Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Taurus.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

A pleasant surprise might come your way. A boss, parent, teacher or someone in authority might complement you or offer you an opportunity. Someone will do or say something that makes you feel good. You might get a promotion?

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

A surprise opportunity to travel somewhere for pleasure might come your way. A romance or a friendly connection might be established with someone in another country or from another culture. Opportunities in publishing, medicine and the law might occur.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Keep your pockets open because gifts, goodies and favors from others can come to you today! This is a good day to seek out a loan or a mortgage from a bank, or perhaps from another person because doors will open for you. Note: Accept what comes your way because this window of opportunity will be brief.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Relations with friends and groups will be successful. Someone close to you (a partner, spouse or best friend) might help you. At the very least, you will enjoy good times socializing with others, because something unexpected is pleasing.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Relations with coworkers are pleasant. People will be helpful to you. You might also have an unexpected chance to make where you work appear more attractive. Perhaps health news will please you? Or possibly, something surprising and happy that is related to a pet.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

A fun invitation might come your way today because unexpected opportunities to socialize or enjoy sports events or playful activities with kids are likely. You might also be surprised by an unexpected flirtation or even love at first sight? (Be still my beating heart.)

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Something unexpected will be a perk at home today. You might buy something beautiful for your home. Surprising family news might please you. You might also unexpectedly entertain at home. (Just in case, stock the fridge so that you’re ready for anything.)

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

This is a pleasant day! You will enjoy meeting new faces and seeing new places. Good news might please you. In particular, you will enjoy the beauty of your surroundings. You will also be pleased interacting with the people you encounter today. It’s all good.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Business and commerce are favored today, which is why this is an excellent day for financial negotiations. However, be aware that something unexpected might catch you off guard. (Fortunately, it will probably favor you.) You also might spontaneously shop for something that you like.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

This is a pleasant day. You will enjoy your encounters with others because people are happy to see you. They might treat you or give you a gift. They will certainly be pleasant company. Meanwhile, you might spontaneously buy wardrobe goodies that you like.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

This is a feel-good day! You’re happy to be alive and in your own skin. Very likely, something private or something going on behind the scenes will please you, perhaps in a secretive way. Whatever happens will give your world a boost, which is a lovely day. (We all need a boost!)

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

You might meet someone unusual, especially someone who is artistic or creative or working in the arts. A sudden romance might begin? Possibly a friend or a member of a group will do a favor for you because your interactions with others will benefit you today. Something will happen that pleases you.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actress Allison Tolman (1981) shares your birthday today. You are courageous meeting life’s challenges. You are intelligent, perceptive and imaginative. You have a penetrating insight into what makes people tick. This year you might attain a higher consciousness by spending time alone in order to explore meditation, spirituality or prayer. In many ways, this is a year of learning and teaching for you. The latter part of this year is more exciting.

Read More

Looking to win a third-straight road game, the Bulls built a 20-point first-half lead, only to play sloppy basketball in the third and give the Trail Blazers life.

PORTLAND – Chauncey Billups had his concerns before the game with the Bulls even started on Wednesday.

One specifically.

“DeMar [DeRozan] and Zach [LaVine] are playing so well, but the key to their team is Zo,” the Portland coach said of Lonzo Ball. “He’s just a winner, man. He kicks the ball up the floor, he gets people shots, he’s knocking the three down, he defends.”

Billups’ fears were real in that first half, as Ball and Alex Caruso completely handcuffed Portland’s dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, holding them scoreless until 5:13 left in the first half, when Lillard scored on a goal-tend by Alize Johnson.

That’s how a Bulls team went into the locker room at the half up 63-48, and looking like three-straight wins on the road trip were in the bag.

Unfortunately, that bag had a hole in it, and in the third quarter it broke. Just like that an easy victory was turned into an embarrassing loss, as the Blazers came back to win 112-107.

“I could sense even with the way we were running our offense, there wasn’t a lot of thrust to the basket on cuts,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We did not respond at all in that third quarter, and that was disappointing.”

The final score was ugly, but the third quarter numbers were hideous.

Not only did Portland outscore the Bulls 33-22, but took advantage of 10 turnovers in the quarter that they turned into 18 points. DeRozan had three and LaVine had three to set the pace.

“We just didn’t respond well when the game started getting physical,” Donovan said. “We weren’t getting calls and we started complaining … you gotta be able to grind through that.”

As bad as that third was, the Bull still held the lead going into the fourth, but it only took five minutes to run them down, as McCollum made a 29-footer off of a Jusuf Nurkic offensive rebound, giving Portland the 94-92 lead.

It looked like LaVine would help the Bulls (10-5) take control back less than a minute later, as he hit a big three-pointer. But he also complained to a nearby ref, gestured, and picked up the technical.

“I don’t feel like talking about free throws,” LaVine said.

When asked about the technical, he said “same answer.”

“I let my emotions get the best of me,” LaVine added.

The All-Star would get the chance to redeem himself, getting the ball in his hands on a perfectly executed pin-down that completely left him wide open for the game-tying three with 10.1 seconds left.

It hit front of the rim, however, and LaVine’s chance to play hero ended there.

LaVine did finish with a game-high 30 points. As for that Bulls player Billups feared, Ball did it on both ends yet again, finishing with 17 points, including 3-for-5 from three.

That’s what made this one painful: One bad quarter doomed them.

“We need to watch the film and learn from it,” Ball said. “I think the most important thing is not to let our offense bleed into our defense. We can’t do that. We’ve got to play defense the whole time.”

Read More

Read More

Two men were charged with fatally shooting an armored truck guard and killing their accomplices an hour later on the South Side. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Antwon Montgomery, 19, and Deandre Jennings, 21, each face multiple counts of first-degree murder.

Two men have been charged with killing an armored truck guard and critically injuring another before allegedly fatally shooting two accomplices in a “murderous spree” throughout the South Side on Monday morning.

Antwon Montgomery, 19, and Deandre Jennings, 21, both face charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and attempted armed robbery in the attack on the armored truck guards, Chicago police announced Wednesday.

The men were also charged with two counts each of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of two of their accomplices about an hour later in the South Chicago neighborhood, police said.

At 10:20 a.m. Monday, the guards were loading an ATM at a Bank of America branch in the 200 block of West 83rd Street when four people approached in a vehicle and three men — including Montgomery and Jennings — exited, allegedly demanded cash and opened fire, police said.

LaShonda Hearts, a 47-year-old guard, was struck six times and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she later died, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The other guard, a 46-year-old man, was shot twice and taken to the same hospital in critical condition, police and fire officials said.

“This brazen attack occurred in the daylight hours as part of a murderous spree,” Chicago police Supt. David Brown said in a news conference Wednesday.

Following the attack, the pair drove to a strip mall in the 6700 block of South Stony Island Avenue and one of the men allegedly robbed a Boost Mobile, police said. The men then fled the scene, police said.

Montgomery also faces one count of armed robbery and one count of unlawful restraint over his alleged role in this incident, police said.

About 11:30 p.m. officers were called to the scene of a traffic crash and shots fired in the 8700 block of South Saginaw Avenue, police said.

Officers arrived and found the men’s car had struck several parked vehicles and a tree. Two occupants — the driver and front-seat passenger — had been fatally shot, police said. Brown said these two men were accomplices in the attack on the armored truck.

One of the men was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center. One man was identified as Naiqwon Harper, 21, of Englewood.

Inside the crashed vehicle were several cell phones from the Boost Mobile store which was robbed earlier, police said.

Later that afternoon, a SWAT team was called to the same block for people barricaded in a building, police said.

Several people of interest were taken into custody, and Montgomery and Jennings were charged, police said. Officers later obtained a search warrant for the building and recovered several handguns and a long rifle, police said.

Read More

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s decision to support sports betting facilities possibly jeopardizes the city’s bid to mount a casino. | Jeff T. Green/Getty Images

Chicago has waited a generation for a casino to help fix its economic woes. Now, the mayor needlessly muddies the waters by supporting another operation aimed at bettors.

The city had something close to a sure thing going: five casino proposals — each with its own strengths — carrying the promise of generating $200 million a year in tax revenue to go toward solving Chicago’s underfunded pensions.

All the city had to do next was to weigh the merits of each proposal, conduct some real due diligence, select a winner — and not jinx itself in the process.

But Chicago being Chicago, it looks as if it’s instead going for the jinx.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who wants a casino, voiced her support Wednesday for a separate ordinance to allow the Chicago Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks and Sky to operate sports betting operations at their stadiums.

“As you know, there were some that believed that the betting will be a drain on casino revenues in a disproportional way,” Lightfoot told reporters. “Of course it’s going to have an impact, but I don’t think it’s going to be materially a problem. So I do support that.”

See the jinx? The city has waited a generation for a casino to help fix its economic woes. And before a site is picked — before we know if a Chicago casino can even generate the revenue the proposed operators are promising — Lightfoot needlessly muddies the waters by supporting another competing operation aimed at bettors.

Making matters worse: While Chicago is slated to get millions of dollars in yearly revenue from a casino operation, the city’s guaranteed cut from the sports betting is relegated to just a $50,000 operation license per site and a $25,000 annual renewal fee.

This makes no sense to us, at all.

‘Worst piece of legislation’

Sports betting operations became legal in Illinois in 2019, though they remain banned under Chicago’s “home rule” powers.

Lightfoot supports a proposed ordinance by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) that would lift the ban and allow sports betting at Wrigley Field, the United Center, Guaranteed Rate Field, Soldier Field and Wintrust Arena.

The ordinance would also allow sports betting in a permanent building or structure within five blocks of each site.

“In my community, it’ll bring more people to the United Center,” Burnett said last July. “They may spend more money. It helps with the sales tax and also the amusement [tax] that these guys pay. So there is some upside. … There’s more benefits for the state, but there’s some auxiliary benefits for the city.”

But the planned ordinance hit a buzzsaw earlier this month when it was brought before an informational hearing in front of the City Council zoning and license committees.

Among opponents at the hearing was Neil Bluhm, the mega-developer behind casino proposals at the McCormick Place east building and The 78 development that’ll be going up along the Chicago River just south of Roosevelt Road.

But there were aldermen cool to the idea as well.

“This is one of the worst pieces of legislation that has been drafted and presented to us as far as gaming is concerned,” said Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), who said the city should instead concentrate on bringing a successful casino to fruition.

He’s right.

More time and thought needed

Back in 2019, Lightfoot strongly opposed sports betting in stadiums here, saying, “Such a proposal has the potential to undermine the viability of any Chicago-based casino through the diversion of customers and revenue from a casino.”

We don’t know why the mayor changed her mind. But we do know this: Chicago desperately needs casino tax revenue. Gambling revenue won’t solve the city’s financial problems entirely, but every dollar the city could potentially lose by shifting sports bettors to stadium sites instead of casinos is another dollar that will eventually have to come out of Chicago taxpayers’ wallets.

Lightfoot said Burnett’s sports betting ordinance might include some amendments by the time it’s scheduled to be heard in committee in early December. She said the measure could come up for a full City Council vote before the end of December.

The mayor had no details on what the tinkering could include, but with so much at stake, those details better be forthcoming soon — and be to the city’s benefit.

For example, even if the sports betting sites did not substantially cut into casino gambling, we see no benefit to a proposal that doesn’t give the city a piece of the action from the wagers placed at those sports betting facilities. If Chicago is to profit substantially from gaming in order to ease its economic woes, then all forms of legalized gaming sanctioned by the city must be fair game.

We also don’t like that in addition to the sports teams, independent operators can get licenses to open betting venues nearby for only $10,000 — with a $5,000 renewal fee.

Instead of rushing through an ordinance by December, Lightfoot should push back from the table, let the casino proposal develop — and put stadium sports betting on the back burner.

Send letters to [email protected].

Read More

Bears linebacker Khalil Mack (52, sacking Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on Sept. 19 at Soldier Field) had six sacks in his first six games, but has missed the last two games with a sprained foot. | Jeff Haynes/AP Photos

Safety Eddie Jackson (hamstring) and wide receiver Allen Robinson (hamstring) also did not practice as the Bears began preparations for Sunday’s game against the Ravens at Soldier Field.

After a bye week of rest, linebacker Khalil Mack, defensive end Akiem Hicks, safety Eddie Jackson and wide receiver Allen Robinson needed a little more Wednesday.

The four key Bears starters did not practice as the Bears (3-6) began preparations for a critical game against the Ravens (6-3) on Sunday at Soldier Field.

Mack has not played in the last two games because of a nagging sprained foot. Hicks suffered an ankle injury against the Steelers on Nov. 8. Jackson suffered a hamstring injury on the second play of the 49ers game on Oct. 31 and did not play against the Steelers. Robinson suffered a hamstring injury on a 39-yard catch in the fourth quarter against the Steelers.

Coach Matt Nagy did not comment on their status for Sunday’s game at his press conference Wednesday. When asked about Mack and Jackson on Monday, he said he was hopeful they could play against the Ravens. Hicks often guts it out and also could play, even if less than 100%.

Elsewhere on the injury report, linebacker Danny Trevathan (knee) and backup right tackle Elijah Wilkinson (back) did not practice. Tight end Jimmy Graham was rested. Wide receiver Darnell Mooney (foot), linebacker Alec Ogletree (ankle) and running back Damien Williams (knee) were limited.

For the Ravens, quarterback Lamar Jackson (illness) and leading receiver Marquise Brown (thigh), center Bradley Bozeman (illness) and cornerback Jimmy Smith (hip) did not practice.

Jaylon Johnson’s heartache

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson made the most of the bye week by launching a non-profit organization, “Kevvy’s Vision Project,” to honor his late best friend, Kev’Vion Schrubb, who was shot and killed Aug. 8 near Fresno State University.

“Kev had a big heart and a desire to help others, especially the ones in need,” Johnson said in a tweet announcing the organization.

Johnson, 22, said it was important for him to continue the legacy of his friend, who was always thinking of those less fortunate, including giving clothes from his clothing line to the homeless.

“I feel like when people pass, it’s easy to mourn for two months and then all of a sudden people forget,” Johnson said. “People stop sending flowers. People stop texting the family and things like that. That’s something I didn’t want, especially for someone I was close to.”

Mario Edwards’ fine line

Defensive end Mario Edwards, Jr. plays with an edge but has a bad habit of going over the line. Edwards has four personal foul penalties this season — two for unnecessary roughness, one for unsportsmanlike conduct and one for roughing the passer.

“It’s a thin line,” defensive line coach Chris Rumph said. “You want these guys to be aggressive. Some of these guys have to understand how to play and control their emotions. He gets so emotional and all of a sudden a guy shoves him late and he [responds]. And he’s the second guy and gets caught.”

Rumph has had to resort to tough love with Edwards at this point.

“Just pull him out and say, ‘Hey, if you do it, you can’t play,'” Rumph said. “We are going to have that conversation and have had that conversation. You can’t hurt the team. We are all in this together. I understand the toughness and all that stuff, but let’s play smart and control the emotions.”

Ravens wary

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews on the Bears: “They’ve got a great defense. They’re going to be flying around. They’re fast, physical. It’s going to be a dog fight. We’re going to be ready for them, though.”

Read More

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks at City Hall on Oct. 29, 2021. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file photo

“I’m not gonna dictate what the timeline is, but it’s gotta be meaningful,” she said.

With less than two weeks to go before the deadline to approve a new ward map, Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded Wednesday the City Council quickly come to an agreement on the new boundaries so the public has time to weigh in.

“I’m not gonna dictate what the timeline is, but it’s gotta be meaningful. It can’t be what we’ve seen happen [in Springfield] … where a map goes up and, two hours later, it’s voted on by the General Assembly. That’s not meaningful public engagement,” she said.

“There’s gotta be enough time for people to be able to understand it, to be able to see where the lines are actually drawn, look at the block detail of individual wards. That’s gonna mean some meaningful time for a map to be out there in the public view. And people should have an opportunity to weigh in.”

Time is running out. The deadline is Dec. 1.

The Latino Caucus reiterated Wednesday that its demand for fifteen majority Hispanic wards — two more than there are now to reward Hispanics for their 5.2 percent population increase — is “non-negotiable.”

The Black Caucus is equally adamant that the new map preserve eighteen majority African-American wards, even though Chicago’s Black population has dropped by 86,413 people over the last decade and 275,000 since the 1990 Census.

Through it all, Lightfoot has tried to remain above the fray — even though she will ultimately have to decide whether to sign or veto a map that maintains 18 majority Black wards or reduces that number to reward Hispanics.

On Wednesday, the mayor was asked whether it was finally time for her to get off the sidelines and say whether she views it as “reasonable” for the Black Caucus to maintain its “hard-line” stance.

“I don’t think it’s a time for me to be involved just yet. I want to see how the process plays out. Obviously, I’m aware of the back-and-forth — some of which is public. Some of which has not been public. But it’s not for me to put my imprint on a particular map. These are very sensitive issues. I’m hopeful there will be a resolution,” the mayor said.

While attempting to remain above the fray, Lightfoot reiterated her “basic parameters” about a mapmaking process that has, historically, been guided by incumbent protection.

“It can’t be done exclusively behind closed doors. There’s got to be a process for public engagement. The public needs to see any map before it’s voted on by the City Council. …[And] making sure that we’re not carving up city neighborhoods into tiny little pieces,” she said.

During a wide-ranging news conference that followed Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Lightfoot also:

o Pressured Magnificent Mile merchants victimized repeatedly by smash-and-grab robberies to do more to improve their own security, instead of relying exclusively on Chicago Police.

Lightfoot said she has shopped in Milan, London, Paris, Rome and along Hollywood’s Rodeo Drive, and all of those merchants have “security measures that don’t exist along the Mag Mile.”

“Things like you’ve got to be buzzed into the store. There’s cameras at the entrance. You have a security guard at the door. All of the merchandise is either chained and roped or it’s put behind glass so that one piece of merchandise is taken out at a time,” the mayor said.

“These are just basic common sense things that some retailers have started implementing. I urge all of the Mag Mile retailers to take those kinds of precautions. It doesn’t make sense to me, given the fact that we’ve seen some pretty high-end thefts, that more isn’t being done.”

o Predicted that an “amended ordinance” lifting the ban on sports betting in Chicago will be approved by the City Council next month over the strenuous objections of casino magnate Neil Bluhm.

“There are some that believe that sports betting will be a drain on casino revenues in a disproportionate way. Our experts and studies [show that], of course, it’s gonna have an impact. But I don’t think it’s gonna materially be a problem,” the mayor said.

o Responded with glee to the prospect of running for reelection against her political nemesis, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.

“It would be a gift — in all seriousness. I’d have a lot of fun with that,” she said.

o Said “why not” to the proposal by her deputy floor leader George Cardenas (12th) to study the feasibility of the city buying the Bears and selling shares to the public, following the Green Bay Packers model.

“I didn’t say I would support the city buying the Bears. But it’s an interesting exercise,” she said.

o Signed an executive order creating an “Inter-agency Re-Entry Council” to make Chicago what she called a “Second Chance City” with improved outcomes for residents released from prison.

Read More

Marc Crawford was also nominally promoted Wednesday to Blackhawks associate coach. | Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

Under interim coach Derek King, Marc Crawford was retitled associate coach and Cookson — who brings experience with the Flames, Senators and in Switzerland — was named assistant coach.

SEATTLE — The Blackhawks have survived with a shorthanded coaching staff during the past two weeks since Jeremy Colliton’s firing.

But help is finally on the way.

Rob Cookson will meet the team this weekend in Edmonton as their new assistant coach, part of several changes announced Tuesday and Wednesday.

Marc Crawford was retitled as associate coach, cementing his large share of the responsibilities next to Hawks interim coach Derek King. And Jared Nightingale was hired as the Rockford IceHogs’ new assistant coach under their interim coach, Anders Sorensen.

Cookson, 60, brings ample familiarity with the specifics of NHL assistant coaching, having filled that role from 2001 to 2011 with the Flames and from 2016 to 2019 with the Senators. Neither King, with his entirely minor-league coaching experience, nor Crawford, who has spent most of his career as a head coach, offer quite the same background.

“Rob’s extensive NHL experience will complement our staff immediately,” interim general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “It’s his fresh perspective, however, that will really benefit the team as we work on this transition.”

Cookson’s hiring further strengthens Crawford’s influence in the Hawks’ current hierarchy, not only through his nominal promotion but also because of their long history together.

Cookson served as an assistant under Crawford with Zurich SC in Switzerland from 2012 to 2016, during which time Zurich posted a ridiculous 125-47-28 record. The two then moved together to Ottawa, working underneath Guy Boucher for the next three years.

With Cookson’s most recent gig as an assistant for another Swiss club, HC Lugano, ending in April, Crawford presumably suggested him for the Hawks’ vacancy — the filling of which had been Davidson’s first priority after naming King interim coach. King said he was quickly won over, too.

“I haven’t been around for a while with these guys, but I have a good relationship with [Marc], and when [Cookson’s] name came up, I was like, ‘Well, let me have a little FaceTime with him,'” King said Wednesday. “I had great conversations with him and he’s going to be a good fit for us.”

King and Crawford have operated almost as equals so far. Crawford has been coaching the Hawks’ defensemen, pre-scouting opponents, orchestrating practice drills and giving King in-game matchup tips.

Even their contrasting personalities — with Crawford as intense as King is easygoing — have seemingly meshed seamlessly.

“If I don’t lean on a guy like that, I’m not very smart,” King said. “He’s been around this game a long time, and…he’s helped me out so much, and the rest of the staff. They’ve been tremendous with me making my transition a lot, lot easier.”

“[King and Crawford] both read off each other well and control the room and let us know what they expect,” Kirby Dach explained. “And at the same time, they let us control ourselves, in a way.”

Meanwhile, down in Rockford, Sorensen had been coaching without any assistants at all until Nightingale — a longtime minor-league defenseman, former IceHogs captain and family friend of Sorensen — arrived this week.

Nightingale will oversee the IceHogs’ defensemen and penalty kill while Peter Aubry continues his goalie coaching and Sorensen focuses on the forwards and big-picture duties.

“With all the shuffling in the [Blackhawks’] organization the last couple weeks, I never would’ve thought it’d affect my life,” Nightingale said Tuesday. “I’m really thankful for the opportunity, not only to be in the American League but also at a place where I’ve played and I’m familiar with.”

Sorensen — in his seventh year in the organization — said the past two weeks at least haven’t been as chaotic for him as they have been for King, whom he still talks to every day about hockey, family and everything in between.

“It’s been fine; I’m pretty comfortable here,” Sorensen said. “It’s just more managing people and managing schedules and all that.”

Read More

These days, it might be hard to pinpoint one single thing that’s stressing you out. If you’re lucky enough to have found someone who is ready to ride out the tough times with you, why not tackle that stress together? If you’ve both been feeling a little tense and you want to relax together, we have compiled a list of the best spas, studios, and wellness centers to book a romantic couples massage in Chicago.

Massage Evolved

118 N Clinton St #205, Chicago IL 60661

Founded by Reiki master and clinical massage therapist Ruby Greenberg, Massage Evolved was named “one of Chicago’s top destinations for couple massage” in 2017 by Chicago Magazine. Options include Swedish, deep tissue, or Himalayan salt stone massage.

Be Well.

2251 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago IL 60618

This Asian wellness center on the north side offers therapeutic and romantic couples massages for 60 minutes and 90 minutes, and even includes dry and steam saunas for the relaxed, happy couple. Their name, “Be Well,” is a their “wish for you,” so make an appointment and be well!

Allyu Spa

600 W Chicago Ave, Chicago IL 60654

Located near River West, Allyu Spa— whose name is “the Quecha word for community”— offers a variety of services from which couples may choose, including couple massage therapy, hot stone massage, and an exfoliating sugar body polish with massage; additionally, Allyu has couples spa packages available.

Verde Holistic Wellness Studio

905 W 18th St, Chicago IL 60608

Licensed massage therapist Crystal Dorado started Verde in 2011, and the studio has been operating in Pilsen ever since. Though there are no specific couples massage packages at here, the studio offers a number of different types of massages, and interested couples can contact Verde directly about booking a couples service.

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa

3210 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL 60657

1130 S Michigan Ave Suite B, Chicago IL 60605

This spa— with locations in Lakeview and South Loop— offers the best specialty massages for couples, including Swedish, hot stone, and Himalayan salt massages. Check out additional upgrades like the peppermint scalp massage or aromatherapy.

Couples Massage Chicago Featured Image by giuseppeblu from Pixabay

Read More

Khalil Islam, center, is booked as the third suspect in the slaying of Malcolm X, in New York, March 3, 1965. Islam, previously known as Thomas 15X Johnson, one of two men convicted in the assassination of Malcolm X, is set to be cleared after more than half a century, with prosecutors now saying authorities withheld evidence in the civil rights leader’s killing, according to a news report Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. | AP

A nearly two-year-long re-investigation found that authorities withheld evidence favorable to the defense in the trial of Muhammad Aziz, now 83, and the late Khalil Islam, said their attorneys, the Innocence Project and civil rights lawyer David Shanies.

NEW YORK — Two of the three men convicted in the assassination of Malcolm X are set to be cleared Thursday after insisting on their innocence since the 1965 killing of one of the United States’ most formidable fighters for civil rights, their lawyers and Manhattan’s top prosecutor said Wednesday.

A nearly two-year-long re-investigation found that authorities withheld evidence favorable to the defense in the trial of Muhammad Aziz, now 83, and the late Khalil Islam, said their attorneys, the Innocence Project and civil rights lawyer David Shanies.

Aziz called his conviction “the result of a process that was corrupt to its core — one that is all too familiar” even today.

“I do not need a court, prosecutors or a piece of paper to tell me I am innocent,” he said in a statement. But he said he was glad his family, friends and lawyers would get to see “the truth we have all known, officially recognized.”

He urged the criminal justice system to “take responsibility for the immeasurable harm it caused me.”

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. tweeted that his office would join the men’s attorneys in asking a judge Thursday to toss out the convictions.

“These men did not get the justice that they deserved,” Vance told The New York Times, which first reported on the developments. Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck called the case “one of the most blatant miscarriages of justice that I have ever seen.”

One of the civil rights era’s most controversial and compelling figures, Malcolm X rose to fame as the Nation of Islam’s chief spokesperson, proclaiming the Black Muslim organization’s message at the time: racial separatism as a road to self-actualization. He famously urged Black people to claim civil rights “by any means necessary” and referred to white people as “blue-eyed devils,” and he later denounced racism.

About a year before his death, he split from the Nation of Islam and later made a pilgrimage to Mecca, returning with a new view of the potential for racial unity. Some in the Nation of Islam saw him as a traitor.

At age 39, he was gunned down as he began a speech in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965.

Aziz, Islam and a third man, Mujahid Abdul Halim — also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan — were convicted of murder in March 1966 and sentenced to life in prison.

Hagan said he was one of three gunmen who shot Malcolm X, but he testified that neither Aziz nor Islam was involved. The two, then known as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, maintained throughout that they were innocent and offered alibis at their 1966 trial. No physical evidence linked them to the crime.

“Thomas 15 Johnson and Norman 3X Butler had nothing to do with this crime whatsoever,” Hagan said in a sworn statement in 1977.

Hagan was paroled in 2010. A message was left Wednesday at a phone number he had when paroled.

He identified two other men as gunmen, but no one else was ever arrested.

According to The New York Times, the re-investigation found the FBI had documents that pointed to other suspects, and a still-living witness supported Aziz’s alibi — that he was at home with a leg injury at the time of the shooting.

The witness, whom authorities had never interviewed before and was identified only by the initials “J.M.,” said he spoke to Aziz on the latter’s home phone the day of the killing, the newspaper said.

Also, the review found that prosecutors knew about but didn’t disclose that undercover officers were in the ballroom when the gunfire erupted, and police knew that someone had called the Daily News of New York earlier that day saying that Malcolm X would be killed.

The New York Police Department and the FBI said Wednesday that they had cooperated fully with the re-investigation, and they declined to comment further.

Aziz was released in 1985. Islam was released two years later and died in 2009. Both continued to press to clear their names.

“I did not kill Malcolm X,” Aziz said at a news conference in 1998, after the Nation of Islam tapped him to run the mosque where the slain leader had preached.

A decade later, Islam told a gathering at a Harlem bookstore: “I need to be exonerated. I had to walk 22 years in prison.”

And after their release, he and Aziz lived under the cloud of being Malcolm X’s supposed assassins.

“Exonerating these men is a righteous and well-deserved affirmation of their true character,” Shanies said in a statement. Deborah Francois, a counsel in his office, called the convictions “the product of gross official misconduct and a criminal justice system weighed against people of color.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office publicly acknowledged it was considering reopening the case after Netflix aired the documentary series “Who Killed Malcolm X?” last year. The series explored a theory by scholars that the two men were innocent and that some of the real killers had escaped.

___

Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak and Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

Read More