The Chicago Blackhawks made the coaching change that everyone wanted to see. They fired Jeremy Colliton a few games after they parted ways with Stan Bowman. Stan was the only thing saving Colliton’s job but when he left, we knew that Colliton’s days were numbered. The Hawks had a terrible start to the season which […] Chicago Blackhawks: 3 bold replacements for Jeremy Colliton – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Gifts for every type of person on your list (that they’ll actually love).Read More

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Three people were killed, and three others were wounded, in shootings Nov. 15, 2021, in Chicago. | Brian Rich/Sun-Times

An armored truck security guard was killed and another was critically wounded during an attempted robbery in Chatham.

Three people were killed, and three others were wounded, in shootings Monday in Chicago, including an armored truck security guard who was killed and another who was critically wounded during an attempted robbery in Chatham on the South Side.

The guards were loading an ATM at 10:20 a.m. at a Bank of America branch in the 200 block of West 83rd Street when two to four gunmen came up, demanded cash and opened fire, Chicago police said. One of the guards, a 47-year-old woman, was shot six times and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. She was in traumatic arrest as paramedics brought her to the hospital, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said.

The other guard, a 46-year-old man, was shot twice in his abdomen and taken to the same hospital in critical condition, police and fire officials said. One of the guards was pronounced dead, according to the FBI. No other details were immediately available. The gunmen did not take any of the cash, according to a spokeswoman for the FBI, which was handling the investigation.

About an hour later, a SWAT team responded to the same block where two men were shot and killed hours earlier in the South Chicago neighborhood. The men were shot around 11:35 a.m. while driving in the 8700 block of South Saginaw Avenue, police said. Their vehicle hit another car and then crashed into a tree. One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was pronounced dead after he was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. Their names haven’t been released. Police could not immediately say if they were responding for a suspect in the double homicide, but the scene was cleared by 5:10 p.m.

Two others were wounded in shootings citywide.

Four people were killed, and seventeen others were wounded, in shootings last weekend in Chicago.

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Moon Alert

Caution: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Chicago time. After that, the moon moves from Aries into Taurus.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Get to the bottom of something related to inheritances, wills, estates, taxes, debt or something to do with the wealth of your partner. You might discover a secret. It might be about a shared possession? Whatever the situation is, clean up this issue.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Today you might have a frank talk with a partner or close friend. Perhaps this person wants to get down to the bottom of something. They want to know what’s happening and they want to know where you stand. Basically, they want the truth.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Look around your workplace today to see how you can make improvements. This applies whether you work at home or your work elsewhere. It’s a good day to clean up confusion and solve problems that have been nagging you for a while.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Parents improve their relations with their kids or help solve a problem with one of their kids. Others will use today’s energy to solve artistic problems or clean up messy situations related to a creative project or something to do with sports.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Expect to have a powerful conversation with a parent or an older family member. You might also get to the bottom of a problem related to bathrooms, laundry areas or plumbing, or perhaps something to do with recycling or garbage? This is an excellent day to fix broken things.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

You are convincing today! You’ll have no trouble persuading others to go along with your point of view, which means if you work in sales, marketing or teaching and acting, you will be powerful. Use your persuasive talent to benefit others.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Today you might see new ways to make money, or a better-paying job or opportunities to make money on the side. You might also see new uses for something that you own because you’re in a resourceful frame of mind. This is also a good day to clean up messy areas.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Take a realistic look in the mirror and ask yourself what you can do to improve the image that you offer to your world. Remember: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Ideas? Haircut? Wardrobe change? Shoes or boots? Think about this.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Your ability to research and dig up solutions to old problems or answers to old questions is excellent today. You might come across some secretive, or sensitive, information. If so, be discreet. Don’t use this information for power over someone else. Be kind.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Today you might have to confront the power of a group or a collective, which means you toe the party line or realign your intentions on how you can best work with others. Your best success will be if everyone’s energy is focused on the general good.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

You might encounter a powerful boss or someone in authority today. Possibly, others see you in this role? Either way, try to use today’s energy to make improvements in your immediate surroundings or in the society around you. Focus on what others need.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Any kind of study will go well today because you have a penetrating mind and a strong curiosity to find what you seek. You might persuade others to help you. Some of you might want to probe the secrets of a political process.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (1977) shares your birthday. You have two sides. You are strong, independent, intelligent and practical. However, you are also soft, sensitive, intuitive and spiritual. You are a sensual, fascinating person. This is an exciting year for you that emphasizes your personal freedom. Focus on your personal growth. Seek out new opportunities. Be open to travel and new directions! As you embrace change — stay focused.

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Bulls guard Alex Caruso turns up the pressure on Lakers guard Wayne Ellington during the first half Monday in Los Angeles. | Mark J. Terrill/AP

The team has responded positively to coach Billy Donovan’s adjustments after a loss to Friday to the Warriors.

LOS ANGELES — The Bulls left San Francisco searching.

That’s what happens when an elite team such as the Warriors takes advantage of every shortcoming and completely runs the visiting team out of the gym.

It left questions, and it definitely left concerns.

Leave it to a trip to Hollywood for the Bulls to be discovered. Or, at least, the new-look Bulls.

Coach Billy Donovan and his staff had one day to make the necessary adjustments for the Bulls to get back on track, especially with the uncertainty of when center Nikola Vucevic will test his way out of the NBA’s health-and-safety protocols.

The major move was pulling forward Javonte Green out of the starting lineup in favor of guard Alex Caruso in the back-to-back games Sunday against the Clippers and Monday against the Lakers.

The results came almost instantly. The Bulls ended the Clippers’ seven-game winning streak and did so impressively, controlling most of the game before responding to a Clippers run with one of their own to pull away to a 100-90 victory.

Then the same starting group came out against the Lakers and opened the game the same way, showing serious firepower on offense and disruptive defense.

That’s why Caruso not only credited the coaching staff but also his teammates for buying in.

”I like some of the adjustments we made,” Caruso said before the game against the Lakers. ”We had some sacrifice from some guys, changing their minutes, changing their roles a little bit to help the team win. In that aspect, just adapting to our current situation without [Vucevic] and trying to find ways to win, it was just a good response.

”Anytime you start off a road trip and you kind of get smacked like that, you need to respond and show up, show what kind of team you are. And I think we did that.”

The insertion of Caruso gave the starting unit two disruptive defensive players (along with guard Lonzo Ball) and raised the IQ of the unit on both ends of the court.

The way the Warriors double-teamed and attacked guard Zach LaVine through most of the game Friday put pressure on the rest of the starters to understand spacing and where they needed to be for LaVine to find them for easy shots.

That’s another thing Caruso excels at.

”He’s one of the highest-IQ players I’ve played with since I’ve been in the game,” veteran forward DeMar DeRozan said of Caruso. ”Just to have somebody with that natural IQ out there on the court, it’s just going to make so many things easier for you, offensively and defensively. He kind of anchored us.”

Caruso downplayed the adjustment as simple Basketball 101.

”It’s classic basketball tactics,” he said. ”You get two guys in a trap, you get two outlets to the side and one in the middle, and then it’s four-on-three on the backside and you’ve just got to find the shot. . . . So it’s kind of up to us to find our rhythm through the game and take advantage of them.”

Donovan made it clear the Bulls have to be able to adjust if the opposition has a matchup that takes advantage of them starting Caruso. That shouldn’t be a problem, however.

”Good teams always respond,” DeRozan said. ”You’ve got to respond if you want to be a good team, especially after getting your butt whupped like we did [against the Warriors]. Not having [Vucevic], we’ve got to figure it out. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. Next guy up and figure this thing out.”

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Protesters attend a Downers Grove North High School Board meeting Monday. | Anthony Vazques/Sun-Times

Hundreds of people packed a Downers Grove North High School board meeting Monday where some parents demanded the book, “Gender Queer,” be removed from library shelves — but students asked the board to keep it.

The nation’s culture wars exploded at a west suburban high school board meeting Monday night as conservative protesters and some parents debated students, fellow parents and community members whether a book on sexual orientation and gender identity was appropriate for the school library.

The graphic novel they targeted, “Gender Queer,” is one of several works that have come under fire nationwide in recent weeks as part of a larger movement by conservative politicians, activists, commentators and small networks of parents to denounce and ban progressive teachings about race and gender.

In some cases critics have claimed children were being exposed to “homoerotic” or “pornographic” language and images. “Gender Queer” is an autobiography about author Maia Kobabe’s journey of gender identity as a teenager and young adult. A few pages that include illustrations of sexual acts have drawn the bulk of the ire.

That opposition has turned school boards into battlegrounds for social fallout, from books to COVID-19 protocols such as masking and vaccination, to more recently mental and emotional health programs. In some cases, school board members have been threatened and needed police protection.

The Chicago area had largely avoided those dust-ups until Monday, when about 200 people packed into an auditorium with police officers and security at Downers Grove North High School for the Community High School District 99 board’s monthly meeting.

About a third of the crowd held “NO PORN” signs and posters showing illustrations and excerpts from “Gender Queer.” The first grumbling came at the very start of the meeting — and another few times over the next couple hours — when board president Nancy Kupka repeatedly asked attendees to put on masks. Groans and shouts also came when people realized an American flag wasn’t on display for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members of the Proud Boys — a far-right neo-fascist group which has recently latched onto school board protests around the country — promoted the meeting on a messaging app commonly used by far-right activists and urged each other to attend, according to screenshots posted to social media. It’s unclear whether any members of the group showed up.

The school board did not plan to discuss or vote on any items regarding “Gender Queer” — the book was solely brought up during the public speaker portion of the meeting. Supt. Hank Thiele, addressing the topic before people shared their views, said “Gender Queer” met the district’s requirements for inclusion in its library, and it was not part of any class’ required reading. Only one copy of the book is available for check-out in the library.

But administrators will review the book once again since two formal challenges have been filed, he said.

In the public speaker portion of the meeting, Thiele called those who were Downers Grove residents first, before outsiders. Among that initial group, which included several students, all but three speakers showed support for “Gender Queer.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Downers Grove North students Josiah Poynter (left), Lauren Pierret (middle) and Tabitha Irvin (right) were among those who spoke in favor of allowing the book “Gender Queer” to remain in the school’s library.

Lauren Pierret, a 17-year-old senior at Downers Grove North, said she didn’t know “Gender Queer” existed until last week.

“This isn’t being forced upon your kids, but it gives kids who would be interested in this story a choice to read it,” she said.

Pierret also questioned why other books that feature sex scenes such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Angela’s Ashes” were available in the library but not facing the same criticism.

“Let’s not present getting rid of ‘Gender Queer’ as censoring our children from sex,” she told the school board. “It’s homophobia.”

Josiah Poynter, an 18-year-old senior at Downers North, said he understands “this novel has scenes in it that are mature and sexual to say the least, [but] it’s not like we haven’t been given books with sex in them before.

“Inclusion matters to young people,” he told the school board. “This is why we must have this book in our school’s library. Inclusion brings an opportunity to grow in a safe environment. It brings comfort to people who feel unsolved and cast out.”

Tabitha Irvin, a junior at Downers North, said she felt it was “ironic” that people wearing American flag masks, hats and shirts were at the meeting calling for a book to be banned when, in her view, the issue was about free speech.

Linda Schranz, a longtime Downers Grove resident who said her daughter graduated from District 99, said “despite the noise in the community” she believes it’s a small minority who disagree with the board’s policies.

Schranz volunteers with Youth Outlook, a suburban-based nonprofit that supports LGBTQ youth, and said she sees “Gender Queer” and similar books “as an opportunity for a child who may be exploring or questioning [their identity] to take a look and look at more information.”

Terry Newsome, a Darien resident who said he has a son and daughter at Downers South, said his concerns about “Gender Queer” are not homophobic. If the book was only about LGBTQ students coming out, “parents wouldn’t have an issue with it,” he said.

“The problem is … this is liberal code for teaching children how to perform oral sex, anal sex, wear strap-on dildos,” he said. “These graphic images are totally unacceptable regardless of their gender or sexuality.

“It’s not your right to decide if our minor children should have access to pornography.”

Before the meeting, one dad, who asked not to be named, said in an interview he had watched YouTube videos about “Gender Queer” and said it was “sick” to have the book available for high schoolers, claiming it “teaches kids how to be gay.” A mother said she was there to protest “medical tyranny,” while another parent repeated a recent talking point in the Virginia gubernatorial race that parents don’t know enough about the curriculum their kids are taught.

The American Library Association recently honored “Gender Queer” as a text with “special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.” The book’s publisher says it is appropriate for high-school aged teenagers.

Virginia’s largest school district removed “Gender Queer” from its high school libraries earlier this fall while it considers parents’ concerns, while a Florida district banned it altogether and schools in New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington are among others that have heard challenges. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster told the state’s education department last week to investigate the book he deemed “sexually explicit” and “pornographic.” The banning of books in schools featured prominently in Virginia’s gubernatorial race.

“Gender Queer” author Maia Kobabe wrote in a recent Washington Post op-ed addressing the backlash that the book was originally meant for Kobabe’s parents and extended family to help them understand what it meant to be nonbinary. Then it became clear queer teenagers could benefit from the relatable story.

“By high school, I had met multiple out gay, lesbian and bisexual people, but I didn’t meet an out trans or nonbinary person until I was in grad school,” Kobabe wrote. “The only place I had access to information and stories about transgender people was in media — mainly, in books.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Protesters hold signs with panels from “Gender Queer” at a Downers Grove North High School board meeting Monday. Read More

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President John Catanzara | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Past union presidents traditionally retired from the Police Department only after they served as head of the union.

Police Union President John Catanzara, despite plans to retire as a sworn member of the Chicago Police Department, plans to stay on as head of the union that represents thousands of rank and file officers.

The union’s bylaws allow for elected positions to be held by retired cops who are collecting their pensions.

Catanzara on Monday announced his intention to retire amid a hearing process before the Chicago Police Board that was to determine whether he should be fired for a slew of rules violations.

Catanzara, 53, has been a police officer 27 years.

When Catanzara retires — he said he plans to do so Tuesday — his disciplinary case disappears.

“I could never give mayor the ability to say she fired me,” he said. “It was more important to this membership that I walk away than give her the ability to say those words.”

Catanzara and his attorney, Tim Grace, said Monday that his pension was never at risk. The only thing that could jeopardize his pension would be a felony conviction, Grace said.

Even if he had been fired as a result of the disciplinary process, he could still serve as president of the police union, Grace said, noting that the matter is labor union business that’s out of the city’s control.

“I’ve been waiting for the better part of a decade to tell this city, ‘Take this job and shove it,'” Catanzara told the Sun-Times, citing a “lack of accountability” with leadership.

Catanzara was elected to a three-year term as head of the union in 2020. He has remained an active police officer who was detailed to the union.

Past union presidents all retired from the Police Department after finishing their service as head of the union.

Catanzara also announced Monday he plans to run for mayor in 2023 but will also run again for head of the union in case his mayoral campaign doesn’t succeed.

Catanzara said he’s had “serious and increasingly frequent” conversations about a mayoral run but has yet to lay the fundraising groundwork necessary to take over the office from his rival Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“I will have my vindication when I tell her to get the hell out of my office and give me the keys in 2023,” he said.

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Andre Curbelo drives to the basket against Kur Kuath on Monday night in Milwaukee. | Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

Tyler Kolek converted a steal into a go-ahead layup with 18 seconds left, and Marquette forced 26 turnovers for a 67-66 comeback victory over the Illini.

MILWAUKEE — Tyler Kolek converted a steal into a go-ahead layup with 18 seconds left and Marquette forced 26 turnovers for a 67-66 comeback victory over No. 10 Illinois on Monday night.

Marquette (3-0) came back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to give new coach Shaka Smart his first signature win, despite going 3 of 9 from the foul line down the stretch.

Illinois (2-1) was clinging to a 66-65 lead when Kolek stole the ball from Trent Frazier at midcourt, maintained his balance and made a layup despite getting fouled. Kolek missed the ensuing free throw, but Kur Kuath stole the ball from Illinois guard Andre Curbelo with three seconds left to thwart the Illini.

Darryl Morsell scored 21 points, Justin Lewis had 17 and Kolek added 12 points.

For the Illini, Frazier had 23 points, including 6 of 10 3-pointers, while Coleman Hawkins scored 13 points and Jacob Grandison 10.

Illinois was playing without Associated Press preseason All-Americacenter Kofi Cockburn, who was completing his three-game suspension to start the season. The NCAA handed down the penalty because the 7-footer sold apparel and memorabilia before the new name, image and likeness legislation permitting athletes to participate in money-making ventures went into effect.

The two teams were facing off for the first time since December 1993 as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, a series matching Big East programs against Big Ten schools.

After trailing 28-27 at halftime, Illinois racked up 31 points in the first 9:46 of the second half to grab a 58-46 lead. The Illini shot 12 of 17 from the floor and 5 of 7 on 3-point attempts during that stretch.

But Marquette answered with nine straight points — including seven from Morsell — to cut Illinois’ advantage to 58-55. Illinois got the lead back up to seven, but Marquette clawed back and got the lead down to 66-65 on Justin Lewis’ two free throws with 2:31 left.

Morsell missed two potential go-ahead jumpers in the last two minutes before the big steal from Kolek.

BIG PICTURE

Illinois: Taking care off the ball has been a big concern early on. The Illini had 13 assists compared with 26 turnovers Monday and in have 58 turnovers and 43 assists through the first three games of the season. Illinois opened with blowout victories over Jackson State and Arkansas State.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles continued their penchant for early-season upsets. Last season, Marquette beat then-No. 4 Wisconsin and then-No. 9 Creighton in the first month of the season, but failed to build on that momentum. The Golden Eagles staggered to a 13-14 finish that led to coach Steve Wojciechowski being fired after seven seasons.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

This loss could drop Illinois out of the top 15.

UP NEXT

Illinois: Faces Cincinnati on Monday in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Missouri.

Marquette: Faces Mississippi on Thursday in the Charleston Classic in Charleston, South Carolina.

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