The Chicago Blackhawks look like a completely different team under Derek King. They won their first game under him on Sunday night with an overtime win over the Nashville Predators. Now, on Tuesday, they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout to start the Derek King era 2-0-0. It was a great game that saw […] Chicago Blackhawks: 1 player shined against the Pittsburgh Penguins – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

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Three people were killed, and five others were wounded in shootings Nov. 9, 2021, in Chicago. | Sun-Times file

A man was fatally shot in an attempted robbery in Hyde Park.

Three people were killed, and five others were wounded, in shootings Tuesday in Chicago, including a man who was shot and killed during an attempted robbery in Hyde Park, a few blocks north of the University of Chicago campus.

The man, 24, 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., Chicago police said. Witnesses told officers the man struggled with the robber and a shot went off, according to preliminary information from the scene. The man was hit in the chest and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Police said the robber got back in the car, which fled west on 54th Place.

Less than an hour later, a person was fatally shot in Lawndale on the West Side. About 2:50 p.m., the male was near the sidewalk in the 2100 block of South Harding Avenue, when he was shot multiple times, police said. He was struck in the head, legs, and back, and rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A person was fatally shot in Lawndale on the West Side. About 2:50 p.m., the male was near the sidewalk in the 2100 block of South Harding Avenue, when he was shot multiple times, police said. He was struck in the head, legs, and back, and rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In non-fatal shootings, two people were shot in Grand Crossing on the South Side. The two males, whose ages were unknown, were on the sidewalk in the 800 block of East 79th Street about 7:30 p.m. when they were approached by two gunmen who opened fire, striking them in the chest, police said. They were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where their conditions were unknown.

Three others were wounded in shootings across Chicago.

Twelve people were shot Monday citywide.

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A man was fatally shot Nov. 9, 2021, in Austin. | Sun-Times file

About 4:05 p.m., the male was near the street in the 200 block of North Central Avenue, when he was struck by gunfire.

A person was fatally shot Tuesday in Austin on the West Side.

About 4:05 p.m., the male was near the street in the 200 block of North Central Avenue, when he was struck by gunfire, Chicago police said.

He was rushed to Loyola University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The man has not yet been identified.

Police are investigating.

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One person was killed, and seven others were wounded in shootings Nov. 9, 2021, in Chicago. | Sun-Times file

A man was fatally shot in an attempted robbery in Hyde Park.

One person was killed, and seven others were wounded, in shootings Tuesday in Chicago, including a man who was shot and killed during an attempted robbery in Hyde Park, a few blocks north of the University of Chicago campus.

The man, 24, 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., Chicago police said. Witnesses told officers the man struggled with the robber and a shot went off, according to preliminary information from the scene. The man was hit in the chest and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Police said the robber got back in the car, which fled west on 54th Place.

In non-fatal shootings, two people were shot in Grand Crossing on the South Side. The two males, whose ages were unknown, were on the sidewalk in the 800 block of East 79th Street about 7:30 p.m. when they were approached by two gunmen who opened fire, striking them in the chest, police said. They were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where their conditions were unknown.

Five others were wounded in shootings across Chicago.

Twelve people were shot Monday citywide.

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Tinley Park’s AJ Casey embraces Robbie Avila (50) after the Bengals defeat the Titans. | Allen Cunnigham/For the Sun-Times

This recruiting cycle was unlike any other. It’s been an extremely tough road for so many reasons for the seniors in the Class of 2022 over the past 18 months.

This recruiting cycle was unlike any other. It’s been an extremely tough road for so many reasons for the seniors in the Class of 2022 over the past 18 months.

But the National Signing Period begins this week and there are recruiting steals and storylines just as there are every year.

Biggest recruiting storyline

Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt and Glenbard West’s Braden Huff signing with Duke and Gonzaga, respectively, is a significant story.

These are two massive college basketball heavyweights– Duke is Duke with one of the top recruiting classes in the country and Gonzaga is again the preseason No. 1 team — that secured the top two talents in Illinois.

It’s been quite some time — seven years, in fact — since the nation’s biggest college basketball powers came into Illinois and nabbed multiple players from the state. The Class of 2014 featured the top three players, Young’s Jahlil Okafor, Curie’s Cliff Alexander and Marian Catholic’s Tyler Ulis, signing with three Blue Bloods: Duke, Kansas and Kentucky.

Now the two biggest recruits in the state have their sights set on team accomplishments as Huff’s Glenbard West and Schutt’s Yorkville Christian are state title contenders in their respective class.

Biggest recruiting steal

History shows us the Class of 2022 will not produce as many Division I players as past years. But what the Class of 2022 has provided, due to various factors over the past couple of years, are a number of “recruiting steals” for several college programs. Thus, it’s difficult to choose the single biggest.

There was a reason Young’s AJ Casey was so highly ranked and gathered up so many high-major offers early on. Casey, who played July banged up with an injured hand, could prove to be a steal for Miami.

Young’s Xavier Amos, a talented 6-8 forward with a projectable body and a high ceiling, could prove to be a big steal for Rashon Burno and Northern Illinois down the road. Amos is poised to take another big step with the confidence he gained last season.

Princeton landing Glenbard West’s versatile Cade Pierce, arguably the most under-appreciated prospect in the class, is certainly a steal worth mentioning. Pierce is as versatile as they come, boasts a winning mentality and an appetite for getting stops on defense.

Might Denver out of the Summit League have snuck in and stole a true high-ceiling prospect in the still blossoming 6-5 Justin Mullins of Oak Park?

But the biggest recruiting steal in the state is Normal’s Zach Cleveland to Liberty. The athletic, high-motored Cleveland has the potential to be a monster in the ASUN Conference where Liberty plays and a year ago won 23 games and reached the NCAA Tournament.

If Cleveland can fine-tune and improve his jump shot to maximize his offensive potential? Look out, ASUN.

Cleveland’s recruitment was just beginning to heat up this summer when he pulled the trigger early and committed in the middle of June to coach Ritchie McKay.

Best player/program fit

Prior to his five-year run at Illinois, coach John Groce enjoyed success in the Mid-American Conference at Ohio, fueled by a catalyst from Chicago — Seton Academy’s DJ Cooper. Groce and Cooper teamed together for a ton of fun and two NCAA Tournament runs.

Groce has returned to his MAC roots, and he came back to the Chicago area for another dynamic point guard in Tavari Johnson. When it comes to the right level, fit and style, the 6-0 senior from Lyons found an ideal situation with Akron.

While some higher level programs were scared off by Johnson’s slender frame and size, the slick point guard has a vintage all-around game. He can handle, pass and score the basketball and brings tremendous feel and vision to the position.

Best unsigned prospect

The new star arrival, Ty Rodgers, who recently transferred to Thornton from Grand Blanc, Mich., is instantly the best uncommitted player in the state.

The 6-6 forward is among the nation’s top 100 players and has trimmed his list to Alabama, Illinois, Memphis and Michigan State.

The best unsigned senior who has been around longer than a couple of months is New Trier’s Jackson Munro.

The 6-9 senior’s game has evolved after making such positive strides late last season. Loyola, Dartmouth, Toledo, Lipscomb and Bucknell remain in the hunt from a lengthy list of offers that Munro received this summer.

Here is the complete list of area players expected to sign with Division I schools during the early signing period, which runs from Nov. 10 to Nov. 17.

Player, High school, College

Xavier Amos, Young, NIU

Dylan Arnett, DePaul Prep, Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Robbie Avila, Oak Forest, Indiana State

AJ Casey, Young, Miami

Bobby Durkin, Glenbard West, Army

Kolby Gilles, St. Ignatius, Air Force

Braden Huff, Glenbard West, Gonzaga

Tavari Johnson, Lyons, Akron

Nick Martinelli, Glenbrook South, Elon

Bryce Moore, Carmel, Niagra

Justin Mullins, Oak Park, Denver

Cooper Noard, Glenbrook South, Cornell

Trey Pettigrew, Kenwood, Nevada

Caden Pierce, Glenbard West, Princeton

Ryan Renfro, Glenbard West, Army

Jaden Schutt, Yorkville, Duke

Ben VanderWal, Timothy Christian, Furman

Damari Wheeler-Thomas, Larkin, North Dakota State

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John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats gives instructions to his team during the game against the Miles College Golden Bears. | Getty

Kentucky and coach John Calipari have signed the best recruiting class in the country.

1. Kentucky

Kentucky and coach John Calipari have signed the best recruiting class in the country. The Wildcats have the top player in the country headed to Lexington in 6-4 guard Shaedon Sharpe from Arizona, one of three ranked among the top 10 players in this class. Cason Wallace, a 6-4 shooting guard, and 6-7 Chris Livingston are both five stars. Top 20 point guard Skyy Clark rounds out the star-studded class.

2. Duke

The former local legend, Glenbrook North’s Jon Scheyer, will welcome the nation’s best recruiting class as he officially takes over the Duke program next year. Led by 6-11 Dereck Lively from Pennsylvania, a consensus top five prospect, there are three five stars ranked among the top 10 prospects in the country arriving, along with the local kid — Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt.

3. Arkansas

The state of Arkansas is loaded with prep stars and the Razorbacks cashed in. Led by local schoolboy and five-star recruit Nick Smith, a dazzling 6-5 do-it-all guard, the class has five players ranked among the top 100 in the country, including three from Arkansas.

4. Kansas

MJ Rice, a 6-5 wing and top 25 talent out of Prolific Prep in California, has a chance to be special. The Jayhawks also welcome frontcourt size and talent in a pair of top 50 prospects: 6-10 Ernest Udeh and 6-8 Zuby Ejiofor.

5. Alabama

The Crimson Tide’s outstanding class starts with the 1-2 punch of 6-8 Brandon Miler and 6-3 point guard Jaden Bradley, a pair of five-star recruits. The class also includes two more top 100 prospects in Noah Clowney, a 6-9 forward, and 6-5 shooter Rylan Griffen.

6. Ohio State

The best Buckeyes recruiting class in years. Elite point guard Bruce Thornton out of Georgia highlights a deep, impressive five-man class that includes four top 100 prospects.

7. UCLA

Three California players and high-profile recruits stayed home: Amari Bailey, the No. 2 ranked player in the country and originally from Chicago, 6-10 Adem Bona and 6-4 guard Dylan Andrews.

8. Michigan

Coach Juwan Howard hit it big again with his second straight top 10 recruiting class. All four are among the top 100, but the highest ranked of the bunch? Juwan Howard’s son, Jett, a versatile 6-7 wing.

9. USC

The addition this week of top 100 wing Tre White was big. He joins five-star 7-footer Vincent Iwuchukwu and two highly-regarded California prospects in 6-9 Kijani Wright and guard Oziyah Sellers.

10. Villanova

Cam Whitemore, a 6-6 wing and top 25 prospect, is the centerpiece of a three-player class that includes four-star guards Brendan Hausen from Texas and Mark Armstrong from New Jersey.

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Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) is launching a bid for Congress. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times,

The new heavily Hispanic district creates a very rarely available open congressional seat anchored in heavily Democratic Chicago.

WASHINGTON — Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) on Wednesday will become the first candidate to announce a bid for the newly created heavily Hispanic congressional district — which sweeps in parts of Chicago’s North Side while meandering through suburban Cook and DuPage counties.

The new 3rd Congressional District is so Democratic that the winner of the primary in June is the favorite to clinch the seat next November.

Villegas, 51, a Council member since 2015, is a former Marine, state of Illinois official and bakery truck driver who co-founded a government relations firm.

Though Gov. J.B. Pritzker has not signed the new map yet, Villegas picked Wednesday to make his run official because it is the 246th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

Villegas joined the Marines after graduating in 1988 from Theodore Roosevelt High School, at 3436 W. Wilson Ave., where he played Roughrider baseball and football.

During his four years in the Corps, Villegas rose to the rank of corporal, becoming a logistics specialist deploying for stints in Japan, the Philippines and, during Operations Desert Shield and Storm, Saudi Arabia.

Villegas is the chair of the City Council’s Latino Caucus and has been deeply involved in negotiations over adding more Hispanic wards. He also advocated for the creation of the new Hispanic-influenced 3rd Congressional District he hopes to represent.

State legislative Democratic mapmakers drew the new district after considerable behind-the-scenes maneuvering among the incumbent Illinois congressional Democrats and Hispanic activists. The first version of the proposed remap didn’t have a second Hispanic district. The next version did, and it stuck.

At present, the earmuff-shaped 4th is the only district in Illinois designed to have a majority Hispanic voting-age population. It links together Hispanic communities on the North and South sides of the city.

Former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., was the first Hispanic member of Congress from Illinois, and when he retired, he basically anointed Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., to replace him. Garcia easily won his first term in 2018.

The new map decouples the two Hispanic communities and presents a very rarely available open congressional seat anchored in Democratic Chicago.

While Villegas is the first to jump into the 2022 Democratic primary, it’s hard to see how he will be the last.

Reelected to a four-year City Council term in 2019, Villegas does not risk his aldermanic seat to make a bid for Congress.

The new 3rd District includes portions of Humboldt Park and Belmont Cragin and then roams through the suburbs, taking in sections of Wheaton, West Chicago, Elgin, Bensenville, Addison and Elk Grove Village.

The district includes all of Villegas’ Northwest Side 36th ward.

The new 3rd is called a Hispanic-influenced district because although it’s heavily Hispanic, it does not have a majority Hispanic voting-age population. If multiple Hispanic candidates join the primary, the vote could split and the district may not elect another Hispanic member to Congress. I asked Villegas if that was a concern.

“If there are too many Latinx representatives that get in, I think that potentially could be an issue,” Villegas said.

Villegas’ story is compelling. His father died when he was 8 years old and his mother, Naomi, raised her two sons. For a time, the family lived in the Chicago Housing Authority’s Lathrop Homes.

He graduated from Maternity BVM elementary school in Humboldt Park in 1984. Villegas went to high school at Roosevelt after the family moved north to Montrose and St. Louis avenues.

Returning to Chicago after active duty in the Marines, Villegas became a truck driver, working nine years for the Alpha Baking Company, where he was a shop steward for Teamsters Local 734.

Villegas told me he got his start in politics working on the campaign of former Ald. Michael Wojcik (30th) while at Alpha.

After Alpha, Villegas worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation, where he was the deputy director of business and workforce development. From there, Villegas was an associate director of the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association, which led to the Illinois Capital Development Board, where he was chief of staff.

Villegas also co-founded Stratagem Consulting Group, a government relations and lobbying firm. Villegas said he sold his interest two years ago.

Years after dropping out, Villegas said he is finally finishing up coursework to earn his undergraduate degree from Northeastern Illinois University in North Park.

Villegas kicks off his race with the endorsement of a fellow Marine, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who grew up in south suburban Evergreen Park.

Villegas will be making his second trip to Washington in recent weeks for his campaign as he seeks to build a national Hispanic political network that will be useful in fundraising. Gallego will be the “special guest” at a “meet and greet” reception for Villegas on Nov. 17.

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