Evil Dead the Musical is spooky silliness at its finest, a must-see for those who like singing, dancing and plenty of stabbing. Highly Recommended! (review by Lauren Emily Whalen)Read More
An artist’s rendering of a proposed Chicago casino that would be located south of McCormick Place. | Provided by Bally’s Corporation
Bally’s Corporation submitted two of the five casino bids that are now under review by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office, but an alderman says one of their pitches should be “immediately eliminated.”
Bally’s Corporation is playing two hands in the high stakes game to win a Chicago casino, and the East Coast gambling company says it doesn’t care which one wins.
Either one of their bids — among five submitted to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s last month — would wake up one of the “economic sleeping giants” they are eying as potential sites, executives from the Rhode Island-based company said this week.
One Bally’s proposal already faces stiff opposition from a South Side alderperson whose cards have been on the table for years against bringing a casino to her Bronzeville ward.
Their other bid is being met with open arms by another City Council member who says the site of the River West plant that currently prints both of Chicago’s major daily newspapers would be an “ideal” site for a casino operator essentially to start printing money.
Wherever the chips fall, the company says it would go all in with investments totaling $1.6 billion for the big-city casino-resort that Lightfoot is banking on to shore up Chicago’s depleted police and firefighter pension funds.
“We don’t have a preference on site,” said Chris Jewett, director of corporate development for Bally’s, which submitted two of the five casino proposals now under review by Lightfoot’s office. “We think that they’re both economic sleeping giants.”
One of those giants is the 28-acre truck marshaling yard south of McCormick Place near DuSable Lake Shore Drive and 31st Street.
It’s also adjacent to the former Michael Reese Hospital site that’s under redevelopment — an area that Ald. Sophia King (4th) has long declared off-limits to the potential casino development that Chicago mayors have been coveting for a generation.
King said in a statement that the truck marshaling yard “should be immediately eliminated” from consideration.
“Since the beginning of this process, the community has been clear in their desire not to see a casino built at the site,” she said.
King said she’s “open to the goals of using this new revenue stream to help Chicago deal with its overwhelming fiscal responsibilities,” but asserted “it should not be done at the expense of our communities, especially marginalized ones” including those in her mostly Black ward.
Bally’s director Wanda Wilson said “we will be talking with the alderman about this, and we’re hoping to find some common ground.”
“We have had lots of meetings [with community groups] and we will continue to meet with everyone in the community to make sure that we are successful,” Wilson said. “Certainly, I’m not looking to put something in a neighborhood that is not acceptable to the community.”
Bally’s got a warmer welcome from Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th), whose ward includes the Freedom Center at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street, which is eyed in the company’s other bid.
Provided by Bally’s Corporation
An artist’s rendering of a proposed casino that would be located near Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street.
“It would be an ideal spot for a venue like that, tourist-wise,” Burnett said. “It’s right off the expressway. The L station on Grand [Avenue] brings a lot of tourists into the area on their way to Navy Pier.”
“I haven’t gauged the community on this stuff yet because it’s too preliminary, but I think it’d bring a lot of jobs to the neighborhood,” he said.
For both bids, Bally’s says they’d launch a temporary casino site adjacent to the Freedom Center while a permanent structure is built.
If their River West bid wins, that would mean demolishing the plant, which houses the Chicago Tribune newsroom and prints that newspaper along with the Chicago Sun-Times and others.
The plant is owned by Nexstar Media Group and leased by Tribune Publishing. A Nexstar spokesman said Bally’s has an option to buy it.
Representatives for Tribune Publishing and Alden Global Capital — the hedge fund that took control of the Tribune earlier this year — did not return messages seeking comment on their future printing plans.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Chicago Tribune Freedom Center, located at 560 W. Grand Ave., in the River West neighborhood.
Jewett said they’re envisioning “very similar” amenities at both potential sites: a luxury hotel, indoor and outdoor entertainment venues, green spaces, fine dining options and a “Chicago sports museum.”
The company says minority investors will account for 25% of the ownership group, including philanthropists, business owners and “a couple of sports stars,” Jewett said.
Bally’s is up against three other proposals to land the Chicago casino license.
Two of those competing bids are backed by billionaire Neil Bluhm and his Rush Street Gaming company, one slated for McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center, and the other at the vacant South Loop plot known as “The 78” near Roosevelt Road and Clark Street.
The fifth bid comes from Hard Rock International, which wants to break ground as part of the proposed One Central development that would sit just across DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Soldier Field. Representatives have declined to release more details.
Lightfoot’s office has said it will create “a review committee made up of a cross-section of City departments” to recommend a bidder. The mayor wants the finished casino-resort to open by 2025.
Minnie and Mickey Mouse wave to fans during the 2019 Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. | Magnificent Mile Association
The two-day extravaganza culminates with the traditional Michigan Avenue parade on Nov. 20.
Kool & the Gang, an “American Idol” finalist and the “Whoomp! There It Is” guys will join Mickey and Minnie Mouse at next week’s Magnificent Mile Lights Festival.
The 30th annual fest, an adrenaline shot for the Chicago holiday season, returns as a live event after the COVID-19 scare last year limited the festivities to just a TV broadcast.
The two-day extravaganza culminates with the traditional Michigan Avenue parade beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, at Oak Street. As the Disney mice light more than a million lights along, the crowd will be entertained by Kool & the Gang (performing their hit “Celebration”), Tag Team (the rap duo best known for “Whoomp!”) and Grace Kinstler, the Crystal Lake singer who finished third on “American Idol” earlier this year.
R&B and Broadway star Deborah Cox will do double duty, performing at a tree lighting ceremony at the Wrigley Building plaza (4 p.m. Nov. 19) and then the next day in the parade, which ends with fireworks at Wacker Drive.
Leading up to the parade will be a variety of free events starting at 11 a.m. at 401 N. Michigan Ave., including pet adoption, a temporary tattoo booth, photos with Santa and DJ entertainment.
Visitors are asked to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
Highlights from the parade will air in a TV special premiering at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 on WLS-Channel 7.
The Happy Fits | Rahil Ahsruff
There’s plenty to see and do online and in-person in the week ahead.
Macy’s Holiday Traditions shine bright this year beginning with the store’s windows along State Street between Randolph and Washington. This year the colorful display tells the story of a small reindeer named Tiptoe who is “too shy to fly” with Santa’s team on Christmas Eve. Inside the store, the 45-foot-tall Great Tree is the centerpiece to holiday dining in the Walnut Room (to Jan. 9). And children can visit a certain jolly old man in Santaland, an enchanted world showcasing Santa’s workshop (to Dec. 24). Reservations are required for the Walnut Room (macyswalnutroom.com) and Santaland (macys.com/Santaland).
Michael Brosilow
Namir Smallwood and Carrie Coon star in Steppenwolf’s production of “Bug.” Steppenwolf Theatre picks up where it left off with “Bug,” Tracy Letts’ searing, paranoid drama which was on stage in March 2020 when the theater shut down at the start of the pandemic. Returning are ensemble members Randall Arney, Carrie Coon, Namir Smallwood plus Jennifer Engstrom and Steve Key; David Cromer directs. From Nov. 11-Dec. 12 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted. Tickets: $20-$110. Visit steppenwolftheatre.org.
Lynn Lane/Houston Grand Opera
Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting the Spanish opera “Florencia en el Amazonas”
Journey down the Amazon with the Lyric Opera’s premiere of “Florencia en al Amazon.” Mexican composer Daniel Catan’s Spanish-language opera, about a glamorous diva (Ana Maria Martinez) on a life-changing adventure on the Amazon, is suffused with lush music and magical realism. Francesca Zambello directs, Jordan de Souza conducts. From Nov. 13-28 at Lyric Opera, 20 N. Wacker. Tickets: $39+. Visit lyricopera.org.
With hopes of creating a new holiday tradition, The House Theatre of Chicago presents the world premiere of Lanise Antoine Shelley’s adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s beloved fable “The Snow Queen.” Directed by Amber D. Montgomery, the story is infused with The House’s trademark use of magic, puppetry and music. From Nov. 12-Jan. 2 at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division. Tickets: $20-$50. Visit thehousetheatre.com.
Another new holiday show, “Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody,” is Bob and Tobly McSmith’s parody of the iconic romantic comedy film. The Off Broadway hit follows nine quirky couples looking for love. “In under 90 minutes, six actors play 50 plus roles as they conquer 144 costume and 42 wig changes,” director Tim Drucker says. From Nov. 17-Jan. 2 at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $29-$69. Visit ticketmaster.com.
“Kiss Me Kate,” the first Tony Award winner for best musical, is the next production at the Marriott Theatre. The musical, with a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and music and lyrics by Cole Porter, follows the hijinks as a married couple, Lilli Vanessi (Susan Moniz) and Fred Graham (Larry Adams), battle on stage and off during a production of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” From Nov. 17-Jan. 16 at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire. Tickets: $50-$60. Visit marriotttheatre.com.
Yasmina Reza’s dark comedy “God of Carnage” uncovers what happens when two high-strung couples meet for a civilized discussion about a playground altercation between their two young sons. Co-directed by Derek Bertelsen and Robert Tobin. From Nov. 12-Dec. 12 at AstonRep Theatre at The Edge Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa. Tickets: $20. Visit astonrep.com.
The Porchlight Revisits series, which celebrates rarely seen musicals, presents three performances of Dan Goggin’s “Nunsense,” about the Little Sisters of Hoboken and their plan to raise some emergency money. Directed by Michelle Lauto. At 7 p.m. Nov. 17, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn. Tickets: $49. Visit porchlightmusictheatre.org.
Spenser Davis Photo
Broken Nose Theatre is presenting “Primer” featuring JD Caudill and Aria Szalai-Raymond.
Broken Nose Theatre presents the world premiere of Spenser Davis’ audio drama “Primer,” which looks at how a singular act of destruction at a Michigan Avenue store affects a host of individuals, from the store’s security team and managers to its employees. Directed by Brittney Brown. Streams from Nov. 15-Dec. 5. Tickets: pay-what-you-can. Visit brokennosetheatre.com.
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”: Clark Gesner, Michael Mayer and Andrew Lippa’s musical in which the entire Peanuts gang explore life’s great questions. From Nov. 11-Dec. 23 at Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan, Lake Forest. Tickets: $20-$45. Visit citadeltheatre.org.
Babes with Blades’ Fighting Words Festival features readings of three new plays: “Phantom Queens” by Jessica Johnson, “Child’s Play” by Frank Garland” and “The Mark” by Jillian Leff. From Nov 13-14 at The Factory Theatre, 1623 W. Howard. Admission is free, a stream also is available. Visit babeswithblades.org.
Dance Chicago presents “Dance Transformations,” a program showcasing young dancers and choreographers new to the Chicago dance scene. Dance styles include ballet, tap, jazz, ethnic and more. At 8 p.m. Nov. 13 at Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport. Tickets: $18-$31. Visit athenaeumtheatre.org.
Asian Improv Arts Midwest and Links Hall present the Bridge Dance Festival, featuring performers who connect to their Asian heritage. The online event includes work by Yuko Takahashi Dance Company, Marina Fukushima, Ray Nakazawa and Pranita Nayar and Ashwaty Chennat. Streams at 7 p.m. Nov. 12-13. Tickets: $15, $20 or pay-what-you-can. Visit linkshall.org.
English rock band Genesis kicks off its first U.S. tour in 14 years at the United Center. Billed as a farewell tour, Phil Collins (front-and-center as lead singer), Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford are joined by their longtime guitar and bass player Daryl Stuermer and, on drums, 20-year-old Nic Collins replacing his father who can no longer play because of health issues. At 8 p.m. Nov. 15-16 at United Center, 1901 W. Madison. Tickets: $145+. Visit ticketmaster.com
Shervin Lainez Photo
Carsie Blanton
Singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton’s catchy songs are filled with hints of country, folk, soul, swing and pop. Her recent album “Love & Rage” is filled with what she calls protest songs written during the pandemic. Blanton also is a longtime John Prine fan and wrote the lovely tribute “Fishin’ with You,” when the beloved performer passed away in 2020. The soulful music of Milton opens the show at 8 p.m. Nov. 14 at FitzGerald’s, 6615 W. Roosevelt, Berwyn. Tickets: $15. Visit fitzgeraldsnightclub.com.
New Jersey trio The Happy Fits create orchestral tinged indie-pop that has been called “some of the freshest, catchiest pop music around right now” by NPR. The band tours behind the new album “What Could Be Better” featuring more of the band’s unique guitar-and-cello rock. Also on the bill: M.A.G.S. and Snarls. The all-ages show begins at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont. Tickets: $16. Visit beatkitchen.com.
Grammy Award-winning Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov wows audiences with his virtuosic playing which has been called “colorful, dazzling and imaginative.” He’ll perform works by Debussy, Szymanowski, Prokofiev and Brahms at 8 p.m. Nov. 12 at Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan. Tickets: $27-$150. Visit cso.org.
Vin Reed
The New Philharmonic, with conductor Kirk Muspratt and violinist David Taylor.
The New Philharmonic performs Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9 in E-Minor “plus Pablo de Sarasate’s Fantasy on Bizet’s “Carmen” featuring guest violinist David Taylor, Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s assistant concertmaster. The piece is considered one of the most challenging for violin. Soprano Alisa Jordheim joins Taylor for Strauss’s “Morgen!” At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and 3 p.m. Nov. 14 at McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell, Glen Ellyn. Tickets: $10-$53. Visit atthemac.org.
At the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s fall concert CYSO alum Mary Elizabeth Bowden performs the Chicago premiere of Vivian Fung’s “Concerto for Trumpet,” CYSO’s Bianca Ciubancan performs Paganini’s “Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major” and CYSO’s Louis Auxenfans performs Mozart’s “Clarinet Concerto in A Major.” The program also includes works by Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein and Tchaikovsky. Allen Tinkham conducts. At 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan. Tickets: $20-$60. Visit cyso.org.
Works by Mozart and Beethoven are on the program for Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert, conducted by Stilian Kirov, opens with Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante for Winds” featuring four of IPO’s own principal wind players as soloists: Naomi Bensdorf Frisch (oboe), Erin Kozakis (bassoon), Trevor O’Riordan (clarinet) and Lee Shirer (French horn). Rounding out the concert is Beethoven’s light-hearted “Symphony No. 8.” At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Ozinga Chapel, Trinity Christian College, 6601 W. College, Palos Heights. Tickets: $10-$67. Visit ipomusic.org.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Ravi Shankar’s beloved sitar is on display in the exhibit “Ravi Shankar: Ragamala To Rockstar.”The South Asia Institute presents Ravi Shankar: Ragamala to Rockstar, a Retrospective of the Maestro’s Life in Music,” an exhibit showcasing the legacy of the musician who was instrumental in bringing Indian classical music to mainstream audiences. George Harrison called him the “godfather of world music.” Included are rare concert posters and art prints, photographs, videos, record covers and personal artifacts. To March 5 at South Asia Institute, 1925 S. Michigan. Admission: $10. Visit saichicago.org.
The Mix: Things to do in Chicago Nov. 11-17Mary Houlihanon November 11, 2021 at 12:49 am Read More »
U. of C. staff members, students and friends of Zheng — many of them holding bouquets of flowers — stopped by a memorial in the 1000 block of East 54th street Wednesday evening. | Madeline Kenney/Sun-Times
Shaoxiong Zheng, 24, was gunned down during an armed robbery just north of the University of Chicago campus
Shaoxiong “Dennis” Zheng hadn’t been in Chicago long, but his murder on a street in Hyde Park has resonated across a city facing its second straight year of rising violence.
The University of Chicago, where “a bright and talented” Zheng recently got his master’s in statistics, called on the mayor and police superintendent to treat violence as a “public health crisis.”
Members of the City Council from the Hyde Park area said a state of emergency exists and a summit needs to be held to figure out “how we triage neighborhoods.”
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who lives in Hyde Park, asked, “When is enough, enough?” and called for “an immediate and urgent response to the violence.”
By the end of the day, Mayor Lori Lightfoot — who beat Preckwinkle for the office — promised to meet with police brass and community leaders “to determine concrete, tangible measures [that] can be taken to prevent tragedies such as these in the future.”
No one offered details, though the university said “we will share specifics soon” after further talks with City Hall and others.
Lightfoot and police Supt. David Brown have regularly announced stepped-up efforts against crime.
In October, Brown unveiled a tip line that offers cash rewards in homicide and gun trafficking cases. Brown also increased patrols in River North following an uptick in crime. Lightfoot’s 2022 budget promises to boost funding for an array of violence prevention programs.
But the violence has stubbornly stayed high.
There have been at least 698 homicides this year compared to 680 this time last year. At this point in 2019, the city had seen just 442 homicides.
At least 3,909 people have been shot this year, an increase of almost 9% compared to the same point in 2020 and 69% compared to 2019.
Shootings in Hyde Park have more than tripled this year to 16, a spike but still low compared to Woodlawn, the community area to the south. It has seen 83 shootings so far this year, an increase of 150% compared to the same time in 2019. It’s also seen 13 homicides this year, up from 8 in 2020 and 9 in 2019.
“The five murders in Hyde Park this year are shocking and demand action, but we also must not lose sight of the fact that there are many other neighborhoods in the city that year after year suffer many more homicides and shootings — and that too should be shocking,” said Roseanna Ander, executive director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab.
“I do hope that the tragedies and the loss of life in Hyde Park help to galvanize an unprecedented effort and a commitment to finding solutions not only in Hyde Park but in every corner of our city,” she added.
Police say Zheng was on the sidewalk in the 900 block of East 54th Street when a dark-colored car pulled up and a gunman got out shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Witnesses told officers he appeared to struggle with the robber and a shot went off. Zheng was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center down the street, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said the robber got back in the car and fled west on 54th Place. No arrests have been made.
About two hours earlier, just blocks away, businesses and cars were damaged by shots were fired from a Hyundai Sonata at 53rd Street and South Harper Avenue, police said. No injuries were reported, but several cars and two businesses were damaged by gunfire.
Zheng had graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 2019 and got his master’s in statistics at the University of Chicago this past summer.
“He was motivated, independent, and intellectually curious,” said Mei Wang, director of the statistics master’s program. “He aspired to be a data scientist who could solve important problems facing our society, and who could help people to help more people.”
Professor Dan Nicolae said Zheng “was not only a promising scholar but also a wonderful person, always willing to help other students. He will be missed by all who knew him.”
Xi Cheng, who knew Zheng for six months, remembered him as a “really positive, nice person.” The two became friends after they were connected on WeChat, a Chinese instant message and social media app, and donated clothes to Goodwill.
“I can feel he loves Chicago so much,” Cheng said. “I can feel he really enjoyed here and loves this [city] so it’s really tragic to hear.”
Cheng, 22, choked up as she recalled Zheng and his love for sports, especially table tennis, and photography. “May he rest in peace.”
U. of C. staff members, students and friends of Zheng — many of them holding bouquets of flowers — stopped by a memorial in the 1000 block of East 54th street Wednesday evening.
Some lit candles that flickered in the night breeze, others wrote messages to Zheng on white poster boards held down with rocks. One poster read, “Stop gun violence.”
Two university staff members, who did not want to be named, stuck signs in the ground that read, “Justice for innocent” and “Innocent cannot die in vain!”
“We feel this is really, really probably the worst year for U of Chicago,” one of the women said, noting three students have been gunned down in the last year. “We feel we have to do something, you just cannot let it go on forever.”
In a statement released Wednesday evening, Lightfoot said detectives were “hard at work on the case and are pursuing a number of leads.” She didn’t say what they were or if an arrest was imminent.
Lightfoot said she had “several detailed discussions” with the U. of C. president Paul Alivisatos. While they work out longer-range plans, the mayor said patrols by campus police and Chicago police will be increased on the campus and around Hyde Park.
“In the longer term, the city will continue engaging local community members, aldermen, and other involved stakeholders to gather feedback and recommendations on enhancing other public safety measures throughout the Hyde Park and Kenwood communities,” Lightfoot said.
Neither she nor Alivisatos would say what those measures might be, though the school president said they will include “working with our neighbors [and] calling on our university community’s academic and policy expertise.”
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Leslie Harston, 5th Ward Alderwoman, along with community members and other elected officials, speaks to reporters at the corner of 53rd Street and Harper Ave, during a press conference over recent violence in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.
Ald. Sophia King (4th) and Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) said a summit on Chicago violence needs to be held as soon as possible.
“There needs to be a place where we are at the table with the governor, where we are at the table with the mayor, where we are at the table with the county, where we are at the table with the city,” Hairston said. “It needs to take place quick, fast and in a hurry.
“This is a state of an emergency and this is a crisis,” she added.
Preckwinkle made a similar call. But like the council members and the mayor, she mentioned no specific measures to reduce the city’s chronic violence.
“We need an immediate and urgent response to the violence as well as a long-term plan to address those root causes of violence,” she said, promising to reach out “to relevant stakeholders to bring everyone together and establish real world results.”
Emmanuel Camarillo, Cindy Hernandez and Andy Boyle contributed
An artist’s rendering of a proposed Chicago casino that would be located south of McCormick Place. | Provided by Bally’s Corporation
Bally’s Corporation submitted two of the five casino bids that are now under review by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office, but an alderman says one of their pitches should be “immediately eliminated.”
Bally’s Corporation is playing two hands in the high stakes game to win a Chicago casino, and the East Coast gambling company says it doesn’t care which one wins.
Either one of their bids — among five submitted to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s last month — would wake up one of the “economic sleeping giants” they are eying as potential sites, executives from the Rhode Island based company said this week.
One Bally’s proposal already faces stiff opposition from a South Side alderman whose cards have been on the table for years against bringing a casino to her Bronzeville ward.
Their other bid is being met with open arms by another alderman who says the site of the River West plant that currently prints both of Chicago’s major daily newspapers would be an “ideal” site for a casino operator to essentially start printing money.
Wherever the chips fall, the company says it would go all in with investments totaling $1.6 billion for the big-city casino-resort that Lightfoot is banking on to shore up Chicago’s depleted police and firefighter pension funds.
“We don’t have a preference on site,” said Chris Jewett, director of corporate development for Bally’s, which submitted two of the five casino proposals now under review by Lightfoot’s office. “We think that they’re both economic sleeping giants.”
One of those giants is the 28-acre truck marshaling yard south of McCormick Place near DuSable Lake Shore Drive and 31st Street.
It’s also adjacent to the former Michael Reese Hospital site that’s under redevelopment — an area that Ald. Sophia King (4th) has long declared off-limits to the potential casino development that Chicago mayors have been coveting for a generation.
King said in a statement that the truck marshaling yard “should be immediately eliminated” from consideration.
“Since the beginning of this process, the community has been clear in their desire not to see a casino built at the site,” she said.
King said she’s “open to the goals of using this new revenue stream to help Chicago deal with its overwhelming fiscal responsibilities,” but asserted “it should not be done at the expense of our communities, especially marginalized ones” including those in her mostly Black ward.
Bally’s director Wanda Wilson said “we will be talking with the alderman about this, and we’re hoping to find some common ground.”
“We have had lots of meetings [with community groups] and we will continue to meet with everyone in the community to make sure that we are successful,” Wilson said. “Certainly, I’m not looking to put something in a neighborhood that is not acceptable to the community.”
Bally’s got a warmer welcome from Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th), whose ward includes the Freedom Center at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street, which is eyed in the company’s other bid.
Provided by Bally’s Corporation
An artist’s rendering of a proposed casino that would be located near Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street.
“It would be an ideal spot for a venue like that, tourist-wise,” Burnett said. “It’s right off the expressway. The L station on Grand [Avenue] brings a lot of tourists into the area on their way to Navy Pier.”
“I haven’t gauged the community on this stuff yet because it’s too preliminary, but I think it’d bring a lot of jobs to the neighborhood,” he said.
For both bids, Bally’s says they’d launch a temporary casino site adjacent to the Freedom Center while a permanent structure is built.
If their River West bid wins, that would mean demolishing the plant, which houses the Chicago Tribune newsroom and prints that newspaper along with the Chicago Sun-Times and others.
The plant is owned by Nexstar Media Group and leased by Tribune Publishing. A Nexstar spokesman said Bally’s has an option to buy it.
Representatives for Tribune Publishing and Alden Global Capital — the vulture hedge fund that took control of the Tribune earlier this year — did not return messages seeking comment on their future printing plans.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Chicago Tribune Freedom Center, located at 560 W. Grand Ave., in the River West neighborhood.
Jewett said they’re envisioning “very similar” amenities at both potential sites: a luxury hotel, indoor and outdoor entertainment venues, green spaces, fine dining options and a “Chicago sports museum.”
The company says minority investors will account for 25% of the ownership group, including philanthropists, business owners and “a couple of sports stars,” Jewett said.
Bally’s is up against three other proposals to land the Chicago casino license.
Two of those competing bids are backed by billionaire Neil Bluhm and his Rush Street Gaming company, one slated for McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center, and the other at the vacant South Loop plot known as “The 78” near Roosevelt Road and Clark Street.
The fifth bid comes from Hard Rock International, which wants to break ground as part of the proposed One Central development that would sit just across DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Soldier Field. Representatives have declined to release more details.
Lightfoot’s office has said it will create “a review committee made up of a cross-section of City departments” to recommend a bidder. The mayor wants the finished casino-resort to open by 2025.
Scott Boras at the GM meetings Wednesday. (AP)
“When you think about sculpting a pitching staff, you’re thinking, ‘Man, the target without a doubt is Rodon,” Scott Boras said.
CARLSBAD, Calif. — The White Sox didn’t make an $18.4 million qualifying offer to All-Star left-hander Carlos Rodon.
To which Rodon’s agent, Scott Boras, on Wednesday said, “Thank you.”
Speaking to reporters about an array of topics ranging from the expiring collective-bargaining agreement to clients, Boras proclaimed Rodon healthy, citing the 99 mph velocity he touched in the Sox’ last game of the postseason.
On Tuesday, general manager Rick Hahn explained why the Sox declined the qualifying offer, a move that made Rodon a free agent. The Sox’ front office deemed that $18.4 million price tag for one year too steep despite Rodon’s dominant showing in the first half while he was physically strong.
MLB’s most influential agent, Boras is seeking a multiyear deal for Rodon, who pitched on an inexpensive one-year, $3 million contract in 2021 after two injury-plagued and surgery-affected seasons. Boras said the Sox remain in the mix to sign him.
A two-year deal at a lower annual number than $18.4 million might be more to the Sox’ liking, but that’s only possible if Rodon isn’t offered more elsewhere. Rodon’s wife, on social media, referred to the Sox in the past tense.
“Essentially, it’s a contract offer of $18.4 million for one [season],” Hahn said. “And we made the assessment based on everything we know, which includes our needs and our other targets, that it wasn’t an offer we were comfortable making at this time.”
Rodon pitched a no-hitter and was Cy Young material when healthy in the first half, and he emptied his tank with 132? innings and 24 starts after making only 13 starts combined in the previous two seasons.
“When you think about sculpting a pitching staff, you’re thinking, ‘Man, the target without a doubt is Rodon,’ ” Boras said.
Boras said Rodon’s shoulder is healthy, and he complimented Hahn and the Sox’ medical staff for how they handled his client through a season that saw him encounter shoulder fatigue in the second half. He made eight starts after July 18, topping out at five innings. Despite almost reaching 100 mph against the Astros in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, the break on Rodon’s premier slider wasn’t quite there, and he lasted 2? innings. He threw 56 pitches and allowed two runs and three hits.
That said, “Everyone back in Chicago has a very positive feeling about Carlos’ season, his performance,” Boras said.
“There were a few veterans [that the 60-game season in 2020] didn’t affect as much, but most pitchers, the minute they jumped from 70 innings, all of a sudden you saw erratic performances. And Carlos, he went from zero to 120 and was extraordinary. And after that, he was just fatigued.”
Without Rodon, who had a 2.37 ERA, the Sox’ rotation shapes up as Lance Lynn (2.69 ERA, top-three Cy Young vote-getter), Lucas Giolito (3.53), Dylan Cease (3.91, team-high 226 strikeouts), Dallas Keuchel (5.28) and Michael Kopech (3.50). Keuchel, the AL Cy Young winner in 2015, is coming off his worst season and didn’t make the playoff roster. Giolito had the strongest second half of any Sox starter and put up numbers worthy of Cy Young consideration. Reynaldo Lopez (3.53 ERA in 57 innings) also made a modest contribution to a group that led AL starters in wins above replacement.
Rodon’s 5.0 WAR, according to Baseball Reference, was second on the Sox’ roster behind Lynn.
Boras talked for more than an hour to reporters at the GM meetings, saying baseball was the victim of a “competitive cancer” caused by teams trading veterans to get draft picks. He said the Braves’ World Series title resulted from other teams tanking.
As the industry braces for a lockout, Boras supports the players union’s demands for change in the collective-bargaining agreement that expires Dec. 1.
“This is the Easter Bunny delivering rotten eggs,” he said.
