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Do masks put a TARGET on your back?on August 19, 2021 at 2:12 pm

The Chicago Board of Tirade

Do masks put a TARGET on your back?

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Do masks put a TARGET on your back?on August 19, 2021 at 2:12 pm Read More »

Man charged with murder in Humboldt Park shootingDavid Struetton August 19, 2021 at 1:37 pm

A man has been charged with murder in connection to a shooting earlier in August in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Justin Cortes, 25, was arrested Wednesday after police identified him as the man who shot and killed Angel Figueroa on Aug. 6, Chicago police said.

Figueroa, 38, was a passenger in a vehicle traveling that evening in the 3400 block of West Division Street when someone opened fire from another vehicle, police said.

Figueroa was shot in his face and driven to Humboldt Park Health Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Cortes was scheduled to appear in court later Thursday on a count of first-degree murder.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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Man charged with murder in Humboldt Park shootingDavid Struetton August 19, 2021 at 1:37 pm Read More »

Ask the Doctors: How to avoid, recognize, treat heat illness — cramps, exhaustion, strokeDr. Eve Glazieron August 19, 2021 at 1:00 pm

Dear Doctors: Can you explain heat exhaustion and heat stroke?

Answer: Even on what feels like a mild day, missteps having to do with clothing, terrain, hydration and your level of exertion can turn the sunny weather that drew you outside into a serious health threat.

Heat-related illnesses fall into three categories — heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

The mildest is heat cramps, though, when you’re experiencing them, “mild” won’t be the word that comes to mind. They are painful, involuntary muscle contractions in the calves, thighs, arms or abdomen.

Heat cramps are associated with heavy sweating and can occur during intense physical activity or if you’re exercising beyond your level of conditioning.

Someone with heat cramps should move to a shady spot and drink water or a sports drink. Don’t resume activity until the cramps have subsided.

The next step on the heat illness continuum is heat exhaustion. Symptoms include heavy sweating, a rapid pulse that also might be weak or irregular, muscle cramps, nausea or vomiting, headache, dizziness, cold or clammy skin, feeling weak and feeling confused.

Unless addressed promptly, heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke, which is a life-threatening emergency. Someone with heat exhaustion should immediately move to a cooler spot and loosen clothing to allow air circulation. Use damp cloths to cool the skin or immerse yourself — including the face and scalp — in cool water. Sip water gradually. Drinking too much can lead to cramps or vomiting.

Someone with heat stroke is at risk of dying. Symptoms include hot skin, a rapid, pounding pulse, nausea or dizziness, headache, shallow breathing, confusion or delirium and a temperature of 103 or higher.

Unlike someone with heat exhaustion, people with heat stroke will not sweat. Get them to a cool or shady spot, cool their body with water, and get them immediate medical care.

To avoid heat-related illness, choose activities appropriate for the weather. Wear loose, light clothing. Carry plenty of water, and drink it in moderation — you don’t want to over-drink. Rest in the heat of the day. Wear a hat and sunglasses. Use salty snacks or sports drinks to help replace lost electrolytes. And never ignore the signs of heat illness.

Dr. Eve Glazier and Dr. Elizabeth Ko are internists at UCLA Health.

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Ask the Doctors: How to avoid, recognize, treat heat illness — cramps, exhaustion, strokeDr. Eve Glazieron August 19, 2021 at 1:00 pm Read More »

The Chicago Architecture Biennial Takes a Fresh ApproachLynette Smithon August 19, 2021 at 1:12 pm

For many, the mention of “architecture” conjures thoughts of floor plans and blueprints that become houses and buildings and skylines — facts and figures about which are conveyed to us on riverboat tours of the built environment.

But the fourth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, which opens September 17, centers on the unbuilt. Dubbed The Available City, the 2021 biennial pairs contributing architects and designers with community organizations to imagine — and, in some cases, implement — new projects for Chicago’s approximately 10,000 city-owned vacant lots.

The theme expands on work that this year’s artistic director, David Brown, presented under the same name as part of the inaugural biennial in 2015. A professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he has been exploring the uses of vacant lots since the early aughts, when he taught at Rice University in sprawling Houston.

“I don’t think I fully expected that I would be able to continue it in Chicago,” Brown says of relocating here in 2004. “Moving from a kind of super-dispersed city, I think my initial thought of Chicago, not having spent much time here, was that it’s a super-dense city, so I was surprised to find that there were the quantity of vacant lots there are.”

As Brown soon learned, many of those lots are concentrated in underserved communities on the city’s South and West Sides. “I got exposed to it with a 2006 Chicago Architecture Center exhibit that I curated [about] North Lawndale. I think at the time they may have had the highest number in the city.”

The Chicago Architecture Biennial, opening September 17, reimagines city-owned vacant lots.

Brown began mapping the vacant land and cataloging possible uses, first presenting his research at the Venice Biennale in 2012 and then at Chicago’s inaugural biennial. Since the end of the 2015 program, he’s been engaging with community organizations on implementing some of those ideas for collective spaces. A presentation to the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council in 2016, for instance, led to Brown connecting the neighborhood’s MLK Memorial District and Community Christian Alternative Academy with local designers to help develop their community garden programs.

That process is guiding Brown’s vision for the 2021 biennial, where attendees will visit installations from Englewood to the South Loop, on open land and in empty storefronts. Two examples from North Lawndale provide a peek into what’s in store.

A new play structure, designed by Miami’s Studio Barnes, will be built on a lot owned by the Westside Association for Community Action. The installation will also feature an “architectural-scale urban painting” created by Outpost Office, a design firm based in Columbus, Ohio. The work marks the first step in a proposed redevelopment of a 15-block stretch below the CTA Pink Line tracks between Kedzie and Kildare Avenues. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, the “design farm” Bittertang, which worked with CCA Academy on its community garden, will again partner with the school to install a permanent outdoor classroom.

“Activation weekends” will take place in different neighborhoods for six weekends, beginning September 25. Family days, featuring hands-on activities and theater, dance, and spoken-word performances, are also planned.

“The experience of the biennial is obviously very different than what people have encountered in the past,” says Rachel Kaplan, the biennial’s director. Some of that is due to practical considerations: Organizers had to make the call about this year’s event during the pandemic shutdown, and they didn’t know if the Chicago Cultural Center would be reopened in time.

“The Cultural Center obviously has served as a really great central hub for us being able to host free events, but since 2015, we’ve been saying the city is the site,” Kaplan says. “We’ve been working with David since 2015, and it just kind of clicked that this was a really amazing opportunity to take his vision and put it on this global scale.”

Different neighborhoods featured in the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial will be highlighted each weekend through October with special itineraries for visitors and additional programming by community partners. Visit chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org for complete schedules and locations.

September 25–26
North Lawndale, Garfield Park

October 2–3
Englewood, Woodlawn, Bronzeville

October 9–10
Pilsen, South Loop

October 16–17
North Lawndale, Garfield Park

October 23–24
Englewood, Woodlawn, Bronzeville

October 30–31
Pilsen, South Loop, North Lawndale

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The Chicago Architecture Biennial Takes a Fresh ApproachLynette Smithon August 19, 2021 at 1:12 pm Read More »

Insanity of QAnon, debacle in Kabul, despair on the south side and a walking meditation on the Lincolnwood bike pathon August 19, 2021 at 1:00 pm

Cheating Death

Insanity of QAnon, debacle in Kabul, despair on the south side and a walking meditation on the Lincolnwood bike path

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Insanity of QAnon, debacle in Kabul, despair on the south side and a walking meditation on the Lincolnwood bike pathon August 19, 2021 at 1:00 pm Read More »

Chicago Bears: Predicting the offensive line combinations for week 1Anish Puligillaon August 19, 2021 at 12:00 pm

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Chicago Bears: Predicting the offensive line combinations for week 1Anish Puligillaon August 19, 2021 at 12:00 pm Read More »

Chicago Bears: Even Madden knows Justin Fields should startRyan Heckmanon August 19, 2021 at 11:00 am

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Chicago Bears: Even Madden knows Justin Fields should startRyan Heckmanon August 19, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

FuMPFest 2021on August 19, 2021 at 11:00 am

Count Gregula’s Crypt

FuMPFest 2021

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FuMPFest 2021on August 19, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

16 shot Wednesday in ChicagoSun-Times Wireon August 19, 2021 at 7:48 am

Sixteen people were shot Wednesday in Chicago, including three men who were wounded in a shooting in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

About 11:05 p.m., they were standing near a vehicle, and one person was sitting inside the vehicle, in the 7600 block of South Ingleside Avenue, when shots were fired, Chicago police said. A 26-year-old man who was standing outside the vehicle was struck in the torso and back, and an 18-year-old man was struck in the shoulder. A 40-year-old man who was sitting inside the vehicle was struck twice in the leg. They brought themselves to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they are all in serious condition.

About an hour prior, three men were wounded in a shooting in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side. Just after 10 p.m., someone in a black van shot the men in the 5900 block of South Campbell Avenue, police said. A 23-year-old man was struck in the torso, thigh and leg, police said. Another man, 24, suffered gunshot wounds to the pelvis and leg, while a third man, 29, was hit in the right arm. All three men went to Mount Sinai Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized. The men did not provide any further details on the incident.

A 7-year-old boy was shot in the back seat of his mother’s vehicle Wednesday night in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, according to police. About 8:20 p.m., his 29-year-old mother was sitting with him in a vehicle parked in the 1000 block of North Honore Avenue, when “an unidentified female offender” walked up to the driver-side door and got into an argument with her, police said. The person outside then pulled out a gun, opened fire on the vehicle and ran away. The boy was hit once in the abdomen. He was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. His mother was not physically hurt.

A 15-year-old boy was hurt in a shooting Wednesday night in Englewood on the South Side. The boy was walking on a sidewalk about 6:45 p.m. in the 6400 block of South Stewart Avenue when a vehicle approached and someone inside fired shots, police said. He was struck on the side of his body and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition.

Eight others were shot citywide.

Four people were killed, and two others were wounded in shootings Tuesday in Chicago.

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16 shot Wednesday in ChicagoSun-Times Wireon August 19, 2021 at 7:48 am Read More »

3 wounded in shooting in Grand CrossingSun-Times Wireon August 19, 2021 at 6:32 am

Three men were wounded in a shooting Wednesday in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

About 11:05 p.m., they were standing near a vehicle, and one person was sitting inside the vehicle, in the 7600 block of South Ingleside Avenue, when shots were fired, Chicago police said.

A 26-year-old man who was standing outside the vehicle was struck in the torso and back, and an 18-year-old man was struck in the shoulder, police said. A 40-year-old man who was sitting inside the vehicle was struck twice in the leg.

They brought themselves to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they are all in serious condition, police said.

Area Two detectives are investigating.

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3 wounded in shooting in Grand CrossingSun-Times Wireon August 19, 2021 at 6:32 am Read More »