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Freshman Jeremiah Fears dazzles in debut but Joliet West loses to St. Louis VashonMichael O’Brienon November 25, 2021 at 3:23 am

Joliet West’s Jeremiah Fears (2) brings the ball into the front court as the Tigers play Vashon. | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Joliet West freshman Jeremiah Fears had a memorable high school debut, confidently pouring in 17 points, four rebounds and four steals.

WASHINGTON, ILL–Joliet West freshman Jeremiah Fears had a memorable high school debut, confidently pouring in 17 points, four rebounds and four steals.

But luck wasn’t with him at the end. He missed a possible game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer and the Tigers lost 61-59 to St. Louis Vashon at the Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions.

“He exudes confidence and toughness,” Tigers coach Jeremy Kreiger said. “He led us in scoring in his first high school game. He embraced stepping up to take the game-winner and then came into the locker room and apologized to his teammates for missing it.”

Sophomore Justus McNair, also playing his first high school game after missing his freshman year with an injury, added 16 points for the Tigers (0-1).

Joliet West built a 21-13 lead early but the Wolverines got back into it with an 11-0 run in the second quarter. The Tigers turned the ball over 23 times and shot just 6 for 15 from the free-throw line.

“As a team you have to value the basketball,” Kreiger said. “That’s something we are going to have to improve on.”

Junior Jayden Martin scored 16 for Joliet West, which started a freshman, two sophomores and two juniors.

“I’m super proud of the guys given their youth and lack of experience,” Kreiger said. “They competed against a national powerhouse and probably the best team in Missouri the last few seasons.”

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Freshman Jeremiah Fears dazzles in debut but Joliet West loses to St. Louis VashonMichael O’Brienon November 25, 2021 at 3:23 am Read More »

15-year-old boy fatally shot while waiting for ride-share in Heart of ChicagoSun-Times Wireon November 25, 2021 at 2:39 am

A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot Nov. 24, 2021, in Heart of Chicago. | Archive Sun-Times

The boy was waiting for a ride-share in the 2500 block of South Blue Island Avenue when someone exited a vehicle and began talking to the boy before opening fire, Chicago police said.

A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot Wednesday evening while waiting for a ride-share in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood.

About 6:35 p.m., the boy was waiting for a ride-share in the 2500 block of South Blue Island Avenue when someone exited a vehicle and began talking to the boy before opening fire, Chicago police said.

The boy was struck in the chest and shoulders and taken to Stroger Hospital where was pronounced dead, police said. He has not yet been identified.

About 20 minutes earlier, a man was shot blocks away in the 2500 block of South Oakley Avenue, police said. The 20-year-old was struck in the face, lower back, and abdomen.

He went to Stroger Hospital where he was listed in critical condition, police said.

Police did not say if the two shootings were connected.

No one is in custody for either attack.

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15-year-old boy fatally shot while waiting for ride-share in Heart of ChicagoSun-Times Wireon November 25, 2021 at 2:39 am Read More »

53rd NAACP Image Awards Will Broadcast Live With In-Person Audienceon November 25, 2021 at 2:35 am

The Art of New Media

53rd NAACP Image Awards Will Broadcast Live With In-Person Audience

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53rd NAACP Image Awards Will Broadcast Live With In-Person Audienceon November 25, 2021 at 2:35 am Read More »

18-year-old with killing two teens in July mass shooting on the West SideSun-Times Wireon November 25, 2021 at 1:32 am

A man faces two counts of first degree murder for his role in a July 21, 2021, shooting on the West Side. | File photo

Detrevion Williams faces two counts of first-degree murder for his role in the July 21 mass shooting in the 3300 block of West Douglas Boulevard.

An 18-year-old man has been charged with fatally shooting two teenagers over the summer in a mass shooting on West Side.

Detrevion Williams faces two counts of first-degree murder for his role in the July 21 shooting in the 3300 block of West Douglas Boulevard, Chicago police announced Tuesday.

Two boys, 15 and 16, and three men were at the corner of Douglas and Christiana just before 6 p.m. when someone opened fire, police said.

The younger teen, Damarion L. Benson, was shot in the head and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other teen was also struck in the head and was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where he later died, according to police.

The three men were also wounded and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized.

Benson was the youngest of 28 people wounded by gunfire that Wednesday in Chicago, as the city was hit by three mass shootings in a single day.

Minutes after the shooting near Douglas and Christiana a few blocks away, five people were shot outside Theodore Herzl Elementary School.

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18-year-old with killing two teens in July mass shooting on the West SideSun-Times Wireon November 25, 2021 at 1:32 am Read More »

‘When Harry Met Rehab’ brings new perspective to real-life chapter for veteran actress Melissa GilbertTricia Despres – For the Sun-Timeson November 25, 2021 at 1:00 am

Melissa Gilbert stars as a therapist leading a group therapy session in “When Harry Met Rehab” at the Greenhouse Theater Center. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

“The commonality of the experience is what really is the basis of what all recovery groups are at their core,” Gilbert says of the show’s storyline.

There was a time when award-winning actress Melissa Gilbert found herself sitting among a group of people she barely knew, baring her soul of its darkest secrets in the hopes that in doing so, she would finally be free of her personal demons.

“The people I knew who were addicted to heroin were some of the most creative, incredibly talented, fascinating, cool people I’ve ever known… most of whom have now died,” Gilbert says during a recent chat at Chicago’s Greenhouse Theater Center, discussing her time spent in real-life group therapy. “Now, I find myself going back to my experience with those people and incorporating them into this role.”

While Gilbert was quite vocal about her past battles with addiction in her 2009 New York Times best-selling memoir “Prairie Tale,” the role she is currently playing in the world premiere of “When Harry Met Rehab” essentially turns the tables on her real-life story. Gilbert stars as Barb, a rehab therapist and former addict, based loosely on the real-life struggles of Chicago sports radio personality/actor Harry Teinowitz.

“The commonality of the experience is what really is the basis of what all recovery groups are at their core,” Gilbert says of the storyline co-written by Teinowitz and playwright Spike Manton in which the main character, Harry (played by veteran TV actor/comedian Dan Butler), goes to therapy and encounters four strangers that end up providing him with a mix of friendship, honesty, and accountability.

“In that circle of chairs, we watch as people walk through their history to find that moment that may have been the genesis of why their life spiraled out of control,” Gilbert says. [Pauses] Having not only gone through the issues I went through but going through therapy for decades and winding it all back to those traumatic moments, I now find myself playing the therapist, and that is a gift for me. To watch someone trudge through their life and wake up and become the person they’ve always wanted to be… that’s a gift.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Melissa Gilbert and Dan Butler, who co-star in “When Harry Met Rehab,” are photographed at the Greenhouse Theater Center earlier this month.

In real life, Gilbert, who is perhaps most famous for portraying Laura Ingalls Wilder on the hit 1970s-80s TV series “Little House on the Prairie,” admits she could have never been a therapist.

“I am way too much of an empath,” she says smiling. “One of the hardest things for me is to not lose myself in my emotions when I listen to them. Because when they fall apart, I can’t.”

And while the storyline of “When Harry Met Rehab” is undoubtedly entrenched in the heaviness of addiction, it also holds within it a somewhat comforting, comedic look at life as the pains of life.

“Some of my favorite stories from my lifetime are the stories that were about the most tragic and painful things… that I somehow found a way to laugh about,” Gilbert adds.

Enter the aforementioned Dan Butler, best-known for his role as Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe on the hit NBC sitcom “Frasier.” The actor recently got to meet Teinowicz. “I loved that he wrote a good story and there was something that compelled him to tell this story now, and that it was important to tell it through his lens and his voice box.”

“Comedians are usually the most seriously intense people who are constantly trying to come up with funny things to talk about,” continues Butler, who also played the role of Art on the ABC series “Roseanne.” “Genuine comedy is funny because I think you use it to deflect or avoid something. You’re laughing at something that you all went through that was horrendous. You have a universal connection to it. You can’t help yourself from always trying to tell a joke. … We’re all expert liars if we want to be.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

“No one is ever going through something that someone hasn’t been through already,” adds Gilbert. “There is a fellowship to be found in every case. There is someone to reach out to and someone who can support you and someone who’s walked the path ahead of you and someone who’s trudging up behind you, no matter what it is. The best thing we can do is come together and love each other.”

And it’s this universal connection that has always served as a vital component of live theater, a connection that all but vanished during the COVID-19 shutdown, and a connection that Gilbert and Butler agree that the world needs now more than ever.

“You shouldn’t be the same person going out of the theater that you were going in,” concludes Butler. “Something has to change. [Pauses] We’re cracking the nut of this show, and it’s a tough show. All these things are different now. I mean, what is comedy? What is drama? What is storytelling? How is it different from before? I think it takes a bit of pioneering spirit to go out and be a member of an audience right now. But I think you just have to sit down with other people… and see what happens next.”

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‘When Harry Met Rehab’ brings new perspective to real-life chapter for veteran actress Melissa GilbertTricia Despres – For the Sun-Timeson November 25, 2021 at 1:00 am Read More »

Why black parents may no longer have to accompany their children on a jog; maybe there’s hope for my pal Tameka, who like Mr. Arbery, was chased by angry white folk, a chilling experience!on November 25, 2021 at 1:38 am

Academic Ink-lings

Why black parents may no longer have to accompany their children on a jog; maybe there’s hope for my pal Tameka, who like Mr. Arbery, was chased by angry white folk, a chilling experience!

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Why black parents may no longer have to accompany their children on a jog; maybe there’s hope for my pal Tameka, who like Mr. Arbery, was chased by angry white folk, a chilling experience!on November 25, 2021 at 1:38 am Read More »

Black Friday Weekend in Beer, November 26-28on November 25, 2021 at 1:44 am

The Beeronaut

Black Friday Weekend in Beer, November 26-28

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Black Friday Weekend in Beer, November 26-28on November 25, 2021 at 1:44 am Read More »

The Edge from U2 leads charity auction of rockers’ guitarsJohn Carucci | Associated Presson November 25, 2021 at 12:15 am

The Edge (left) performs with Bono and Adam Clayton during a 2018 U2 concert at Chicago’s United Center. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Instruments from Slash, Lou Reed, Steve Miller, Paul McCartney and others will be sold to support New Orleans musicians hit hard by the pandemic.

When The Edge saw the Rolling Stones perform recently, his mask allowed him to go unrecognized as he watched guitarist Ron Wood from the front row.

“I have to say one of the benefits of mask wearing is it’s like a cloaking device if you’re a famous face,” the U2 guitarist recently said while promoting his Music Rising charity and its Dec. 11 auction of famous guitars and other rock memorabilia to support New Orleans musicians hit hard by the pandemic.

“Ronnie has donated a beautiful guitar to our auction. So, I was so stoked,” he said.

Founded by Edge and producer Bob Ezrin, the charity was started in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina as a means of replacing instruments lost in the flood. Once the pandemic set in, it found a new mission.

“We want to try and reestablish the live music scene where it’s suffered a kind of major setback. So back in post-Katrina, we were replacing instruments. Now we’re not being that specific. We’re actually willing to just fund people’s livelihoods,” Edge said.

Two of Edge’s guitars that he’s played extensively on tour with U2 will be among those sold, including the instrument he calls the “One.”

“It’s a beautiful Les Paul and it’s actually a Music Rising Les Paul, part of … a limited edition of 300.”

The other is a custom designed Fender Stratocaster used while on tour to perform “Bad” and “Still Haven’t Found I’m Looking For.”

“They are real serious guitars that I’ve spent a lot of time playing and they’ll — they’ll be missed.”

Other donors include Slash, Lou Reed, Steve Miller and Paul McCartney. During the interview Edge held up a vintage photograph of McCartney playing the donated instrument in a studio while Stevie Wonder played the drums.

“This is two of my great heroes in the one shot and that bass guitar is going to be in the auction.”

Erzin has produced a litany of classic rock artists from Alice Cooper and Aerosmith to Pink Floyd and Kiss. Each has donated memorabilia to the auction. But Erzin says guitarist Paul Stanley personally had to search for his donation.

“Paul Stanley [went] down to the warehouse to find the guitar because his guitar tech had passed away from COVID, as a matter of fact, and he had to go himself to go find the guitar that he wanted to give us,” Erzin said.

Some of the offerings are currently on display at Van Eaton Galleries in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles.

“We feel like this is a good moment as venues are just beginning to start to open up again to give these musicians the chance to get their equipment back in place and get playing again,” he said, noting that many musicians had to sell their instruments to survive.

As for U2, Edge says the band has no plans to go back on the road. That’s been fine by him since he’s been in a “songwriting and the compositional” phase that coincided with the lockdown and pandemic.

“I am suffering a little from survivor’s guilt because, you know, we didn’t have to cancel tours,” he said. “We didn’t have anything public that we were planning for this period. And it’s just forced me to be at home working on new songs, which is exactly what I needed to do.”

When U2 does hit the road, he said he wants to make sure its safe for fans. He differs from other musicians like Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Travis Tritt, who have resisted efforts by venues requiring proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test.

“I find it very hard to fathom why you would be against it,” he said. While there’s no plans for the next U2 tour, Edge said he “there’s no question in my mind that that’s how we should deal with this. And I just I fail to see any logic to not supporting the whole idea of vaccinations.”

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The Edge from U2 leads charity auction of rockers’ guitarsJohn Carucci | Associated Presson November 25, 2021 at 12:15 am Read More »

Top mayoral adviser on reducing violence quits in what City Hall calls an ‘amicable departure’Rachel Hintonon November 24, 2021 at 11:51 pm

Norman Kerr, Director of Violence Reduction, speaks at a news conference in August. | Brian Rich/Sun-Times file

A mayoral spokesman did not respond to a question about why Norman Kerr resigned. But according to a City Hall statement, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is “incredibly grateful” to Kerr for his “steadfast leadership and commitment to reducing violence in our city, both during his time with the City, and beyond.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s violence reduction czar resigned Wednesday, becoming the mayor’s second top advisor on fighting crime to leave after a relatively short time.

A City Hall spokesman called Norman Kerr’s departure “amicable.”

Kerr, the former director of the anti-violence group once known as CeaseFire, was tapped in 2019 to become the director of violence reduction in the city’s office of public safety.

He also recently served as Lightfoot’s acting deputy mayor for public safety. But it’s unclear if he had been officially named deputy director at the time of his resignation.

A mayoral spokesman did not respond to a question about whether or not Lightfoot asked for Kerr’s resignation.

But the mayor is “incredibly grateful” to Kerr for his “steadfast leadership and commitment to reducing violence in our city, both during his time with the City, and beyond,” according to a City Hall statement.

“The work of the Office of Violence Prevention continues as part of the Community Safety Coordination Center,” the mayoral spokesperson said. “Norm has continued to be a close partner of the Mayor’s Office since his amicable departure, and Mayor Lightfoot wishes him all the best as he expands his impact beyond Chicago.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file
Mayor Lori Lightfoot answers questions from the media during a news conference on Monday.

It was not immediately clear why Kerr left. The mayor’s spokesman did not respond to questions, and Kerr could not be reached to explain.

Before joining Lightfoot’s administration, Kerr spent over a decade working with Cure Violence, the group once known as CeaseFire.

At City Hall, he largely filled the role previously held by Susan Lee, who was appointed deputy mayor for public safety in June 2019 but left the job in October of 2020.

Lee came from the not-for-profit Safe Chicago Network at Creating Real Economic Destiny founded by former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Lee’s mission was to shift Chicago away from a “law-enforcement driven solution” to gang violence, but City Council members complained she failed to answer their questions during meetings. A group of alderpersons had planned to write a letter to Lightfoot demanding she fire Lee.

At the time of Lee’s exit, Lightfoot praised her as an “invaluable member of my senior leadership team” who has helped to lead “public safety and violence reduction efforts.”

Kerr’s unexplained departure comes as the city’s crime problem shows signs of worsening.

Gun violence has been on the rise in the city over the past year, with 796 people shot and killed so far this year, according to records from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Last week, the mayor’s Council floor said that Lightfoot should only give Police Supt. David Brown a few months more to get a handle on Chicago’s “crime pandemic.”

And if he can’t, she should fire him and his leadership team, Ald. George Cardenas (12th) told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I am not at all … happy with CPD and their leadership,” Cardenas said. “They need to step up in a big way and stop this crime pandemic themselves. They need to find a way to recruit more people. That’s on them. The mayor can only do so much. That’s on that leadership.”

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Top mayoral adviser on reducing violence quits in what City Hall calls an ‘amicable departure’Rachel Hintonon November 24, 2021 at 11:51 pm Read More »

Popular barber shot to death in crowded shop on South Side. ‘We had little kids in there … Everybody hit the deck.’Sun-Times Wireon November 24, 2021 at 10:10 pm

A gunman was fatally shot and another man critically wounded in a shooting Nov. 23 on the South Side. | Sun-Times file

Police did not offer any motive for the attack, which occurred along a busy commercial strip in the Park Manor neighborhood. The gunman remains at large.

Romel’s barber shop was crowded Tuesday afternoon when two men walked in and seemed to set their sights on a young barber, the one who often talked about turning his life around.

One of the men pulled out a gun and fired. Dedrick Causey collapsed as customers ducked and scrambled inside the shop at 411 E. 71st Street.

One the bullets hit the man with the gunman. He stumbled out into the alley, a wound to his neck, and died. Causey, 24, would die hours later of multiple gunshot wounds.

“We had little kids in there,” said shop owner Romel Collins. “I was cutting a boy’s hair, he must have been 12. Everybody hit the deck and they ambushed him.

“I feel like I lost a son,” Collins added.

Chicago police did not offer any motive for the attack, which occurred around 5 p.m. along a busy commercial strip in the Park Manor neighborhood. The gunman remains at large.

“It looked like they were targeting him,” Collins said, though he knew of no reason why anyone would want to kill Causey.

“He was a church-going kid. All he talked about was God,” he said. “He didn’t gang bang. He didn’t do none of that.”

Hundreds of tributes poured into Facebook as news of his death circulated, some remembering how he preached on the streets.

“I’ve been watching this boy grow up,” Collins said. “He was dealing with the wrong people about 10 years ago and changed his whole lifestyle and went with Jesus, man, I was so proud of him.”

At least 33 people have been killed so far this year in Greater Grand Crossing area which includes Park Manor. That’s four more than the community’s total for all of last year and more than double the homicides the community had in 2018, according to Sun-Times data.

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Popular barber shot to death in crowded shop on South Side. ‘We had little kids in there … Everybody hit the deck.’Sun-Times Wireon November 24, 2021 at 10:10 pm Read More »