chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Review: This ‘Boys in the Band’ hands you a vodka tonic and sits you in the midst of that pre-Stonew

Review: This ‘Boys in the Band’ hands you a vodka tonic and sits you in the midst of that pre-Stonewall party

Walking down that hallway , my find flashed back to 2013 and Brian Sidney Bembridge ’ s brilliant Chicago design @ @ @ @ @ the Sun ” at TimeLine Theatre .
As with William Boles ’ eye-popping set design @ @ @ @ @ Band , ” a play set in a single location was opened up .
In @ @ @ @ @ , ” which often has been staged in spaces so expansive you wonder why the @ @ @ @ @ , the staging made clear they were exiting a dark , rat-infested building where nothing @ @ @ @ @ “ Boys in the Band , ” you don ’ t then take a seat @ @ @ @ @ huge , meticulously detailed apartment , drinking vodka tonics with the characters , sitting among @ @ @ @ @ parquet floors , sharing their chips and dip .
As the evening wears on , @ @ @ @ @ the Manhattan streetscape , a dull hum as at least some of these men , @ @ @ @ @ , start to stare in the mirror , straight back at themselves .

Mart Crowley’s “The Boys in the Band,” a seminal pre-Stonewall drama from 1968, takes place in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In the new, remarkable, immersive production at the Windy City Playhouse, you start out in the foyer of such a building, staring at pieces of mail bereft on a side table. You press a button for an elevator and one arrives with a doorman. There is some Disney-esque shaking, the illusion of climbing floors, and then the back door opens on an anonymous corridor filled with doors. Where, you wonder, is the gay birthday party to which you hold a ticket?
Walking down that hallway, my find flashed back to 2013 and Brian Sidney Bembridge’s brilliant Chicago design for “A Raisin in the Sun” at TimeLine Theatre. As with William Boles’ eye-popping set design for “Boys in the Band,” a play set in a single location was opened up. In the case of “Raisin,” which often has been staged in spaces so expansive you wonder why the Younger family wants to move, the staging made clear they were exiting a dark, rat-infested building where nothing could grow. But at “Boys in the Band,” you don’t then take a seat. You are inside a huge, meticulously detailed apartment, drinking vodka tonics with the characters, sitting among them on banquets atop their parquet floors, sharing their chips and dip. As the evening wears on, you hear the sounds of the Manhattan streetscape, a dull hum as at least some of these men, their internal buzz wearing off, start to stare in the mirror, straight back at themselves.
Advertisement
This is quite a different production from the recent Broadway revival — a star-driven affair that made sure everyone knew it had cast actors who were gay in real life. The meta intent there, clearly, was to contrast the world in which a gay, male New Yorker found himself in 1968 — a homophobic environment leading to internalized shame and denial — and the hugely successful gay actors performing before you, the stars of middle-America sitcoms, Broadway plays and Hollywood blockbusters. The contrast was so striking as to turn what usually had played as a radically somber piece of realism — the first play, really, to explicitly explain how anti-gay policies denied rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — into a history lesson arguing how far we have come. Broadway invariably adds an optimistic gloss.
On Irving Park Road, there are no celebrities, just vulnerable studies of the difficulty of loving yourself enough to not hurt, and not to call out, your friends, lovers and partners.
Advertisement
The director Carl Menninger has cast the play very deftly, whether it’s Sam Bell-Gurwitz playing Harold, Crowley’s most acidic portrait in cynicism, or Denzel Tsopnang playing one of the quietest, deepest feeling men in the room. Three other performances stand out in the party hosted by Jackson Evans’ fragile Michael: Jordan Dell Harris, who plays Donald, the character with the greatest chance at happiness, you feel; William Marquez, who plays Emory, the life of the shebang; and, most especially, Christian Edwin Cook, who dives so deep into the closeted, miserable Alan you worry he might never emerge into the light.
Denzel Tsopnang, William Marquez and Ryan Reilly in "Boys in the Band" by Windy City Playhouse. (Michael Brosilow photo)
Caveats? Well, the size of the space sometimes dissipates the ferocity of the drama as actors have to play across broad expanses. I’d say that the production would be vastly improved by moving more rapidly; these actors can move the needle yet further to the right without falling into caricature or cliche. And there is no question that you have to understand “The Boys in the Band” in the context of its time: it is inconceivable that a writer now would pen so much self-loathing into a play, if only for the fear of perpetuating the very stereotype this play wants to erase.
But for the critical thinking soul, for the person who craves to understand who we are and where we came from, the person who sees that hatred still flairs up, inside and out of ourselves? This canonical American play will always merit revival. And it is, of course, set at a party among (mostly) intimate friends. They are at least trying to have a good time. You’ll have one too, I think, and also feel its sting.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “The Boys in the Band” (3.5 stars)
When: Through April 19
Where: Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park Road
Advertisement
Running time: 1 hour, 50 minites
Tickets: $75-$95 (includes 2 drinks and snacks during show) at 773-891-8985 or windycityplayhouse.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Michael Jordan won the dunk contest — and game MVP. A look back at the 1988 NBA All-Star Game at Chi

Michael Jordan won the dunk contest — and game MVP. A look back at the 1988 NBA All-Star Game at Chicago Stadium.

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 )

This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent.


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Philip Rivers is set to enter free agency after 16 seasons with the Chargers

Rivers was drafted fourth overall by the New York Giants in the 2004 draft but was traded to the Chargers @ @ @ @ @ for Eli Manning .
Rivers went on to set 30 franchise records with the Chargers @ @ @ @ @ starts are second-most among quarterbacks in NFL history and his 123 wins are ninth .
@ @ @ @ @ quarterbacks to eclipse 50,000 career yards and his 397 touchdowns are sixth .

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Philip Rivers' 16-year career with the Chargers has come to an end.
The franchise announced Monday that Rivers will enter free agency and not return for the upcoming season. General manager Tom Telesco said in a statement that as they talked through various scenarios with Rivers, it became apparent it would be best for both “to turn the page on what has truly been a remarkable run.”
Advertisement
Rivers was drafted fourth overall by the New York Giants in the 2004 draft but was traded to the Chargers in a draft day deal for Eli Manning. Rivers went on to set 30 franchise records with the Chargers. His 224 consecutive regular-season starts are second-most among quarterbacks in NFL history and his 123 wins are ninth. He is one of six quarterbacks to eclipse 50,000 career yards and his 397 touchdowns are sixth.
Los Angeles was 5-11 last season and has the sixth pick in April’s draft. The Chargers also have Tyrod Taylor, who will be entering his 10th season and has 46 starts with Buffalo and Cleveland.


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Luke Perry omitted from Oscars In Memoriam

The organization behind the Oscars has faced blowback before for failing to include major filmmakers in the In Memoriam reel @ @ @ @ @ surprised by Perry ’ s exclusion , since his final on-screen appearance was in “ @ @ @ @ @ Hollywood , ” one of this year ’ s best picture nominees .
Perry died @ @ @ @ @ stroke , just after 2019′s ceremony on Feb. 24 .

The 2020 Oscars In Memoriam segment memorialized late Hollywood icons such as Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, and Kirk Douglas, who died last week at age 103. But the Academy left off a few notable names, including Luke Perry, Cameron Boyce and Sid Haig.
Orson Bean, the 91-year-old “Being John Malkovich” actor who died in a car accident Friday, was also omitted. That’s likely because the Academy didn’t have time to modify the segment before Sunday’s telecast. Likewise, Robert Conrad, who appeared in films including “Palm Springs Weekend” and “Jingle All the Way,” died on Saturday at 84.
Advertisement
The organization behind the Oscars has faced blowback before for failing to include major filmmakers in the In Memoriam reel. But viewers were particularly surprised by Perry’s exclusion, since his final on-screen appearance was in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” one of this year’s best picture nominees. Perry died March 4 after suffering a stroke, just after 2019′s ceremony on Feb. 24.
Haig, known for his role as Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s"House of 1000 Corpses" trilogy, died Sept. 24 from a lung infectionat age 80. Boyce, 20, died in July after complications from epilepsy. He was most recognized for starring in Disney Channel’s “Descendants” movies.
Advertisement
The video segment, accompanied by Billie Eilish singing a powerful rendition of the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” honored numerous fallen actors like Doris Day, Peter Fonda and John Singleton. The Academy posted a lengthier clip on its website that featured Perry, Haig and Boyce.


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--One of the last Chicago family-owned candymakers preps for Valentine’s Day, and a sticky future ahea

One of the last Chicago family-owned candymakers preps for Valentine’s Day, and a sticky future ahead

Speaking of iconic vintage candies , Cupid made Frango mints for Chicago area Macy ’ s stores , but just @ @ @ @ @ them for about two years but we couldn ’ t be competitive with their price @ @ @ @ @ everything out of Philadelphia , ” said Stefanos .
Cupid ’ s French mints are @ @ @ @ @ better , he likes to say .
He ’ s not wrong .
Their distinctive @ @ @ @ @ absolutely better .
After tasting every Frango flavor available at the Macy ’ s State @ @ @ @ @ the Cupid French mints took me back to the chocolate I remembered made at Marshall @ @ @ @

The Cupid Candies factory and shop on South Western Avenue in Chicago. The company was founded in founded in 1936 by Polyhronis Stefanos, father of the current owner John Stefanos. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
On Valentine’s Day, soon after sunrise, you’ll find die-hard romantics lining up at Cupid Candies on the South Side of Chicago. Despite decades of change, one constant remains. They come, not in search of love, but chocolate, from hand-dipped strawberries, meltaways and the pecan caramel clusters formerly known as Turtles.
“Hundreds of people come,” said John Stefanos, 73, president of Cupid Candies, founded in 1936 by his late father, Polyhronis Stefanos.
Advertisement
Buttercream chocolates are made at the Cupid Candies factory and shop on South Western Avenue in Chicago on Dec. 17, 2019. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Stefanos spoke at his kitchen storefront in the Gresham neighborhood. “They start at 7 a.m. and we go until whenever the last customer comes, usually 6 or 7 p.m.”
Cupid Candies is one of the last of the old-line, family-owned candy makers in Chicago, like Margie’s Candies on the North Side. Greek immigrants once made the city the candy capital of the country. Now Cupid is one of the first to forge into the future by making CBD chocolate. Although Stefanos’ health is challenged, he gets help from loyal, longtime employees, most of whom are Mexican immigrants carrying on the tradition.
Advertisement
Feb. 12, 13 and 14 are the three busiest days of the year for boxed chocolate makers like Cupid. “The best day of the week for Valentine’s to fall on is actually Friday,” said Stefanos. It does this year. “Then Saturdays and Sundays are for those who forgot and want to get out of the doghouse.”
Hazel Harris will be there to help you. “I’ve been working for Cupid for 31 years,” said Harris. “I run a little bit of everything around here. It’s pretty fun to have chocolate every day so that’s a good thing in life.”
She’ll recommend Turks, crisp pecan and soft caramel clusters dipped in milk chocolate, their most popular candy.
“We can’t call them Turtles because that’s the trademarked name of DeMet’s,” said Stefanos of the company founded in Chicago in 1898. “We make our caramel with real butter and real cream, rather than anything artificial.”
Turks, chocolate-covered nut and caramel clusters, like Turtles, are a Valentine's Day favorite at Cupid Candies. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
Two other Cupid Candies shops in the suburbs may be better known though as old-fashioned, ice-cream soda fountains. Oak Lawn opened in 1956, and Orland Park in 1993.
“Hot fudge sundaes or chocolate shakes and malts are the thing people go for,” said Monica Biliskov, who started at Oak Lawn, is now manager at Orland Park and has been with Cupid for 29 years.
“They’re good people to work for,” said Biliskov, who knew Stefanos’ parents too. “It’s nice to work for a family business.”
What you won’t find at Cupid stores are the CBD chocolates they make for the Elope brand based in Evanston. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a cannabis compound that does not get you high, but is instead consumed for anxiety or chronic pain. After years of resisting requests, Stefanos relented because of his relationship with the owner of Elope, he said.
Advertisement
“John is still talking about carrying them (at Cupid), but it would be highly monitored,” said Biliskov. The CBD double chocolate meltaways, three layered mints that look just like your grandmother’s favorite candy, are available online and at local retailers including Fresh Thyme. When Stefanos took over Cupid, he concentrated on wholesale candymaking over their own retail stores.
Cupid Candies makes CBD chocolates for Elope, a wholesale customer, as part of efforts to expand the decades-old company's customer base. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
Speaking of iconic vintage candies, Cupid made Frango mints for Chicago area Macy’s stores, but just briefly. “We did them for about two years but we couldn’t be competitive with their price so they ended up doing everything out of Philadelphia,” said Stefanos. Cupid’s French mints are similar to Frangos, but better, he likes to say. He’s not wrong. Their distinctive cool herbal chocolate-enrobed bonbons are absolutely better. After tasting every Frango flavor available at the Macy’s State Street store, I discovered the Cupid French mints took me back to the chocolate I remembered made at Marshall Field’s.
Milk and dark chocolate French mints at Cupid Candies kitchen store in Gresham recall the more famous Frango Mints. For a brief time, Cupid made the iconic Chicago candy. Now its version arguably is better than the better-known brand. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
Cupid also used to make dark chocolate mint melts and white chocolate pretzels for Crate & Barrel during the Christmas holiday season. “We used to sell 25,000 pounds for 25 years,” said Stefanos. “Then they changed buyers and you younger generation decided it was long enough.” About 100 customers still order those favorites directly from Cupid.
Chocolate dipped apples at Cupid Candies kitchen and store in Gresham on Feb. 5, 2020. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
Guadalupe Barranco, originally from Mexico City, has been working at Cupid for 26 years. “I started packing up candy on the line,” said Barranco at the kitchen storefront. “A long time ago, John taught me everything I know here.”
Now she works in the store and makes candy, while translating for the predominantly Mexican women who are her kitchen coworkers. “I love my job,” said Barranco. “I love what I do. I love learning every day more and more.”
Workers will hand-dip 500 pounds of fresh strawberries for Valentine's Day customers. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
For Valentine’s the ladies will hand-dip 500 pounds of sweet, red strawberries in tempered milk chocolate. The holiday-only berries have to be done the same day they’re sold. That’s in addition to keeping up production on all the other chocolates and wrapping them in heart-shaped boxes. A regular buys three of the biggest six-pound hearts every year.
Advertisement
If that triggers your “I Love Lucy” candy factory anxiety, the pros feel differently. “It’s so fun!” said Barranco. “Right now, we wait for the day. We’re so excited.”
The expert strawberry dippers say the task is a lot of fun and they look forward to it, despite the daunting mountain of fruit they face. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
Cupid makes ice cream too with a famous frozen family connection. “My dad’s brother Leo owned Dove Candies,” said Stefanos. “My dad and Leo originally started with the ice cream bar in the mid-1930s,” he said. Dove Chocolate history states Leo created the Dove ice cream bar in 1956. Leo’s son Michael took over that family candy business in 1977. Mars bought Dove in 1986. “Our bar is still the same size as the original one,” said Stefanos. There are eight bars to a quart so they’re a pretty good size.”
Dan Coleman, firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department, picked up a dozen Cupid bars one recent freezing winter morning. “Mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip,” said Coleman.
“The guys who cooked long before me have always come here,” he said about former firehouse cooks. “I’m just carrying on the tradition.”
“We love coming here and we love keeping this place alive,” he said.
Mint chocolate chip ice cream bars are a specialty of Cupid Candies, and carry the company's familial connection to Dove Candies. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
During the historically busiest week of the year, Stefanos will be planning for the future with a cousin from Las Vegas. “We’ll be splitting up the business so the family traditions can stay on,” said Stefanos.
Advertisement
He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 23 years ago, on his 50th birthday. “I was a guinea pig down at Northwestern hospital where I was on chemo to slow down the progression, but became diabetic. I still cheat every once in a while, but watch my sugar intake.”
Stefanos and his wife, a retired schoolteacher, do not have children. “We haven’t decided on new roles for the business or titles yet. I’ll be here for at least three or four more years.”
“There won’t be any changes in the recipes, the candy or the way it’s made,” he said. “It’ll all be the same.”
Candymakers Lorena Pacheco, from left, Alma Rosa Herrara, Ana Maria Dueñas, Sandra Garcia, Guillermina Gonzalez and Guadalupe Barranco get ready for the Valentine's Day rush at Cupid Candies kitchen and store in Gresham on Feb. 5, 2020. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
On Valentine’s night, every Cupid employee, about 20 total in the kitchen and shops, men and women, can take home candy on the house, but most importantly, each receives flowers before leaving.
“Everybody gets a dozen roses,” said Stefanos, a die-hard romantic with love and chocolate, “to show my appreciation.”
7637 S. Western Ave., 773-925-8191; 4709 95th St., Oak Lawn, 708-423-2729; 9420 W. 143rd St., Orland Park, 708-403-3636


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Giannis Antetokounmpo is being marketed to overtake LeBron James as the NBA’s most famous player. Bu

Giannis Antetokounmpo is being marketed to overtake LeBron James as the NBA’s most famous player. But the ‘Greek Freak’ is more focused on the ‘essence’ of basketball.

“ He really enjoys life here , ” veteran wing Kyle Korver said .
“ I don ’ t think @ @ @ @ @ well because he ’ s in a small market .
He could flourish anywhere .
@ @ @ @ @ how he thinks , he wants to keep the main things the main things — @ @ @ @ @ .
”

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo could probably drive your SUV from the back seat. He might be able to simultaneously open your fridge and microwave. He can definitely touch the rim without leaving his feet.
The “Greek Freak” has a wingspan of 7 feet, 3 inches.
Advertisement
Yet those in his corner want to expand his reach.
“We want to be the world’s team,” Bucks President Peter Feigin said, “led by the world’s player.”
Advertisement
The basketball world will descend upon Chicago in a few days for NBA All-Star Weekend. There will be parties, promotional events, hospital visits, media sessions, a skills challenge, a dunk contest, a 3-point shooting extravaganza and even an actual All-Star Game.
Antetokounmpo could do without all of it … except for the game.
He is so serious about basketball — even a defense-optional exhibition that doesn’t count in the standings — he debated conducting his pregame routine in Milwaukee before driving down I-94 to the United Center.
“We had serious discussions,” said agent Alex Saratsis, senior director for global basketball operations at Octagon.
Antetokounmpo relented only once Saratsis, a Northwestern alumnus and Lincoln Park resident, promised he would secure a quality gym in Chicago for Antetokounmpo’s Sunday afternoon sweat.
“And then he will go and play hard,” Saratsis said, “to the point where teammates have told him: Chill out.”
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dunks over Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) and forward Lauri Markkanen (24) in the fourth quarter Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, at the United Center. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Antetokounmpo is so serious about basketball, he didn’t sound entirely thrilled about receiving the most fan votes (more than 5.9 million) among Eastern Conference players. That tally made him team captain for the second straight year, requiring him to draft players.
“If I’m the captain, I’m the captain,” he said. “But by being the captain, you have more things to do and it takes away from the game. I don’t like things that take away from the game.”
Advertisement
And therein lies the conundrum for those pushing Antetokounmpo to overtake LeBron James as the sport’s most famous player: What if he doesn’t want to be the face of the NBA? Or if he’s simply ambivalent?
“In five years he might say: I make ‘X’ amount from the Bucks, I make ‘Y’ amount from Nike. I’m good,” Saratsis said. “How much money does anyone need in a lifetime? For him it’s not about being a power broker. He doesn’t want a production company. He cares about family, people close to him and basketball.”
The Bucks (45-7 heading into Monday night’s game in Sacramento) have lost only once since Jan. 8. They held off the Celtics on a 40-point night by Kemba Walker. They beat the Bulls as Antetokounmpo scored his 10,000th career point and recorded his 18th career triple-double (28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists). They beat the Hornets in Paris.
Seven days later they were back home at Fiserv Forum, the glistening House That Giannis Built, for a special occasion: Greek Night.
The Bucks distributed a bobblehead of Giannis and teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother Giannis hugged moments after the Bucks made him the 15th pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Thanasis wears No. 43 to mirror Giannis’ No. 34 jersey.
Coach Mike Budenholzer gave Thanasis his only start of the season on Greek Night, and he scored 62 seconds after the opening tip on a breakaway slam. He laid one in off a feed from Giannis to give the Bucks a 13-4 lead. The team’s bench and the sellout crowd went nuts.
Advertisement
But long story short, the Nuggets shot 22 of 46 (47.8%) on 3-pointers and stunned the Bucks 127-115. It made for a quiet scene in the Bucks locker room, a Friday night that felt more like a Monday morning.
Peppering Antetokounmpo with non-basketball questions seemed even sillier than usual.
Asked how he has adjusted to the spotlight, the NBA’s reigning MVP replied: “To be honest, I try not to think about it. I know my name might be out there, but I’ve never cared about that and don’t now.”
Told of Giannis’ comment that the captain’s duties might detract from his play during the All-Star Game, Thanasis understood. Of course he did.
The brothers are so attached that when Saratsis presented them with two hotel room keys shortly after Giannis was drafted, they looked at him quizzically. They explained that they had never slept in separate rooms. Even adjoining hotel rooms didn’t provide enough closeness.
“(Giannis) is all about the essence,” Thanasis said. “How he practices will translate to the game.”
Advertisement
Though Antetokounmpo doesn’t seek fame, it finds him. He has the NBA’s second most popular jersey after James and ahead of Stephen Curry. He has more than 7.2 million Instagram followers, which ranks 11th in the NBA and first among international players.
Although Antetokounmpo plays in one of the NBA’s five smallest markets, Feigin said he could make the case that the 6-11 forward is actually the league’s most famous player.
Fans hold up signs for Giannis Antetokounmpo, known as "The Greek Freak," before the start of a game between the Bulls and Bucks at the United Center on Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Where else other than Greece?
“If you did a survey in Paris,” the Bucks executive replied cleverly, “he might win.”
Because Antetokounmpo’s parents are Nigerian, Saratsis said, he “touches two continents.”
“Europe has a massive immigrant population, and his story resonates with so many people,” Saratsis said. “He has blazed a new trail with fans that are immigrants and have multinational parents.”
Advertisement
Antetokounmpo, 25, partnered with Nike in 2017 and last year became the first European-born player to have a signature Nike shoe — the Zoom Freak 1.
Don’t expect to see him doing ads for Binny’s or Majestic Star Casino while he’s in Chicago this weekend.
“We look at it as quality over quantity,” Feigin said. “What are the right spots? We want to market him as a global brand. It’s not ubiquity, it’s not everywhere, anyway, anyhow. How do we make things special?”
Antetokounmpo is scheduled to appear at Water Tower Place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for a panel discussion with hip-hop artist Swoope, a fellow JBL endorser. They will explore the intersection of basketball and music.
On Sunday he’ll be the focal point of Team Giannis; he selected Walker, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam and Trae Young to round out his starting five. Last year Team Giannis lost 178-164 despite his game-high 38 points in 27 minutes.
Then he will return to his comfort zone of Milwaukee, a bright light in a city without all that many.
Advertisement
“He really enjoys life here,” veteran wing Kyle Korver said. “I don’t think he’s doing this well because he’s in a small market. He could flourish anywhere. But with his upbringing and how he thinks, he wants to keep the main things the main things — his family and the game.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Miss Lee’s Good Food, a South Side soul food institution, closes as owner retires. ‘We’re losing a r

Miss Lee’s Good Food, a South Side soul food institution, closes as owner retires. ‘We’re losing a real gem in the community.’

There were the decades on her feet , and the work days that would stretch from 6:30 am until past @ @ @ @ @ , it might have helped to hire a manager to relieve some of the burden @ @ @ @ @ wonders if she should have entrusted someone else to cook her peach cobbler , rather @ @ @ @ @ of her desserts herself .

Lee Hogan has closed her restaurant, Miss Lee's Good Food, after 21 years in business on East Garfield Boulevard in Chicago. Hogan waited tables at another South Side restaurant for two decades before opening her own business. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
For 21 years, Lee Hogan felt called to cook.
"God gave me a gift," said Hogan, owner of Miss Lee's Good Food, a fixture of the South Side’s soul food scene. "If you don't use it, you lose it.”
Advertisement
But all that use has taken a toll. Hogan, known to her many admirers as Miss Lee, closed her counter-service eatery in September, in advance of having knee replacement surgery. Now she is selling the business her regulars say is one of a kind.
“There’s lots of soul food places, but this is real down-South cooking, what we grew up with as children,” said the Rev. Denise Collins, of Hyde Park, who would frequent Miss Lee’s the first Sunday of every month. “We’re losing a real gem in the community.”
Advertisement
Hogan, 75, opened the restaurant at 203 E. Garfield Blvd., in Washington Park, in September 1998, using savings from her 31 years as a waitress at Gladys’ Luncheonette in Bronzeville, a historic soul food institution that has since closed.
“My intention was always to open up a place for myself,” Hogan said in a southern drawl as she rested against a counter in the restaurant’s kitchen, her cane propped against a wall.
Lee Hogan, 75, opened her restaurant in September 1998, using savings from her 31 years as a waitress at Gladys Luncheonette in Bronzeville. “My intention was always to open up a place for myself,” Hogan said. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A native of rural Marks, Mississippi, and one of 10 siblings, Hogan moved to Chicago in 1968 in search of a better living than working the cotton fields with her family, which paid about $3 a day.
She landed a late-night shift at the Hayes Hotel in Woodlawn, originally built for the 1893 Columbian Exposition and since closed, but “there were a lot of pimps and hustlers and I didn’t go for that too much,” she laughed. She said she passed the exam to work for the U.S. Postal Service but at that point was in the thrall of all the tips she got waiting tables.
“I didn’t even have to cash my checks,” Hogan said of her years earning tips at Gladys Luncheonette, whose customers included Martin Luther King Jr., comedian Redd Foxx, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan.
When the small storefront on Garfield Boulevard became available to rent, Hogan felt it time to bring her own food to the neighborhood. Though she’d watched her mom cook growing up, and learned some techniques from a South Shore barbecue joint where she briefly worked, she describes her culinary talents in more divine terms.
“You’d be surprised how He speaks to me,” she said.
Miss Lee’s became known for its baked or grilled “herbal chicken,” generously seasoned with Greek or Italian herbs. Each day had a slightly different menu of about a dozen dishes — smothered steak and onions ($12.25) on Tuesdays, pig ears or salmon croquettes ($11.95) on Thursdays — and she would add new ideas as the spirit moved her.
Advertisement
Take her buttermilk pie, a dish she had never heard of before a customer requested it a couple of years after she opened. She tried making it, swapping in buttermilk for whole milk, and put it on her menu.
“Two years later, I was making some and the spirit came to me and said, ‘Why don’t you put lemon in there?’” she said. She’s been selling lemon buttermilk pies ever since, alongside her peach, apple and sweet potato cobblers and other puddings and sweets.
Some of the equipment Hogan is looking to sell inside her restaurant. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Fans say Miss Lee’s stood apart from competitors.
“The feel of her restaurant was like you were stepping into her home rather than a soul food restaurant,” said Trillis Rollins, chef at Peach’s at Currency Exchange Café a block away, who would go to Miss Lee’s with his friends for her peach cobbler. “You would think that you were in her kitchen at home.”
“Her cooking is like you knew your grandma would make it,” said Collins, who on her monthly Sunday visits would order turkey and dressing, with a side of string beans and sweet plantains while her husband, Robert, who grew up in Mississippi, would get spinach and butter beans. “No one will take the place of Miss Lee’s.”
Though people call it soul food, Hogan prefers to say she made “home-cooked meals” to customers from all walks of life. She made turkey burgers for the “kids” and had a vegetable plate for her more health-conscious customers.
Advertisement
The restaurant’s following was widespread. Three-quarters of its business came from outside of the neighborhood, with some customers traveling from Wisconsin and Michigan to eat in the standing-only shop and others having her send dishes to Florida, Hogan said.
“I sold dressings by the pan full,” said Hogan, who employed five or six people at the restaurant at a given time. “Y’all call it stuffing. Blacks in the South call it dressing. I don’t ever call it anything else.”
Hogan counted celebrity customers of her own, and a stack of photos includes her posing with Mayor Richard M. Daley, whose birthday she catered at City Hall. She was respected in her tough neighborhood, telling the young men who occasionally would sell drugs outside her door: “I don’t mess with your business, so don’t you mess with mine.” They would move along, she said.
During more than two decades of business, through the ups and downs of the economy, Hogan said she had very few months without profit. She lived simply, and was always able to stay afloat.
“God’s been good to me,” said Hogan, who lives in Hyde Park. “I tell everybody that.”
But she got tired.
Advertisement
There were the decades on her feet, and the work days that would stretch from 6:30 am until past 10 p.m. Looking back, it might have helped to hire a manager to relieve some of the burden, she said. She wonders if she should have entrusted someone else to cook her peach cobbler, rather than insist on making all of her desserts herself.
Signs in Miss Lee’s windows say she is on indefinite vacation. But Hogan says she is selling the business — though not the name, which is hers, and not the real estate, which she doesn’t own — ideally to someone who wants to open another restaurant in the same spot, with her double ovens and deep fryers and refrigerators and dozens of gleaming pots and pans.
She is not passing on her recipes, for fear they won’t be followed faithfully.
“If I thought one person would actually do that recipe the way I do it, I would have tried,” Hogan said.
While closing was hard — “I felt that I was going to crack up,” she said — being closed has been less so. She has caught up on sleep. Once she sells, she hopes to spend time doing missionary work for her church.
“I don’t have nothing special planned,” said Hogan, who never married or had children. “But I feel that the Lord is leading me right.”
Advertisement
aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @alexiaer


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--How ‘The View’ alum Star Jones met her husband, Chicago attorney Ricardo Lugo

Lugo is an attorney with Jeffery Leving ’ s family law firm .
He was employed as an assistant Cook @ @ @ @ @ from April to August 2017 .
He has a son , Jake , who attends @ @ @ @ @ Jones said she is very involved in Jake ’ s activities — including his basketball @ @ @ @ @ involved in his love life .
She said Jake liked a girl with tattoos , @ @ @ @ @ t work for me .
”

TV personality Star Jones said she met her husband, Chicago attorney Ricardo Lugo, through an online dating site — and they had eerily similar screen names.
“I used my real, given name, Starlet. And it said Starlet54LawyerNewYork,” Jones told Tamron Hall on Friday’s episode of her talk show. “I used slice-of-life pictures. I didn’t use a headshot. Ricardo’s was Ricardo54LawyerChicago. And we did eight weeks of back-and-forth, back-and-forth, and we went on one date. He took me to a French restaurant for a Champagne tasting.”
Advertisement
Jones and Lugo wed on a cruise ship in March 2018, and they call Chicago home. Jones rose to fame as an original co-host of “The View.” She was on the show from 1997 to 2006.
Lugo is an attorney with Jeffery Leving’s family law firm. He was employed as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney from April to August 2017. He has a son, Jake, who attends Walter Payton College Prep. Jones said she is very involved in Jake’s activities — including his basketball games — and is somewhat involved in his love life. She said Jake liked a girl with tattoos, but “that didn’t work for me.”
Advertisement
Hall’s show airs at 4 p.m. weekdays on WCIU-Ch. 26.
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--DNA, witnesses, social media link ex-boyfriend to woman found dead in bathtub year and a half ago: p

DNA, witnesses, social media link ex-boyfriend to woman found dead in bathtub year and a half ago: prosecutors

Prosecutors say he also took Boler ’ s public benefits card , which surveillance cameras captured him using at a @ @ @ @ @ They also say he took Boler ’ s cellphone , which may have been used @ @ @ @ @ Boler ’ s Facebook page on the evening of Aug. 1 , 2018 , asking @ @ @ @ @ leave her alone . ''

Four days before a young mother was discovered dead in her bathtub, her hands and feet tied, her ex-boyfriend was recorded on social media inside her apartment and was the last known person to see her alive, Cook County prosecutors say.
Hours later, Kevin Sabbs, 35, was sweating and wearing a wet shirt when his new girlfriend picked him up from the apartment of Robin Boler in the 1500 block of West 78th Street in August 2018.
Advertisement
Sabbs made three trips back to Boler’s third-floor apartment under the pretense of picking up belongings from his ex, carrying out a 55-inch television and two bags of clothing, prosecutors said Sunday during a hearing for Sabbs after he was extradited from Louisville, Ky. on a first-degree murder warrant.
Kevin Sabbs, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the August 2018 death of Robin Boler, 32. (Chicago Police Department)
Prosecutors say he also took Boler’s public benefits card, which surveillance cameras captured him using at a Walmart the following day. They also say he took Boler’s cellphone, which may have been used to post a message to Boler’s Facebook page on the evening of Aug. 1, 2018, asking family and friends to “leave her alone."
Advertisement
Prosecutors indicated he used the tactic to throw off anyone trying to locate Boler, whom friends and family couldn’t reach after his visit to her home.
Boler’s on body was discovered Aug. 5 after her mother and aunt forced their way into her locked bathroom, according to prosecutors and family. Authorities submitted Boler’s fingernail clippings for testing and found remnants of Sabb’s DNA present on Boler’s left hand, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Carolyn Nevin.
Boler was wearing the same clothes she was seen wearing on an Instagram video that a friend recorded the day Sabbs was at her apartment, Nevin added.
An autopsy ruled her death a homicide, though a precise cause wasn’t determined because of the condition of her body. Prosecutors noted Sabbs’ criminal history, which includes 16 domestic battery police reports filed against him, resulting in nine arrests and three misdemeanor convictions, Nevin said.
“Five of those 16 reports contain allegations of choking,” Nevin said.
Wearing a jumpsuit for the senior housing center where he worked in Kentucky, Sabbs — who limped in and out of court — didn’t appear to react as prosecutors laid out their allegations and requested he be denied bail.
Judge Charles Beach II approved the no-bail request, citing the DNA evidence, social media video and witness statements placing him at the scene. Sabbs is scheduled to return to court Monday.
Relatives for Boler couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday evening.
Advertisement
wlee@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Column: Kyle Schwarber is still here — and that’s a big boost to the Cubs lineup

“ That ’ s what I pictured myself as , ” Schwarber said .
“ Consistency is the key of @ @ @ @ @ be able to do that in the second half was a positive .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ a great first half and a bad second half and you feel like you have @ @ @ @ @ build on that in the offseason and go into 2020 looking for that same consistency @ @

PHOENIX — After hearing his name brought up in trade rumors the last few winters, Kyle Schwarber finally made it through a worry-free offseason.
Kris Bryant took the proverbial hit for his Cubs teammates, spending the last three-plus months as the focus of incessant trade talk, while Schwarber and the others could kick back and relax.
Advertisement
“You’re still here?” I said when greeting Schwarber at last month’s Cubs Convention.
“I know, right?” he replied with mock surprise.
Advertisement
In an offseason shaded by threats of roster downsizing, the presence of Schwarber in the Cubs lineup should provide hope to fans looking for reasons to believe in 2020.
Newly married to his longtime girlfriend, Paige Hartman, and looking fitter than ever, he’s entering what could be a crucial year after establishing himself as one of the National League’s top power hitters last season with 38 home runs and 92 RBIs.
Life is good — and just getting better.
[ Kyle Schwarber marries Paige Hartman in a ceremony attended by several Cubs players ]
“It’s been a fun offseason obviously, with getting married, number one,” he said. “Really looking forward to getting into the swing of things here, getting together with the boys.”
Schwarber’s dominant second half was lost somewhat in all the wailing over the Cubs’ late September collapse. His 20 second-half home runs were tied for 10th in the majors, while his .631 slugging percentage ranked sixth and his .997 OPS 11th. This is the real Schwarber, new manager David Ross insisted, and the one Ross expects to see from day one of the 2020 season.
“There’s a lot of things culminating together and a belief in each other that’s very powerful,” Ross said.
The strong finish wasn’t a surprise to Schwarber, who already has gone through more highs and lows in five seasons than many players go through in a career — from a knee injury that ended his 2016 season early before an unlikely World Series comeback in October, followed by a demotion to Triple-A Iowa after struggling in 2017.
[ 5 questions for the Cubs before spring training, including how to focus with those Kris Bryant trade rumors swirling ]
“That’s what I pictured myself as,” Schwarber said. “Consistency is the key of the game, and to be able to do that in the second half was a positive. It’s not like you had a great first half and a bad second half and you feel like you have to tweak things. You build on that in the offseason and go into 2020 looking for that same consistency.”
Advertisement
That search for consistency will determine whether Schwarber will be a Cub for the long haul. He’ll be a free agent after 2021, along with Bryant and Javier Baez, so speculation about Schwarber being dealt to an American League team and becoming a designated hitter probably never will fade away.
But if Bryant is traded this year, as most expect, the Cubs figure to get more aggressive in signing their other young assets to long-term deals, including Baez, Schwarber and Willson Contreras. And if the DH comes to the National League after the next collective bargaining agreement, there would be even more reason to keep Schwarber planted in Wrigley Field.
[ Cubs Q&A: Has Kyle Schwarber peaked? Can Craig Kimbrel return to form? Who will be a spring surprise? ]
Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
For now, it’s all about the task at hand. The Cubs enter spring training with an untested manager in Ross and a lot of question marks in the bullpen, not to mention the lingering question of whether Bryant will be wearing a Cubs uniform on opening day.
And for the first time since 2015, they’ll be considered underdogs instead of consensus favorites in the NL Central, where the Cardinals rule and the Reds are expected to contend. But they still have much of the core that got it done in 2016, and a rotation headed by Yu Darvish, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks matches up well with any threesome in the league.
“I’m still pretty confident with what we’ve got,” Schwarber said. “The names speak for themselves. We have guys who are multiple All-Stars, World Series champions, things like that. There’s not really a lot to worry about if you look at the team. Last year was what it was. It could’ve been just a messy year, whatever it was. But if we do what we’re capable of, we could reach our goal.”
Of course, there’s no guarantee Schwarber won’t join or replace Bryant on the trade block in 2020. Though he has improved defensively, many still believe he’s a DH playing left field while waiting to wind up in the American League.
Advertisement
But that’s not a concern, Schwarber said. He already has heard his name bandied about as trade bait so much, it barely registers.
“I’ve grown accustomed to answering these questions now,” he said. “And I’ll give you the same answer — if it happens, it happens. This game is a business at the end of the day. If they feel like the best business decision is to get rid of me, or get rid of anyone else, you can’t take it personally.
“The only thing you can wish for as a player is to keep playing baseball. And as long as I’m playing baseball, I’m a happy man.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-11--Lightfoot cracks down on North Side scrap shredder, suggesting the chronic polluter’s clout at City

Lightfoot cracks down on North Side scrap shredder, suggesting the chronic polluter’s clout at City Hall is evaporating

Emails obtained by the Tribune highlight cordial relationships between Emanuel ’ s lieutenants and the Labkon family that owned General @ @ @ @ @ The former mayor also was the top recipient of the more than $ 500,000 in @ @ @ @ @ from family members , who hired a former top aide to Emanuel as one of @ @ @ @ @

Despite repeated complaints about metallic odors drifting into surrounding neighborhoods, city health inspectors only cited General Iron Industries once during former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s eight years in office.
The same city department ticketed the North Side scrap yard five times during the past two months — the latest signs that General Iron’s once-formidable clout at City Hall is slipping away as Mayor Lori Lightfoot reviews policy and enforcement decisions made by her predecessor.
Advertisement
On four days in December and another last month, a health inspector cataloged the same problems that neighbors have been emailing and calling city officials about for years.
Previous inspections largely absolved General Iron of any wrongdoing. But during all five of the recent visits, a health inspector said she observed “untreated emissions” escaping the company’s pair of massive scrap shredders along the Chicago River near Clybourn Avenue and Cortland Street.
Advertisement
The General Iron Industries plant on the the North Branch of the Chicago River in Chicago on Sept. 28, 2018. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The inspector described smelling “the pungent odor of sweet metal that burns my nostrils.” She also said she found residue from the scrap yard littering sidewalks outside General Iron, including shards of metal, glass and plastic that by law should be dumped in a landfill.
Each of the inspector’s reports suggested that recently installed pollution-control equipment required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is failing to properly control noxious emissions from the shredding of flattened cars, twisted rebar and used appliances.
Asked what has changed other than the person in charge at City Hall, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Public Health said the Lightfoot administration is focusing on the company in response to a deluge of complaints from residents in the Lincoln Park and Bucktown neighborhoods.
"These measures are in line with the Lightfoot administration’s commitment to ensuring a more robust citywide action plan to advance air quality and climate improvement goals so that we can protect all communities — particularly those most vulnerable — from pollution of any kind,” Andrew Buchanan, department spokesman, said in a email.
General Iron is an easy target. The scrap shredder is one of the last industries on a stretch of the Chicago River that during the last century was dominated by steel mills and leather tanneries. Now it stands out amid gentrified neighborhoods, upscale commercial strips and Lincoln Yards, a collection of former industrial parcels acquired by Chicago-based Sterling Bay for mixed-use redevelopment.
The company is fighting back. “Not only are the city citations inconsistent with the results of the recent tests performed for the state and federal EPAs, but they came after at least two years of regular, weekly city inspections without any violations,” Randall Samborn, a General Iron spokesman, said in a statement.
The General Iron Industries scrap yard along Cortland Street near the Lincoln Yards development on April 9, 2019. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Officials at the U.S. EPA’s Chicago office are still reviewing results from testing they required General Iron to conduct after the company installed a device intended to burn off shredder emissions, an agency spokesman said. A legal settlement requiring the equipment marked the third time federal authorities have cracked down on the scrap shredder since the 1990s.
By contrast, the city’s intense scrutiny is a more recent phenomenon.
Advertisement
Emails obtained by the Tribune highlight cordial relationships between Emanuel’s lieutenants and the Labkon family that owned General Iron through four generations. The former mayor also was the top recipient of the more than $500,000 in campaign contributions to local politicians from family members, who hired a former top aide to Emanuel as one of their City Hall lobbyists.
One previously undisclosed favor involved Emanuel’s health commissioner, Julie Morita, who urged City Hall to pressure leaders of the University of Illinois at Chicago to quash the release of a pilot study of air quality near General Iron, the emails show. A UIC researcher had installed monitoring equipment around the scrap yard at the behest of a neighborhood resident, and the testing found elevated levels of lung-damaging particulate matter downwind from the scrap shredders.
“I will be following up with the dean of the UIC School of Public Health,” Morita wrote in a May 2018 email to Robert Rivkin, who served as deputy mayor under Emanuel. “You may need to engage the (UIC) chancellor if you want this to be stopped.”
The study eventually was shared with the public, prompting months of negotiations that led Lightfoot to reverse one of Emanuel’s last deals as mayor.
On their way out of City Hall, top Emanuel aides gave the scrap merchant permission to keep operating until 2022 on riverfront land that local aldermen are pushing to convert into a city park. Lightfoot ordered General Iron to abandon the North Side by the end of this year instead.
Adam Labkon, who remains a vice president of a new firm operating as General Iron, promised Lightfoot the company will soon move away from the wealthy, predominantly white North Side neighborhoods to a site on the Southeast Side. The new operation will be completely enclosed and equipped with modern pollution controls, Labkon has said.
Advertisement
The new site is close to a low-income, mostly Latino neighborhood already burdened by toxic waste and other environmental maladies. Documents acquired by the Tribune show that companies affiliated with General Iron’s new owner, Ohio-based Reserve Management Group, have problems of their own at the scrap shredder’s intended destination.
Four other scrap operations on the former Republic Steel site have been operating without the proper permits for at least four years and failed to file annual pollution reports that could have flagged violations of environmental regulations, according to state records.
The companies didn’t draw attention from city health inspectors until September, when air quality monitoring at another facility recorded elevated levels of metallic pollution blowing across the Calumet River from the scrap yards.
Local and national environmental groups appear to have persuaded state regulators to drop plans to ignore past violations if the companies applied for new permits. But the groups remain concerned that neither federal, state nor local officials are enforcing anti-pollution laws with the same intensity that once forced companies storing giant mounds of dusty petroleum coke out of the neighborhood.
Three groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council, Southeast Environmental Task Force and Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke — noted that air quality monitoring at nearby Washington High School routinely picks up some of the highest concentrations of toxic metals in the region.
“For decades, the Southeast Side has been heavily burdened with industrial pollution from a range of sources located in close proximity to homes, parks, and schools,” Meleah Geertsma, an NRDC attorney, recently told regulators on behalf of the groups. “Of primary concern to our organizations and community members are the lack of environmental oversight and the piecemealing of any consideration of impacts from the many facilities in this community.”
Advertisement
For now large semi-trailers and caravans of neighborhood peddlers continue to dump scrap almost every day at General Iron’s site on the North Side. The Labkons have yet to find a buyer willing to pay what they are asking for the 21.5 acres they own along the river.


chicagotribune--2020-02-11--Police look for man suspected of sexual assaulting woman on South Side

At 9:49 a.m. Jan. 4 , a man first began following a 33-year-old woman until he forced her to the @ @ @ @ @ Street , where he assaulted her , police said .

Police issued an alert looking for a man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman in the West Chatham neighborhood last month. (Chicago Police Department)
Chicago police issued an alert about a man suspected in a sexual assault that occurred last month in the West Chatham neighborhood on the South Side.
At 9:49 a.m. Jan. 4, a man began following a 33-year-old woman until he forced her to the 200 block of West 87th Street, where he assaulted her, police said.
Advertisement
Police describe the man as 19 to 25 years old, 175 to 205 pounds, brown eyes, short black hair and a dark complexion. He was wearing a red hoodie, black cap, black jacket, red jogging pants and black boots.
The man suspected of the attack is known to frequent the area of 87th Street along the Dan Ryan Expressway and beg for money, police said.
Advertisement
Anyone with information can call Area South detectives at 312-747-8271.
pfry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Man, 27, faces charge in fatal South Shore shooting, police say

Weaver was sitting inside his car when Howard walked up and shined a flashlight at the car , police said @ @ @ @ @ a gun and fired shots at Howard , hitting him in the stomach .

A 27-year-old man is accused of shooting and killing a 33-year-old man Sunday morning in the South Shore neighborhood, according to Chicago police.
Dione Weaver, of South Shore, is facing one count of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Larry Howard, police said.
Advertisement
Weaver was arrested at 4:50 a.m. Sunday in the 7200 block of South Bennett Avenue, minutes after the shooting in the same location and the same block Weaver lives, police said.
Weaver was sitting inside his car when Howard walked up and shined a flashlight at the car, police said. Weaver then took out a gun and fired shots at Howard, hitting him in the abdomen.
Advertisement
Howard was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:27 a.m., police said.
Officers who responded to the shooting arrested Weaver at the scene without incident, police said. A weapon was also recovered.
pfry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Man, 20, faces murder charges in South Loop double homicide, police say

About 2:15 a.m. Sunday , the victims were with a woman in a residential parking lot in the 2000 block @ @ @ @ @ a man tried to rob them , police have said .
The woman complied with @ @ @ @ @ injured , but the two men with her resisted , police said .

Dozens of Chinatown residents and supporters listen in as Terry Wilson, foreground, speaks to the media at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, Feb. 11, 2020, following a bond hearing for Alvin Thomas. Thomas is facing two counts of first degree murder for a double homicide in Chinatown early Sunday. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The woman was just getting out of her SUV when she heard shots, then noticed her husband was no longer standing on the other side.
Ducking underneath the car, she saw her husband collapsed on the pavement and not moving. She heard a struggle and more shots as her friend also fell to the ground. Police say she grabbed her husband’s cellphone and called police as the attacker ran off, leaving bloody footprints that led police straight to him at the nearby Chinatown Square outdoor mall early Sunday.
Advertisement
The suspect, Alvin Thomas, 20, was wearing bloody shoes and a gun was sticking out of his right pants pocket, police said. Thomas ran, but officers quickly arrested him and recovered a 9 mm handgun.
On Tuesday, Thomas appeared in bond court on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Weizhong Xiong, 38, and Huayi Bian, 37. Dressed in a multicolored sweatshirt, tattered jeans and Air Jordan sneakers, he was mostly quiet as a judge ordered him held without bail. Nearly 100 friends and supporters of the victims watched from the courtroom gallery.
Advertisement
Alvin Thomas, 20, is facing two counts of first-degree murder after two men were shot dead in a robbery attempt early Feb. 9, 2020, police said. (Chicago Police Department)
The shooting occurred shortly after 2 a.m. in a parking lot outside Bian’s apartment in the 2000 block of South Wells Street as he, Xiong and his wife returned from dinner, prosecutors said. The couple, who have a 12-year-old son in China, had been staying with Bian for about a week.
Xiong and Bian were outside the car, guiding Xiong’s wife into a parking space, when Thomas approached and shot Xiong repeatedly in the face and head, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy told the court. Thomas then struggled with Bian and shot him several times in the head before fleeing.
The woman saw Bian’s body “drop to the ground and she saw that he was not moving,” Murphy said.
Surveillance video showed Thomas entering the parking lot just after the SUV arrived, according to Murphy. It also captured Thomas fleeing the parking lot and wandering the area of the outdoor mall until officers saw him near the entrance. A woman in a nearby apartment told police she heard the shots and saw Thomas running away.
After his arrest, a gunshot residue test on Thomas’ hands was positive, authorities said. Shell casings found at the parking lot matched the gun found with Thomas.
Authorities did not mention a motive during the hearing but noted that Thomas, a package handler from the South Side, was on probation for two street robberies. Prosecutors also noted that $10,000 was found on Bian’s body but never mentioned it again.
Afterward, supporters of the victims tearfully described them as generous men who worked long hours to send money back to relatives in their native China. Xiong supported a handicapped father, while Bian worked six days a week, 12 hours a day to support a younger brother and ill mother.
“Really kindhearted, hardworking people,” said Terry Wilson, one of the people who showed up in court. “And for this to happen is wrong. There was no reason for this to happen."
Advertisement
He said Xiong’s wife was too upset to attend the hearing.
Thomas’ family, who arrived too late for the hearing, was also at a loss to explain the deaths. A group of relatives that included his mother, Sherie Kellum, acknowledged his criminal record but believed he had turned a corner.
“That’s not him,” she said. “He’s a good guy ... a good person. He loves everybody."
Thomas was expected to return to court Feb. 24. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
rsobol@chicagotribune.com
pfry@chicagotribune.com
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
wlee@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Ask Amy: Trauma survivor wants to confront bully

Children who bully and violate other children are often re-enacting and expressing their own rage .
Unless she is a @ @ @ @ @ true rarity ) , I suggest that the monster who bullied you in school was @ @ @ @ @ , desperate , degraded child whose twisted instinct was to target the only person she @ @ @ @ @ wounded and vulnerable than she .

Dear Amy: I had a horrific childhood with an alcoholic, violent father who physically beat my mother, sisters and me on a regular basis. l would get so scared I would literally pee in my pants during the beatings because I thought that he would kill me, or them -- it was that bad.
When I was 9, the sexual abuse started. No one protected me.
Advertisement
To make matters worse, when I started the fifth grade, there was a girl who bullied me consistently, and beat me up a couple of times. She made my days hellish.
I recently found her on Facebook under a different (married) name.
Advertisement
I am told she is a nice person now, but I wouldn't know, because our paths haven't crossed since the end of fifth grade.
I feel such rage when I see her picture. I want to contact her and let her know about my home life and how horrible she made me feel for an entire school year.
I want to say that I never forgot her cruelty and that I am now a grown, successful woman who would "kick her behind" if I ever saw her.
She caused me so much pain, it is only fair that she suffers for what she did to me. Unfortunately, I start getting anxious. I revert back to the child that was terrified of the bully, and my monster father.
My father died suddenly, so I never got the chance to stand up to him.
I don't know if I am a coward or being kind to myself by letting sleeping dogs lie.
I would appreciate your words of wisdom.
— Survivor
Advertisement
Dear Survivor: You were victimized by unspeakable abuse during childhood. Your survival is a triumph.
"Letting sleeping dogs lie" is not the answer for you, because, for you, the dogs never sleep. These memories still pace and stalk and threaten to pounce.
You need to deal with your rage. Vengeance doesn't quiet rage ... it stokes it. You deserve (and would be well-served by) professional help with a trauma specialist to continue to recover from years of childhood abuse.
Children who bully and violate other children are often re-enacting and expressing their own rage. Unless she is a genuinely deranged psychopath (a true rarity), I suggest that the monster who bullied you in school was most likely also a wounded, desperate, degraded child whose twisted instinct was to target the only person she saw who was perhaps more wounded and vulnerable than she.
You are still too close to this, and too triggered, to feel compassion for her.
It might seem like cliché, but you truly need to tend to, love, and honor both sides of yourself: the terrified and victimized child, and the fierce and angry survivor.
Advertisement
Becoming a warrior does not mean that you victimize other people, but that you stand up for yourself (and others) bravely and with honesty and integrity.
When you are ready, you could contact this woman to speak your own truth without threatening her, but you're not there yet.
Until then, disengage from her on social media and continue to work on your own recovery.
Dear Amy: You frequently mention therapy or finding a therapist in your columns. Could you offer some advice in a future column of how to go about this?
I lucked into a great therapist years ago, but she moved away. Since then, I've tried half a dozen therapists and haven't found one who I click with or who works for my schedule.
I've given up on therapy because starting with a new therapist is arduous and I've been burned before.
Advertisement
I wonder if others are in a similar position. Your advice?
— C
Dear C: The American Psychological Association offers a helpful database for finding therapists on their website: apa.org (search "psychologist locator"). You can type in your ZIP code and nearby therapists are located with their specialties noted, and the forms of insurance they accept.
Many therapists will connect with clients virtually, using telepsychology. Even though your previous "good fit" therapist has moved away, she might be happy to provide Skype sessions.
Dear Amy: I have an idea that might help relationships in this divided age.
Ask Amy Daily No-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Each person should watch one hour of the other person's news program (of that person's choosing) each day.
Advertisement
What do you think?
— Balanced Perspective
Dear Balanced: Yes, this might help. It might also make both sides of this divide want to set their collective hair on fire.
Get the latest no-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning with our Ask Amy newsletter. Sign up here.
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
Copyright 2019 by Amy Dickinson
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Chicago attorney Kelley Flanagan calls fellow ‘Bachelor’ contestants ‘little babies’

“ I have no idea , like , why I ’ m in this car .
But Peter made his @ @ @ @ @ s that .
Does it suck ?
Yeah .
Do I agree with it ?
@ @ @ @ @ intentions because I just don ’ t really know like what phase he is in @ @ @ @ @ are left are like little babies .
They don ’ t really know who they @ @ @ @ @ you a child , or are you an adult ?
But , clearly , he @ @ @ @ @ ” Flanagan said after Weber cut her from the show .
“ He ’ s @ @ @ @ @ and make decisive decisions and stuff like that .
Then that ’ s on him @ @ @ @ @ really want him to waste my time either .
You know , thank you for @ @ @ @ @ family .
”

Warning: Spoilers ahead
Chicago attorney Kelley Flanagan failed to make a case that pilot Peter Weber should pick her to be his wife on “The Bachelor.”
Advertisement
She was confident she would get a rose on Monday’s episode because she’s “on a different, like, emotional level.” She’s the only one “mature enough” to be in a relationship with Weber. The other contestants? One is a “hot mess.” Another is 23 and “not in the right phase” of life.
But to Flanagan’s surprise, Weber chose four other women to advance in the ABC network competition instead of her. Weber said he and Flanagan had a good friendship, but “I didn’t see us at the point that I felt like we needed to be at.” Flanagan was sent home from Peru on Monday’s episode.
Advertisement
“I have no idea, like, why I’m in this car. But Peter made his decision, and that’s that. Does it suck? Yeah. Do I agree with it? No. I question his intentions because I just don’t really know like what phase he is in life. The four that are left are like little babies. They don’t really know who they are. Like, are you a child, or are you an adult? But, clearly, he doesn’t agree,” Flanagan said after Weber cut her from the show. “He’s not able to sit there and make decisive decisions and stuff like that. Then that’s on him. I don’t really want him to waste my time either. You know, thank you for not coming and meeting my family.”
Weber visits the hometowns of the four remaining contestants — Tennessee model Hannah Ann Sluss; Iowa professional clothier Kelsey Weier; Alabama foster parent recruiter Madison Prewett; and Virginia medical sales representative Victoria Fuller on next week’s episode. New York event planner Natasha Parker also went home on Monday’s episode.
Flanagan — who works for her dad’s property tax law firm, Flanagan, Bilton, in the Loop — ended her “Bachelor” stint the way she started it: By being painted as a villain. Flanagan had met Weber by chance at a California hotel before taping of this season of “The Bachelor” began — news that irked her fellow contestants — and she was accused of cheating in a group date obstacle course to score solo time with him on the premiere.
She spent much of her time on “The Bachelor” either being uncomfortable or annoyed by the way the show works. Weber worried that Flanagan was there to have fun, not to be in a serious relationship with him. She was the fifth and final contestant from the Chicago area to be dumped this season.
Season 24 of “The Bachelor” airs at 7 p.m. Mondays on WLS-Ch. 7.
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--A mistake in Illinois’ automatic voter registration system risks deportation for some immigrants

Fitzpatrick presented both her Peruvian passport and U.S. green card when applying for a driver ’ s license in 2005 @ @ @ @ @ a clerk who said it was “ up to you ” if she wanted to @ @ @ @ @ Then she voted , saying she did not learn it was illegal until applying for @ @ @ @ @ government moved to have her deported , which courts upheld .
She was removed in @ @

Peruvian Margarita Del Pilar Fitzpatrick poses for a portrait at San Martin de Porres neighborhood in Lima, Peru, on Feb. 6, 2020. The day Fitzpatrick applied for an Illinois driver's license upended her life. When a clerk offered to register her to vote, the Peruvian citizen mistakenly accepted, leading to long legal battles and eventually deportation. (Martin Mejia/AP)
The day Margarita Del Pilar Fitzpatrick applied for an Illinois driver's license upended her life. When a clerk offered to register her to vote in 2005, the Peruvian citizen mistakenly accepted, leading to long legal battles and eventually deportation.
A decade and a half later, she struggles to find work at 52, is nearly homeless and hasn't seen two of her three American citizen daughters in years because of a secretary of state's office mishap.
Advertisement
“It has derailed our lives,” she said in a phone interview from Lima. “Immigrants should not be put in this situation.”
A handful of other immigrants could face a similar fate, or criminal charges, after a mistake in Illinois' automatic voter registration system allowed of hundreds of people who identified themselves as non-U.S. citizens to register. Sixteen cast ballots.
Advertisement
The fiasco in a state with a reputation for election shenanigans triggered a partisan battle, infuriated voter advocacy groups and left immigrant rights activists doing damage control.
“It’s disappointing because the situation could have been avoided,” said Lawrence Benito, head of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “They voluntarily told people they were noncitizens. It was not their fault.”
Voting by noncitizens is forbidden by state and federal laws and is statistically rare. But President Donald Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that millions voted illegally in 2016. His comments gave a political charge to the issue and put voting modernization efforts such as automatic registration in the spotlight.
“The political appearance is terrible,” Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said of Illinois. “The political reality is people are looking for any potential sense of error when it comes to noncitizen voting to indicate that things like automatic voter registration give rise to fraud."
Illinois made headlines in 2017 when then-Gov. Bruce Rauner was among the first Republicans to sign automatic voter registration into law. The multi-faceted law focuses largely on the secretary of state’s office, which issues driver’s licenses.
A “programming error” wrongly sent data from more than 500 people to election officials, even though when asked if they were U.S. citizens, they hit “no” on an electronic keypad. Ultimately, 545 people were registered.
It's unclear whether some people were confused and mistakenly hit "no.” About half of the voters appeared to be citizens. One was confirmed as a noncitizen with legal status to live in the U.S. Six others remain in question.
Whether that individual, or others yet to surface, could face criminal charges boils down the will of prosecutors.
Advertisement
Experts say there’s little chance of charges being filed around Chicago, where the Cook County state's attorney is a Democrat. However, authorities in more conservative pockets might be more inclined to act. Election officials said they have not been contacted by law enforcement.
Stepped-up efforts to crack down on noncitizen voters have netted results elsewhere. In 2018, a federal task force in North Carolina uncovered voting violations that led to charges against 19 foreign nationals related to the 2016 election.
It can take years for a noncitizen's illegal vote to surface. Immigration authorities might not find out until an immigrant applies to adjust their status, like a green card holder seeking citizenship with a form that asks if the applicant has ever voted. An affirmative answer could disqualify the applicant and lead to deportation.
Two of the highest-profile cases, heard in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, also started with the Illinois secretary of state's office, which has since changed how clerks discuss voter registration.
Fitzpatrick presented both her Peruvian passport and U.S. green card when applying for a driver’s license in 2005. She was confused by a clerk who said it was “up to you” if she wanted to register so she did. Then she voted, saying she did not learn it was illegal until applying for citizenship years later. The government moved to have her deported, which courts upheld. She was removed in 2017.
It was the opposite for Elizabeth Keathley, a Philippine citizen in the U.S. on a marriage visa. She applied for a driver’s license and was sent a registration card. She voted in 2006. In processing her green card, immigration authorities discovered she had voted, and she was ordered removed. However, judges determined she did not falsely represent herself, allowing her to stay. She's since become a citizen, and her story was recounted in an off-Broadway play.
Advertisement
Keathley, 41, said the threat of being separated from her family was devastating, especially since her daughter was then an infant. She also lost her hospital job.
“Our lives were turned upside-down,” said the Bloomington woman.
Chicago attorney Richard Hanus represented both women. He believed Illinois' error could work in their favor, since his clients did not misrepresent themselves as citizens.
Illinois officials vowed to protect immigrants, including fighting subpoenas.
Some voter rights advocates say the state law contains a caveat that could help. It says if a registration is wrongly processed “that person shall not be found on that basis to have made a false claim to citizenship.”
Noncitizen voting isn't common. A 2017 study by the Brennan Center for Justice found roughly 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting when it looked at election jurisdictions representing nearly 24 million votes in the 2016 general election.
Advertisement
Secretary of State Jesse White said his office takes full blame and issued letters to the people affected explaining that. Immigrant-rights advocates want additional protections.
White also countered any insinuation of intentional wrongdoing.
“This was an error, and there was no effort put forth to hide anything or ‘to cook the books,’ so to speak,” White, a Democrat, said recently at a state Capitol hearing. He said the glitch, covering registrations from July 2018 through December 2019, was fixed.
Republicans have called for the system to be suspended after other registration glitches were made public. They’ve also pointed to issues with mistaken noncitizen voter registrations elsewhere, including California.
“The fundamental right to vote and the sanctity of our democracy is too important to bury our heads in the sand and trust that Illinois’ state government has everything under control when it clearly does not,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said after the error was made public last month.
Nearly 20 states have approved some form of automatic voter registration with the goal of increasing civic participation.
Advertisement
Aside from delays and technical issues, voter groups said repeated problems show Illinois has not done enough to safeguard the system.
The state has not "fully come to terms with the harm that can be caused with errors like this in our voting system,” said Ami Gandhi with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay marries Diana Inzunza in Arizona

This moment couldn ’ t be better .
Happy to call you my Wife .
Love you so much my @ @ @ @ @ for made me the happiest man on earth , for be by my side and @ @ @ @ @ me babe love you with all my heart .. # wifeandhusband ..

It’s winter, which must mean it’s Cubs wedding season.
Rookie pitcher Adbert Alzolay is the latest to tie the knot. On Monday he posted on Instagram a photo of him locked in an embrace with his new wife, Diana Inzunza, in Sedona, Ariz.
Advertisement
“This moment couldn’t be better,” Alzolay wrote. “Happy to call you my Wife. Love you so much my beautiful princess.”
Hall of Fame Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was among those who congratulated the couple on social media.
Advertisement
Several of Alzolay’s teammates have walked down the aisle in recent offseasons: Kyle Schwarber and Paige Hartman in December 2019; Javier Baez and Irmarie Marquez in January 2019; Anthony Rizzo and Emily Vakos in December 2018; and Kris Bryant and Jessica Delp in January 2017.
Alzolay pitched four games for the Cubs in 2019, going 1-1 with a 7.30 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 12⅓ innings. Pitchers and catchers report this week to spring training in Mesa, Ariz., and Alzolay is among the candidates to be the Cubs’ fifth starter.


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--3 takeaways from Cubs spring training Monday, including Brandon Morrow’s optimism and Taijuan Walker

3 takeaways from Cubs spring training Monday, including Brandon Morrow’s optimism and Taijuan Walker’s tryout

“ There ’ s still aches and pains that remind me of stuff I was feeling last year , but @ @ @ @ @ throw , I feel good , ” said Morrow , who hasn ’ t pitched @ @ @ @ @ 15 , 2018 , the first year of a two-year , $ 21 million contract @ @ @ @ @ They had to cut through muscle to get down to it .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ , and I hope it keeps getting stronger and the muscles are going to relearn @ @ @ @ @ on a daily basis .
”

MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs officially open spring training Wednesday with the first workout for pitchers and catchers, but players have already begun arriving at Sloan Park. Here are three takeaways from camp Monday.
1. Brandon Morrow isn’t ready to stop trying.
An array of elbow injuries didn’t discourage Brandon Morrow from making his latest comeback attempt with the Cubs on a minor-league contract.
Advertisement
“This is my passion and what I do for a living,” Morrow said. “You’re going to give it every shot you can before they tell you, ‘Stop.’ ”
Morrow’s optimism stems from the strength and resiliency in his right elbow five months after famed orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache performed ulnar nerve decompression surgery on Morrow’s elbow in Los Angeles.
Advertisement
“There’s still aches and pains that remind me of stuff I was feeling last year, but when I test it and throw, I feel good,” said Morrow, who hasn’t pitched in a game since July 15, 2018, the first year of a two-year, $21 million contract with the Cubs. “They had to cut through muscle to get down to it. It’s part of the rehab process, and I hope it keeps getting stronger and the muscles are going to relearn what they have to do on a daily basis.”
Morrow, 35, is scheduled to throw his fifth bullpen session Thursday, and the Cubs have placed him on a conservative schedule with an extra day off between sessions. At some point Morrow knows he’ll need to throw more often to show he can handle the rigors of the season, especially with new rules stating relievers must face at least three batters and limiting teams to carrying 13 pitchers.
Morrow said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that he could be ready by opening day.
“The motivation is just to get back and do it,” Morrow said. “I felt like a lot of missed opportunity for me and the team. I felt my absence created a lot of problems I had to address. I could be stronger for it this year.”
Morrow would earn $1 million if he makes the major-league roster with a chance to earn an additional $1.25 million in incentives. He was happy to get another chance with the Cubs.
“The comfort level with the organization is where I wanted to be,” Morrow said.
2. Taijuan Walker pitched in front of Cubs officials.
The Cubs continued their pursuit of pitching as free agent Taijuan Walker threw in front of several team officials.
Walker, 27, has pitched only once since April 14, 2018, because of Tommy John surgery. He was one of the Mariners’ top pitching prospects and won 11 games in 2015 before they traded him to the Diamondbacks after the 2016 season.
Advertisement
Walker struck out 146 in 157⅓ innings with a 3.48 ERA in 28 starts for the Diamondbacks in 2017.
Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
He said his workout “went well,” but he and agent Jim Murray declined further comment.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted last week that Walker threw in front of about 20 scouts who clocked his fastball in the 85 to 88 mph range.
Taijuan Walker, 27, the former prized pitching prospect who has pitched just 14 innings the last two years, worked out in front of about 20 scouts today in hopes of landing a major-league contract. His fastball was clocked at 85-88 mph as he's coming back from Tommy John surgery. — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 4, 2020
The Cubs 40-man roster is full, and they might be able to offer Walker only a minor-league contract.
3. Tyler Chatwood leads candidates for the fifth rotation spot.
The fifth spot in the rotation appears to be Tyler Chatwood’s to lose. Chatwood, entering the final year of a three-year, $38.5 million contract, lost his spot in late July 2018 but posted a 3.97 ERA in five starts in 2019.
“Chatwood will be ready to go and has put himself in a good spot for that role,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said, adding that Alec Mills (who’s out of options) and Colin Rea will get opportunities.
Advertisement
Rookie Adbert Alzolay also is under consideration, although the Cubs are mindful of his injury history.
“(Last season) was his first healthy season in a while,” Hottovy said. “We want to build off that, continue that trajectory. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to be in the mix for stuff this season, whether at the beginning or at midseason. He’s in a great place right now.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Niles Leaning Tower and other Illinois sites added to National Register of Historic Places

To qualify for the registry , each site had to meet at least one of the following criteria : be @ @ @ @ @ has contributed significantly to history ; be associated with the lives of significant historical figures @ @ @ @ @ architectural and artistic features ; or have produced important historical information , said Barbara Wyatt @ @ @ @ @ Register of Historic Places .
The physical appearance of each property must also resemble how @ @ @ @ @ period of significance , Wyatt said .

The Leaning Tower of Niles is shown on Dec. 2, 2019, as workers reinstall its restored 17th- and 18th-century bronze bells. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The National Park Service has added two sites in Chicago and five in the suburbs to the National Register of Historic Places, including the Leaning Tower in Niles, a South Side location that hosted prominent jazz musicians and was an organizing center during the civil rights movement, and a former medical campus on the Far Northwest Side dedicated to treating tuberculosis, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced Monday.
“Each of these places tells a unique story that is part of the rich fabric of Illinois history,” said Natural Resources Director Colleen Callahan in a news release.
Advertisement
The Illinois properties that were designated historic sites are:
Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium District, (now North Park Village) Chicago. The Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium District was a 160-acre campus made up of 12 buildings on the Far Northwest Side. For roughly 60 years, it was a residential treatment center for tuberculosis. The property is now known as North Park Village, home to senior housing, a Chicago Park District gymnastics center and a nature center with 46 acres of land.
Original brickwork adorns the facade of the gymnasium at North Park Village, shown in 2015, in Chicago. The Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium opened in what is now North Park Village in 1915 and closed in 1974. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
The Forum, Chicago. Built in 1897, the Forum served as the political, social and cultural epicenter of the Bronzeville neighborhood for more than 75 years. The Forum eventually became a popular music scene in Chicago, attracting prominent and jazz and blues musicians, including Nat King Cole, Muddy Waters and Floyd Campbell. The Forum also served as headquarters for pivotal civil rights moments, according to the application. As late as 1961, the Forum hosted a group of Freedom Riders who participated in the efforts to integrate public transportation and facilities.
The 1897 Forum building is shown Feb. 10, 2020, at 318-328 E. 43rd St. in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Leaning Tower of Niles. The Leaning Tower was completed in 1934 and is the only replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It stands 94 feet tall and leans 7 feet toward the south, according to the application for historic registry. The tower was originally built to store the water tanks for two park swimming pools. Recently, village leaders have begun developing the area around the tower. The Niles Village Board voted in 2015 to purchase the Leaning Tower, which had been owned by the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and leased by Niles for years.
The Leaning Tower was completed in 1934 and is the only replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It stands 94 feet tall and leans 7 feet toward the south, according to the application for historic registry. The tower was originally built to store the water tanks for two park swimming pools. Recently, village leaders have begun developing the area around the tower. The Niles Village Board voted in 2015 to purchase the Leaning Tower, which had been owned by the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and leased by Niles for years. First Congressional Church, Des Plaines. First Congregational Church was designated a historic site because of its unique Arts and Crafts architectural design.
First Congregational Church was designated a historic site because of its unique Arts and Crafts architectural design. Lilacia Park Historic District, Lombard, Du Page County. This district is a 4.8-acre public park and garden. The property was donated to the village of Lombard in 1927 and has been home to the annual Lilac Time festival, which showcases hundreds of blooming lilacs, since 1930, according to the application for historic registry.
Blooming with the lilacs in Lombard's Lilacia Park is this mammoth bed of tulips, shown on May 8, 1952. (Quinn / Chicago Tribune)
Louis Fredrick House, Barrington Hills, Lake County. The Louis Fredrick House was built in 1957 and was the last house built in Illinois by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, according to the application for historic registry. The house is a one-story masonry and wood frame house on a 10-acre property.
The Louis Fredrick House was built in 1957 and was the last house built in Illinois by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, according to the application for historic registry. The house is a one-story masonry and wood frame house on a 10-acre property. Copley Hospital, Aurora, Kane County. The Aurora City Hospital, later renamed the Copley Hospital, opened in 1888. Five years after opening, the hospital established an accredited school of nursing. The nursing school graduated more than 1,100 nurses from 1893 to 1975. Throughout the 1900s, additional sections were added to the hospital to accommodate Aurora’s growing population. In 1957, the hospital built a nurses dormitory with training rooms.
A man walks his dog past old Copley Hospital in Aurora in 2015. (Jon Langham / The Beacon-News)
Alton Gas and Electric Powerhouse, Alton, Madison County
Downtown Urbana Historic District, Urbana, Champaign County
Hunziker Winery Site, Warsaw, Hancock County
Paris High School and Gymnasium, Paris, Edgar County
Rollo Congregational United Church of Christ, Earlville vicinity, DeKalb County
To qualify for the registry, each site had to meet at least one of the following criteria: be associated with an event that has contributed significantly to history; be associated with the lives of significant historical figures; represent or possess distinctive architectural and artistic features; or have produced important historical information, said Barbara Wyatt, historian for the National Register of Historic Places. The physical appearance of each property must also resemble how it looked during its historic period of significance, Wyatt said.
Advertisement
janderson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--Ferrara Candy to add 500 jobs at new distribution center slated for DeKalb

Ferrara has begun construction of a 1.6 million-square-foot distribution and pack center on 106 acres in DeKalb ’ s ChicagoWest @ @ @ @ @ to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2021 .
More than a dozen @ @ @ @ @ in the 343-acre business park since it was annexed to the city in 2006 , @ @ @ @ @ to sign on , Nicklas said .

The reception area of Ferrara Candy headquarters in the newly refurbished Old Post Office building at 433 W. Van Buren St. in Chicago is seen on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A growing Ferrara Candy is building a new distribution complex in DeKalb that is expected to employ 500 people by spring of next year.
The Chicago-based candy company, which is investing more than $100 million in the project, will be DeKalb’s largest industrial employer once the complex is complete, a transformative development for the college town whose local economy suffered severe blows during the Great Recession, said City Manager Bill Nicklas.
Advertisement
“The faith of this company in DeKalb is a real shot in the arm,” Nicklas said in an interview Monday. “Many of those jobs are going to be career jobs. That will mean people settling in our area and coming to our schools.”
Ferrara, maker of Lemonheads and Trolli, has been adding employees since its parent company, Italy’s Ferrero Group, acquired Kellogg’s cookie business last year and Nestle’s U.S. confectionery portfolio in 2018, giving it control of legacy brands from Keebler to Butterfinger to Nerds.
Advertisement
“As our business continues to grow and our portfolio expands, we need additional space to match our ambition,” Ferrara’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Murray said in a news release. “The distribution capacity in DeKalb will allow us to continue to scale our network in the U.S.”
Ferrara has begun construction of a 1.6 million-square-foot distribution and pack center on 106 acres in DeKalb’s ChicagoWest Business Park, and expects to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2021. More than a dozen potential tenants have expressed interest in the 343-acre business park since it was annexed to the city in 2006, but Ferrara is the first to sign on, Nicklas said.
Nicklas said an incentive agreement with the city includes a plan for Ferrara to build a manufacturing plant on the site as well, which would add another 1.5 million square feet and bring the total number of jobs to 1,000.
Ferrara spokeswoman Sarah Kittel said it is premature to discuss anything beyond its plans for the distribution complex.
For 15 years, Ferrara will receive half of the property tax receipts that would have gone into DeKalb’s coffers, Nicklas said. The projected value of property taxes that will be generated from Ferrara’s parcels is equivalent to that of the five largest industrial producers operating in the city today, combined.
DeKalb’s largest industrial producers currently are 3M, Nestle, Panduit, Goodyear and Target, he said.
DeKalb, about 65 miles west of Chicago, is the home of Northern Illinois University, its largest employer. The city won Ferrara’s interest because of the business park’s proximity to Interstate 88 and utility infrastructure, as well as the city’s workforce and “business-friendly taxing bodies,” the joint news release said.
Advertisement
The Ferrara jobs coming to DeKalb will range from custodial to forklift drivers to logistics to management, Nicklas said.
“It’s going to be durable and a permanent part of our work environment here,” he said. “People aren’t going to stop eating and people aren’t going to stop liking chocolate."
Ferrara, which moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago’s Old Post Office from Oakbrook Terrace in November, employs nearly 6,000 people across 20 locations in North America, including manufacturing, distribution and research and development facilities.
Kittel said the company continues “to evaluate all options as it relates to the best use of our existing footprint, while expanding that footprint to better support our U.S. distribution network.”