A 22-year-old man was fatally shot October 18, 2021 in Roseland. | Adobe Stock Photo

The 22-year-old was near the sidewalk about 6:25 p.m. in the first block of West 113th Place when someone opened fire.

A 22-year-old man was shot to death Monday in Roseland on the Far South Side.

The man was near the sidewalk about 6:25 p.m. in the first block of West 113th Place when someone opened fire, Chicago police said.

He was shot in the back and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released.

No arrests were made.

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Jerry McGhee died Sunday after he was shot June 19, 2021 in Roseland.

Jerry McGhee died Sunday after he was shot in the head June 19 in the 10500 block of South Perry Avenue.

A 64-year-old man died months after he was wounded in a shooting in Roseland on the South Side.

Jerry McGhee died Sunday after he was shot in the head months earlier in the 10500 block of South Perry Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

On June 19, McGhee and a 58-year-old man were in a domestic altercation when someone opened fire, Chicago police said. The other man was taken to the same hospital with a gunshot wound to his shoulder and his condition was stabilized.

An autopsy report released Monday said McGhee died of complications from a gunshot wound and ruled his death a homicide.

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LaSheena Weekly, mother of Carlton Weekly, who performed as FBG Duck, held a news conference with family and friends near the scene of her son’s fatal shooting in the first block of East Oak Street in the Gold Coast, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file

A federal prosecutor said Tacarlos “Los” Offerd purchased the vehicle used as the “lead car” in the Aug. 4, 2020, murder one week earlier. That vehicle was then returned to the dealership in the suburbs less than an hour after the deadly shooting, he said.

A federal judge ordered the detention Friday of one of five alleged members of the O-Block street gang accused in a racketeering indictment of last year’s broad-daylight Gold Coast murder of rapper FBG Duck, which a prosecutor said is “on video.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Julien said Tacarlos “Los” Offerd, 30, purchased the vehicle used as the “lead car” in the Aug. 4, 2020, murder one week earlier. That vehicle was then returned to the dealership in the suburbs about an hour after the deadly shooting, he said.

FBG Duck, whose real name was Carlton Weekly, was shot to death in the first block of East Oak Street as shoppers milled about. Julien said at least 38 shots were fired at the rapper, and two other people were also wounded.

The shooting occurred around 4:30 p.m., and Julien said Offerd’s car was returned to the dealership, about a 50-minute drive away, around 5:30 p.m.

Julien also said the car was seen on police POD cameras and license plate readers.

An indictment unsealed this week charged Offerd and four others with murder in aid of racketeering. Offerd’s co-defendants are Charles “C Murda” Liggins, 30; Kenneth “Kenny” Roberson, 28; Christopher “C Thang” Thomas, 22; and Marcus “Muwop” Smart, 22.

Offerd, Liggins, Thomas and Smart were arrested early Wednesday morning. Attorneys for Liggins, Thomas and Smart have said they’d likely seek their clients’ release at a later time. Roberson was already in the custody of the Cook County Department of Corrections.

If convicted of the murder charge, the men face a minimum of life in prison and a potential death sentence. They are also charged with assaulting the two unnamed victims as well as firearm offenses.

John Somerville, Offerd’s defense attorney, argued during Friday’s detention hearing that prosecutors had offered “no evidence” that Offerd was involved in the crime.

“Mr. Offerd bought a car,” Somerville said. “Some unknown person was in his car. Some unknown person may have driven downtown.”

But U.S. Magistrate Judge David Weisman, who ordered Offerd detained, noted that a grand jury had already found probable cause to charge Offerd and the others in an indictment.

Julien also told the judge it appeared Offerd had lied to court personnel about his residence and employment status.

Police have said FBG Duck made “derogatory statements toward deceased members of the Black Disciples” on social media, a possible motive for his fatal shooting in the heart of the luxury shopping district on Oak Street.

FBG Duck associated with a faction of the Gangster Disciples street gang called Jaro City, which was based near 62nd Street and Vernon Avenue in West Woodlawn, police said at the time. But on social media, he identified himself as a member of the Gangster Disciples faction called STL/EBT, which is in the same area and mostly friendly with Jaro City.

Police also said last year there was a “high threat level” in an ongoing conflict between those Gangster Disciples and the O-Block faction of the Black Disciples from the Parkway Gardens apartments near 63rd Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.

Odee Perry, a member of a Black Disciples faction in Parkway Gardens, was shot to death in 2011, and the faction was dubbed O-Block in his honor. Perry’s killing sparked a series of retaliatory shootings — including the 2014 murder of Gakirah Barnes, who police say was a female gang assassin for a Gangster Disciples faction in the neighborhood.

FBG Duck was also affiliated with the Fly Boy Gang, a group of rappers.

According to a Chicago Sun-Times story in 2017, his brother Jermaine Robinson was a rapper who went by FBG Brick. He and a friend, Stanley Mack, were shot to death in Woodlawn in July 2017.

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Seth Jones and the Blackhawks’ defense needs to improve versus their opening-week performance. | Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Starting Tuesday against the Islanders, the Hawks want to play a more patient, less risky style to limit opponents’ counterattacking opportunities.

Before the season opener, one talking point for the Blackhawks was how well defensemen Seth Jones and Calvin de Haan complemented each other. De Haan would pressure opposing forwards, forcing dump-ins, and Jones would thus have the space to retrieve and quickly move the puck the other way.

“We read off each other pretty well,” Jones said. “He loves to keep a tight gap…[and] then we can get that transition game going a lot quicker.”

“It’s better for your team if you’re making the other team chip and chase,” de Haan said. “Then at that point, there’s 50-50 pucks around the ice. That’s a goal of ours.”

That sounded effective and logical in theory. But last week’s season opener now feels like a month ago, and that plan — along with every other defensive scheme the Hawks have tried so far — has failed miserably.

The Hawks are breaking down in every area. They’re often one-and-done in the offensive zone, giving up possession too easily. They’re playing too aggressively in the neutral zone, leading to guys getting caught behind the play. They’re not identifying, sorting and covering players on those transition attacks. And their goaltenders and defensemen aren’t communicating well.

Entering the Tuesday home opener against the Islanders, Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton — feeling the pressure of his team’s early-season incompetence — didn’t bother sugarcoating the situation.

“We’re making decisions that put us in a gambling position,” Colliton said Monday. “And you’re hoping you come up with [the puck] and that’s not the right approach. We have a good power play, we have good goaltending, our penalty kill’s been good, so [at even strength, we need to] play a game that we’re going to make it difficult on the opponent to create chances. I don’t think we’ve done that well enough.”

Colliton specifically criticized his defensemen for pinching too recklessly and too often, leading to counterattacks. He specifically criticized his “F3s” — the high forward within, or the last to enter, the offensive zone — for not getting back fast enough to help defend counterattacks.

And he specifically criticized himself for evidently not teaching those lessons resoundingly enough already.

“It’s our job to get that message across,” he said. “It should be pretty correctable and that’s something we’ve addressed.”

The Penguins’ third goal Saturday provides a relevant case study.

The Hawks initially looked threatening themselves, with Patrick Kane tossing a light shot off goalie Tristan Jarry’s far pad to create a rebound. But both Alex DeBrincat and Jonathan Toews (the “F3”) rushed the net, and defenseman Erik Gustafsson drifted too deep in the zone.

When Jarry kicked out the puck, it instantly sparked a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Everyone but Riley Stillman was left chasing the play, and Stillman defended it poorly, too, taking away neither the shooting nor passing options for Penguins forward Drew O’Connor. O’Connor fed Brock McGinn for an easy goal.

Instances like that have happened constantly the first week. The Hawks have allowed 35.5 scoring chances per 60 even-strength minutes so far, up from 29.9 last season and ranked 28th in the NHL.

Judging by that same number, the aforementioned de Haan-Jones pair ranks 74th among 82 regular defensive pairs league-wide, and the Jake McCabe-Connor Murphy pair isn’t much better at 71st.

The Hawks need to improve dramatically in those regards this week, and the entire team knows it.

“It’s [about] being in the right spots, taking less chances, backing each other and playing within the structure that we talk about,” Tyler Johnson said Monday. “Sometimes we just get away from that a little bit. And the NHL is too good of a league — when your structure fails you and guys are in the wrong spots, other teams make you pay.

“We almost have to play a little bit more of a boring game. That would benefit us.”

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Jackie Kinney/ Marquee Sports Network

“As I began making calls around the league this summer, one name came up every time. And that was Carter Hawkins,” president Jed Hoyer said.

As president Jed Hoyer searched for the person who would take his old job as Cubs’ general manager, he wanted the candidate to be from outside the organization. Someone who could put a fresh set of eyes on the team’s situation and help give a more detailed eye to some of the Cubs’ deficiencies as the team looks to build toward contention again.

After interviews and narrowing down his search over the past few weeks, Hoyer identified Carter Hawkins as the person for the job. The team introduced Hawkins on Monday as its 16th GM in franchise history and taking over the position that had been vacated for nearly a year.

“You think about any plan, you start with the concept of where am I? And then you figure out, where do I want to go? Then you figure out how do you bridge the gap in terms of how do I get there? And those are the things that you want to implement? Right now, it’s at that “Where am I” stage.

“It really is getting to understand the organization, but finding out what processes are already in place, all of which have been very successful, obviously, 2016 can show us that. But really understanding those areas and figuring out where some of my experiences might be able to help.”

“As I began making calls around the league this summer, one name came up every time. And that was Carter Hawkins,” Hoyer said. “As we moved as we started talking on the phone during this process, and then as we moved to formal interviews, it became clear to me how he built such a sterling reputation.”

Hawkins, 37, got his start in Cleveland’s front office as an intern, working his way up the ranks, ultimately becoming their director of player development before becoming an assistant GM in 2016.

The Cubs made a flurry of trades last season as it moved three core players from its World Series roster in order to jumpstart their rebuild. Hawkins’ expertise in player development and talent evaluation will be beneficial as the Cubs continue to overhaul their roster.

“It is so easy to skip steps. It is so easy to take the path of least resistance. It is so easy to pull the plug on the process when you don’t get immediate results,” Hawkins said. “But I know that [a sound process] can happen here for two really good reasons. One, it has happened here. And two, it is happening here.

“What Jed and Theo [Epstein] put together roughly 10 years ago today has raised the bar in Chicago for baseball to an incredibly high level. The challenge is how do we raise it even further. And that is a difficult challenge but one I’m eager to take on with all the people I mentioned earlier.”

With Hawkins hired and the team’s front office now set, the real work begins for the Cubs ahead of what is expected to be a busy offseason on the North Side. The Cubs, who are coming off their first 90 loss season since 2014, have several holes to fill on the 26-man roster.

Despite the current deficiencies, Hoyer has been adamant that the team will not only have the means to spend “intelligently” this offseason and vows to compete next season. The team’s payroll for 2022 is currently $41 million, but the Cubs haven’t made any significant movement in free agency since signing starter Yu Darvish in 2018.

One of the benefits of being a GM of a major market team is the resources at one’s disposal. While Hawkins will have budgets that the front office in Cleveland didn’t, he emphasized the importance of not skipping steps in the Cubs’ process of building its next contender.

“It’s it’s easier said than done all the time, I think,” Hawkins said. “But I think the key to being disciplined in your processes is having great people that are invested in the vision where people are disciplined to their processes.

“We are being disciplined in our decisions and deliberate in our decisions. But that doesn’t mean not making decisions. That doesn’t mean inaction over action. Like we have to make decisions, we have to be always moving forward, always looking for the next thing, just be deliberate in that process.”

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Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 72. Tonight will be clear with a low around 50. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 71.

Top story

Pastors, community leaders help students at West Side school deal with the loss of one of their own

Stefano Esposito/Sun-Times
Community activists huddle and pray with a student Monday morning at Michele Clark Academic Prep High School on the West Side.

Tristan Smith hopes to some day play in the NBA, and he understands it will take a tremendous effort to make it.

What makes no sense to the 10th grader is how someone with a similar dream, who was putting in the work, could be gunned down — hers now only a what-might-have-been story.

“That’s crazy because you can put so much work in and put so much effort to reach your dream and get it cut short off of something like that,” Smith said.

Smith was among the dozens of students who streamed into Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School on the West Side Monday. About two dozen community activists, including pastor Ira Acree, greeted them, hoping to ease the pain of losing their classmate, Kierra Moore, who, family said, was destined to play in the WNBA.

The 16-year-old was shot and killed Oct. 14 while standing with a group of people in Lawndale, according to police, who said the gunfire came from gunmen in a black car around 11:30 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Polk Street.

Moore was hit several times and died at Mount Sinai Hospital. Family insisted that Moore was not with a group of people when she was killed. Moore was with her twin sister in a rideshare car that was blocked by another vehicle, her family has said.

Some students huddled with Acree and his group in prayer Monday. Others walked into school, appearing dazed — perhaps from the unwelcome spotlight or from trying to process the tragedy.

Read the full story from Stefano Esposito.

More news you need

A federal jury today convicted a onetime student at DePaul University of trying to help the Islamic State by providing computer software that would disseminate the terrorist group’s propaganda. Jurors came to the verdict after listening to roughly two weeks of evidence in the trial.

Cook County Democrats today officially rebuked Ald. Jim Gardiner and removed him from his party posts in response to “misogynistic, homophobic, and obscene language” in texts first published last month. Rachel Hinton has more on what the moves mean and where Gardiner stands now.

Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s 12-year run as Chicago’s top watchdog ended Friday. His final quarterly report includes a range of wrongdoing by city employees, including one who tried to sneak a firearm through an airport checkpoint.

Nea Gates never planned to get vaccinated, then she saw reports about pregnant women having severe and sometimes fatal cases of COVID-19. Gates, who is now set to be fully vaccinated weeks before her Dec. 18 due date, says her change of heart came in part because she thought about her unborn child.

A bright one

Fans revel in Sky’s first championship: ‘They’re at the helm of Chicago prominence’

Milton Jackson, decked out in Chicago Bears gear, sipped on his beer Sunday afternoon between cheers he started for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky with the other men sitting at his table in the corner of Fatpour Tap Works, a bar located a half-block from Wintrust Arena on the Near South Side, where the Sky were playing for the championship title.

“This is generating a great deal of energy… and they need to be recognized for what they’re doing,” Jackson said as he intently watched the final three minutes of Game 4 of the Sky’s championship series against the Phoenix Mercury.

As the Sky clawed back from a 14-point deficit in the second half, the cheers inside the bar got louder.

Madeline Kenney/Sun-Times
Once the trophy ceremony was over, Sky fans flooded the sidewalks around the Wintrust Arena. Some waved rally towels and banged noise makers while others screamed with excitement.

“Let’s f—-g go!” a man yelled when Kahleah Copper hit a layup to pull within three points of the Mercury.

One would’ve thought the Sky had won when Candace Parker hit a game-tying three with less than two minutes that sent the bar into a total frenzy, with strangers high-fiving one another. That excitement remained until the final buzzer.

“Oh my God, they did it,” a patron said after the Sky clinched their first title, winning 80-74.

Read Madeline Kenney’s full story from the post-championship celebrations here.

From the press box

The city will celebrate the Sky’s championship tomorrow with a party in Millennium Park, Mayor Lightfoot said during a radio appearance this morning. The mayor gave no other details about what the celebration will entail.
Our staff breaks down the Bears’ 24-14 loss to the Packers yesterday: Rick Morrissey on Aaron Rodgers saying what we’ve known all along, Jason Lieser on Khalil Herbert’s strong debut and Patrick Finley with three other takeaways from the game.
Eddie Jackson took a short-lived shot at Lance Briggs on social media after the former linebacker turned NBC Sports Chicago analyst criticized Jackson’s tackling in the Bears’ loss.

Your daily question ?

How did you celebrate the Sky becoming Chicago’s latest championship team?Send us an email at [email protected] and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

On Friday, we asked you: Have you ever reconnected with an old friend or long-lost loved one? How did it happen? Here’s what some of you said…

“My old girlfriend from my Air Force days back in ’92 and she’s now my wife. Found her on Facebook five years ago.” — Enoral Sacul

“Didn’t see him for 30-something years. Ended up together for nine years until he died.” — Sandy Tyszkiewicz

“Old classmates and teachers from high school. Old friends from summer camps I went to growing up. All were found on Facebook.” — Steve Price

“Yes, through FB. Each connection has been wonderful.” — Barbara Silverman

“Yes only to be disappointed again I will let my past stay there now.” — Karen Johnson

Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.

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Bears defensive end Akiem Hicks (96) sacks Aaron Rodgers for a 10-yard loss in the third quarter Sunday at Soldier Field. | David Banks/AP Photos

Both defensive stars were valiant in overcoming injuries to play against the Packers — and each sacked Aaron Rodgers. But Hicks appeared to tweak a groin injury on his sack and played only 24 of 59 snaps.

The availability of defensive end Akiem Hicks and linebacker Khalil Mack remains a balancing act for defensive coordinator Sean Desai and coach Matt Nagy after both defensive stars gutted out injuries, with little or no practice, to make an impact against the Packers.

Hicks had a sack of Aaron Rodgers but appeared to tweak, if not aggravate a groin injury that kept him out of the Week 5 game against the Raiders. Hicks played just 24 of 59 defensive snaps against the Packers. He practiced only on Friday last week, on a limited basis.

Mack also had a sack, a quarterback hit and a tackle-for-loss despite not practicing at all last week because of a foot injury. He played 48 snaps Sunday (81%).

Nagy had no update on Hicks on Monday. Hicks’ status for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers in Tampa bears watching.

“There’s a fine line because of where they are [health-wise],” Nagy said. “It’s important to practice as much as you can. But there is a balance to that, too, because you want them to be as healthy as they can be on Sunday. That’s where you have a lot of trust in your training staff and your communication with them.”

Johnson vs. Adams

Bears secondary coach Deshea Townsend lauded cornerback Jaylon Johnson for holding Packers wide receiver Davante Adams to four catches for 89 yards Sunday. Adams came in averaging eight catches for 116 yards a game — including 11 receptions for 206 yards the previous week against the Bengals. More significantly, Adams had just five targets Sunday. He came in averaging 12.2 per game, with 16 against the Bengals.

“I thought Jaylon had an excellent game going,” Townsend said. “We put him in some real tough positions where he had to learn to play nickel. He had to play corner. That’s not normally what he does nd he did an excellent job. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to see a guy to [89] years receiving who had 200 the week before.”

Johnson was called for a pass interference penalty against Adams — a four-yard gain on third-and-four. The Bears turned that play into the league for review.

“I’d [like] to see what they say … because a lot of times I just ask them, ‘What can I teach them different?'” Townsend said. “We’ll find out.”

Tryouts

The Bears had four running backs in for tryouts Monday: Duke Johnson (Miami), T.J. Logan (North Carolina), C.J. Marable (Coastal Carolina) and Chris Thompson (Florida State).

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The tag of “best player currently never to reach the playoffs” is one that LaVine will finally put to rest this season, with talent around him and a better understanding of how to win.

If the only cross Zach LaVine had to bear was “best player,” he’d wear that proudly, doing all he could to work at living up to such praise.

After all, LaVine has always been a worker, both during the season and the offseason.

But when the title he actually currently holds is “best player … currently to never reach the playoffs,” that takes on an entirely different meaning.

What’s nice about the Bulls guard as he enters season No. 8 on Wednesday, he has tons of logical excuses on why he’s never led a team to postseason play, but rarely falls back on them.

Yes, he’s been on bad teams or rebuilding teams, both in Minnesota and with the Bulls. Yes, he’s gone through coaches and systems like clothing. And yes, he’s also had some bad luck, whether it was an injury, a failed coronavirus test, or the ball simply bouncing the wrong way.

Instead of dwelling on that, however, LaVine has always remained positive, focusing on tomorrow rather than the ugly record that stares him in the face today.

That’s why throughout this camp, he’s sounded very repetitive when asked about any sort of goals this season, whether it has to do with his pending free agency or his own individual ones.

“Win. By any means necessary and I’ll be OK with that,” LaVine said. “My mind is on tomorrow, starting this thing off right, working hard, and getting forward with helping us win and just being involved with the team this year.”

That’s because LaVine seems to finally have a better understanding of “tomorrow.” Call it the lessons he learned playing for Team USA in the Summer Olympics or just the idea of fully embracing that nothing is promised beyond today, LaVine will not only have All-Star numbers once again this season, but will end his career-long playoff drought.

Not a bold prediction by any means, considering the talent that has been assembled around LaVine, but the one that still sits atop the prediction list for this upcoming Bulls season.

2. Bulls will be a Top 10 defense – With a roster that was far from healthy and way less athletic, the Bulls were actually a solid defense in the second half of last season.

Fast forward to what they added, and what was seen in the preseason, Lonzo Ball is not only great defensively, but smart, while Alex Caruso will prove to be as disruptive as they come against opposing guards.

Then factor in that Patrick Williams has a year of experience under his belt, as well as an offseason to continue transforming his body from college kid to an NBA man, and while this won’t be the defense that the Knicks or Heat throw at teams, it will still make the opposition work.

Rebounding will be a weakness, but coach Billy Donovan will figure out how to work around that.

3. Backup guard Coby White will be shopped trade deadline time – When he is healthy to return from shoulder surgery — hopefully by late November — it will be interesting to see what role awaits him.

He seems to be a redundant player on this roster, with only his streaky three-point shooting a saving grace, but if Caruso and Ball can be threats from outside, White could be on the move.

4. A redshirt year for Ayo Dosunmu – The Chicago native had a very good camp and showed some positive things in exhibition play, but this roster is very deep in the backcourt. His most productive minutes will likely be on the Windy City Bulls of the G-League.

5. Donovan will finish in the top 5 for Coach of the Year – To go from missing the play-in game to the No. 5 seed in the East? Heck yeah, that will carry some votes.

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