The Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs are both known for being a part of the NHL’s original six. However, each of them has an American superstar leading the way every single night. For Chicago, it is Patrick Kane. For Toronto, it is Auston Matthews. Each of them was one of the first three selected […] Auston Matthews vs Patrick Kane should be a treat for hockey fans – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

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Matt Nagy leaves the field after losing to the Cardinals. | Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The 4-8 Bears are 12 1/2-point underdogs at the Packers on Sunday. What happens if they lose by 30?

Bears chairman George McCaskey stood in front of the team 2 1/2 weeks ago and tried to stamp out a fire.

Despite its dubious origin — a false report that coach Matt Nagy already had been told of his firing — McCaskey felt obligated to tell players that what they had read on social media was false: Nagy wasn’t going to be fired the day after the game on Thanksgiving against the Lions.

It remains unclear, however, whether that guaranteed Nagy’s employment for the rest of the season. Perhaps the only place the fire might rekindle, strangely enough, is on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

The 4-8 Bears are 12 1/2 -point underdogs Sunday at the Packers. What happens if they lose by 30?

Given the McCaskeys’ emphasis on the Bears’ rivalry against the Packers, the fastest — and maybe only — way for Nagy to hasten his departure is for his team to get embarrassed on ”Sunday Night Football.” If that happened, would McCaskey be moved to announce he’s firing his coach Monday? Would he be willing to entrust general manager Ryan Pace to search for a new one? If not, then what’s the point? Each question seemingly leads to three more.

History says Nagy’s job is safe through the end of the season, given that the Bears never have fired a coach in the middle of one. But a new NFL rule that allows teams to interview head-coaching candidates during the final two weeks of the regular season might provide at least some motivation for the Bears to break from tradition.

Otherwise, it’s hard to see the Bears firing Nagy the morning after the game Dec. 20 against the Vikings or after the game Dec. 26 against the Seahawks. By then, they would have only two games left in a lost season.

Questions about Nagy’s job status are nothing new; he has faced them all season with grace. On Friday, he wasn’t ready to put any added importance on the game against the Packers — ”You can’t make it personal; I don’t,” he said — when he was asked whether he felt as though he was an underdog.

”You know that, for me, I just believe in making sure that we all just focus on the moment right now,” he said. ”If you worry about the future, what could happen or anything like that, it takes away.”

The last three Bears coaches suffered their own indignities at Lambeau Field the season they were fired. None was greater than Marc Trestman’s 55-14 loss to the Packers on Nov. 9, 2014. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tied an NFL record with six passing touchdowns in the first half, and six of the Bears’ 13 possessions totaled two yards or fewer.

Most damning was the fact the ”Sunday Night Football” blowout came after a bye week — and, before that, a 51-23 loss to the Patriots that Trestman said prompted soul-searching. The loss at Lambeau sealed Trestman’s fate, but he wasn’t fired until after the season.

Neither was John Fox, who in Week 4 of his final season with the Bears in 2017 watched quarterback Mike Glennon commit three turnovers, including a snap that hit his knee and was recovered by the Packers. That prompted the Butterfinger — yes, the candy bar — Twitter account to troll the Bears by writing: ”Butter . . . knees?” When a Bears employee, writing for the team’s account, told Butterfinger to ”stick to candy,” it replied: ”Stick to football . . . Oh wait.”

Nor was Lovie Smith, who in Week 2 of his last season at the helm in 2012 watched the Bears give up a 27-yard touchdown on a fake field goal on fourth-and-26. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler threw four interceptions, two to Tramon Williams.

”It’s the same old Jay,” Packers defensive back Charles Woodson told ESPN. ”We just need to be in position. Jay will throw us the ball.”

It was a fitting epitaph.

If the Packers somehow can trump Rodgers’ memorable ”I own you” quote from their victory against the Bears in October, Nagy might have his Sunday, too.

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Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (celebrating a touchdown last year in front of Bears safety Eddie Jackson) is 22-5 against the Bears in his 14-year career. | Jeffrey Phelps/AP Photos

With Rodgers possibly playing his final game against the Bears with the Packers, here’s a look at the odd, uncanny and crushing moments that have marked his domination of the Bears and tortured already suffering Bears fans:

The Matt Nagy era started in glory. Even Aaron Rodgers was caught in the undertow.

Facing their arch-nemesis and the Packers at Lambeau Field in the 2018 season opener and Nagy’s debut as head coach, the Bears started with a flurry on offense and defense that seemed to signal the dawn of a new era just by the end of the first half.

Mitch Trubisky ran Nagy’s offense like a maestro on the opening possession of the Nagy era — driving the Bears 86 yards in 10 plays for a 7-0 lead. The Bears’ defense, seemingly invigorated by the notion of the Bears having a threatening offense, turned up the heat. Akiem Hicks sacked Rodgers. Roy Robertson-Harris, with help from Khalil Mack, sacked Rodgers, who suffered a knee injury on the play and limped off the field.

As it turned out, Mack was just warming up. In the second quarter, he sacked back-up DeShone Kizer, forced a fumble and recovered it. On the next series he intercepted Kizer and returned the pick 27 yards for a touchdown that gave the Bears a 17-0 halftime lead.

It was likely the most giddy halftime for Bears fans since Super Bowl XX. Matt Nagy was a hit. Khalil Mack was even better than advertised. Mitch Trubisky was … better than DeShone Kizer. It was reminiscent of the 26-0 blowout of the Packers at Lambeau Field in the 2006 opener that put Lovie Smith’s Bears on a path to the Super Bowl. This was going to be fun.

And then Aaron Rodgers happened. Again.

Undaunted by his injury, the Packers’ deficit and the Bears’ halftime momentum, Rodgers seemed to will the game into the Packers’ favor. Just by returning to play the second half after the Bears had extended their lead to 20-0, a noticeably gimpy Rodgers energized his teammates and the Lambeau Field crowd and seemed to take a little life out of the Bears, or at least plant a seed of doubt.

Whatever it was, it made the difference. Rodgers was spectacular in the second half, completing 17-of-23 passes for 273 yards, three touchdowns and a near-perfect 152.7 passer rating.

And the Bears’ once-ferocious defense suddenly was helpless. The Bears had no sacks in the second half after getting four in the first half. And, in mystifying fashion, the Bears gave Rodgers the big break he needed to finish the job, paving the way for their own demise.

On a first-and-10 from the Packers’ 25-yard-line, with the Bears leading 23-17 with 2:39 to play, Rodgers misfired on a pass to Davante Adams that went straight into Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller’s breadbasket at the Packers’ 32-yard-line. And Fuller missed it, angrily swatting the ball downfield in a rare display of emotion — knowing he had missed a golden opportunity to all but seal the game and slay the dragon.

Sure enough, Rodgers finished the job. Two plays later, on third-and-10 from the 25, Rodgers scrambled away from pressure and hit Randall Cobb at the Packers 35. When Cobb turned away from Bears safety Eddie Jackson, it was as if the Red Sea had parted — and Cobb went in for a 75-yard touchdown that gave the Packers a 24-23 lead 2:13 left in the fourth quarter.

It held up — of course, it did — and that Packers’ victory stands as a testament to the power of Aaron Rodgers, a spell that has tormented the Bears for 14 seasons: His resilience. His excellence. His mental toughness. His command. His ability to make everyone else better. And his uncanny knack for having fate move its huge hands in his favor. Kyle Fuller would go on to lead the NFL in interceptions with seven and make the All-Pro team in 2018. But on that night in Green Bay, he dropped the easiest pick he’ll ever get. Go figure.

From a 37-3 rout at Lambeau Field in his first start against the Bears in 2008 to the Packers’ 24-14 victory at Soldier Field on Oct. 17, Rodgers has tortured Chicago fans like no other villain.

Rodgers not only is 22-5 with a 105.9 passer rating against the Bears as a starter, but always comes out on top in the most crucial moments. And sometimes in the most uncanny fashion. This is a guy who suffered a broken collarbone against the Bears in Week 9 in 2013 — and recovered just in time to beat the Bears in Week 17 to give the Packers the NFC North title and knock the Bears out of the playoffs.

So with Rodgers possibly playing his final game with the Packers against the Bears on Sunday at Lambeau Field, here’s a look at some of those events — big, odd and uncanny — that have given Rodgers an almost mystical domination of his biggest rival:

Rodgers fumbles — Packers score

In the 2013 regular-season finale that was a de facto NFC North championship game between the Bears (8-7) and Packers (7-7-1) at Soldier Field, the Bears actually sacked Rodgers and forced a fumble — and the Packers still scored a touchdown on the play.

It happened in the second quarter, with the Bears leading 7-3 when Bears defensive end Julius Peppers strip-sacked Rodgers on a first-and-10 at the Bears 17. The Bears though, thought it was an incomplete pass, so when the ball hit the ground, linebacker James Anderson ran over towards it, leaned down and left it on the ground.

Packers receiver Jarrett Boykin picked up the ball and when the Packers sideline alerted Rodgers that it was a live ball, Boykin ran into the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Packers a 10-7 lead.

The gaffe was rife with irony. Under Lovie Smith, Bears defensive players instinctively pounced on any loose ball — a big reason why the Bears led the league in takeaways during Smith’s nine seasons (310). In their first year under Mel Tucker, they had already lost that instinct and it cost them.

Anderson was a first-year Bear who had never played for Lovie. Lance Briggs was in pass coverage. Charles Tillman was on injured reserve. Brian Urlacher, who would have been in Anderson’s linebacker spot, was unceremoniously not re-signed by general manager Phil Emery after the 2012 season.

The Packers did not initially react to the live ball, either. If Anderson had recovered it and scored, the Bears would have led 14-3. Instead they trailed 10-7 and ended up losing 33-28.

Rodgers-to-Cobb I

Despite the Boykin touchdown, the Bears were one play from victory — leading 28-27 with 46 seconds left — with Rodgers facing a fourth-and-eight at the Bears 48-yard line.

But a failed blitz and a miscommunication in the secondary led to Randall Cobb being wide open at the 10-yard line for a 48-yard touchdown that gave the Packers a 33-28 victory and stunned the Soldier Field crowd.

Zack Bowman and Tim Jennings thought the Bears were in zone. Coach Marc Trestman said they were in man, and Cobb ran past flat-footed safety Chris Conte to make the game-winning play.

The loss was additionally painful because it wasted the best big game Jay Cutler played as a Bear. Until the Rodgers-to-Cobb play, Cutler had a 137.7 passer rating — 14-of-20 for 211 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. After the Cobb touchdown, Cutler was intercepted by Sam Shields at the goal line on a last-gasp Hail Mary pass to end it.

Until that game, Cutler had a 54.8 passer rating against the Packers (eight touchdowns, 17 interceptions) in five seasons with the Bears.

Cutler’s debut ruined

The Bears went into the 2009 season opener with renewed confidence after trading for Cutler, which presumably gave them the edge over the Packers.

But Cutler vs. Rodgers went bad nearly from the start. Not only did Cutler throw three interceptions in the first half, but Urlacher suffered a season-ending dislocated wrist in the first half.

The Bears still were clinging to a 15-13 lead with 1:18 to go when Rodgers applied the first of many daggers against the Bears. On a third-and-1 play from midfield, Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher stumbled and Rodgers hit Greg Jennings with a 50-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 to play to give the Packers a 21-15 lead.

On the Bears’ first play after the touchdown, Cutler threw his fourth pick of the game to end it.

Jordy Nelson burns … Cre’Von LeBlanc

In 2016 at Soldier Field, the Bears rallied from a 27-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the Packers 27-27 on Connor Barth’s 22-yard field goal with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter. And Vic Fangio’s defense had put the clamps on Rodgers — holding the Packers to five yards on six plays in the fourth quarter.

But Fangio made one mistake — and Rodgers made him pay for it. On third-and-11 from the Packers 26 with 31 seconds left, the Bears left Jordy Nelson — in his prime as one of the best receivers in the game — one-on-one with undrafted rookie Cre’Von LeBlanc.

All it took was one hand signal from Nelson and Rodgers found him for a 60-yard completion to the Bears’ 14-yard line. Mason Crosby kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired to win it.

“Obviously, if anybody’s at fault there, it’s me,” Fangio said. “I wouldn’t lay that blame on Cre’Von.”

Bears miss their chance

In 2010, the Bears had already clinched the NFC North and could have coasted in Week 17 into the playoffs. But Lovie Smith instead loaded up for a chance to eliminate the Packers from the postseason at Lambeau Field.

Late in the third quarter of a 3-3 game, the Bears converted a third-and-15 play when Cutler threw a well-executed screen pass to Chester Taylor for 16 yards to the Packers 39. But the Bears had called time out just before the snap and the play was nullified. After the time out, Cutler was sacked by Erik Walden and the Bears punted. You can’t make this stuff up.

Rodgers, who had been stifled to that point, took advantage of the Bears’ gaffe. On third down, he threw to Donald Drive for 21 yards, then hit Jennings for 46 down the right sideline to the 1-yard line. A 1-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Donald Lee gave the Packers a 10-3 victory and a playoff berth.

Bears stifle Rodgers — and lose

The Bears’ failure to eliminate Rodgers and the Packers came back to bite them in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field. And while Rodgers was largely neutralized by the Bears’ defense, he made a defensive play as good as anything he did on offense.

The Packers led 14-0 and threatened again at the Bears’ 6-yard line early in the third quarter. But Urlacher intercepted Rodgers’ pass and had a clear path upfield, with only Rodgers to beat — only to have Rodgers trip him up at the Bears’ 45-yard line.

It saved a much bigger return if not a touchdown that would have given the Bears momentum and at least a chance to recover. Instead, the Bears were doomed when a mysterious injury to Cutler forced him out of the game. Todd Collins replaced Cutler and threw an interception before he was replaced by Caleb Hanie, who led two touchdown drives but also threw a pick-6 as the Bears lost, 21-14.

Rodgers’ completed barely more than half his passes, He did not throw a touchdown pass. He threw two interceptions. And his his 55.4 passer rating still is the lowest in his postseason career. But he still managed to beat the Bears in the biggest game the two teams would play.

Bears win, and lose

Even when the Bears beat Rodgers, it still was painful.

With a chance to clinch the NFC North against the Packers in 2018 at Soldier Field, the Bears sacked Rodgers five times and Jackson snapped Rodgers’ NFL record of 402 passes without an interception in a 24-17 victory.

But Jackson’s interception in the end zone with the Bears leading 24-14 with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter came with price, when he suffered an ankle injury on the return. Jackson, who was having an All-Pro season with three defensive touchdowns, missed the final three regular-season games and the Bears’ 16-15 playoff loss to the Eagles.

42-0 … at halftime

While Rodgers’ torment of the Bears has been pretty steady, his dominance over them peaked in spectacular fashion in 2014 at Lambeau Field when he threw six touchdown passes in the first half as the Packers took a 42-0 lead en route to a 55-14 victory in Week 10.

The Bears’ inability to cover Nelson again was the biggest culprit. Rodgers threw touchdown passes of 73 and 40 yards to Nelson on back-to-back drives to give the Packers a 28-0 lead with 12:09 left in the first half.

The six touchdown passes in one half tied an NFL record and all but sealed the fate of not only Bears coach Marc Trestman, but general manager Phil Emery, who were fired after the season.

“I own you”

Rodgers’ performance in the Packers’ 24-14 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field on Oct. 17 was pretty standard fare — he completed 17-of-23 passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 128.0 passer rating.

But his taunting of Bears fans after scoring on a ix-yard run to clinch the victory in the fourth quarter has become part of the Rodgers legend.

“All my [bleeping] life I own you. I still own you,” a delirious Rodgers said while being mobbed by teammates after the touchdown.

And there was nothing the Bears or their fans could do about it.

“Let’s face it — he’s not totally wrong,” said Bears tight end Cole Kmet, who grew up a Bears fan in Lake Barrington and starred at St. Viator.

Coincidence or not, the Bears’ 2021 demise can be traced back to that moment. They were 3-2 heading into that game, coming off a road victory over the 3-1 Raiders. They’ve lost six of seven games since then, beating only the Lions on a last-second field goal.

Their season is in tatters. Nagy is likely to be fired. And now the Bears are facing Aaron Rodgers in a prime-time, nationally televised game at Lambeau Field. If this is Rodgers’ last Bears-Packers game — only he knows for sure — he’s likely to make it one he’ll never forget.

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Will Przybylski with a buck when younger. | Provided

Will Przybylski had a real-life civics lesson in changing the regulations around youth deer hunting in Illinois.

Will Przybylski aims to be an entrepreneur.

I tend to believe the Brother Rice senior will do it.

Case in point came more than than four years ago.

On Aug. 30, 2017, Will Przybylski sent a letter to Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-Riverside) suggesting a change to Illinois’ youth deer hunting season.

In the letter, Przybylski recounted his journey to harvesting his first buck, a six-point in 2012. He was nine.

Then he got to the heart of the matter: switching the youth deer hunt, on the three-day Columbus Day weekend, from county-specific to statewide. For non-hunters, that would allow youth hunters to hunt anywhere in the state during the youth season, instead of being confined to a specific county by permit.

“I didn’t have to access to hunt in another county,” Przybylski said last month in a phone interview after school. “With the [county] permit, you can only hunt in one. I wanted to change that. I thought you should be able to hunt in various counties because it creates opportunities for youth hunters to see more deer. Sometimes I could see a deer in one county and not on another property. It helps out to be able to move around and be creative.”

His family regularly hunts Hancock and McDonough counties.

The harvest in the youth season is statistically small, around 2 percent or less of the overall deer harvest in Illinois. In 2020-21, the preliminary overall harvest was 162,575 Deer with a youth harvest of 2,321.

In his letter, Przybylski aptly noted that “The future of hunting, fishing, camping and all outdoor activities are at risk without a strong youth participation and interest.”

That’s a topic he knows about.

He’s a good enough hunter to have harvested about 10 deer, enough that he said, “I’m losing track.” He also bass fishes for the Crusaders.

Przybylski’s concluding point was straightforward: “Making such a change would give other youth hunters, like my little brother, more opportunities to harvest deer.”

“I don’t know much about deer hunting, I am a fisherman casually,” Zalewski said in a phone interview last month. “But Will and his dad [Bill] clearly knew their stuff.

“This was unique because [Will] was a student and he had what I considered a reasonable gripe, so I agreed to help him and this worked out for the best,”

Bill came down and testified for the bill.

Public Act 101-0444 was signed on Aug. 23, 2019 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The key part was this: “The Department shall create a pilot program during the special 3-day, youth-only deer hunting season to allow for youth deer hunting permits that are valid statewide, excluding those counties or portions of counties closed to firearm deer hunting.”

The pilot program runs through January 1, 2023.

The nearly two-year process was a real-life civics lesson for Przybylski, who was playing hockey when the bill was signed.

He has been skating since he was three and played for the Hawks at the Darien Sportsplex. Now he’s a defenseman for Brother Rice at Oak Lawn Ice Arena.

“I am going to play in college or play in recreational stuff, if I can’t,” he said. “I will go as a walk-on. If not, I will still play.”

Life is full for Pryzbylski, who just became an Eagle Scout.

“It was a long process, but I was pretty exited when it got passed,” Przybylski said. “It was a relief.”

Provided
The letter Will Przybylski sent to Rep. Michael Zalewski about youth deer hunting.

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Flanked by family members, supporters, attorneys and bodyguards, former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett walks into the Leighton Criminal Courthouse after the jury reached a verdict on Dec. 9. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The Chicago Police Department did an outstanding job in this matter and should be recognized for its work. Smollett and Foxx should also be recognized for their work, but not in a good way.

Thousands of hours of investigative time and resources were spent on the Jussie Smollett hoax. The evidence that he was lying was overwhelming, and he was indicted by a grand jury, only to be let off the hook by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. At that point, he was given a deal that no honest victim of a hate crime would ever have taken.

His lies continued right to the witness stand, where he perjured himself under oath. Smollett blamed the investigation on racist cops and made a mockery of the court system.

SEND LETTERS TO: [email protected]. We want to hear from our readers. To be considered for publication, letters must include your full name, your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should be a maximum of approximately 350 words.

Now, he is a convicted felon and must be sentenced to prison time as a message to other would-be fakers. He must make restitution to the city for the investigative costs. I believe Foxx also should now resign. Hate crimes are a serious occurrence in our society, and must be investigated and prosecuted fully.

The Chicago Police Department did an outstanding job in this matter and should be recognized for its work. Smollett and Foxx should also be recognized for their work, but not in a good way.

John Laskey, Palos Heights

The more things change, the more they stay the same

In 1925, a high school teacher named John Thomas Scopes was put on trial in Dayton, Tennessee, for violating the Butler Act. His crime: teaching the theory of evolution to his high school students. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, but the verdict was thrown out on a technicality on appeal. The Butler Act was not repealed until 1967.

Today, almost 100 years later, we see the same type of attacks on both scientists and science. Lara Logan, on Fox News, said Dr. Anthony Fauci “represents Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who did experiments on Jews … in the concentration camps.” Tucker Carlson, also on Fox News, added, “Tony Fauci has morphed into an even shorter version of Benito Mussolini.” These people cynically spread these insane assertions to keep their viewers watching, viewers who are gullible enough to believe these outrageous lies.

Similarly, the right’s new “cause” is to attack historical truth, in the form of critical race theory, which argues that racism in the past affects institutions in the present. While this theory is actually taught only on a graduate-school level, GOP-led states have banned it from being taught in public schools.

Predictably, a Tennessee teacher, Matt Hawn, was recently fired in part for having his students read an essay by progressive journalist/author Ta-Nehisi Coates. Hawn was attempting to teach critical thinking skills.

Unfortunately for him and his students, Tennessee had recently passed anti-critical race theory legislation, banning educators from teaching students that any individuals are “inherently privileged, sexist, or oppressive” based on their race or sex. Hawn was fired for violating this law, just as Scopes was fired for violating the Butler Act.

So, here we are, again, almost 100 years later: more attacks on science and historical facts. I guess it’s true: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Bob Chimis, Elmwood Park

Stop severe cuts to Medicare

Despite the urgent need for health care equity in neighborhoods across Chicago — and in our nation’s Medicare program — policymakers in Washington have proposed unbelievably deep cuts to senior specialty care services that are vital to our city’s communities of color.

Medicare’s planned “clinical labor” cuts threaten to impact health care specialists who care for patients living with chronic conditions that are most prevalent among our city’s diverse ethnic and racial communities.

For instance, Medicare plans to cut reimbursement to revascularization services used to clear blocked arteries by 22% — despite the fact that Black and Latino Medicare beneficiaries are three times more likely and twice as likely, respectively, to suffer a lower limb amputation due to a condition called peripheral artery disease.

Congress must intervene. Fortunately, Congressman Bobby Rush (IL-1) has introduced the Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act in Congress to stop these severe cuts. This legislation will go a long way in protecting patient access to community-based outpatient specialty care and improving health equity.

Further, Rush and his colleague Congressman Danny Davis (IL-7) are leading another effort urging congressional leaders to address the clinical labor cuts in their end-of-the-year legislative package, to ensure the cuts are not implemented on Jan. 1, 2022.

I commend Rush and Davis and urge all Illinois congressional members to support H.R. 6048 to block Medicare’s dangerous clinical labor cuts.

Sreenivas Reddy, MD, Vascular & Interventional Radiologist
President, Vein & Vascular Centers
Chair, Illinois State Medical Disciplinary Board

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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file

The pledge will undercut any reformer who wants to challenge an unqualified candidate backed by the party.

Americans recoil at the idea of a loyalty oath. They remember the McCarthy era and other times when refusing to sign a loyalty oath written by someone else could cost you your job. In the land of the free, people are supposed to be able to voice their opinions without fear of retribution.

The Cook County Democratic Party is now requiring candidates to sign a loyalty pledge if they want the party’s endorsement when 50 ward and 30 township committee members meet on Monday and Tuesday to decide which candidates they will back in races next year.

By signing the pledge, candidates agree not to oppose any of the party’s choices for the 2022 ballot.

We might feel better about the pledge if the Democrats ran stellar candidates up and down the ticket in every election. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The loyalty pledge will undercut any reformer who wants to challenge an unqualified candidate backed by the party. Other candidates, having signed the pledge, would not be able to support the upstart.

That’s not a path toward improving county government across the board.

Some in the party point out that if you don’t have some kind of cohesion — if candidates feel free to run against those endorsed by the party — you don’t have much of a party. They point to the national scene, where Democrats, as they splinter into competing factions, are losing ground to more unified Republicans, even those who back policies opposed by most Americans.

47th Ward Committeeperson Paul Rosenfeld likens the loyalty pledge to trying out for a sports team. By doing that, you agree to support the entire team.

In Cook County, though, there is only one team for all practical purposes in countywide races. The Republican Party typically does not mount a credible challenge in the general election.

Of course, the loyalty pledge, which was pushed by county Democratic Chair Toni Preckwinkle, is a one-way street. The candidates have to agree to support the choices by the party’s committee members, but the members aren’t bound by any such pledge. As has often happened in past elections, they are free to support anyone they choose, including opponents of those who signed the loyalty pledge.

Instead of pushing the loyalty pledge, how about party leaders sign one saying they will back only highly qualified candidates in all future elections?

Send letters to [email protected].

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One person was killed and six others were wounded in citywide shootings Dec. 10. | Sun-Times file photo

The fatal attack happened in West Garfield Park.

One person was killed and six others were wounded in shootings in Chicago Friday.

A man was killed in a shooting Friday morning in West Garfield Park. Patrick Green, 36, was found about 10:50 a.m. in the 4000 block of West Van Buren Street with a gunshot wound to his head, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Green was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
In nonfatal attacks, Two men were shot while riding in a car in Lakeview on the North Side Friday morning. The two men, 24 and 27, were in the 1400 block of West Addison Street when someone in a blue sedan opened fire about 2 a.m., police said. The older man was shot in the right leg, the younger man grazed in the right leg, police said. They went to Weiss Memorial Hospital, where they were in good condition, police said.

Four others were wounded in citywide shootings Friday.

Two people were killed and a 17-year-old boy was among nine others wounded in shootings in Chicago Thursday.

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Dorothy Dawson a track coach and assistant principal at Dunbar High School was remembered as a youth sports “legend” who gave selflessly to her students and athletes. | Sun-Times file

Dawson was a track coach and assistant principal with a paddle. But more than that, she was a steadfast mentor known for her generosity, giving her students food, clothing and a place to stay.

A typical track coach might a carry clipboard and a whistle. Dorothy Dawson had a six-sided die.

Mrs. Dawson, Coach Dawson or Momma D, wore many hats at the South Side’s Dunbar High School, including gym teacher, assistant principal, dean, and coach of boys and girls track and field.

“She was always in any person’s corner that had a need,” said Lorette Cherry, a close friend of Mrs. Dawson’s who worked with her to organize track and field events.

“But you had to know her. First time you meet her you’d think, ‘Oh, she’s rough and tough.’ But she wasn’t.”

Cherry said Mrs. Dawson, who started working in Chicago Public Schools in 1962 and continued for almost four decades, was known in Bronzeville and the track and field community for her tough love. Famously, her six-sided die came in handy on the track.

“She has a paddle, and if you got in trouble, she will let you roll the dice and whatever came up, that’s what you got,” Cherry said.

Provided
Friends remember Dorothy Dawson as more than just a strict, no-nonsense coach, but as a compassionate mentor

“And the kids know, that’s like her trademark. But that same woman would sit there and give those kids money to go home on the bus, to come to school, everything.”

Mrs. Dawson, who died at 91 on Nov. 17, is survived by her three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her husband and two children preceded her in death. A funeral service for Mrs. Dawson was held Friday.

Mrs. Dawson was known not only by her paddle but her willingness to give. She serially provided food, money, clothes and rides to her athletes and students. Cherry remembers Mrs. Dawson personally paying for runners’ tournament fees and college textbooks for former students.

“There was nothing that was beyond her if there was a need,” Cherry said.

Mrs. Dawson developed her no-nonsense leadership style while dealing with the students of Dunbar High, many of whom were involved in gangs, Cherry said.

“She was a disciplinarian. She had to deal with some tough guys,” she said.

Cherry remembers one track meet there was a man who was continuously harassing Cherry and tournament organizers about runners’ times and schedules. Mrs. Dawson, the coach known for her paddle and die, dealt with the situation.

“She told him, ‘If you don’t get out of here, I’m going to go down to my car and get my gun and shoot you.’ And he didn’t come back,” Cherry said. “But that was the way she was. And if he had turned right around again and tripped down the stairs, she probably would’ve been the first one to pick him up.”

Sun-Times file
Coaches Dorothy Dawson and Jan Dickens during a 1984 Dunbar High School track practice

Mrs. Dawson was born in Georgia in 1930 and moved to Louisiana at the age of 13 after her mother died; her uncle and sister helped raise her.

She grew up in Baton Rouge and was a star on her high school’s basketball team, earning a full scholarship to play at Grambling State University.

On Grambling’s basketball team, Dawson was mentored by Hall of Fame football coach Eddie Robinson. She received a master’s degree in physical education and math from Iowa State University.

Cherry said it was people like Robinson and others who imbued Mrs. Dawson with her big-hearted spirit.

“She’s just had a life of folks helping her, so she in turn started helping other people.”

After spending time as a state championship-winning high school coach in Louisiana, Mrs. Dawson moved to Chicago in 1961 with her two children, Leonard and Bonnie.

She retired from CPS in 1993. After her coaching career, Mrs. Dawson served as the president of USA Track & Field Illinois from 2000 to 2013 where she worked on creating regulations on coach and athlete conduct, Cherry said.

Provided
After retiring from coaching, Dorothy Dawson served as president for USA Track & Field Illinois for 13 years.

Once, when Cherry and Mrs. Dawson were working at the USATF Illinois office in Lisle, two men in an office next door started fighting with each other. Mrs. Dawson, who was in her 70s at the time and on crutches, rocketed out of her chair and grabbed one of the fighting men.

The police soon arrived, but it was all for naught. Mrs. Dawson, the injured septuagenarian, had already broken up the fight, Cherry said.

“She was just a force to be reckoned with,” Cherry said.

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Susan Lam, daughter of Woom Sing Tse, speaks to community members and reporters, during a vigil and memorial for her father, flanked by siblings William Tse and Carina Set. Woom Sing Tse was shot and killed Tuesday by Alphonso Joyner in a shooting earlier described as a “execution.” | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Woom Sing Tse was shot Tuesday as he was walking to get a newspaper. His three children remembered his hard work, his respect for everyone and his love for family.

Customers at Woom Sing Tse’s restaurant called him family.

He retired when his daughter’s first child was born and often took care of his nine grandchildren.

And though he sometimes drove his wife a little crazy, Tse was always by her side.

“You’d never see him without a smile,” said Susan Lam, one of Tse’s three children. “He just enjoyed the simplicities of life.”

Persistent rain did not deter more than 100 people from gathering in Chinatown for an evening prayer vigil honoring Tse, who was murdered earlier this week as he walked to get a newspaper, just blocks from his home.

Tse, 71, came to the U.S. from China nearly 50 years ago, determined to work hard for his family. He put all three of his children through school, was an avid ping pong and pick-up basketball player, and treated everyone with respect, his children said.

Tse’s children spoke of their immense grief over their father’s horrific and seemly random killing. But clinging to faith and leaning on their church communities, Tse’s family saw Friday’s vigil as a “ray of light” shining in the “dark, uncertain tunnel that we all have to travel,” said William Tse, his oldest child.

“This is not the end for my dad,” William Tse said. “This is a new beginning for him. He’s in better place high above, in place where we all hope one day we will be.”

Community members add to a memorial for Woom Sing Tse near the spot where he was shot Tuesday. Over a hundred family, friends and community members gathered Friday for a vigil for Tse, outside Haines Elementary School. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Tuesday at about 12:30 p.m., Tse was walking on the sidewalk in the 200 block of West 23rd place when a car pulled up, and the driver shot Tse several times in the head and body, police said. Tse was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police recovered 18 9mm shell casings on the road and sidewalk.

Shortly after, police arrested 23-year-old Alphonso Joyner after using surveillance footage to identify Joyner’s car and track it to the Kennedy Expressway.

Joyner, who was alone in the car, was arrested around Jackson Boulevard wearing the same clothes as the gunman in the video, and police found a gun in the car matching spent shell casings from the crime scene, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. He was denied bail.

Chicago Police Commander Don Jerome, who oversees the district where Tse was shot, said at the vigil he hopes it brings Tse’s family “a measure of peace … knowing that the offender will be held accountable.” He credited the Chinatown community’s almost immediate calls to police for Joyner’s swift arrest.

As of Friday evening, a GoFundMe had raised nearly $70,000 to support Tse’s wife and family, increase surveillance and safety equipment in Chinatown; and support Asian American organizations.

Tse’s children spoke about how their father came to Chicago in pursuit of the American Dream and the legacy he leave for his family.

“Dad made it,” said Carina Set, Tse’s youngest child. “The freedom he sought, he found it. It will continue on through me, through us, through my mom, through his nine grandchildren.”

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