Justin Fields walks off the field after throwing an interception Sunday. | Nam Y. Huh, AP Photos

Their broken passing attack is the worst in the league — and has been that way for almost six weeks.

Bears fans longing for Odell Beckham Jr. in the hours after the Browns said they planned to release the receiver were met with the same joke across social media: The Bears already have one stud receiver they’re not throwing the ball to. Why do they need two?

They don’t figure to claim Beckham on Monday. Of far greater concern for the team this weekend is fixing the passing game that has allowed receiver Allen Robinson — among others — to languish over the first eight games of the season.

“I just don’t spend a lot of time worrying about how many targets and catches a guy will end his year with,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said Friday when asked about Robinson, who has only 26 catches this year. “I’m trying to get us to score enough points to beat the next team …

“To me, until the passing game changes, it’s going to be hard to be different.”

The Bears need it to change, starting Monday night in Pittsburgh. Their broken passing attack is the worst in the league — and has been that way for almost six weeks. The Bears had the 25th-fewest passing yards in Week 1, fell to No. 31 overall on the season after Week 2 and has been in the basement since Week 3.

That corresponds with rookie Justin Fields taking over the starting role from an injured Andy Dalton. Lazor chose his words carefully when asked whether the struggles were connected to breaking in a rookie quarterback — “I don’t want to make an excuse,” he said — but it’s clear they are. It’s also apparent that the fastest way for the Bears to get exponentially better is for Fields to continue making leaps like the one he made Sunday against the 49ers, when he completed 19-of-27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. His interception on a heave with less than two minutes to play knocked his passer rating down about 20 points, to 84.6.

Otherwise, though, Fields looked as sharp — and as in rhythm — as he had at any point during the season.

“He looked like he put video on that you could show to someone — ‘Hey, this is how this play is supposed to be run,'” Lazor said.

That’s progress. But Lazor isn’t doing cartwheels about the Bears scoring 22 points — or losing the game.

“There was a lot of good performance from him …” Lazor said. “It’s kind of hard to get too excited about the amount of points we scored.”

Fields said earlier in the week that he believed Sunday marked his best game as a pro — “Just completing the ball, being more decisive,” he said — but tried to balance his performance with the final score.

“[I] try to control everything that I can control,” he said. “Put my team in the best position that I can for us to win the game. Sometimes it’s gonna come out not the way you wanted to, but just gotta go back and keep doing the same thing so it comes out your way.”

The difference between his Week 3 starting debut and Sunday was striking.

“I just feel comfortable all around,” Fields said. “Just more confident in myself, and just going out there and making plays and stuff like that. … I just feel way better in terms of my confidence and my command of the huddle — and of the offense. And kind of telling those guys where to go.”

Receiver Marquise Goodwin has seen the growth.

“I believe in his ability to lead the team and help us win,” he said. “It’s not all on him, either. We all have to do our parts to make it easier for him to win the game.”

The Bears are working on getting Robinson more involved –“Every day we talk about it,” Lazor said — but know that targets and catches are a symptom of a bigger problem. Robinson doesn’t have enough catches, but neither does tight end Cole Kmet or Goodwin or, well, anybody.

“The reality is the way we’re playing football right now there are a lot of unhappy offensive pass catchers,” Lazor said. “But they’re being professional and they’re trying to help us win. But that’s … when you’re running the ball so much, your pass catchers, no one is going to be happy. And that is the case.”

Lazor wondered out loud how many passes over 10 yards the Bears completed between the numbers against the 49ers. The answer was one: a third-down Goodwin slant against man coverage.

“There are certain things we’re just not doing well,” Lazor said.

Until that changes, the other details don’t matter.

“Usually in this league passing production leads to more points,” Lazor said. “Until we get the passing game to produce better, we’re gonna have a hard time.”

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Kyle Rittenhouse (left) is on trial for the shooting of three people during protests in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 25, 2020. | Adam Rogan / The Journal Times via AP

It’s hard — without resorting to the use of a profanity referring to a bodily orifice — to describe most of the people involved in this case.

Ever since the night of Aug. 25, 2020, when two people were shot dead in the streets of Kenosha and a third person seriously wounded, the question hasn’t been who did it but whether Antioch teenager Kyle Rittenhouse would get away with it.

As the first week of his murder trial came to a close, I must report that you shouldn’t be surprised if he does.

I’ve always believed it would be difficult to find 12 jurors who would agree to convict Rittenhouse of the most serious homicide charges against him if only because the case is an intersection of so many issues on which our society is hopelessly divided — race, violence, law enforcement, guns and politics.

On top of that, the evidence presented so far has mostly supported Rittenhouse’s claims of self-defense — if jurors get past the absurdity of him being there armed in the first place.

The irony is that a key element of self-defense is the reasonableness of a person’s actions under the circumstances. There was absolutely nothing reasonable about anything that happened in Kenosha that night — from a 17-year-old high school dropout playing self-deputized peacekeeper with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, to the adults who enabled him, to the law enforcement personnel who failed to send them all home, to the rioters who set fires and brought their own guns to protest the shooting of a black man by a white police officer.

Rittenhouse had absolutely no legitimate reason to be there that night, and I believe he deserves serious punishment.

Yet Rittenhouse’s folly also turns out to be the basis for his defense: His fear of someone taking his gun becomes justification for him pulling the trigger.

Rittenhouse is such an idiot he never even suspected he was in over his head until it was too late.

In fact, until the moment he shot Joseph Rosenbaum, that August night probably felt like the greatest of Rittenhouse’s life as he played the hero, toting around his big gun and his first aid kit, pretending he was a “medic” who was only there to help — parroting the first-responder motto: “If there’s somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way.”

I’m assuming most of you have seen the video in which Rittenhouse explains his presence in Kenosha while being interviewed at a used-car lot that he and his gun-toting buddies were protecting, the one in which he looks every bit his age.

The video was made by Richard McGinniss, a videographer for the Daily Caller, who exactly 14 minutes later was steps away when Rittenhouse gunned down his first victim, Rosenbaum.

McGinniss tried to save Rosenbaum’s life while Rittenhouse fled and shot two more men who attempted to stop him — one who hit Rittenhouse over the head with a skateboard and the other who pulled a gun, providing more ammo for the self-defense argument.

Videos and testimony indicate an angry Rosenbaum was shot as he chased Rittenhouse and lunged for his rifle seconds after another protester/anarchist had fired a handgun into the air nearby. Earlier that evening, Rosenbaum had threatened Rittenhouse and his fellow vigilantes, one witness testified.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Thomas Binger said Rittenhouse “chased down Mr. Rosenbaum and confronted him.” But the evidence so far hasn’t really backed that up.

This is the first time I’ve followed a trial on Court TV, which was a good plan until Friday, when the Rittenhouse proceedings were preempted by opening statements in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial in Georgia — our country having an abundance of race-based vigilante crimes from which to choose.

I find it difficult — without resorting to the use of a profanity referring to a bodily orifice — to describe most of the people involved in this case. One of the witnesses Friday couldn’t help himself, using that same term, and had to be admonished by the judge.

To paraphrase a former president, there were bad people on both sides, though, as the prosecution has emphasized, Rittenhouse was the only one who managed to actually kill someone.

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Only 119 passengers board a train at the Kostner Pink Line stop on an average day in North Lawndale.Read More

A police car sits outside a house Sunday evening where more than 12 people were wounded, two of them fatally, in a shooting early Sunday at a Halloween party in Joliet Township. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Police say two gunmen opened fire into a crowd of 200 people, killing Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22 years old.

Will County sheriff’s deputies say they have arrested a “prime suspect” in a Halloween mass shooting in Joliet Township that killed two young adults and wounded nine other people.

The 18-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on an unrelated warrant at a home in Joliet, according to the Will County sheriff’s office.

The Sun-Times is withholding his name because he has not been charged in the mass shooting last Sunday, when two gunmen opened fire into a crowd of 200 people, killing Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22.

Police had been called at least three times for noise complaints at the party in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street, but a deputy in the area had not tried to disperse the crowd. The gunmen allegedly fired from an elevated porch near a DJ booth.

Police have said the shooting may have been gang-related. Word of the party had spread on social media and many uninvited guests had arrived. The murder victims and party hosts had no gang connections, police have said.

The 18-year-old faces unrelated charges for gun possession, obstruction of justice and illegal possession of ammunition, the sheriff’s office said. He was ordered held on $1 million bond at Will County Jail.

Deputies showed up at the suspect’s home Wednesday morning in the 900 block of Gael Drive and forced their way inside, the sheriff’s office said. The teen was arrested inside and a 9mm Glock was allegedly found discarded on the first-floor roof.

The second suspected shooter is still at large.

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There’s work to be done as Sox continue pursuit of World Series goal

White Sox manager Tony La Russa, who has won three World Series, maintains winning a division title is a more difficult achievement.

But calling 2021 a success isn’t happening, not from La Russa and not from the front office of a team that had talked World Series since spring training.

“I tend to be binary when it comes to these things,” general manager Rick Hahn said Friday, speaking for the first time since the team’s elimination from the postseason by the Astros in the ALDS four weeks ago. “It’s pass fail. We didn’t win the final game of the postseason. So we didn’t meet our ultimate goal. So how can we possibly be satisfied?”

That said, knowing the core of the Sox will be in place for multiple seasons, it’s somewhat assuring for Hahn knowing the team should be in the World Series hunt in 2022. He said flaws will be assessed and the club will be improved during the offseason.

“We like where we are as an organization,” he said. “The direction we’re going, this is what we worked for, to be in a position on an annual basis to have realistic World Series aspirations.”

But there is work to be done, “not just because of free agency and some of the flaws we saw on the roster over the course of the summer and early fall but because there are ways to get better” via free agency or trades, he said.

Second base, right field, backup catcher and the pitching staff — possibly in the starting rotation and probably in the bullpen with Michael Kopech moving out of the pen, Ryan Tepera becoming a free agent and Carlos Rodon headed to free agency — are all areas of potential need.

The Sox’ rotation, the AL’s best for much of the 93-win, AL Central winning season, flopped against the Astros, who “were better than us for four days, or at three of the four,” Hahn said.

“But look, we got beat in multiple aspects of the game, whether from a run scoring or run prevention standpoint [and] defensively, which wasn’t up to par,” Hahn said. “We were not playing championship caliber baseball over the first week of October and we paid the price for it. There are lessons to be learned.”

Carlos Rodon had the best year of his career in 2021, albeit one dragged down by shoulder issues in the second half, but he got roughed up in Game 4 against Houston. His overall body of work, though, was probably good enough to land the All-Star left-hander a significant multiyear contract on the free agent market.

The Sox don’t have to say whether they’ll offer Rodon a qualifying offer until Sunday. They are expected to pick up reliever Craig Kimbrel’s option for 2022 and will likely decline the option on second baseman Cesar Hernandez, a pair of trade deadline acquisitions that Hahn and most observers believe strengthened the Sox’ grip on a World Series pursuit but did not pan out. Those decisions will be made official Saturday.

“Carlos, as a free agent, there’s only so much I’m allowed to say but I can certainly praise how fantastic he was for us over the bulk of the season and that it would be great to figure out a way to bring him back in some capacity,” general manager Rick Hahn said.

Rodon, who is represented by agent Scott Boras, “is coming in from a much better position” than a year ago when the Sox gave him a one-year, $3 million deal, Hahn acknowledged.

“We’ll see how the market unfolds,” Hahn said.

And we’ll see what the Sox do in said market, not just with Rodon but beyond.

“We made some improvements [with Hernandez], but there’s still a chance to potentially get better in that regard, too,” Hahn said.

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St. Rita’s Morez Johnson (1) shoots the ball as DePaul’s Brian Mathews (33) blocks. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Illinois and coach Brad Underwood received a massive oral commitment on Friday, picking up a pledge from St. Rita’s Morez Johnson.

Illinois and coach Brad Underwood received a massive oral commitment on Friday, picking up a pledge from St. Rita’s Morez Johnson.

Johnson, a 6-8 sophomore, recently wowed at Pangos All-Midwest Camp in LaGrange. He announced the commitment on Twitter.

“It has always been a dream of mine to represent my hometown,” Johnson tweeted. “With that being said, I am committing to the University of Illinois! I know people are going to look at it and think ‘he’s too young.” No, I know what I want and thins program can help me get there.”

Johnson is part of a group of highly-regarded young players at St. Rita. His teammate James Brown, a 6-9 sophomore, is the other contender for the state’s top prospect spot in the Class of 2024.

“I’ve visited more than a few high-level programs,” Johnson tweeted. “But the feeling I got when I put on the Illinois jersey was like no other. It’s about winning, development and culture. This is home.”

Unlike Brown, Johnson isn’t nationally ranked yet, but it is just a matter of time. He also has scholarship offers from Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State and Texas.

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An off-duty Chicago police officer was fatally shot Tuesday at this home in the 8500 block of West Winona Street, authorities say. | Brian Rich/Sun-Times

Jacqueline Villasenor, 39, was ordered held on $50,000 bail Friday for involuntary manslaughter.

A Chicago police officer shot and killed her husband while the couple struggled over a gun she had threatened to kill herself with during an argument at their Northwest Side home, Cook County prosecutors said Friday.

When 39-year-old Jacqueline Villasenor pulled out a 9-mm handgun and threatened to shoot herself, her husband, also a Chicago police officer, tried to take the weapon away from her, prosecutors told Judge Susana Ortiz.

As the couple continued to struggle over the gun, 44-year-old German Villasenor was shot in the chest; the bullet pierced his heart and exited his back before lodging in a wall, prosecutors said.

The couple’s 16-year-old son heard the shot and went to his parents’ upstairs bedroom in the 8500 block of West Winona Street. There, the boy saw his father lying on his back and his mother performing CPR on him, prosecutors said.

Jacqueline Villasenor told her son to get her medical kit bag from her car and call 911, which the boy did, prosecutors said.

An off-duty officer, who heard the radio call of the shooting, was the first one on the scene, prosecutors said. Jacqueline Villasenor told that officer about the argument, which was over a previous affair she had, and the struggle over the gun, prosecutors said.

That officer noted that Jacqueline Villasenor’s breath smelled like alcohol, prosecutors said. She allegedly wouldn’t to submit to a CPD-mandated alcohol breath test to determine her level of intoxication.

Because Jacqueline Villasenor threatened suicide, paramedics also called an ambulance to take her to a hospital, but she didn’t want to go, prosecutors said.

Chicago police
Jacqueline Villasenor

German Villasenor was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Both German and Jacqueline Villasenor tested positive for gunshot residue on their hands, but their son did not, prosecutors said.

“Her husband tried to save her life by reaching for that gun and he was killed as a result of that,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said.

In addition to her son, Jacqueline Villasenor has an adult daughter, her attorney Tim Grace told Ortiz.

The judge first ordered Jacqueline Villasenor’s held at $100,000 bail for involuntary manslaughter, but she then lowered it to $50,000 when Grace said she only had enough money to post bond for the latter amount.

Ortiz told Jacqueline Villasenor she couldn’t consume any intoxicants while on bond and that she had to turn over any firearm licenses and ammunition still in her possession to police.

“Yes, judge,” Jacqueline Villasenor answered quietly.

All firearms were removed from the house by Chicago police after the shooting, Grace said.

If Jacqueline Villasenor is convicted, she can be given probation or 3 to 14 years in prison.

She is expected back in court Nov. 23.

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David Strathairn stars as the title character in the one-man show “Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski.” | Teresa Castracane Photography

This is not an easy play to watch; even if you have heard these stories before, and if the internet is any indication, far too many have not.

Would you do the right thing even if it didn’t matter?

“Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski” now playing at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, teaches us that doing the right thing is always worth it, and that doing the right thing always matters.

Acclaimed actor David Strathairn (“Good Night and Good Luck,” “Nomadland,” “Lincoln”) embodies the titular role of Karski, a Polish citizen who witnessed the atrocities of the Holocaust firsthand and reported them to the highest authorities — only to be met with horrific inaction by those duty-bound to protect the sanctity of human life.

Writers Clark Young and Derek Goldman masterfully craft a lean narrative around this overwhelmingly complex and emotional story that packs a powerful punch in 90 minutes. Initially conceived as part of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University, the production’s plans to travel globally were temporarily halted due to COVID-19, and have thankfully since resumed, as this story is more timely than ever.

Staging a semi-biographical work of this gravity requires a sophisticated touch, and director Derek Goldman sets a nearly empty stage, save a wooden table and two chairs, allowing room for memories and the imagination to take center stage.

Strathairn successfully walks a delicate path in representing Karski and his remembrances, wearing each character like a thin veil, without falling into caricature or comedic stereotype, even in moments of levity. From the moment he unassumingly steps upon the stage, wearing socks, his deft approach swiftly draws the audience in, garnering rapt engagement for the entire performance.

Teresa Castracane Photography
Jan Karski (David Stathairn) divulges the atrocities of the Holocaust in “Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski” now playing at The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Lighting Designer Zach Blane enhances Strathairn’s storytelling prowess by gracefully shifting from stark angles to atmospheric nebulous washes, as Karski’s story morphs from an unremarkable life, to refugee, to resistance spy. Blane looms haunting shadows when Hitler’s presence is evoked, and the worst begins to manifest into reality. Roc Lee’s sound design is exquisitely subtle and effective, buoying each scene with layered meaning, without becoming treacly.

Strathairn’s portrayal of Karski will hold special resonance for those interrogating what allyship should look like. Karski’s allyship and bravery developed and deepened the more he allowed it to intersect with his humanity in the face of incomprehensible cruelty to Jewish people. At one point he says: “Each individual has infinite capacity to do good; each individual has infinite capacity to do evil.” As we witness Karski moving ever closer to truth even as it nearly cost him his life, we are left to wonder why so few others were similarly moved.

One of the things that makes “Remember This” so compelling is that it does not provide easy answers. Instead of easy platitudes, it zooms in on the intractable knot of one of humanity’s worst sins — complacency. Karski frequently referred to himself as “an insignificant little man,” yet never let his humble existence bar him from taking each small step forward in the path of righteousness, from working with the Polish Underground Resistance, to volunteering to bear witness to the atrocities of the Warsaw Ghetto and a Nazi Extermination camp.

This is not an easy play to watch; even if you have heard these stories before, and if the internet is any indication, far too many have not. In an era of spin and fake news, it is essential to learn of the indifference of multiple government officials, all the way up to Franklin D. Roosevelt, and realize that only due to Karski’s testimony, do we now realize that when these men claimed ignorance to genocide, it was a lie. It is necessary to become angry at their complacency and wonder how this could happen and how can we all band together stop it from happening again.

And that is the triumph of “Remember This.” Though we collectively believe in the power of art to create change, that claim is often left unconfronted. The play is bookended with a call to action, to look inward and ask what we can do to create change — and if we are already doing something, to do more. At one point Karski is quoted as saying “Great crimes start with little things, like disliking your neighbor for being different.” “Remember This” poses the radical thought that every action, no matter how small, has great meaning.

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Kyle Rittenhouse looks back as Susan Hughes, the great aunt of Anthony Huber, enters the courtroom during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. Anthony Huber was one of two men who Rittenhouse killed on Aug. 25, 2020. | AP

Jason Lackowski, a former Marine who said he took an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to Kenosha last year to help protect property during violent protests against racial injustice, said that Joseph Rosenbaum “asked very bluntly to shoot him” and took a few “false steppings … to entice someone to do something.”

KENOSHA, Wis. — The first man shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse on the streets of Kenosha was acting “belligerently” that night but did not appear to pose a serious threat to anyone, a witness testified Friday at Rittenhouse’s murder trial.

Jason Lackowski, a former Marine who said he took an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to Kenosha last year to help protect property during violent protests against racial injustice, said that Joseph Rosenbaum “asked very bluntly to shoot him” and took a few “false steppings … to entice someone to do something.”

Lackowski got up from the witness stand and demonstrated what he called “false stepping.” He took a small step and slight lurch forward, then stopped.

But Lackowski, who was called as a witness by the prosecution, said he viewed Rosenbaum as a “babbling idiot” and turned his back and ignored him.

His testimony showed a contrast between how the military veteran viewed Rosenbaum and earlier testimony that Rittenhouse — who was 17 at the time — may have perceived Rosenbaum as a threat.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with shooting three men, two fatally, in the summer of 2020. The one-time police youth cadet had gone to Kenosha with an AR-style rifle and a medical kit in what he said was an effort to safeguard property from the demonstrations that broke out over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a white Kenosha police officer.

Rittenhouse is white, as were those he shot. Prosecutors have portrayed Rittenhouse as the instigator of the bloodshed, while his lawyer has argued that he acted in self-defense, suggesting among other things that Rittenhouse feared his weapon would be taken away and used against him.

On Thursday, Richie McGinniss, who was recording events on a cellphone that night for the conservative website The Daily Caller, testified that Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse and was gunned down as he lunged for the young man’s rifle.

A state crime lab DNA analyst testified Friday that she tested the barrel guard from Rittenhouse’s rifle and did not find DNA from Rosenbaum or the other man killed that night, Anthony Huber. But Amber Rasmussen said she received no swabs from the actual barrel of the gun and would have no way of knowing if Rosenbaum touched it.

Under cross-examination by Rittenhouse attorney Corey Chirafasi, Rasmussen was shown still images of Huber and Rittenhouse and agreed they appeared to show Huber touching the rifle. She also acknowledged that the absence of Huber’s DNA on the gun doesn’t mean he didn’t touch it.

Also Thursday, Ryan Balch, a former Army infantryman who carried an AR-style rifle that night and walked around patrolling the streets with Rittenhouse, testified that Rosenbaum was “hyperaggressive and acting out in a violent manner,” including trying to set fires and throwing rocks. Rosenbaum also angrily threatened to “f—— kill” both Balch and Rittenhouse, Balch testified.

In testifying about what they were doing in Kenosha, Lackowski and Balch both used military terminology that reflected their backgrounds. Lackowski referred to “areas of occupation,” talked about taking up his “post” in a parking lot, and said he was trained in “shout, shove, show, shoot.”

“You shout, you shove, you show your firearm and you shoot,” Lackowski explained.

Balch used the term “plate carrier,” which he explained means body armor. He gave a detailed explanation of the differences between full metal jacket bullets and hollow points, and talked about ensuring the armed citizens in Kenosha that night worked in pairs to protect each other.

According to testimony, Rosenbaum, 36, was unarmed and did not hurt anyone that night.

His killing has emerged as one of the most crucial moments that night and one of the few not clearly captured on video. It set in motion the bloodshed that followed moments later.

Rittenhouse shot and killed Huber, a 26-year-old protester seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse then wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, who had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse could get life in prison if convicted in the case that has stirred furious debate over self-defense, vigilantism, the right to bear arms and the racial unrest that erupted around the U.S. after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other cases like it.

Before court resumed Friday, the judge granted the request of a pregnant juror to be dismissed because she was experiencing discomfort. She was the second juror dismissed: A retired man was dropped from the case Thursday after making a joke about Blake’s shooting.

Eighteen people remain on the panel: Twelve will be designated to decide the case; the rest are alternates.

___

Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin; Forliti from Minneapolis. Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed from Fenton, Michigan.

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