Read More

Kenwood’s JJ Taylor (1) takes drives the ball past Clemente’s Terrell Taylor (33). | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

The state’s top junior is leaving for California.

The Chicago to California connection continues. Kenwood junior JJ Taylor has transferred to Donda Academy, Kanye West’s new prep school in Simi Valley, California. Taylor announced the move on his Instagram account Friday.

Nimari Burnett was the first local star to transfer to California. Burnett helped lead Morgan Park to a state title as a freshman in 2017 and then left for California.

Next up was Amari Bailey, who never even attended high school in Chicago. He left for Sierra Canyon, California after eighth grade.

The move worked out well for Burnett and Bailey, although they did head to more established schools. At this point, Donda Academy apparently doesn’t even have a building.

It does have basketball stars. Top 100 national talents Zion Cruz, Robert Dillingham, Jakhi Howard and Jalen Hooks all made the move to Donda before Taylor. All four players changed their Instagram profile pictures to black circles after announcing the move to Donda. Taylor’s Instagram picture is now a black circle.

Dillingham and Taylor both took official visits to Kentucky this past weekend. There’s speculation that’s where the Taylor to Donda spark first occurred.

Tayor, a 6-8 guard, started high school at Morgan Park and transferred to Kenwood after head coach Nick Irvin left to take a job at Western Illinois. Irvin’s brother Mike Irvin is the coach at Kenwood and runs the Mac Irvin Fire, the club basketball team Taylor plays with.

Rivals has ranked Taylor No. 4 in its Class of 2023 rankings. ESPN has Taylor No. 6 in the country while 247Sports has him ranked No. 8.

“It’s very important for me to be that player, to live up to it,” Taylor said in July of his top 10 national status. “It means something. There is some pressure that comes with that, and I know and expect people to come at me. But I am ready for it and want that. I have to keep working to maintain it, live up to it, to represent Chicago. I know I’m being watched.”

Kenwood, with Taylor, Darrin Ames, Davius Loury and Trey Pettigrew, was expected to be one of the top two teams in the preseason Super 25. That changes with Taylor out of the picture.

Donda Academy is apparently opening the season on Nov. 6 at the Target Center in Minneapolis against Minnesota Prep.

Read More

Police work the scene after three teens were wounded in a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, in Morgan Park. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

William Pemberton, 14, was standing on a sidewalk with a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy when someone walked up and opened fire.

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding two other young teens in Morgan Park last month.

The 15-year-old is charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the Sept. 29 shooting in the 11000 block of South Bishop Street, Chicago police said.

William Pemberton, 14, was standing on a sidewalk about 7 p.m. with a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy when someone walked up and opened fire, police said.

Pemberton was struck in the head and was pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.

The girl suffered a gunshot wound to the foot and the boy was struck in the leg, police said. Both were taken to a hospital in good condition.

The 15-year-old was arrested Thursday in Morgan Park. He was expected to appear in juvenile court Friday.

Read More

The Chicago Bulls were off to a very nice start this season. That 4-0 start was one of the best that the team has ever had. Ahead of game five, they honored one of the best players that the team has had over the last 20 years and that is Joakim Noah. Not only did […] Chicago Bulls did an amazing job honoring Joakim Noah – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Read More

US President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with Pope Francis as they meet at the Vatican, Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. President Joe Biden is set to meet with Pope Francis on Friday at the Vatican, where the world’s two most notable Roman Catholics plan to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and poverty. The president takes pride in his Catholic faith, using it as moral guidepost to shape many of his social and economic policies. | AP

President Joe Biden’s support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage has has put him at odds with many U.S. bishops, some of whom have suggested he should be denied Communion.

ROME — President Joe Biden said Pope Francis told him he should continue to receive Communion, as the world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics ran overtime in highly personal discussions on climate change, poverty and the coronavirus pandemic that also touched on the loss of president’s adult son and jokes about aging well.

Biden’s support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage has has put him at odds with many U.S. bishops, some of whom have suggested he should be denied Communion.

Biden said abortion did not come up in the meeting at the Vatican. “We just talked about the fact he was happy that I was a good Catholic and I should keep receiving communion,” Biden said.

Video released by the Vatican showed several warm, relaxed moments between Francis and Biden as they repeatedly shook hands and smiled. Francis often sports a dour look, especially in official photos, but he seemed in good spirits Friday. The private meeting lasted about 75 minutes, according to the Vatican, more than double the normal length of an audience with the pontiff

The pair sat across from one another at a desk in the papal library, accompanied by a translator. They then proceeded to an exchange of gifts and a broader meeting including the first lady and top officials. The lengthy session put Biden more than an hour behind schedule.

“Biden thanked His Holiness for his advocacy for the world’s poor and those suffering from hunger, conflict, and persecution,” the White House said. “He lauded Pope Francis’ leadership in fighting the climate crisis, as well as his advocacy to ensure the pandemic ends for everyone through vaccine sharing and an equitable global economic recovery.”

Biden takes pride in his Catholic faith, using it as moral guidepost to shape many of his social and economic policies. He wears a rosary and attends Mass weekly.

After leaving the Vatican, Biden said he had a “wonderful” and that the pope prayed for him and blessed his rosary beads. Asked what the prayer was about, Biden replied, “Peace.”

A dozen Swiss Guards in their blue and gold striped uniforms and red-plumed halberds stood at attention in the San Damaso courtyard as Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived. They were received by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, who runs the papal household, and then greeted one by one the papal ushers, or papal gentlemen, who lined up in the courtyard.

“It’s good to be back,” Biden said as he shook the hand of one of them. “I’m Jill’s husband,” he told another before he was ushered into the frescoed Apostolic Palace and taken upstairs to the pope’s private library.

According to the Vatican, Biden presented Francis a woven chasuble, or liturgical vestment, made in 1930 by the famed papal tailor Gammarelli and used by the pope’s Jesuit order in the U.S., where it was held in the archives of Holy Trinity Church, Biden’s regular parish in Washington. The White House said it would make a donation to charity in the pope’s name.

Holy Trinity is steeped in American history and played a role in advocating for abolition, desegregation and civil rights since it was founded in 1787. President John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic U.S. president, also worshipped there.

Biden also slipped what’s known as a challenge coin into the pope’s palm during a handshake, and hailed Francis as “the most significant warrior for peace I’ve ever met.”

The personalized coin depicts Biden’s home state of Delaware and a reference to his late son Beau’s military unit, the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade. Biden told Francis that Beau would have wanted him to present the coin to the pope.

“The tradition is, and I’m only kidding about this, but next time I see you, if you don’t have it, you have to buy the drinks,” Biden said, referring to the coin. He added: “I’m the only Irishman you’ve ever met who’s never had a drink.”

Francis laughed and responded: “The Irish brought whisky.”

Biden, 78, also relayed the story of American baseball player Satchel Paige, a Black pitcher who played late into his fifties, in a parable about aging. “‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were,'” Biden quoted Paige as saying. “You’re 65, I’m 60,” Biden added, as Francis, 84, pointed to his head and laughed.

Francis presented Biden with a ceramic tile depicting the iconography of the pilgrim, as well as a collection of the pope’s main teaching documents, the Vatican said. In the Vatican video, he could be heard asking Jill Biden to “pray for me.”

The warm encounter stood in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s 2017 meeting with Francis, with whom the former president had a prickly relationship. Photos from that 30-minute meeting showed a stone-faced Francis standing beside a grinning Trump. Biden’s meeting also was longer than the 52 minutes Barack Obama spent with Francis in 2014.

Biden is visiting Rome and then Glasgow, Scotland, for back-to-back summits, first a gathering for leaders of Group of 20 leading and developing nations and then a global climate conference.

Biden and Francis have previously met three times but Friday’s encounter was their first since Biden became president.

Biden also met separately Friday with Group of 20 summit hosts Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

He will end the day by meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, part of an effort to mend relations with France after the U.S. and U.K. decided to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, scotching an existing French contract.

Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis generated some controversy in advance as the Vatican on Thursday abruptly canceled plans to broadcast the meeting with Biden live and denied press access. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the revised television plan reflected the virus protocol for all heads of state audiences, though he didn’t say why more robust live TV coverage had been initially scheduled and then canceled.

The Vatican instead provide edited footage of the encounter to accredited media.

The visit came as U.S. bishops prepared to meet in roughly three weeks in Baltimore for their annual fall convention. Among the agenda items is an effort by conservatives to disqualify Biden from receiving Communion. Any document emerging from the event is unlikely to single out the president by name, but he still could face some form of rebuke.

Francis has stressed that he will not reject political leaders who support abortion rights, though Catholic policy allows individual bishops to choose whether to prevent people from taking Communion.

Read More

This month’s conversation starters.Read More

As the Chicago Bears have prepared all week without head coach Matt Nagy in the building, it now looks as though they will not have him on Sunday when they take on the San Francisco 49ers. Nagy is set to coach from home in Week 8, which is a curious proposition. Instead of allowing Chris […] Chicago Bears: No Matt Nagy against 49ers sets table for a firing – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Read More

Bolingbrook’s Jaquan Howard (1) runs outside against Homewood-Flossmoor. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun-Times

A look at five of the best games in the first round.

Class 8A: No. 11 Naperville Central at No. 22 Naperville North, 7 p.m. Friday

Those who believe the current IHSA playoff seeding formula — which uses wins as the top criteria and ignores strength of schedule — is broken can look to this matchup as Exhibit A. These crosstown rivals both have multiple marquee wins, yet one will be done after this week. Naperville North (6-3) has split with No. 9 Neuqua Valley and beat Naperville Central 38-27 four weeks ago. Junior quarterback Aidan Gray, who has a Western Michigan offer, is coming off the best game of his career: 297 passing yards and five total TDs against Neuqua. Naperville Central (6-3) is the only team to beat No. 12 Hinsdale Central and one of two to beat No. 16 Lincoln-Way East. Quarterback Owen Prucha and Northwestern-bound receiver Reggie Fleurima are a potent combo for the Redhawks.

Class 8A: Glenbard North at No. 20 Bolingbrook, 6 p.m. Saturday

This has been a bounceback year for Glenbard North (6-3_, which had two 8A runner-up finishes and two semifinal berths from 2007-12. The Panthers’ three losses have come by a combined five points, including one-pointers to No. 6 Batavia and No. 8 Wheaton North. Watch Glenbard North back Damarion Elliston, who ran for 303 yards in a win over Naperville North. Bolingbrook (7-2) isn’t far from perfect either, with losses by one point to Lockport and by eight to Lincoln-Way East. Junior safety Damon Walters, who has two older brothers playing Division I football, has four Power Five offers including Tennessee.

Class 8A: Sandburg at No. 12 Hinsdale Central, 2 p.m. Saturday

After leading Phillips to the only two IHSA football championships in Public League history, Troy McAllister took over a Sandburg program that had won 13 games the previous five seasons and hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2015. The Eagles (5-4) are in one of the state’s toughest conferences, the Southwest Suburban Blue, and played five playoff qualifiers, plus two 4-5 teams that would have made the playoffs had they beat Sandburg. Oh, and one of the Eagles’ wins was 30-27 over perennial power Lincoln-Way East. Hinsdale Central (8-1) has won eight in a row since an opening loss to Naperville Central and has won the West Suburban Silver twice this calendar year.

Class 7A: Shepard at Prospect, 7:30 p.m. Friday

Shepard (5-4) started 0-4, including losses to still unbeaten Kankakee and Lemont. But then the Astros moved returning South Suburban Red Player of the Year Kendrick Washington to quarterback and saved their season with five straight wins. Co-champ Prospect (7-2) is one of four playoff qualifiers from the six-team Mid-Suburban East. Frank Covey has been a productive dual-threat quarterback for the Knights.

Class 6A: Simeon at Richards, 6:30 p.m. Friday

As usual, Simeon (5-4) has played one of the most challenging schedules of any CPS team. The Wolverines have nonconference losses to Joliet Catholic, Bolingbrook and Phillips as well as a league loss to Morgan Park. But a comeback win over Kenwood in Week 8 saved their playoff hopes. They also have the Public League’s top two-way player in junior receiver/defensive back Malik Elzy, a four-star prospect with 13 Power Five offers. South Suburban Red champ Richards (7-2) has some dynamic athletes as well in Jadon Wilson (14 touchdowns) and Donnie Burton.

Read More