What’s New

This coming-of-age story, which came out September 7, is woven together like a braid: You’re one strand, your sister, Kim, is another, and your best friend, Debra, the third. Then the braid unravels. Why did you choose to write about it?

I’d been telling Debra’s story in the Chicago Tribune since 2000. This memoir was my first time tackling our story head on. I read so many stories about men and their divergent paths, and I hadn’t read anything about Black women and their divergent paths and anything that took the long view from childhood to middle age.

Are you speaking directly to other Black women?

On the one hand, yes, I am most definitely speaking to Black women, Black girls, because sometimes the stakes are incredibly high for us and the margin of error is razor thin. But it’s also very much a universal story that speaks to the vulnerabilities of girls. So I’m also talking to all girls and women. This idea of different fates and destinies is universal, along with the bonds that we have as sisters, friends, and women.

You’ve spent your career telling stories about people who failed and then seized second chances. Why is this a theme for you?

The whole idea of the second chance is something that many people, especially Black people, don’t get  —  the benefit of the doubt. We all make mistakes. The only way that some of us are different is that we have a family safety net, or we’ve been extended an opportunity to make the most of a bad situation. This book is not about me being perfect, but about me trying not to land in a place where I didn’t want to be.

You write about overcoming a failure in college. How did you keep challenges like that from derailing you?

I surrounded myself with a lot of people who were smarter than me and could direct me. My family, my ex-husband’s parents, my mentors. Without the guidance I’ve had in my life, I don’t know if I would’ve made my way back. There are a lot of people who have the will and the energy but don’t have the road map and the people to direct them. Without the road map and the support, you’re just standing in place.

Read More

When Chicago attorney Joanne Lee Molinaro went vegan in 2016, she didn’t want to stop eating her favorite Korean meals. So she researched how to veganize dishes like gyerranmari, a Korean-style omelet, and posted recipes to her blog, the Korean Vegan. She also peppered in stories about her parents, who escaped North Korea as children before immigrating to the United States as young adults.

Her cookbook, The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes From Omma’s Kitchen, is an offshoot of her popular TikTok account, which she launched in July 2020, amassing more than 2.6 million followers. In her videos, she prepares dishes and tells stories of her family. In one, which also appears in the book, she makes fried rice while recalling how her mother was homeless as a child refugee in South Korea and survived on raw sweet potatoes dug from abandoned fields. As Molinaro heats oil, she expresses an understanding of the hardness she perceived in her mother, and as she pours egg substitute and spoons in rice, both the meal and the story come together. “I realize she felt she had to be that way to make sure I never had to dig for my food,” she says. Out October 12.

Read More

1. The Way of the Cocktail: Japanese Traditions, Techniques & Recipes

By Julia Momosé with Emma Janzen

For Cocktail geeks who want to learn from the best

This elegant book from Momosé, creative director of the West Loop bar Kumiko, explores the world of Japanese drinking — from its history to a guide to its beverages. Recipes are organized seasonally; try a chrysanthemum-laced white Negroni for autumn drinking. Out October 5.

2. Come On Over: 111 Fantastic Recipes for the Family That Cooks, Eats, and Laughs Together

By Jeff Mauro

For Hosts cooking for a crowd

In his debut cookbook, Mauro, a.k.a. the Sandwich King, unveils an eclectic collection of recipes designed for family occasions. Hosting the holidays this year? Turn to chapter 8, where Mauro offers recipes such as beef tenderloin with honey-horseradish crema. And yes, there are sandwiches, including a decadent mortadella and fig melt. Out now.

3. The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide: A History of Squares & Slices in the Windy City

By Steve Dolinsky

For Discerning slice lovers

One thing thrived during the pandemic: pizza. This boom inspired Dolinsky to pen his second book on slices (his first, Pizza City, USA: 101 Reasons Why Chicago Is America’s Greatest Pizza Town, was published in 2018). Here, he compiles the stories behind Chicago’s best pies and shares vital terminology — ever heard of the OBR (optimal bite ratio)? Out October 15.

4. Something & Tonic: A History of the World’s Most Iconic Mixer

By Nick Kokonas

For History (and happy hour) buffs

A local bartender who has worked at Longman & Eagle, Kokonas (not of Alinea) guides readers through the long and fascinating history of tonic water, from its use treating malaria to how bartenders incorporate it into cocktails today. It’s not all G&Ts. For instance, whip up a tiki and tonic, a tropical drink with rum, mango, lime, rhubarb amaro, and tonic syrup. Out now.

5. Arsenic and Adobo

By Mia P. Manansala

For Crime-solving foodies

This murder mystery series from Manansala, a Chicagoan, combines Filipino food with over-the-top crimes. In this first novel of the series, a food critic drops dead at Lila Macapagal’s auntie’s restaurant, and Lila is both main suspect and investigator (with help from her dachshund, Longganisa). Manansala also includes recipes, such as those for ube crinkle cookies and chicken adobo. Homicide and Halo-Halo is due in February. Out now.

6. Let’s Make Dumplings! A Comic Book Cookbook

By Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan

For Visual learners and dumpling fiends

Amano, a chef, and Becan, an artist, teamed up on 2019’s Let’s Make Ramen! Now they join forces again on this whimsical guide to all things dumplings. They offer a crash course in folding techniques, the history of dumplings, and recipes. Should you wish to make a full meal of dumplings, start with savory gyoza and end with sweet custard-filled baozi. Out now.

Read More

A 29-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting Wednesday afternoon in West Garfield Park.

The man was outside in the 4700 block of West Harrison Street about 4:40 p.m. when a vehicle drove by and someone inside fired shots, Chicago police said.

He was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He has not yet been identified.

No one is in custody, according to police.

Read More

There was a lot of excitement when outfielder Michael Hermosillo finally got his opportunity to play with the Cubs this season. After tearing it up at Triple-A Iowa, the lifelong Cubs fan finally got his chance to play for his hometown team.

Unfortunately, Hermosillo’s the feel-good story won’t have a happy ending this season as the Cubs put the 26-year-old outfielder on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a left forearm strain. The timeline for Hermosillo’s Grade 3 strain is around four weeks, ending his first season in Chicago.

“Yeah, just like super unfortunate,” Hermosillo said before Wednesday’s game against the Reds. “Super sad that opportunity gets cut short. But it is what it is. Just bounce back from it.”

Hermosillo injured the left forearm on Friday against the Pirates as he reached back to touch home plate while sliding. The injury got progressively worse in the days that followed as he tried to work through the soreness.

But after considerable swelling and bruising in the area confirmation of the damage in the forearm, the team ultimately made the decision to put Hermosillo on the shelf.

“It’s pretty significant,” Hermosillo said. “Obviously, not surgery. Like it will completely heal, but just for the level of the injury and like the pain I felt didn’t really match up to the same extent [to] something that I could just ride through and play through.”

Hermosillo didn’t waste his chance he got with the Cubs and after putting together the best season of his career in the minors, he showed those same tools in the big leagues.

Not only did he show he could play an above-average center field, he also flashed the power that he tapped into more this season with a .500 slugging percentage with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs in 16 games.

As the Cubs try to forge a plan for the future, the last few months have been a job audition for several players. Hermosillo is hoping he’s done enough to be on the team’s radar in 2022.

“I definitely love it here,” he said. “Love the guys. Love the management. They’ve helped me a lot. Even analytically, just some of the information that I’ve been able to apply to my game, on the hitting side of things and the guys who run the stuff over here just been able to like improve on the stuff that I was kind of already working on with the Angels, but just to a better, more consistent level.

“I think there’s some things that I hopefully showed that will put that in the back of their head. But at the end of the day, just keep doing what I’m doing regardless.”

Hermosillo will spend the rest of the week with the team before heading off to Arizona to continue his rehab. But he’s not going to waste the time he has left.

“I’m just gonna soak in as [many] remaining conversations as I can,” Hermosillo said. “We were talking about facing [Wade] Miley yesterday. Even though I wasn’t in the game, just conversations like that where I’m like, ‘That’s a solid conversation that I can apply next year if I get to face that guy.’ So gonna take in all those conversations and just enjoy the time around teammates, the coaches [and] enjoy the fans.”

Read More

As statues of controversial figures are being torn down across the nation, an Illinois House panel on Wednesday discussed putting a new one up in Springfield of Ronald Reagan, the Illinois native who went on to become the nation’s 40th president.

House members on the Statue and Monument Review Task Force debated the pros and cons of “The Gipper’s” legacy, and the propriety of memorializing him on the Capitol grounds, but didn’t come to a decision.

The South Side Democrat who chairs the panel said in weighing the former president’s flaws with his legacy there has to be a recognition that “whether we agree with his policies or not … he had a profound impact on the direction of this country.”

Reagan spent his early years in northwestern Illinois — born in Tampico and raised in Dixon — before heading west to launch his acting career in Hollywood, playing Notre Dame football player George Gipp and others, and eventually his political career as governor of California.

He died in 2004 at the age of 93.

Josem Diaz, the vice president for Institutional Advancement at Reagan’s alma mater Eureka College in the Illinois city of the same name, would like to see a statue of a young Reagan on the state capitol grounds.

Of the four presidents who were either born or launched their political careers in Illinois — Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant and Barack Obama — only two have been permanently recognized on the grounds of the Illinois Capitol, Diaz said.

A statue of Lincoln overlooks the east side of the Capitol grounds, while one of Grant stands inside the statehouse’s rotunda.

Reagan’s story — the only U.S. president to be born and raised in the state, growing up in a low-income family and being admitted to college on a need-based scholarship — transcends party lines, Diaz said.

“[The] Eureka College narrative about President Reagan is not political, Republican or Democratic, it is not about all the good he did as a politician or the mistakes he made — like many leaders make, even U.S. presidents,” Diaz said.

“It is about the opportunity, and that is the story here, to remind our young generations to come that anyone from any walk of life — or any first generation student — can aspire to be the next president of the United States.”

Jamel Wright, the president of Eureka College, said the school isn’t advocating for the statue because they “agree with every single thing that Reagan did or said before, during or after he was in office” but rather in recognition that his flaws don’t “negate the fact that there were some things that were done under Reagan’s leadership and presidency that are noteworthy — and it is equally noteworthy that he is from our great state of Illinois.”

State Rep. Mary Flowers the chair of the committee, said Reagan had a “made-for-TV” presidency, one that would go on to define “our American experience” by producing images and ideas that remain “with the nation today.”

The South Side Democrat referenced Reagan’s iconic “It’s Morning Again in America” campaign ad, saying that “idealistic vision of the country has become firmly entrenched in the American psyche.”

But Flowers, who grew up watching Reagan on TV, also noted the former president is often credited for giving the nation the offensive concept of the “welfare queen,” a “key talking point” at his campaign rallies.

“This image has also stuck, not because it was true … but because it was a convenient way to celebrate ‘Morning in America’ without having to acknowledge the nightmare of systematic racism, that is also very much a part of our history,” Flowers said.

But Reagan has largely emerged as a positive historical figure, and “whether we agree with his policies or not we have to acknowledge that he accomplished a lot during his presidency and he had a profound impact on the direction of this country,” Flowers said.

State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, largely agreed.

“Everyone has mixed legacies and mixed things that they’ve done,” said Butler, who serves as the Republican spokesperson on the committee.

Deciding how to honor those people, and acknowledging both the “great things they’ve done but questions about the actions they’ve taken” is part of the story of honoring those figures, too, Butler said.

The committee didn’t make a final determination about a statue of Reagan before adjourning. Flowers said the panel is not at the decision-making stage yet and is focused on listening to “what everyone has to say.”

The meeting coincided with Virginia removing one of the nation’s largest Confederate monuments, a statue of Civil War General Robert E. Lee on Wednesday as states across the country continue to decide which monuments can stay and which should go.

Illinois began its own review in April when House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch created the task force to “ensure Illinois’ public art is historically accurate and reflects the diversity of the state.”

The 11-member, bipartisan panel has held public hearings, listening to historians, advocates and organizations with a goal of recommending statues to either be removed or added.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has called for a more appropriate statue to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King than the one currently on the Capitol grounds.

Last year, a statue of Stephen Douglas was removed from outside the state Capitol. A separate state panel had voted to remove the memorial to the former U.S. senator as well as one of Pierre Menard — the state’s first lieutenant governor — because both men owned enslaved people.

Read More

As statues of controversial figures are being torn down across the nation, an Illinois House panel on Wednesday discussed putting a new one up in Springfield of Ronald Reagan, the Illinois native who went on to become the nation’s 40th president.

House members on the Statue and Monument Review Task Force debated the pros and cons of “The Gipper’s” legacy, and the propriety of memorializing him on the Capitol grounds, but didn’t come to a decision.

The South Side Democrat who chairs the panel said in weighing the former president’s flaws with his legacy there has to be a recognition that “whether we agree with his policies or not … he had a profound impact on the direction of this country.”

Reagan spent his early years in northwestern Illinois — born in Tampico and raised in Dixon — before heading west to launch his acting career in Hollywood, playing Notre Dame football player George Gipp and others, and eventually his political career as governor of California.

Josem Diaz, the vice president for Institutional Advancement at Reagan’s alma mater Eureka College in the Illinois city of the same name, would like to see a statue of a young Reagan on the state capitol grounds.

Of the four presidents who were either born or launched their political careers in Illinois — Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant and Barack Obama — only two have been permanently recognized on the grounds of the Illinois Capitol, Diaz said.

A statue of Lincoln overlooks the east side of the Capitol grounds, while one of Grant stands inside the statehouse’s rotunda.

Reagan’s story — the only U.S. president to be born and raised in the state, growing up in a low-income family and being admitted to college on a need-based scholarship — transcends party lines, Diaz said.

“[The] Eureka College narrative about President Reagan is not political, Republican or Democratic, it is not about all the good he did as a politician or the mistakes he made — like many leaders make, even U.S. presidents,” Diaz said.

“It is about the opportunity, and that is the story here, to remind our young generations to come that anyone from any walk of life — or any first generation student — can aspire to be the next president of the United States.”

Jamel Wright, the president of Eureka College, said the school isn’t advocating for the statue because they “agree with every single thing that Reagan did or said before, during or after he was in office” but rather in recognition that his flaws don’t “negate the fact that there were some things that were done under Reagan’s leadership and presidency that are noteworthy — and it is equally noteworthy that he is from our great state of Illinois.”

State Rep. Mary Flowers the chair of the committee, said Reagan had a “made-for-TV” presidency, one that would go on to define “our American experience” by producing images and ideas that remain “with the nation today.”

The South Side Democrat referenced Reagan’s iconic “It’s Morning Again in America” campaign ad, saying that “idealistic vision of the country has become firmly entrenched in the American psyche.”

But Flowers, who grew up watching Reagan on TV, also noted the former president is often credited for giving the nation the offensive concept of the “welfare queen,” a “key talking point” at his campaign rallies.

“This image has also stuck, not because it was true … but because it was a convenient way to celebrate ‘Morning in America’ without having to acknowledge the nightmare of systematic racism, that is also very much a part of our history,” Flowers said.

But Reagan has largely emerged as a positive historical figure, and “whether we agree with his policies or not we have to acknowledge that he accomplished a lot during his presidency and he had a profound impact on the direction of this country,” Flowers said.

State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, largely agreed.

“Everyone has mixed legacies and mixed things that they’ve done,” said Butler, who serves as the Republican spokesperson on the committee.

Deciding how to honor those people, and acknowledging both the “great things they’ve done but questions about the actions they’ve taken” is part of the story of honoring those figures, too, Butler said.

The committee didn’t make a final determination about a statue of Reagan before adjourning. Flowers said the panel is not at the decision-making stage yet and is focused on listening to “what everyone has to say.”

The meeting coincided with Virginia removing one of the nation’s largest Confederate monuments, a statue of Civil War General Robert E. Lee on Wednesday as states across the country continue to decide which monuments can stay and which should go.

Illinois began its own review in April when House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch created the task force to “ensure Illinois’ public art is historically accurate and reflects the diversity of the state.”

The 11-member, bipartisan panel has held public hearings, listening to historians, advocates and organizations with a goal of recommending statues to either be removed or added.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has called for a more appropriate statue to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King than the one currently on the Capitol grounds.

Last year, a statue of Stephen Douglas was removed from outside the state Capitol. Another state panel had voted to remove the memorial to the former U.S. senator as well as one of Pierre Menard, because both men owned enslaved people.

Read More

Bears first-year defensive coordinator Sean Desai is looking forward to playing chess Sunday night.

“I’ve got some good practice at chess because I play with my kids,” he said. “So that’s a benefit for me.”

Desai doesn’t give an inch when he plays with his kids — and sometimes loses. Now the degree-of-difficulty gets ramped up exponentially when he matches wits with Sean McVay in the Bears’ season opener against the Rams on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Desai has been a part of game day for eight years as a quality control coach and safeties coach. But this first time in the hot seat.

“That’s always a part of the game, right?” said Desai, who will work from the coaches box instead of on the field. “Whether you’re a position coach and you’re helping the coordinator and the play-caller seeing what you’re seeing in the game. Now as a play-caller, you’ve got to continually stay on top of it. And I think that’s a strength of mine. We’re going to test it out on game day, but I think that’s a strength of mine to be able to see the game up top.”

Of the unproven commodities at Halas Hall this offseason, the buildup for Desai has exceeded all of them except for quarterback Justin Fields. Whatever it is he’s selling, his players are buying.

“He’s a wizard,” linebacker Danny Trevathan said.

“This guy is super smart,” safety Tashaun Gipson said. “Sometimes he thinks light years head. So when he first brings an idea to you, you say, ‘Sean, there’s no way that’s gonna work.’ But when he breaks it down to you, you understand his mind and get how he thinks [and] you say, ‘Man, this guy is so smart, that the game of football slows down.’ You say, ‘OK, five minutes ago, no way I would have put that together. But now he makes sense.'”

Trevathan and Gipson are among several key defensive players to provide a glowing endorsement of Desai’s influence on the defense. “I met with him [last] Thursday,” safety Eddie Jackson said, “just to get the playbook breakdown of what we’re running, what’s the game plan [against the Rams]; and just to see his mind of what he’s expecting — how he’s drawing things … it’s pretty cool.”

Like?

“Just how he’s playing guys,” Jackson said. “Letting guys get after it. I’ll just leave it at that.”

But game day will tell the tale — not only in the players’ execution of the game plan, but Desai’s ability to think on his feet, make quick decisions and adjustments and try to stay a step ahead of McVay as a play caller.

“We’ll see,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “We’ve all had to have our first time doing it. For Sean, that’s going to be an unknown until we get through this year. But that’s the fun part. That’s the challenge. I believe in Sean. I think he’s going to do a great job.

“Is every game going to be perfect? No, it’s not. But the thing I think is great about Sean is he’s very resilient. He believes in what he’s teaching. He has confidence in himself. He’s not cocky. But he believes in what he’s teaching. That comes from the mentors he leaved from — like Vic [Fangio], Chuck Pagano and several others. That’s real. And he’s going to have to use that and put his own spin on game day when the bullets are flying.”

Desai spent five seasons watching Fangio call plays on game day. He sounded eager to build on that experience more than mimic it.

“You spend a lot of time with the guy, I sure hope some of the stuff that he’s done well, I can incorporate into my own play as we go,” Desai said. “And we’ll do the best we can. But I’m going to play to my strengths as best we can.”

Read More

The Chicago Police Department says it’s making progress on reforming how cops use force and how force is monitored.

That’s according to a report the department released Wednesday about the steps it’s taking to comply with a federal consent decree — a sweeping court order that requires reforms to the use of force, discipline, supervision, training and recruiting.

The consent decree stems from a 2017 lawsuit against the city by the Illinois attorney general’s office in response to the killing of Laquan McDonald, who was shot by Officer Jason Van Dyke in 2014. Van Dyke was fired and sentenced to prison.

The police department’s report doesn’t say how it’s doing in meeting the latest deadlines of the 2019 consent decree.

In an interview, Robert Boik, executive director of the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, said the police department went from complying with about 50 reforms in the consent decree in July 2020 to more than 150 by the end of 2020. There are about 800 reforms the department is required to fulfill.

Robert Boik in 2015.Sun-Times file

Boik wouldn’t release performance figures for January through the end of June this year, saying they’ll be in the next independent monitor’s report. But he said “we expect to see an increase in the percentage of compliance and in the number of paragraphs in compliance.”

Boik said other police departments that have been under similar consent decrees have taken a decade or longer to comply with all the required reforms.

He said the Chicago Police Department is “doubling down” this year on reforming the policies on how cops use force. Allegations about excessive force were why the department was placed in a consent decree in the first place, he noted.

“We are proud of the progress we made,” Boik said. “This is a long haul.”

The police department’s latest report, which was filed in federal court Wednesday, says most Chicago cops have received training this year on the current policy on the use of force, on giving medical aid and on how to conduct a vehicle pursuit. Later this year, all cops will get training in how to de-escalate situations to avoid the use of force. A revised use-of-force policy will go into effect next year.

In March, after the independent monitor said police officials should develop a foot-pursuit policy, the department approved an interim policy in June and is working with citizens and rank-and-file cops to draft a permanent one.

The department says it’s also taking steps to better monitor the use of force. For instance, it’s testing a questionnaire for police supervisors about incidents in which people are hospitalized or killed because of the actions of an officer. And it’s reviewing situations in which cops point their weapons, according to the report.

The police department’s 140-page report also touted the expansion of community-policing efforts, including outreach to ministers, transgender people, homeless people and immigrants. There’s a pilot program in which beat cops will pass out business cards so citizens can contact them about problems. Cops will get mandatory training about community policing.

There’s another pilot program that reduces the number of cops that sergeants supervise — and requires a sergeant to monitor the same group of officers every day. It’s being tested in the 4th, 6th and 7th districts on the South Side, according to the report.

Also Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a pilot program to mediate citizen complaints that normally are investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability or the police department’s Internal Affairs Bureau. The consent decree had called for that, she said in a statement.

“Chicago residents, community leaders and stakeholders have called for an alternative to the traditional complaint investigation, which this pilot program will provide,” Lightfoot said.

Wednesday’s report comes at a time of continuing violence in Chicago against residents and cops alike.

Murders and nonfatal shootings are up this year compared to the same period of 2020 — when violence soared in the city. More cops have been shot at this year, too, including Officer Ella French, who was killed last month.

Contributing: Fran Spielman

Read More

Read More