleans hot sauce — a good amount of spice, but not too much.”
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Adam Lukach, food writer: “Doesn’t quite feel like a hot sauce, but very vinegary.”
Kevin Williams, entertainment editor: “More tomatoey than peppery.”
Ben Meyerson, content editor (and University of Maryland graduate): “Huge Old Bay notes. But more Old Bay than hot sauce. If I had a raw bar, I’d put it on all day long.”
Kasondra Van Treeck, photo editor: “There are so many seasonings in there I would have to think about what I am putting this on — it’s more than just another hot sauce.”
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Nick Kindelsperger, food writer: “I find it hilarious the first ingredient (listed) is ‘hot sauce.’ It is a very distinctive mix, one that I can see fans of Old Bay latching on to. But I don’t see this converting many people. It has a strong celery-seed profile, which I think would clash with a number of foods. However, I can imagine it being a fine bloody mary mixer.”
According to Old Bay, its next batch of hot sauce will go on sale online soon.
cborrelli@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--Chicago has the most romantic restaurants in US, according to OpenTable — and they’re not all steakh

Chicago has the most romantic restaurants in US, according to OpenTable — and they’re not all steakhouses

If we ’ re being picky , this list could more accurately be titled 100 Best Restaurants Most Often Marked @ @ @ @ @ Users .
The methodology process takes restaurants with a minimum qualifying score and number of @ @ @ @ @ 2018 and Nov. 30 , 2019 , then sorts the remaining restaurants by what percentage @ @ @ @ @ ” as a feature .

The dining room at Gibsons Italia affords views of the river and skyscrapers beyond. Isn't that romantic? (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Romance blossoms over steak dinners — at least if you’re in Chicago, apparently.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, restaurant reservation service OpenTable has released one of its user lists today, the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America. Chicago landed 11 placements, the most of any city in the country, and five of those 11 are steakhouses or Italian restaurants downtown, including Gibsons Italia, Maple & Ash, RPM Italian, RPM Steak and Steak 48.
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Illinois also boasted the most overall restaurants of any state with 12. Pennsylvania and California each were second with 8.
The lone non-Chicago spot from Illinois is the Lombard location of Capital Grille, a steakhouse with multiple outlets, including one near the Magnificent Mile.
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[ Table for two: The most romantic restaurant in every state ]
The rest of the Chicago roster features the usual suspects: West Loop stalwarts like Aba, Boka and Girl & the Goat; tapas favorite Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba; and popular Vietnamese spot Le Colonial.
The most surprising name is probably RL Restaurant, the Ralph Lauren restaurant near the Museum of Contemporary Art. Then again, Ralph, ambiance, etc.
If we’re being picky, this list could more accurately be titled 100 Best Restaurants Most Often Marked “Romantic” By OpenTable Users. The methodology process takes restaurants with a minimum qualifying score and number of reviews between Dec. 1, 2018 and Nov. 30, 2019, then sorts the remaining restaurants by what percentage of users marked “romantic” as a feature.
You can see the full list on OpenTable’s website.
Valentine’s Day specials: 26 restaurants featuring romantic dinners for you and your date.
adlukach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--1 ejected when ambulance hits car stopped on shoulder of Veterans Memorial Tollway near Lockport

Illinois state troopers were called about 6 a.m. to milepost 4.5 on Veterans Memorial Tollway near the Homer and Will @ @ @ @ @ a news release .
The driver of the ambulance , which did not contain any @ @ @ @ @ likely caused the crash when the ambulance crossed over onto the right shoulder , striking @ @ @ @ @ .

Three people were injured, one of them seriously, when an ambulance crashed into a car stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 355 on Tuesday morning, officials said.
Illinois state troopers were called about 6 a.m. to milepost 4.5 on Veterans Memorial Tollway near the Homer and Will county line, according to a news release. The driver of the ambulance, which did not contain any patients at the time, likely caused the crash when the ambulance crossed over onto the right shoulder, striking a stopped black Volkswagen Passat.
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It wasn’t immediately clear why the Passat was on the shoulder. When the Superior Ambulance bus hit the rear of the Passat, the impact caused the ambulance to roll onto its side and push the Passat across all lanes of traffic, partially ejecting its driver, according to the release from Trooper Duane Chappell, a spokesman for state police.
Emergency crews from the Lockport Township Fire Protection District pulled the driver of the Passat from the vehicle and took the driver to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, officials said.
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The driver and a passenger in the ambulance were being treated for injuries not considered life-threatening, Chappell said.
The crash remains under investigation. Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-02-04--My worst moment: ‘Criminal Minds’ star Paget Brewster and the clothing snafu

“ I get the gas , go back to the Volvo and fill it up and now I have to @ @ @ @ @ no time to go home and change clothes .
And I get there and I @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Listen , I know I shouldn ’ t be dressed like this but I @ @ @ @ @ just couldn ’ t get home in between.
’ I was auditioning to play a @ @ @ @ @ and I should have been in a gingham Laura Ashley dress for this .
And @ @ @ @ @ to cover the bottom of my ( butt ) cheeks because I was wearing short @ @ @ @ @ .

After 15 seasons, the CBS procedural “Criminal Minds” is coming to an end. Paget Brewster, who plays unit chief Emily Prentiss, joined the show in Season 2 and stayed for six years. Though Brewster stepped away for a few years, she returned once again for the show’s last four years.
Brewster said it was fans who convinced her to come back. During her hiatus they would approach her “in the airport or the supermarket or in the bathrooms at movie theaters and be like, ‘Why aren’t you on the show anymore?’ And it kind of wore me down and I was like, ‘Why am I not on that show anymore?’ And (the producers) had continued to ask me back, so finally I was like, ‘Of course I should be back here.'”
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Brewster is just as comfortable doing comedy, including a memorable stint in “Friends” as both Joey and Chandler’s love interest Kathy (she said she’s still recognized for it) and a recurring role this season on the CBS sitcom “Mom.” And periodically she gamely takes on the duties of intoxicated narrator for the Comedy Central series “Drunk History.” She will also have a recurring role in the second season of CBS’ summer action-adventure series “Blood & Treasure.”
Paget Brewster plays Emily Prentiss on the CBS drama "Criminal Minds." (Michael Yarish/CBS)
When asked to share a worst moment from her career, it was a hectic day early in her career that Brewster recalled, when she had just relocated from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1996.
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My worst moment …
“I had done plays in San Francisco, but I had never had an agent. So suddenly I’m at UTA (the talent agency) and my agent is sending me out on auditions. On this one day I had two auditions and I’m thinking, oh yeah, now things are cooking! I’m gonna be a star!
“The first audition was for a prostitute, which is what every actress goes out for until you’re 35. So I went down to Hollywood Boulevard and I got the fake patent leather thigh-high ‘Pretty Woman’ boots and hot pants.
“I got in my car, I had this really old Volvo with a broken gas gauge, and went all the way over west in Los Angeles and auditioned for the prostitute — I don’t remember what (show or film) it was for — got back in the car to drive home and change, but the car died because it had no gas in it.
“So I had to walk five blocks down Pico Boulevard with a gas can dressed like a hooker — people are honking at me — because I didn’t know enough to have a change of clothes in the car. This isn’t even the story, I’m telling you the preamble!
“I get the gas, go back to the Volvo and fill it up and now I have to get the next audition, no time to go home and change clothes. And I get there and I probably said something like, ‘Listen, I know I shouldn’t be dressed like this but I had another audition and I just couldn’t get home in between.’ I was auditioning to play a nanny in a made-for-TV movie and I should have been in a gingham Laura Ashley dress for this. And instead I’m trying to cover the bottom of my (butt) cheeks because I was wearing short shorts and high plastic boots.
Paget Brewster has toggled comfortably between drama (seen here in "Criminal Minds") and comedy (first making her mark on "Friends" as Chandler's girlfriend Kathy). (Cliff Lipson/CBS)
“The movie was about a nanny that goes to work for a mafia boss to take care of his little kid and they fall in love and then he finds out she’s not a nanny, she’s an undercover agent, so the audition was the scene where she’s confronted by the mob boss.
“So I walk into the room and the casting director is there with a couple other people and they’ve got a big box of cookies in front of them. And they said, ‘Is it OK if we eat?’ Which, I didn’t realize at the time, casting people are not supposed to eat while they’re auditioning you. Now I know better — I’m haunted by the sound of the cookie crunching — but I said, ‘Yeah. Go ahead, it’s fine.’
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“So I start the scene and I’m giving it my all. The mafia boss is supposed to be strangling me while I say I love him, so now I’m on the floor, on my knees, strangling myself, saying, ‘But Antonio, I love you!’ And between that and the crunching sound of cookies, I knew it wasn’t happening. And I put my hands down on the ground, so I’m all fours, and I look up at them and I said, ‘This isn’t working, is it?’ And they were all like, ‘Nope,’ and kept eating their cookies.
“It was devastating. And I left feeling depressed and I got in my broken Volvo dressed like a prostitute and cried all the way home. And it was not the last time I cried all the way home. That happens all the time when you’re first auditioning and you don’t know anything — you have this fantasy that in the room they’re going to say, ‘You’re the one, kid! The part’s yours!’
“Weirdly, even though it was so cringe-worthy and I did everything wrong, I’m still kind of proud that despite my inexperience, I still had the courage to go to the audition dressed like that. And that I was able to just call it in the middle of the audition and say, ‘This is not working out’ — I sometimes wonder if I would do that now as a 50-year-old woman in an audition and actually just go, ‘I think we can all agree I’m not getting this part.’
“But I’m proud of that naive, scrappy little dum-dum who had just moved to LA and got gas looking like a hooker and still went to the audition.
"Criminal Minds" comes to an end after 15 seasons on CBS. (Brandon Hickman/CBS)
“Not long after that, I got cast in a pilot with Dana Gould and Kevin McDonald of ‘Kids in the Hall’ and that didn’t get picked up. And then the first job I got (a few months later) that aired was ‘Friends.’ That was huge. It was the biggest show on the air at the time. But I guarantee you, the week before I auditioned for ‘Friends’ I was probably still hung up on an audition I didn’t get — I don’t remember what that other thing was, but I bet you I was crying about it.”
Does she still wear costumes to auditions?
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“Absolutely. I’ve never not done it. And if it’s a period piece, I have all those clothes. I have a dedicated bedroom in my home that’s a walk-in closet — they show it on ‘Drunk History’ all the time — because I love dressing up for auditions. I can go as a cavewoman, I can go as a grim reaper, I can go as a boss or therapist. I love dressing up for auditions.
“But now I have entire outfits in my car ready to go. And I have a black wrap dress, nude heels and earrings in the car right now just in case I need to change into something normal.”
The takeaway …
“When I audition now, I’m aware that everything happens the way it’s supposed to happen. So I’ll go in and I’ll think: OK, I’m going to do it the way I want to do it, and if they want to hire me, they hire me. Oh, they hired Lauren Graham? She’s great! Oh, they hired Judy Greer? Awesome. It doesn’t matter, we all do different jobs. And if you don’t get this job, it means you’re free to get something else that you don’t even know exists yet.
“I think the reason why that experience was so — I didn’t even realize it was funny until I started telling my actress friend Maria Thayer. A few years ago we were just sitting around having wine and she said, ‘What was your worst audition?’ and I was like, ‘Ugh, this one,’ and we were laughing while I was telling her about. But I never thought it was funny until that moment, I still remembered it as deeply upsetting. And when she asked me about it I realized, this thing that had been so humiliating for me and I felt so dumb and naive? It’s actually funny! I haven’t told anyone this story except you and Maria.”
Paget Brewster answers questions about "Criminal Minds" during a press tour. (RENE MACURA / Associated Press)
nmetz@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and health officials discuss Illinois coronavirus cases

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker and state health officials are scheduled to provide an update on the coronavirus in Illinois at @ @ @ @ @ the latest updates here .

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chicagotribune--2020-03-30--OPRF High School staff donates more than 20,000 gloves, goggles to hospitals serving COVID-19 patien

OPRF High School staff donates more than 20,000 gloves, goggles to hospitals serving COVID-19 patients

“ The lights were all low and it was kind of erie because March 13 was our last day [ @ @ @ @ @ ] , ” McGrail said .
“ We use goggles several times a week , @ @ @ @ @ the goggles would be in the chemistry classrooms and we have some standard areas we @ @ @ @ @ physics classrooms .
It was nice to come across boxes of gloves that were unopened @ @ @ @ @ going to be helpful too .
”

Oak Park and River Forest High School science teacher Amy McGrail (from left), English teacher Paul Noble and assistant superintendent Greg Johnson collect gloves and goggles March 27 from the high school to donate to Rush University Medical Center staff, who are helping patients battle the COVID-19 virus. (Paul Noble)
When she put out a call for donations of personal protective equipment on social medial, Oak Park resident Evie Kavinsky had no idea it would be met so quickly, and in such a big way.
Kavinsky, whose husband Clifford works as a cardiologist at Rush University Medical Center, heard of a need for protective eyewear from a number of healthcare worker friends and colleagues who are treating COVID-19 patients. This led her to ask for PPE donations through a Facebook post on March 23.
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Oak Park and River Forest High School science teacher Amy McGrail (left) and assistant superintendent Greg Johnson collect gloves and goggles March 27 to donate to Rush hospital staff who are helping patients battle the COVID-19 virus. (Paul Noble)
“They said they were trying to find goggles online from hardware stores, but they were sold out,” Kavinsky said. “I heard some institutions were changing their guidelines on who needs eyewear due to the shortage. I sense there’s a lot of attention for the need for gloves and masks, but the need for protective eyewear isn’t getting as much attention. I contacted several hospitals and Rush got back to me saying there was a need.”
Seeing a report in St. Louis that local high schools were donating goggles, gloves and other protective equipment from school science labs, Kavinsky reached out to Oak Park and River Forest High School teacher Paul Noble to see if a similar donation was possible.
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An English teacher, Noble began reaching out to his colleagues and administrators to see if the school could help, and by March 26, a plan came together.
“[Kavinsky] reached out to me directly and asked if I knew anybody who might be able to do this,” Noble said. “I reached out to our union chair and she spoke with superintendent Joylynn Pruitt-Adams and they were totally up for this.”
Oak Park and River Forest High School Assistant Superintendent Greg Johnson (left) and science teacher Amy McGrail collect gloves and goggles March 27 to donate to Rush hospital staff who are helping patients battle the COVID-19 virus. (Paul Noble)
After finalizing plans, Noble, science teacher Amy McGrail and assistant superintendent Greg Johnson met at OPRF High School the morning of March 27 to begin collecting supplies to donate to Rush hospital.
“The lights were all low and it was kind of erie because March 13 was our last day [of classes inside the building],” McGrail said. “We use goggles several times a week, so I knew where all the goggles would be in the chemistry classrooms and we have some standard areas we keep them in biology and physics classrooms. It was nice to come across boxes of gloves that were unopened because I know those are going to be helpful too.”
For two hours that Friday morning, the trio walked through the empty school building with borrowed trash bags to gather any goggles and eyewear they could find.
“As much as I’d love for my students to be using the goggles right now, being repurposed for something that is so much bigger than what we’re doing is so important,” McGrail said.
In addition to finding about 800 pairs of goggles, the trio found 18 unopened cases of gloves, or about 8,000 pairs, which were also packed up for donation.
Oak Park and River Forest High School assistant superintendent Greg Johnson loads gloves and goggles into English teacher Paul Noble's van March 27. The items were donated to Rush hospital staff who are helping patients battle the COVID-19 virus. (Paul Noble)
“There was a need in the community and we shouldn’t be holding onto these things,” Johnson said. “Amy was great because she knew where all this stuff was. Within two hours, we went through all our classrooms and closets to find all these things.”
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McGrail and Johnson then helped Noble load the supplies into his van, which he then drove to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago to be dispersed amongst Rush hospitals.
“We thought if we can get this working out in our hometown, that it could become a trend,” Noble said. “It shows everyday people can do something extraordinary. We did walk through these classrooms joking we weren’t going to do any more labs this year, but obviously the medical people who are risking their lives need this stuff.”
Kavinsky said her husband is currently working in one of the hospital’s new intensive care units as part of a “surge force,” which is caring for critically ill COVID-19 patients.
“I know he and his colleagues at Rush greatly appreciate the donation from OPRF,” Kavinsky said. “I reached out to people on Monday and by Thursday, the donation at OPRF had been approved. That was incredible.”
Oak Park and River Forest High School English teacher Paul Noble drove nearly 20,000 gloves and goggles collected from the high school to donate to Rush University Medical Center staff, who are helping patients battle the COVID-19 virus. (Paul Noble)
In addition to OPRF offering its assistance, Kavinsky said other school districts have reached out to her in an effort to organize similar donations.
The trip was also not the first time Johnson had entered the school recently to gather materials to donate. One week earlier, at the urging of board member Tom Cofsky, Johnson went to OPRF to search for masks and gloves.
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“Last week, I found 200 masks and 300 gloves that we were able to donate,” Johnson said. “Tom Cofsky took that stuff to Rush. It was definitely the right thing to do.”
sschering@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @steveschering


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Shaq defends self in ‘Tiger King’ backlash, saying Joe Exotic is ‘not my friend’

`` I love tigers , '' O'Neal said at the top of Wednesday 's episode .
`` I was just @ @ @ @ @ [ Exotic ] — not my friend .
I do n't know him .
Never @ @ @ @ @ him , and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on .
@

Shaquille O'Neal is clawing his way out of controversy surrounding his surprise appearance in the hit Netflix docuseries "Tiger King."
On the latest episode of "The Big Podcast With Shaq," the NBA superstar addressed the backlash he has received for once supporting Joe "Tiger King" Exotic, who is currently serving time in an Oklahoma prison for animal abuse and a murder-for-hire scheme.
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At one point in the series, O'Neal makes a brief cameo, stopping by Exotic's G.W. Zoo, posing for photos with the wildlife and even giving the infamous tiger tamer a shout-out on "Inside the NBA."
"I love tigers," O'Neal said at the top of Wednesday's episode. "I was just a visitor. I met [Exotic] — not my friend. I don't know him. Never had any business dealings with him, and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on."
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The former Lakers player explained that he returned to the zoo “a couple times” after being lured in by a “tiger sanctuary” sign while on the road for a game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder years ago.
Former NBA player Shaquille O' Neal is interviewed on the red carpet for Shaq's Fun House, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in Miami. (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Though he initially made some donations "for the tiger food," O'Neal eventually cut off all ties with Exotic and his "sanctuary" after learning more about what went on behind the scenes at G.W.
"We find out that he's involved with all this stuff, and actually I stopped going," O'Neal said. "I'm righteous. I don't harm tigers. ... Do I put donations to zoos to help these tigers out? I do ... Do I own tigers personally at my house? No. But I love tigers."
The basketball icon and analyst later revealed that he — like many others — has already “binge-watched” all of “Tiger King,” adding, “It’s actually a really good documentary.”
O'Neal said that the fallout from his past with Exotic hasn't changed his love for wild animals.
“I will continue to go to people’s sanctuaries and farms and look at cats,” he said. “That’s not going to stop me.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Coronavirus pandemic leads to extension of Chicago Police Department reform deadlines

COVID-19 appears likely to further delay a process that already was lagging .
In November , the former federal prosecutor @ @ @ @ @ ’ s progress , Maggie Hickey , wrote that the city missed 37 of its @ @ @ @ @ of the decree .
The consent decree is the result of the push for reform @ @ @ @ @ years ago with the release of video of a white police officer shooting black teenager @ @ @ @ @

The coronavirus pandemic is slowing the court-overseen process of reforming the Chicago Police Department.
U.S District Judge Robert Dow Jr. has granted the city’s request for an extension of deadlines in the consent decree, a broad court order mandating changes to training, policy, supervision and discipline for the troubled department over the next five years.
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Dow’s Friday order extends the deadlines 30 days or until Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifts his stay-at-home order, whichever is later. Pritzker’s directive is set to expire April 7 but the governor has suggested it could go on longer.
The city’s lawyers stated in a motion Thursday that “CPD personnel are on the front lines of the city’s response to the public health concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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Along with the new challenges facing cops, the city’s motion said that civilian personnel, including those in the unit responsible for implementing the consent decree, were being deployed to “perform critical city functions necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and respond to the rapidly changing needs of the community.”
“Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its ripple effects has become the top priority for the city and CPD,” the city’s lawyers wrote.
COVID-19 appears likely to further delay a process that already was lagging. In November, the former federal prosecutor tasked with monitoring the city’s progress, Maggie Hickey, wrote that the city missed 37 of its 50 deadlines for implementing parts of the decree. The consent decree is the result of the push for reform that started more than four years ago with the release of video of a white police officer shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.
Chicago police control traffic while the Illinois National Guard runs a coronavirus testing site for first responders March 23 on the Northwest Side. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Neither Hickey nor lawyers for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul objected to the delay, city attorneys wrote. Raoul inherited a role in the litigation from his predecessor, Lisa Madigan, who sued the city to force the reforms in 2017 after then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel wavered on the need for court oversight.
Dow’s order comes amid a wider slowdown in the federal courts. Locally, Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer suspended most criminal and civil actions at the federal courthouses in downtown Chicago and Rockford — aside from emergencies — until at least April 6.


Singer-songwriter John Prine

Singer-songwriter John Prine was born and raised in suburban Maywood and worked as a mailman .


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Lookingglass Theatre Company announces 2020-21 season

Up next is the adaptation of Charlotte Brontë 's “ Villette ” ( Feb. 5-Apr .
25 , 2021 ) @ @ @ @ @ will adapt the novel by the “ Jane Eyre ” author .
The play tells @ @ @ @ @ in Belgium in the 1800s .
Ensemble member Tracy Walsh will direct this world premiere @

The playwrights of Lookingglass Theatre Company's upcoming season: Sara Gmitter, Matthew C. Yee and Mary Zimmerman. (Lookingglass Theatre Company photo)
On Monday, Lookingglass Theatre Company announced its 2020-21 season, including two world premiere productions.
The season will kick off with the reprise of “The Odyssey” (Oct. 9-Jan. 10, 2021). From the Robert Fitzgerald translation of Homer’s epic poem, ensemble member Mary Zimmerman will write and direct.
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Up next is the adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's “Villette” (Feb. 5-Apr. 25, 2021). Artistic associate Sara Gmitter will adapt the novel by the “Jane Eyre” author. The play tells the story of Lucy Snow in Belgium in the 1800s. Ensemble member Tracy Walsh will direct this world premiere.
The season will conclude with the world premiere of “Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon” (May 28 – Aug. 8, 2021). This new musical, with music, lyrics and book by artistic associate Matthew C. Yee, tracks a young Asian American couple taking a road trip following their wedding. Amanda Dehnert will direct.
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All performances will take place at Lookingglass Theatre, 821 N Michigan Ave.
For more information, visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org
hgreenspan@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Anthony Rizzo says to expect ‘crazy’ things when baseball comes back. But first, ‘invest in yourself

Anthony Rizzo says to expect ‘crazy’ things when baseball comes back. But first, ‘invest in yourself.’

`` There ’ s a lot of people in tough times right now , and we ’ re just trying @ @ @ @ @ we can , '' @ ARizzo44 , of the Chicago @ Cubs , says about @ @ @ @ @ amid the novel coronavirus pandemic .
https : //t.co/6GtIoekOe1 '' We 're going to get @ @ @ @ @

Anthony Rizzo wants a different style of baseball when the sport resumes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“When it gets all going, I’m sure you’re going to see a lot of crazy ideas thrown out there,” Rizzo said Monday on WMVP-AM 1000’s “Kap & Co.” show. “But I don’t think anything is crazy at this point when it comes to starting back up and scheduling, traveling.
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“Whatever we can do to bring the best entertainment and a different kind of spark that baseball brings.”
Rizzo wants to make baseball “as exciting as we can,” adding that if play resumes in 2020, “it’s going to be a sprint.”
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He said players want to play as many games as possible, even if it means playing doubleheaders.
“If it’s a short season, we can make it exciting from the get-go,” Rizzo said. “That would be really good for the game and good entertainment for everyone.
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“It’s going to be a quick season. ... By the looks of everything, we’re going to be bunkered down for a little bit.”
Rizzo has been at the forefront of raising money and awareness for hospital workers who are “making the ultimate sacrifice” for coronavirus patients.
“In these times, it’s really helping out everyone,” Rizzo said. “Reaching out to your friend that maybe is single and alone right now. Checking in because the mental battle that’s about to take place is going to be real for a lot of people.”
Definitely not the #OpeningDay I had imagined but let's all stick together (while practicing social distancing) and help one another. #OneTeam
Text Hope44 to 52000 or https://t.co/AfQLkHgb3o pic.twitter.com/8ByanCqTXQ — Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) March 26, 2020
"There’s a lot of people in tough times right now, and we’re just trying to help out any way we can," @ARizzo44, of the Chicago @Cubs, says about delivering food to hospital workers amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/6GtIoekOe1
"We're going to get through this." pic.twitter.com/7Pr9xWdHRQ — ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 27, 2020
He has remained in contact with his Cubs teammates through text messages and admitted he got “numb chills” watching the Indians’ Rajai Davis hit the tying homer in a replay of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
Rizzo plans to watch every game from the 2016 playoffs soon but said everyone should “reinvest in yourself right now.”
“Whatever it is around the house you like to do, do it,” he said. “Whatever it is — you like to read, watch TV shows, do it. Do it all. Invest in yourself and your mental health.
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“When we do get back going, the world is going to be spinning a little faster and people are going to get going, moving a little faster to catch up.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Virtual virtuosity: Civic Orchestra celebrates centennial with online concert

The musicians indeed did so when they launched into excerpts from the last movement of Tchaikovsky ’ s Fifth .
@ @ @ @ @ – each in his or her own home , most wearing Civic Orchestra of Chicago @ @ @ @ @ anew what the music means to these individuals .

On March 29, 1920, Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Frederick Stock stood onstage in Orchestra Hall to conduct the inaugural concert of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Exactly 100 years later, on Sunday evening, the Civic – which still flourishes as the CSO’s training orchestra – played its anniversary concert. Online.
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Like all concerts in Illinois and beyond during the coronavirus pandemic, the Civic’s long-planned centennial performance had to be canceled. But that didn’t stop these gifted young musicians from being heard.
In a 40-minute, prerecorded concert that streamed on Facebook and YouTube, Civic principal conductor Ken-David Masur led 62 musicians in excerpts of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Each musician appeared in a small rectangle on a screen platform designed by engineer Christopher Bill. This was followed by the audio-only world premieres of seven compositions commissioned a few days ago for the high-tech occasion.
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“The musicians are playing Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, which is very significant to us,” Masur told viewers in introducing the virtual concert. “It was going to be performed today in Orchestra Hall, because 100 years ago, to this day, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony was on the program for the inaugural concert of Civic.”
Masur then pointed to the significance of the new compositions that would follow the Tchaikovsky.
(Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
“The works represent not just our honoring of the past – the storied past of this orchestra – but also our looking forward into the future and the next 100 years,” he said.
Finally, Masur also addressed the peril the world now is in, finding a measure of hope via music.
“The crisis caused by this virus is heartbreaking,” he said. “But I know that we will get through this.
“In 1918, the worldwide pandemic caused by the influenza virus killed millions of people, and only one year later, the Civic Orchestra was founded. There was a yearning for music to bring people back together again, and I know that we are able to do this now as well.”
The musicians indeed did so when they launched into excerpts from the last movement of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth. To see these young artists – each in his or her own home, most wearing Civic Orchestra of Chicago shirts – was to appreciate anew what the music means to these individuals.
Though no one will claim that the sound equaled, or even approached, what one hears in a concert hall, the music making proved passionate, technically assured and surprisingly nuanced. Tonal shadings, crescendos and decrescendos were easy to discern and made musical sense.
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Visually, too, the performance proved engaging, with certain musicians enlarged on the screen when their parts became more prominent. All the while, a flood of emojis floated up from the screen’s bottom, as hearts and thumbs-ups and other signifiers were posted by listeners out there in cyberspace.
The socially distanced audience also posted hundreds of comments as the performance proceeded:
“Go brass!”
“This is amazing!”
“Kinda teary now.”
When the six-minute excerpt ended, a round of applause ensued – not from the listeners but drawn from recordings of previous Civic Orchestra concerts.
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The anniversary program originally was to have featured four CSO horns – all Civic alums – playing Schumann’s Konzertstuck. Instead, Daniel Gingrich, David Griffin, James Smelser and Oto Carillo played a few notes, then wished everyone well.
For the concert’s finale, listeners heard short pieces by young composers who took “musical inspiration from the Civic musicians’ individual recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5,” according to a CSO statement.
With the screen black but for the name of the composer and the work, we heard minimalist gestures and otherworldly tones in Nathalie Joachim’s “Glitch Oasis”; low string growls and high-pitched tremolos in LJ White’s “Shall I Throw Myself Into the Arms of Faith??”; layered sounds and mystical moods in Ted Moore’s “Hold”; Samuel Barber-like lyricism in Josh Fink’s “Civic 100”; Tchaikovsky’s themes swathed in other sounds in Liza Sobel’s “Reverse Forward”; a sonic collage in Peter Shin’s “PSA: #650+”; and a vast acoustic-electronic soundscape in Martha Tiesenga’s “Old New Room.”
Not an ideal way to celebrate the Civic centennial – but surely an ingenious one.
Music note: To watch the Civic Orchestra anniversary concert, go to: https://www.youtube.com/chicagosymphony
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has posted music videos by individual members. Among the highlights: CSO percussionist Cynthia Yeh persuading her cat to play the rhythmic motif that runs through Ravel’s “Bolero”; CSO principal clarinetist Stephen Williamson leading his family in a chamber version excerpt of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”; and CSO assistant concertmaster Yuan-Qing Yu and CSO assistant principal cellist Kenneth Olsen performing Johan Halvorsen’s Passacaglia for Violin and Viola, a testament to each musician’s virtuosity. These are available at https://csosoundsandstories.org/category/cso-from-home/.
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Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.
hreich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Quarantine reading: What Nick Foles’ ‘Believe It’ book tells us about the new Bears quarterback and

Quarantine reading: What Nick Foles’ ‘Believe It’ book tells us about the new Bears quarterback and his wild 8-year NFL career

Foles , 31 , has been all of those things .
The book doesn ’ t provide the answer to @ @ @ @ @ in Chicago after signing a big contract with the Jaguars and then losing all four @ @ @ @ @ in 2019 .
Instead his story is about how he came to grips with the @ @ @ @ @ life and career with the guidance of his faith and family .

Nick Foles’ text to Andy Reid in July 2016 was supposed to end his football career.
After a dismal season with the Rams, Foles had lost his love of the game and asked for his release from the organization, which had just drafted Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick. Other teams inquired about signing the former Pro Bowl quarterback, including Reid, who was looking for a backup to Alex Smith with the Chiefs.
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But Foles, who spent his rookie season with the Eagles under Reid, had made up his mind.
In a McDonald’s parking lot, on the way to a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada, Foles texted Reid to tell him he was hanging up his cleats. Foles then texted his wife, Tori, to tell her the final decision on a topic they had long been discussing. And he powered down his phone for the weekend trip.
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That, of course, wasn’t that.
As Foles told in his 2018 book, “Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure and Overcoming the Odds,” he returned home to a four-page letter from Tori suggesting he give football one more season. Two nights later, after coming to an impasse in their discussions, they prayed.
“From a human perspective, I don’t want to play football anymore,” he prayed. “But I also know this is about more than what I want. I need to trust you with all I have.”
In that time of reflection, Foles decided to continue playing.
The story of Foles’ return to football is one of several in the book, co-written with author Joshua Cooley, that give insight into what makes the new Bears quarterback tick. The Bears acquired Foles from the Jaguars for a fourth-round pick earlier this month.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 60 Bears quarterback Nick Foles walks to the field before the first quarter against the Seahawks at Lumen Field on Dec. 26, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The book was released just months after Foles led the 2017 Eagles on their improbable run to the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship, and it has a fair amount of football play-by-play for Eagles fans wanting to relive that fairy tale. But for Bears fans looking for some light reading in an odd time without live sports, Foles’ story also details the challenges he has faced during a wild eight-year NFL career.
In the book, Foles gets right to the heart of the questions that even now linger as he comes to Chicago to compete with or replace 2017 No. 2 pick Mitch Trubisky. Foles lists the many labels he has been given.
“I’m able to light up a scoreboard. I’m a game manager,” he writes. “I’m a building block. I’m a stopgap. I’m a franchise quarterback. I’m an insurance policy. I’m a Pro Bowl MVP. I’m a career second-stringer. I’m dependable. I’m a fluke. I’m a Super Bowl MVP. I’m trade bait.”
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Foles, 31, has been all of those things. The book doesn’t provide the answer to which one he will be in Chicago after signing a big contract with the Jaguars and then losing all four games he played with them in 2019. Instead his story is about how he came to grips with the highs and lows of his life and career with the guidance of his faith and family.
He is candid about the most challenging moments, including during his second season with the Eagles in 2013, when he replaced the injured Michael Vick.
Foles had the season of his career, throwing 27 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in 10 starts. But while he was earning a Pro Bowl invitation on the field, Tori, then his girlfriend, became ill with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a blood-flow disorder that was at times debilitating. Foles struggled with being away from her and wondered if playing football was what he was supposed to be doing.
Foles prayed before a Week 9 game against the Raiders for a sign he was on the right path — and courage if he was not. He threw for 406 yards and seven touchdowns in that game.
A little more than a year later, after he broke his left collarbone midway through the 2014 season, the next big obstacle came calling. Eagles coach Chip Kelly informed Foles during a brief phone call he was being traded to the Rams.
“When I saw that the call had lasted only a minute, I was really shaken,” Foles writes. “I’m a pretty relational guy, and the fact that I’d been cut loose so quickly and without warning was difficult to absorb. You give everything you have to your team, you struggle through adversity, you work hard to come back from trials on and off the field, and then, in less time than it takes to order a pizza, your coach tells you that you’ve been traded.”
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Rams quarterback Nick Foles is sandwiched by a pair of Bears defenders for a sack during a Nov. 15, 2015 game in St. Louis. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
His career took a dive with the Rams during the 2015 season, when Case Keenum eventually replaced him. A brief foray into retirement followed. But after a season with the Chiefs, in which he rediscovered his love of the game under Reid and then-co-offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Foles was back with the Eagles in 2017.
Foles knew he was going to be the backup to Carson Wentz when he re-signed, but he was honest about the difficulties of stepping into that role. He often had to walk by the 2013 Pro Bowl photo of himself hanging in the Eagles training facility.
A coffee connoisseur — his go-to drink is Bulletproof butter coffee — Foles became the team’s barista each morning to remind himself “that the best way to lead is to serve.”
“For me, this fight would be a season-long inner conflict with my pride,” Foles writes.
About half of the book is spent on the 2017 season as Foles suddenly was thrust back into the spotlight when Wentz injured his left knee in December. He properly captures the wackiness of his run from backup to Super Bowl MVP.
After the game in which Wentz was hurt, Foles went out to lunch with his family at a burrito joint and heard a fan tell another, “I guess we’ll just have to wait another year for the Super Bowl.” Weeks later, after the Eagles beat the Vikings in the NFC championship game, Foles had an uninterrupted dinner out with his family, only to have the entire restaurant give him a standing ovation as he walked out.
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The Super Bowl narration includes how he turned down every marketing opportunity leading up to the game for fear it might affect his play. He drew inspiration in the days before from the Bible’s Book of Psalms, many of which have been linked to King David, of David and Goliath.
He spends pages on the retelling of the “Philly Special” play, the touchdown pass from Trey Burton to Foles. He writes of the memories of holding his 7-month-old daughter during the Super Bowl celebration, predicting that in the future he’ll tell her, “The real trophy in my arms that night was you.” And he talks about feeling slightly guilty about accepting the MVP award because his teammates and coaches did so much to help him.
A 9-foot bronze statue depicting Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, right, and coach Doug Pederson discussing the "Philly Special" trick play is seen outside Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 5, 2018, in Philadelphia. The statue highlights the famous play from the Eagles' win over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. (Matt Slocum / AP)
Nick Foles holds 7-month-old daughter Lily after the Eagles' Super Bowl LII victory over the Patriots on Feb. 4, 2018, in Minneapolis. “The real trophy in my arms that night was you,” Foles writes in his book. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
As he wraps up the book, Foles is preparing to be the backup again to Wentz for the 2018 season, a role change he calls “a tangible reminder that we are called to humility and to a life of service.”
As he ruminates about his story, he wonders if readers might see “a person like yourself — someone who struggles daily. Someone who doesn’t have all the answers. Someone who has failed many times and says, ‘Failing is okay. But what am I supposed to learn from it?’ ”
Likewise, Bears fans aren’t likely to find their answers about whether Foles, coming off the down year in Jacksonville, is what the team needs at quarterback. But they’ll find a player who has been through the extremes of a career and has been able to pick himself back up from failure.
His next chapter awaits.


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Mythical March Madness: We’re playing out a projected NCAA Tournament bracket — and a Big Ten team h

Mythical March Madness: We’re playing out a projected NCAA Tournament bracket — and a Big Ten team has advanced to the Final Four

Obi Toppin displayed his dazzling dunks to help the Flyers defeat No .
16 seed Robert Morris and ninth-seeded Florida @ @ @ @ @ , played like a senior with everything on the line for Butler .
The Bulldogs @ @ @ @ @ .
12 seed Texas 77-74 in the first round behind 18 points from Baldwin .
@ @ @ @ @ points in the final two minutes to hold off Maryland 68-63 .

No matter your rooting interests, wouldn’t it be nice to debate the Final Four?
Instead we are left with our dream scenarios in this sports void after the NCAA canceled the postseason because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
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Join the Tribune as we break down a hypothetical journey. Thanks to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, who projects the bracket throughout every season, we at least can enjoy an alternate universe in which games still take place.
First and second rounds
What an opening weekend! From Sacramento, Calif., to Greensboro, N.C., upsets grabbed our attention.
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The Midwest Region supplied a fair amount of drama.
Here's how the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament would shake out, per Shannon Ryan. (Chicago Tribune staff)
Midwest Region
For only the fourth time since Mike Krzyzewski started coaching Duke in 1980, the Blue Devils qualified for the tournament and lost in the first round. Many suspected this wasn’t Duke’s year — and it wasn’t.
The third-seeded Blue Devils had lost three times in their previous six games, while No. 14 seed Belmont had won 12 in a row. After beating Murray State for the Ohio Valley Conference championship on a layup with three seconds left, Tyler Scanlon did it again with a late jumper to take down Duke 73-71.
Luka Garza and No. 6 seed Iowa were too much for Belmont in the second round. Garza, a national player of the year contender, scored 28 points with 11 rebounds to easily dispatch the Bruins 77-64.
The Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. They’ll face No. 2 seed Kentucky, an easy winner against No. 15 seed North Dakota State and No. 7 seed Providence.
Fourth-seeded Wisconsin breezed by No. 13 seed North Texas and had no problem dispatching No. 12 seed Liberty, a potential Cinderella. The Flames upset fifth-seeded Auburn in the first round, but the Badgers looked more prepared.
They’ll face Kansas in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. The overall No. 1 seed looked dominant in a 30-point victory against No. 16 seed Siena and a 28-point win over eighth-seeded Houston.
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South Region
Iowa and Wisconsin were among 10 Big Ten programs that made the NCAA Tournament field and five that made it alive through the first weekend. Two more came out of the South: No. 3 seed Michigan State and No. 7 seed Illinois. (Penn State, seeded sixth in the East, was the fifth team.)
The conference spent so much of the season beating up on each other, its teams might have been undervalued — and the Illini were a prime example.
In the first round, Illinois guard Trent Frazier broke out of his shooting slump to hit five 3-pointers in a victory over No. 10 seed USC. In the next round, No. 2 seed Creighton hit 50% of its first-half shots and built a 12-point lead. But Illinois got a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Ayo Dosunmu to advance to the Sweet 16 in Houston, where the Illini will face Big Ten foe Michigan State.
The Spartans faced No. 14 seed Bradley for the second season in a row in the first round, winning more easily this season 68-54. Then they slugged it out with Virginia for a 62-58 victory behind 14 points from Cassius Winston.
No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin and No. 13 seed Vermont provided the region’s major upsets. The Lumberjacks brought a 15-game winning streak into the tournament and took advantage of fifth-seeded Ohio State’s inconsistency for an 89-80 victory. Vermont had lost only twice since Dec. 20, and the Catamounts stunned No. 4 seed Louisville with a late layup.
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It was a shame the underdogs had to meet each other, but the high-scoring Lumberjacks should provide excitement against top seed Baylor in the Sweet 16. After the Bears clobbered No. 16 seed Winthrop, ninth-seeded Rutgers kept it close in the first half of the second-round game, but Baylor flexed its muscles for a 76-65 victory.
East Region
A Sweet 16 showdown in New York between top seed Dayton and fifth-seeded Butler should be a fun matchup between teams with devoted fan bases.
Obi Toppin displayed his dazzling dunks to help the Flyers defeat No. 16 seed Robert Morris and ninth-seeded Florida. Kamar Baldwin, meanwhile, played like a senior with everything on the line for Butler. The Bulldogs needed overtime to beat No. 12 seed Texas 77-74 in the first round behind 18 points from Baldwin. He followed up with seven points in the final two minutes to hold off Maryland 68-63.
Penn State is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. The Nittany Lions lost five of their last six regular-season games before going on a roll in the Big Ten Tournament.
The battle between Penn State’s Lamar Stevens and Villanova’s Saddiq Bey in the second round was a delight. The Nittany Lions won 74-69 behind Stevens’ 23 points and 11 rebounds. Bey finished with 18 and six for the third-seeded Wildcats.
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Penn State will face No. 2 seed Florida State, which narrowly escaped seventh-seeded West Virginia in the second round.
West Region
A star burst onto the scene in Seton Hall’s Myles Powell.
Big East fans have known about Powell for years, but he is becoming a national household name with his tournament performance. He scored 42 points in a victory over No. 14 seed Eastern Washington and 38 to beat No. 6 seed BYU as the third-seeded Pirates advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000.
They’ll face No. 2 seed San Diego State, which ousted 10th-seeded Texas Tech — last season’s national runner-up — in the second round.
Top seed Gonzaga continued to impress in victories against No. 16 seed North Carolina Central and No. 8 seed LSU. The Bulldogs will face No. 4 seed Oregon in the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles.
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The Ducks fought off pesky Michigan in the second round. Senior guard Payton Pritchard has averaged 20 points in the first two games.
No team distinguished itself as a clear favorite during the regular season. Will someone finally stand out in the Sweet 16?
Sweet 16 and Elite 8
The college basketball world turned its attention to Indianapolis, New York, Los Angeles and Houston for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
Ah, we can wish.
Here's how the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 would have played out, per Shannon Ryan. (Chicago Tribune staff)
West Region
No. 2 seed San Diego State quickly ended No. 10 Texas Tech’s long-shot hopes of returning to the national championship game. Guard Malachi Flynn scored 18 points in the 82-70 victory.
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But once again, Myles Powell and No. 3 seed Seton Hall dazzled. Powell helped hand the Aztecs just their third loss, scoring often in transition for 17 points in a 66-62 victory.
The Pirates moved on to face No. 4 seed Oregon in the Elite Eight. The Ducks pulled off the most talked about game of the tournament, knocking out top-seeded Gonzaga with an 80-78 overtime victory.
Seton Hall dismissed Oregon 72-66 behind eight points, four blocks and seven rebounds from 7-foot-2 center Romaro Gill.
The Pirates are in their first Final Four since 1989 — and have become fan favorites.
East Region
No. 3 seed Michigan State received a battle from No. 7 seed Illinois in the Sweet 16 — the first time the Illini advanced that far since 2005.
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The Illini battled the Spartans on the boards, but their spotty shooting caught up with them. Illinois made just 3 of 16 3-pointers and shot only 38% from the field.
The Spartans went to the wire with brutish No. 1 seed Baylor, who was plagued with foul trouble from the start, and pulled out a 67-63 victory. Michigan State heads to Atlanta looking for its first — and the Big Ten’s first — title since 2000.
Midwest Region
Top-seeded Kansas breezed into the Final Four with double-digit victories against No. 4 seed Wisconsin and No. 2 seed Kentucky.
The Jayhawks will greet the Seminoles in Atlanta.
East Region
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No. 2 seed Florida State upended No. 6 seed Penn State 72-61 and snuffed out top-seeded Dayton 66-60 with its ability to block shots and force turnovers.
The showdown in Atlanta awaits.
Final Four
Imagine the scene: Snoop Dogg on the court throwing bills into the air. The NCAA president grimacing through a handshake with Kansas coach Bill Self during the trophy presentation.
The spectacle would have been something to behold had the top-seeded Jayhawks won the NCAA Tournament. They surely would have had much of the nation rooting against them as a program embroiled in scandal, but their die-hard loyalists would have loved seeing the blue bloods win their first national title since 2008.
Kansas had the best shot to win it all.
How the Final Four would have played out, per Shannon Ryan. (Chicago Tribune)
After an unpredictable season, the tournament ended predictably. Kansas, the No. 1 overall seed, lived up to its billing with a 75-66 victory against No. 3 seed Michigan State.
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The Spartans, who advanced to their first championship game since 2010, throttled No. 3 Seton Hall 72-60 in the Final Four. They outrebounded the Pirates by 10, and Cassius Winston poured in 28 points in an intriguing battle against Myles Powell.
Kansas received a test from No. 2 seed Florida State. A strong performance from guard Devon Dotson, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, led to a 74-67 Jayhawks victory.
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The final showdown was delectable. When the title game features teams with passionate fan bases and well-known coaches, it makes for an unforgettable, goose bump-creating atmosphere, which was the case at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Michigan State took a 50-47 lead with 8 minutes remaining thanks to a 10-0 run, but the best one-two punch in college basketball — Udoka Azubuike and Dotson — was too much for the Spartans. Azubuike finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dotson added 14 points.
Kansas players rejoiced in winning the program’s first title in 12 years. The Jayhawks didn’t need a miracle shot this time — like they got from Mario Chalmers in that game.
There was, of course, a pall over the excitement: Self was forced to defend the program in his postgame news conference amid NCAA accusations that Kansas committed five Level 1 violations, the most severe.
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Afterward, Self and his players walked off the podium holding a trophy.
It would have been quite the sight.
Until next season.


chicagotribune--2020-03-30--Activists rail about need for Dakota Access pipeline expansion as coronavirus threatens oil markets

Activists rail about need for Dakota Access pipeline expansion as coronavirus threatens oil markets and federal ruling raises more questions

“ Even if COVID-19 disappeared tomorrow , there are still indications that the oil market is going to be in @ @ @ @ @ time to come with everything that is going on , ” said John Albers , @ @ @ @ @ Illinois Land and Sierra Club .
“ Logically and rationally , ( the company ) @ @ @ @ @ need for more oil , if for no other reason , independent of the D.C. @ @ @ @ @ of the oil market .
If the demand is not there for oil anymore , @ @ @ @ @ they have been pointing to as a reason why they need to increase capacity , @ @ @ @ @ of all of this ?
”

Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline expansion chant "No more fossil fuels" gather for a news conference before a scheduled hearing before the Illinois Commerce Commission in Chicago on March 5, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The possibility that more oil will be allowed to flow through the Dakota Access pipeline has been increasing for months, as state agencies have granted approval for plans to boost capacity and upgrade pump stations along the 1,172-mile route from North Dakota to central Illinois.
But a federal judge’s ruling last week has added a new wrinkle to those plans, potentially delaying the expansion and opening up the possibility the pipeline may have to temporarily suspend operations while a new environmental review is conducted.
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The order from a U.S. district judge in Washington D.C. was a victory for Native American tribes that have opposed the pipeline from the beginning. It also drew an immediate response from Illinois activists who have objected to the expansion plans.
Buoyed by the judge’s decision, the environmental groups moved to press pause on proceedings pending before the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is considering a petition for increased pipeline capacity.
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Citing the judge’s ruling, as well as possible ramifications of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on domestic and global oil markets, the environmental groups Save Our Illinois Land and Sierra Club filed a motion Thursday with the commerce commission to “stay further proceedings in this docket, and take additional evidence concerning the unprecedented global events."
“Even if COVID-19 disappeared tomorrow, there are still indications that the oil market is going to be in bad shape for a long time to come with everything that is going on,” said John Albers, a lawyer representing Save Our Illinois Land and Sierra Club. “Logically and rationally, (the company) should have to prove the need for more oil, if for no other reason, independent of the D.C. case, than the collapse of the oil market. If the demand is not there for oil anymore, and that’s what they have been pointing to as a reason why they need to increase capacity, what’s the point of all of this?”
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 A mainline valve of the Dakota Access pipeline in the middle of a cornfield in Brown County, in western Illinois, is pictured on Dec. 12, 2019. One of the owners of property next to the pipeline, Bill Klingele, is speaking out against the pipeline company’s proposal to nearly double the oil flow in the pipeline and to build a new pump station in Illinois. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The company that owns and operates the pipeline, Energy Transfer, has filed paperwork with the commerce commission seeking permission to nearly double the volume of oil that flows through the pipeline. Currently, 560,000 barrels flow through the pipeline daily. The company is seeking to pump up to 1.1 million barrels from the oil-rich Bakken region in North Dakota to a pump facility in central Illinois, where it connects with other Midwestern pipelines.
Environmental groups and landowners have filed to block the expansion. The motions in Illinois follow a federal judge’s ruling in the District of Columbia district court that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to prepare an environmental impact statement of the oil pipeline in the area where it runs under the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Reservation, the scene of protests and clashes in 2016, in North Dakota.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ruled that “too many questions remain unanswered” about the pipeline’s safety and leak detection systems.
“Unrebutted expert critiques regarding leak-detection systems, operator safety records, adverse conditions, and worst-case discharge mean that the easement approval remains ‘highly controversial,’” Boasberg wrote in his ruling.
The judge ruled the Army Corps did not “adequately discharge its duties,” and he ordered the agency to prepare a full environmental review of the pipeline.
The oil company and the tribes, Boasberg said, should prepare to file briefs on whether the easement should be vacated during the review, which will determine whether oil will continue to flow through the pipeline.
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In 2016, the Army Corps concluded that granting an easement for the river crossing would not harm the environment, exempting the agency from having to prepare an impact statement. Oil then began to flow from North Dakota across South Dakota, Iowa, under the Mississippi River and farm fields of Illinois to a tank hub facility in Patoka, Illinois, about 75 miles east of St. Louis, in the summer of 2017. The oil company filed paperwork to double the capacity of the pipeline with various agencies in all four states through which the pipeline travels last year.
The status of those requests remains in doubt in Illinois, where the commerce commission must approve a petition to expand.
The environmental groups argue the federal judge’s ruling will affect the pipeline’s operations and thereby change the tenor of the ongoing case before the commerce commission. The next set of filings in the Illinois case is due at the beginning of April.
“A failure by the Commission to accept evidence related to the unprecedented changes in the oil markets would result in a grossly inadequate, incomplete, and inaccurate record, making any decision based on the current record arbitrary and capricious, without consideration of a critical substantial evidence,” Albers wrote in the briefing, adding that the commission should wait for any new filings in the D.C. district case before moving forward in Illinois.
Energy Transfer spokeswoman Lisa Coleman declined to comment on any pending litigation. But, in an emailed response to questions, Coleman wrote that COVID-19 “has not affected our operations.”
“We have been actively managing the business risk associated with the virus and have taken a number of measures to ensure we are able to continue the safe and reliable operations of our systems,” Coleman wrote.
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The developments last week follow three days of public commerce commission hearings in early March in Chicago. The meetings were attended by environmentalists and activists opposed to the expansion of the pipeline and labor groups supporting the plans. No rulings or decisions were made at the hearings.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline expansion chant "No more fossil fuels" at a news conference before a scheduled hearing before the Illinois Commerce Commission in Chicago on March 5, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
On Friday, the pipeline cleared another hurdle when the Iowa Utilities Board, after months of objections from activists and landowners, granted the oil company permission for the increased flow of oil through the state and for proposed upgrades to a pumping station in central Iowa, north of Des Moines.
That move was welcome news to the coalition of businesses, trade associations and labor groups called Grow America’s Infrastructure Now that has been backing the project.
“DAPL Optimization is one step closer to allowing more American-produced crude oil to move to market and meet our country’s growing energy needs," spokesman Craig Stevens said in a statement. “The project will support high-skilled jobs and ensure the safe transportation of American oil. Pipelines like Dakota Access are some of the most heavily regulated, technologically advanced, and monitored infrastructure projects in the country.”
In Illinois, the oil companies filed their 2019 petition for the upgrades with the commerce commission, seeking authorization to build a new pump station in Hancock County, north of Quincy, and replace and add pumps at the oil tank complex in Patoka. The petition also requests authorization to build a new pump station on another pipeline at the southern edge of Illinois, near the town of Joppa on the Ohio River.
The environmental groups and a landowner with property near the pipeline argue that pumping more oil through the pipeline will increase the risk of spills and leaks along the rural route. Labor groups have backed the projects, believing the upgrades will mean new construction jobs for members.