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Dan Plehal and Ann Delany are among the cast of “Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody.” | Timothy M. Schmidt

What makes the show merry and bright instead of dumb and annoying is the clever writing and the enthusiasm of no-holds-barred ensemble.

There is very little middle ground when it comes to the movie “Love Actually.” The 2003 Hugh Grant rom-com is as deeply polarizing as canned cranberry sauce.

People either love it as a feel-good, sparkle-pony of a holiday movie or they loathe it because it is more saccharine than, well, saccharine, populated by men behaving like creeps, while utterly wasting the talents of the great Laura Linney. All of this is covered in “Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody,” now playing at the Apollo Theatre.

“Love Actually?” calls out the movie’s faults, including the dubiously legal maneuvers undertaken by the British prime minister (Hugh Grant) when he fires the staff assistant he’s been flirting with because he thinks the president of the U.S. also flirted with her, and follows up the firing by figuring out where she lives and crashing her family Christmas party. Rude.

Music by Basil Winterbottom and book and lyrics by Bob and Tobly McSmith, “Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody” eventually gets around to celebrating Christmas and love with a jolly-holiday cheeriness that’s tough to resist. But long before we get to that, it mocks all that is sexist and stupid about the movie. By the light of St. Nicholas, there is plenty of material. The McSmiths attack it with a so-wrong-its-right mix of intelligence and puerile pandering. Both are entertaining in director Tim Drucker’s staging, which is campier than an ugly holiday sweater contest.

What makes the show merry and bright instead of dumb and annoying is the McSmiths’ clever writing, their clearly encyclopedic knowledge of the movie and its actors, and the enthusiasm of no-holds-barred ensemble.

Timothy M. Schmidt
Jake Elkins and Amanda Walker are featured in “Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody.”

The six cast members play up to 11 roles in the 85-minute production, including the actors in the movie and the characters those actors portrayed. There are nine love stories woven among the sextet, and the pace is appropriately frenetic.

We have Emma Thompson (Ann Delaney) fretting over the necklace her husband didn’t buy her for Christmas. Meanwhile, a teenage Keira Knightley (Amanda Walker) gets married, while Mark, the Best Man who pines for her (Jake Elkins), creepily films her throughout the wedding. There is also, of course, Colin Firth (also Elkins), who embarks on an affair with his housekeeper Areola (Walker), who speaks no English.

Liam Neeson (Christopher Wayland) comes to us by way of Harry Potter’s Snape, which shouldn’t work or make any sense, but does. Speaking of: Wayland’s turn as washed-up rocker Billy Mack captures both the ego and the absurdity of a bombastic has-been.

At the center of the zaniness, of course, is Hugh Grant (Dan Plehal) as the Prime Minister of Rom-Coms (instead of England). Plehal has Grant down, blinking and bumbling his way through the holiday. He’s hampered — or perhaps enhanced — by an atrocious wig, one of countless deployed as the actors switch characters with dizzying speed.

Finally, there’s Peter (Ryan Foreman), who doesn’t get a last name but provides a one-person Greek rom-com chorus providing excellent commentary on the inanity surrounding him, often without saying a word.

Winterbottom’s score serves the show well. It’s forgettable, but it’s fun. There’s a rap about party dip. In “Dark Deeds, Laura Linney’s Lament,” Delaney-as-Linney reproaches the agent who told her to take this part, clearly been inspired by “Spamalot’s” “Diva’s Lament.” There is an entire made-up language in “Language of Love,” which in Walker’s earnest, giddy delivery needs no translation.

On a set dominated by bright red doors and iconic London telephone booths (festive work by Joshua Warner), the cast establishes the various plots and subplots in the opening tune, “A Message of Love, Actually,” which will likely have you laughing out loud before the first chorus is done.

Brooke Engen’s fittingly manic choreography helps sets the scene as the cast explores timeless holiday questions: What is love, actually? Is love actually a comedy? A tragedy? A rom-com of completely inexplicable length and popularity?

Yes, Virginia. It is all of those things.

“Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody” is also a jolly good time — whatever you think of the movie.

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Homewood-Flossmoor’s Nashawn Holmes (2) shoots around Hyde Park’s Omarion Durr (11). | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

All the scores from around the area.

Please send scores and corrections to [email protected]

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

METRO PREP

Lycee Francais at Horizon-McKinley, 6:30

NON CONFERENCE

Antioch at Rochelle Zell, 7:00

Austin at Dunbar, 5:00

Brooks at Proviso West, 6:30

Clifton Central at Cissna Park, 7:30

DePue at Marquette, 7:00

EPIC at Northside, 5:00

Excel-South Shore at Hirsch, 5:00

Harlan at Longwood, 6:30

Illinois Lutheran at Heritage Christian (IN), 6:00

Intrinsic at ITW-Speer, 6:45

North Grand at Collins, 5:00

Ogden at Phillips, 5:00

Rockford Christian at Beloit (WI), 7:00

Simeon at King, 4:30

Urban Prep-West at Urban Prep-Bronzeville, 6:30

Vocational at Wells, 5:00

ASHTON-FRANKLIN CENTER

Midland vs. Leland, 6:00

LaMoille vs. Amboy, 6:00

Polo vs. Hiawatha, 7:30

Durand vs. Ashton-Franklin Center, 7:30

BATAVIA

Waubonsie Valley vs. Raby, 6:00

Providence-St. Mel vs. Marmion, 7:30

BLOOM / MARIAN CATHOLIC

at Bloom

Lincoln-Way Central vs. Hillcrest, 4:30

Thornton Fr. South vs. Bloom, 6:30

at Marian Catholic

Homewood-Flossmoor vs. Rich, 5:30

Hyde Park vs. Marian Catholic, 7:00

BOYLAN

Freeport vs. Rockford Lutheran, 5:00

Richwoods vs. St. Charles North, 6:30

Boylan vs. Marshall, 8:00

BUFFALO GROVE

Mount Carmel vs. Buffalo Grove, 6:00

Crete-Monee vs. Morgan Park, 7:30

CLEMENTE

UIC vs. Catalyst-Maria, 5:00

Clemente vs. Foreman, 6:30

Lincoln Park vs. Mather, 8:00

COAL CITY / MANTENO

at Coal City

Serena vs. Morris, 5:30

Coal City vs. Gardner-So. Wilmington, 7:00

at Manteno

Beecher vs. Peotone, 5:30

IC Catholic vs. Manteno, 7:00

DE PAUL / LANE

at DePaul

DePaul vs. Legal Prep, 4:30

Lake View vs. Niles North, 6:00

at Lane

Lane vs. Englewood STEM, 5:00

Jones vs. Notre Dame, 7:00

DECATUR

Thornton vs. Eisenhower (Decatur), 6:00

Manual vs. Springfield Southeast, 7:30

DWIGHT / WOODLAND

at Dwight

Earlville vs. Momence, 5:30

Grant Park vs. Dwight, 7:00

at Woodland

Flanagan-Cornell vs. St. Bede, 5:45

Woodland vs. Ridgeview, 7:15

EISENHOWER / SHEPARD

at Eisenhower

Eisenhower vs. Richards, 5:00

Chicago Christian vs. Southland, 6:30

at Shepard

Shepard vs. Marist, 5:00

Perspectives-Lead vs. Andrew, 6:30

ELLISON

Little Village vs. Ellison, 5:45

South Shore vs. Hubbard, 7:00

ELMWOOD PARK

Elmwood Park vs. Aurora Central, 5:30

Addison Trail vs. Christ the King, 7:00

FENTON

Waukegan vs. Rolling Meadows, 4:30

Wheaton-Warr. South vs. Maine West, 6:00

Fremd vs. Timothy Christian, 7:30

GALESBURG

Limestone at Moline, 7:00

GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY

Prairie Central vs. Hoopeston, 5:00

Tri-Point vs. Lexington, 6:30

Fisher vs. Gibson City-MS, 8:00

GLENBARD WEST

Glenbard East vs. Glenbard South, 6:00

Glenbard North vs. Glenbard West, 7:30

GLENBROOK NORTH / ST. PATRICK

at Glenbrook North

Wheaton North vs. Prosser, 5:15

Conant vs. Glenbrook North, 7:00

at St. Patrick

Payton vs. De La Salle, 6:00

St. Patrick vs. Niles West, 7:30

GOODE

ASPIRA-Bus&Fin vs. Morgan Park Academy, 4:30

Goode vs. ACERO-Cruz, 6:15

Muchin vs. Kelly, 8:00

GRANT / MUNDELEIN

at Grant

Schurz vs. Grant, 5:30

North Lawndale vs. Carmel, 7:00

at Mundelein

Warren vs. Deerfield, 5:30

Lakes vs. Mundelein, 7:00

JOHNSBURG / RICHMOND-BURTON

at Johnsburg

Geneva vs. Grayslake North, 5:30

Johnsburg vs. Huntley, 7:00

at Richmond-Burton

Crystal Lake South vs. Wauconda, 5:30

Richmond-Burton vs. McHenry, 7:00

LISLE

Westmont vs. West Chicago, 5:30

Lisle vs. Evergreen Park, 7:00

LOYOLA / NEW TRIER

at Loyola

Loyola vs. Lake Zurich, 5:00

Bulls vs. Lake Forest, 6:30

at New Trier

New Trier vs. Butler, 5:00

St. Ignatius vs. Round Lake, 6:30

LYONS

Lincoln-Way East vs. Fenger, 6:00

Lyons vs. Maine South, 7:30

NAPERVILLE NORTH / OSWEGO

at Naperville North

Hinsdale Central vs. Oswego East, 5:30

Naperville North vs. Downers Grove South, 7:00

at Oswego

West Aurora vs. DeKalb, 5:30

Oswego vs. Neuqua Valley, 7:00

NORTHRIDGE

Senn vs. Amundsen, 6:00

Wheeling vs. Northridge, 7:30

OAK LAWN / REAVIS

at Oak Lawn

Sandburg vs. Bremen, 5:00

Lincoln-Way West vs. Oak Lawn, 6:30

at Reavis

St. Laurence vs. Kennedy, 4:30

Reavis vs. Agricultural Science, 6:00

OTTAWA

Illinois Valley Central vs. Oak Forest, 5:00

LaSalle-Peru vs. Marengo, 6:30

Ottawa vs. Dixon, 8:00

PALATINE

Glenbrook South vs. Jacobs, 4:30

Stevenson vs. Cary-Grove, 6:00

Palatine vs. Hersey, 7:30

RIDGEWOOD

Leyden vs. Naperville Central, 7:00

Maine East vs. Taft, 5:30

Hinsdale South vs. Schaumburg, 5:30

Highland Park vs. Ridgewood, 7:00

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD

Oak Park-River Forest vs. University High, 5:30

Riverside-Brookfield vs. Thornwood, 7:00

ROCKFORD

at Rockford East

Bogan vs. Harlem, 6:00

Larkin vs. Auburn, 7:30

ROWVA-WILLIAMSFIELD

Henry-Senachwine vs. Monmouth United, 6:30

ST. ANTHONY

Mattoon vs. Rantoul, 5:00

Effingham vs. Breese Central, 6:30

Teutopolis vs. Highland, 8:00

ST. CHARLES EAST

South Elgin vs. Proviso East, 5:00

Westinghouse vs. East Aurora, 6:30

Plainfield East vs. Benet, 8:00

ST. VIATOR

Streamwood vs. Prospect, 5:30

Libertyville vs. Evanston, 7:00

SENECA

Herscher vs. St. Anne, 5:00

Hall vs. Somonauk, 6:30

Newark vs. Reed-Custer, 8:00

STAGG

Nazareth vs. Argo, 4:30

Plainfield South vs. Lindblom, 6:00

WASHINGTON (IL)

Yorkville Christian vs. Washington (IL), 7:30

St. Rita vs. Urbana, 9:00

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN

Genoa-Kingston vs. St. Edward, 4:30

Indian Creek vs. Elgin, 6:00

Cristo Rey-St. Martin vs. Walther Christian, 7:30

WETHERSFIELD

Stark County vs. Annawan, 5:00

Bureau Valley vs. Elmwood, 6:30

Putnam County vs. Wethersfield, 8:00

WHEATON ACADEMY

Plainfield North vs. Downers Grove North, 5:45

Lake Park vs. St. Francis, 7:30

WOODSTOCK / WOODSTOCK NORTH

at Woodstock

Westlake Christian vs. Wodstock, 5:30

Prairie Ridge vs. Hoffman Estates, 7:00

at Woodstock North

Marian Central vs. Harvard, 5:30

Kaneland vs. Woodstock North, 7:00

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A fire on Lake Street in downtown Oak Park on Tuesday damaged the restaurant Delia’s Kitchen as well as other nearby buildings. | Mark Capapas/Sun-Times

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the fire at a building that houses Delia’s Kitchen at 1034 Lake St.

An extra-alarm fire damaged a popular restaurant in Oak Park Tuesday morning and forced the evacuation of surrounding buildings.

Oak Park Fire Chief Ron Kobyleski said the building where the fire started had four apartments and two storefront businesses – Delia’s Kitchen, 1034 Lake St., and Polished Nails and Tan, 1036 Lake St.

A statement issued by the village later Tuesday said the restaurant and nail salon were severely damaged, while tJerusalem Cafe and Lou Malnati’s, located in adjacent structures, sustained smoke damage.

Kobyleski, whose first day as fire chief was Tuesday, said the fire began in the rear area of the building.

“We evacuated all the buildings next door to the fire building, just for safety. There were some people working in the restaurant and they were also evacuated,” Kobyleski said. “It was a pretty stubborn fire.”

Kobyleski said the fire got in between the walls and in the ceiling which made it difficult to extinguish. The Oak Park Fire Department received the call about the fire around 9:30 a.m. According to the village, it was extinguished by 11:30 a.m.

The investigation into what started the fire remains open.

Manny Ramos/Sun-Times
There were no immediate reports of injuries from the fire that damaged Delia’s Kitchen, 1034 Lake St. in Oak Park, though some buildings were evacuated and roads were closed.

The roof of the building was burned off, Kobyleski said, with extensive fire damage to the third floor and “heavy water damage to the first floor.” Beyond that, however, he could not comment on the condition of the building.

Those living in the apartments won’t be allowed to return home for the immediate future, he added.

Lake Street was shut down for several blocks as about 75 firefighters from 12 different communities worked on the blaze. There were no immediate injuries reported, Kobyleski said.

Veronica Ciobotaru, owner of Delia’s Kitchen, had been taking her first day off in weeks on Tuesday when she got the phone call telling her the building was on fire.

A distraught Ciobotaru was on Lake Street Tuesday afternoon, watching firefighters from a nearby corner. She doesn’t know much about what could have started the fire; it was all still sinking in.

“I don’t know what else I can tell you,” Ciobotaru said before walking off.

Mark Capapas/Sun-Times
A fire in the building that housed Delia’s Kitchen on Lake Street in Oak Park also damaged other nearby structures, shutting down the Lake Theatre.

Summer Piggee has lived in Oak Park for 20 years, and Delia’s Kitchen has become a part of her life.

“We are losing a big institution of not only a business but of really a family — an Oak Park family,” Piggee said. “I believe everybody who lives here comes to Delia’s at least once a month. They have the best pancakes in the country.”

Piggee said she hopes they can rebuild and come back better after surviving pandemic-related shutdowns.

“Veronica has done so much for this community and we need to support her during this time,” said Piggee, who has developed a friendship with the owner over the years. “Like the Chicago Fire, we can rebuild.”

The Lake Theatre, just down the street from the restaurant, was evacuated during the fire and sustained smoke and water damage, according to Chris Johnson, CEO of Classic Cinemas. The roof and heating and air-conditioning systems also were damaged, Johnson said, though “we hope to open tomorrow if possible.”

Mark Capapas/Sun-Times
An apartment that caught fire two floors above Delia’s Kitchen, 1034 Lake St. in Downtown Oak Park, left the restaurant with extensive water damage, according to the Oak Park fire chief.Read More

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Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski makes her final rebuttal before the jury begins deliberations in the trial of William “Roddie” Bryan, Travis McMichael and Gregory McMichael, charged with the February 2020 death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. | AP

After initially indicating they wanted to work into the evening, the jurors were soon dismissed by the judge with instructions to resume deliberations Wednesday morning.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Jurors in the case of three white men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery deliberated for about six hours Tuesday without reaching a verdict as they weighed prosecution arguments that the defendants provoked the fatal confrontation against defense attorneys’ insistence that their clients acted in self-defense.

After initially indicating they wanted to work into the evening, the jurors were soon dismissed by the judge with instructions to resume deliberations Wednesday morning.

“We are in the process of working to reach a verdict,” the foreperson told Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley.

After more than two weeks of testimony and closing arguments, the prosecution got the last word because it carries the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski spent two hours Tuesday morning hammering at defense attorneys’ attempts to blame the 25-year-old Black man for his own death. Defense attorneys said Arbery lashed out violently with his fists to resist a lawful citizen’s arrest by the defendants.

“You can’t claim self-defense if you are the unjustified aggressor,” Linda Dunikoski told jurors in her final statement. “Who started this? It wasn’t Ahmaud Arbery.”

Dunikoski said Arbery’s pursuers had “no badge, no uniform, no authority” and were “just some strange guys in a white pickup truck.” And she cited their own words to police immediately after the shooting, when they said they saw Arbery running but were unsure if he had committed a crime.

“You can’t make a citizen’s arrest because someone’s running down the street and you have no idea what they did wrong,” Dunikoski said.

Once the prosecution wrapped up, Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley gave instructions to the disproportionately white jury on how to apply the law before the panel started deliberations at the Glynn County courthouse in the port city of Brunswick.

Arbery’s killing became part of a larger national reckoning on racial injustice after a graphic video of his death leaked online two months later.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael grabbed guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running through their subdivision on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded the video of Travis McMichael opening fire as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for McMichael’s shotgun.

No one was charged in the killing until Bryan’s video leaked and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. All three men are charged with murder and other offenses.

Dunikoski said Tuesday that the McMichaels and Bryan threatened Arbery both with their pickup trucks and by pointing a shotgun at him before the final confrontation in which Arbery threw punches and grabbed for the gun.

She noted that Bryan told police he used his truck to run Arbery into a ditch and cut off his route, while Greg McMichael told officers they had him “trapped like a rat.” The actions of both men, she said, directly contributed to Arbery’s death.

“It doesn’t matter who actually pulled the trigger,” Dunikoski said. “Under the law, they’re all guilty.”

She also said there was no evidence Arbery had committed crimes in the defendants’ neighborhood. She said he was never seen stealing anything the five times he was recorded by security cameras in an unfinished home under construction from which he was seen running.

“You’ve got lumber, you’ve got all this stuff,” Dunikoski said. “Mr. Arbery never shows up with a bag. He doesn’t pull up with a U-haul. … All he does is wander around for a few minutes and then leave.”

The prosecutor told jurors someone can only make a citizen’s arrest in “emergency situations” where a crime is happening “right then and there.”

Defense attorneys objected to Dunikoski’s explanation of citizen’s arrest because they contend the McMichaels had reason to suspect Arbery had stolen items from the home. They said the owner discovered the items missing before he installed security cameras.

“This is a misstatement of the law and the argument is improper,” Franklin Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, told the judge. “There’s no way we can fix it” before the jury, he said, because defense attorneys finished their closing arguments Monday.

Attorney Jason Sheffield said his client, Travis McMichael, fired his shotgun in self-defense after Arbery charged at him, threw punches and tried to grab the weapon. Sheffield called Arbery’s death a tragedy, but one that was his own fault.

Attorneys for the other two defendants blamed Arbery as well. Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, said Arbery “chose to fight.” Kevin Gough, who represents Bryan, questioned why Arbery didn’t call for help if he was in danger.

“Maybe that’s because Mr. Arbery doesn’t want help,” Gough said.

Arbery had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing at the time to study to become an electrician like his uncles.

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Bears coach Matt Nagy is in his fourth season. | Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

The kindling sat, drying, waiting to combust. Tuesday morning, ignition.

For the fan base, Bears issues piled up like kindling, ready to go up with the slightest spark.

First coach Matt Nagy refused to hold an open quarterback competition. Once Andy Dalton’s knee injury intervened, he wouldn’t call rookie Justin Fields the full-time starter until it was the most obvious thing in the world. First Nagy was the play-caller, and then — after the Browns disaster — he wasn’t.

Then came the losing streak: against the rival Packers, by five touchdowns to the Buccaneers, at home to the 49ers. The Bears’ loss to the Steelers was prompted by their own taunting penalty. Their defeat Sunday was against a Ravens quarterback making his first career start. Both came in the game’s final seconds.

The kindling sat, drying, waiting to combust.

Tuesday morning, ignition: A report by Patch.com that Thanksgiving would mark Nagy’s last game as Bears head coach. The franchise wouldn’t shoot the report down, on the record or otherwise. Nagy said he had been told no such thing — and hadn’t even met with his bosses this week — as he sat in a press conference, cruelly made to fight the wildfire alone.

Even if the Bears beat the Lions on Thursday, those flareups aren’t going away anytime soon. If Nagy has seven games left — or one, or anywhere in between — he should be prepared to deal with these fires as long as he has a seat at the podium:

They popped up even as Nagy tried to douse his own firing:

o On Monday, Jordan Schutlz, who hosts a basketball podcast with Bears receiver Allen Robinson, Tweeted that source said an “overwhelming number of Bears’ players want Matt Nagy gone.” Robinson was furious Tuesday, saying he was not Schultz’s source. Robinson said he was put “in a vulnerable situation” by his affiliation with him and talked to Schultz about the matter.

Robinson said he speaks for himself on social media.

“Anything that I wanted to get across has come from me, and it’ll always be that way,” he said. “It’ll never change. Anything I want to get accomplished, I want to say, ‘I’m a grown-ass man. I can get stuff done myself.'”

oOn Tuesday morning, Cary-Grove High School principal Neil Lesinski sent a letter to parents apologizing for the school’s student section chanting “Fire Nagy” during a Saturday playoff football game against Lake Forest High School. Nagy’s son, Brayden, is a junior on the LFHS team.

The sentiment of the cheer wasn’t unique — Bears fans chanted it Sunday and, amazingly, Bulls fans did during their blowout loss on Monday — but at a high school game?

Nagy said he didn’t hear the chant — “I was there to be a dad; It was a pretty cool time,” he said –and actually praised Cary-Grove players who spoke to him afterward, saying they were polite when they asked him to pose for pictures.

o With Bears brass unwilling to talk, Nagy’s coordinators and three of his most respected players — Dalton, Robinson and safety Tashaun Gipson– were left to answer questions about his future. On a short week, they would have rather focused on the Lions.

“I know what losing feels like,” said Gipson, who had three coaches in his first four years as a member of the Browns. “I know what a losing locker room is like. This is not that. I know our record indicates that a lot of guys may be willing to check out, but that’s not the energy, that’s not the atmosphere, that I sense in here.”

Staying insulated is impossible in the social media world. Nagy knows that — he often talks about the power of Twitter and Instagram in his players’ worlds.

“You’re going to see some things even though you’re not trying to,” Dalton said. “But maybe don’t click on things that you shouldn’t click on.”

If only it were that simple.

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Erwin Johnson (from left), Theressie Johnson, Margaret Jackson and Clifford Sullivan, tenants of the apartment building at 1413 E. 79th St., held a news conference in front of the building on Tuesday. Just two days before Thanksgiving, they feel compelled to move after their landlord shut off heat and water in the building. | Mark Capapas/Sun-Times

Residents of a property owned by Vincent Lane, a former CHA executive director, claim heat and water were shut off with almost no warning and they are being asked to leave.

Clifford Sullivan has lived in his South Shore apartment for 10 years; his neighbor, Erwin Johnson, just four months.

Both have been comfortable at 1413 E. 79th St. and never had major issues with their landlord, Vincent Lane.

Lane, a former executive director for Chicago Housing Authority, was known, among other things, for creating Operation Clean Sweep, which tried to crack down on drugs and gangs in public housing.

Now, days before Thanksgiving, Lane is facing scrutiny as Sullivan, Johnson and other tenants in his South Shore building are being asked to leave indefinitely.

The latest troubles started in early October, when a man lit a fire in one of the second floor units, causing an unknown amount of damage.

“[Lane] was explaining to me when I went to pay rent in October that when they start doing work on the buildings that we would have to evacuate,” eight-year resident Theressie Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday.

But, she added, there had been no work or other communication since then. Instead, the heat was shut off.

City ordinances require heat to be turned on Sept. 15 through June 1, maintaining a temperature of 68 degrees during the day and 66 degrees at night.

The eight-unit apartment building was fully occupied at the time of the fire, according to Lane’s son, Craig Lane. It now is half full, and those remaining tenants held Tuesday’s news conference on the sidewalk in front to draw attention to recent developments.

During that news conference, Craig Lane came out to talk to reporters and ended up surrounded by tenants. He said fire damage had left the structure with “no access to heat.”

Mark Capapas/Sun-Times
Craig Lane talks to tenants Tuesday in front of the building at 1413 E. 79th St. owned by his father, Vincent Lane. Residents say heat and water have been shut off in the building; one resident is holding up the notice they said they received less than a full day before water was turned off.

Erwin Johnson said he paid $350, or about half his rent, for October — on condition the heat would be turned on. It never was.

Neither he nor his neighbors have paid rent for November.

On Friday, things escalated again.

Residents found an orange paper taped to their doors, declaring: “EMERGENCY WATER CUT OFF NOVEMBER 20TH, 2021 7:00 A.M.”

Craig Lane said the shutoff was necessary because without heat, water pipes could freeze and burst.

“We can’t let the pipes bust just because they want to stay in there,” said Lane. “We’ve told them that they have to leave. We thought we’re doing them a favor to let them stay.”

Dixon Romeo of the community organization Not Me We said Vincent Lane isn’t supposed to shut water off on such short notice.

“You cannot put a notice on someone’s door on Friday night that you’re going to cut the water off on Saturday,” said Romeo. “That’s irresponsible. That’s illegal. That’s wrong.”

He called it an “especially egregious” act just two days before Thanksgiving.

While Craig Lane said he personally told each tenant they needed to leave, tenants denied any communication prior to finding the notices taped to their doors. Repeated phone calls and texts to Vincent Lane have gone unanswered, they said.

While some remaining tenants, like Sullivan have places to go, others don’t.

Sullivan and his wife are moving to Park Manor in Greater Grand Crossing. Even if work on the building is completed, they’ll never move back.

“I have an option to leave because I have insurance,” Sullivan said. “But these are my neighbors and my heart goes out to them. These people have no money. They don’t have options like I do to move.”

Residents said they filed complaints with the city but received no responses.

This isn’t the first time Vincent Lane has faced trouble.

In 2000, Lane was accused of bank fraud and making false statements to obtain a loan. A judge dismissed the bank fraud charge, but a jury found him guilty of making false statements to a bank. Lane was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Mark Capapas/Sun-Times
Clifford Sullivan, was a tenant at 1413 E. 79th Street for 10 years. With heat and water shut off after a fire in the building, he and his wife are moving to Greater Grand Crossing and don’t plan on coming back. Not everyone in the building is so fortunate, he said, noting “these are my neighbors and my heart goes out to them. These people have no money. They don’t have options like I do to move and relocate.”

Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.

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Demonstrators gather to protest the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on Nov. 20 in Atlanta. | Megan Varner/Getty Images

The prosecution’s task was to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rittenhouse did not act in self-defense, which was impossible given the testimony from its own witnesses

“I stand by what the jury has concluded,” President Joe Biden told reporters on Friday after Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all the charges he faced for shooting three people, two fatally, during an August 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. “The jury system works, and we have to abide by it.”

Later that day, by contrast, Biden said the verdict left him “feeling angry and concerned.” The president’s confusing attempt to straddle anger and acceptance reflected a sharp division of opinion about the outcome of Rittenhouse’s trial–a clash that was based mainly on legally irrelevant considerations.

The unrest in Kenosha followed a police shooting that left a Black man, Jacob Blake, partially paralyzed. But Rittenhouse’s guilt or innocence had nothing to do with whether that use of force was justified or whether the response to it is more accurately described as a riot or an exercise of First Amendment rights.

Rittenhouse, then 17, said he brought a rifle to the protest because he wanted to defend local businesses from vandals, looters, and arsonists. But his guilt or innocence had nothing to do with whether one views that decision as heroic or reckless.

Rittenhouse’s political views and the merits of the gun laws that allowed him to carry that rifle likewise were irrelevant. So was the fact that Rittenhouse — who lived in Antioch, Illinois, 16 miles from Kenosha — “crossed state lines,” a detail that critics of the verdict bizarrely emphasized.

What mattered, as far as the law was concerned, was whether Rittenhouse reasonably believed the use of deadly force was necessary each time he fired his gun. On that crucial issue, the jury heard credible testimony that supported Rittenhouse’s self-defense claims.

Testifying for the prosecution, Ryan Balch described Joseph Rosenbaum, one of the men Rittenhouse killed, as “hyperaggressive and acting out in a violent manner.” Another prosecution witness, Richie McGinniss, testified that Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse and lunged toward him.

“It was very clear to me that [Rosenbaum] was reaching specifically for the weapon,” McGinnis said, reinforcing Rittenhouse’s claim that he reasonably feared Rosenbaum would grab the rifle and use it to shoot him. Other testimony indicated that Anthony Huber, the second man Rittenhouse killed, had attacked him with a skateboard, striking him in the neck, and tried to take his gun.

Gaige Grosskreutz, who was wounded when Rittenhouse shot him in the arm, also testified for the prosecution. He admitted he had aimed a pistol at Rittenhouse.

The prosecution’s task was to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rittenhouse did not act in self-defense, which was impossible given the testimony from its own witnesses. The jurors, who deliberated for more than 25 hours over four days, clearly took their job seriously and ultimately concluded that the state had failed to meet its burden.

The politicians who rushed to condemn the verdict conspicuously ignored the evidence the jury considered. They treated Rittenhouse as a symbol instead of an individual who deserved the protections that criminal defendants are supposed to receive in our system of justice.

Notwithstanding the fact that all three of the men Rittenhouse shot were white, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., described the verdict as “white supremacy in action.” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who called the outcome “a miscarriage of justice” and “a dangerous precedent,” suggested Rittenhouse should be prosecuted under federal law.

Vice President Kamala Harris was a bit more subtle, saying “today’s verdict speaks for itself.” The lesson, according to Harris, was that “there’s still a lot more work to do” to “make our criminal justice system more equitable.”

The most disappointing reaction came from the American Civil Liberties Union, which ordinarily is keen to defend the rights of the accused but in this case complained that Rittenhouse “was not held responsible for his actions.” Contrary to that authoritarian sentiment, Biden had it right the first time: The jury system works, or at least it did in this particular case.

Jacob Sullum is senior editor at Reason magazine.

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Sun-Times file

Felton Williams was recently paroled for battery to an officer and now faces attempted murder charges, according to police.

A recently paroled West Garfield Park man was ordered held without bail Tuesday for allegedly shooting at Chicago police officers during a foot chase in the West Side neighborhood over the weekend.

No officers were injured but Felton Williams was wounded when the Harrison District officers returned fire, police and Cook County prosecutors said.

The officers were on patrol in an unmarked SUV Sunday night when they saw a parked car with its headlights on and engine running in the 200 block of North Kostner Avenue, prosecutors said.

The officers noticed 33-year-old Williams walking away from the car and said he looked over his shoulder at them, before he adjusted something on his right side and began walking faster, prosecutors said.

When the officers, who were wearing street clothes and tactical vests, announced they were police, Williams allegedly took off running.

One officer tried to grab Williams but was shoved away, prosecutors said. As another officer ran after Williams, Williams allegedly turned around and fired once with a black handgun. The muzzle flash from the gun was recorded by an officer’s body-worn camera, prosecutors said.

Chicago police
Felton Williams

The officers said they saw Williams attempt to fire several more times, but his gun didn’t discharge, prosecutors said.

One officer returned fire multiple times, striking Williams in the hip and buttocks, prosecutors said. He eventually fell in a vacant lot and was taken into custody.

A gun found by a garage near where Williams was arrested was missing a magazine and had no round in the chamber, prosecutors said. Police recovered a magazine loaded with 14 rounds near where the chase began and a spent shell casing was found where officers said Williams fired, prosecutors said.

Williams was released on parole in September after serving his sentence for aggravated battery to a police officer, state prison records show.

He was charged this week with attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated discharge of a firearm and being an armed habitual criminal.

Williams has been employed as a dishwasher, has a young son and lives in the city, defense attorney Nate Nielsen said.

Williams is expected back in court Dec. 13.

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