Bears linebacker Roquan Smith tackles Allen Lazard on Sunday. | Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Playing 72 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps, he tied for the team lead with nine tackles before leaving Sunday’s game.

Bears inside linebacker aggravated the same hamstring injury Sunday that took him out of the Lions game on Thanksgiving, coach Matt Nagy said Monday.

“We’ll keep an eye on it,” Nagy said. “But he just felt something there — so we want to be smart.”

Smith was as active as ever at Lambeau Field. Playing 72 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps, he tied for the team lead with nine tackles before leaving Sunday’s game.

Smith recovered quickly after the Lions game, appearing in practice only eight days after getting hurt and playing against the Cardinals two days after that. He led the Bears with eight tackles against The Cardinals.

Safety DeAndre Houston-Carson’s season is over, Nagy said, after he broke his forearm. He’ll be put on injured reserve.

Bears cornerback Xavier Crawford is in the concussion protocol after getting hit by his own player, safety Eddie Jackson, while trying to play coverage Sunday night. Nose tackle Khyiris Tonga left the game with a stinger.

Quarterback Andy Dalton, who didn’t practice last week or suit up Sunday because of a left hand injury, is still dealing with soreness. He’ll be backup whenever he returns.

“We’ll just continue to monitor throughout this week and see where he’s at with the swelling and pain,” Nagy said.

Edwards to reserve/COVID list

The Bears put defensive end Mario Edwards Jr on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday. Edwards is unvaccinated, meaning that he must sit for 10 days if he’s infected or five days if he’s a close contact of someone who is.

Edwards played 19 snaps Sunday night. He has 1 1/2 sacks this season — all in Week against the Browns.

Edwards joins offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson, who is also unvaccinated, on the list. Wilkinson was put on the list Nov. 26 and has yet to return to the active roster.

Edwards was part of a disturbing trend. The NFL had 37 positive COVID-19 tests on Monday, ESPN reported.

Hicks closer

Despite Akiem Hicks saying his plan was to try to play Sunday against the Packers, the Bears ruled out the defensive tackle Saturday afternoon. Hicks hasn’t played since spraining his ankle Nov. 8 in Pittsburgh.

Nagy said the team had to weigh using up a roster spot despite not knowing exactly how Hicks would feel — and how much he could have played. Nagy said Hicks could return Monday night to face the Vikings.

“We’re really close … ” he said. “Now hopefully we can be closer this week.”

This and that

Sunday night, Bears receiver Jakeem Grant became the first Bears player in almost 11 years to catch a touchdown and return a punt for a score in the same game. Devin Hester had a 64-yard punt return and 14-yard touchdown catch against the Vikings on Dec. 20, 2010.
The second quarter featured five touchdowns of 35 yards or more. Until Sunday night, that had never happened in the history of the NFL’s scoring data, which dates to 1925.
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Brett Connolly had been playing for the Rockford IceHogs this season until his Sunday call-up. | Todd Reicher/Rockford IceHogs

Connolly, a 29-year-old veteran forward with 101 career NHL goals, was called up from the AHL on Sunday.

Brett Connolly, who was recalled by the Blackhawks on Sunday, was previously an out-of-place man in the AHL.

At age 29, with 194 points in 527 NHL games’ worth of experience and a Stanley Cup ring at home, the well-traveled veteran was something of a unicorn among the Rockford IceHogs’ extremely young, prospect-loaded forward corps.

But when he was assigned there at the end of Hawks training camp — largely because the Hawks could knock $1.25 million off his outsized $3.5 million cap hit by doing so — he didn’t let himself sulk about his first demotion to the minor leagues in seven years.

“I’ve had some experience…going down when maybe you think that you shouldn’t have,” he said Monday. “But I definitely was not going to be that guy that went down there. it’s not my personality; it’s not [how] I wanted to represent myself.

“I just wanted to go down there and work my ass off, and get back up here, and be a positive influence on those guys, and try to be the best player every night. I really feel that I put in 100% effort.”

Connolly has also “completely tried to forget about what happened last year,” when he couldn’t find a rhythm with the Panthers or Hawks and finished with just six points in 31 games while averaging 12:09 of ice time. After all, just one year prior, he scored 19 goals and 33 points in 69 NHL games while averaging 14:30 of ice time.

He spent most of the fall as a staple alongside notable prospects Lukas Reichel and Alex Nylander on the IceHogs’ first line, and the unlikely trio thrived together.

Before Nov. 27 and 28, when Reichel suffered a concussion right after Connolly suffered a leg injury, the 19-year-old German rookie had tallied 12 points in 13 games and 29-year-old Canadian veteran 11 points in 15 games. Connolly said he “gained confidence playing with a really elite player like him.”

Reichel remains out, but Connolly returned for two more AHL games Friday and Saturday — recording a whopping eight shots on goal in the latter game — before his long-awaited Sunday call-up.

The NHL opportunity the call-up provides is one Connolly has awaited for a while now.

“For whatever reason, I wasn’t part of the [Hawks’] plan at the start,” he said. “I knew things were going to change and I just had to stay positive, keep working and get ready for the next opportunity, because things happen so fast in this game and people are watching every night. You just have to believe in yourself.”

With the Hawks’ previously scheduled Monday game against the Flames postponed, Connolly skated on a new fourth line with Ryan Carpenter and Josiah Slavin during a hastily arranged team practice.

Interim coach Derek King, who helped situate Connolly in Rockford at the start of the season, called him “one of the best players” on the IceHogs this season.

And Alex DeBrincat rightly praised the strongest aspect of Connolly’s game: his shooting ability. His career 14.0% shooting percentage is legitimately elite; he’s tied for 12th among all active players with 500-plus appearances in that regard.

“He’s got an unbelievable shot,” DeBrincat said. “If you get him the puck, there’s a good chance the puck’s going to go in.”

Connolly isn’t going to make any goal promises himself. But he does believe he can capitalize on this chance to impact the Hawks at long last.

“[I’ve] been playing 20-24 minutes every single night, so my conditioning has never been better,” he said. “I’m excited and I’m definitely ready to go.”

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The City Council’s Committee on Zoning and License advanced the stalled sports betting ordinance to the City Council. | Rich Hein/Sun-Times file

The City Council’s Committee on Zoning and License advanced the stalled sports betting ordinance to the City Council floor after the addition of a clause without real teeth aimed at appeasing the Black Caucus.

After furious lobbying behind the scenes and a clash of the titans in public, a joint City Council committee agreed Monday to lift the Chicago ban on sports betting to allow sportsbooks in and around five stadiums.

The City Council’s Committee on Zoning and License advanced the stalled sports betting ordinance to the City Council floor after the addition of a clause without real teeth aimed at appeasing the Black Caucus.

The language articulates the city’s promise to “actively seek to achieve racial ethnic and geographic diversity when issuing primary sports licenses” and “encourage” minority- and women-owned businesses to apply.

With those changes, the joint committee approved the mayor’s ordinance by a vote of 19 to 7.

Prior to the final vote, White Sox and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf essentially accused casino magnate Neil Bluhm of talking out of both sides of his mouth.

“I am struggling to understand how we’ve gotten to this point. What is perplexing is that Neil Bluhm, who does not want our buildings to have sportsbooks, met with us on several occasions seeking to operate sportsbooks in our buildings. And that was long after the casino was approved for Chicago,” Reinsdorf said.

“At that time, he had no assurance he would be chosen to operate a casino in Chicago and was not concerned that these books would, in any way, cannibalize whoever was chosen to operate the casino. It makes me wonder, if he had gotten his way back then, would we be having this meeting today?”

Bluhm reiterated his longstanding claim that, what he called the “five mini-casinos” at five stadiums — Wrigley Field, Guaranteed Rate Field, Soldier Field, the United Center and Wintrust Arena — would “take visitors and money away” from a Chicago casino to the tune of as much as $12 million in annual tax revenue.

The is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Flanked by attorneys and supporters, Anjanette Young discusses her civil case against the city of Chicago outside the Thompson Center in June. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high near 51 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 32. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 52.

Top story

City Council committee advances $2.9M settlement to compensate Anjanette Young for botched raid on wrong home

Anjanette Young, the social worker who was forced to stand naked before a dozen male Chicago police officers while they executed a search warrant at the wrong address, will get $2.9 million under a settlement unanimously advanced Monday.

The voice vote by the City Council’s Finance Committee sets the stage for full Council approval on Wednesday, culminating a yearlong ordeal that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged breached public trust in her administration.

Bodycam video of the February 2019 raid on Young’s home that the Lightfoot administration tried to conceal was so damaging, Corporation Counsel Celia Meza made the presentation to alderpersons during Monday’s hearing.

Meza told the Finance Committee that officers were at Young’s home “executing a valid, legal search warrant” that turned out to be based on false information that a male with a gun was living at that address and that the officers “knocked and announced” themselves before entering Young’s home.

The corporation counsel further noted that, although the raid continued for roughly 40 minutes, Young was forced to stand in a “complete state of undress” for just 16 seconds. A jacket was then placed around her shoulders for 13 seconds, followed by a blanket, the corporation counsel said.

It took a full 10 minutes before Young was allowed to get fully dressed, and only after a female officer arrived on the scene.

For that reason and more, Meza argued that $2.9 million was a good deal for Chicago taxpayers. It’s on par with the $2.5 million paid in 2014 after another raid on the wrong home where “a gun was unfortunately pointed at a 3-year-old,” Meza said.

Fran Spielman has the full story here.

More news you need

Gov. J.B. Pritzker today issued a disaster proclamation for 28 counties across central and southern Illinois affected by tornados and other severe weather over the weekend. The proclamation allows the state to quickly get resources, personnel and other equipment into communities that are recovering from the storms.

State Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican candidate for next year’s Illinois gubernatorial election, today announced his running mate: Stephanie Trussell, a “hardworking conservative” and former WLS-AM 890 talk show host. Rachel Hinton has more on Bailey’s choice for the lieutenant governor spot on his 2022 ticket.

Standing outside her modest Austin home, Zerlina Smith-Members today announced her intention to run for Cook County board president. The community activist and mother of two said she’s taken out a second mortgage on her home to help fund her campaign, which comes after two unsuccessful runs for City Council in the past.

Heavy machinery and construction equipment maker Deere, looking to tap into Chicago’s tech talent, will open an office in Fulton Market next year. The Moline-based company eventually plans for 300 workers at the location – a move that’s landed the company a state tax incentive worth an estimated $4.9 million over the next 10 years.

In one of Chicago’s most historic areas, residents are butting heads over one homeowner’s efforts to tear down a building from the 1880s in order to add a yard on the side of his modern home. David Roeder has more on the conflict in the federal Sheffield historic district.

Tim McGraw and Miranda Lambert will be among the headliners for the 2022 Windy City Smokeout festival, organizers announced today. The celebration of country music and BBQ will be held next summer in the parking lots of the United Center.

A bright one

20 great ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Chicago

In-person New Year’s Eve celebrations are back in a big way in Chicago this year. From comedy sketch shows to “Great Gatsby” parties, magic shows to firework cruises and live music of every flavor, here are 20 ways to ring in 2022.

New Year On The Pier

Navy Pier is also host to one of the biggest NYE parties in Chicago at the Aon Grand Ballroom, which will offer upgraded catering and bar service, a live band and Chicago blue-eyed soul singer Matt Kysia, plus the Pier’s incredible fireworks show at midnight. If you go early you can also check out Light Up the Lake’s indoor light garden and ice skating rink. 600 E. Grand Ave. Starts at 8 p.m. $105+ navypier.org

Provided courtesy Navy Pier
Several events offer ideal viewing of the New Year’s Eve fireworks at Navy Pier.

The Second City’s ‘Deck The Hallmark’

The end of Christmas doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy Lifetime and Hallmark holiday movies … being roasted in the best way possible by The Second City. The comedy troupe takes on every possible cliche in this revue for the gift that just keeps on giving. In-theater dining is also available. 230 W. North Ave. 7, 10 p.m. $58. secondcity.com

District Brew Yards Party

Champagne may be the official drink of New Year’s Eve, but if craft beers are more your style, head to District Brew Yards; the “pour-your-own beer hall” has 40 options to choose from, and admission will get you unlimited brews plus a dinner buffet and a DJ to dance the night away. 417 N. Ashland Ave. Starts at 8 p.m. $59-89. districtbrewyards.com

Still making your New Year’s Eve plans? Check out more fun options for the last night of 2021 here.

From the press box

No Blackhawks game tonight as the team’s matchup against the Flames has been postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Calgary’s locker room.
The Bulls’ next two games – scheduled for tomorrow night against Detroit and Thursday night against Toronto – have also been postponed as a result of the pandemic. The Bulls currently have 10 players in the NBA’s health and safety protocol after Alize Johnson tested positive for COVID-19.
Three takeaways from the Bears’ 45-30 loss to the Packers last night.
After the Team Rose Classic over the weekend, here are Michael O’Brien’s updated Super 25 high school basketball rankings entering this week’s games.

Steve Greenberg breaks down his latest college basketball rankings.

Your daily question ?

What’s your favorite holiday treat to make?

Send us an email at [email protected] and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

On Friday, we asked you: What was the best song of 2021? Here’s what some of you said…

“‘I Still Have Faith in You’ by ABBA.” — Bob Lagerquist

“‘Meet Me At Our Spot’ by The Anxiety and Willow.” — Jamie Harris

“‘Heat Above’ by Greta Van Fleet.” — Robert Lisowski

“‘My Little Love’ by Adele.” — JaVonne Jennings

“‘Bleed The Future’ by Archspire.” — Freddie McReynolds Jr.

“‘Dead Butterflies’ by Architects.” — Devin Olson

“Still waiting for a decent song from 2021.” — Peggy Taylor

Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.

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Flanked by attorneys and supporters, Anjanette Young discusses her civil case against the city of Chicago outside the Thompson Center in June. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Bodycam video of the February 2019 raid on Young’s home that the Lightfoot administration tried desperately to conceal was so damaging, Corporation Counsel Celia Meza personally made the presentation to alderpersons Monday.

Anjanette Young, the social worker who was forced to stand naked before a dozen male Chicago police officers while they executed a search warrant at the wrong address, will get $2.9 million under a settlement unanimously advanced Monday.

The voice vote by the City Council’s Finance Committee sets the stage for full Council approval on Wednesday, culminating a yearlong ordeal that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged breached public trust in her administration.

“We all saw that horrific video. We all saw the way in which she was treated. … It’s a good thing that this matter is resolved,” Lightfoot said Monday.

“Assuming City Council approval, this will provide her with a substantial amount of resources. That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for our city. We need to heal from this and move forward.”

Bodycam video of the February 2019 raid on Young’s home that the Lightfoot administration tried to conceal was so damaging, Corporation Counsel Celia Meza made the presentation to alderpersons during Monday’s hearing.

Meza told the Finance Committee that officers were at Young’s home “executing a valid, legal search warrant” that turned out to be based on false information that a male with a gun was living at that address and that the officers “knocked and announced” themselves before entering Young’s home.

The corporation counsel further noted that, although the raid continued for roughly 40 minutes, Young was forced to stand in a “complete state of undress” for just 16 seconds. A jacket was then placed around her shoulders for 13 seconds, followed by a blanket, the corporation counsel said.

It took a full 10 minutes before Young was allowed to get fully dressed, and only after a female officer arrived on the scene.

In September, the city filed a motion to dismiss Young’s lawsuit and five of the six counts were dismissed.

Meza said the count that remained was the social worker’s claim that the conduct of officers was “willful and wanton” and would allow attorneys to take “very broad discovery” that could be exceedingly costly to Chicago taxpayers because it would involve depositions of all 12 police officers involved in the raid.

The city’s case would be further damaged by the fact that the Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended the firing of one officer involved in the raid and suspensions for five others, Meza said.

For those reasons and more, Meza argued that $2.9 million was a good deal for Chicago taxpayers. It’s on par with the $2.5 million paid in 2014 after another raid on the wrong home where “a gun was unfortunately pointed at a 3-year-old,” Meza said.

“In this case, we have the indignities that Ms. Young suffered and the fact that she was in a state of undress for a total of approximately 16 seconds and, arguably before a jury, the 13 seconds where the jacket was put on and the 9 1/2 [minutes] where she had a blanket over her. … A jury could find that that was 9 1/2 minutes too long. That was 16 seconds too long,” the corporation counsel said.

Meza noted that lawyers for people wrongly convicted are arguing for $1 million for every year spent in prison.

“In this particular instance, it is not unreasonable to assume that there would be a request for anywhere between $13 million and $16 million. Thirteen million for every officer and the city that was involved in execution of this search warrant. [Or] it could be $16 million for the 16 seconds that she was left in a complete state of undress,” Meza said.

In June, Alderpersons Ray Lopez (15th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th) used a parliamentary maneuver to delay Meza’s appointment to protest her decision to file a motion to dismiss Young’s lawsuit after the social worker refused to accept what her attorneys viewed as a “low-ball” offer to settle for $1 million.

On Monday, Lopez argued that $2.9 million was “not enough” to compensate Young for the “horrible way she was treated that day” and for what he called the “re-victimization by this administration constantly going after her.”

Lightfoot has been under fire for her changing story about what she knew and when she knew it about the raid that saw a crying Young telling officers more than 40 times that they had the wrong house as they allowed her to stand there naked

The mayor initially insisted she knew nothing about the raid until WBBM-TV (Channel 2) aired the video in December. But after reviewing internal emails, the mayor was forced to admit she learned about the raid in November 2019, when a top aide warned Lightfoot about a “pretty bad wrongful raid” by Chicago police.

The mayor has denied knowing about her Law Department’s efforts to block CBS2 from airing bodycam video of the raid. To underscore the point, she forced the resignation of Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner, a longtime friend who served with Lightfoot in the U.S. attorney’s office.

Asked Monday if she would release now-former Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s full report on the city’s handling of the raid on Young’s home and the aftermath of it, Lightfoot would only say that she would “follow the law.” But she argued that the internal investigation is not over.

“We’ve raised a number of questions. The departments involved have not had an opportunity to respond yet,” she said.

Likewise, Lightfoot said she expects an outside law firm’s parallel investigation of the raid –which Ferguson claims hamstrung his investigation — to be released, but only when the Jones Day law firm is ready.

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Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (17, being chased by Bears safety Eddie Jackson) had 10 receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the Packers 45-30 victory Sunday at Lambeau Field. | Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The Bears’ coach second-guessed himself on a fourth-and-inches punt in the fourth quarter against the Packers on Sunday. The Packers responded with a touchdown. “It obviously backfired,” he said.

It wasn’t a second guess. It was a first guess.

Matt Nagy’s decision to punt on fourth-and-inches from the Bears’ 36-yard-line and the Bears’ trailing the Packers 38-27 with 13:21 left in the fourth quarter Sunday at Lambeau Field was questioned the moment he made it.

You’re down two scores. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense was rolling, with three touchdowns and a field goal on its previous five possessions. It was time to roll the dice.

Nagy’s conservative approach almost worked out anyway, when Packers punt returner Amari Rodgers muffed the punt and the Bears’ Damien Williams recovered at the Packers’ 20. But a penalty of Kindle Vildor for running out of bounds on the kick nullified the play and the Bears punted on fourth-and-five.

Rodgers and the Packers, somewhat predictably, responded with a 13-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that used up 8:31 of the fourth quarter for a 45-27 lead.

Nagy was given a chance to double down on that decision Monday. But he instead second-guessed himself.

“I can understand the [idea] of going for it in that situation. I get it,” Nagy said. “When you look back and see what happens — when they go on that long drive and [use] up the clock and score, you wish you would’ve went for it. That’s the part where you look back as a coach and you go, ‘Damn, that would’ve been the time to do that.’ ‘

“At the same time, we were just coming off a three-and-out. We stopped them three-and-out on the previous possession. So I just thought in that scenario [punting was the right move]. But it obviously backfired.”

Nagy did push back on the notion that the Bears were outfoxed by Matt LaFleur, who schemed his offense to get star wide receiver Davante Adams open after Jaylon Johnson had contained Adams in the early going.

Adams had two catches for 18 yards until the final minute of the first half. Working from the slot, Adams beat Xavier Crawford for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left in the first half, then had seven receptions for 65 yards in the second half.

According to Next Gen Stats, Adams had two receptions for 19 yards on five targets against Johnson, and eight receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets against other Bears defenders.

“They did the same thing [in the second half] they did in the first half,” Nagy said. “So there’s no in-the-slot, out-of-the-slot, backside here, backside there. He had three catches in the first half and they did a lot of the same stuff.

“They moved him around on third down, which is very normal in the NFL — you move one of your guys to get open. That’s football.”

Even Johnson admired the inventive way the Packers schemed to avoid him. But Nagy didn’t think that was the biggest factor in turning around the game — the Packers turned a 24-14 deficit into a 35-27 lead in an 8:08 span in the second and third quarters.

“Regardless of what Jaylon or anybody else says for us, you go through and look at, ‘Why did things happen?’ “Nagy said. “I felt like it was more of the [Packers’] run game, the power runs they did that was different.”

Still, Nagy acknowledge the Packers just outplayed the Bears when it mattered most. It’s damning just the same.

“When they score a touchdown like they did on that first drive [of the second quarter], it’s our job to recover from that. We’ve got to be able to counter-punch. We didn’t do that. And then they got that quick touchdown [a 23-yard pass from Rodgers to Aaron Jones] right after the strip-fumble — before you know it, they just scored 14 points. That’s a good football team. [The Packers] have a good record for a reason.”

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Flanked by attorneys and supporters, Anjanette Young discusses her civil case against the city of Chicago outside the Thompson Center in June. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Bodycam video of the February 2019 raid on Young’s home that the Lightfoot administration tried desperately to conceal was so damaging, Corporation Counsel Celia Meza personally made the presentation to alderpersons Monday.

Anjanette Young, the social worker who was forced to stand naked before a dozen male Chicago police officers while they executed a search warrant at the wrong address, will get $2.9 million under a settlement unanimously advanced Monday.

The voice vote by the City Council’s Finance Committee sets the stage for full Council approval on Wednesday, culminating a yearlong ordeal that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged breached public trust in her administration.

“We all saw that horrific video. We all saw the way in which she was treated….It’s a good thing that this matter is resolved,” Lightfoot said Monday.

“Assuming City Council approval, this will provide her with a substantial amount of resources. That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for our city. We need to heal from this and move forward.”

Bodycam video of the February 2019 raid on Young’s home that the Lightfoot administration tried to conceal was so damaging, Corporation Counsel Celia Meza made the presentation to alderpersons during Monday’s hearing.

Meza told the Finance Committee that officers were at Young’s home “executing a valid, legal search warrant” that turned out to be based on false information that a male with a gun was living at that address and that the officers “knocked and announced” themselves before entering Young’s home.

The corporation counsel further noted that, although the raid continued for roughly 40 minutes, Young was forced to stand in a “complete state of undress” for just 16 seconds. A jacket was then placed around her shoulders for 13 seconds, followed by a blanket, the corporation counsel said.

It took a full 10 minutes before Young was allowed to get fully dressed, and only after a female officer arrived on the scene.

In September, the city filed a motion to dismiss Young’s lawsuit and five of the six counts were dismissed.

Meza said the count that remained was the social worker’s claim that the conduct of officers was “willful and wanton,” and would allows attorneys to take “very broad discovery” that could be exceedingly costly to Chicago taxpayers because it would involve deposition of all 12 police officers involved in the raid.

The city’s case would be further damaged by the fact that the Civilian Office of Police Acountability recommended the firing of one officer involved in the raid and suspensions for five others, Meza said.

For those reasons and more, Meza argued that $2.9 million was a good deal for Chicago taxpayers. It’s on par with the $2.5 million paid in 2014 after another raid on the wrong home where a “a gun was unfortunately pointed at a 3-year-old,” Meza siad.

“In this case, we have the indignities that Ms. Young suffered and the fact that she was in a state of undress for a total of approximately 16 seconds and, arguably before a jury, the 13 seconds where the jacket was put on and the 9 1/2 [minutes] where she had a blanket over her. … A jury could find that that was 9 1/2 minutes too long. That was 16 seconds too long,” the corporation counsel said.

Meza noted that lawyers for people wrongly convicted are arguing for $1 million for every year spent in prison.

“In this particular instance, it is not unreasonable to assume that there would be a request for anywhere between $13 million and $16 million. Thirteen million for every officer and the city that was involved in execution of this search warrant. [Or] it could be $16 million for the 16 seconds that she was left in a complete state of undress,” Meza said.

In June, Alderpersons Ray Lopez (15th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th) used a parliamentary maneuver to delay Meza’s appointment to protest her decision to file a motion to dismiss Young’s lawsuit after the social worker refused to accept what her attorneys viewed as a “low-ball” offer to settle for $1 million.

On Monday, Lopez argued that $2.9 million was “not enough” to compensate Young for the “horrible way she was treated that day” and for what he called the “re-victimization by this administration constantly going after her.”

Lightfoot has been under fire for her changing story about what she knew and when she knew it about the raid that saw a crying Young telling officers more than 40 times that they had the wrong house as they allowed her to stand there naked

The mayor initially insisted she knew nothing about the raid until WBBM-TV (Channel 2) aired the video in December. But after reviewing internal emails, the mayor was forced to admit she learned about the raid in November 2019, when a top aide warned Lightfoot about a “pretty bad wrongful raid” by Chicago police.

The mayor has denied knowing about her Law Department’s efforts to block CBS2 from airing bodycam video of the raid. To underscore the point, she forced the resignation of Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner, a longtime friend who served with Lightfoot in the U.S. attorney’s office.

Asked Monday if she would release now-former Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s full report on the city’s handling of the raid on Young’s home and the aftermath of it, Lightfoot would only say that she would “follow the law.” But she argued that the internal investigation is not over.

“We’ve raised a number of questions. The departments involved have not had an opportunity to respond yet,” she said.

Likewise, Lightfoot said she expects an outside law firm’s parallel investigation of the raid –which Ferguson claims hamstrung his investigation — to be released, but only when the Jones Day law firm is ready.

Read More

Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Adam Flagler enjoy the moment as Baylor dominates Villanova. | Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

You’d think being without the great defender Davion Mitchell would’ve hurt the Bears’ “D,” but apparently not. Just ask Villanova.

One week ago, Purdue took a seat — for the first time in school history — in the No. 1 throne of the AP Top 25.

So what did I write that very day?

“And you know what that means: The Boilermakers will lose their next game.”

Am I brilliant? A college hoops savant? A natural born soothsayer?

Obviously, yes. Fine, no. I was just kidding about the Boilers losing their next game, which happened to be at so-so Rutgers. I would’ve made the same joke had they been lined up to play Boondocks A&M, Bumble Fudge Tech or the College of Automation.

But rankings tend to change like crazy early in the season, and No. 1s have such a history of being vulnerable. Take the Boilers, who went to the RAC in Piscataway, New Jersey, expected to keep rolling and walked out dazed after Ron Harper Jr.’s 40-foot game-winner at the buzzer.

So guess who’s No. 1 in the new poll? Baylor, the defending national champ. And you know what that means …

Saturday night. Bears at Oregon. Quack, quack, the Ducks are back!

For real, though, Baylor is scary-good again, particularly at the defensive end. You’d think losing the great defender Davion Mitchell would hurt the “D,” but ask Villanova about that. The Wildcats played at Baylor on Sunday and lost 57-36. The Bears make opposing offenses look like … hmm, what’s a good way to put this? The Bears! You know, the Chicago Bears.

Never mind.

AP Top 25

1. Baylor, 2. Duke, 3. Purdue, 4. UCLA, 5. Gonzaga, 6. Alabama, 7. Kansas, 8. Arizona, 9. Villanova, 10. USC, 11. Iowa State, 12. Michigan State, 13. Auburn, 14. Houston, 15. Ohio State, 16. Seton Hall, 17. Texas, 18. Tennessee, 19. LSU, 20. Connecticut, 21. Kentucky, 22. Xavier, 23. Colorado State, 24. Arkansas, 25. Texas Tech.

(Click here to see the poll in more complete list form.)

My ballot

1. Baylor, 2. Purdue, 3. Duke, 4. Arizona, 5. Kansas, 6. Alabama, 7. Gonzaga, 8. UCLA, 9. Iowa State, 10. Kentucky, 11. Houston, 12. USC, 13. Auburn, 14. Xavier, 15. Colorado State, 16. Seton Hall, 17. Michigan State, 18. Oklahoma, 19. Villanova, 20. Texas, 21. Arkansas, 22. Ohio State, 23. Wisconsin, 24. Texas Tech, 25. LSU.

(Click here and then on “all voters” to see each voter’s individual ballot.)

Five things

o Arizona is on a dramatic rise. The Wildcats have all the ingredients of a Final Four team, as they put on display in a stirring victory at Illinois. Bennedict Mathurin popped the Illini for 30. The sophomore from Montreal has to be the most underrated player in the country.

o Illini lefties Trent Frazier and Alfonso Plummer combined to shoot 12 for 25 from three and score 52 points, but still the team couldn’t get over the top. Still off my ballot.

o It came down to Wisconsin, Texas Tech, LSU and Loyola for the last three spots on my ballot. The 8-2 Badgers have too many quality wins already to be discounted. The one-loss Red Raiders just beat Tennessee, a terrific win. And the Tigers are 9-0 after blowing out Georgia Tech, so I gave ’em the nod. But the 10-2 Ramblers are a very good team, no doubt about it.

o Porter Moser’s maiden Oklahoma squad just blew the doors off Arkansas by 22, with five Sooners scoring in double figures. Hello.

o My ballot crashers: Seton Hall, Texas Tech and LSU. Falling off it this time: Tennessee, Connecticut and Florida.

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Roland Hemond (center), with White Sox rookie outfielder Ron Kittle (left) and Edmonton Oilers’ hockey sensation Wayne Gretzky on May 3, 1983, before a game in Chicago. (AP Photo/John Swart) | AP

Roland Hemond, a beloved baseball executive who served as White Sox general manager from 1970-85, died in his sleep Sunday night, according to multiple reports. He was 92.

Roland Hemond, a beloved baseball executive who served as White Sox general manager from 1970-85, died in his sleep Sunday night, according to multiple reports. He was 92.

Honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, Hemond served under three Sox owners — John W. Allyn, Bill Veeck and Jerry Reinsdorf — overseeing the AL West champion 1983 Sox team and 1977 South Side Hitmen squad. Hemond’s acquisition of Dick Allen in a trade with the Dodgers helped save a franchise that was struggling at the gate in 1970, and he was named Executive of the Year by the Sporting News in 1972 after Allen and the runnerup Sox challenged the World Series champion Oakland Athletics in the AL West.

Hemond, who gave Tony La Russa his first manager’s job, was a special advisor to Sox GM Ken Williams during the Sox’ 2005 World Series championship season. He played key roles in building the expansion Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks from the ground up.

Hemond was known for his kindness and integrity as well as his baseball expertise.

“When you read a description of the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award — character, integrity, dignity, extraordinary efforts and positive impact, you truly are reading a description of Roland Hemond,” Reinsdorf said in 2011.

“Roland Hemond is, and always will be respected in the sport of baseball,” the Major League Baseball Players Association tweeted Monday. “His impact on the game will remain legendary.”

Hemond began his career as working at the ballpark of a Boston Braves minor league club in Hartford, Conn., typed scouting reports for the Braves in 1951 and rose to assistant farm director.

In addition to serving as GM for the Sox, Hemond had the same role with the Baltimore Orioles from 1988-95, was senior executive vice president of the Diamondbacks from 1996 to 2000 and was an executive adviser for the Sox from 2001 to 2007. Hemond served in executive offices for seven teams.

In addition to his 1972 Executive of the Year Award, Hemond claimed the the same honor from United Press International as White Sox GM in 1983, as well as the Sporting News honor with the Orioles in 1989.

Hemond worked in baseball as recently as 2017 as a special assistant to the president with the Diamondbacks.

He is survived by his wife, Margo; five children — Susan, Tere, Robert, Jay, and Ryan — and grandchildren.

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