What’s New

Every morning, Raji Vela rolls out of bed, then heads down the block to water a newly planted garden. It’s a therapeutic job, one that gives him time to meditate and reflect on the day ahead.

Vela started watering the garden in the mornings and evenings three weeks ago, after artist Theaster Gates reached out and asked for his help. Vela’s garden is part of a much larger project Gates has been working on for years: Kenwood Gardens.

Over the course of six years, Gates and his teams at his art studio and at the Rebuild Foundation bought 13 contiguous vacant lots in the 6900 block of South Kenwood Avenue. Gates said he wanted to create “an opportunity to produce additional beauty” in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood.

The gardens, which run along the Metra Electric tracks just east of Oak Woods Cemetery, create the illusion of being on a prairie in the middle of the city.

Artist and Rebuild Foundation’s founder Theaster Gates at Kenwood Gardens, 6929 S. Kenwood Ave., on Wednesday. The vacant lot is being turned into a space intended for food, art, music and performance.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

“It looks like it’s in some other kind of time zone and it feels quite rural,” Gates said.

On Thursday, Kenwood Gardens is scheduled to officially open to the public.

The gardens are intended to serve as an oasis and meeting space for artists and residents from all over the South Side. In addition to the gardens, Gates and his teams have established a new arts incubator at the formerly abandoned St. Laurence School, 1353 E. 72nd St.

Residencies with a monthly stipend will be offered to eight to 10 South Side artists. Alongside those artists-in-residence, there’s room for up to 150 other people to work on their own creative endeavors in the building.

Artist workshops, tutorials, and critiques will be held at the incubator. Gates called it “grad school for emerging artists.”

The seemingly different projects both highlight “the ability that Black and Brown people have to help determine the futures of the neighborhoods and the spaces where they live,” Gates explained.

“The first goal is to demonstrate that Black space is not vacant. It is not abandoned,” he continued. “It may need care, but, once cared for, Black space is the hottest space in the city.”

The former St. Laurence School, 1353 E. 72nd St. in Greater Grand Crossing, is being turned into an arts incubator.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

And, he added, the projects remove the stigma of vacancy. The gardens are across from the Dorchester Community Gardens.

“You don’t have to go up north to find beauty when it’s right here in your backyard,” Vela said.

He added that the repurposed spaces offer relief from the vacantness that has plagued his neighborhood for so long.

“For the last 20 years … there have been vacant lots, with rules and restrictions and that’s why Black and Brown individuals aren’t able to obtain (lots) easily,” he said.

Community transformations like Kenwood Gardens can spread hope throughout the neighborhood for the next decade, Vela said.

“It will provide what the community needs, which is space, opportunity, cultivation and therapy,” he said.

Gates plans to have the gardens open year-round, with winter activities soon available. The incubator’s first class of artists-in-residence is invitation-only, and will start next fall.

Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago 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 and West sides.

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For those of you who enjoy watching people lose their minds, those of you who actually edge closer when you see someone berating a ticket agent for a missed flight connection, I want you to know that I’m here for you.

I have a scenario that would cause a good percentage of Bears fans to have an apoplectic fit if it were to come true.

It involves quarterback Andy Dalton playing so well this season and the team winning so regularly that rookie Justin Fields can’t get the job that many fans and media are sure is his birthright.

Sobbing, howling and effigy burning ensue.

Enjoy the show!

The start-Fields-now crowd believes the chances of Dalton succeeding in 2021 are close to zero. That crowd looks upon Dalton the way an iPhone user looks upon the telegraph. It looks upon Fields the way a besotted teenager looks upon a supermodel’s portfolio.

But … what if?

What if Dalton, despite having an offensive line that seems to hold a grudge against the quarterbacks it’s supposed to protect, starts zinging the ball to Bears receivers? What if, against all odds, he looks like the Andy Dalton who had a 106.2 passer rating with the Bengals in 2015, not the Andy Dalton who had a 78.3 rating with the Bengals in 2019?

Can you imagine the exploding heads of the people who already believe that Fields, the Bears’ 2021 first-round draft pick, is missing valuable time with the starters while the coaching staff follows a foolish script that’s big on patience and restraint?

Oh, it would be delicious. And before you say that I’m a selfish columnist looking for controversy to attract readers, know that anything with the word “Bears” in it attracts readers in Chicago. A backup cornerback getting his wisdom teeth removed could give rise to a well-read three-part series.

Dalton playing well would pose an interesting question for die-hard Bears fans: It’s about winning games, right? (If it isn’t about winning games, it would explain why so many of you have stood by this franchise for so long.) Benching a successful Dalton would make it hard to argue that victories are the thing.

Last season, Bears coach Matt Nagy famously demoted Mitch Trubisky in favor of Nick Foles after the team’s 3-0 start. Those of you who want Fields in the lineup will say Nagy’s decision proves that victories don’t guarantee a quarterback’s job security in Chicago. But Dalton isn’t Trubisky. He’s better. Nagy would have a hard time telling a quarterback who’s playing well in his 11th season to head for the sideline.

And why would he want to tell Dalton to take off his helmet? I’m reluctant to say that Nagy is coaching for his job this season because he lives in McCaskey World, where job status is not necessarily tied to results or ability or breathing. But let’s pretend Nagy’s job truly is on the line. The best way for a coach to stay employed in the NFL is to win games.

If Nagy wants to prove to ownership that he knows what he’s doing, succeeding with Dalton would go a long way toward establishing that football isn’t an obscure foreign language to the head coach. Nagy’s recent declaration that he knew it would take four years for his offensive system to take hold in Chicago wouldn’t be so bizarre if Dalton were to play well — kind of bizarre, just not crazy, drug-test-this-man-immediately bizarre.

The best thing that could happen to Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace is a 2021 season in which Dalton performs at a high level, the Bears win a playoff game and Fields gets brought in for a series or two each game to run packages designed specifically for him. That way, Nagy and Pace untie themselves from the tracks and avoid the locomotive bearing down on them. They don’t have to face the specter of Fields struggling as a starter and trying to explain, again, why they can’t seem to get things right.

The argument the pro-Fields lobby puts forth is that the rookie from Ohio State gives the Bears the best chance to win this season. Perhaps. But perhaps Dalton isn’t willing to go away quietly. Imagining such a scenario will cause blood-pressure readings to go up in Chicago. There’s medication for that. So far, there’s no remedy for being a Bears fan.

Thank you for joining me down this imaginary hole. Good luck finding your way out.

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

This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high near 77 degrees. Tonight, there will be a slight chance of sprinkles and a low around 62. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 79.

Top story

Alderman slams ‘weak slap on the wrist’ against hotel-turned-party-haven

A Gold Coast hotel has gotten what an influential alderman called a “weak slap on the wrist” — a $10,000 fine and a pledge to implement a “nuisance abatement plan” — after its patrons were accused of committing criminal acts at the hotel, its parking facility and adjacent property.

Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said the settlement agreement that allows the Eurostars Magnificent Mile Hotel to continue operating is an insult, considering the severity and duration of the violations at the hotel, 660 N. State St.

That includes 16 allegations of criminal conduct by hotel patrons beginning last fall and continuing until early March this year. Among them: armed robbery, criminal sexual assault, aggravated domestic battery, narcotics possession and numerous instances of unlawful use of weapons and failing to report lost firearms.

Under the abatement plan, the hotel will: install a video surveillance system and alarms on stairwells and emergency exits; block access to the elevator from the ground floor; and limit elevator access to people with room keys.

Guests will be required to sign and abide by a “no-gun and no-party policy.” They also can’t pay for their room in cash — a credit card with an embedded computer chip will be required. Also, balconies must be made inaccessible to guests.

“I’m not satisfied at all,” Reilly wrote in a text message to us. “I think $10K is a weak slap on the wrist for the hotel, considering it’s been a constant source of problems for the neighborhood over the past 18 months.”

City Hall reporter Fran Spielman has the full story here.

More news you need

Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart today announced the launch of a new team of detectives charged with clearing missing-person cases that date back to the 1930s. Authorities plan to tackle a list of 170 names, using techniques developed while working on missing children cases and seeking out lost victims of John Wayne Gacy.

A 4-year-old girl is recovering today after being shot in the arm when people in two cars began shooting at each other in Englewood. She was on the sidewalk in front of her home when she was shot around 4:30 p.m. yesterday, police said.

Two Chicago police officers have been charged with beating a 17-year-old during a January arrest in Woodlawn. The officers, who face two to five years in prison, were released on their own recognizance today.

An Oak Lawn woman used a phony COVID vaccination card that misspelled “Moderna” to get into Hawaii for a vacation last week without quarantining for 10 days as required, authorities say. She is now incarcerated at a Honolulu jail and faces misdemeanor charges.

While most Illinoisans were sleeping this morning, state senators advanced a sweeping overhaul of the state’s energy sector, kicking the legislation — and further negotiations — to the House. State Senate President Harmon called the bill the “most complicated” piece of legislation he has negotiated.

Chicago’s tourism and hospitality industries appear to be on the rebound after a summer surge in business. The ongoing threat of the Delta variant didn’t stop local hotels from recently reporting their highest occupancy rates since before the pandemic.
Warehouse workers represented by the Teamsters union have gone on strike against food service company Sysco in Des Plaines, potentially disrupting deliveries to Chicago and suburban schools and hospitals. The union cites a lack of progress in talks that started in January with the food service firm.

A bright one

Ryan Tova Katz wants kids to see joy and themselves in her murals

If the sounds of kids playing at Weisman Playground aren’t enough to give you a sense of childhood joy, just look up.

There’s also a four-story mural — titled “Livvy in the Sky” — at the park at 901 W. Oakdale Ave. that shows a young girl playing on playground equipment.

It’s the latest in a series of murals by Roscoe Village artist Ryan Tova Katz spotlighting kids in Chicago.

Katz, 38, says she’s tried to help fill what she saw as a void in public art around Chicago.

“I just was looking around at everything, and I was, like, ‘There’s just not enough imagery of children of color in beautiful scenarios,’ ” Katz says.

Ryan Tova Katz’s mural “Livvy In the Sky” adorns the wall overlooking Weisman Playground at 901 W. Oakdale Ave. in Lake View.Provided

Katz says she often gets inspiration for her murals from Milo, her 3-year-old, who’s a friend of the real-life “Livvy.”

Amy Nussvaum was walking in Lake View and discovered another of Katz’s murals in this series, “Butterfly Girl,” at Irving Park Road and Janssen Avenue. The image, which features a young girl who is Black, struck a chord with Nussvaum, who came back later with her 3-year-old daughter Galit, who is Black.

“I feel like oftentimes, when you’re the parent of a Black child or of any child that falls into a minority group in America, you really have to seek out ways to find representation for them,” says Nussvaum, 41.

“When she saw ‘herself’ painted on this building, it really meant a lot to her,” she says of her daughter. “And being able to show her that she’s so pretty and so gorgeous that someone painted a huge picture of someone that looks just like her means a lot to me.”

Zack Miller has more on Katz’s murals here.

From the press box

Your daily question ?

With the Chicago-set “Candyman” in theaters, we want to know: What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen in the theater?

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: If you got to rename any building in Chicago, which would it be and what would you call it?

Here’s what some of you said…

“875 North Michigan Avenue should be named once again the John Hancock Center, just like the Willis Tower should be renamed Sears Tower once again.” — Maurice Snell

“Trump tower changed to Chicago Tower, remove the Trump name and put the four stars that Resembled of the Chicago flag.” — Alan Uriel Garcia

“Adler Planetarium to ‘Star Place.'” — Adrienne Varvil

“Well, it’s a stadium but change Guaranteed Rate Field back to Comiskey Park.” — Darvel Ahmad Stinson

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

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

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The Bears put inside linebacker Danny Trevathan on injured reserve Wednesday.

He can return to game action starting in Week 4.

After struggling in the first part of last season — and raising questions about his fitness — Trevathan reported to camp in what general manager Ryan Pace called “great shape.” The linebacker credited a boxing regimen during the offseason. Trevathan missed time in mid-August, though, with what the team called knee soreness.

Surprisingly, Trevathan started the Bears final preseason game, playing 11 snaps against the Titans. He intercepted Matt Barkley’s pass on what proved to be his last snap of the night, returning it out of bounds along the Titans sideline. Coach Matt Nagy said after the game that he wanted Trevathan and nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who hadn’t appeared in preseason games thus far, to get some action.

It was telling, perhaps, that Alec Ogletree, who performed well in Trevathan’s absence, was not asked to play. He will start alongside Roquan Smith to begin the season.

The Bears signed Trevathan to a three-year extension in March 2020, ostensibly choosing him over Nick Kwiatkoski, who inked a similar deal with the Raiders.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace is scheduled to meet the media late Wednesday afternoon.

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As a 4-year-old girl recovered from a gunshot wound Wednesday, a relative told the Sun-Times the girl had been combing her doll’s hair on the front stoop of a vacant building in Englewood when a stray bullet hit her.

The relative, who asked not to be named, said her cousin’s daughter was hit in the arm when shots were exchanged between two cars in the 600 block of West 61st Street around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“She had a little doll in her hand and she was combing the doll’s hair,” the relative said.

A car with bullet holes in two windows in the 600 block of West 61st Street, less than 24 hours after a 4-year-old girl was wounded on the Englewood block on the South Side,Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The girl’s father drove her to Saint Bernard Hospital, and she was transferred in good condition to Stroger Hospital.

The two cars both fled east. Police reported no arrests and have released no description of the cars or suspects.

Detectives were trying to recover video from private security cameras that might have captured the shooting, police said.

A witness told reporters on the scene that people near the girl “ducked her down behind a car.”

The man said one of the shots shattered the front passenger window of his car. “It almost hit me in the head,” said the man, who asked not to be identified. “It was coming from everywhere. And I just heard the little girl screaming.”

Anna Johnson, who lives on the block, owns a car that was also damaged by gunfire.

“I’ve been here 15 years, I ain’t never seen anything like this,” Johnson said. “You got young people carrying guns, I’m talking about 13, 14, 15, and they can’t even aim straight.”

Another neighbor, a 59-year-old woman who asked not to be named, said she heard about 15 shots. She’s had enough.

“They need to stop, they killing babies and it’s not right. Everybody deserves a chance to live a life and make good of it,” she said. “They got me spooked, and I thought I was hardcore.”

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Two Chicago police officers were released on their own recognizance Wednesday after being charged with beating a 17-year-old boy they said crashed into their squad car and pointed a gun at them during a pursuit on the South Side.

Officers Jeffery Shafer and Victor Guebara face counts of aggravated battery and official misconduct from the Jan. 10 arrest in Woodlawn, after an investigation by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the police department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs.

If convicted, the officers could face a sentence of between two and five years in prison.

Two other police officers also face disciplinary charges in connection to the case for either failing to intervene or not activating their body-worn camera during the boy’s arrest, a source said.

Shafer, 35, and Guebara, 40, were on patrol that afternoon when they spotted the teen driving a white Chevrolet Camaro that had been reported stolen and chased it, prosecutors said.

The boy drove onto a sidewalk and eventually struck the officers’ vehicle as the officers pulled up next to him, prosecutors said. The crash didn’t cause either vehicles’ air bags to deploy. The boy later crashed into a garage in the 6400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, prosecutors said.

The boy then complied to an assisting officer’s orders to stop and show his hands, prosecutors said. When the officer tried to handcuff the boy, Shafer and Guebara arrived in their car.

Guebara walked up to the boy and punched him in the face while the teen was lying face-down with one hand behind his back, prosecutors said. Shafer then straddled the boy and allegedly punched him four times in the head and pushed the boy’s face into the concrete.

Schafer made the boy stand up and pushed him into a metal fence, causing a cut to the teen’s head, prosecutors said.

Neither Guebara nor Shafer activated their body cameras during the arrest, but their actions were captured by a nearby police POD surveillance camera and the assisting officer’s body camera, prosecutors said.

The officers’ attorneys said the boy had previously pointed a gun at them during the pursuit and that the “T-bone” crash had injured Shafer so badly he needed surgery and will require additional medical treatment.

The officers hadn’t mentioned on the police radio that the boy had pointed a gun at them, or to other officers until after a gun was recovered inside the Camaro’s glove box during the arrest, prosecutors said.

The boy was charged with battery and weapons offenses in juvenile court, but those charges were dropped in June, prosecutors said.

Shafer and Guebara were arrested Tuesday night, but had been relieved of their police powers in January, Chicago police said in a statement.

Judge John F. Lyke on Wednesday denied prosecutors’ request for Shafer and Guebara to turn over their Firearm Owners Identification cards and any firearms in their possession, saying state police and CPD could decide whether that was necessary.

The judge ordered both officers to have no contact with teen while their case is pending.

Defense attorneys told Lyke their clients were decorated Army combat veterans and had received many commendations since they each joined the department in 2014.

Shafer had been deployed to Afghanistan after graduating high school and was wounded while riding in a vehicle that struck an improvised explosive device, his attorney Tim Grace said. He received an award for valor during his overseas service.

Guebara served in Iraq, where he was shot in the leg during a gun battle and received a Purple Heart, and later in Afghanistan, where he received a Bronze Star, his attorney Brian Sexton said.

Lyke noted the officers’ military service, saying both men had “served honorably” and appeared to be “exemplary citizens.”

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NEW YORK — One of R. Kelly’s accusers testified on Wednesday that he kept a gun by his side while he berated her as a prelude to forcing her to give him oral sex in a Los Angeles music studio.

“He had a weapon, so I wasn’t going to step out of line,” the witness said while recounting the 2018 episode at the R&B singer’s New York City trial.

When she spotted the gun, a stern-sounding Kelly told her not to look at it, she said, before demanding to know, “How many men have you seen naked?” He also instructed her to act “excited like a puppy” whenever she saw him, adding, “I still have a lot to teach you.”

She testified the last time she saw Kelly at a New York City hotel suite, she resisted having sex with him. She said he responded by warning her not to defy him, saying, “I’m a f—ing legend.”

Kelly’s alleged intimidation tactics were all part of an abusive sexual relationship that started when the woman was 19 and resulted in her getting herpes from him, she said. After she filed police reports and sued him for failing to disclose an STD, he and his supporters threatened that they would release nude photos and other compromising material about her if she persisted with her allegations, she said.

The woman testified while only using her first name to protect her privacy.

Kelly, 54, has repeatedly denied accusations that he preyed on victims during a 30-year career. His lawyers have portrayed his accusers as groupies who are lying about their relationships with him.

Jurors so far have heard from a steady stream of accusers claiming Kelly began sexually degrading them when they were still in their teens. They said he used his stardom to lure them into an insular world where he watched their every move and doled out perverse punishments, spanking them and isolating them in hotel rooms if they broke a vow to never speak about him to anyone else.

Kelly’s personal physician has also testified, saying he treated him for herpes for several years.

The trial is unfolding under coronavirus precautions restricting the press and the public to overflow courtrooms with video feeds. That’s made it difficult to discern the reactions of Kelly, who has been jailed since his federal indictment was announced in 2019.

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A Gold Coast hotel has gotten what an influential alderman called a “weak slap on the wrist” — a $10,000 fine and a pledge to implement a “nuisance abatement plan” — after its patrons were accused of committing criminal acts at the hotel, its parking facility and adjacent property.

Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said the settlement agreement that allows the Eurostars Magnificent Mile Hotel to continue operating is an insult, considering the severity and duration of the violations at the hotel, 660 N. State St.

That includes 16 allegations of criminal conduct by hotel patrons beginning last fall and continuing until early March this year. Among them: armed robbery, criminal sexual assault, aggravated domestic battery, narcotics possession and numerous instances of unlawful use of weapons and failing to report lost firearms.

Under the abatement plan, the hotel will: install a video surveillance system and alarms on stairwells and emergency exits; block access to the elevator from the ground floor; and limit elevator access to people with room keys.

Guests will be required to sign and abide by a “no-gun and no-party policy.” They also can’t pay for their room in cash — a credit card with an embedded computer chip will be required. Also, balconies must be made inaccessible to guests.

The Eurostars Magnificent Mile also must monitor noise levels and outdoor premises; close the doors to the outdoor patio after 7 p.m. when music is playing; and prohibit live or amplified music. Also, the outdoor patio at the hotel’s 26th floor lounge will “cease operation” at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at midnight on Friday and Saturday.

“I’m not satisfied at all,” Reilly wrote in a text message to the Sun-Times. “I think $10K is a weak slap on the wrist for the hotel, considering it’s been a constant source of problems for the neighborhood over the past 18 months.”

Noting that, “I don’t sign off on these things,” Reilly added: “I would’ve preferred a lengthy license suspension or a revocation to send the message that irresponsible hotel license holders will be held accountable and penalties will be stiff. It’s a disappointing outcome and I’m as disappointed as my constituents are.”

The settlement was announced at Wednesday’s virtual meeting of the Mayor’s License Disciplinary Commission.

Chris Leach, an attorney representing the hotel, and Patricia Cereijo, the hotel’s general manager, could not be reached for comment.

In a newsletter to his constituents previewing the hearing, Reilly said the city conducted “eleven task force inspections” at the hotel over a one-year period.

He pointed to “numerous reports” of large gatherings, guests throwing bottles from and lighting fires on balconies and a River North traffic stop that culminated in the arrest of six people for handgun possession. All were guests at the Eurostars Mag Mile, Reilly said.

Last fall, Reilly warned that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s decision to close restaurants and bars to indoor patrons had driven partiers underground.

Reilly argued then that “lots of kids” were taking advantage of “cheap” rates at Chicago hotels and Airbnb prperties to hold parties that could become “super-spreader” events.

“A few hotels have turned this into a business model,” the alderman said then.

Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, responded to Reilly’s complaints by saying his members are doing all they could to rein in partygoers.

“We have to be very careful around discriminating in any way. If they’re above the age required to check in, we can’t say, `You carry certain tendencies that make us think you might party, so we’re not letting you check in,’ ” Jacobson said.

“If you call from a room and say, ‘There’s a loud noise next to me. I think there’s a party going on,’ the hotel immediately sends security up there to investigate and kick the people out if it is, indeed, a party. I don’t think it’s happening as much as [Reilly] necessarily says. But it is happening, don’t get me wrong. And as soon as a hotel finds out about it, they kick out that party.”

At the time, Jacobson pointed to “instances of crime and violence outside” Chicago hotels as evidence of the security crackdown inside.

“Once we’ve evicted a group out of a hotel and put them on the street, there’s fights that happen in front of the hotel,” he said.

“Of course, the headline reads that violence has happened outside of that particular hotel. But that was a result of us actually kicking that group out. We can’t escort them home afterwards.”

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Tracking the Bears’ moves as they approach Tuesday’s 3 p.m. deadline to cut the roster down to 53 players:

Wednesday

12:15 p.m.: Cornerback Thomas Graham, whom the Bears drafted in the sixth round out of Oregon, will rejoin the team on the practice squad, a source confirmed. So will running backs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce, who were both cut Tuesday, sources said.

12:10 p.m.: The Bears are signing former first-round picks Breshad Perriman and Artie Burns to one-year deals. Perriman, a receiver, was cut by the Lions earlier this week. The Bears cut Burns but will re-sign him using a roster spot freed by injured reserve moves.

11:55 a.m.: The Bears will carry a quarantine kicker on their practice squad, a source said: Brian Johnson, who impressed them during camp.

11:45 a.m.: The Bears claimed Rams returner Nsimba Webster off the waiver wire. The wide receiver has experience returning kicks and punts, and the Bears could use help with the latter.

Tuesday

5:10 p.m.: The Bears put running back Tarik Cohen on the physically unable perform list Tuesday. By league rule, he can’t play in a game until Week 7 at the earliest. The team also put rookie tackle Teven Jenkins on the active roster. He’ll transfer to injured reserve, but will be eligible to return later in the season. He had back surgery two weeks ago and is not guaranteed to play again this year — but the move gives the Bears the option of bringing him back if he’s healthy.

4:50 p.m.: The Bears submitted their final cuts. The players not previously identified who were cut were: wide receiver Isaiah Coulter, guard Dieter Eiselen, guard Arlington Hambright, wide receiver Jon’Vea Johnson, linebacker Sam Kamara, defensive tackle LaCale London, outside linebacker Charles Snowden, safety Teez Tabor, outside linebacker James Vaughters, tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr., cornerback Artie Burns and safety Marqui Christian.

2:40 p.m.: Veteran cornerback Desmond Trufant won’t make the team. The Bears are cutting him, ESPN reported. Trufant has been away from the team for the last 18 days because of the death of his father. Kindle Vildor figures to start in his place.

1:45 p.m.: The Bears are waving rookie receiver Dazz Newsome, a source confirmed. He seems headed for the team’s practice squad if he clears waivers.

12:45 p.m.: Running back Ryan Nall is being cut, a source confirmed. A return to Halas Hall on the practice squad seems likely unless he’s claimed by another team.

12:30 p.m.: The Bears are cutting receiver Riley Ridley, per NFL Network. Ridley was a fourth-round pick just two years ago. He caught 10 passes for 108 yards in two seasons with the Bears.

12 p.m.: The Bears will waive kicker Brian Johnson, a source said. That was obvious from the beginning with Cairo Santos returning on a three-year contract extension.

11:40 a.m.: The Bears will waive cornerback Thomas Graham, their sixth-round pick out of Oregon, a source said. Graham is an obvious target for the practice squad, but will be on many teams’ radar in waivers.

11:15 a.m.: The Bears plan to cut running back Artavis Pierce, a source said. He’s likely to join the practice squad if he clears waivers. The Oregon State alum appeared in five games for the Bears last season, running six times for 34 yards and one touchdown.

Monday

6 p.m.: The Bears have informed tight end Scooter Harrington, defensive back Dionte Ruffin, offensive lineman Adam Redmond and defensive lineman Daniel Archibong that they will be waived, sources said.

5 p.m.: The Bears are waiving receiver Chris Lacy, a source confirmed. Lacy had three catches for 26 yards in the second preseason game; he played Saturday against the Titans but did not record a receiving stat.

For the first time, NFL teams are paring down their rosters 12 days before the first Sunday regular-season games of the season. The Bears will not hold practice Tuesday or Wednesday as the team sorts through their final roster and assembles their 16-man practice squad. Practice-squad players must pass through waivers on Wednesday before joining a team. Bears general manager Ryan Pace is expected to speak to the media Wednesday.

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