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Memorial rises on block where Chicago Police Officer Ella French was killedAndy Grimmon August 10, 2021 at 1:03 am

Two days after Chicago Police Officer Ella French was shot and killed by a suspect fleeing a traffic stop, a makeshift memorial took shape on the West Englewood street where French died.

Around noon Monday, the 6300 block of South Bell Avenue was quiet and largely empty as a trio of Chicago Police officers walked up and tied balloons and a small teddy bear to a tree near where the 29-year-old French died. Arriving about the same time was Yvette Smith, making her second trip to the murder scene.

“I had been over here earlier, and there was nothing,” said a teary-eyed Smith. “I was watching the Cubs game, and there was no moment of silence. It just upset me, so I got my son and said, ‘Let’s get some balloons, let’s do something.’

“There’s other people feeling the same way, (but) there’s nothing up, nothing being put up for her remembrance for what she’s done. You don a uniform to come out here and put your life on the line. Nobody acknowledges that.”

French was killed and her partner critically wounded Saturday evening in a shootout that erupted when officers pulled over a vehicle about 50 yards south of where the balloons tugged against the tree. Three suspects have been arrested, including one who was restrained by neighbors after leaping over a fence into a crowded backyard barbecue.

Peering at reporters over the bent chain-link fence Monday, the barbecue’s host said the fleeing man looked at the crowd of children and adults in the party and turned as if to bolt back over the fence.

“He went back [toward the fence] and wanted to jump, but then he saw the cops and he came back,” said the host, who did not want to be named.

The man pointed a gun at the host and hit him with it. The host and several other men wrestled with the gunman, and the pistol wound up on the ground, he said. They held the man down until police arrived. It was not clear Tuesday if the man arrested after the struggle in the backyard was the gunman who shot either officer.

“We feel bad for what happened, we feel bad for the officer,” the backyard host said. “It’s sad … I don’t have any regrets on stopping the man, honestly. He could have gone to do much worse things, like shoot other people, if he had not been stopped.”

A second man involved in the shooting was wounded by gunfire and arrested at the scene. Police arrested a third person, a woman, in connection with the shooting Sunday.

Federal prosecutors Monday filed charges against Jamel Danzy, a Hammond, Indiana man, for acting as a straw purchaser of a .22-caliber Glock pistol used to shoot French and her partner. The Honda CR-V that French and her fellow officers had pulled over on South Bell at the start of the fatal encounter was registered to Danzy, federal prosecutors said Monday.

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Memorial rises on block where Chicago Police Officer Ella French was killedAndy Grimmon August 10, 2021 at 1:03 am Read More »

Athletes put through the Olympic wringerRick Telanderon August 10, 2021 at 1:14 am

The Tokyo Olympics ended Sunday not with a bang but a muted sigh and a symbolic tear.

Every modern Olympics has been a reflection of the world around them at the moment of competition. And this one — in the time of COVID, global warming and the rise of multiple demagogues — is no different.

Going back to Games of yore is like viewing a snapshot of global history in the making.

The 1936 Games heralded the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

The 1972 Munich Olympics brought terrorism to the forefront.

The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta were a salute to the global power of corporations and moneyed sponsorships. And then came the bomb in Olympic Park.

There were no Olympic Games at all in 1916, 1940 and 1944 because of world wars.

So what will we think of these 2020 Olympics held in 2021?

Not much, I’m afraid.

First off, they were supposed to be held a year ago but could not be because of the untamed pandemic, a pandemic that is far from gone. Indeed, Japan’s cases surged during the Games, a number of athletes were forced out because of COVID and most Japanese citizens didn’t want the Olympics from the start.

Gold medals presented in empty stadiums to masked athletes in near silence are the stuff not of massed celebration but of fear and isolation, fueling visions of an even more nightmarish future.

China hosts the Winter Games in six months, and what that virtually closed country — the place that gave us COVID to begin with — is planning would stun Orwell himself.

According to the New York Times, Chinese guards will wear biohazard suits and prevent anyone from leaving venues, passageways will be divided lengthwise and athletes will be interviewed behind plastic walls via microphone and will wear armpit thermometers to sound an alarm if they get a fever.

“Authorities intend to wall off China’s 1.4 billion people from essentially all athletes, judges, drivers, guides, journalists and others associated with the event,” the paper stated.

This is the big hug felt around the world?

And there was Tokyo’s grand closing ceremony, held in front of almost no one. Athletes themselves seemed irrelevant. No tourists, no fans, no discernible joy.

The Olympic torch was symbolically handed off to Paris, site of the 2024 Games. And all that came to mind was: Good luck, France.

If anything, these Games will be remembered (beyond disease) for the trials of little Simone Biles, all 4-9 of her, the greatest female gymnast in history.

Her televised mental meltdown under the psychic weight of expectation from a world demanding transcendence and entertainment was epic and important in itself. The ”twisties,” she called her sudden loss of self in midair.

The twisties might be a good term for all future athletes to use when they mentally crumble from the near insanity of endless training while attempting to become the best in the world.

The man with the most Olympic gold medals, former swimmer Michael Phelps, spoke compassionately about Biles and her torment. Phelps knows. He felt the emptiness of tunnel focus, winning and then . . . nothing.

After his four gold medals in 2012 at the London Games, Phelps had way more than the twisties.

“I didn’t want to be alive anymore,” he said, admitting that he narrowly avoided suicide.

American sprinter Noah Lyles, who won bronze in the 200 meters in Tokyo, was just as open about his mental struggles. Lyles has two therapists to help him deal with non-physical issues.

“I know there’s somebody out there who is probably struggling with the same issues I was,” Lyles said. “And I want them to know there are ways to feel better.”

So there’s the likely message of these Games. Take care of yourself. And, along with that, dear God, take care of this planet.

You could say hope and dreamy good cheer are still the prime movers of the Olympics, much as they were at the start of the modern Games.

But with millions of acres of forests on fire, icebergs calving like falling dominoes, athletes collapsing in the heat and a deadly virus stalking the Earth, thinking of the Tokyo Olympics as the Mental Health Games might not be a bad way to go.

Every viewer out there should be asking existential questions. Prime among them: What price dominance? What price Planet Earth?

And how’s your mental health?

I mean everyone’s.

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Athletes put through the Olympic wringerRick Telanderon August 10, 2021 at 1:14 am Read More »

Watch Berkowitz & Martin discuss Pritzker’s decision to mask 2 million school kids- 7 hours/day: Science, data or politics? Also, new GOP Gov candidates & 2022 Gov General Election, Cable/Webon August 10, 2021 at 1:14 am

Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz

Watch Berkowitz & Martin discuss Pritzker’s decision to mask 2 million school kids- 7 hours/day: Science, data or politics? Also, new GOP Gov candidates & 2022 Gov General Election, Cable/Web

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Watch Berkowitz & Martin discuss Pritzker’s decision to mask 2 million school kids- 7 hours/day: Science, data or politics? Also, new GOP Gov candidates & 2022 Gov General Election, Cable/Webon August 10, 2021 at 1:14 am Read More »

Health Benefits of Whole Grains as We Work to Fight COVID Variantson August 10, 2021 at 12:57 am

All is Well

Health Benefits of Whole Grains as We Work to Fight COVID Variants

©2021 CTMG – A Chicago Tribune website –
Crafted by the News Apps team

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Health Benefits of Whole Grains as We Work to Fight COVID Variantson August 10, 2021 at 12:57 am Read More »

Greg Deichmann tells story of the night he was traded to the CubsRussell Dorseyon August 10, 2021 at 12:25 am

Greg Deichmann has had a wild two weeks, but after things have settled following the trade deadline, the Cubs’ outfielder is starting to catch his breath. Every baseball player understands the business side of baseball, but even Deichmann was curious at this year’s deadline.

Deichmann was one of the two players the Cubs acquired in the trade that sent left-hander Andrew Chafin to the Oakland A’s.

“You’re kind of always blindsided by trade, unless you’re in control of that situation, but you always know it’s a possibility,” Deichmann said. “Especially kind of coming up to the trade deadline with the position that the A’s were in and just kind of their history of going out and getting guys at the deadline to make a playoff push.

“So you never think it’s going to be you until it actually happens. But yeah, you’re kind of checking Twitter here and there, looking for [Ken] Rosenthal’s tweets.”

There’s always a possibility a player can be traded and as Deichmann quickly found out, those trades can also happen at any time, including during the middle of a game. News of the deal between Oakland and the Cubs broke during the middle of the Cubs-Reds game on July 26. Meanwhile in Salt Lake City, news hadn’t gotten to Deichmann just yet.

He was still playing for Triple-A Las Vegas when the trade went down and he didn’t find out on Twitter or on TV, but from fans in the stands.

“I was in Salt Lake and I think it was a day or two before the deadline,” he said. “I was running off in the seventh inning and a fan in right field, I could hear him, ‘Deichmann, you got traded.’ So I’m just like whatever.'”

Deichmann’s strange night didn’t end there as he had a variety of interactions with his teammates and coaching staff before finally being told about the trade.

“I get in the dugout and one of my teammates comes and shakes my hand,” he said. “He’s like, ‘You’re out of here. And we’re just talking about waiting to go here and then my manager comes up and kind of gives me a little pat. And was like, ‘Hey, stay locked in.’ And now I’m like, What do we got? So I’m sitting on the railing. I’m talking to one of my teammates, and I tell him I’m so rattled right now. He’s like, ‘Why?’ and I just tell him all these things.

“So I start running out for the eighth inning and I probably make it to the pitcher’s mound and the manager calls me back in. Immediately. I’m just like, one of two things just happened – I got traded or I’m going up [to the big leagues]. I get back in the dugout and I’m walking through and all my teammates are just staring in the field. They’re just not even looking at me and I’m like, ‘Yup, I got traded.”

Deichmann is one of the first players from the Cubs’ deadline deals to make it to the big leagues along with right-hander Codi Heuer to get an opportunity on the team’s major-league roster.

The Cubs have plenty of opportunities for players over the last two months of the season and Deichmann will have a chance to show what he’s capable of in his first stint in the big leagues.

“That’s a really valuable next two months [where] we’re gonna have to continue to keep an eye on the guys that can prove it every single day,” manager David Ross said. “I think there’s a real opportunity to play here.”

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Greg Deichmann tells story of the night he was traded to the CubsRussell Dorseyon August 10, 2021 at 12:25 am Read More »

Back on schedule: Morgan Park has high expectations on the first day of practiceMichael O’Brienon August 10, 2021 at 12:24 am

Morgan Park sophomore Tysean Griffin was one of the area’s breakout stars during the brief high school football season last spring. The speedster has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Illinois, Syracuse and several other schools. He was immediately comfortable on the football field, even as a freshman.

But he’s understandably apprehensive about actually attending high school in person in a few weeks.

“I will no doubt be lost and feel like a freshman,” Griffin said. “I haven’t been in the building.”

It’s been a chaotic stretch for Chicago Public Schools students, especially the high schoolers that didn’t attend any classes in person last school year.

A small slice of normal returned all across the state on Monday, as fall sports athletes started practice on schedule for the first time since August of 2019.

“It feels great to get back in the normal routine,” Morgan Park quarterback Aaron Warren said. “I just woke up excited today.”

Expectations are high for the Mustangs, who finished 4-0 during the spring.

Coach Chris James, who graduated from Morgan Park and played at Illinois, has built his alma mater back into a Public League powerhouse. There were more than 100 players on hand for the first practice.

“When I first got here three years ago there were 37 kids in the program,” James said. “It’s fun to see my school back to where it should be. I remember I told [Warren] when he was a freshman that things would look a lot different eventually. He was a puppy then and now he’s our guy.”

Warren and Griffin opened eyes during the spring season. Big things are also expected of senior cornerback/receiver Donta Hayes Jr., sophomore cornerback/receiver Chris Durr and senior lineman Devan King.

Two transfers, junior cornerback Kiwaun Davis (Brother Rice) and defensive tackle Jaylin Adams (Thornwood) should make immediate impacts.

Morgan Park coach Chris James looks on during practice.
Morgan Park coach Chris James looks on during practice.
Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

The Mustangs open the season Aug. 27 at St. Viator. They will face Curie, Taft, Kenwood and Simeon in a four-week midseason stretch. The game against the Wolverines on Oct. 19 could be the biggest Public League football game of the season.

“The Simeon game means a lot to me,” James said. “It’s like Duke vs. North Carolina. They are right down the street. And I beat them a lot when I played here. They have had a ton of success. So you have to go beat them. We know when we see them it is a big deal. We are under the radar a little now and that is ok. We have to earn it. And with our schedule we will have the opportunity.”

James believes Jovan Clark, a six-foot, 207-pound freshman, is a future five-star recruit. He plays multiple positions and will be a varsity starter.

“[Clark] would be a varsity starter at any school he went to,” James said. “He’s the most physically gifted freshman out there. Everybody is excited about him. He was just physically born with some different things that most people don’t have. He has a chance to be the top-ranked player in his class.”

Linebacker Keyth Williams is the team’s vocal leader. The junior doesn’t have any reservations about heading back to school. He can’t wait.

“I’m one of those kids that likes learning and likes school and likes interacting with other people,” Williams said. “That was the biggest thing the last year, missing that. We couldn’t do so many things with COVID on our back. I’m going to have fun at school and win some football games.”

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Back on schedule: Morgan Park has high expectations on the first day of practiceMichael O’Brienon August 10, 2021 at 12:24 am Read More »

First Illinoisan set to plead guilty in U.S. Capitol breach: Court recordsJon Seidelon August 9, 2021 at 11:08 pm

The former CEO of a Schaumburg tech firm appears set to become the first Illinoisan to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach, records show.

A plea agreement hearing for Bradley Rukstales, of Inverness, has been set for Tuesday afternoon. He is charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

Rukstales’ defense attorneys did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Monday.

The feds have so far charged at least 13 Illinoisans in connection with the Capitol breach, which they say has led to what will likely be the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history.

Rukstales was the first person from Illinois to face federal charges as part of that investigation. Rukstales was discovered amid a crowd of people inside the U.S. Capitol who were making loud noises, kicking chairs, and throwing an unknown substance at officers, according to a charging document filed Jan. 7.

Officers at the Capitol had ordered members of the crowd to leave, but they responded by shouting and cursing at police, according to the document. Six people, including Rukstales, were near the front of the crowd and refused to leave, it alleged.

Rukstales later apologized in a statement in January. “In a moment of extremely poor judgment following the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, I followed hundreds of others through an open set of doors to the Capitol building to see what was taking place inside,” he said.

“My decision to enter the Capitol was wrong, and I am deeply regretful to have done so. I condemn the violence and destruction that took place in Washington.”

Rukstales had been CEO of the Schaumburg tech firm Cogensia but was fired by the board.

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First Illinoisan set to plead guilty in U.S. Capitol breach: Court recordsJon Seidelon August 9, 2021 at 11:08 pm Read More »

‘Respect’: Playing Queen of Soul, Jennifer Hudson worthy of the throneRichard Roeperon August 9, 2021 at 11:00 pm

The late Aretha Franklin herself made it clear she wanted Jennifer Hudson to tell her story on the big screen, and who are we to argue with the Queen of Soul?

United Artists presents a film directed by Liesl Tommy and written by Tracey Scott Wilson. Rated PG-13 (for mature thematic content, strong language including racial epithets, violence, suggestive material, and smoking). Running time: 145 minutes. Opens Thursday at local theaters.

It’s the perfect casting choice. A superstar in her own right, Hudson won best supporting actress for her film debut in “Dreamgirls” some 15 years ago and has turned in some solid work in a number of other films since then, but this is the most layered, most complex, most formidable and most enthralling performance of her career. Hudson kills it in the performance numbers (where she’s singing live), she kills it in the recording and writing sessions, and we would be remiss to overlook her strong dramatic work as she portrays Franklin from a teenager filling a Baptist church in Detroit with the sound of her once-in-a-generation voice through her slow climb to stardom to her struggles with alcoholism and abusive relationships, to her triumphant comeback, which brought her full circle back to church.

Directed by Liesl Tommy (a stage and TV veteran making her feature debut) from a sprawling, comprehensive screenplay by Tracey Scott Wilson, “Respect” is a formulaic biopic of the already well-chronicled life and times of Franklin, and there are instances when the non-musical segments drag on for a beat too long — but then it’s back to the music, with Hudson turning in a remarkable performance that doesn’t come across as an impersonation but sounds a little bit different from Jennifer Hudson and always, always feels authentic to the soaring and piercing and exhilarating signature vocals of Franklin. It’s an absolute wonder to behold.

“Respect” kicks off with an extended prologue set in the 1950s, where young Aretha (an infectiously charming Skye Dakota Turner, who has a beautiful voice) is regularly trotted out by her music-loving preacher father, C.L. Franklin (the magnificent Forest Whitaker) to sing at his legendary Saturday night parties for an audience that would often include R&B legends such as Dinah Washington (Mary J. Blige). Early on, we see the complexity of her relationship with C.L., a walking contradiction who clearly loved Aretha and preached the Bible but indulged in alcohol and affairs with women — and didn’t protect his daughter, who was raped in her home and became pregnant at age 12.

Cut to a half-dozen years later, with Hudson now playing Aretha, who is a sensation singing in church and has attracted the attention of record label executives in New York City — but year after year, album after album, Aretha has only middling success and can’t figure out a formula to make chart-topping hits. Meanwhile, Aretha’s first husband and manager, Ted White (Marlon Wayans, reminding us he can be a terrific dramatic actor), a hot-headed playboy and small-time player on the music scene, clashes with C.L., who is horrified her daughter is not only putting her career in Ted’s hands, but has married him. Alas, C.L.’s instincts turn out to be right, with Ted becoming ever more controlling, contentious and violent. This film never shies away from the turmoil and the messiness that plagued Aretha in her personal life.

Aretha (Jennifer Hudson) has a complicated relationship with her father (Forest Whitaker), a music-loving preacher.
United Artists

“Respect” reaches new heights in the middle section, as Aretha teams up with innovative R&B producer Jerry Wexler (a well-cast Marc Maron), who gets her in the studio with the legendary session musicians of Muscle Shoals, Alabama — a bunch of accountant-looking white guys who quickly found a groove with Aretha and followed her lead. Director Tommy does a splendid job of capturing Hudson’s magic as she performs renditions of “Think,” “Chain of Fools,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and of course the title number.

With a running time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, “Respect” has room to devote considerable time to Franklin’s devotion to civil rights activism; her penchant for self-destructive behavior, whether it’s through alcohol abuse or skipping concert dates — and her relationship with God and faith. Tituss Burgess delivers a grounded and invaluable performance as the Rev. Dr. James Cleveland, the gospel pioneer who was a key figure in getting Aretha (and her music) back to church.

Skye Dakota Turner (left) charms as the young Aretha, alongside Audra McDonald as her mother.
United Artists

The period-piece production design, wardrobe, hair and makeup help to set the tone, whether we’re in the late 1950s, the height of the tumultuous 1960s or the early 1970s. “Respect” is filled with memorable supporting turns, including Audra McDonald as Aretha’s mother and Saycon Sengbloh and Hailey Kilgore as her sisters, who were often in the background in more ways than one — but an old-fashioned show-business biopic such as this rises and falls on the talents of the lead, and it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world doing more justice to the legacy of Aretha Franklin than Jennifer Hudson.

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‘Respect’: Playing Queen of Soul, Jennifer Hudson worthy of the throneRichard Roeperon August 9, 2021 at 11:00 pm Read More »

White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti sidelined by positive COVID testDaryl Van Schouwenon August 9, 2021 at 10:55 pm

MINNEAPOLIS — White Sox TV play-by-play voice Jason Benetti will miss the team’s upcoming broadcasts after a breakthrough positive test for the coronavirus, the team announced Monday.

Benetti just called the Olympic baseball semifinals and finals for NBC and is recovering at home in Chicago.

Benetti said on his Twitter account that he is mildly symptomatic and plans to return soon. In the meantime, Mike Monaco will take his place alongside analyst Steve Stone. Monaco is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and its ACC Network and fills in on Red Sox games for NESN.

The Sox open a three-game series against the Twins on Monday night at Target Field.

This is Benetti’s sixth season on the Sox’ broadcast team and third as the full-time play-by-play TV voice. While the Sox’ radio broadcast team of Len Kasper and Darrin Jackson are calling games from visiting ballparks, as well as Guaranteed Rate Field, Benetti and Stone have not traveled with the team on the road this season.

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White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti sidelined by positive COVID testDaryl Van Schouwenon August 9, 2021 at 10:55 pm Read More »

Feds say massive gambling ring reached campus of Illinois State UniversityJon Seidelon August 9, 2021 at 11:30 pm

Federal prosecutors say a massive international gambling ring based around Chicago reached into the campus of Illinois State University, where a key player in the ring allegedly “ran a significant bookmaking operation.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Kinney insisted in a court memo Monday that Matthew Namoff, 25, deserves to spend time behind bars, pointing in part to Namoff’s alleged venture at Illinois State. The prosecutor also wrote that Namoff brought a “deep-pockets” gambler and a police officer into the ring once led by Vincent “Uncle Mick” DelGiudice.

“Matthew Namoff played an important role in DelGiudice’s illicit business — as an agent, he ran DelGiudice’s bookmaking operation on a college campus, which facilitated gambling by underage students,” Kinney wrote.

An Illinois State spokesman did not comment on the claim Monday when contacted by the Chicago Sun-Times. Darryl Goldberg, Namoff’s defense attorney, wrote in his own memo Monday that Namoff had difficulty making friends in high school and began making small bets with other students in order to bond with his peers.

Goldberg wrote that Namoff — while drunk and dealing with an undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder from a violent robbery — bragged that he knew of DelGiudice and his gambling website.

He asked the judge to spare Namoff from prison.

So far, a February 2020 gambling indictment that included charges against Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher has only led to prison time for one of the 10 people charged. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced veteran Chicago Police Officer Nicholas Stella last month to 15 months behind bars for his role as a bookie in the gambling ring.

Donald Trump pardoned Urlacher during the final hours of his presidency last January. Urlacher is the brother of Chicago Bears great Brian Urlacher.

Namoff is set to be sentenced Aug. 23. He pleaded guilty to a gambling conspiracy in April.

DelGiudice, who pleaded guilty in February, once boasted that Namoff had worked with him for more than three years, had 60 gamblers and was a 50/50 partner with DelGiudice, Kinney wrote in his memo. The prosecutor also wrote that Namoff “recruited and managed student gamblers” at Illinois State and “supplied them with log-ins and passwords which he acquired from DelGiudice so they could place wagers through DelGiudice’s website.”

Finally, Kinney wrote that Namoff wanted to recruit a friend who was a police officer into the ring in January 2019. DelGiudice allegedly told Namoff he had city workers, police and firefighters betting through him. He also allegedly told Namoff about Stella’s role in the ring.

Namoff vouched for the police officer, and DelGiudice told him to “keep him on a short leash,” Kinney wrote.

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Feds say massive gambling ring reached campus of Illinois State UniversityJon Seidelon August 9, 2021 at 11:30 pm Read More »