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State Rep. Lakesia Collins speaks Wednesday outside Evergreen Tower II demanding that the owner of the building invest more for residents’ safety. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Residents of of River North’s Evergreen Towers I and II called on management to restore safety measures that were scaled back during the coronavirus pandemic.

Senior tenants at two affordable housing buildings are calling for management to reinstate safety services that were scaled back during the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents of Evergreen Towers I and II, in River North, and the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, a Chicago-based senior citizen advocacy group, this week demanded the owner, Cullen Davis, invest in their safety with 24-hour security and a full-time service coordinator, services they say were offered before the pandemic.

UPholdings, the affordable housing and management company, first met with the tenants in the spring but has yet to adequately meet their demands, tenants said. In May, the tenants organized a 311 call campaign, where they collectively filed complaints with the city about the building conditions.

UPholdings did not respond to requests for comment.

Lisa Johnson said she has lived at Evergreen Towers for about 10 years. Without 24-hour security, she said emergency vehicles do not have easy access to the building, which can be life-threatening for tenants in need of medical treatment.

In the past, Johnson called an ambulance for herself and had to take the elevator to give the paramedics building access.

“I had to be treated by the ambulance in the lobby because they could not get let in,” Johnson said.

In August, management added personnel to monitor the security cameras in one of the buildings. But security cameras do not meet adequate standards for care, said Jacqueline Reynolds, the president of Evergreen Towers I.

Reynolds wants to see personnel monitor who is entering the building. She said the buildings gets a lot of unwanted guests, and tenants are currently afraid to leave their apartment after 5 p.m because they do not feel safe.

After the full-time service coordinator retired in early 2020, Reynolds also said management did not move to find a replacement. They said they are still without a service coordinator, who would conduct wellness checks and organize programming.

A city ordinance passed in July 2020 requiring owners of senior buildings to conduct well-being checks twice a week. Management paid residents of Evergreen Towers to conduct these check-ups, but tenants have repeatedly said a service coordinator needs to fill that role.

“Seniors all over Chicago came together with an ordinance that you did not follow,” Reynolds said, speaking of management. She was one of the tenants who carried out wellness checks at the start of the pandemic. “You stripped away our security and our service coordinator, and that made seniors start to feel unsafe.”

State Rep. Lakesia Collins said she has been in conversation with the owner about addressing the needs of senior tenants. “It is simple. Do what you’re supposed to do, Cullen Davis. Make sure that our seniors have 24-hour security, make sure that they’re doing wellness checks in these facilities,” Collins said.

The tenants also demanded on Wednesday that Davis and building management implement fire safety drills and monthly extermination of all units.

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Sox fans Anthony Rodriguez, left, and Hector Roldan, right, say the Sox’s playoff spot, along with the Cubs’ postseason absence, gives the team bragging rights over their crosstown rival. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times, Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

As the Sox enter into their first back-to-back postseason appearance in franchise history, some Sox fans say being the only Chicago team with a hope at the World Series is enough to make them smile this year.

White Sox fan Anthony Rodriguez puffed on a cigar Thursday outside Turtles Bar & Grill in Bridgeport as his team kicked off what fans hope is a long playoff-run after its first division title since 2008.

As the Sox played the first game of the best-of-five series against the Houston Astros, Rodriguez said he had cautious optimism.

The Houston matchup gives him a feeling of deja vu that the Sox are going to win it all again, just as they did 16 years ago when the Sox beat the Astros in the World Series.

“I’ve got 2005 vibes flowing through me,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been a long time already, but I remember that feeling, and it’s Houston again. It’s who we beat last time. We gotta pick up right where we left off.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
South Side native Barry Temple, left, said being a Sox fan might be more about hating the Cubs than rooting for the black and white.

South Side native Anthony Ciaravino, who grew up just a few blocks away from the Sox Stadium, had “butterflies” in his stomach all day.

Although hearing the shouts of rowdy White Sox fans were commonplace when he was growing up, this year seems different. For one, the crowds at Guaranteed Rate Field are bigger than he can remember.

And the team is not in the shadow of the its North Side counterpart, the Cubs, who didn’t make the postseason.

“The White Sox always feel like we’re the red-headed stepchild in this city,” Ciaravino said. “It’s nice to finally get some attention.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
White Sox fan Anthony Ciaravino says the sounds of stadium fireworks are like second nature to him. This year he’s hopeful the Sox will win it all, he said.

Rodriguez said the South Side fanbase has a special sense of pride.

“It’s kind of like bragging rights for the time being,” said Rodriguez. “Even the Cubs fans now, look at where they’re going, they’re rebuilding and this is our time now.”

Although fans didn’t get the outcome they hoped Thursday, they still took pride in the South Siders as it made the postseason for the second season in a row, the first time in team history.

“This season they started picking it up, and playoffs are a different ballgame. I’m liking the bats and definitely the pitching is good, too,” said Dan Archer, who was at Cork and Kerry at the Park, also in Bridgeport. He wasn’t worried the team had a subpar record later in the season. “It’s the playoffs, seeing firsthand like in 2005, they didn’t play for the second half either and they ended up winning the whole thing.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
South Side native Barry Temple, left, said being a Sox fan might be more about hating the Cubs than rooting for the black and white.

And even if they don’t pull it out, fans have hopes for the future.

“They’ve got a lot of good prospects out there, and they’re coming into the room right now with [Luis] Robert and [Danny] Mendick,” Archer said. “They’re only going to get better.”

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Soldier Field was renovated at a cost of more than half a billion dollars less than 20 years ago. But now the team is pondering a move to the suburbs. Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), chairman of the City Council’s Housing Committee, said during budget hearings on Thursday that he doesn’t want to drive to Arlington Heights to watch his beloved Bears. And he’s certain plenty of Arlington Heights residents “don’t want to see a bunch of Chicagoans” descend on their Northwest suburb. | Sun-Times file

“We have a lot of land. Before that door closes, I would ask you to do everything in your power to look at what options there are to keep them here that could be an economic driver for parts of our city that could use it and it could work,” said Ald. Harry Osterman.

A top city official was urged Thursday to get on the political playing field and do whatever he can to prevent the Bears from moving to Arlington Heights.

Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), chairman of the City Council’s Housing Committee, said he doesn’t want to drive to Arlington Heights to watch his beloved Bears. And he’s certain plenty of Arlington Heights residents “don’t want to see a bunch of Chicagoans” descend on their Northwest suburb at least 10 days a year.

That’s where Maurice Cox comes in. He’s the commissioner of planning and development. So could he play a role in planning and developing the new stadium many observers believe it will take to prevent the Bears from closing on the agreement they signed last week to purchase the 326-acre site of the now-shuttered Arlington International Racecourse for $197.2 million?

“We have a lot of land. Before that door closes, I would ask you to do everything in your power to look at what options there are to keep them here that could be an economic driver for parts of our city that could use it and it could work,” Osterman told Cox during Thursday’s City Council budget hearing.

Osterman did not suggest a specific site for a new stadium. Nor did he say whether he believes that stadium should be domed, built along the lakefront or whether or how he believes Chicago taxpayers can afford a new stadium.

He would only tell Cox, “If there’s a win-win there, then let’s find that win.”

After tweeting a photo of himself wearing a White Sox jersey to celebrate Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series, Osterman compared the Bears stadium saga to the “stop-the-clock” legislative vote on the deal to build a new baseball stadium for the White Sox, preventing the team from moving to St. Petersburg, Fla.

“The Chicago White Sox are … in the playoffs — not the St. Petersburg White Sox. That’s because people tried to make it work and they made it work,” Osterman said.

“So I just ask you, with all the priorities you have of lifting up communities, which is where the priority has to be, let’s not give up on trying to find a place to keep these guys in Chicago,” Osterman said.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
The Chicago Bears have signed a purchase agreement for the 326-acre site of Arlington International Racecourse, a potential site of a new stadium that would replace Soldier Field.

The Bears stadium saga wasn’t the only thing on the minds of City Council members.

Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) complained — gently — about the design committee of outside experts that Cox created last summer to weigh in on major developments before they get built.

It’s an extra stop for projects that already must get approval from department staff, the City Council and, in some cases, the Chicago Plan Commission.

“If we weren’t getting money from the federal government right now, we would literally be in trouble right now,” Burnett said.

“Next year at this time, I don’t want to be votin’ on no tax increases. … We have the tools. We have the momentum of development going on in the city. We need to keep it moving, man. … We need to keep it moving in order to keep the money coming.”

Burnett’s Near West Side ward includes Fulton Market, which he called “one of the hottest areas in the world” with booming development that is “sustaining us.”

Meanwhile, economic development in other parts of the city has slowed during the pandemic. That’s reflected in a 20% drop — from $62 million to $50 million — in funds generated by the share-the-wealth Neighborhood Opportunity Fund. Developers pay fees for the right to build bigger and taller projects in a broader downtown area; those fees are used to rebuild neighborhood commercial strips.

Burnett complained that, at his last meeting with city planners, “Everything in the list was being postponed because of design.” That prompted him to ask, “Is this the Department of Planning or the Department of Design?”

“I understand design. But I also understand the bottom line for the city. … We want to stay competitive and bring that money in and balance our budget and not have to increase taxes because we’re all doomed if we have to do that. Our livelihoods are at stake,” he said.

Zoning Committee Chairman Tom Tunney (44th) said he’s talked to a number of developers who’ve said, “We’re done with Chicago for a myriad of reasons.” If he’s heard it once, he said, he’s heard it 40 times in the last two years.

Cox said he can understand how “any new process” put in place by the city “creates uncertainty,” which developers hate.

“Our goal has been to use this [Design Committee] as a tool to expedite the process. … We know that the engine that is producing a lot of the economic well-being of the city are in these four or five wards, so we’re hyper-conscious of trying to expedite this,” he said.

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Fields’ elite speed makes him a revelation at quarterback for the Bears. | AP Photos

Fields’ speed is integral, not ancillary. It’s time for the Bears to adapt to the modern NFL and use everything he brings to the table.

Justin Fields has many valuable traits, but if the Bears made a list of the qualities that compelled them to trade up and draft him No. 11 overall, his speed would be at the top.

It makes him an uncommon quarterback for a franchise so starved for athleticism at the position that Jim Harbaugh in the early 1990s qualifies as their most recent running threat. It’s also new for Matt Nagy, who often points to Alex Smith as one of his favorites and, aside from some overlap with Michael Vick in Philadelphia, hasn’t coached anyone like Fields.

So it will require some rethinking by the Bears and Nagy to enhance his unique skillset rather than bend it to traditional quarterback template. His speed has been essential to his success, and it’d be a mistake to scrub it out in the interest of making him more conventional.

It’s a relief to hear the Bears sound like they’re embracing that, though it’s cautious optimism until they actually show it in games. After impressing as a runner during the preseason, Fields ran six times for 21 yards over his first two starts, and the Bears could use more of that Sunday against the Raiders with running back David Montgomery injured.

“I would imagine there will always be some QB run in Justin’s game,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said Thursday. “Some weeks it might be two plays; some weeks it might be eight. Designed QB runs will be part of the game, and then there will always be some unscripted, for-whatever-reason-it-was-time-to-go part of his game.

“As he gets experience, he’s gonna decide, split-second, ‘I’m hanging in here for this one because I know this play and I think it’s about to come open,’ or, ‘I don’t like how it looks; I can go and get it.’ His whole career, he’ll be balancing those things.”

So will the Bears — especially Nagy, who remains the architect of the game plan even with Lazor calling plays.

If it sounds overly suspicious to raise this concern after two starts by Fields, remember that it was part of the problem with the Bears’ last first-round quarterback, Mitch Trubisky. That wouldn’t have worked out anyway, but it certainly didn’t help that they drafted him in large part because of his athleticism, then Nagy insisted he, “Win from the pocket,” which he could not.

Fields looks like he can win from anywhere. He fired deep shots against the Lions from the pocket, is adept at throwing on roll-outs and has wide-receiver-level speed at his disposal. That mix of abilities should give Lazor and Nagy limitless ideas, and there’s no sense in narrowing the number of ways he can beat a defense.

“You never want to lose what he has with that speed,” Nagy said, pointing to a third-and-four against the Lions when the pocket crumbled and Fields raced past safety Will Harris for 11 yards. “A lot [of quarterbacks] can’t do that.

“At the same point in time, Justin will be the first to tell you that he wants to be the best quarterback he can be, and so that’s our job: teaching him the game.”

But running can be part of being a great quarterback, and that better be part of his education. Russell Wilson and Cam Newton went to Super Bowls doing it that way. Lamar Jackson won an MVP. Kyler Murray might win it this season.

And for Fields, his running ability is integral, not ancillary.

“There are some quarterbacks you’re seeing like Justin that have elite arm talent downfield and all that stuff, but can also do things that scare defenses with their legs,” Nagy acknowledged. “You see it throughout the league.”

Except with the Bears. And now is the perfect time to change that.

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Shannon Brown is among 18 former NBA players charged in a fraud scheme. | Wilfredo Lee/AP

According to the indictment, the ex-players submitted false and fraudulent claims to get reimbursed for medical and dental expenses that were never actually incurred.

Four former NBA players with deep Chicago roots were among the 18 charged Thursday for allegedly pocketing about $2.5 million by defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan.

Three of them played on NBA title-winning teams.

Two of the players, Harvey native Melvin Ely and Chicagoan Will Bynum, were arrested early Thursday morning in the Chicago area and appeared before a federal judge here later in the afternoon. The judge ordered their release on unsecured $250,000 bonds.

According to an indictment returned in Manhattan federal court, the ex-players teamed up to defraud the supplemental coverage plan by seeking reimbursement for medical and dental procedures that never happened.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said prosecutors have travel records, email and GPS data that proves the ex-players were sometimes far from the medical and dental offices at the times when they were supposedly getting treated.

The indictment said the scheme was carried out from at least 2017 to 2020, when the plan — funded primarily by NBA teams — received false claims totaling about $3.9 million. Of that, the defendants received about $2.5 million in fraudulent proceeds.

Strauss said each defendant made false claims for reimbursements that ranged from $65,000 to $420,000.

A request for comment to the league wasn’t immediately returned.

Among those charged are Ely and Bynum, as well as Maywood’s Shannon Brown and Chicagoan Tony Allen.

During the Thursday’s hearing for Ely and Bynum, both men mentioned job searches. Bynum asked whether the charges would “prohibit me from looking for a job?” The judge told him that, in fact, he was “encouraged to look for work.”

Ely said his “finances aren’t what they used to be,” and he asked whether he would have to travel to New York for the next hearing in the case. The judge said he would have to be present for his arraignment.

Brown and Ely were Sun-Times Players of the Year. Brown, the Sun-Times’ Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball in 2003, played at Michigan State and had stints with eight NBA teams after graduating from Proviso East.

Ely, who attended Thornton, was Sun-Times Player of the Year in 1997. He spent time with six different NBA teams between 2002 and 2014 after a successful college career at Fresno State.

Bynum and Allen both played at Crane. Bynum played collegiately at Arizona and Georgia Tech and had stints with three NBA teams. He’s one of the most prolific scorers in Chicago high school basketball history.

Allen wasn’t the high school superstar that the other three players were, but he carved out the best NBA career. He had stints with the Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans over his 14 years in the league. He won a title with the Celtics in 2007 and was named to the All-Defensive Team six times.

Darius Miles, an East St. Louis grad and high school sensation, was also among the 18 charged. The 2000 Mr. Basketball winner was drafted right out of high school by the Clippers. Miles had a nine-year NBA career, playing with four different teams.

Contributing: Associated Press

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Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. | James Foster,

Neither President Toni Preckwinkle nor other officials would say if anyone was hit by the gunfire outside her Hyde Park home.

A security detail exchanged gunfire with a carjacker outside the Hyde Park home of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle last week, but neither she nor other officials would release details of the attack Thursday, including whether the robber was shot.

The incident occurred on Sept. 27 but was not acknowledged by Chicago police or county officials until this week after the incident was reported by CWB Chicago.

A Forest Preserves police officer was parked outside Preckwinkle’s home on the 5100 block of South Kimbark Avenue when an “armed offender” walked up and opened fire while trying to take the car around 8:30 p.m., according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation.

The officer then returned fire, the source said. Police were initially told the officer was off duty at the time, the source said.

But the Forest Preserves District, in a brief statement, said the officer is a member of Preckwinkle’s “executive protection detail” and was on duty. The statement said the officer “fired shots during an attempted carjacking” but did not say anything about the carjacker being armed or firing shots.

“For security reasons, we do not disclose any of the operational procedures of the detail,” the statement concluded.

Chicago police released a statement around the same time, but its brief narrative did not identify the person involved as a police officer. And it said nothing about shots being fired by anyone.

The department only said that a “57-year-old male” was sitting in his car “when he was approached by an armed offender on foot who attempted to take the victim’s vehicle. The offender then fled the scene. No injuries were reported at the time of the incident.”

The incident was not reported at the time on the department’s major incident log that is continually updated with major crimes in the city, including carjackings.

The log does include an entry about an 18-year-old man being found with a gunshot wound to the left knee nearly three miles south, at the far end of Jackson Park, around the same time.

CWB reported that police were looking into whether he may have been shot by the Forest Preserves officer.

Preckwinkle’s security detail — a three-person team who each earn more than $100,000 in salary — has been staffed by officers from the Forest Preserves Department of Law Enforcement since 2016. Before, it was staffed by officers from the county’s Department of Emergency Management.

That same year, Preckwinkle faced scrutiny from the county’s inspector general after a county-owned SUV was found abandoned in a ditch the day after the election in south suburban Lemont.

The Chevy Tahoe’s tires had been slashed and Preckwinkle campaign materials were found inside, alongside with a dry cleaning receipt that belonged to the head of her security detail.

Until 2014, Preckwinkle’s security detail had been drawn from officers in the Cook County sheriff’s department, an arrangement that changed after Sheriff Tom Dart complained the officers did not report to his chain of command.

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Bears second-year tight end Cole Kmet has eight receptions for 59 yards and no touchdowns this season. | Kamil Krzaczynski/AP

The second-year tight end played a key role in the Bears’ focus on pass protection and establishing the running game against the Lions. But he’s here to make big plays downfield.

Bears tight end Cole Kmet was understandably excited about his blocking against the Lions on Sunday. The tight end group was used extensively to facilitate a rushing attack that produced 188 yards and three touchdowns in the Bears’ 24-14 victory.

“It’s a big deal,” Kmet said. “As a group I thought our entire team did a really good job with the blocking portion of everything. We’re more than willing to step up if that’s what we’ve got to do in order to win games.

“I thought we played a big part in that rushing attack Sunday, so we’re really happy with that. Looking forward to continuing to do that.”

Kmet’s development as a blocking tight end can’t be ignored — it’s expected to be a big part of his game. But after the Adam Shaheen experience, the focus on Kmet’s blocking four games into Year 2 already is looking more like a red flag than part of the process of Kmet becoming a dual threat tight end.

The 49ers’ George Kittle, a 2017 fifth-round draft pick, might be the prototypical blocking/receiving tight end in the NFL today when it comes to doing both facets of the job well. But by Week 5 of his second season in 2018, Kittle was coming off a six-catch, 125-yard performance against the Chargers — including an 82-yard touchdown — from back-up C.J. Beathard. Kittle was on his way to a Pro Bowl season — 88 receptions for 1,377 yards and five touchdowns.

In the Bears’ offense, Kmet isn’t even close. The second-round draft pick from Notre Dame and St. Viator has eight receptions for 59 yards and no touchdowns. That’s not quite the leap that was expected after Kmet finished strong as a receiving threat in his rookie season — 20 receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown in the final five games.

The Bears had five pass plays of 20 or more yards against the Lions and four plays that were 25 yards or more. But the tight ends were not on the receiving end of any of them. Kmet had one catch for six yards on three targets. Jimmy Graham had no targets.

Kmet said he’s looking forward to joining that party.

“For sure,” he said. “In our room, we’re optimistic about it all and we’re just going to keep doing what we’re asked of and do it to the best of our ability.”

It’s early, but Kmet’s eight receptions rank 29th among tight ends in the NFL through four games. His 59 yards ranks 39th. Graham has one catch for 11 yards in 65 snaps this season.

The victory over the Lions gave the Bears at least a semblance of an offensive identity with Justin Fields at quarterback. Now they need to build on that against better defenses than the Lions, who rank 21st in yards, 31st in yards per play and 29th in scoring.

“Obviously, Justin’s a threat with being able to get out of the pocket and run the ball is special,” Kmet said, “and I think if we’re able to solidify a run game, Justin’s ability to stretch the field also with his arm — those are two things that kind of go hand-in-hand and create a pretty dynamic passing attack.”

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Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. | James Foster,

Neither President Toni Preckwinkle nor other officials would say if anyone was hit by the gunfire outside her Hyde Park home.

A security detail opened fire on a carjacker outside the Hyde Park home of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle last week, but neither she nor other officials would release details of the attack Thursday, including whether anyone was shot.

The incident occurred on Sept. 27 but was not made public by Chicago police and county officials until this week after the incident was reported by CWB Chicago.

A Forest Preserves police officer was stationed outside Preckwinkle’s home on the 5100 block of South Kimbark Avenue when he “fired shots during an attempted carjacking” around 8:30 p.m., the Forest Preserves District said in a brief statement Thursday.

“The officer is a member of President Preckwinkle’s executive protection detail,” it added. “For security reasons, we do not disclose any of the operational procedures of the detail.”

A few more details were released around the same time Thursday by Chicago police, but it declined to identify the person involved as a police officer. And it said nothing about shots being fired.

The department only said that a “57 year old male” was sitting in his car “when he was approached by an armed offender on foot who attempted to take the victim’s vehicle.

“The offender then fled the scene,” it added. “No injuries were reported at the time of the incident.”

The incident was not reported at the time on the department’s major incident log that is continually updated with major crimes in the city, including carjackings.

But around the time of the attempted carjacking, the log reported that an 18-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound to the left knee nearly three miles south, at the far end of Jackson Park.

CWB reported that police were looking into whether he may have been shot by the county officer. Neither police nor the Forest Preserves District would comment.

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A model of a steam pumper is part of the City on Fire exhibition, opening Friday at the Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park. | Mark Capapas/Sun-Times

The exhibit opens Friday at the Chicago History Museum.

A bird’s-eye view of a city ablaze, ropy flames crackling against the night sky from every window and doorway.

That’s the image many have of the Great Chicago Fire — that, and a clumsy cow knocking over a lantern in Mrs. O’Leary’s shed.

The Chicago History Museum’s “City on Fire: Chicago 1871,” opening Friday, offers the wide-angle images of a blaze that destroyed some 200,000 buildings, but it also encourages a closer, more personal look on the 150th anniversary.

“Dear Chum …,” begins a letter written in fountain pen by 12-year-old Justin Butterfield, describing, apparently to a friend, his family’s frantic escape from the blaze.

Mark Capapas/Sun-Times
A letter written by Justin Butterfield to Phillip Prescott is part of the City on Fire exhibition at the Chicago History Museum.

Butterfield describes evacuating and loading up what they can — two trunks — into a wheelbarrow.

“We got [along] very well until the Peshtigo Lumber yard caught on fire. Then it was all we could do to breathe,” he wrote. “Mother caught on fire once, but we put it out.”

The exhibit, taking up some 4,000 square feet, includes cases displaying stacks of coins fused together from the intense heat, three blackened cookies and a dozen or so keys that no longer serve a purpose,

“Imagine losing your home or your business; It’s gone but you still have the key. What would you do?” said Julius L. Jones, the exhibit’s curator.

Mark Capapas/Sun-Times
A new exhibit about the Great Chicago Fire opens Friday at the Chicago History Museum.

The exhibit also seeks to kill off for good some of the myths surrounding the fire, including that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started it and that the city wasn’t prepared for it.

“Chicago was prepared for the fire. All the preparations failed. That’s a somewhat different thing than being unprepared,” Jones said.

The city had one of the most “elaborate alarm systems, the latest technology in the world,” Jones said. One of the elegant 1871 alarms is part of the display.

“They had a professional fire department, a steam engine pumper … but the fatigue and destruction of equipment that comes from fighting multiple fires every day in Chicago really led to the conditions that caused the fire to have the time to grow and have a life of its own,” Jones said.

The museum is planning for the exhibit to remain open at least through August 2025. The fire exhibit is included in the price of general admission: $19 for adults, $17 for seniors and students and free for chidren who are Illinois residents and under 18.

Stefano Esposito/Sun-Times
A new exhibit about the Great Chicago Fire opens Friday at the Chicago History Museum.

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Now Blackhawks teammates, Seth Jones and Patrick Kane will also play together on the US Olympic team. | AP Photos

Jones, Kane and Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews were announced Thursday as the first three players officially on Team USA’s roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Two of the three main faces of the U.S. men’s hockey team in the 2022 Winter Olympics will be Blackhawks.

Patrick Kane and Seth Jones, along with Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, composed the team’s first player announcement Thursday.

The news doesn’t come as a surprise: all three were considered essentially locks to be on the team come February, and Hawks general manager Stan Bowman is also the U.S. Olympic GM.

“We’re excited about the prospects of our team for the 2022 Games,” Bowman said in a statement. “Patrick, Auston and Seth reflect the high level of talent that will make up our final roster as we strive to bring gold back home to the U.S.”

It’s especially not surprising for Kane: he already starred for the U.S. teams at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, scoring nine points in 12 games across those two tournaments.

But for Jones, despite long ago establishing his reputation as one of the best active American defensemen, the official announcement meant quite a lot.

He was an NHL rookie in 2014 and not quite ready yet for that stage, but the league’s absence from Pyeongchang in 2018 cost him a chance to make his Olympic debut right as he entered his prime. He has waited a long time for this moment.

“It was a surprise this morning,” he said. “I didn’t know that this was happening. Obviously there are so many good USA defensemen right now that…it’s an honor. I’ve had a chance to play for Team USA a few times growing up, [on] great teams in junior [championships] and world championships and things like that. But this definitely hits a little differently.”

It’s not 100% guaranteed yet that the NHL will participate. The NHL can back out of the Olympics without financial consequence up until Jan. 1.

But everything has continued trending in the right direction in the month since the league, its players’ association and two international bodies signed an agreement Sept. 3 to formalize NHL participation. It seems very likely at this point Kane and Jones will indeed be wearing red, white and blue when the U.S. faces China on Feb. 10.

“I know a lot of the players have the same views,” Jones said. “They want a chance to compete against the best players in the world, on the biggest stage, and have a chance to win a gold medal. Everyone is happy that the NHL and the [union]…got this done.”

Alex DeBrincat will likely join Kane and Jones on the U.S. team once the final roster is announced in January. Jones, for one, has “no doubt” about that.

“It’s awesome that we’ve…gained some chemistry this year,” he added. “Because if we’re on the ice at the same time at the Olympics, it’s going to be a whole lot easier to read off each other.”

But between now and then, the Hawks have 53 regular-season games to play, and those are Jones’ immediate priorities.

He has struggled somewhat during training camp, a fact he openly admitted Thursday. He got beat up the ice or lost goal-side positioning on Blues or Red Wings forwards several times in his first two Hawks preseason games.

“Offensively I’ve been decent, but defensively [I’ve made] some mistakes, some things like that, that I need to clean up,” he said. “A lot of it is individual mistakes on my part and things that I can fix. Some timing things, as well.”

Coach Jeremy Colliton dismissed any concerns, attributing Jones’ miscues to the adjustment process to his new team. Come Wednesday’s opener against the Avalanche, however, the Hawks and Jones himself will both expect he’ll perform like a future Olympian.

“I don’t know if he’s putting pressure on himself to be a certain guy, but for us, we just want him to help us when he’s on the ice,” Colliton said. “He’s going to play a lot.”

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