chicagotribune--2020-02-20--Calling himself a ‘freed political prisoner,’ Rod Blagojevich thanks Trump and remains unbowed

“ How do you properly thank someone who has given back the freedom that was stolen from you ?
He @ @ @ @ @ do this , ” Blagojevich said .
“ President Trump is tough and outspoken , @ @ @ @ @ kind heart .
This is an act of kindness , and I also believe it @ @ @ @ @ a process to actually turn an injustice into a justice .
”

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, with his wife Patti at his side, speaks to supporters and the media in front of their Ravenswood Manor home on Feb. 19, 2020. (Jose Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Calling himself a “Trumpocrat” and “freed political prisoner,” disgraced ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich used his first full day of freedom Wednesday to thank President Donald Trump for commuting his prison sentence and take the first shot at redefining his legacy.
A now silver-haired Blagojevich, 63, walked outside his Northwest Side home dressed in a blue sweater and jeans. He was joined by his two daughters and wife, Patti, who joked that the news conference started late because Blagojevich couldn’t find his own socks after being away for so long.
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As Blagojevich shook hands and hugged well-wishers, he repeatedly dabbed at his chin with a white handkerchief and explained that he nicked himself while shaving with a real razor blade for the first time in nearly eight years. The cut bled for the entire news conference.
“It’s been a long, long journey,” he said. “I’m bruised and I’m battered and bloody.”
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[ What’s next for Rod Blagojevich? Can he practice law? Run for office? Become a poet? ]
In a so-called homecoming address that sounded more like a campaign speech, Blagojevich painted himself as a public servant persecuted by the “swamp in Springfield” for trying to help people. He spoke of granting free public transportation to seniors and health care to uninsured children, but made no mention of the children’s hospital he was convicted of pressuring for a donation.
The 20-minute soliloquy included some of the loquacious Blagojevich’s greatest hits: He recited British poetry, he told the story of his immigrant parents and compared himself to a boxer. He quoted Martin Luther King and repeatedly insisted he did nothing wrong.
He also spoke a little Spanish, one of his go-to moves on the campaign trail.
“I’m returning home today from a long exile a freed political prisoner,” he said. “I want to say again to the people of Illinois who twice elected me governor: I didn’t let you down. I would have let you down if I gave into this. But resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”
[ Editorial: The flamboyant return of Rod Blagojevich. Did you expect anything different? ]
Occasionally choking back tears, Blagojevich said the length of his incarceration could be measured by milestones his daughters marked while he was away. Amy, now 23, graduated from high school and Northwestern University before earning a master’s degree in marketing last year. Annie, 16, was in grade school when her father left and now has a driver’s license.
He described, in his trademark purple prose, the 6-by-8-foot prison cell in which he spent most of his incarceration. From the top bunk, Blagojevich said, he would look out a small, barred window and dream of holding his wife’s hand again.
He urged anyone facing hardship — he called them his “fellow underdogs” — to think of their own families as they deal with their struggles.
“Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Think of the people you love. Think of the people you love," he said. “You’ll find your purpose.”
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[ Rod Blagojevich’s rise and fall and presidential commutation, a Chicago story ]
Blagojevich thanked Trump for commuting his sentence five times in the first 10 minutes, calling him “kind,” “smart” and “courageous.” He said his daughters always will consider the commutation the kindest gift they’ve ever received.
He also referred to himself as a “former Democratic" governor, suggesting he no longer aligns himself with the party that helped elect him to the state’s top office.
“I’m a Trumpocrat,” Blagojevich said to cheers from onlookers. “If I have the ability to vote, I’m gonna vote for him.”
Blagojevich is free to vote in any upcoming election now that he’s been released from prison, according to Matt Dietrich, a spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections.
[ How Patti Blagojevich helped earn her husband’s release ]
“People with felony records can vote as long as they are no longer incarcerated and as long as they re-register,” Dietrich said.
In a more stunning moment, Blagojevich also thanked his father-in-law, former Chicago Ald. Dick Mell, for supporting his wife and daughters while he was in prison. It was a public olive branch from the ex-governor, who had long blamed Mell for sparking the federal investigation against him nearly two decades ago.
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Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich speaks after prison release Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich thanked President Donald Trump, quoted poetry and the Bible, advocated for criminal justice reform and tried to put a new spin on the charges that put him in prison during a press conference outside his Ravenswood home. Blagojevich was freed from prison yesterday, four years early, after Trump commuted his sentence for corruption. Posted by Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Despite their financial hardships after Blagojevich’s arrest, the Blagojevich family was able to keep their house and send the girls to private school, in part, because of Mell’s financial help.
His gratitude list also included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who lobbied for his release, and Jesse Jackson Jr., whom he referred to as a friend. During Blagojevich’s criminal trial, a jury found that Blagojevich attempted to sell then-President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat to Jackson Jr. in exchange for some of Jackson’s supporters making a large contribution to the governor’s campaign.
One person Blagojevich did not mention during his remarks was his brother, Robert, who was the former governor’s chief fundraiser when the charges came down in 2008. Robert was tried as an accomplice in Blagojevich’s schemes at the first of two federal trials in the case, but charges against him were dropped after the first Blagojevich jury deadlocked.
The brothers have been estranged for most of Blagojevich’s incarceration.
Blagojevich arrived at his Ravenswood Manor home in the early morning hours Wednesday, greeted by a throng of reporters, supporters, neighbors and protesters after pulling up in a white SUV. The former governor was able to catch a late-night flight after being released from a federal prison near Denver late Tuesday, arriving at O’Hare International Airport just before midnight.
Supporters remained Wednesday morning as Blagojevich prepared to speak, adding to a carnival-like atmosphere on the sidewalk. Many had signed a banner declaring “Thanks Mr. President,” while someone else hung a cardboard sign proclaiming “Trumpocrats.”
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[ Autographs and no apologies as Rod Blagojevich returns home: 'I didn’t do the things they said I did. They lied on me.’ ]
The ubiquitous Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers made an appearance in his full customized Cubs uniform, an homage to Blagojevich’s beloved baseball team. Another man wore a Blagojevich mask and carried one of the former governor’s old campaign posters.
“Welcome to the circus,” the masked man told reporters and news helicopters hovered above the family’s Mediterranean-style home.
By the time Blagojevich and his family came outside, the crowd was so large, many supporters said they could not even hear the remarks.
Carolyn Ruff was among the crowd of supporters. She said she has known the Blagojevich family for nearly 20 years through her work at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
“I’m so happy he’s home with his family,” Ruff said. "I commend Patti. She stuck with her husband, her dream came alive.”
Annie Hudson has lived down the block from the Blagojevich family for more than a decade. She said the former governor was a great neighbor who used to come to her house and play basketball with her son, but she doesn’t agree much with his politics.
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It has been insane in the neighborhood since the news broke Tuesday, according to Hudson.
“My dog is going completely crazy,” she said. “I had to give her Benadryl. The helicopters drive her nuts.”
[ Commentary: 3 reasons for Blagojevich’s release (and why they are wrong) ]
Blagojevich’s 14-year prison term was commuted by Trump in a wave of clemency moves. The long-awaited decision sent Blagojevich home from prison more than four years early, much to the relief and delight of his wife and daughters.
But not everyone was thrilled — former federal prosecutors who helped put him in prison, Illinois’ five-member Republican congressional delegation, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday derided Trump’s decision to release him early, saying it sent the wrong message about the consequences of political corruption and was unfair to his victims.
As Blagojevich spoke, the president tweeted about the commutation, again repeating an inaccurate allegation that former FBI Director James Comey helped convict Blagojevich. Comey was U.S. deputy attorney general when the investigation into Blagojevich’s administration began, but he moved to the private sector in 2005 and played no role in Blagojevich’s arrest in 2008.
[ Naperville whistleblower, local FBI agents call Trump commuting Rod Blagojevich’s sentence disappointing ]
The president also misstated the reason for Blagojevich’s conviction. The governor was charged with conspiring to sell the Senate seat — along with shaking down a children’s hospital and suburban racetrack — and was arrested before he appointed someone to Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
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“Rod Blagojevich did not sell the Senate seat,” Trump wrote. “He served 8 years in prison, with many remaining. He paid a big price. Another Comey and gang deal!”
Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on the corruption charges. Trump has said he believed the 40th Illinois governor was treated unfairly when a federal judge in Chicago sentenced him to 14 years in federal prison.
“He’ll be able to go back home with his family,” Trump said Tuesday. “That was a tremendously powerful, ridiculous sentence in my opinion.”
Blagojevich had been scheduled to be released in March 2024. Instead, he found himself sleeping in his own house Tuesday night — and learning how to use a real razor again the next morning.
“How do you properly thank someone who has given back the freedom that was stolen from you? He didn’t have to do this,” Blagojevich said. “President Trump is tough and outspoken, but he also has a kind heart. This is an act of kindness, and I also believe it’s the beginning of a process to actually turn an injustice into a justice.”
Chicago Tribune’s Paige Fry and Alice Yin contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--New oyster bar opening across from Wrigley in time for Cubs’ season

The Wrigleyville restaurant Dutch & Doc ’ s ( 3600 N. Clark St. ) has spent part of the baseball @ @ @ @ @ , such as the last look at Balena ( the Lincoln Park restaurant closed by @ @ @ @ @ preview of the upcoming Momotaro Italia by chef Gene Kato .

The bar at Dutch and Doc's restaurant, with the addition of a 30-foot oyster bar, will be the focal point of the new Swift & Sons Tavern & Oyster Bar, opening March 6. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
The Wrigleyville restaurant Dutch & Doc’s (3600 N. Clark St.) has spent part of the baseball off-season hosting a few pop-ups, such as the last look at Balena (the Lincoln Park restaurant closed by fire) and the current preview of the upcoming Momotaro Italia by chef Gene Kato.
Next month, the restaurant will transform again — this time for keeps — when it becomes Swift & Sons Tavern & Oyster Bar, a slightly more casual iteration of the original Swift & Sons in the Fulton Market district.
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The new Swift & Sons, opening March 6, will have a 30-foot oyster bar installed near the entrance. Fresh-shucked oysters will be a focus, and during Cubs games, the restaurant will offer a “Pints & Pearls” special ($1 oysters, $4 beer pints) from first pitch to last out.
Steaks will be on the menu, of course, along with lighter sandwiches such as a cheeseburger, rib-eye steak sandwich and oyster po’ boys.
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Reservations are available now via OpenTable.


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--Driver drags Chicago police officer with vehicle before fleeing traffic stop in Logan Square, police

Driver drags Chicago police officer with vehicle before fleeing traffic stop in Logan Square, police say

About 9:20 p.m. , the driver of a black four-door sedan sped away from officers trying to conduct a traffic @ @ @ @ @ of West Fullerton Avenue , striking a male officer who fell to the ground , @ @ @ @ @ The driver then continued and dragged the officer with the sedan .

A Chicago police officer was hit and dragged by a car when a driver fled a traffic stop Wednesday night in the Logan Square neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
About 9:20 p.m., the driver of a black four-door sedan sped away from officers trying to conduct a traffic stop in the 3700 block of West Fullerton Avenue, striking a male officer who fell to the ground, according to Chicago police. The driver then continued and dragged the officer with the sedan.
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The officer was taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, while the suspect escaped and is not in custody, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--Ask Amy: Transgender people say: Call me by my name

When you 're trans , some people seem to act as though you are both the killer and the slain @ @ @ @ @ understand that I have not killed their daughter and sister is one of the hardest @ @ @ @ @ .
But armed with resources , humor and love , they 're slowly starting to @ @ @ @ @ brother has always been here -- he was just wearing the wrong sweater .

Dear Readers: Like all of you, I am curious about how things turn out after I publish a question.
The following two letters are responses to a recent question from a college sophomore who signed his letter "Embarrassed."
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Dear Amy: I've been reading your column since I was a little kid.
Last month, I decided to ask you my own question.
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As a transgender man, I was confused and embarrassed during the Thanksgiving holiday that my parents persisted in calling me by the female name they assigned to me at birth.
I thought I would let you know how things turned out when I returned home for Christmas.
I knew my family loved me, but it felt like they weren't recognizing something that is a deep and personal part of me.
My experience with gender identity is like this: I was born wearing an itchy, scratchy sweater. I didn't like it. But I looked around and I saw everyone who looked like me was wearing their sweaters, and I had certainly never heard of anyone taking off or wearing different sweaters. After all, I had been given this! It was a gift!
In high school, I would wake up at 4:30 a.m. to meticulously put on makeup, so I could look feminine enough to feel passable. I was so unhappy.
I began using a masculine nickname. My parents hated it. But to me, it felt right. I finally found a sweater that fit me, and I was ecstatic.
I came out to my parents. Cut my hair short. Began looking and dressing how I wanted. I look like the young man that I am.
During my visits home, my parents have persisted in introducing me to others by my "dead" name -- the female name I had growing up.
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I don't think cisgender people can really understand what it feels like to be called the wrong name. I wouldn't wish this feeling on anyone.
Your advice was to face the issue with compassion and humor. You explained that my parents were also going through a transition, but because they didn't live in my body, they were experiencing it differently than I was.
This made visiting home for Christmas easier. I could laugh it off, which made other people laugh, and ultimately avoided that awkwardness of correcting people. My go-to phrase now is: "I'm a man, just a soprano."
The confidence and kindness I've been able to exude has helped to ease the tension.
When you're trans, some people seem to act as though you are both the killer and the slain. Helping my family to understand that I have not killed their daughter and sister is one of the hardest things I have to do. But armed with resources, humor and love, they're slowly starting to realize that their son and brother has always been here -- he was just wearing the wrong sweater.
— Justin
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Dear Justin: Your original question touched me deeply; your generous and helpful response touches me even more.
Your parents did a very good job. They raised a kind, brave and resilient son.
I'm happy to call you by your name.
Dear Amy: I had tears running down my cheeks while reading the letter from "Embarrassed," a college sophomore and transgender man.
My transgender daughter came home for Thanksgiving and came out to me.
I am not living her life, so I have no idea what she is going through, but she is happy. And that is all I want for her. Help me please, because I keep messing up. I keep referring to her using the pronoun "he" instead of "she."
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It just flies from my mouth, as it has for 22 years.
I want to kick myself because I know it upsets her. I am trying to train myself to use the correct pronoun, but I find myself avoiding conversation because I see the pain in her face when I get things wrong.
I am so proud of her. I love her and I want to use the right pronoun. My other children correct me, and I appreciate that, but I feel so ignorant.
Can you help me to use the correct pronoun?
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 >
— Embarrassed Mom
Dear Mom: You just used the correct pronoun -- all the way through your question.
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Don't avoid communicating. Ask your daughter to be patient with you.
While she is away at school, look at her picture, follow her on social media (if possible), practice seeing her in this new way, and continue to love her -- just as she is.
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--2020-02-19--Blackhawks allow 5 goals in a disastrous 3rd period in a 6-3 loss to the Rangers

“ I ’ d say there were repeated defensive breakdowns , '' Colliton said , `` just them getting on @ @ @ @ @ basically the whole period , whether that was off the rush or whether that was @ @ @ @ @ we had a couple of turnovers that was not a recipe to keep the puck @ @ @ @ @ ”

The way the Blackhawks unraveled in the third period of Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Rangers was both startling, given the stakes, and seemingly out of character.
The Hawks have their struggles — such as going 0-for-3 on the power play — but their low energy on defense was surprising, particularly on home ice.
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“We gave up a bunch of goals. Easy goals,” Jonathan Toews said.
Coach Jeremy Colliton called it “very concerning.”
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“I think that game was there to be had, too,” he said. “A lot of opportunities, a lot of open ice. Again there’s moments where we’re playing our game where we have four lines rolling, guys are making good changes, getting pucks deep, making other teams play where they don’t want to play, and other times we just get away from that. Our turnovers are in the wrong areas and D-men, forwards can do a better job of supporting each other. So just little details like that.”
Colliton said he wanted to see the Hawks practice Thursday “like it’s a game.”
The Flames didn’t play Wednesday and the Coyotes lost to the Stars, so while the Hawks didn’t gain any ground in the wild-card race, they didn’t lose any either. They remain eight points back.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s game.
1. Whatever the reason, the Hawks weren’t ready for the Rangers in the third period.
The Hawks appeared resurgent in the second period and went into the third tied 1-1 — then proceeded to give up five goals. How did that happen?
“I don’t really have an answer for you,” Jonathan Toews said.
Coach Jeremy Colliton said the Rangers consistently got inside of Hawks defenders, putting goaltender Robin Lehner in a bad position.
“We weren’t able to close guys out in (the defensive) zone and they get on the wrong side of us, and then it’s hard to defend,” Colliton said. “There’s a couple times where we were late to recognize transition, and so they had numbers back.”
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Colliton also blamed their lack of gap control, not just in the third period but for the whole game: “Our gap was nowhere near where it needs to be. We just didn’t do enough good things.”
Drake Caggiula added, “There are times where you can box out physically and that doesn’t take much of a mental grind, but there are also times you have to think the game and make plays and get the puck out of the zone. That’s something that we’re struggling with right now.”
The Rangers had 22 shots combined in the first two periods. They had 19 in the third.
Despite the breakdowns, Caggiula said, “I don’t think we’re ever discouraged. For the most part our team is pretty positive and we try to stay that way even when the going gets tough.”
2. Dominik Kubalik’s success wasn’t just about him.
Kubalik’s two goals lifted him to 25 on the season and padded his lead among rookies. The next closest is the Sabres’ Victor Olofsson with 19.
“Obviously it’s nice to score goals,” Kubalik said, “but I think it’s about the line because we’re playing in the offensive zone pretty well. We just found some chemistry between each other and that’s pretty good. ... It’s not very happy when the result’s not there.”
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Kubalik was on the line with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews when he scored his first goal — on Duncan Keith's 500th career assist — in the second period. He was assisted by Toews and Drake Caggiula for his second goal in the third, and Kubalik and Toews were on the line when Caggiula scored later in the period.
With the goal and an assist, Caggiula had his third multi-point game since Jan. 15.
3. Jack O’Callahan was one of the few highlights of the night.
You would think if anyone was going to steal the show, it would have been the Strome brothers, who faced each other for the fifth time in their careers on Wednesday.
Dylan (Hawks) won the opening faceoff but Ryan (Rangers) won the game.
Jack O’Callahan won the crowd.
The former Blackhawk performed a ceremonial puck drop before the game to mark the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” but when the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin and the Hawks’ Patrick Kane readied for the faceoff, O’Callahan tossed it Kane’s way, drawing laughter.
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“You know I saw a Russian and an American facing off, and it’s like there’s not a chance I’m even going to risk this Russian winning that draw,” O’Callahan said. “I kind of looked at Kaner and just fired it through his legs and he’s kind of laughing. But I’m sure he expected it. Even through we’re generations apart we’re still teammates.”
O’Callahan was a defenseman on the underdog 1980 Olympic hockey team that upset the Soviet Union on its way to winning a gold medal.
He and 17 of his old Olympic teammates will be honored again in Las Vegas during a game between the Golden Knights and Panthers.
When asked if someone asks him about the “Miracle” team every day, O’Callahan deadpanned, “If no one’s talking about it then I started talking about it.”
O’Callahan seemed a natural at joking and charming a crowd, but he’s serious about his support of U.S. women’s hockey.
“The Olympics is such a great forum for women’s sports, I’d almost like to see the men go do something else,” he said. “Just have the women own the Olympics, because that’s what the people are paying attention (to) and watching. It’s really fun and I think they compete so hard.”
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O’Callahan didn’t warm to the idea of NHL players returning to the Winter Games — it was learned last week that the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation have had talks about bringing back professional players by 2022.
“We see enough of these guys,” O’Callahan said. “Let’s watch some of these great women compete. It’s some of the greatest drama and emotion you’ll ever see. The Olympics is a great place for them.”
Here is more coverage from Wednesday’s game.
Dominik Kubalik scored twice, and Drake Caggiula added a goal to give the Blackhawks hope with their season teetering on the brink, but the Rangers made life miserable Wednesday for goaltender Robin Lehner — whose rough night wasn’t helped by defensive breakdowns.
The Hawks allowed five goals in a disastrous third period in a 6-3 loss at the United Center.
“That was one of the worst third periods or worst period in general that we’ve had. It’s unfortunate," Lehner said.
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Coach Jeremy Colliton added: “Makes you angry because it’s a game that we looked (at) before and we need this game. We didn’t do the things right from the start to put ourselves in the best position to win. We just didn’t have enough guys ready to play.”
“I’d say there were repeated defensive breakdowns," Colliton said, "just them getting on the wrong side of us basically the whole period, whether that was off the rush or whether that was in D zone, or we had a couple of turnovers that was not a recipe to keep the puck out of your net.”
Pavel Buchnevich led off the barrage 2 minutes, 33 seconds into the period, and by the time Mika Zibanejad poked in his 26th goal of the season, the Rangers had scored five goals in the span of 11 minutes. Chris Kreider’s and and ex-Hawk Artemi Panarin’s goals came less than a minute apart.
With the Hawks trying to make the case to general manager Stan Bowman that he should keep the roster intact after Monday’s trade deadline, their unraveling Wednesday didn’t speak well for their playoff hopes.
Asked where the team’s mindset was after the loss, Lehner said, “Not forward right now. We’ve got to figure it out.”
Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said playoff teams do what they have to even on nights they’re not feeling their best.
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“To me, the story of the game tonight is you’re going to have games throughout the year where you don’t have energy, where it’s hard to find," Toews said. “You gotta find the motivation to go out there and play your best game.”
The Rangers and Hawks entered the game under similar circumstances: in seventh place in their divisions and eight points out of a wild-card spot.
The Hawks’ season was likely was riding on their last three games before the deadline, starting Wednesday. They quickly found themselves in a hole when Rangers center Filip Chytil scored an unassisted goal 1:58 into the game.
The Hawks bounced back 2½ minutes into the second period, when Kubalik scored on Duncan Keith’s assist.
It was the first of two Kubalik goals on the night, putting the rookie at 25 for the season, two behind Patrick Kane for the team lead.
Kane passed to Keith as Jonathan Toews skated into crease and crossed in front of Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Keith instead looked to Kubalik, who poked the puck into the corner to Shesterkin’s left side.
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Kubalik took a breakaway single-handedly through a double team for his second goal, which came about six minutes into the third.
Lehner had his worst outing since allowing six goals to the Canucks on Jan. 2 in Vancouver.
The Hawks had been intent on defending home ice in just their second of three games at the United Center this month and the first of a two-game homestand. The loss Wednesday creates even higher stakes.
“We just got to battle through,” Kubalik said. “Just got to come out ready every night because we’re still in the mix for the playoffs. We just got to battle every game; every point is huge.”
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On the injury front, Zack Smith practiced in the morning but didn’t play Wednesday. It’s still too soon since his left hand was stepped on and slashed by a skate Feb. 12 against the Canucks, an injury he’s surprised doesn’t happen more often.
“For the amount of times guys goes down to the ice and a skate blade goes by him, there’s probably so many close calls that you don’t even notice, or you forget about (it) a shift later,” he said Wednesday morning after practice. “For me, it could’ve been a lot worse, so it was probably a millimeter away from being the end of my season, so I got very lucky. “
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“A couple of stitches and a few days off is all it's gonna take.”
When it first happened, though, it was “very painful” and Smith knew immediately, “That’s not good.”
“You feel a skate blade step on your hand, you know it’s not going to look good. The trainers said they couldn’t believe there wasn't blood on the glove because I just threw it off right away and went to the bench.”
Coach Jeremy Colliton called the injury a “scary thing,” but he wasn’t aware of its exact nature at first.
“I didn’t see it so when he came off I thought he broke his wrist or something, we didn’t really know in the moment,” he said. “But when you hear what happened and see the cut, it’s not a good situation. So obviously happy that it’s not too serious.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--North Side tattoo shop featured on ‘Black Ink Crew: Chicago’ allowed to operate after inspection

A portion of the Jan. 22 inspection of 2nd City Ink was shown on Wednesday ’ s mid-Season 6 finale @ @ @ @ @ face was blurred out , but who was identified as an inspector — could be @ @ @ @ @ conditions at the shop , which is located on the lower level of 1440 N. @ @ @

A logo for the 2nd City Ink tattoo shop is photographed on Dec. 10, 2019. "Black Ink Crew: Chicago" star Charmaine Walker owns the shop at 1440 N. Dayton St. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The North Side tattoo shop recently featured on the VH1 series “Black Ink Crew: Chicago” is allowed to operate after passing a state-required health inspection that took place three months after the shop had already opened.
A portion of the Jan. 22 inspection of 2nd City Ink was shown on Wednesday’s mid-Season 6 finale. A woman — whose face was blurred out, but who was identified as an inspector — could be heard making comments about the conditions at the shop, which is located on the lower level of 1440 N. Dayton St.
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“You should consider your procedure areas like surgery because you’re doing the same thing, going under somebody’s skin,” the unnamed inspector said. “You gotta make that sink, where it has splash guards, and it’s labeled ‘for artists only.’ Prove to me that your gloves are of medical grade.”
The Chicago Department of Public Health conducted the inspection and noted violations, including improper storage of single-use items, non-compliant toilet facilities and insufficient or inaccessible emergency procedures. The department did not issue any citations, a CDPH spokeswoman said, and all violations were corrected.
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Charmaine Walker opened 2nd City Ink on Oct. 3, 2019, after being fired from 9Mag, the Pilsen tattoo shop at the center of “Black Ink Crew: Chicago” since its 2015 premiere.
The Tribune reported on Dec. 18, 2019 that 2nd City Ink was not registered with the Illinois Department of Public Health, as required by state law. IDPH sent 2nd City Ink a cease-and-desist letter the day after the Tribune story was posted online. Walker also had to deal with the city. She applied for a Chicago regulated business license on Dec. 19, 2019, according to city data posted online.
The Chicago business license was approved on Jan. 22, the day of the health inspection. The shop is also registered with the state through Dec. 31. Cameras documented the license and registration drama, which played out over multiple episodes.
VH1 representatives have not announced when the second half of the sixth season of “Black Ink Crew: Chicago” will air. It’s also unclear if 2nd City Ink will be a major story line moving forward since the shop’s Instagram page was blank as of Wednesday night.
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--Bears expected to sign tight end Demetrius Harris to a 1-year contract

Trey Burton had surgery in December to repair the labrum in his hip .
In the second season of a @ @ @ @ @ contract , Burton never looked healthy and totaled 14 catches for 84 yards in eight @ @ @ @ @ him on injured reserve in mid-November .

The Bears added help to their tight ends room with the addition of Demetrius Harris on a one-year contract, the Bears said Thursday.
The Browns released Harris, 28, earlier this week after one season, in which he had 15 receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns. The move, with a year remaining on his deal, saved about $2.5 million in salary cap space, Cleveland.com reported. The NFL Network first reported the Bears signing on Wednesday.
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Harris played his first five seasons with the Chiefs, four when Bears coach Matt Nagy was their quarterbacks coach then offensive coordinator. Harris made 57 catches for 605 yards and six touchdowns with the Chiefs, including a career-high 18 catches for 224 yards in 2017.
He could play the role of the Bears "Y" (blocking) tight end and also has a lot of experience on special teams.
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The #Bears have added a free agent before free agency begins, agreeing to terms on a 1-year deal with former #Browns TE Demetrius Harris, sources say. The athletic Harris spent time with coach Matt Nagy when both were in Kansas City, as Chicago begins to upgrade the TE position. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 19, 2020
The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Harris played college basketball at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which doesn’t have a football team, before he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs in 2013.
The Bears are in desperate need of tight end upgrades after their group had 46 catches for 416 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Trey Burton had surgery in December to repair the labrum in his hip. In the second season of a four-year, $32 million contract, Burton never looked healthy and totaled 14 catches for 84 yards in eight games before the Bears placed him on injured reserve in mid-November.
Adam Shaheen, a 2017 second-round pick, had nine catches for 74 yards in eight games before the Bears benched him for performance reasons then placed him on injured reserve.
The Bears fired tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride at the end of the season and replaced him with veteran coach Clancy Barone.


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--Chicago students’ fight to rename Douglas Park, three years in the making, soldiers on

`` They thought that they would just let this blow over , the kids would give this up , and @ @ @ @ @ let this pass through , '' she said .
`` But they 're not giving @ @ @

A sign in Douglas Park in Chicago, shown Feb. 19, 2020, shows an additional "s" added to the end of "Douglas." The park is named after U.S. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, who advocated allowing new U.S. territories to decide whether to become slave states. Some people have recently proposed renaming the park after abolitionist Frederick Douglass. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune)
Zahir Mbengue stood behind the wooden lectern, unnerved as he addressed the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners.
“It’s insulting to have a park named after a slave owner in a predominantly black community,” he said, referring to Douglas Park.
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For three years, Village Leadership Academy students have been working to rename the 218-acre West Side park after former slave and renown orator Frederick Douglass rather than former U.S. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, who in the mid-1800s advocated that voters should decide the legality of slavery rather than abolish it.
After Mbengue’s two-minute plea to the park board during Wednesday’s monthly board meeting, another classmate stepped up to vent her frustration.
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“We’re tired of being ignored and not taken seriously,” said Aryn Peterson, a seventh grade student at Village Leadership Academy.
Neither Park District Superintendent Michael Kelly nor the Park District commissioners made a comment after the two students spoke. All of the commissioners were not present at Wednesday’s meeting.
Two years ago, the students informally presented the renaming idea to the Park District board, which has the final say on how city parks are named.
Since then, the students have been canvassing Chicago, campaigning in parks and subway stations, to drum up more support before requesting a name change and presenting a petition to the board. They hope to persuade Chicagoans and the Park District to change the name and add an "s" to Douglas Park.
To make their uphill battle a reality, the students formally submitted a proposal to the board in December that included at least 4,000 signatures, said Jennifer Pagan, a teacher who has helped the students during their campaign.
"They thought that they would just let this blow over, the kids would give this up, and they would be able to let this pass through," she said. "But they're not giving up."
When a formal request is submitted to the Park District, a 45-day notice period is initiated when the public can offer opinions. From there, the Park District superintendent will recommend to the board committee whether or not to rename the park. Renaming requires a board majority.
The Park District, however, says they have not received a "formal request" to rename Douglas Park. They have only received a request to rename the miniature golf course that is located behind the Douglas Park Fieldhouse.
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But back at the park, as of Wednesday evening, someone had taken the matter into their own hands. An extra "s" had been added to at least three of the Douglas Park signs.
In spite of the backlash, the Park District said there is no precedent for renaming a park that has already been named after a historical figure.
A Park District spokesman did not respond to an email asking if the Park District knew Douglas Park was named after a slaveowner. The Park District will, however, work with the students to identify a park to be named in honor of Frederick Douglass.
But the students will not settle, Pagan said.
“Until the name is changed, we’re going to continue to fight.”
janderson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--Cubs must consider how to build their roster to cover when Kris Bryant plays the outfield: 3 takeawa

Cubs must consider how to build their roster to cover when Kris Bryant plays the outfield: 3 takeaways from spring training

The Cubs also need a dependable backup to shortstop Javier Baez .
While rookie Nico Hoerner is the best candidate @ @ @ @ @ challenged to find enough at-bats to justify keeping Hoerner on the major-league roster if Jason @ @ @ @ @ playing time at second base .

MESA, Ariz. — Here are three takeaways from Cubs spring training Wednesday.
1. Shuffling looms when Kris Bryant shifts to the outfield.
Manager David Ross plans to maximize the versatility of third baseman Kris Bryant by occasionally moving him to other positions.
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“But his main position will be third,” Ross said.
Nevertheless, the Cubs must take into consideration the best way to shape the roster to provide coverage when Bryant moves to the outfield.
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For instance, who will play third base? David Bote committed only four errors in 56 games there while Bryant rehabbed a badly bruised left shoulder in 2018. But last season Bote committed 11 errors in 67 games at third.
Ian Happ has played primarily in the outfield since joining the Cubs in 2017. But in eight games at third base in 2019 he committed only one error in 54 innings and looked comfortable there in September.
The Cubs also need a dependable backup to shortstop Javier Baez. While rookie Nico Hoerner is the best candidate, the Cubs may be challenged to find enough at-bats to justify keeping Hoerner on the major-league roster if Jason Kipnis earns most of the playing time at second base.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 Kris Bryant waits for his pitch at Cubs spring training on Feb. 18, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
2. The Cubs may continue to alternate their right- and left-handed batters in the lineup.
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Former manager Joe Maddon was criticized for using so many lineups, but one of his themes may be continued by successor David Ross.
With Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo at this point penciled in at the leadoff and second spots in the lineup, Ross can continue to alternate right- and left-handed hitters throughout most of the lineup.
“Alternating is important now with the three-batter minimum (rule) (putting) added pressure to the other team,” Ross said. “We want to make sure they have well-rounded pitchers in the bullpen when it comes to that.”
The top five spots in the lineup could comprise Bryant, Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, and Willson Contreras for a right-left-right-left-right order. Jason Heyward could bat sixth or dip to eighth if fellow left-handed hitter Jason Kipnis earns a majority of the playing time at second base.
3. Willson Contreras looks to be using a more traditional setup behind the plate.
Based on early work, it appears catcher Willson Contreras might revert exclusively to a traditional setup behind the plate instead of occasionally extending one leg and catching on one knee.
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“He made some pretty impressive changes with his setup and approach to his whole defensive game throughout course of the offseason,” coach Craig Driver said. “When I first met him, he’d already worked on a bunch of that stuff already.
“I think you might see him be a little more traditional in terms of of his setup, with a lot more two-foot stances instead of a one-knee stance. That’s an area where he pinpointed he might improve, and the metrics back it up as well. He traditionally does a little better out of a traditional stance.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--Former Outcome Health execs say they need to tap $10.3 million in frozen funds. But ex-CEO spent $10

Former Outcome Health execs say they need to tap $10.3 million in frozen funds. But ex-CEO spent $105,000 at Tesla and owns pricey real estate, government says.

Shah and Agarwal collected $ 225 million from investors , but they paid most of that money back to settle @ @ @ @ @ .
The government argues the $ 10.3 million was part of a chunk of investor @ @ @ @ @ did not pay back , and that the money should be frozen because it was @ @ @ @ @ .

If former Outcome Health CEO Rishi Shah can afford to wire $105,000 to Tesla and own multimillion-dollar properties, the government argues, he can afford to pay his attorneys’ fees.
Shah and former Outcome Health president, Shradha Agarwal, want to access $10.3 million the government froze as part of a $1 billion fraud case playing out in Chicago federal court. But the government is not backing down.
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Shah and Agarwal, who now live in Puerto Rico and Texas, respectively, appeared in court Thursday morning for a hearing regarding the frozen funds. Judge Thomas Durkin declined to rule on the issue. He said if he did decide to keep the $10.3 million frozen, he would give Shah and Agarwal time to discuss whether they want to find new attorneys.
Shah and Agarwal need “at least” $14 million to $15 million to pay their lawyers, according to court documents filed by the former executives’ attorneys last week. The document listed Shah and Agarwal’s assets and argued they cannot pay their attorneys’ fees without the frozen $10.3 million.
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In a court document filed Wednesday, however, the government rebuffed that argument. Both have “extraordinary amounts of assets” they could sell or use as collateral for loans to pay their lawyers.
“Even if the court were to find the breathtaking $14 million to be reasonable ... Agarwal has plenty of assets to pay” her attorneys’ fees, the document states.
It also states that some of Shah’s assets were excluded from court filings, including a Chicago condo valued at $1.3 million, funds in a bank account in Puerto Rico and $105,000 he wired to Tesla in October.
“Shah’s extraordinary expenditures, including lavish spending even after he knew he was a target in a criminal investigation, contradicts his assertion of a ‘bona fide need’ to spend restrained assets on his legal defense,” the document states.
Another document filed by the government Wednesday shows Shah’s American Express spending from December 2018 to October 2019. The purchases include $5,499 on massage chairs, $80,000 at Christie’s New York, $10,703 at Louis Vuitton, $36,188 at a yacht rental company in Spain and $51,188 at Binny’s Beverage Depot.
Shah and Agarwal collected $225 million from investors, but they paid most of that money back to settle a lawsuit those investors brought. The government argues the $10.3 million was part of a chunk of investor funds that Shah and Agarwal did not pay back, and that the money should be frozen because it was obtained through the alleged fraud.
An attorney for Shah could not be reached for comment. An spokesman representing Agarwal declined to comment.
The argument is the latest development in an ongoing criminal case against the former executives, which Shah and Agarwal’s attorneys have said they plan to fight.
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Outcome Health installs screens in doctor’s offices and waiting rooms that combine health information with drug advertising. Pharmaceutical companies pay Outcome to run the ads and other content on the screens.
The charges allege the former executives ran a massive fraud scheme that brought in $487.5 million in financing, a $110 million loan and a $375 million loan, amounting to nearly $1 billion. The indictment also alleges the executives lied to clients and billed them millions of dollars for ads that never ran.
Also charged in the case is Brad Purdy, who held various roles including chief financial officer and chief operating officer. A fourth former executive who was charged in the case, Ashik Desai, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.
A court hearing on the case is scheduled for next month.
amarotti@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @AllyMarotti


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--3 takeaways from White Sox spring training, including Leury Garcia putting in work at second base

“ For him , it ’ s very simple right now , it ’ s binary , he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not , ” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said .
`` And right @ @ @ @ @ doing it .
He looks good , he looks free and easy .
I know @ @ @ @ @ ) to face hitters for the first time .
There ’ s going to be @ @ @ @ @ for him as he works his way back .

White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease warms up in right field before a game against the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark on Feb. 23, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Here are three takeaways from White Sox spring training Wednesday.
1. Leury Garcia is putting in work at second base.
Leury Garcia played two games at second base in 2019.
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That number will likely increase this upcoming season. Garcia is one of three players vying to start at second base for the Sox, along with Danny Mendick and prospect Nick Madrigal.
The spot opened after the Sox non-tendered Gold Glove winner Yolmer Sanchez in December.
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Garcia, who turns 29 on March 18, has done a little bit of everything with the Sox. Last season, in addition to the two games at second base, he played 120 games as an outfielder, 19 at shortstop, one as a third baseman and one as a designated hitter.
“It looks like I’m going to be playing a lot of second base this year, more than the last couple of years,” Garcia said Wednesday. “I’ve been taking a lot of ground balls at second. But I’m still taking ground balls at short, third, fly balls. Just be ready for whatever position.
"I’ll be working with Super Joe (bench coach Joe McEwing) a lot at second base, just getting ready.”
Garcia has appeared at second base in 49 games (34 starts) during his 433-game career. That ranks fourth among the positions he’s played in his career. Center field (197 games), left field (92) and right field (70) are the top three.
“This kid’s a baseball player," Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “He’s a really good athlete. He can move around everywhere quite easily, and we’ve all seen it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he’s going to be able to do over there (at second).”
Madrigal, the No. 40 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, is considered the team’s second baseman of the future. But when that future arrives remains to be seen. Garcia, who hit .279 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs last season and can become a free agent at the end of 2020, is ready to lend a hand to the Sox in any fashion.
“For me, particularly, it’s good to be available to play a lot of different positions,” Garcia said. “And for the team, I think I can help playing a lot of different positions.”
2. Michael Kopech reached another milestone Tuesday.
Michael Kopech faced hitters in a batting practice setting Tuesday. It was another step forward after missing all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
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“For him, it’s very simple right now, it’s binary, he’s either doing that or he’s not,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "And right now, he’s doing it. He looks good, he looks free and easy. I know he was excited (Tuesday) to face hitters for the first time. There’s going to be a series of those milestones for him as he works his way back.
“He’s physically, knock on wood, fine. It’s now just a matter of getting him in baseball shape and in a position to competitively get big-league hitters out. Each small milestone, although perhaps going from throwing a sideline to throwing (batting practice) is not a big deal, I know it brings him a great deal of happiness and gets him one step closer to contributing to the big-league level again.”
3. The Sox have not disclosed an opening day starter — cough, Lucas Giolito — yet.
Opening day is a little more than a month away. But it’s never too early to discuss who will be on the mound for the March 26 game against the Royals.
Lucas Giolito, who had a breakout season in 2019, has said he’s hopeful he’ll get the start.
Sox manager Rick Renteria wasn’t ready to break any news Wednesday.
“You want the scoop? We won’t lay out a scoop yet,” Renteria said. "But I’m glad he wants to be the opening day starter. He’s really grown and I certainly wouldn’t say to you that you would be surprised if you saw him doing it. We haven’t made that decision yet.
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“We have a couple of guys in there who can certainly do that. He’s definitely earned an opportunity to possibly have the opening day start.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--‘There’s always been a dearth of resources for the LGBTQ community on the South Side.’ Now, Howard B

‘There’s always been a dearth of resources for the LGBTQ community on the South Side.’ Now, Howard Brown Health has a multimillion-dollar plan to change that.

Howard Brown has seen gay men who requested pre-exposure prophylaxis , or PrEP — medication that prevents people from getting @ @ @ @ @ t get it because they were told it was only for promiscuous people .
And @ @ @ @ @ patients who described past experiences at other clinics where staff members were invited into the @ @ @ @ @ , he said .

Howard Brown Health is planning a major expansion on Chicago’s North and South sides amid a surge in demand for services for the LGBTQ community.
On the South Side, Howard Brown plans to open a health and social services center within the next several years as part of a new, larger community center serving LGBTQ people.
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On the North Side, it plans to move its Broadway Youth Center to the Lakeview neighborhood, from Buena Park, and relocate its Halsted Street clinic in Lakeview East to a larger facility down the street.
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An exam room is shown at the Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood. Howard Brown is pivotal in providing education and care for the LGBTQ community. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The multiyear plan will allow Howard Brown, which sees 30,000 patients annually at its 11 locations, to serve another 15,000 patients a year, said President and CEO David Ernesto Munar. The nonprofit organization is a federally qualified health center, meaning it gets federal money to provide services, plus funding from Medicaid, Medicare, private insurers and patients.
Howard Brown is getting $15 million from the state for the South Side center, and, in addition to that, has set aside about $15 million of its own money for the projects. It is considering several other options to fund the rest.
“We’ve seen our demand just skyrocket in the last five years,” Munar said. “We’ve consistently been seeing 300 or more (new) patients a month for the last five years, and have been scrambling to accommodate that need.”
Walk-in patients at the youth center have endured long waits, leading some to leave without being seen, he said. Howard Brown’s clinic on Halsted no longer accepts new patients, and some existing patients have had to wait up to four weeks to schedule appointments.
Munar attributed the spike in demand to several factors, including the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. That law allowed states to expand Medicaid — a state- and federally funded health insurance program for the poor — to more adults. In Illinois, nearly 3 million people were enrolled in Medicaid last year, including 570,551 who enrolled under the expansion.
Also, many patients are seeking care related to testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, Munar said.
Cook County had the second-highest rates of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia cases in the country in 2018, after Los Angeles County, according to the most recent analysis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many patients in Chicago prefer to visit Howard Brown clinics because of their expertise in treating LGBTQ people, Munar said.
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“Our patients are often not treated well in other health care systems or not receiving high-quality care because there’s such a lack of awareness of the needs of LGBTQ people,” he said.
The Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood, on the North Side, is seen Nov. 30, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
For example, Munar said Howard Brown saw one woman a few years ago who, at the age of 36, had never received a pap smear. Her previous medical provider had told her she didn’t need one because, as a lesbian, she didn’t have intercourse with men, he said.
Howard Brown has seen gay men who requested pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — medication that prevents people from getting HIV — but didn’t get it because they were told it was only for promiscuous people. And Howard Brown has seen transgender patients who described past experiences at other clinics where staff members were invited into the room to see their genitals, he said.
Howard Brown has three clinics on the South Side, in Canaryville, Englewood and Hyde Park, but hopes to begin offering additional services at a new community center serving LGBTQ people by 2024. The health system is working with nonprofit Pride Action Tank to assess the South Side’s needs.
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It is looking at neighborhoods including Bronzeville, South Shore, Chatham and Roseland, Munar said. The health system’s leaders are not sure how much the project will cost but plan to use $15 million dedicated by the state as part of a $45 billion infrastructure plan signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last year.
“There’s always been a dearth of resources for the LGBTQ community on the South Side,” said Kim Hunt, executive director of Pride Action Tank, which is a project of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
“Folks feel more comfortable sometimes going to a health care facility where they know their identities won’t be questioned and their needs will be met without having to educate the health care provider on LGBTQ issues.”
The center will have space for other community organizations serving LGBTQ people and could include housing, though it hasn’t been decided what form that might take, said Rep. Lamont Robinson Jr., D-Bronzeville, who worked to secure the $15 million from the state.
“We don’t have anything like that on the South Side, and I felt like it was imperative that we do,” Robinson said.
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Beyond the state funding, Howard Brown has budgeted about $15 million of its own funds for the projects. It also plans to apply for federal tax credits to fund construction of the youth center and is in discussions with lenders to fund any remaining costs on that center and the new Halsted clinic, Munar said. He said the system is strong financially, and had gross revenue of $137.5 million during the last fiscal year that ended in June.
Howard Brown hopes to break ground on the five-story, 20,000-square-foot youth center in Lakeview by July and move into the facility in summer 2021. The building will allow Howard Brown to expand both its health services for young people as well as other offerings, such as case management, access to showers and laundry, support groups and educational activities. Construction is expected to cost $11 million to $12 million, Munar said.
For its new Halsted clinic, Howard Brown is in negotiations to buy 3501 N. Halsted St., now home to Little Jim’s Tavern. Howard Brown hopes to mostly demolish the building and construct a new facility with about 30,000 square feet of clinical space. That construction would likely cost about $30 million, Munar said.
lschencker@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--Indiana Beach amusement park closing after nearly a century: ‘It was magical'

The amusement park ’ s namesake was created when Spackman dredged out a sand beach after a dam project on @ @ @ @ @ Shafer in the 1920s .
Initially designed as a swimming beach , with a bathhouse @ @ @ @ @ added a toboggan water slide in 1927 , and more attractions and rides followed .
@ @ @ @ @ in 1930 , drawing some big names over the years , from Glenn Miller to @ @ @

After nearly a century of luring Chicagoans to ride roller coasters amid the cornfields of rural Monticello, Indiana, old-school amusement park Indiana Beach is closing.
California-based Apex Parks Group, a national amusement park owner that bought Indiana Beach in 2015, announced Wednesday it was shutting down four properties, including the storied Indiana attraction two hours south of Chicago.
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“Despite significant efforts to improve financial performance and considerable investment in rides and infrastructure, we have not seen improvement in operating results at Fantasy Island (New York), Indiana Beach, SpeedZone Dallas and Boomers Houston,” Apex said in an emailed statement. “We are ceasing operations at those four locations."
Family-owned and -operated for most of its history, Indiana Beach was launched in 1926 as Ideal Beach by Earl Spackman. The amusement park located by man-made Lake Shafer grew from a swimming area in a cornfield into a regional attraction. Its pitch to Chicagoans in countless TV commercials featured a crow squawking that “there’s more than corn in Indiana,” a call heeded by generations of family fun-seekers.
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[ Indiana Dunes sees huge growth in visitors in first year as a national park, but little else has changed ]
The Spackman family sold the park in 2008 to Morgan RV Resorts, which ran it for seven years before selling it to privately held Apex. Founded in 2014, Apex built a national portfolio of amusement parks in partnership with private equity firms, including Chicago-based Edgewater Funds.
Indiana Beach added a new message to its website Wednesday, posting “Permanently Closed” in colorful script above videos of families riding the Corn Ball Express, splashing in the water park and enjoying dozens of other attractions that will ostensibly now fade into amusement park history.
“Regrettably, Indiana Beach is closing and ceasing operations,” the amusement park posted. “We are grateful for the many years we’ve had together and appreciate your support and patronage.”
Indiana Beach, seen in 2016, was originally called Ideal Beach. It began as a Lake Shafer swimming beach with a bathhouse and refreshment stand. A water slide was added in 1927. (Philip Potempa / Post-Tribune)
The amusement park’s namesake was created when Spackman dredged out a sand beach after a dam project on the Tippecanoe River formed Lake Shafer in the 1920s. Initially designed as a swimming beach, with a bathhouse and refreshment stand, Spackman added a toboggan water slide in 1927, and more attractions and rides followed. A dance floor was built in 1930, drawing some big names over the years, from Glenn Miller to Alice Cooper.
During the 1960s, Monticello became a regular stop on the rock concert circuit, with acts such as The Who, The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher and The Yardbirds all playing the Indiana Beach stage.
[ Amazon pays $50 million for former Old Chicago amusement park and megamall site ]
During its heyday, Indiana Beach would draw as many as 800,000 visitors — about half of them from Illinois — each summer to Monticello, which is located about midway between Chicago and Indianapolis.
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For a rural town of about 5,300, it was culturally transformational — and an important driver in the local economy.
“It was magical,” said Monticello Mayor Cathy Gross, 61, a lifelong resident who worked at the park as a teenager.
[ Column: Indiana Beach was about families, nostalgia and the promise of returning there one more time ]
Gross said her official title was “ecology girl,” which meant sweeping up cigarette butts and trash from the boardwalk. Beyond the paycheck, Gross said exposure to customers and coworkers from diverse backgrounds and distant locales was even more enriching.
“During the ’70s, in a little town like ours, that was eye-opening,” Gross said.
While Gross touted manufacturing jobs and a low unemployment rate in Monticello, she said the loss of the amusement park was nonetheless an economic blow to the community — especially the loss of seemingly endless summer jobs for high school and college students.
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Indiana Beach remained a throwback as the market shifted to large theme parks such as Great America, which opened in Gurnee in 1976. In a bid to keep people in Chicago and beyond coming to Indiana Beach, the amusement park turned to a decidedly corny advertising campaign in 1985.
Employing a cartoon crow, commercials promoting “Indiana’s largest amusement park and vacation playground” ended with the tagline, “there is more than corn in Indiana.” The slogan proved enduring, running regularly on Chicago TV for 35 years.
[ How tourism officials in Northwest Indiana are responding to beach erosion ]
Even iconic amusement parks don’t last forever. Chicago’s Riverview Park, an urban playland for more than 60 years, was demolished in 1967, giving way to the Riverview Plaza shopping center.
At the same time, there are some fairy tale endings in the amusement park business. In 2006, Santa’s Village in East Dundee closed after nearly 50 years, its rides dismantled and auctioned off, with plans to build a mixed-use development at the 38-acre site.
But the redevelopment didn’t happen. Instead, the park was resurrected under new owners in 2010 with rides and attractions returning to the formerly vacant site. Santa’s Village even bought back some of its iconic rides, such as the Snowball, which had been sold to another park.
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Santa’s Village is planning to add a new water park when it opens for the season in May, according to park spokesman Brian Wright.
While Apex declined to comment on plans for the Indiana Beach site or its rides and attractions, Gross, Monticello’s mayor, offered a modest proposal for its future use.
“What if we went back to our roots and became a beach, where there was swimming and fishing,” Gross said. “We still have our lake.”
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-19--Review: ‘Graveyard Shift’ at the Goodman is most devastating play yet about African Americans, fear

Review: ‘Graveyard Shift’ at the Goodman is most devastating play yet about African Americans, fear and the police

If you know you are seeing a play about the Bland case , you might have anticipated some of the @ @ @ @ @ you will expect such beautiful monologues about love , and the diminishing of the soul @ @ @ @ @ absence .
The relationship between Janelle and Brian is not only written with complexity but @ @ @ @ @ of imperative quality that , in the theater , makes you pull for its perpetuation @ @ @ @ @ .
Many political writers struggle to dramatize romantic love ; “ Graveyard Shift ” has @ @ @ @ @ and the ability to articulate ( to anyone who is listening ) the profundity of @ @ @ @ @ with “ Sheepdog , ” this play would contribute greatly to officer education , if @ @ @ @ @ Department would only take that risk .

Plays about the fraught and clearly broken relationship between African Americans and police officers are everywhere in the Chicago theater.
“Sheepdog,” a play that looks at the issue from the point of view of a black cop, currently runs at Shattered Globe Theatre. Timeline Theatre is opening “Kill Move Paradise,” a work inspired by the deaths of unarmed African-Americans, this week, just two days after the Goodman Theatre opened the world premiere of “Graveyard Shift,” a play by korde arrington tuttle that was inspired by the 2015 death in police custody of 28-year-old Sandra Bland, a woman who had arrived there following a trivial traffic stop. In “Until the Flood,” the Goodman in 2018 explored the aftermath of the death of Michael Brown in Missouri. And just a couple of seasons ago, Steppenwolf staged Antoinette Nwandu’s “Pass Over,” a play wherein a police officer was seen as a murderous force synonymous with existential harm to young African-Americans. And that is just a partial list.
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Coming soon to Chicago is “American Son,” a flawed Broadway play that nonetheless probed the profound anxiety felt by upper-middle-class parents over their African-American son coming into any kind of contact with the police.
Not everyone sees all of these plays, of course. But if you do, their cumulative weight is enough to make you marvel at how the political process somehow does not seem to be listening to what surely now qualifies as a profound and unrelenting artistic and political movement, crying out in the most visceral of ways for something to be fixed.
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All of the works on this list are profoundly upsetting — “Graveyard Shift,” the subject of this review and the current production in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre, perhaps the most of all.
Why? It is partly because the director, Danya Taymor (who also staged “Pass Over” ), is such a visceral and relentless artist, working with an unstinting script and a hell-mouth kind of design from Kristen Robinson, a piece of stagecraft wherein fresh air and blue sky is ever in danger of being blanked out.
In one truly gut-wrenching scene during two intermission-less hours, we see two illuminated faces in designer Marcus Doshi’s sea of darkness. One belongs to a police officer, Brian, played by Keith D. Gallagher. One belongs to a young woman, Janelle (Anesia Hicks), who has moved from Chicago (“I have to get the hell out of Chicago”) to Prairie View, Texas. The police stop is over a broken taillight and the officer had planned only to issue a warning, but Taymor is all about the exploration of intensification, or, in law-enforcement parlance, the absence of de-escalation.
The two characters keep doubling down, unable to back away from steps they’ve already made, positions they have staked out. And, as you watch, you start to feel a deep sense of dread — even, speaking for myself, of a kind of internal panic. Such moments in the theater always are profound; our great, shared tragedies all have in common the sudden onset of chaos, of human beings flung into a situation they no longer can control. Tuttle makes it very clear that it was incumbent on the police officer to control the situation, not the citizen who was otherwise going about her business. Still, the play also suggests that the humans here are just reactive creatures, fallen prey to bigger societal and systemic forces than themselves.
The acting in that scene is sufficiently intense, and the staging sufficiently disturbing, to merit a warning that the re-creation of this notorious traffic stop with such specificity may be painful for some audience members. But this is a work of political theater and, frankly, it functions as a gateway to one of this play’s other major themes, which is the recounting of loss.
The main conduit there is Kane (Debo Balogun), the young woman’s romantic partner. Balogun is a major young talent in Chicago theater whose work (which I first noticed, really, in “Red Rex”) is imbued with the kind of moral authority that has made plenty of people big stars.
If you know you are seeing a play about the Bland case, you might have anticipated some of the above. But I doubt you will expect such beautiful monologues about love, and the diminishing of the soul that comes with its sudden absence. The relationship between Janelle and Brian is not only written with complexity but it takes on a kind of imperative quality that, in the theater, makes you pull for its perpetuation and fear for its loss. Many political writers struggle to dramatize romantic love; “Graveyard Shift” has both anger at what happens and the ability to articulate (to anyone who is listening) the profundity of the human loss. As with “Sheepdog,” this play would contribute greatly to officer education, if someone at the Chicago Police Department would only take that risk.
Aneisa J. Hicks and Debo Balogun in "Graveyard Shift" at Goodman Theatre. (Liz Lauren photo)
Aside from the couple whose lives are destroyed, we see the officer in the company of colleagues, deftly played by Rae Gray and Lia D. Mortensen. Tuttle’s point, I think, is to show what he perceives to be workaday police culture on the graveyard shift, the stresses and strains of the job. There is an intentional matter-of-factness, an exploration of how when things go very wrong, we are utterly unprepared.
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The final scene of the work, which involves a wayward gun, needs more attention, in part because the soaring rhetoric of the lines finally starts to get ahead of what we are actually seeing and, for the first time, a show that has been staged in meticulous if minimalist detail strains credulity. Guns in the theater are always difficult invaders in the human drama we all share.
The same, of course, might be said of guns in our lives.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “Graveyard Shift” (4 stars)
When: Through March 8
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Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.
Running time: 2 hours
Tickets: $10-$45 at 312-443-3800 or www.goodmantheatre.org


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--With Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hitting 1-2 in the new-look lineup, the door is open for other Cu

With Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hitting 1-2 in the new-look lineup, the door is open for other Cubs to provide more punch

“ The years I ’ ve driven in 100 runs is because the guys in front of me were on @ @ @ @ @ on base all the time , ” Rizzo said .
“ The more I can @ @ @ @ @ position , the better off I ’ ll be .
And the more we can @ @ @ @ @ , the better off we ’ ll be .
”

MESA, Ariz. —
Willson Contreras sported a big smile after learning that Anthony Rizzo would likely follow fellow slugger Kris Bryant at the top of the Cubs’ revamped batting order.
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“That’s going to be a great idea because KB hits a lot of doubles, and Rizzo has a lot of RBIs throughout his career and he’s one of the greatest hitters with men in scoring position,” Contreras said Thursday morning at Cubs camp.
“It gives me chills, for sure, just thinking about KB hitting a double and Rizzo getting an RBI early in the count. (Rizzo) might hit a double, single, or might draw a walk.”
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That scenario would set up more run-producing opportunities for Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber and Contreras, who hit 18 doubles and 24 home runs in 105 games last season.
It also could turn Baez and Contreras, or perhaps Schwarber, into this season’s version of Bryant and Rizzo in the middle of the lineup.
“It makes me happy to think about it,” said Contreras, who has hit fifth or lower for most of his career. “It might be Javy (batting third). It might be me behind Javy. It might be Schwarber behind Javy. ...
“And making the adjustment to get better with our approach every day, I know we’re going to get better with runners in scoring position.”
In one of his first tasks as Cubs manager, David Ross said he was more concerned with identifying the top two hitters in the order rather than the rest of the lineup.
“I have a ton of confidence in all those guys,” said Ross, referring to Baez, Contreras and Schwarber. “I’ve seen them perform from day one.”
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 Kris Bryant waits for his pitch at Cubs spring training on Feb. 18, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The alignment also comes at an intriguing time in the careers of Baez, Schwarber and Contreras.
Baez, 27, finished second in the 2018 National League MVP voting after driving in a career- and league-high 111 runs. But last season he suffered a fractured left thumb Sept. 1 and missed nearly the entire final month.
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Baez finished with 85 RBIs, was 10th in the NL with a .333 average with runners in scoring position and posted a .410 RBI percentage, according to the Bill James Handbook — well above the major-league average of .326.
Bryant hoping to provide stability at leadoff spot pic.twitter.com/opygqVsIYk — Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) February 20, 2020
Schwarber’s .233 average with runners in scoring position last season was marginally better than with the bases empty (.220). But he finished strong, hitting .292 with 12 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs and 37 RBIs over the last seven weeks.
The Cubs are banking on Schwarber, 26, picking up where he left off. And Schwarber. whose 92 RBIs in 2019 were second on the team to Rizzo’s 94, is looking forward to the potential of driving in more runs with Bryant at the top of the order.
“Whenever (Bryant) is leadoff and then (hits a double), he’s putting the pitcher in the stretch position,” Schwarber said. “And if he takes his walk, the pitcher is still uncomfortable because it’s not the way he envisioned it going.
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“You put him in the stretch right away, add the fact it’s at Wrigley Field with our fan base and the lineup behind him, there are a lot of possibilities.”
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 21 Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Victor Caratini and Kris Bryant stand on the field at Sloan Park. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The new lineup sets up the potential for Contreras, 27, to drive in 100 runs for the first time in his career — if he remains healthy. He missed at least one month in two of the last three seasons because of right hamstring injuries.
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“The years I’ve driven in 100 runs is because the guys in front of me were on base, and KB is on base all the time,” Rizzo said. “The more I can hit with runners in scoring position, the better off I’ll be. And the more we can get on base for them, the better off we’ll be.”
Ross’ revamped lineup comes on the heels of a season in which Cubs leadoff hitters posted a .212 average and .294 on base percentage — both last in the league.
Neither Rizzo nor Bryant seemed concerned that their RBI totals could dip, primarily because they have faith in their teammates.
Rizzo on Bryant at leadoff spot: pic.twitter.com/XwTy091tHn — Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) February 20, 2020
“It’s about the team,” Rizzo said. “It’s a fine line. But at the end of the day, on the back of your (baseball) card, it’s not going to say, ‘oh, he was leading off that year. That’s why he didn’t drive in 100 runs.’
“RBIs are something I pride myself on, but it’s about the team and winning. Winning cures everything. This group, if we want to stay together, which we do, let’s win.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--Five years after monument designation, Pullman finally has the money to fulfill park’s potential

The visitors center is expected to open in spring 2021 to coincide with the completion of site improvements by the @ @ @ @ @ , which owns surrounding grounds and buildings .
Structural repairs on the tower building , @ @ @ @ @ arson in 1998 , have been completed , and interior work on the visitors center @ @ @ @ @ , according to officials .

Officials attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the visitor center and factory grounds at Pullman National Monument and State Historic Site on Labor Day in Chicago, Sept. 6, 2021. The Pullman National Monument was established by President Barack Obama in 2015 to preserve and interpret the historic model industrial community that played a pivotal role in the history of the American labor movement. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Five years ago, then-President Barack Obama designated the historic Pullman neighborhood a national monument. Now supporters say they finally have the money to bring more of their restoration plans to life.
More than $34 million in public and private funds has been raised for the renovation of the clock tower building and factory grounds, and the final two phases of construction have begun. Last month, the National Park Service announced the award of a $5.8 million contract to minority-owned Griggs Mitchell & Alma of Illinois to stabilize the tower building and develop the visitors center.
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Longtime supporters and National Park Service officials gathered Wednesday afternoon in the Hotel Florence to mark some movement in the revival of George Pullman’s namesake town on the Far South Side.
“The designation (as a national monument) was important to reflect the rich history, but President Obama is also interested in making sure that our monuments tell a story and a story that has not ended,” said former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett via video. “Really a story that is historic, but whose best chapter lies ahead.”
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The visitors center is expected to open in spring 2021 to coincide with the completion of site improvements by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which owns surrounding grounds and buildings. Structural repairs on the tower building, which was nearly destroyed by arson in 1998, have been completed, and interior work on the visitors center will begin later this year, according to officials.
The visitors center will house stories of Pullman’s legacy, offering exhibits on events such as the 1894 strike and landmark unionization and labor victory of the African-American Pullman porters. It will serve as a place where visitors can map out a visit, get a National Park Service passport stamp and see a restored luxury sleeping car once owned by Robert Todd Lincoln.
Other projects still to be completed include the renovation of Pullman and Arcade parks, the repair of buildings such as Greenstone Church and the opening of Hotel Florence, originally an extravagant Queen Anne-style inn built to host businessmen and dignitaries.
Pullman resident La Tasha Whitehead photographs a Pullman-themed cake during a celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Pullman National Monument at the Hotel Florence on Feb. 19, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Built in the 1880s, Pullman was created as an industrial hub and meticulously planned community. For workers of the Pullman Palace Car Co., there were row houses and Romanesque architecture, a church, even a theater. The yard eventually shut down in the late 1960s; Ryerson Steel’s exodus in 2006 stripped away more jobs. But for decades, supporters worked to see the town recovered and remembered.
“Thirty years ago back in the rearview mirror, people were writing off Pullman. Saying its best days were behind it, it was an antique, antiquated, fallen apart, pieces were coming undone,” former Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at the Wednesday event. “You all never gave in.”
But once the site was designated a national monument, progress stalled.
In 2018, the Tribune reported the National Park Foundation had raised $8 million toward its $13 million goal to build the visitors center. Work was expected to begin the following year.
But industrial waste needed to be cleaned up, and between a lack of state and federal funding, several federal government shutdowns and a state budget standoff, work was delayed. Even a housing development for artists was paused after debates bubbled over historical preservation and land ownership.
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That development, Artspace Lofts, opened in late 2019. A food hall with local vendors opened down the street from the clock tower and the Pullman Community Center sports and education complex opened in 2018.
Designs for the site include a Pullman yard sign, reconstruction of the workers gate and restoration of the sprawling factory grounds. Architect Richard Wilson, of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, said they want to make it a “true people’s place,” like it once was.
Metra has increased service at 111th Street, the CTA has extended its Cottage Grove Avenue bus from downtown to 115th Street and the Chicago Department of Transportation has created a bike lane near 111th Street, according to Positioning Pullman 2.0, a planning blueprint developed by community members and experts.
More than $56 million in public and private funding has been invested in the monument in total in the last five years, according to nonprofit developer Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.
An artist's rendering shows a design for reconstruction of the Pullman National Monument workers gate. (Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture)
An artist's rendering shows a design for Pullman National Monument lawn with the renovated clock tower. (Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture)
New Superintendent Teri Gage, who will start in the spring, said she plans to bring her background in commercial services and economic development to Pullman’s next chapter. Gage was previously the chief of business services at the remote Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin.
Gage said she has been impressed by the architecture during her visits to the area. “But what is even more impressive is how passionate people are,” she said.
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About 35,000 to 40,000 visits have been made to the monument annually, according to Lynn McClure, senior director of National Parks Conservation Association. But 300,000 visitors are expected once the high-priority historic buildings, such as the visitors center, are open to the public.
“Five years ago, if you had asked anybody what is going to be happening in Pullman in five years, nobody could have projected this kind of commitment and response,” McClure said.
On Wednesday at Hotel Florence, there was only a rail car painted on a cake. Although the hotel is a stretch from the resplendent hideaway it once was, the stained-glass windows and empty check-in still hint at what it could become.
“Yes, the grand opening (of the visitors center) is really exciting and a lot of time and energy is going to go into that," Gage said. “But it’s being able to open the doors and let the public in so they can experience their national park.”
mgreene@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--Louis Vuitton, H & M stores on Mag Mile robbed 45 minutes apart; 5 held after fleeing on Red Line su

Louis Vuitton, H & M stores on Mag Mile robbed 45 minutes apart; 5 held after fleeing on Red Line subway tracks

Police rushed there and spoke with staffers , who told police they fled in a black , 4-door Volkswagen with @ @ @ @ @ also spotted a license plate number .
Officers were able to track the car to @ @ @ @ @ Avenue where the car , loaded with Luis Vuitton bags and black masks in its @ @ @ @ @ with its front , left wheel shredded , police said .
The suspects were already @ @

Five suspects who Chicago police said grabbed “a large amount” of merchandise from a North Michigan Avenue H&M store fled using Red Line subway train tracks before police arrested them an entire stop later.
The incident temporarily caused “major delays” to trains, which as of 2:15 p.m. were running normally again, according to the CTA.
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Not more than 45 minutes later, police responded to another theft — an armed robbery at Louis Vuitton — where masked thieves stole several handbags from the North Michigan Avenue boutique and fled in a black Volkswagen.
About 11:30 a.m., 18th District police officers were notified of an organized theft from the H&M, 840 N. Michigan Ave., where a “large amount” of merchandise was stolen, police said. Officers met with victims and tracked suspects to the Chicago Avenue Red Line station, 800 N. State St., and onto the tracks.
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But officers monitoring the police radio realized they were sprinting north to the Clark/Division Street station, 1200 N. Clark St., and hustled there, where they saw five males fitting the description of the thieves, including one who carried a large, black plastic bag filled with stolen clothing that still had retail tags attached.
“The offenders ran on the @cta tracks through to the Division station where they were met by officers and placed into custody,” police tweeted.
Some suspects were taken into custody on the subway platform after running down an up escalator, while others, at least one of whom had clothing stuffed into his jacket, were arrested in the ticketing and turnstile area, police said.
Charges were pending for the suspects, who were positively identified when they were taken back to the H&M, where workers implicated them. The stolen items were recovered, and Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said no one was injured.
Another Mag Mile theft occurred in the same area about 45 minutes later, police confirmed.
In this incident, at least two robbers who implied they had a weapon entered the Louis Vuitton store, 919 N. Michigan Ave., about 12:15 p.m.
Police rushed there and spoke with staffers, who told police they fled in a black, four-door Volkswagen with tinted windows. The workers also spotted a license plate number. Officers were able to track the car to 32nd Street and South Eberhart Avenue, where the car, loaded with Louis Vuitton bags and black masks in its back seat, was found with its front, left wheel shredded, police said. The suspects were already gone.
Interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck, who spoke Thursday evening following a Police Board meeting at the Public Safety Headquarters in Bronzeville, spoke briefly to reporters about the thefts in the Michigan Avenue area.
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"We do have increased police patrols there and we’re going to continue that increase,'' Beck said, adding that police know in summer months there will be more people and more victims.
In answering a reporter’s question about the items stolen, Beck said Louis Vuitton purses are a hot item for thieves.
"Purses have a really high resale value,'' Beck said.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--Blackhawks hit ‘reset’ after a lackluster effort in their return home: ‘Sometimes a day off ... can

Blackhawks hit ‘reset’ after a lackluster effort in their return home: ‘Sometimes a day off ... can be what we need’

“ We gave up a lot of chances in the first period ( against the Rangers ) , and that @ @ @ @ @ the rest of the game , ” DeBrincat said .
“ Whether it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ before the game and really getting everyone ready to go or whatever it is , @ @ @ @ @ out better .
”

The Blackhawks’ listless effort during Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Rangers would have been more than enough reason for coach Jeremy Colliton to push them in practice Thursday.
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Instead, the Hawks watched film, talked through their problems on the ice and focused on regrouping physically and mentally.
"Yeah, it's good. Kind of rest the body,” Alex DeBrincat said. “We have a long road trip coming up. Just watched some video, reset and be ready for tomorrow."
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Colliton also wanted input from team leaders.
“We’ve got to be sharper,” he said. “So we had a team meeting, some video and some individual discussions, and we have to respond better.
“Energy is one thing, physically, but the biggest thing is mental sharpness. Sometimes a day off with urgency attached to it can be what we need.”
The urgency comes from the precarious position the Hawks are in. Starting with Friday night’s home game against the Predators, they have two games before Monday’s trade deadline to show they warrant a chance to keep pursuing a playoff berth. They were eight points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot heading into Thursday night’s games.
General manager Stan Bowman could opt to keep the team intact and give it additional runway to chase a wild-card spot, but some key players have expiring contracts, so the pressure’s on to either produce on the ice or get assets for the future.
Some players said they’re not feeling any more pressure than usual.
“I don’t know if we’re necessarily thinking about playoffs. That’s still so many games away,” Ryan Carpenter said. “But, yeah, we’re optimistic in here. We’ve gone on streaks before.
“But right now this just sucks, the feeling in the locker room and losing. No one’s happy in here, including myself, and we’ve got to find a way to figure it out. Tomorrow will be a good chance against a good team in Nashville, and we’ll be home and we’ll see how we respond.”
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It starts, the Hawks say, with better preparation. And that needs to show up from the first puck drop.
“We gave up a lot of chances in the first period (against the Rangers), and that kind of trickles down to the rest of the game,” DeBrincat said. “Whether it’s talking in the locker room before the game and really getting everyone ready to go or whatever it is, we just need to come out better.”
The Hawks showed a lot of fight during their five-game trip through western Canada, but they lost four of those games.
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“It was a tough trip for us,” DeBrincat said. “But everyone has to go through it at some point in the year. No excuses there. We had a few days to rest up and we just weren’t good enough yesterday.”
Duncan Keith thought the Hawks played well on the trip.
“We played good against Vancouver; we deserved better,” he said. “We played good against Calgary; our intensity was matched if (not) better than theirs. The intensity was there against Winnipeg; it was a tough game on a back-to-back.
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“And then we come home and it seemed like there was a letdown here. Every game is different, and we just can’t afford very many mistakes.”
The Rangers scored two minutes into Wednesday’s game, and Keith said he felt like the Hawks were “chasing” them the rest of the way.
After a run of nine straight playoff berths that included three Stanley Cup titles, Keith faces the prospect of missing the postseason for a third straight year. And “for sure,” the 15-year veteran said, that wears on a player.
“But at the same time, nobody’s said we haven’t made the playoffs yet,” he said. “Thinking positive here. We’re in a tough spot right now, but we’re just focused on one game at a time. You start looking too far ahead, that ends up being a problem.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--Chicago police, US Marshals arrest suspect in deadly CTA train tunnel shooting

Members of the joint Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force , made up of Chicago police and U.S .
Marshals @ @ @ @ @ suspect , police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet .
The tweet said the @ @ @ @ @ , but authorities later corrected the information to say the arrest took place in Oak @ @

The body of a shooting victim is removed from a CTA subway station at State Street and Jackson Boulevard in Chicago on Feb. 17, 2020. A man was shot and killed and two others were wounded in a CTA pedestrian tunnel, according to police. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Authorities on Thursday announced the arrest and charging of a suspect in the early Monday shooting in a pedestrian tunnel that connects the Red and Blue line Jackson stop that left one dead and two others wounded.
Interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck identified the suspect as Torrez D. Cathery, 23.
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Torrez Cathery, 23, of the 7300 South Perry Avenue in Chicago, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery for a deadly shooting in the CTA's Blue Line on Feb. 17, 2020 at State Street and Jackson Boulevard. (Chicago police department)
Beck, who spoke Thursday evening following a Police Board meeting at the Public Safety Headquarters in Bronzeville, said Cathery, who was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery, was picked up in Oak Park on an arrest warrant. The warrant was issued Wednesday, according to court records. Cathery had 22 prior arrests including one as recently as January for criminal trespass.
The attack happened just after 2 a.m. Monday. One man was shot in the abdomen and chest, and died at the scene in the 200 block of South Dearborn Street.
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Killed was Edward Charleston, 24, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. A second man was shot in the head and the arm, while a 19-year-old woman was shot in the lower back.
Cathery was involved in some sort of dispute with one of the victims in October. During that incident, one of the men displayed a knife, said Beck.
Early Monday, one of the shooting victims from that morning was with a group when he spotted Cathery, said Beck. He said the group followed Cathery into the pedway connecting the Jackson Red Line station with the Blue Line.
As the group approached, Cathery was alleged to have turned around and fired a 9mm handgun, said Beck. Twelve bullet casings were found on scene, he said.
Beck described surveillance video of the incident as “shocking.”
“It not only shows (the gunman) turning and firing at the group,” said Beck, “but after one of the individuals goes down, he walks over and shoots into him execution-style right above him.”
There were also 6-month-old twins within the group that was fired upon, Beck said, but neither were injured.
Members of the joint Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, made up of Chicago police and U.S. Marshals Service officers, arrested the suspect, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet. The tweet said the arrest occurred in Oak Brook, but authorities later corrected the information to say the arrest took place in Oak Park.
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Federal agents tazed the suspect and placed him into custody, Guglielmi said in the tweet.


chicagotribune--2020-02-20--Pit bull found in trash bag on side of road in Willow Springs recovering at south suburban shelter

The dog was rushed to a local veterinary hospital and then brought to the South Suburban Humane Society , where @ @ @ @ @ him Vinny , according to the release .
He was recovering Thursday at the Humane @ @ @ @ @ underweight and frightened , according to the release .

Vinny, a male pit bull, recovers Feb. 20, 2020, at the South Suburban Humane Society. He was found dumped in a trash bag on the side of a road. (Warren Skalski /For the Chicago Tribune)
A dog dumped in a trash bag on the side of a road in southwest suburban Willow Springs Monday morning was saved by Cook County officials and is recovering in a shelter as police try to figure out who abandoned the animal, now named Vinny.
Cook County Animal and Rabies Control Warden John Haralamos was called to Forest Avenue north of 87th Street in the south suburb and arrived on the scene Monday morning to find a male pit bull, cold and severely dehydrated, according to a news release.
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“I was more shocked than anything, seeing someone discarded the animal in this way," Haralamos said in a phone interview Thursday.
The dog was rushed to a local veterinary hospital and then brought to the South Suburban Humane Society, where the staff decided to name him Vinny, according to the release. He was recovering Thursday at the Humane Society but was still extremely underweight and frightened, according to the release.
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Emily Klehm, CEO of the South Suburban Humane Society, said the group is working to rebuild Vinny’s trust in humans.
“He’s just so shy and frightened of humans, which I think is completely understandable after what he must have gone through," Klehm said.
Klehm said Vinny is already making remarkable progress. Once Vinny is feeling better, Klehm will look to find him a foster home and then hopefully a forever home.
The Humane Society will post updates about Vinny on social media, Klehm said.
If you are in a situation in which you need to get rid of a pet, Klehm said to call a local animal shelter.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Special Operations Unit has taken over the case and is looking for information about Vinny. Anyone with information was asked to call the unit at 708-865-4700.