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Liam Hendriks of the White Sox hides his face in a towel as the Houston Astros defeat the Sox 10-1 to win Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Guaranteed Rate Field on October 12, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The Astros won the American League Division Series 3-1 and will advance to the American League Championship Series. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty

The Astros outscored the Sox by 19 runs in their three ALDS victories.

Ten runs ruled.

For the White Sox, a team that talked about the World Series in spring training, entertained fans with a talented roster during the regular season and cruised to its first division title in 13 years, getting trounced 10-1 by the Astros on Tuesday in Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Guaranteed Rate Field was a stunning way to bow out of the postseason.

Jose Altuve scored four runs, stole a base and hit a three-run home run against closer Liam Hendriks to rub the Sox’ noses in it in the ninth inning. Carlos Correa knocked starter Carlos Rodon out of the game with a two-run double on an 0-2 fastball with two outs in the third after Rodon had juiced up the crowd by touching 99 mph and pitching out of trouble in the first.

Fans who left a lasting memory Sunday by creating an electric atmosphere in a memorable 12-6 victory in Game 3 — the Sox’ only triumph of the series — had nothing to get noisy about after rookie designated hitter Gavin Sheets’ homer in the second produced the only run for the home team.

The Sox, who were bounced from the playoffs early for the second consecutive season, were outscored by five, five and nine runs in their three losses in the series.

”We accomplished the first goal, but we are disappointed to get one win and not two more, so bittersweet,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said after his first season since coming out of retirement came to an angry end.

La Russa was more bitter than anything, railing against the Astros for reliever Kendall Graveman ”intentionally” throwing at Sox slugger Jose Abreu in the eighth. It was an accusation Astros manager Dusty Baker denied.

It ”left a bitter taste in my mouth, my gut,” La Russa said.

Perhaps it was a way of masking the bitter taste of seeing his team get outplayed in all phases — pitching, hitting and defense — in the series.

”More than anything else, two-out hits [were the difference in the series],” La Russa lamented.

More than anything, the Sox’ starting pitching — their backbone all season — made a big difference by failing. They didn’t get a single good start from Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Rodon. Sox starters led the AL in ERA during the regular season but gave up 14 runs in 12 1/3 innings to the Astros for a 10.22 ERA.

”These guys can pitch, but we can hit,” Altuve said.

The Astros, a slight favorite going into the series, advanced to the AL Championship Series for the fifth consecutive season.

”We don’t get tired of these moments,” Correa said. ”They’re special, and we perform our best when October comes.”

The Sox had one good moment: Game 3. Besides that, it was three stinkers.

After digging themselves a 5-1 hole, they caught a break when Astros ace Lance McCullers left the game after four innings with soreness in his right forearm. But they did nothing with the Astros’ bullpen. Five relievers held the Sox to two hits.

”It’s a learning experience for all of us, but we got a big taste of what it’s like to play at home in the playoffs, and I don’t think anybody is going to forget today and Sunday night,” Sheets said. ”Just what it was like — the crowd, the black-out, the support. That burns a fire, and that makes you want to do it again and with a different outcome.

”Last year, we got to the wild card. This year, we won the division. We’re going to keep growing, and going into the offseason we’re all going to be talking about that atmosphere and wanting to play in front of that again. That’s going to be the goal from Day 1 when we step into spring training.”

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Carlos Rodon’s two first-inning strikeouts in the White Sox’ 10-1 Game 4 were the memorable moments in what could have been his final start in Chicago.

So much was unknown for Carlos Rodon and the White Sox going into his start in Game 4 of the division series. Was he healthy? Could he get outs? Should the Sox have started Lance Lynn?

But with the Sox in need of his best, he gave it to them and put on a final performance that won’t be forgotten on the South Side anytime soon.

Things started right away for Rodon as Jose Altuve ripped the first pitch of the game for a double. But after getting Michael Brantley to ground out on a pair of sliders, something happened.

Despite not coming into the game 100%, it was like someone flipped the switch and the pitcher who helped guide the Sox to the postseason had emerged.

“I knew about a couple of days ago I felt pretty close to normal,” he said.

Rodon went into ace mode, mowing down the next two hitters and getting himself out of a jam.

After starting the at-bat, 1-0, the Sox’ left-hander blew a 97-mph fastball past Alex Bregman for strike one. He then spun a breaking ball over the plate for strike two. Finally, he reached back and blew a 99-mph fastball past Bregman for the strikeout.

But he wasn’t done there.

He got the next batter, Yordan Alvarez, down in the count 1-2 before blowing another 99-mph fastball by him and letting out a primal scream as he pounded his chest electrifying a sellout crowd.

“Adding in the crowd, an amazing crowd,” Rodon said. “First time for me to see some playoff games at home, and it was something special.”

Rodon went two scoreless innings before getting into trouble in the third. He surrendered a two out, two-run double to Carlos Correa that gave them a 2-1 lead and the Astros never looked back.

No one could have expected Rodon to have the electric stuff that he did in the 10-1 loss to the Astros. In his last start of the regular season on Sept. 29, his fastball averaged just 90.9 mph. He clearly emptied the tank, averaging 95.8 mph on Tuesday.

“I thought he did exactly what he did all year,” manager Tony La Russa said after the game. “He gave us everything he had. … He was competing. It’s exactly what he gave us all year to the extent that he had the stamina, so we all felt very good about his effort.”

Rodon has grown with the White Sox as they’ve built what they feel is their championship core. They picked him as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 draft and after making it to the big leagues in ’15, it wasn’t an easy road for the southpaw.

He’d struggle with injuries over the next five seasons, ultimately leading to him being non-tendered after the 2020 season. After returning this season, he became one of the best starters in baseball, going 13-5 with 2.37 ERA and even tossed his first no-hitter.

Rodon has an uncertain future as he enters free agency and his start Tuesday could have been his last in a White Sox’ uniform. But he didn’t waste the opportunity to take in the moment. Seeing him walk off the mound to a roar from the crowd felt like a culmination of a significant comeback story for the White Sox in ’21.

“It’s been an interesting road for me,” an emotional Rodon said. “And to have the opportunity to pitch in an important game, it meant a lot. So thank you, White Sox fans, and thank you to the organization.”

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Dean Angelo, then Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 president, talks to members of the media after a bond hearing for Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in 2015, in Chicago. Angelo died Tuesday after battling COVID-19 for weeks. | Charles Rex Arbogast, AP Photos

Mr. Angelo, the police union president from 2014-2017, spent more than 37 years on the police force.

Former Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo Sr., 67, who led the union during the tumultuous years immediately after the shooting of Laquan McDonald, died Tuesday after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19.

Mr. Angelo, who served as president of the police union from 2014 to 2017, died Monday, according to his son, Chicago Police Sgt. Dean Angelo Jr. He said his father had tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-September and had been in intensive care since Sept. 26. His son had earlier declined to say whether his dad had been vaccinated.

Dean Angelo Sr. was the son of a Chicago police officer himself, and he has a daughter on the force in addition to Dean Angelo Jr. Another daughter is a CPS teacher, while another son is a Chicago firefighter.

“He was a gentleman,” said Dan Herbert, a former union attorney who represented former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in his trial for McDonald’s murder. “He would fight hard for his members, but he did it with class and you can’t always say that about everyone.”

Mr. Angelo rose to the rank of detective and specialized in arson investigations, his son said. In all, Mr. Angelo spent more than 37 years on the police force, mostly as a gang officer.

He met his wife of nearly 40 years, Claudia, on his lunch break while working as a patrolman.

Mr. Angelo completed some college before he joined CPD, and went back to school when the department adopted a tuition reimbursement program in 1980. He went on to get a doctorate degree, and later taught law enforcement classes at National Louis University and the College of St. Joseph, his son said.

As union president, Mr. Angelo was an early lightning rod in the debate over police reform. He became the most public defender of the police force when the release of video showing Van Dyke firing 16 shots at 17-year-old McDonald put the department under unprecedented scrutiny. When Van Dyke was suspended from the force, Mr. Angelo hired him to work as a custodian at FOP headquarters.

Mr. Angelo attended nearly all of the pre-trial hearings in the nearly three years it took for Van Dyke to go to trial. He attended every day of Van Dyke’s 2018 trial, often sitting beside Van Dyke’s wife and family, who he became close with.

Mr. Angelo attended the trial even though he had lost a heated election for FOP president the year before. His opponents had vowed to be even more confrontational with the mayor’s office.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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From left to right, Michael Craig’s son John Miller, attorney Michael Oppenheimer, Craig’s son Patrick Jenkins and Craig’s nephew Victor Varner call on CPD to release body camera footage of Craig’s death. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The family of Michael Craig said they’ve had no contact with police about why their father was shot by an officer responding to a domestic disturbance Oct. 4.

The family of a 61-year-old man killed by a Chicago police officer during a domestic call last week is being represented by a civil rights lawyer who demanded Tuesday that authorities turn over police video of the shooting.

Attorney Michael Oppenheimer said serious questions remain about the deadly shooting, including whether Michael A. Craig was even holding a weapon or threatening police.

“Nobody from the Chicago Police Department has reached out to this family to give any explanation of why their father, friend and loved one was killed by the Chicago Police Department,” attorney Michael Oppenheimer said at a news conference.

Craig was fatally shot by one of the officers who responded to a call about a “domestic disturbance” around 7:35 a.m. Oct. 4 in a second-floor apartment in the 7700 block of South Carpenter Street.

Police said the officers “observed a domestic altercation” and one of them fired and hit Craig. Police have said a knife was recovered but would not say if Craig or the woman with him was holding it at the time.

Provided
Michael A. Craig was shot and killed by police in the second floor apartment on Oct. 5. His son, John Miller, called him a “great dad.”

But Oppenheimer said the woman in the apartment, whom he identified as Craig’s wife, was threatening Craig with a knife and Craig screamed at his 7-year-old son to call the police.

“He yelled to his . . . son, ‘Call the police, call the police. She’s got a knife to my throat,” said Oppenheimer.

When officers arrived, Oppenheimer said “witnesses heard the police officer yell “Drop it, drop it” and immediately two gunshots were fired.”

Craig’s wife was taken to the hospital after the shooting for mental health issues and remains under observation, the family said. Craig’s 7-year-old son is in the care of relatives.

“(Craig) was a victim of domestic violence,” Oppenheimer said. “I fear that the police are being unusually silent in this case because they made him a victim, again, of domestic violence and now a victim of the Chicago Police Department.”

Craig and his wife had been married for nearly 10 years, according to Craig’s older son Patrick Jenkins, and it was not the first altercation between the two. In 2016, Craig’s wife stabbed him and she was arrested but then released.

Despite their past, Jenkins said his father loved his wife “very much.”

“He wanted to help her, and this is what happened,” said Jenkins, 40. “He didn’t deserve it.”

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability has 60 days before it is required to release body camera footage from the officers. Oppenheimer said the family has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the agency in the hopes of speeding the process along.

Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter for the Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.

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White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon, center, watches from the dugout with Andrew Vaughn, left, and Lucas Giolito during the 10-1 Game 4 of the ALDS at Guaranteed Rate Field. | Nam Y. Huh/AP

White Sox’ season ends with 10-1 loss to Astros.

Carlos Correa knocked Carlos Rodon out of the game with a two-run, two-out double on an 0-2 pitch in the third inning, Alex Bregman drove in two runs with a double on a 3-0 pitch from Garrett Crochet in the fourth, and the Houston Astros ended the White Sox’ season with a 10-1 blowout victory Tuesday in Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Needing a win to knot the series at two games apiece and send it to Houston for a deciding game, the Sox found themselves in a 5-1 hole in the fourth inning and lost the series in four games for their second straight quick exit from postseason, this time under manager Tony La Russa. The Sox fell to the Athletics in the best of three Wild Card series last season under manager Rick Renteria, who was fired after the season.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, on the receiving end of hostile, sometimes profane chants from the Sox’ crowd during Games 3 and 4, put an exclamation point on the series by launching a three-run homer against Sox closer Liam Hendriks in the ninth inning. By that time, a large portion of the 40,174 in attendance was on its way out of the ballpark.

Hours earlier, the Sox, their backs to the wall, had the crowd in full voice with a promising start. After two inspiring scoreless innings from left-hander Carlos Rodon, they scored first on designated hitter Gavin Sheets’ solo home run to center field against Astros ace Lance McCullers Jr. in the second. Astros center fielder Jake Meyers injured his right shoulder reaching over the wall and left the game.

Rodon, touching 99 mph in his first start in 13 days, struck out Bregman and Jordan Alvarez with Altuve on third base after Altuve hit Rodon’s first pitch of the game, a 93-mph fastball, into the left field corner for a double.

Touching 99 mph for the first time since July, Rodon’s sequence of strikeouts had the crowd in a frenzy. Bothered by a sore shoulder much of the second half of the season, the All-Star left-hander let out a triumphant scream as he came off the mound. In the second inning, Rodon allowed a leadoff single to Correa, then recorded three straight outs.

But after striking out Martin Maldonado leading off the third, Rodon hit Altuve on the left elbow pad with a pitch and walked Alex Bregman and Jordan Alvarez, loading the bases with two outs and setting up Correa’s big blow that gave the Astros the lead for good at 2-1.

Maldonado’s RBI single, a liner up the middle that made Kopech duck out of the way, scored Kyle Tucker to make it 3-1, and Bregman’s double made it 5-1. Brantley’s two-out single against Aaron Bummer in the sixth scored Chas McCormick, who had replaced Meyers in center field.

The Astros stole four bases on Rodon, Kopech, Craig Kimbrel and catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Rodon was charged with two runs and Kopech, who replaced Rodon, was charged with three runs. Manager Tony La Russa said Monday that Kopech, who had thrown 47 pitches in the Sox’ 12-6 win in Game 3, would not be available until a possible Game 5.

The Sox’ starting rotation had the best ERA in the AL this season, but Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Rodon allowed 14 runs lasting only 12 1/3 innings for a 10.22 ERA in four starts.

McCullers, the winner in Game 1 in Houston, was pulled after four innings and 73 pitches, and Astros bullpen strung together zeroes the rest of the way.

Sox center fielder Luis Robert left the game in the sixth with right leg tightness.

The Astros advance to the ALCS to face the Red Sox, a series that starts Friday in Houston.

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White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon, center, watches from the dugout with Andrew Vaughn, left, and Lucas Giolito during Game 4 of the ALDS at Guaranteed Rate Field. | Nam Y. Huh/AP

White Sox’ season ends with 10-1 loss to Astros

Carlos Correa knocked Carlos Rodon out of the game with a two-run, two-out double on an 0-2 pitch in the third inning, Alex Bregman drove in two runs with a double on a 3-0 pitch from Garrett Crochet in the fourth, and the Houston Astros ended the White Sox’ season with a 10-1 blowout victory Tuesday in Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Needing a win to knot the series at two games apiece and send it to Houston for a deciding game, the Sox found themselves in a 5-1 hole in the fourth inning and lost the series in four games for their second straight quick exit from postseason, this time under manager Tony La Russa. The Sox fell to the Athletics in the best of three Wild Card series last season under manager Rick Renteria, who was fired after the season.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, on the receiving end of hostile, sometimes profane chants from the Sox’ crowd during Games 3 and 4, put an exclamation point on the series by launching a three-run homer against Sox closer Liam Hendriks in the ninth inning. By that time, a large portion of the 40,174 in attendance was on its way out of the ballpark.

Hours earlier, the Sox, their backs to the wall, had the crowd in full voice with a promising start. After two inspiring scoreless innings from left-hander Carlos Rodon, they scored first on designated hitter Gavin Sheets’ solo home run to center field against Astros ace Lance McCullers Jr. in the second. Astros center fielder Jake Meyers injured his right shoulder reaching over the wall and left the game.

Rodon, touching 99 mph in his first start in 13 days, struck out Bregman and Jordan Alvarez with Altuve on third base after Altuve hit Rodon’s first pitch of the game, a 93-mph fastball, into the left field corner for a double.

Touching 99 mph for the first time since July, Rodon’s sequence of strikeouts had the crowd in a frenzy. Bothered by a sore shoulder much of the second half of the season, the All-Star left-hander let out a triumphant scream as he came off the mound. In the second inning, Rodon allowed a leadoff single to Correa, then recorded three straight outs.

But after striking out Martin Maldonado leading off the third, Rodon hit Altuve on the left elbow pad with a pitch and walked Alex Bregman and Jordan Alvarez, loading the bases with two outs and setting up Correa’s big blow that gave the Astros the lead for good at 2-1.

Maldonado’s RBI single, a liner up the middle that made Kopech duck out of the way, scored Kyle Tucker to make it 3-1, and Bregman’s double made it 5-1. Brantley’s two-out single against Aaron Bummer in the sixth scored Chas McCormick, who had replaced Meyers in center field.

The Astros stole four bases on Rodon, Kopech, Craig Kimbrel and catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Rodon was charged with two runs and Kopech, who replaced Rodon, was charged with three runs. Manager Tony La Russa said Monday that Kopech, who had thrown 47 pitches in the Sox’ 12-6 win in Game 3, would not be available until a possible Game 5.

The Sox’ starting rotation had the best ERA in the AL this season, but Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Rodon allowed 14 runs lasting only 12 1/3 innings for a 10.22 ERA in four starts.

McCullers, the winner in Game 1 in Houston, was pulled after four innings and 73 pitches, and Astros bullpen strung together zeroes the rest of the way.

Sox center fielder Luis Robert left the game in the sixth with right leg tightness.

The Astros advance to the ALCS to face the Red Sox, a series that starts Friday in Houston.

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Former Blackhawks video coach Bradley Aldrich allegedly sexually assaulted a player in 2010. | Sun-Times file photo

Consolidating the negligence lawsuits makes sense because both “include similar allegations” regarding Aldrich, the former Hawks video coach who allegedly assaulted a player in 2010, Hawks lawyers wrote.

The Blackhawks hope to consolidate the two negligence lawsuits related to former video coach Bradley Aldrich’s alleged sexual assaults into one lawsuit, per a new court motion filed Tuesday.

The Hawks proposed consolidating the lawsuit filed by a former Michigan high school hockey player (identified anonymously as “John Doe 2”) whom Aldrich assaulted in 2013 into the lawsuit filed by a former Hawks player (“John Doe 1”) whom Aldrich allegedly assaulted in 2010.

Doing so makes sense because “the lawsuits include similar allegations, involve the same defendant, arise from the same underlying facts relating to [the] defendant, and, if allowed to proceed separately, could lead to inefficiency, inconsistent rulings and, potentially, inconsistent judgments,” Hawks lawyers wrote.

Both sides have battled through a lengthy string of motions, amendments and responses ever since the two lawsuits were initially filed in May and June. The Doe 2 case has already changed assigned judges once; the Doe 1 case is assigned to a different judge.

The most recent responses by plaintiffs’ lawyer Susan Loggans, filed Oct. 1, presented new claims that Doe 1 suffered anxiety, depression, severe sleep and anger problems, sexual dysfunction and marital problems resulting in divorce as results of Aldrich’s assault.

But Loggans also filed a new motion Friday. In it, she requested she be allowed to promptly depose James Gary, a former Hawks skills coach who allegedly convinced Doe 1 that the assault was his own fault, because the “circumstances of [Gary’s] availability have changed.”

The Hawks still have pending motions to dismiss in both lawsuits that have prevented them from progressing to the discovery stage.

Chalupa waived

The Hawks placed minor-league forward Matej Chalupa on unconditional waivers Tuesday for the purposes of contract termination.

Chalupa, 23, signed with the Hawks in May 2020 as a European free agent after breaking out in the Czech league. But he never caught on in North America, scoring just seven points in 27 AHL games last season. After being assigned to Rockford again this year — clearly buried deep down the forward depth chart — it seems the experiment has been abandoned.

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Police investigate outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School, where a student and guard were shot Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School on Pershing Road, authorities say.

A 14-year-old girl and a security guard were seriously wounded when a gunman standing outside a high school in Bronzeville opened fire as the guard was opening a door to let students out.

The girl and the 45-year-old man were shot around 3:20 p.m. outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School in the 3800 block of South Giles, according to a statement from Chicago police.

The girl was shot three times in the abdomen and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, according to police. The man, shot at least six times, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition.

Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said the guard had just opened one of the doors when he was hit. The girl apparently was in the doorway inside the school. He reported no arrests and released few other details.

Students said the doorway where the girl and guard were shot is a popular exit for students heading home. Students were sent back into the school and told to wait for a family member to pick them up. Parents ran under police tape to reach their kids.

As of 4:30 pm, Marrissa Martin still had not been able to find her daughter. “I’m still looking for her, she didn’t call my phone or nothing. I don’t know if she was scared and went to her friend’s house and her phone died.”

Martin is an alum of the school and said she has never heard of anything like this happening to students or staff on campus.

Michelline Joseph came to pick up her senior son and was shocked to learn what happened.

“Kids should never have to go to school under that kind of environment, situation,” Joseph said. “These are good kids, they all come from good backgrounds, their parents work.”

Martin said she does not plan to send her daughter back to school this week. “She won’t be back here for a while,” Martin said. “She’s probably shaken. She’s a sophomore in high school.”

Reggie Thompson’s children don’t go to Phillips anymore but they walk by the school on their way home. His heart started racing when they wouldn’t answer their phones.

Panicked, he rushed to the school from work, praying they were okay. He pulled up in an alley and ran out of his truck, frantically asking, “What happened, Where are my kids?”

Moments later, he spotted his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter walking down an alley carrying grocery bags, returning from a trip to Mariano’s.

He was relieved, but scolded them for not answering their phones. “Please answer your phones, that’s why you got them,” he said he told them. “My heart was gone, I was numb for a minute. Prayer do work.”

Thompson said he transferred his children out of Phillips to Dunbar about a month ago to avoid dangerous situations. “This is one of the reasons why. They just said themselves I’m glad you transferred us,” he said.

“The times have changed,” he continued. “The streets have no discipline anymore and that’s what’s happening. People have no consequences. If they do something, they feel like no one can tell them what to do, so it’s easy for them to do anything.

“It’s scary these days, it’s not like it used to be,” Thompson said. “My heart is still beating fast right now.”

In September, two 15-year-old students from Simeon Career Academy were shot and killed on the same day in separate attacks, one of them not far from the South Side campus.

“It’s ridiculous, you know the kids have to go to school, it’s just very unsafe now because we don’t know if the kids are gonna be safe going to school or picking up after school,” said an employee of Chicago’s Home of Chicken and Waffles restaurant, around the corner from Phillips.

The employee, who did not want to be named, said they heard about four or five shots, then saw police cars flood the area.

“I just wish our city would be safer, I just wish it was more safety,” she said. “Our kids have to grow up here, our kids have to go to school here, we have a restaurant to run here. I just pray for our safety.”

At least 161 children 15 years old and younger have been shot in Chicago so far this year, a 24% increase over the number of children shot over the same period last year, according to Sun-Times data.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Police investigate outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School, where a student and guard were shot Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021.Read More

PVC piping could be used in more applications under revisions to Chicago’s plumbing code that were approved Tuesday by a City Council committee. | Sun-Times file

Aldermen also granted historical landmark designation to the Muddy Waters house, 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. The two-flat was built in 1891 and served as the home of the blues legend from 1954 to 1973.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to relax Chicago’s plumbing code to ease the financial burden on homeowners and businesses sailed through a City Council committee Tuesday, paving the way for expanded use of plastic pipe and construction of more “gender-neutral restrooms.”

At the behest of newly-appointed Buildings Commissioner Matthew Beaudet, the Zoning Committee signed off on several changes.

One would allow expanded use of PVC plastic drain, waste and vent piping, which is now confined to above-ground uses in residential buildings no higher than three stories.

The changes would allow PVC drain pipe to be used for the residential portion of buildings up to 60 feet or five stories high, even if a portion of the building houses commercial space.

PVC pipe also would be permitted for residential use underground “if it’s separated completely from the commercial use. But if they’re both using the same, then it would be cast iron,” Beaudet told aldermen.

“These expanded options for residential use will be a tremendous asset to homeowners seeking to stay in their homes and for multi-family residences, especially affordable housing,” the new commissioner said.

Even with the changes, Chicago would retain its longstanding requirement of copper pipes for drinking water. Some cities allow “other materials” to be used, but after consulting “industry groups” and the Department of Water Management, City Hall decided not to relax that part of the code.

Another change allows “small storefront businesses,” including restaurants serving 30 people or less, to provide just one, single-user restroom.

“By reducing the amount of floor space required to be set aside for restrooms, it increases the amount of floor space that can be used for business activities. … In a small restaurant, there might be room for an additional two-seat table,” Beaudet told aldermen.

“This will help tremendously as businesses emerge from the pandemic and new businesses seek to open in your commercial corridors and neighborhoods.”

Associated Press
Gender-neutral bathrooms in place of separate ones for men and women would free up floor space in restaurants and other businesses.

Also, the committee OK’d adding provisions for gender-neutral restrooms — with gender-neutral signs — that take up less space and, therefore, free up more revenue-generating floor space for larger restaurants and businesses.

If, as expected, the full Council approves the change, so-called “single-user toilet rooms” could be used to provide required toilet facilities, “either in combination with or in place of male and female, multi-stall restrooms,” the commissioner said.

The ordinance also allows “all-gender restrooms with multiple private toilet stalls and shared sinks,” Beaudet said. That option includes requirements to “ensure safety and privacy for all users,” he said.

“These changes help create restrooms that are more usable and welcoming to not just transgender people, but everyone,” Beaudet said.

“For example, a parent who doesn’t want to send their child into an opposite-gender restroom alone or an elderly person who needs assistance from an opposite-gender caregiver.”

The changes also would clarify requirements for water safety, water-conserving plumbing fixtures and swimming pool design as part of a series of updates to “better align” the plumbing code with the Chicago building code revamped two years ago.

Also on Tuesday, the Zoning Committee broadened the umbrella of property owners who can take advantage of Lightfoot’s slow-trickle of a plan to replace lead service lines.

Last year, the City Council authorized a permit fee waiver worth up to $3,100 for homeowners who voluntary agree to replace their lead service lines. The problem is, only 20 homeowners took the city up on the mayor’s officer.

The expanded ordinance would offer the same break to churches and other not-for-profits.

Muddy Waters house OK’d for landmark status

Aldermen also granted historical landmark designation to the Muddy Waters house, 4339 S. Lake Park Ave.

The two-flat was built in 1891 and served as the home of the blues legend from 1954 to 1973. Chandra Cooper, Waters’ great grand-daughter and the current owner, requested the designation.

Kandalyn Hahn of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development said the “hospitality extended to Chicago musicians and musicians who came to record in the city made the home an unofficial center” for the Chicago blues community.

“It was close to the city’s concentration of record distributors and independent record companies like Chess Records as well as the blues clubs of the South Side, making it a natural gathering place for other blues musicians,” Hahn told aldermen.

“Musicians were welcomed at all hours. Not only food and drink, but lodging was also offered to traveling musicians like Howlin’ Wolf and Chuck Berry. Band members — including Otis Spann and James Cotton — lived in second-floor apartments. Rehearsals were held in the basement and would spill outside to the yard on warm days.”

Ald. Sophia King (4th), whose ward includes the Muddy Waters Museum, said Waters was a “huge contributor” to the blues and rock-and-roll.

“Having his particular home landmarked here in Chicago would be not only something that recognizes his contributions but also recognizes the contribution of the blues to Chicago,” King said.

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