Illinois Gaming Board chairman Charles Schmadeke, pictured at an August 2019 board meeting. The board voted to advance two south suburban casino proposals Wednesday. | Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times

Regulators on Wednesday advanced proposals from Matteson and a site straddling Homewood and East Hazel Crest. The final selection is expected to be made by early next year.

The south suburban casino race is down to a pair.

Nearly two years after applications were submitted to open a south suburban gambling temple, state regulators on Wednesday narrowed the field of four casino hopefuls down to two competing proposals: one at a site straddling the border of Homewood and East Hazel Crest, and another in Matteson.

The Illinois Gaming Board voted 4-0 to advance those bids and reject pitches from Calumet and Lynwood, with board chairman Charles Schmadeke saying during a virtual meeting that the culling was based on “the quality of the development presentation, and the support to and from the local community.”

The Gaming Board is expected to make a final selection for the long-coveted casino license by early 2022.

The Homewood-East Hazel Crest bid is led by Alabama-based Wind Creek Hospitality, part of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which runs 10 gambling operations in Alabama, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania and the Caribbean island of Curacao. During a public presentation last week, project partners said they’d build a $300 million, 64,000-square-foot casino near 175th Street and Halsted Street off Interstate 80, along with a 21-story hotel and an entertainment center.

Provided by Wind Creek Hospitality
Artist’s rendering of a casino proposed by Wind Creek Hospitality just off Interstate 80 near 175h Street and Halsted, straddling the border of suburban Homewood and East Hazel Crest.

“This development promises to be the best in and for the entire Southland region — with job creation, economic and community investment, sustained operational excellence, and a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion in all phases of construction and operation,” Wind Creek CEO Jay Dorris said in an email.

The group is represented by former gaming board general counsel Donna More, who also launched a failed bid to unseat Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in the 2020 Democratic primary election.

The Matteson bid is led by Hinsdale businessman Rob Miller and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a Native American tribe that runs 22 casinos. They’re calling for a $300 million complex at the shuttered Lincoln Mall at Lincoln Highway and Cicero Avenue. It would include a 123,000-square foot casino, 200-room hotel and a convention center, partners said.

Provided
A rendering of a casino proposed for the corner of Cicero Avenue and Lincoln Highway in Matteson.

Matteson Village President Sheila Chalmers-Currin noted that colleagues in the Southland Regional Mayoral Black Caucus voted to back her town’s bid.

“We are pleased and extremely excited,” Chalmers-Currin said. “I think the Gaming Board saw the commitment to diversity and the community in this project.”

The failed Calumet City bid was backed by two-sport legend Bo Jackson as well as suburban entrepreneur Dan Fischer – who has already landed himself a new casino in Rockford despite a Gaming Board investigation of his video gambling empire.

Project manager Timothy Hughes said in an email: “We are disappointed that our proposal — which would open a temporary casino in 90 days to immediately begin revitalizing the economic engine of Calumet City and had extensive community support plus a strong operator with a proven track record — was deemed insufficient to proceed to the next round.”

The Ho-Chunk Nation was behind the Lynwood proposal, which was opposed by Mayor Jada Curry, who took office a year and a half into the slow-moving selection process. Representatives for the group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Gaming Board is also weighing two finalists for a new casino license earmarked for north suburban Waukegan. Las Vegas developer Full House Resorts is up against Lakeside Casino LLC, a company led by former Grayslake state Sen. Michael Bond, who already has his own video gaming company. A selection is also expected by early next year.

It’s all part of the massive gambling expansion signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2019 that promises to add six casinos to Illinois’ current field of 10. The Rockford casino and another in downstate Williamson County have already received preliminary approvals. Another is in the pipeline for Danville, and applications to run a Chicago megacasino are due to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office by next week.

The two remaining south suburban bidders are expected to address the Gaming Board at a special meeting next week.

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In this Aug. 10 photo, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President John Catanzara speaks to reporters at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. | Ashlee Rezin, AP Photos

If they believe one set of outrageous expectations, maybe they’ll believe an equally outrageous set of expectations that can work to their own good, and the nation’s. Call it fighting fire with fire.

Until 85% or more of the population is vaccinated, America can never attain herd immunity. The vaccine refuseniks put that goal in doubt, and perpetuate the pandemic threat. Third World nations are begging for the vaccine, while here, never-vaxxers cite every unscientific fear imaginable to justify their rejection of it: Fear of sterility; fear it contains demonic additives; fear it changes one’s personality and/or behaviors, etc.

To win them over, and perhaps save their lives, maybe never-vaxxers should be convinced of equally outrageous “reasons” for getting their shots: It’ll bring them good luck; answer their prayers; enhance their libidos; give them cosmic wisdom; or diminish blemishes. If they believe one set of outrageous expectations, maybe they’ll believe an equally outrageous set of expectations that can work to their own good, and the nation’s. Call it fighting fire with fire.

Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park

SEND LETTERS TO: [email protected]. Please include your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should be approximately 350 words or less.

Catanzara’s comparison of vaccine mandate to Nazi Germany ‘naive’

I fail to comprehend the rationale behind vaccination refusal. Chicago police officers have a significantly higher risk of contracting COVID-19 just doing their daily jobs. It’s better to get the shot than being shot. John Catanzara’s comparison of the vaccine mandate to Nazi Germany shows how naive he is regarding the latter. Nazi mentality would mean if people refused to get vaccinated they would be sent to concentration camps, starved, tortured, gassed and cremated. CPS provides a choice to its members, get vaccinated for free or go for testing one-to-two times a week at their own expense.

Rita Schwimmer, Skokie

Some officers ‘defunding’ police by refusing vaccine

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara sure has a lot of sway over his membership. His minions lead all other city departments in risking time off without pay for refusing to comply with the city’s vaccination mandates. Over a third of Chicago’s “Blue Crew” failed to update their vaccination status and are now subject to disciplinary action.

Gee, I didn’t know Catanzara was such a rabid supporter of “Defund The Police.”

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn

Serve and Infect

I’ve heard that the Chicago police union is going to change the CPD motto from “Serve and Protect” to “Serve and Infect.”

Bill Walsh Mokena

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Brian Ernst/Sun-Times

The hospital system warned employees in August that they would lose their jobs if they did not get vaccinated.

Advocate Aurora Health, the largest hospital system in Illinois and Wisconsin, has fired more than 400 employees who refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

Almost half of the 440 recently terminated employees worked part time, the company said in a statement. The number is less than 1% of about 75,000 employees.

The system, which operates as Advocate Health Care in Illinois, announced in early August it would require its workers to get vaccinated. Other large hospitals made similar announcements just before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced full government approval of the Pfizer vaccine. Two other vaccines made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are being administered under an emergency authorization from FDA.

“With about 99% of our team members compliant or in the process of becoming compliant with our vaccine policy, we are protecting the health and safety of our patients, communities and each other,” Advocate said in a statement.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul got his COVID-19 vaccination in March at Advocate Health Care’s vaccine clinic at Imani Village in the Cottage Grove Heights.

Advocate is not providing a breakdown for the positions among those fired — nurses, doctors or other employees — and a spokesman declined to provide additional comment.

When it announced its mandate in August, Advocate said it would make limited exceptions for religious or medical reasons. The announcement also coincided with a rise in cases over the summer attributed to a highly contagious form of the virus known as the Delta variant.

Advocate Aurora operates 26 hospitals in the two states.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker in August issued a vaccination mandate for state health care workers.

Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot along with city commissioners give reporters an update on the COVID-19 vaccination reporting for city workers including Chicago police officers, Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Vaccine resistant cops and their union chiefs, including Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, continue to violate both scientific common sense and fundamental ethical norms.

As the number of preventable COVID-19 cases continues to rise, one group of unvaccinated hold-outs has dug in, apparently even if it means losing their lives. Close to 500 police officers in the country have died from coronavirus since the pandemic began. That number is five times the number of officers killed by gunfire.

So far this year, 231 cops have died from complications related to COVID-19. Let’s be clear — it is statistically nearly-certain that none of these officers were vaccinated. They did not have to die. Despite this, police chiefs and union leaders, including Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, continue to double down on anti-science, anti-public health, and antisocial anti-vaccination stances.

Catanzara took to Facebook to encourage his rank and file to defy the vaccine mandate, which went into effect last week. In the video, he parroted the vacuous claims of anti-vaccine misinformation campaigns, reiterating his view that vaccination requirements are some kind of “overreach.”

Catanazara is misinforming his members. He fails to understand both how well COVID-19 vaccines work and that he and his members have an ethical duty to be vaccinated.

It is unclear if he understands that the vaccines are 99.9% effective at preventing death by COVID-19, that billions of people have been safely vaccinated, and that the shots have been subject of the most robust safety research in public health history. Certainly, Catanazara must not recognize the fact that vaccination also significantly reduces the severity of illness and greatly eliminates the chance of viral spread.

Some of his officers may think they don’t need a shot since they had coronavirus or were likely exposed to it. But doctors know that vaccines provide much better immunity than an infection for police officers, their families and the people they work with.

It is also unclear if Catanazara recognizes he is encouraging his members to violate the most basic ethical obligations they have as police officers. Police officers are duty-bound to safeguard lives; we entrust cops with the right to use force to protect members of our community.

In 1829, Sir Walter Peel of London’s Metropolitan Police Department formulated a set of nine ethical principles. These Peelian principles have served as the basis for policing codes of ethics and created the foundation of modern policing. Themes of community trust and engagement have been reflected in police mission statements for two centuries in democratic countries as a result.

Most notably, Peel recognized that the existence of the police is dependent upon public approval and the ability to secure and maintain public respect . Officers are obligated to preserve public respect, not by “catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law” . Community policing strategy and policy have cited the historic tradition that the “police are the public and the public are the police”.

We are now witnessing the continued erosion of ethical policing by FOP leaders who reject time honored Peelian principles by denying science and recklessly placing their members’ and the public’s health at risk.

Vaccine resistant cops and their union chiefs continue to violate both scientific common sense and fundamental ethical norms. It is now up to mayors and police chiefs to enforce vaccination requirements.

Last week, a judge ordered Catanazara to temporarily stop using social media to encourage his members to defy the city’s mandate to enter their vaccine status on the city’s online data portal.

And earlier this week, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said 21 sworn officers have been placed on no-pay status for refusing to report their vaccination status.

That’s a start.

Chicago police have “we serve and protect” painted on their patrol cars. If they mean it, they ought to get vaccinated.

Dominic Sisti, PhD is a medical ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania. Cyndi Rickards, EdD is a criminologist at Drexel University. Arthur Caplan, PhD is a bioethics professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

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Clark quarterback Dontrell Starks (22) is chased by Rabi’s Kierre Turner. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun-Times

The latest rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an AP panel of sportswriters.

The latest rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters.

Class 8A

1. Loyola (10) (8-0) 100 1
2. Neuqua Valley (8-0) 89 2
3. Maine South (7-1) 75 3
4. Warren (7-1) 71 4
5. Marist (6-2) 50 6
6. Lincoln-Way East (6-2) 34 NR
(tie) South Elgin (8-0) 34 7
8. Hinsdale Central (7-1) 32 8
9. Naperville Central (5-3) 19 NR
10. Glenbard West (7-1) 18 9

Others receiving votes: York 15, Lockport 10, O’Fallon 2, Glenbrook South 1,

Class 7A

1. Batavia (7) (8-0) 97 1
2. Brother Rice (3) (6-2) 90 2
3. Wheaton North (7-1) 8 3
4. Mount Carmel (6-2) 65 4
5. St. Rita (6-2) 57 5
6. Prospect (7-1) 41 9
7. Normal (8-0) 37 7
8. Hononegah (8-0) 30 8
9. Moline (7-1) 23 10
10. Hersey (7-1) 17 6

Others receiving votes: Hoffman Estates 11, Buffalo Grove 1.

Class 6A

1. East St. Louis (10) (7-1) 109 1
2. Cary-Grove (1) (8-0) 100 2
3. Kankakee (8-0) 81 3
4. St. Ignatius (8-0) 80 4
5. Lemont (8-0) 64 5
6. Crete-Monee (6-2) 56 6
7. Wauconda (8-0) 42 7
8. Lake Forest (7-1) 29 T9
9. Harlem (7-1) 13 NR
10. Washington (6-2) 12 NR

Others receiving votes: Deerfield 11, Simeon 3, Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge 2, Kenwood 2, Grayslake Central. 1.

Class 5A

1. Rochester (11) (7-1) 110 1
2. Fenwick (6-2) 96 2
3. Morris (8-0) 83 4
4. Mahomet-Seymour (8-0) 73 6
5. Peoria (6-2) 51 7
6. Mascoutah (7-1) 39 3
7. Sterling (6-2) 38 5
8. Glenbard South (7-1) 37 8
9. Marion (7-1) 31 9
10. Sycamore (6-2) 23 10

Others receiving votes: Morton 8, Morgan Park 6, Nazareth 5, Marmion 4, Triad 1.

Class 4A

1. Joliet Catholic (12) (8-0) 120 1
2. Sacred Heart-Griffin (7-1) 105 2
3. Richmond-Burton (8-0) 97 3
4. Kewanee (8-0) 77 4
5. Genoa-Kingston (7-1) 61 5
6. Phillips (6-2) 59 6
7. St. Francis (6-2) 44 7
8. Peoria Notre Dame (6-2) 29 10
9. Stillman Valley (7-1) 23 9
10. Breese Central (7-1) 20 NR

Others receiving votes: Wheaton Academy 10, Coal City 7, Carterville 4, Mt. Zion 3, Dixon 1.

Class 3A

1. IC Catholic (8) (8-0) 116 2
2. Wilmington (4) (8-0) 111 1
3. Byron (8-0) 89 4
4. Williamsville (7-1) 80 3
5. Tolono Unity (8-0) 74 5
6. Princeton (7-1) 53 6
7. Farmington (8-0) 41 7
8. Mt. Carmel (8-0) 25 T9
9. Monticello (7-1) 21 8
10. Reed-Custer (7-1) 16 NR
(tie) Durand (7-1) 16 T9

Others receiving votes: Benton 15, Clark 2, Nashville 1.

Class 2A

1. Decatur St. Teresa (7) (8-0) 88 1
2. Breese Mater Dei (2) (8-0) 81 2
3. Downs Tri-Valley (8-0) 73 3
4. Bismarck-Henning (8-0) 60 5
5. Pana (8-0) 52 6
6. Athens (7-1) 50 8
7. Maroa-Forsyth (6-2) 30 4
8. Knoxville (7-1) 23 7
9. Johnston City (7-0) 12 NR
(tie) Vandalia (7-1) 12 NR

Others receiving votes: Erie-Prophetstown 9, Bishop McNamara 4, North-Mac 1.

Class 1A

1. Carrollton (6) (7-1) 85 1
2. Abingdon (3) (8-0) 78 3
3. Lena-Winslow (7-1) 73 2
4. Camp Point Central (7-1) 66 4
5. Fulton (6-2) 48 5
6. Forreston (6-2) 43 6
7. Ottawa Marquette (7-1) 39 7
8. St. Bede (6-2) 21 9
9. Aurora Christian (6-2) 17 10
10. Cumberland (7-1) 11 NR

Others receiving votes: Moweaqua Central A&M 6, Arcola 5, Greenfield-Northwestern 1, Sesser (S.-Valier) 1, Nokomis 1.

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The Bears are playing Tom Brady on Sunday. | Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Aaron Rodgers told Bears fans he owned them. Tom Brady heard him.

Aaron Rodgers told Bears fans he owned them.

Tom Brady heard him.

Speaking on his SiriusXM show — called “Let’s Go!” — the Buccaneers quarterback joked with host Jim Gray about Rodgers’ touchdown celebration Sunday at Soldier Field. He said he was watching film to prepare for Sunday’s Buccaneers-Bears game in Tampa.

“I was studying a little on the Bears and Packers,” he said. “Before we get started I wanted to say congrats to Aaron Rodgers, obviously. I know he’s a great quarterback, but I guess he’s now a shareholder of the Bears.

“I saw a clip of him really enthusiastically telling the crowd how happy he is to own Soldier Field. That’s really great stuff. He owns the Bucks now. Part-owner of Soldier Field. He’s got a great career beyond football.”

Rodgers has owned 1 percent of the Milwaukee Bucks since 2018. And, if you ask him, the Bears since in perpetuity.

“All my [bleeping] life, I own you,” Rodgers said as he looked into the Soldier Field stands after running for a fourth-quarter touchdown in Sunday’s win. “I own you. I still own you.”

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“I’m willing to put the work in, and I’m willing to put it all on the line,” Kofi Cockburn said. “Illinois basketball means a lot to me.” | Doug McSchooler/AP

With Cockburn back, Illinois should have the firepower to compete for the Big Ten title again.

For all the excitement at Illinois, from earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to the Illini’s second-round loss to Loyola, the biggest decision for the immediate future came in the heat of midsummer when Kofi Cockburn announced he was coming back for his junior season.

The seven-foot center’s choice brought another dose of sky-high hopes for the 11th-ranked Illini, who went 24-7 overall and 16-4 in the Big Ten last season. Cockburn is the unquestioned anchor of the team after averaging 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game — something he wants to better.

“I’m willing to put the work in, and I’m willing to put it all on the line,” Cockburn said. “Illinois basketball means a lot to me.”

With Cockburn back, Illinois should have the firepower to compete for the Big Ten title again. The season opener is Nov. 9 at home against Jackson State and the first month of the schedule includes games against the likes of Marquette, Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

REPLACING DOSUNMU

Sophomore guard Andre Curbelo isn’t playing down expectations even after star guard Ayo Dosunmu’s departure to the Bulls.

“I’m not afraid to say we’re going to be better than last year,” Curbelo said. “Once we click and we do everything, we’re going to be pretty special.”

Curbelo is the unquestioned distributor and playmaking guard for Illinois as a sophomore. He earned Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year honors as a freshman, averaging 9.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists. That early tourney exit is a source of motivation now.

“I’m going to have that in the back of my head, probably for the rest of my life,” Curbelo said. “We can’t take anything for granted. I think that’s something that game taught us.”

COLEMAN’S CEILING

Coach Brad Underwood is counting on sophomore forward Coleman Hawkins.

“Coleman has made huge strides,” Underwood said. “He’s 6’10”, he’s extremely versatile. He can be a playmaking forward for us.”

Hawkins played sparingly as a freshman, averaging just six minutes, but that looks likely to change.

“(Hawkins) literally can play the three, four and five, and is really an elite defender in his own right,” Underwood said.

FRONTCOURT PAYNE

Six-foot-ten forward Omar Payne transferred to Illinois after leading Florida with a 75% shooting percentage and averaging 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds. Underwood thinks Payne gives Illinois another influential post presence along with Cockburn.

“He’s elite at getting to the rim,” Underwood said. “He’s as quick-twitch of an athlete as we’ve had, but I’ve been very impressed.”

ILLINI DEPTH

Don’t overlook the importance of fifth-year guards Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams. Both are strong defenders, and Williams has guarded nearly every position on the court.

“Those are two guys that I look up to a lot because they prioritize winning and they do whatever it takes,” Cockburn said. “That’s great leadership because these young guys come in and see that, ‘Yo, this is what it takes.'”

The Illini return starting wing Jacob Grandison, and added Utah graduate transfer Alfonso Plummer, who averaged 13.6 points per game and shot 38.3% from 3-point range. Plus, 6-foot-6 guard Austin Hutcherson is healthy after rehabilitating from a back injury.

“There’s no doubt Ayo was in a prominent role in everything we tried to do last year,” Underwood said. “We’ll fit these pieces in and see how it works, but right now, I really like all the pieces.”

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Goode’s Martese Whitehurst takes the handoff from Marquis Brown during practice. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

This calendar year, Goode is 11-2 with conference titles in the Illini Big Shoulders in the spring and the Illini Great Lakes in the fall.

The pandemic dealt a blow to Public League football that some programs are still recovering from.

A year of remote learning, missed offseason workouts and an on-the-fly spring season left a number of teams back at square one.

But in the Ashburn neighborhood, one program is not only surviving but thriving. And that came in the wake of some struggles after promotion to the more competitive Illini sections.

This calendar year, Goode is 11-2 with conference titles in the Illini Big Shoulders in the spring and the Illini Great Lakes in the fall. The Knights have qualified for the IHSA playoffs for the second time in program history and are in the Public League playoffs for the first time.

What’s the secret to Goode’s success? Trusting the process, according to senior quarterback Marquis Brown.

“COVID season, it was really tough to get through,” Brown said. “We stayed active, went to the field, threw some passes around. If we have a season or not, we’re still family. We’ll get through this together.”

The Knights went 4-1 in the spring with the only loss 45-0 to Carver, a rival they’d never defeated. This fall, Goode beat Carver — also an IHSA playoff qualifier after winning the Illini Second City — 65-6.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Brown said. “No one thought we were going to win that game.

“We’re getting everybody to practice. We have some players who didn’t play in the spring due to COVID. The energy is up now.”

Coach Terrence McClarn has been at Goode since the start of the varsity program in 2014, two years after the school opened. He’s climbed the ladder from defensive backs coach to special teams coordinator to JV head coach to defensive coordinator. The head coach since 2019, he’s seen the highs and the lows.

In the program’s third year, Goode went 9-0 in the regular season, won the Chicago Great Lakes and lost 46-6 to Nazareth in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

But like a lot of CPS teams that are successful in the Chicago sections, Goode initially struggled after promotion to the Illini. The Knights went 5-21 overall and 0-14 in conference play in their first three seasons in the Illini.

A key to getting the program back on track, McClarn said, was having more help. The early Goode teams had just four coaches; now there are nine. Like McClarn, they played for assistant head coach Mike Glenn’s youth football program.

With an enrollment of 981, Goode has around 60 players in the program. This year’s JV team is actually larger than the varsity with about 35 players. But McClarn resisted the urge to move anyone up because every one of those players was in his first season of football.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
Goode’s Marquis Brown passes the ball during practice.

There is experience and talent on the varsity. Brown splits reps at quarterback with senior Jaheed Puckett, who also plays wingback and defensive back.

Other mainstays include junior twins Martese and Marques Whitehurst, a defensive end/running back and linebacker/running back respectively, and two-way junior lineman Alejandro Guzman.

As the Knights keep checking off items on the program’s to-do list, a few remain. Former quarterback Jamari Johnson, now a redshirt junior defensive end at Division II McKendree, is Goode’s most prominent player at the next level.

Sending a player to Division I is high on McClarn’s priorities. The school’s academics help; through a partnership with Daley College, students can not only take college classes but can graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.

In the meantime, there are other goals to chase, including the program’s first postseason win.

“What legacy do you want to leave behind?” McClarn said he asks his players. “We want to set the bar high for the next person.”

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