chicagotribune--2020-01-27--With Michelin stars and multi-course meals, these are the hardest restaurant reservations to get in

With Michelin stars and multi-course meals, these are the hardest restaurant reservations to get in America

For food fanatics and avid restaurant-goers , getting a highly sought-after reservation is like getting the golden ticket to the @ @ @ @ @ wait is a few weeks , a few months or even a year .
At @ @ @ @ @ s not just a plate of food .
It ’ s an experience , an @ @ @ @ @ , data from OpenTable , Michelin ratings and restaurant websites that noted a particularly long @ @ @ @ @ said don ’ t call at all — The Daily Meal rounded up the eateries @ @ @ @ @ to get in America .
( Rosie Siefert , The Daily Meal )

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 35 With three Michelin stars and provocative dishes, it’s no wonder Alinea’s reservations book up fast. Bookings are typically released at 11 a.m. Central on the 15th of the month, two months in advance. If you are dining solo, there is one time slot — 8 p.m. — for a single seat. Otherwise, you must purchase a table of two, four or six. You can dine with an odd number of guests, but the price of the table will not be reduced. (Jonathan Q./Yelp)
For food fanatics and avid restaurant-goers, getting a highly sought-after reservation is like getting the golden ticket to the restaurant world. Sometimes the wait is a few weeks, a few months or even a year. At these restaurants, it’s not just a plate of food. It’s an experience, an art. Based on reviews, data from OpenTable, Michelin ratings and restaurant websites that noted a particularly long wait — or those that said don’t call at all — The Daily Meal rounded up the eateries with the most difficult reservations to get in America. (Rosie Siefert, The Daily Meal)


chicagotribune--2020-01-27--Read the charges against ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval

Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval was charged in federal court Monday with bribery and filing a false tax return stemming @ @ @ @ @ red-light camera industry when he was head of the powerful Transportation Committee .
Read the @ @ @

Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty to a bribery charge and agreed to cooperate in a burgeoning, widespread probe of public corruption that has sent shock waves from Chicago’s City Hall to Springfield.
The 27-page plea agreement made clear that federal authorities secretly recorded the longtime Chicago Democrat after a figure at the center of the scheme agreed to work undercover in 2018.
Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval was charged in federal court Monday with bribery and filing a false tax return stemming from his support of the red-light camera industry when he was head of the powerful Transportation Committee. Read the full story.


chicagotribune--2020-01-27--Park District of Highland Park considers long-term solutions for Rosewood Beach erosion

The latest forecast on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels over the next six months lent a new sense @ @ @ @ @ board ’ s deliberations .
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , the @ @ @ @ @ than 17 inches higher than last January and may well reach record levels during the @ @

Officials at the Park District of Highland Park are starting to consider longer term solutions to address erosion at Rosewood Beach (pictured). (Park District of Highland Park)
Officials at the Park District of Highland Park averted an erosion crisis at Rosewood Beach last fall by hauling in new sand just ahead of storms that caused damage up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Park district board members now have started refocusing its attention on longer term erosion fixes that would be designed to reduce the force of the waves hitting the shoreline and pulling sand off the beach and into the lake.
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One of the board’s possibilities includes constructing an underwater weir, or rock structure, at the opening of each cove in the breakwater-protected system. Under a second option, the park district would reduce the size of the openings between breakwaters and force more waves to break offshore.
Park district officials also are weighing the possibility of constructing rock revetments around the boardwalk and other structures and in front of the parking lot.
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Margaret Boshek, a coastal engineer with SmithGroup, which consults the park district, said the revetments would not protect the beach against sand losses but would serve as a “final defense” against structural damage brought on by exceedingly high lake levels.
“It does not help to maintain the beach,” she stressed. “It is a final defense for the back of the beach.”
Rosewood Beach is divided into a nature cove where the Interpretive Center is located, a swimming cove and a recreation cove where beach volleyball is played.
Rosewood Beach in Highland Park is pictured in this 2017 file photo. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)
While board members have not reached any decisions, yet, about which option is best suited for each cove, officials are looking at estimated costs of well over $1 million for any combination of choices for the three coves.
The latest forecast on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels over the next six months lent a new sense of urgency to the park board’s deliberations. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the two lakes started 2020 more than 17 inches higher than last January and may well reach record levels during the year.
“We’re a lot warmer this winter than we were originally predicted to be,” said Boshek, explaining why the forecast had changed from two months ago.
Boshek noted that as a result of warmer temperatures, precipitation that would ordinarily come down as snow and pile up on the shoreline has, instead, come down as rain that immediately has drained into Lake Michigan.
kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-27--Nicholas Castellanos goes to the Reds on a $64 million, 4-year deal

Castellanos thrived with the Cubs down the stretch last season after he was acquired from the Tigers at the trade @ @ @ @ @ 16 homers and 36 RBIs in 51 games .
He stays in the National League @ @ @ @ @ rival .

Free-agent outfielder Nicholas Castellanos agreed to a $64 million, four-year deal in the Reds’ latest big-money move to emerge from years of losing, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the club hadn't announced the deal, which would allow Castellanos to opt out and become a free agent after the 2020 season.
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Castellanos thrived with the Cubs down the stretch last season after he was acquired from the Tigers at the trade deadline, hitting .321 with 16 homers and 36 RBIs in 51 games. He stays in the National League Central with a rising Cubs rival.
It was the fourth significant move by the Reds, among the most active teams in free agency since their sixth consecutive losing season. The Reds have has committed $174 million to new players, including the two biggest free-agent deals in club history.
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They signed second baseman Mike Moustakas to a $64 million, four-year contract and added left-handed starter Wade Miley on a $15 million, two-year deal. Japanese All-Star outfielder Shogo Akiyama got a $21 million, three-year deal.
Castellanos' deal raised the offseason total of contracts negotiated by agent Scott Boras and his staff to $1,200,250,000.
The Reds’ biggest weakness last season was offense. They finished near the bottom of the National League in runs despite playing in one of its most hitter-friendly ballparks.
Castellanos batted .289 last season with the Tigers and Cubs. He hit 27 homers overall, drove in 73 runs and had 58 doubles while primarily playing right field in Detroit and Chicago.
He joins a crowded outfield that will get sorted out in spring training.
Akiyama was a five-time All-Star center fielder with the Seibu Lions but could move to a corner spot. The Reds already have center fielder Nick Senzel, who is recovering from shoulder surgery.
Aristides Aquino took over in right field last season after Yasiel Puig was traded to the Indians and had a sensational debut, but he slumped as the season closed out. The Reds also have Jesse Winker and Phillip Ervin.
Boras' deals for nine players eligible for free agency totaled $1,082,500,000, which included contracts for pitchers Gerrit Cole ($324 million), Stephen Strasburg ($245 million), Hyun-Jin Ryu ($80 million), Dallas Keuchel ($55.5 million) and Tony Watson ($3 million); third baseman Anthony Rendon ($245 million); Moustakas ($64 million); and catcher Matt Wieters ($2 million).
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In addition, agreements for 19 arbitration-eligible players totaled $117.75 million. That group included Kris Bryant ($18.6 million), James Paxton ($12.5 million), Cody Bellinger ($11.5 million) and Jackie Bradley Jr. ($11 million).


chicagotribune--2020-01-27--4 positives — and negatives — from the Blackhawks’ first 51 games, from Robin Lehner being a game ch

4 positives — and negatives — from the Blackhawks’ first 51 games, from Robin Lehner being a game changer to an ineffective power play

The fact is , however , DeBrincat has 12 goals and is on pace to finish with 19 , which @ @ @ @ @ from last season ’ s 41 .
Most concerning is that DeBrincat has only four @ @ @ @ @ played more minutes on a line with Patrick Kane at even strength than he did @ @ @ @ @

For a little more than a week, the Blackhawks can put the ups and downs of a tumultuous first 51 games on hold.
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Players and coaches already began heading all over the world for some rest and relaxation before reconvening in Arizona to restart the season Saturday against the Coyotes.
It has been a struggle, but the Hawks are in decent shape to make a playoff run. Then again, they’re one losing streak away from being sellers at the Feb. 24 trade deadline.
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What has gone right and what has gone wrong? Here are the four biggest positives and negatives from the Hawks season at the All-Star break.
The positives
1. Dominik Kubalik, Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist lead a promising rookie class.
Just how strong this group will end up is unclear, but Kubalik is on pace for more than 30 goals, and Dach and Boqvist are holding their own as teenagers in the NHL.
Kubalik is 24, so he’s graded on a curve, but he has been a revelation, especially when the light went on over the last month with 13 goals in his last 16 games.
Dach and Boqvist have shown more than glimpses of their promise, which is typical for teens who enter the NHL a little before they probably should have.
Meanwhile, the jury is still out on Alex Nylander, who doesn’t appear to be a core player after the Hawks acquired him from the Sabres for Henri Jokiharju. But there’s still time for Nylander to develop into a top-six forward, and the Hawks have made clear they intend to give him plenty of it.
2. Robin Lehner has been a game changer.
Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner blocks a shot from Jets forward Mathieu Perreault during a Jan. 19 game at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
If the Hawks don’t end up making the playoffs, coach Jeremy Colliton might regret not anointing Lehner as the No. 1 goalie sooner. Lehner has had a few poor games but overall has been consistently great and should get the bulk of starts over Corey Crawford the rest of the way.
Crawford hasn’t played poorly but had a miserable December, and his .910 save percentage is well behind Lehner’s .922, which is one of the best in the league. The big question is whether the Hawks can re-sign Lehner, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
3. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are as good as ever.
Toews started slowly but has averaged more than a point per game since the start of November and is still one of the top defensive forwards in the league.
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Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) celebrates his 1,000th career point with teammates during a game against the Jets on Jan. 19 at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Kane is on pace for another 100-point season despite having a ton of linemates. He has completed the transition from cocky young hotshot to NHL royalty.
4. The Blackhawks are 9 points ahead of last season’s pace.
The Hawks are on the outside looking in at the playoffs, as they were at this point last season, but they’re in much better shape.
The 2018-19 Hawks were 18-24-9 (45 points) at the break and seven points out of a playoff spot while trailing six teams. This team is 24-21-6 (51 points) and three points out while trailing only two teams.
Considering Calvin de Haan and Brent Seabrook suffered season-ending injuries, Andrew Shaw has been out since the end of November with a concussion and the Hawks have lost Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Dylan Strome and Drake Caggiula for lengthy periods, it’s remarkable they’re in position for a postseason run.
To be clear, the Hawks have a long road ahead, and a slow start after the break or any sustained period of losing could quickly drop them from contention.
But with 31 games left, the Hawks’ fate is largely in their hands.
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The negatives
1. The power play has been ineffective.
The Hawks’ turnaround last season began when Erik Gustafsson joined the power play, fueling a two-month stretch as the best team in the league with a man advantage.
This season the Hawks have been on a never-ending search to make things click. They retained Gustafsson in the offseason largely because they hoped he would again quarterback the top power-play unit and produce another 60-point season.
But he hasn’t come close to being the same player, and Jeremy Colliton still is searching for an effective top unit. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat are still there, now joined by Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist.
But that unit hasn’t been any better, and the Hawks have the fifth-worst power play (24-for-154) in the league. The four worst teams? The Ducks, Red Wings, Devils and Senators, none of whom has a chance to make the playoffs.
2. Alex DeBrincat is having a disappointing season.
Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat is knocked to the ice by Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard during a Dec. 19, 2019, game at the United Center. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Singling out DeBrincat is a bit unfair because he might be more unlucky than underperforming. He is on pace for the most shots on goal of his three-season career, and his effort never has been questioned.
The fact is, however, DeBrincat has 12 goals and is on pace to finish with 19, which would be a precipitous drop from last season’s 41. Most concerning is that DeBrincat has only four even-strength goals despite already having played more minutes on a line with Patrick Kane at even strength than he did all of last season.
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But unlike Erik Gustafsson, whose career year seemed like an aberration, DeBrincat’s down year seems to be an outlier. His 8.4% shot percentage is far below the 17.2% he posted over his first two seasons, so chances are he will correct to the mean next season. .
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The Hawks — and DeBrincat — would sure like to see it corrected for the final two months of this season.
3. The Blackhawks have been mediocre at the United Center.
The Hawks are one of six teams with a points percentage of .500 or below at home, and it should come as no surprise that none of the six holds a playoff spot.
Jeremy Colliton has tried to cajole his team into playing the kind of simpler game that has worked a little better on the road (12-9-3).
Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton yells to his players during a game against the Islanders on Dec. 27, 2019, at the United Center. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Even during their current 11-5 stretch, the Hawks are just 4-4 at home. If they can continue to win at an .875 clip away from the United Center, then, sure, they don’t need to worry about the home record. But that’s not likely to happen.
4. The Blackhawks have failed to play complete games too many times.
The Hawks gave away too many games over the first three months by either not being ready at the start, disappearing in the second period or not closing out games.
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Even in recent wins over the Red Wings and Senators, the Hawks trailed 2-0 after the first period before figuring things out. They blew 3-0 leads to the Bruins and Blues and had to hang on to beat the Flames 5-3 on New Year’s Eve despite scoring the first four goals.
With contenders needing to focus on picking up every available point after the break, falling asleep during any lengthy stretch of a game will be difficult to overcome.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Blue Line trains trains resume service, but with delays, between Damen and Racine following person o

Blue Line trains trains resume service, but with delays, between Damen and Racine following person on the tracks: CTA

As emergency crews worked to make sure the person was safe , no trains ran between the Damen and Racine @ @ @ @ @ 20 minutes after the incident , but with “ residual delays and congestion , ” @ @ @ @

All Blue Line trains began running again between the Damen and Racine stops during Tuesday evening rush hour after a person on the tracks, according to the CTA.
About 5:20 p.m., an unauthorized person on the tracks was reported near the Jackson stop on the Blue Line, the CTA said.
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A Chicago Fire Department spokesman confirmed about 5:30 p.m. that a man fell onto the tracks due to a medical emergency. He was not hit by a train or electrocuted, and emergency crews transported him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-but-stable condition, the Fire Department said.
As emergency crews worked to make sure the person was safe, no trains ran between the Damen and Racine stops. Service resumed about 20 minutes after the incident, but with “residual delays and congestion,” the CTA said.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--WeatherTech’s mascot dog had aggressive cancer. Now Scout’s in a new Super Bowl ad raising money for

WeatherTech’s mascot dog had aggressive cancer. Now Scout’s in a new Super Bowl ad raising money for his doctors

The ad , voiced in the persona of Scout and released by the company Tuesday , tells of his journey @ @ @ @ @ about a one percent chance of survival .
It ’ s got lots of shots @ @ @ @ @ dog , on the UW machine where he received radiation therapy and happy and healthy-looking @ @ @ @ @ .
And it makes an overt plea for people to donate to the Wisconsin medical @ @

Scout, star of WeatherTech's 2019 and 2020 Super Bowl ads, on the Tomotherapy machine at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in a scene from the 2020 spot. (Sean Fine / HANDOUT)
Last year at this time, the star of WeatherTech’s now-annual Super Bowl commercial was Scout, the company CEO’s golden retriever.
Scout looked happy and healthy as he showed off the Bolingbrook auto mat company’s new line of non-toxic pet bowls.
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But in early July the dog listed as 7 on his Instagram account suddenly collapsed. Doctors discovered a tumor at the base of his heart that was constricting his blood flow and would soon kill him, and he was rushed to the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, said Mark Markel, the school’s dean.
Fast forward to this year’s Super Bowl, where Scout will once again star in WeatherTech’s ad. It’s called “Lucky Dog,” and it’s CEO David MacNeil’s way of saying thanks — with a commercial that’ll cost some $5.5 million to run — to the vets who saved his beloved pooch’s life.
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Scout on the beach in Florida in a scene from the 2020 ad. (Sean Fine / HANDOUT)
The ad, voiced in the persona of Scout and released by the company Tuesday, tells of his journey from star to patient with about a one percent chance of survival. It’s got lots of shots of the handsome, blond dog, on the UW machine where he received radiation therapy and happy-looking on the beach in Florida. And it makes an overt plea for people to donate to the Wisconsin medical school.
Scout’s “prognosis was very grave, even for short-term survival,” Markel said in a phone interview Tuesday.
But an aggressive course of radiation therapy, plus chemotherapy and immunotherapy, was able to shrink the tumor and is combatting recurrence, said the dean, and Scout seems to be back to a high quality of life while he continues with treatments in Madison.
“My other dogs have died from cancer. I’ve had enough of the cancer taking animals away from me,” MacNeil said in an interview. “Scout was six. We said, ‘Okay, he’s young enough. He’s strong enough. Let’s fight for him.’”
MacNeil was so taken by Wisconsin’s success in treating Scout -- within six weeks the tumor had shrunk by 78 percent, and then it shrank another 50 percent -- that he started to think about using his Super Bowl platform to amplify the work done at the Madison school and the fight against cancer in animals generally.
Rather than just donate the cost of the ad to the school, he is betting, he said, that he can “leverage that $6 million” and turn it into more money for the veterinary school’s oncology department plus much more awareness of the cause.
“We as humans need to be the dogs’ best friends and help dogs survive cancer,” he said. “When animal cancer is cured there’s a highly likely chance those same techniques and protocols will also filter up to human cancer treatment.”
Dr. Ruthanne Chun hugs Scout at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine (Sean Fine / HANDOUT)
Markel said this is already true, that the Tomotherapy machine used to treat Scout’s cancer was first tested on dogs and now is widely used in fighting human cancer.
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As for the cost of saving Scout, Markel said he doesn’t focus on the billing end of his business but that it would have been a pittance compared to what such treatments would cost human patients.
“We’re a tenth or a hundredth of the cost” in veterinary medicine, he said. Because there are rarely insurance companies involved, “you have to structure it in a way that people can afford it.”
He said the UWSVM clinic sees more than 28,000 patients a year, and it is not unusual these days for people to spend thousands on their injured pets. At the same time, he agreed that there’s a larger conversation to be had about the comparative costs of treating animals and people.
MacNeil said the cost to treat Scout, who still gets regular radiation treatments, is over $20,000, probably “in the mid 20s at the moment. But remember he’s had an awful lot of stuff done. Radiation treatment every day. All kinds of human chemotherapies, anesthesia, experimental immunotherapy and multiple CT scans, probably 5 or 6.”
“I’m investing heavily in Scout’s future,” he added. “Not unlike most people, if you have the money or a little credit line you’re going to do what you can to save the animal.”
As for Scout, his Instagram account says: “Product Development & Resident Good Boy for @WeatherTech.” In addition he “Loves a good time and the ladies” and is “A tuffy fighting cancer.”
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The commercial will be in keeping with a new wave of Super Bowl advertising that highlights good deeds in the world and suggests ways to contribute. But at the same time it matches the suburban Chicago company’s tradition of doing things with more of a home-grown feel and narrow focus.
Dean Markel said he is very excited to see the ad air Sunday, scheduled for the second quarter of the game between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs on Fox, and not just for the Wisconsin school.
“It will mean a lot both to our school and our profession,” said Markel. He said he is the incoming president of the leading veterinary education association and all the members are aware of the extraordinary boost their line of work is about to receive.
He said his first reaction when the CEO said he was contemplating such a commercial was “‘Really? Is that really going to happen?’”
But, he added, “The first thing, if you meet David, if he talks about Scout, the overriding thing you see is how much he loves and cares for that dog. He can’t talk about Scout without becoming very emotional. That’s the first thing.
“The other thing, when you get to know him, you realize that if he wants to make something happen it’s going to happen. He’s unbelievably passionate about his dog, but he’s also a doer.”
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sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Was Kobe Bryant’s pilot feeling pressure to fly that day?

“ Somebody who ’ s a wealthy celebrity who can afford a helicopter to go places , the reason they @ @ @ @ @ they can get from A to B quickly with no hassle , ” Waldman said @ @ @ @ @ for a living there ’ s sort of an inherent pressure to get the job @ @ @ @ @ times they go , ‘ No , I don ’ t think I can fly @ @ @ @ @ getting bad or it ’ s too windy ’ ... they ’ re going to @ @ @ @ @

LOS ANGELES — The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant didn’t have a recommended warning system to alert the pilot he was too close to land, but it’s not clear it would have averted the crash that killed nine because the pilot may have lost control as the aircraft plunged into a fog-shrouded mountain, federal investigators said Tuesday.
Pilot Ara Zobayan had been climbing out of the clouds when the aircraft banked left and began a sudden and terrifying 1,200-foot descent that lasted nearly a minute.
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"This is a pretty steep descent at high speed," said Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board. "We know that this was a high-energy impact crash."
The aircraft was intact when it hit the ground, but the impact spread debris over more than 500 feet. Remains of the final victims were recovered Tuesday and so far the remains of Bryant, Zobayan and two other passengers have been identified using fingerprints.
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Determining what caused the crash will take months, but investigators may again recommend that to avoid future crashes helicopters carrying six or more passenger seats be equipped with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System that would have sounded an alarm if the aircraft was in danger of crashing.
[ Kobe Bryant and his daughter. A baseball coach. Teenage girls and their parents. A pilot. These were the 9 helicopter crash victims. ]
The agency made that recommendation after a similar helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76A carrying workers to an offshore drilling ship, crashed in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas, killing all 10 people on board in 2004.
The NTSB concluded if TAWS had been installed, pilots would have been warned in time to prevent hitting the water. The board recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration require the warning systems. Ten years later, the FAA eventually required such systems on air ambulances, but not other helicopters.
FAA officials had questioned whether the technology would work on helicopters, which fly lower and could trigger too many false alarms that might detract from safety.
The NTSB said FAA's response was unacceptable, but dropped the matter.
While TAWS was not installed on the helicopter flying Bryant, the aircraft did have a warning system using GPS, said pilot Kurt Deetz, who flew Bryant dozens of times in the chopper over a two-year period ending in 2017.
NTSB investigator Bill English said they're looking to document whether there was a GPS-based terrain avoidance system, but said it "doesn't look to be part of the scenario."
Zobayan, 50, was well-acquainted with the skies over Los Angeles and accustomed to flying Bryant and other celebrities.
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He had spent thousands of hours ferrying passengers through one of the nation's busiest air spaces and training students how to fly a helicopter. Friends and colleagues described him as skilled, cool and collected, the very qualities you want in a pilot.
Zobayan had flown the day before the crash on a route with the same departure and destination — Orange County to Ventura County. But on Sunday, he had to divert because of heavy fog.
His decision to proceed in deteriorating visibility, though, has experts and fellow pilots wondering if he flew beyond the boundaries of good judgment and whether pressure to get his superstar client where he wanted to go played a role in the crash.
Jerry Kidrick, a retired Army colonel who flew helicopters in Iraq and now teaches at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, said there can be pressure to fly VIPs despite poor conditions, a situation he experienced when flying military brass.
"The perceived pressure is, 'Man, if I don't go, they're going to find somebody who will fly this thing,' " Kidrick said.
The chartered Sikorsky S-76B plowed into a cloud-shrouded hillside as the retired NBA star was on his way to a youth basketball basketball tournament in which his daughter Gianna was playing. Two of her teammates also were on the helicopter with parents.
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NTSB investigators have said Zobayan asked for and received permission from air traffic controllers to proceed in the fog. In his last radio transmission before the helicopter went down, he reported that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer.
Investigators have not faulted his decision. or determined why he made it. The FAA warns helicopter pilots that it is their job to decide whether to cancel a flight because of bad weather or other risks, and to have a backup plan in case weather worsens during the flight.
Randy Waldman, a Los Angeles helicopter flight instructor who viewed tracking data of the flight's path and saw a photo of the dense fog in the area at the time, speculated that Zobayan got disoriented in the clouds, a common danger for pilots.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 24 Members of the Bulls and Spurs as well as fans observe a tribute a moment of silence for Kobe Bryant before a game Jan. 27, 2020, at the United Center. The NBA superstar, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others were killed Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in California. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
He said Zobayan should have turned around or landed but may have felt the pressure to reach his destination, an occupational hazard for pilots often referred to as "got-to-get-there-itis" or "get-home-itis."
"Somebody who's a wealthy celebrity who can afford a helicopter to go places, the reason they take the helicopter is so they can get from A to B quickly with no hassle," Waldman said. "Anybody that flies for a living there's sort of an inherent pressure to get the job done because if too many times they go, 'No, I don't think I can fly, the weather's getting bad or it's too windy,' ... they're going to lose their job."
Deetz said he often flew Bryant to games at Staples Center, and never remembered the Lakers star or his assistants pressing him to fly in bad weather.
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"There was never any pressure Kobe put on any pilot to get somewhere — never, never," Deetz said.
Deetz said that he flew with Zobayan a half-dozen times and that he was familiar with airspace and terrain around Los Angeles and knew “the back doors” — alternative routes in case of trouble, such weather changes.
Others who knew Zobayan praised him as unflappable and skilled at the controls.
"Helicopters are scary machines, but he really knew what he was doing," said Gary Johnson, vice president of airplane parts manufacturer Ace Clearwater Enterprises, who had flown with Zobayan about 30 times in roughly eight years. "I wouldn't do it unless he was the pilot."
Zobayan was chief pilot for the craft's owner, Island Express Helicopters. He also was a flight instructor, had more than 8,000 hours of flight time and had flown Bryant and other celebrities, including Kylie Jenner.
Ara Zobayan was at the controls of the helicopter that crashed in Southern California on Jan. 26, 2020, killing all nine aboard including former Lakers star Kobe Bryant. (AP)
He even had a bit TV part when he and actor Lorenzo Lamas, a fellow pilot, flew the ex-girlfriend of comedian Andy Dick around in a chopper for an episode of "Celebrity Wife Swap."
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Island Express has had three previous helicopter crashes since 1985, two of them fatal, according to the NTSB''s accident database. All involved flights to or from the company's main destination of Santa Catalina Island, about 20 miles off the Southern California coast.
In 2008, three people were killed and three injured when an Island Express helicopter was destroyed as it came in for a landing on the island. Investigators said the chopper lost power, probably as a result of cracking in turbine blades inside the engine.
Fatal helicopter accidents have fluctuated between 17 and 30 a year since 2013, according to a safety group that includes representatives of the helicopter industry and the Federal Aviation Administration. The rate of accidents per hours flown has declined slightly over that time.
Inclement weather has been cited as a cause of other deadly celebrity helicopter crashes.
Grammy-winning blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was among five people killed in 1990 when their helicopter slammed into a hill in dense fog after leaving a concert in Wisconsin. Music promoter Bill Graham and two others, including the pilot, were killed when the pilot ignored warnings not to fly in rain and fog and flew into power lines outside San Francisco in 1991.
On Tuesday, the last of the bodies and the wreckage were recovered from the weekend crash in Calabasas.
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Fingerprints were used to confirm the identity of Bryant, 41; Zobayan; John Altobelli, 56; and Sarah Chester, 45. While the the coroner has not identified five other victims, relatives and acquaintances have identified them as Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; Sarah Chester's 13-year-old daughter Payton; Altobelli's wife, Keri, and daughter, Alyssa; and Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach his daughter's team.
Associated Press writers Justin Pritchard, Robert Jablon, Christopher Weber and Stefanie Dazio contributed to this report.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Kobe Bryant didn’t shy away from Michael Jordan comparisons. In fact, he almost joined the Bulls — t

Kobe Bryant didn’t shy away from Michael Jordan comparisons. In fact, he almost joined the Bulls — twice.

“ It was six years after Michael left , most guys didn ’ t want to follow that or have @ @ @ @ @ to it , ” Paxson said .
“ What he expressed to us was he @ @ @ @ @ it happened .
He wanted that challenge .
I ’ ve said this many , @ @ @ @ @ I had an opportunity to be around him for such a long time and seeing @ @ @ @ @ closest I ’ ve seen — and I obviously wasn ’ t involved in it @ @ @ @ @ tell that Kobe Bryant had that same thing .
”

Kobe Bryant, nominated for Animated Short Film "Dear Basketball" during the Nominees Luncheon for the 90th Oscars in the Beverly Hilton Grand Ballroom on Monday, Feb. 5, 2018 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Kobe Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers and became as synonymous with the franchise as purple and gold.
As a free agent in the summer of 2004, however, Bryant’s relationship with the Lakers was being tested. The Lakers dynasty had reached its end. Phil Jackson was out as head coach. Bryant’s feud with Shaquille O’Neal had reached a breaking point. And Bryant’s reputation had taken a hit after he was arrested and charged with felony sexual assault in 2003. The accuser later asked prosecutors to drop the charges, and Bryant settled a civil suit with the woman out of court.
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That July, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and then-general manager John Paxson flew to Newport Beach, Calif., for a meeting with Bryant and his agent, Rob Pelinka, now Lakers president of basketball operations, to make their pitch to Bryant.
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How close were the Bulls to luring Bryant to Chicago?
“We were looking at houses, we were looking at schools,” Bryant told the Tribune in December 2004. “We already were talking about a sign-and-trade.” He reiterated those words to O’Neal years later in an interview for NBA on TNT.
The trade eventually was called off after Shaq requested a trade and was shipped to Miami. The Bulls never were successful in acquiring Bryant, but Paxson, now Bulls vice president of basketball operations, always remembered the meeting fondly, especially in the aftermath of the helicopter crash that killed Bryant and eight others Sunday.
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“We were fortunate that we were given that opportunity,” Paxson said. “I could tell he had an enormous amount of respect for Jerry Reinsdorf, Jerry’s relationship with Michael (Jordan) and the brand that the Bulls are. The things that always stand out to me after that were, first of all, how smart of a person — we knew how smart of a player he is — and how mature he was even at that time.”
The Bulls' Michael Jordan and Lakers' Kobe Bryant look on during free throws in a game on Dec. 19, 1997, at the United Center in Chicago. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)
Bryant was the among the first wave of players labeled “the next Michael Jordan” and perhaps the one who carried the mantle best. Bryant modeled his game after Jordan’s, and it was easy to spot the influence. Bryant would go on to inspire the generation of players in the current NBA.
And, according to Paxson, Bryant never was shy about welcoming the comparison to Jordan.
“It was six years after Michael left, most guys didn’t want to follow that or have to try to live up to it,” Paxson said. “What he expressed to us was he wanted to embrace that if it happened. He wanted that challenge. I’ve said this many, many times about Michael. I had an opportunity to be around him for such a long time and seeing that rare competitiveness. The closest I’ve seen — and I obviously wasn’t involved in it — but you could just tell that Kobe Bryant had that same thing.”
The Bulls reportedly tried to acquire Bryant again a few years later when he demanded a trade in 2007 and again said Chicago was his top choice. Paxson, who missed out on signing Bryant for second a time, said he never got to form much of a personal relationship with Bryant, but several people within the Bulls organization were impacted by him in some way.
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And there was something about the Bulls that kept tempting Bryant, even though it was never meant to be.
“His last game here, he was coming from working out or lifting before the game,” Paxson said. “(I) caught his eye and said hello to him. He came over and gave me a hug and he remembered our meeting.”


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Old St. Pat’s ending World’s Largest Block Party

In an interview , Hurley said Old St. Pat ’ s is now in a “ very healthy ” fiscal @ @ @ @ @ parish to grow , support and sustain the parish and its programs .
Although the @ @ @ @ @ tradition , the demographic change and the growing number of festivals in the area has @ @ @ @ @ church to host its iconic block party year after year , he said .

Fans sing along to Guster during the 30th Old St. Pat's World's Largest Block Party in 2014. (Jessica Tezak / Chicago Tribune)
Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish will no longer host its annual World’s Largest Block Party, the West Loop church’s pastor announced Sunday.
Instead of the 35-year-old, two-day festival, Old St. Patrick’s will host a festival called “Shamrock’n the Block” on March 14, the day of Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, according to a letter posted on the church’s website.
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The Rev. Tom Hurley thanked the “thousands of people” for the block party’s success over the years and credited it for helping “secure funding” for the church, 700 W. Adams St.
“Had it not been for the early pioneers and the countless volunteers who kept pushing the World’s Largest Block Party into the successful event it has been as one of Chicago’s signature summertime festivals, we as a church would never have benefited from its financial success,” Hurley wrote in the letter.
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It was in 1984 when the Rev. Jack Wall was named pastor of Old St. Patrick’s and decided a way to revive the parish was by getting volunteers together to host the World’s Largest Block Party and raise money to sustain the church.
“Without those significant funds, much of what we do today at Old St. Pat’s would never have been realized,” Hurley said in the letter.
In an interview, Hurley said Old St. Pat’s is now in a “very healthy” fiscal position that has allowed the parish to grow, support and sustain the parish and its programs. Although the two-day festival is a cherished tradition, the demographic change and the growing number of festivals in the area has made it harder for the church to host its iconic block party year after year, he said.
“There is a lot of competition now,” Hurley said.
The strategy for the new fundraiser is to have the event during the spring rather than summer, explained Sheila Greifhahn, director of special events at the church.
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With Old St. Patrick’s now a parish of more than 4,000 families from more than 200 ZIP codes, the effort of Shamrock’n the Block is to preserve their legacy of “throwing great block parties” and to continue building community, the pastor said.
Greifhahn added that this year’s inaugural event will also celebrate St. Patrick’s 175th anniversary and Hurley’s role as the grand marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Chicago.
“We are grateful for where we have been and we are excited as we look to the future and starting to plan events, experiences, and programs that reflect where we are going,” Hurley wrote.
Shamrock’n the Block will be a pub-style block party in the West Loop neighborhood. This year it will take place on Desplaines Street, in front of Old St. Patrick’s.
There will be music, drinks and food from noon to 6 pm.
For more information visit www.oldstpats.org.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--‘Chicago Med’ cast, crew and Dick Wolf celebrate 100th episode with corpse-like cake

“ It ’ s really pretty extraordinary .
I mean , that five years went by so quickly .
We @ @ @ @ @ last night , how it just seems like we just started , ” said Merkerson @ @ @ @ @ ’ s shows , including “ Law & Order.
” “ I did 17 seasons @ @ @ @ @ , ’ and we added it up last night , between the four different shows @ @ @ @ @ Dick , I ’ ve done 501 episodes .
”

S. Epatha Merkerson (from left), Dick Wolf and Oliver Platt cut into a cake that looks like a hospital patient as they are joined by the cast, crew and production team of "Chicago Med" Tuesday at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios to celebrate the 100th episode of "Med." (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
“Chicago Med” executive producer Dick Wolf got to perform surgery Tuesday — on a cake that looked like a human patient to celebrate the filming of the 100th episode of the NBC medical drama.
“This is an amazing start for the show,” Wolf said to the “Med” cast, crew and production team before helping slice into the cake amid a bunch of “ewww”s at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. “The aim here is to be on (TV) well into the next decade.”
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Dina Cimarusti, who does special effects for “Med,” said she started making the cake Friday. She used Rice Krispies Treats, sheets of red-velvet cake and buttercream frosting to form the body, which resembles no one in particular. “I didn’t want to offend anyone, so it’s just a generic old man,” Cimarusti told the Tribune. The unidentified man was wheeled in on a gurney for the party.
The 100th episode of “Med” is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. March 18. The plot of that episode has not yet been revealed. “Med,” the third series in Wolf’s franchise of shows set and filmed in Chicago, premiered in 2015. S. Epatha Merkerson, who plays hospital administrator Sharon Goodwin, has been on “Med” since the start.
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Oliver Platt (from left), Dick Wolf and S. Epatha Merkerson celebrate the 100th episode of "Chicago Med" Tuesday at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
“It’s really pretty extraordinary. I mean, that five years went by so quickly. We were all talking about it last night, how it just seems like we just started,” said Merkerson, a veteran of Wolf’s shows, including “Law & Order.” “I did 17 seasons on ‘Law & Order,’ and we added it up last night, between the four different shows I’ve done with Dick, I’ve done 501 episodes.”
Merkerson has also played Goodwin on “Chicago Fire,” which premiered in 2012, and “Chicago P.D.,” which premiered in 2014. Though these shows have not been officially renewed for new seasons, the execs in attendance Tuesday praised Wednesday’s “One Chicago” lineup, which has Wolf looking to the future.
“I assiduously try to stay out of Chicago in January and February,” Wolf said at the celebration. “It’s rather inconvenient because (century milestones) always come up in the middle of the season, so I hope I’m going to be back here regularly now in the winter.”
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--New NTSB video shows up-close view of Kobe Bryant helicopter crash as coroner says all 9 bodies reco

New NTSB video shows up-close view of Kobe Bryant helicopter crash as coroner says all 9 bodies recovered

The group in the helicopter left Orange County ’ s John Wayne Airport at 9:06 a.m. en route to Mamba @ @ @ @ @ game .
They died when the chopper slammed into the hillside around 9:45 a.m. California @ @ @ @ @

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chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleads guilty to pocketing $250,000 in bribes, agrees to cooperate in

Ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleads guilty to pocketing $250,000 in bribes, agrees to cooperate in burgeoning corruption probe

The warrant showed the FBI was looking for items related to so-called Asphalt King Michael Vondra , a major Sandoval @ @ @ @ @ Bartlett were also visited by agents that day .
The warrant named Vondra and about @ @ @ @ @ associates , including John Harris , former chief of staff to imprisoned ex-Gov .
Rod @ @ @ @ @ connections to ComEd — where his daughter , Angie , works as a senior account @ @ @ @ @ probed .

Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after pleading guilty to bribery and tax charges on Jan. 28, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
State Sen. Martin Sandoval had already taken tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from a clout-heavy red-light camera company when he complained to one of its representatives in 2018 that he was getting stiffed.
After all, as the head of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, Sandoval was the one sticking out his neck on behalf of the company in Springfield, the senator told the executive during a meeting at a Burr Ridge restaurant, according to federal prosecutors.
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Yet the company, SafeSpeed LLC, was giving far more lucrative deals to other politically connected “consultants,” cutting them in on a percentage of the camera revenue that kept cash rolling every month, Sandoval told the representative, who was secretly recording the conversation for the FBI.
“So why don’t I get that offer?” Sandoval griped. “'Cause you know I’ll go balls to the walls for anything you ask me. ... It’s hard for me to swallow how (people) make so much off of you. Right? And I gotta do the work.”
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That conversation was one of several revealing moments made public as Sandoval pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery and tax charges, and agreed to cooperate in a burgeoning, widespread probe of public corruption that has sent shock waves from Chicago’s City Hall to Springfield.
Sandoval’s 27-page plea agreement laid bare a striking level of greed, even in a state accustomed to elected officials going off to prison for trading political power for cash.
During the lengthy hearing in federal court, Sandoval admitted taking more than a combined quarter of a million dollars in bribes in exchange for his political influence or official action, including at least $70,000 in government-supplied cash from a SafeSpeed representative who was working with authorities in return for Sandoval acting as its “protector” in the state Senate.
The agreement did not divulge how Sandoval pocketed the other $180,000 other than saying he "engaged in corrupt activities with other public officials and accepted money from other people in return for using his position to benefit those people and their business interests.” Sandoval’s criminal activity “involved more than five participants,” prosecutors said.
Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago following his arraignment on Jan. 28, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
In pleading guilty, Sandoval became the first to be convicted in an ongoing corruption probe that has touched on a who’s who of state power players, including a handful of other elected officials; magnates in the construction, asphalt and casino industries; lobbyists; transportation officials; and Commonwealth Edison executives.
Speaking to reporters in the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, U.S. Attorney John Lausch said prosecutors’ work in the widespread probe was “far from over" but declined to discuss who else might be in their crosshairs.
Sandoval, who was released on his own recognizance, made a brief statement to reporters as he left the courthouse, saying he was “ashamed” and took “full responsibility” for his actions.
“I apologize to the people of Illinois and most importantly the constituents that I’ve served over the last 17 years," he said. "... I intend to fully cooperate with the government, and because of that, I can no longer provide any further comments.”
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Under preliminary sentencing guidelines, Sandoval, who resigned from office effective Jan. 1, faces up to about 12 ½ years in federal prison, according to his plea deal. But in exchange for his continued cooperation in the probe, prosecutors agreed to recommend a reduced sentence of unspecified length.
Dressed in a dark gray suit and blue tie, Sandoval chatted with his attorney before the hearing, smiling at reporters and spectators filing into U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood’s 19th-floor courtroom.
He was more subdued during the hourlong hearing, standing at the lectern with his hands folded in front of him and occasionally shoved in his pockets. His voice cracked a bit as he said, “I plead guilty, your honor,” to each of the two counts. At one point as the hearing neared the end, Sandoval appeared to wipe away a tear.
Wood set a status hearing for July. Sandoval won’t be sentenced until he completes his cooperation — a potentially lengthy period.
The plea deal did not identify the red-light camera business involved in the bribery scheme, referring to it only as “Company A.” But Sandoval slipped up by referring to Safe Speed LLC when Wood asked him in court to explain his misconduct in his own words.
“I used my office as state senator to help SafeSpeed — er, company A ... (and) be its protector in the Illinois Senate and influence other officials to roll out the red-light camera program in Illinois,” Sandoval said.
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Prosecutors did not name the SafeSpeed representative who bribed Sandoval, referring to him in the plea agreement only as Cooperating Witness-1. Several sources familiar with the investigation identified the informant for the Tribune as Omar Maani, a Burr Ridge businessman who is one of SafeSpeed’s founders and biggest rainmakers.
SafeSpeed released a statement through a publicist Tuesday saying the company was “shocked and saddened” at the betrayal of public trust by Sandoval and CW-1, saying the bribe payments were not authorized by anyone at the company.
“It appears both individuals committed crimes without SafeSpeed’s knowledge and in violation not only of the law but of SafeSpeed’s culture,” the statement read.
SafeSpeed, however, declined to answer any questions from the Tribune about the extent of CEO Nikki Zollar’s awareness of the political donations being made on the company’s behalf.
Sandoval’s guilty plea at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago came just a day after he was charged. He also pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return that underreported his 2017 income as $125,905 when he, in fact, made more than double that, according to the plea deal. Sandoval failed to report more than $10,000 stemming from criminal activity, prosecutors said.
Sandoval admitted in the plea agreement that he first agreed in 2016 to receive $20,000 in annual campaign contributions from SafeSpeed in exchange for his official support in Springfield, including blocking any attempted legislation that would be harmful to the red-light camera industry.
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Campaign finance records analyzed by the Tribune show that the $20,000 was doled out in two separate payments in September 2016 The first $10,000 donation came from a separate firm run by Zollar, Triad Consulting Services, followed three weeks later by a $10,000 donation made by SafeSpeed itself, the records show.
In August 2017, Sandoval spoke with CW-1, the SafeSpeed representative, about splitting up the annual donation into smaller amounts, according to the plea deal. CW-1 told Sandoval it wouldn’t be a problem because the firm’s president “did not want the contribution to ‘shout out,’ meaning raise a red flag,” the plea agreement said.
Several months after that conversation, the Tribune published an investigation documenting how Sandoval intervened on behalf of SafeSpeed to push state transportation officials to change their stance and allow the company’s cameras to be installed at the relatively safe intersection of Illinois Route 83 and 22nd Street in Oakbrook Terrace.
The push came even though the Illinois Department of Transportation’s policies required that cameras target dangerous corners to improve safety, the Tribune found.
Details in the plea agreement seemed to indicate that Sandoval was worried about the Tribune’s report, saying he “tore up" a check provided by CW-1 "following publicity regarding Sandoval’s relationship with Company A."
To better disguise the money trail, Sandoval then arranged for an entity unrelated to SafeSpeed to make a $10,000 contribution to a campaign associated with the senator while agreeing to “explore other ways for the company to make its annual campaign contribution,” the plea agreement said.
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In March 2018, Sandoval arranged to have a colleague — identified in the plea agreement only as “Co-Schemer A” — collect $10,000 in cash from the SafeSpeed representative in exchange for blocking a proposed bill in Springfield to ban red-light cameras.
Despite the regular contributions, Sandoval was clearly unhappy with the amount he was being paid, especially since he knew SafeSpeed was paying a monthly percentage of camera revenue to “consultants” for helping convince suburbs to have them installed, according to the plea deal.
In the July 2018 meeting in Burr Ridge, Sandoval told the SafeSpeed representative that he was aware others were getting cash “on a monthly basis, infinitum,” for providing essentially the same assistance he did in helping land the company the camera deal in Oakbrook Terrace.
Later in the same discussion, Sandoval discussed receiving regular “protection” money from SafeSpeed to help fend off legislation that would harm its business, the plea deal said.
“I’m not trying to be dramatic, but I’m telling you the vultures would be all over that s--- if you had the wrong person there,” Sandoval allegedly told CW-1 of the Senate.
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Sandoval initially insisted that CW-1 would have to decide how much to pay for protection, saying that naming figures was “just not my style,” according to the plea deal.
When the representative asked him to pick a figure “off the top of your head,” Sandoval responded, “Five,” meaning $5,000 a month, prosecutors said.
The two also discussed how to disguise the payments as campaign contributions, with Sandoval at one point asking CW-1, “Do you have a bologna company or something innocuous?" to help funnel the cash, according to the plea agreement.
The next month, CW-1 again met Sandoval at a restaurant and handed over $15,000 in cash supplied by the government — a transaction likely captured on video by federal authorities.
[ Ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval charged with bribery in red-light camera scheme ]
Sandoval was the fourth elected official to be charged in a series of sweeping political corruption investigations that first came to light 14 months ago when the FBI descended upon the City Hall offices of Ald. Edward Burke.
In pleading guilty to a felony related to his public duties, Sandoval is by law ineligible to collect his state pension. Unless the court directs the state pension system to garnish his contributions, however, Sandoval could apply for a refund of the $142,575.22 he has paid into the system. He had not applied for a refund as of Tuesday.
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The investigation of Sandoval went public in September when federal agents executed a high-profile search of his office in Springfield and his home on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
The warrant showed the FBI was looking for items related to so-called Asphalt King Michael Vondra, a major Sandoval political donor whose offices in Bartlett were also visited by agents that day. The warrant named Vondra and about 20 of his businesses and associates, including John Harris, former chief of staff to imprisoned ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Sandoval’s connections to ComEd — where his daughter, Angie, works as a senior account representative — have also been probed.
Authorities have also sought evidence from Sandoval’s office about Rick Heidner, a major video gambling operator. Heidner had planned to build a southwest suburban horse track and casino, but the plan was scuttled in October after the Tribune reported that Heidner has long-standing business relationships with a mob-connected banker and a convicted bookie.
Three days later after hitting Sandoval’s office, the FBI and Internal Revenue Service also raided government buildings in a number of suburbs in Sandoval’s district, including Lyons and McCook. Authorities have also sought records on the towns of Cicero, Bridgeview and Summit.
Records show the FBI has sought information on Cook County Commissioner and McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski and Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty as part of the probe.
Also under investigation is Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Tony Ragucci, who resigned earlier this month on the same day the Tribune reported that he’d recently paid $30,000 from his campaign fund to a lawyer representing him in the probe.
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None of the mayors has been charged with wrongdoing.
A separate probe delving into the lobbying practices of utility giant ComEd has led to FBI raids on current and former lawmakers and political operatives, including several who are close confidants of House Speaker Michael Madigan.
A paragraph has been revised to include the information that the source of the $70,000 in bribery money was the government.
Chicago Tribune’s Dan Petrella and David Heinzmann contributed.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
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jmahr@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--China flights canceled, visa requests halted as feds warn travelers about deadly virus. ‘There’s so

China flights canceled, visa requests halted as feds warn travelers about deadly virus. ‘There’s so much uncertainty right now.’

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday advised travelers to avoid all nonessential travel to China , @ @ @ @ @ killed more than 100 and sickened more than 2,700 people .
Five cases have been @ @ @ @ @ all among people who traveled to Wuhan , the city where the virus was first @ @ @ @ @ .
One of those cases was a woman from Chicago .

Passengers from United flight UA850 direct from Beijing arrive at Terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 24, 2020. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging against all nonessential travel to the country, where more than 100 people have died from a deadly coronavirus. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
As an outbreak of a new viral illness that emerged in China continues to spread, travelers and businesses have begun heeding U.S. health officials’ recommendation to avoid nonessential travel to the country.
Meanwhile, companies in the travel industry are watching to see how far the virus — and travel fears — will spread.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday advised travelers to avoid all nonessential travel to China, where the respiratory virus has killed more than 100 and sickened more than 2,700 people. Five cases have been confirmed in the U.S., all among people who traveled to Wuhan, the city where the virus was first detected, health officials said. One of those cases was a woman from Chicago.
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United Airlines said demand for flights to China has declined so significantly that it canceled 24 flights between its U.S. hub cities and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai scheduled for the first week of February, including some connecting Chicago to Beijing and Shanghai. The airline typically operates about 12 flights a day between the U.S. and China.
“We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed,” United said in a statement.
The airline declined to comment on the potential financial impact.
Loren Rivkin, executive vice president of Northbrook-based industrial safety products company Saf-T-Gard, called off a planned trip to visit factories and customers in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Southern China on Monday after two colleagues he had planned to meet with advised him to postpone the trip.
“I just decided it wasn’t worth it,” Rivkin said.
CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to #China due to the ongoing #2019nCoV (#coronavirus) outbreak. The outbreak is growing and there is limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas. https://t.co/Km38IKxIAs pic.twitter.com/NHboTImlyr — CDC Travel Health (@CDCtravel) January 27, 2020
Airlines have let passengers request refunds for travel to Wuhan or reschedule flights to other cities in China, and Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corp. said it would let guests postpone or cancel stays at its hotels in China through Feb. 10.
Visa and passport expediting service Swift Passport Services said companies, study abroad programs and individual travelers all had been in touch to say they were canceling upcoming trips and no longer needed visas, said CEO Laurie Lee.
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Two corporate clients told Lee they were putting employee travel to China on hold into March and asked Lee not to approve employees’ requests for visas.
Two university study abroad programs and one private study abroad provider had also been in touch with Swift, saying they were canceling programs in China. The universities said they planned to give students the option to pick a different overseas destination, but “that requires they get a visa ASAP,” Lee said.
Kraft Heinz has banned employee travel to and from China until further notice and plans to let employees who live in China work from home when they return from Lunar New Year celebrations, spokesman Michael Mullen said in an email.
As for leisure travel, it’s too soon to say whether concerns about the virus will encourage some to avoid the region altogether, said Olivia Link, a travel advisor at Glencoe-based Lake Shore Travel.
“It will depend on what we learn about how it’s spreading and the incubation period. There’s so much uncertainty right now," she said.
Brett Cumberland, managing director of Chicago-based luxury tour operator R. Crusoe & Son and The Andrew Harper Travel Office, said he didn’t have any clients in China but was concerned about the virus’s potential impact on a boom in travel to Japan around the Olympic Games, which will be held in Tokyo this summer.
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“Our concern is not just for China and what’s going on there, but can we hold on to Japan,” he said.
During the SARS outbreak, “people were a little cautious, and it did put a halt on some travel,” said Paula Dunlap, a travel advisor with Direct Travel Luxe in Naperville. But it’s too soon to say whether the new virus will be as disruptive, she said.
Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region lost about 8% of their annual passenger traffic at the height of the 2003 SARS outbreak, equivalent to about $6 billion in lost revenues, according to a report from the International Air Transport Association. North American airlines lost about 3.7% of international traffic, or an estimated $1 billion in lost revenues.
Travel rebounded within nine months, and later avian flu and MERS epidemics had milder effects on air travel, suggesting the disruption from the new virus will be temporary, the report said.
But the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak also is striking during the Lunar New Year celebrations, a particularly busy travel period. January 2019 was the second-busiest month for travel from China to the U.S. during the 12 months ending Nov. 30, according to data from the association.
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Last week during their earnings calls, executives at United and American said it was too soon to determine the economic impact of the virus.
“We have in the past effectively managed situations like this one to keep our people safe. And in doing so, we’ve seen demand bounce back. Managing through uncertainty is something that every airline in the world has to do,” United President Scott Kirby told analysts on the call.
The outbreak, which has spread to a dozen countries, comes just as hopes were rising that Chinese tourism to the U.S. would start to recover following two years of decline due to the prolonged trade dispute between the two countries.
In 2018, travel from China to the U.S. fell for the first time in 15 years, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, which collects data from U.S. Customs forms. The office forecast a further decline of 5% in 2019 but predicted a return to growth in 2020 and beyond.
China remains the fifth-largest source of foreign tourism to the U.S., behind Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and Japan. Nearly 3 million Chinese traveled to the U.S. in 2018, spending more than $36 billion.
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Investors have been rattled by the potential for a wider economic impact from the outbreak. Overnight Monday, a sell-off on Wall Street gave the Dow Jones Industrial Average its first 5-day losing streak since early August and handed the S&P 500 its worst day since early October.
At least one traveler wasn’t overly wary. John Rogers, 70, who recently returned to Chicago after living in China for six years, is scheduled to fly to Hainan, an island south of mainland China, to judge a national law school competition at the end of February. Rogers, who said he visited China during the SARS outbreak, said he would be comfortable making the trip but “fully expects to get a note saying it will be postponed or canceled.”
In the meantime, travelers who canceled or delayed trips are trying to assess when they will feel comfortable returning.
Peter Compernolle, of Chicago, said he typically travels to China to visit his wife’s parents each year in late spring but doesn’t expect to make plans anytime soon.
“We’re keeping a close eye on the spread of coronavirus both because we have family there, and also because we sometimes need to go back there unexpectedly,” he wrote in an email.
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Rivkin said he plans to follow recommendations from the CDC before scheduling another trip.
"I’m waiting for some kind of clearance it’s contained and controlled,' he said.
Chicago Tribune reporter Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz and Associated Press contributed.
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lzumbach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--10 years ago a British trader caused a ‘flash crash’ that sent the stock market into a trillion-doll

10 years ago a British trader caused a ‘flash crash’ that sent the stock market into a trillion-dollar dive. Today he learned his fate in Chicago federal court.

After the flash crash , Sarao refined the trading program — in part with the help of a suburban Chicago @ @ @ @ @ able to make $ 70 million over several years before his April 2015 arrest in @ @ @ @ @ fraud , commodities fraud and spoofing .
He was detained for four months in a @ @ @ @ @ on bail .

Ten years ago, trading futures from his parents’ suburban London home, Navinder Sarao shook up the investment world when his computer program set off the “flash crash," causing the stock market to temporarily lose a trillion dollars in a matter of minutes before recovering.
Diagnosed as a mathematical savant with social disabilities from Asperger’s syndrome, Sarao on Tuesday stood in a federal courtroom in Chicago to learn if he’d have to trade his childhood bedroom for a prison cell.
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“I could never survive that,” a contrite Sarao, 41, told the judge, recounting his sleepless terror during previous incarceration.
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In a case prosecutors and defense attorneys alike called “unusual,” Sarao was sentenced Tuesday to time served plus one year of supervised home confinement.
Worth millions at his peak, and now living on government aid in England, Sarao was an unlikely wolf of Wall Street, with a “childlike, guileless” demeanor and a wealth of quirks that made his massive and illicit disruption of financial markets all the more remarkable, according to his attorneys’ sentencing memorandum, filed last week.
Taking on the world’s most sophisticated futures traders from a bedroom filled with stuffed animals, video games and sports memorabilia, Sarao devised his own method to “spoof” the market and generate millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains, while keeping his success a secret for years — until he was caught.
Sarao pleaded guilty in 2016 to a five-year fraudulent trading scheme and faced up to 30 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors had recommended his sentence be time already served — four months in a London prison — both because of his “extraordinary” cooperation with federal authorities, and concerns over his Asperger’s condition, which was diagnosed after his 2015 arrest and proved debilitating during his brief incarceration.
“Additional incarceration beyond the time he has already served would pose particularly severe challenges for the defendant,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.
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Using a variety of computer programs, Sarao made millions trading financial instruments called E-Mini S&P 500 futures through Chicago’s CME. He was engaged in a fraudulent technique known as “spoofing,” which uses electronic high-speed computer trading to flood the market with bogus large orders, triggering short-term price movements. The false orders are canceled before they are filled, while the trader takes advantage of the artificial price blip.
“I made more money than I ever imagined,” Sarao told the court. “I would like to say how deeply sorry I am to those I affected by my spoofing.”
On May 6, 2010, Sarao’s program inadvertently set off the flash crash, temporarily roiling financial markets, regulators said. With volatility high and broader negative sentiments over the European debt crisis, Sarao flooded the market throughout the morning with spoof orders, creating a major sell side imbalance for the E-Mini.
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At 2:32 p.m. Eastern time, against the backdrop of high volatility and thinning liquidity, an institutional investor initiated a program to sell a total of 75,000 E-Mini contracts valued at $4.1 billion to hedge an existing equity position. Automated high-frequency trading programs exacerbated movement and stocks spiraled downward, with equities losing $1 trillion in valuation in about 30 minutes.
Then, just as quickly, markets recovered, regaining nearly all of the losses.
After the flash crash, Sarao refined the trading program — in part with the help of a suburban Chicago computer programmer — and was able to make $70 million over several years before his April 2015 arrest in England on charges of wire fraud, commodities fraud and spoofing. He was detained for four months in a London prison before being released on bail.
“It was total torture for him,” Roger Burlingame, his London-based attorney, told the court Tuesday. “He wasn’t sleeping. He started to fall apart. He was suicidal at the time.”
Sarao was extradited in November 2016 to the U.S., where he pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit $12.8 million attributable to his fraud and spoofing scheme. He paid $6.9 million within 10 days of his guilty plea — most of what remained of his trading proceeds.
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Several sleepless nights at the Metropolitan Correction Center following his extradition to Chicago were more harrowing for Sarao than four months in a London jail, he said in court Tuesday.
"I was scared that I would pass away from lack of sleep,” Sarao said.
As part of his cooperation with federal authorities, Sarao returned to Chicago in April 2019 to testify in the federal trial of Jitesh Thakkar, a computer programmer from Naperville charged with helping Sarao secure millions in illicit profits. Those charges were dropped, although Thakkar still faces a civil enforcement action.
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A public benefits recipient, Sarao lives on $336 a month, yet his lifestyle is “identical" to the years when his net worth exceeded $70 million, according to the filing by his attorneys.
He lost most of his assets to three “apparently fraudulent” investment schemes, according to prosecutors.
In seeking a reduced sentence, federal prosecutors also said Sarao was “not motivated by money, greed, or any desire for a lavish lifestyle,” other than the purchase of an inexpensive car.
Sarao abandoned the used Volkswagen “soon after purchase” on a London street because he encountered a “road closed” sign on his known route home, according to his attorneys. He now travels mostly by bicycle.
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To appear at his sentencing, Sarao spent one night in a Chicago hotel, with plans to fly back to London Tuesday night.
For the next year, Sarao will be confined to his home unless traveling for work, medical treatment or other prescribed exceptions.
“My guilt is heavy for what I put (my family) through,” Sarao said. “I will never do anything illegally again.”
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Chicago-based Blue Cross parent company eliminating 400 jobs

The company has also had upheavals in its leadership .
Health Care Service Corp. announced in July that its president @ @ @ @ @ leave after leading the company since 2016 .
At the time , a person with @ @ @ @ @ there may have been a difference of opinion between Steiner and the board about strategy @ @ @

The logo atop the Blue Cross and Blue Shield building is seen near Millennium Park in Chicago. The health insurer's parent company, Health Care Service Corp., is also based in the building. It said Jan. 28, 2020, that it is cutting 400 positions. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago-based parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is eliminating about 400 middle management positions, the company confirmed Tuesday.
Health Care Service Corp. is eliminating the jobs this week from “various company locations to reduce organizational redundancy and improve decision making efficiency,” spokesman Greg Thompson said in a statement. The cuts will take place at Health Care Service Corp. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, which are based in Chicago, and also at the health insurance plans it operates in Texas, Montana, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
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Thompson declined to say how many jobs the company is eliminating in Illinois. Health Care Service Corp. and its plans across those five states have 24,000 employees overall.
“To best serve our customers now and into the future of the rapidly changing health care landscape, we are rebalancing our resources to meet the diverse needs of our customers, provider partners and other stakeholders,” Thompson said.
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The company plans to add about 1,000 jobs in customer and provider service, technology and digital capabilities. No additional reductions are planned at this point, Thompson said.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the dominant health insurer in Illinois, with more than 8.5 million members here. In 2018, Health Care Service Corp. made a profit of $4.1 billion, which included $1.7 billion the company got back from the federal government because of changes made under the new tax law.
The cuts come at a time of rapid change for the company. Health Care Service Corp. also laid off dozens of middle management employees in December.
The company has also had upheavals in its leadership. Health Care Service Corp. announced in July that its president and CEO Paula Steiner would leave after leading the company since 2016. At the time, a person with knowledge of the situation said there may have been a difference of opinion between Steiner and the board about strategy and vision.
Chief Financial Officer Eric Feldstein, Chief Information Officer Steve Betts and Chief Human Resources Officer Nazneen Razi also left in recent months. Steve Hamman, a longtime employee, is now president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Maurice Smith, who was president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, serves as president of Health Care Service Corp.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Horizon Therapeutics buying former Takeda office campus in Deerfield, moving more than 500 employees

Horizon Therapeutics buying former Takeda office campus in Deerfield, moving more than 500 employees from Lake Forest

“ Lake County has a rich life sciences ecosystem and we are looking forward to continuing to contribute to and @ @ @ @ @ ecosystem , ” Horizon Chairman , President and CEO Timothy Walbert said in a news @ @ @ @ @ experienced significant growth during the last three years including adding more than 200 employees in @ @ @ @ @ gives us the flexibility to accommodate our current employees as well as our anticipated long-term @ @ @

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.'s Deerfield campus is seen Oct. 10, 2014. Takeda shifted operations to Boston in 2019. On Jan. 28, 2020, Horizon Therapeutics announced it will purchase the Deerfield site and relocate in the second half of the year. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Horizon Therapeutics is buying Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.'s huge three-building office campus in Deerfield, which Takeda vacated late last year.
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Ireland-based drugmaker Horizon announced the deal Tuesday, saying it planned to complete the purchase before April and relocate its U.S. headquarters, along with more than 500 employees, from Lake Forest in the second half of the year. Horizon also plans to hire more than 100 employees in the Chicago area this year.
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Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Horizon is not receiving any incentives from the state.
Takeda formally put the 650,000-square-foot campus on the market for sale in October, a few months after the Japanese firm announced it would close its approximately 1,000-worker U.S. headquarters by the end of 2019. The work shifted to Boston following Takeda’s acquisition of Irish drugmaker Shire.
The deal for one of suburban Chicago’s fanciest corporate headquarters comes as the Lake County office market looks to offset the loss of about 2,700 jobs from three big office employers.
That includes Takeda, Mondelez International’s upcoming headquarters move downtown and Walgreens Boots Alliance’s shift of 1,300 suburban workers to the redeveloped Old Post Office downtown.
“Lake County has a rich life sciences ecosystem and we are looking forward to continuing to contribute to and lead the growth of that ecosystem,” Horizon Chairman, President and CEO Timothy Walbert said in a news release. “We have experienced significant growth during the last three years including adding more than 200 employees in 2019. This new campus gives us the flexibility to accommodate our current employees as well as our anticipated long-term growth.”
The announcement was welcome news to Deerfield. “We know how to respect businesses,” said Mayor Harriet Rosenthal. "If they want to be involved in the community, we’re delighted. If they want to be a little more private, we respect that.”
Horizon was founded in 2008 with only a few workers and now has more than 1,200 employees. The company sells orphan drugs, which are medications for rare diseases, and drugs to treat rheumatic diseases.
Horizon is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and also has offices in Chicago, California, Washington, D.C., and Germany.
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The company’s current U.S. operations are based out of a 160,000-square-foot building at 150 S. Saunders Road in Lake Forest, the former Solo Cup headquarters. Horizon plans to sublease that office, which it moved to from a smaller Deerfield space in early 2016.
Horizon spokesman Geoff Curtis declined to say whether Horizon expects to use the entire Deerfield campus, or if it could lease some space to other tenants.
The 70-acre campus was built along Lake Cook Road and interstates 94 and 294, with construction completed in 2011. In addition to the three office buildings, there are two small structures that have been used for day care and shipping and receiving. There also is undeveloped land zoned for up to 735,000 square feet of new buildings, providing options for longer-term expansions.
Horizon has been growing in recent years through acquisitions.
In 2017, Horizon acquired River Development Corp., which was working on a medication to treat thyroid eye disease, for $145 million plus potential future payments contingent on the drug’s approval and sales.
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That medication was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week. The drug, Tepezza, is the first approved by the FDA to treat the rare condition in which the muscles and tissues behind the eyes become inflamed, causing the eyes to bulge.
Horizon expects peak annual sales of the drug to reach $1 billion, Walbert said on a call with investors last week. Horizon also expects to pay an additional $105 million on the River Development deal, based on the drug’s approval.
One of the company’s other top sellers is Krystexxa, a drug for uncontrolled gout.
Takeda is represented in the sale by brokers Eric Feinberg and John Goodman of Savills.
Horizon’s plans to buy the Takeda campus were first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Takeda acquired Shire in January 2019, in a deal valued at more than $62 billion in cash and stock at the time it was announced. At that time, Takeda had 30,000 employees worldwide and Shire had 24,000 employees.
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Takeda’s best-selling pharmaceuticals include Entyvio, used to treat ulcerative colitis, and cancer drug Leuprorelin. Shire focused on rare diseases, and sold Adderall, which is used for ADHD.
Takeda confirmed the agreement with Horizon but declined additional comment.
Freelance writer Steve Sadin contributed.
rori@chicagotribune.com
lschencker@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Ryan_Ori
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Twitter @lschencker


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Manager at Glenview family restaurant was living an ‘out of control’ life. Now he’s a sober ‘gentlem

Manager at Glenview family restaurant was living an ‘out of control’ life. Now he’s a sober ‘gentleman’ and youth mentor.

That was his life until he realized , “ I was sick and tired of being sick and tired , @ @ @ @ @ decided , “ This is not the life I want for me .
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ in trouble , I ’ d seen people dying , I was having health issues @ @ @ @ @ had to change .
It wasn ’ t everybody else ’ s fault why my @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Steve Koliopoulos, pictured in this photo provided Jan. 4, 2020 , says he decided to turn his life around after drug use and run-ins with law enforcement and the legal system had him on a different path. - Original Credit: Steve Koliopoulos (Steve Koliopoulos / HANDOUT)
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The manager of The Works, a family-owned restaurant in Glenview, is 26 months sober and sharing his long journey through jails, hospital emergency rooms, and rehabilitation centers with the hope of helping young people.
Steve Koliopoulos had a promising career as a basketball player until drugs and alcohol closed that door. His problems began, he said, when he starting hanging around with the wrong crowd.
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“I wanted to fit in,” he explained. “I wanted to get my classmates’ approval and that led to me compromising the values that were instilled in me from my parents. Little by little, you start living a different lifestyle and you start experimenting with more negative energy, as far as drugs and alcohol. Next thing you know, it’s gotten out of control.”
That was his life until he realized, “I was sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he said. He decided, “This is not the life I want for me. I’d seen my friends getting in trouble, I’d seen people dying, I was having health issues. I realized that I had to change. It wasn’t everybody else’s fault why my life was becoming this way.”
Koliopoulos began rebuilding his life five years ago. It hasn’t been an easy battle. He has had relapses.
“The lifestyle that I had would pull me back,” he said.
Initially, Koliopoulos kept his struggle with sobriety a secret.
“There’s a stigma around it,” he said. “My family is very much old school from Greece and, a lot of times, they’re worried about what people will say.”
Steve Koliopoulos, pictured in this photo provided Jan. 4, 2020, says he is 26 months sober and decided to turn his life around after drug use and brushes with the law. (Steve Koliopoulos / HANDOUT)
Koliopoulos decided to share his struggle with young people, with the encouragement of his wife, when he began pondering, “Why did I go through all this stuff?,” he said.
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His answer is so that he can tell his story and try to help prevent other young people from going through what he did.
During presentations under the name “Gentleman Steve," Koliopoulos shares his personal story and then he tells young people what he calls the three secrets that have helped him heal. They are: be yourself, pass the torch (do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return), and have private time.
His tagline is “Tough Talk for Tough Times,” and he’s no longer ashamed of what he considers the broken elements of his life.
“My story has made me who I am today,” he said. “I celebrate my recovery and I’m hopeful about it instead of being embarrassed about my ‘cracks’ and trying to hide them.”
He hopes to encourage others to take the right path.
“If I can help one person change the direction of their life, I’m super grateful,” he said.
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Myrna Petlicki is a freelancer.


chicagotribune--2020-01-28--Easy DIY baking mix makes for muffins in minutes, with nearly endless improvisation

Keep this mix on hand for easy muffins in a jiffy .
After mixing the ingredients , divide the batch @ @ @ @ @ in 1 quart canning jars or zip-close quart bags .
It keeps perfectly well at @ @ @ @ @ .
Whisk the dry ingredients for each batch to be sure they ’ re well @ @ @ @ @ instructions are a little unusual : If you put the muffins into a hot oven @ @ @ @ @ they rise higher and look better .
Then reducing the temp lets them continue to @ @ @

The baking mix is a boon to have on hand for last-minute baking tasks, such as when your child informs you at 9 p.m. that tomorrow is her day to bring a treat, or when friends pop by unexpectedly. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune; Shannon Kinsella/food styling)
If your morning routine includes a coffee shop stop to grab joe and a muffin, you need this story.
If your dinner menu’s looking a little uninspired, you also need this story.
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We have a way for you to have your muffin and eat it, too — any time of day, any way you want it. It’ll help your wallet, too. Whether you want sweet, chockablock with fruit and nuts, or savory, redolent with cheese and chiles or other savory ingredients, this baking mix lets you have muffins in minutes.
The baking mix is also a boon to have on hand for last-minute baking tasks, such as when your child informs you at 9 p.m. that tomorrow is her day to take a treat, or when friends pop by unexpectedly.
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Store the mix at room temperature and make up a batch whenever you have a few minutes. Then freeze the cooled muffins in individual portions for quick grab-and-go snacks. It’s better to freeze the baked muffins than to freeze the batter.
Having the mix on hand allows for easy improvisation. Add a little vanilla to the batter if you’re going for sweet muffins. Top the muffins before baking with a simple streusel of 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons softened butter, if you like. Or, while the muffins bake, you may wish to make a simple glaze or icing from powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to gild them when they’ve cooled.
Some sweet add-in combinations that I especially like include:
¾ cup toasted coconut + ¾ cup diced pineapple + 1 tablespoon rum extract
¾ cup diced apple or pear + ¾ cup chopped dates
1 cup peanut butter chips + ¼ cup powdered peanut butter + ¼ cup cocoa
¾ cup mashed banana + ½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup mashed pumpkin or butternut squash + 2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1 teaspoon each of nutmeg and ginger
1 cup fresh blueberries (toss these with the dry ingredients so they won’t sink to the bottom of the muffins) + 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
On the other side of the fence, savory muffins match up well with simple suppers of soup, stew or chili. Some savory add-in combinations that have pleased me include:
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels + ½ cup shredded cheddar + ¼ cup diced roasted chiles OR 1 tablespoon chili powder + 2 teaspoons cumin
1 cup diced brie (with rind removed) + ½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup thawed frozen chopped spinach + ½ cup crumbled feta + 2 teaspoons dried oregano + 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
¾ cup diced ham + ¾ cup diced Swiss or Emmentaler cheese + 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
¾ cup crumbled blue cheese + ¾ cup cooked, crumbled bacon + 2 teaspoons sage
½ cup pesto + ¾ cup pine nuts + ½ cup grated Parmesan (sprinkle some of the cheese on top before baking)
Robin Mather is a longtime food journalist and the author of “The Feast Nearby,” a collection of essays and recipes from a year of eating locally on a tight budget.
With the DIY mix on hand, you just need to add milk, oil and an egg to bake up a fresh batch of muffins. Make them sweet or savory. And mix in your favorite ingredients. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune; Shannon Kinsella/food styling)
Multiple muffin mix
Prep: 30 minutes
Bake: 18-21 minutes
Makes: 4 batches, or about 36 large or 48 small muffins
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Keep this mix on hand for easy muffins in a jiffy. After mixing the ingredients, divide the batch into recipe-sized portions and store in 1 quart canning jars or zip-close quart bags. It keeps perfectly well at room temperature for several months. Whisk the dry ingredients for each batch to be sure they’re well blended. The baking temperature instructions are a little unusual: If you put the muffins into a hot oven for a short time, they rise higher and look better. Then reducing the temp lets them continue to cook through.
Baking mix:
7 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled
1 cup whole-wheat flour or cornmeal, spooned into measuring cup and leveled
3 cups sugar: any combination of firmly packed brown sugar OR white sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
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2 teaspoons salt
For each batch of 12 regular or 6 large muffins:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
½ cup oil: melted coconut oil, canola oil OR vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla, for sweet muffins (optional)
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2 ¾ cup baking mix (above)
Add-ins: up to 1 ½ cups any combination of fruit, vegetables, grated or diced cheese, baking chips, nuts or toasted coconut
1. Make the baking mix: In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine thoroughly and portion for storage.
2. At baking time, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line the cavities of a muffin pan with paper liners.
3. Combine egg, milk and oil in a large bowl. Whisk to combine well. Add baking mix and your choice of add-ins; combine with 15 to 20 strokes. There will still be streaks of white showing and the batter will be lumpy. Do not overmix.
4. Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full with the batter. Bake, 10 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 8 to 11 minutes more for regular-sized muffins, or 15 to 20 minutes more for large muffins.
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5. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring muffins to a rack to finish cooling.
6. Once cool, the muffins can be individually frozen on a baking pan before transferring to zip-close bags for longer storage, up to 3 months. Thaw by microwaving for about a minute or allow them to thaw naturally at room temperature.
Nutrition information per serving: 221 calories, 10 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 17 mg cholesterol, 30 g carbohydrates, 14 g sugar, 3 g protein, 204 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
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