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 cloudy with potentially damaging thunderstorms likely and a high near 84 degrees. Tonight the storms are expected to continue with a low around 73. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a slight chance of storms and a high near 92.

Top story

Chicago cops give cold shoulder to Mayor Lightfoot at hospital after two officers shot

They turned away and gave her their backs.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was given the cold shoulder by CPD rank and file about midnight Saturday at the University of Chicago Medical Center when she approached them on the 7th floor as they grappled with the shootings of two fellow officers.

Chicago Police Officer Ella French was shot and killed during a traffic stop Saturday night in West Englewood, while her partner continues to fight for his life at the hospital. Three people are in custody.

Just moments before more than a dozen officers turned their backs on the mayor, Lightfoot tried to talk to the male officer’s father, who himself is a retired Chicago police officer. He clearly wanted nothing to do with Lightfoot, according to two sources who were there.

The father excoriated the mayor and blamed her for what had happened. One source said Lightfoot handled herself well as the father yelled at her. She listened and treated him with respect.

It was then suggested that Lightfoot say a few words to nearby grieving officers, but as she approached, “they did the about-face — it looked like it had been choreographed,” said one of the sources present, calling it “astounding.”

Read Michael Sneed’s full story here.

More news you need

1. The father of the CPD officer fighting for his life after being shot during a West Englewood traffic stop that killed another cop described the incident as “our darkest moment.” Fran Spielman spoke to the father, who’s a retired police officer himself.
2. At least 75 people were shot over the weekend in the city, with more than half occurring during a tragic 10-hour span that saw three mass shootings. Read more details on the weekend’s gun violence here.
3. The first phase of R. Kelly’s federal trial in Brooklyn started today with jury selection. Get refreshed on the case with a timeline of Kelly’s allegations and legal troubles, a glossary of key legal terms and a series of bios on key figures involved in the trial.
4. About 70% of adults in Chicago have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Aug. 5. Based on the city’s population data that means over 1.5 million adult Chicagoans have gotten at least one jab.
5. The stand at River Park used to sell hot dogs. Now it’s River Lab, the hub for a new Chicago Parks District program designed around the Chicago River and its inhabitants. Dale Bowman visited the “lab” and spoke to senior program specialist Matt Renfree about the project.
6. How do local artists view what’s happening now in Chicago’s R&B music scene? Our Evan F. Moore spoke to Lauren Dukes and other singers about recent trends in the genre, what inspires them and how the local scene can better support its creatives.

A bright one

Mini golfers flock to new bird-themed, youth-designed course in Douglass Park — ‘a beautiful oasis’

A group of Chicago teens helped turn a once vacant, grassy area in Douglass Park into a miniature golf course that’s as educational as it is fun.

The public on Saturday got its free first shot at playing the new 18-hole mini golf course, called “Douglass 18.” People of all ages, including parents with young children, took turns vying for holes-in-one on the conservation-themed course.

“It’s great,” Albany Park resident Christopher Lampa said after sinking a shot on No. 7. “I’m definitely enjoying it so far.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Funded by corporate sponsors, Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24th) and a private donor from the Lincoln Park Zoo, the roughly $900,000 project had been in the works for more than three years. Each hole, designed by West Side teens, was inspired by one or two of the 200-plus species of birds that migrate through Douglass Park every year.

Jaeda Branch, Lincoln Park Zoo’s community program lead for North Lawndale, hopes the course inspires people to be more aware of their actions at the park and to start taking better care of nature in general by not littering.

“It’s important because right now it’s a great oasis [for birds], but we want people to be conscious of their actions of things to make sure that it stays a beautiful oasis,” Branch said.

Madeline Kenney has the full story here.

From the press box

Your daily question ?

The Tokyo Olympics ended last night. What was your favorite moment from the Summer Games?

Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.`

Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

On Friday for International Beer Day, we asked you: What’s your favorite Chicago brewery to visit? Tell us why. Here’s what some of you said…

“Lagunitas. Hands down.” — John Hill

“Old Irving Brewery: great brews, great food and great space.” — Harry Burgan

“Revolution, every time I drink it I feel like starting one.” — Jaime Ortiz

“Half Acre and Revolution breweries.” — Vicki Trinidad

“Half Acre all day!” — Lori McAllester Schultz

“Used to be Metropolitan, before they got too political.” — Erika Hoffmann

“Marz Community Brewing because that Maxwell Lager is .” — Guillermo Moreno

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.

Read More

NEW YORK — After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B hitmaker R. Kelly started Monday with jury selection in New York City.

Lingering health threats caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a shakeup of Kelly’s defense team pushed the trial into the summer, nearly two years after he was charged with abusing women and girls for nearly two decades.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly began questioning potential jurors about whether they can keep an open mind about Kelly two years after he was charged with abusing women and girls for nearly two decades. She reminded them the defendant was presumed innocent and that they should not be influenced by anything they’ve previously heard about the case.

The proceeding was being conducted amid pandemic precautions, restricting the press and the public to overflow courtrooms with video feeds. Much of the time, Kelly and potential jurors weren’t clearly visible on the feeds and the audio was often faint.

The process was expected to last at least until the end of the day Monday and possibly into Tuesday.

Kelly, 54, has been locked up since he was indicted, mostly housed in a federal jail in Chicago. He was moved last month to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to face trial in a case that’s further diminished his superstar status.

Last week, defense attorney Deveraux Cannick told a judge that Kelly needs to be measured for new clothing because he’s gained so much weight in jail. And he asked that court transcripts be provided at no cost because Kelly has been unable to work for two years, saying: “His funds are depleted.”

The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling singer has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of leading an enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex. Federal prosecutors say the group selected victims at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly.

Defense lawyers have said Kelly’s alleged victims were groupies who turned up at his shows and made it known they “were dying to be with him.” They only started accusing him of abuse years later when public sentiment shifted in the #MeToo era, they said.

The trial had been expected to start earlier in the year. But opening statements were moved to Aug. 18 after Kelly fired his original lawyers.

Jurors are expected to hear testimony from several of his accusers. A judge has ruled that the women will only be referred to by their first names.

Prosecutors also are expected to offer evidence that Kelly schemed with others to pay for a fake ID for Aaliyah, a singer on the rise at 15 years old, in a secret ceremony in 1994.

Aaliyah is identified as “Jane Doe #1” in court papers because she was still a minor when Kelly began a sexual relationship with her and believed she had become pregnant, the papers say.

“As a result, in an effort to shield himself from criminal charges related to his illegal sexual relationship with Jane Doe #1, Kelly arranged to secretly marry her to prevent her from being compelled to testify against him in the future,” the papers say.

Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton, worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” She died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.

The case is only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

Kelly won multiple Grammys for “I Believe I Can Fly,” a 1996 song that became an inspirational anthem played at school graduations, weddings, advertisements and elsewhere.

Nearly a decade later, he began releasing what eventually became 22 musical chapters of “Trapped in the Closet,” a drama that spins a tale of sexual deceit and became a cult classic.

But Kelly has been trailed for decades by complaints and allegations about his sexual behavior, including a 2002 child pornography case in Chicago. He was acquitted in that case in 2008.

Scrutiny intensified again amid the #MeToo movement in recent years, with multiple women going public with accusations against the singer. The pressure intensified with the release of the Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” in 2019.

Criminal charges soon followed.

Read More

The 32nd Summer Olympics that just ended in Japan was held in a bubble but could not escape the calamities of this time.

Rows of empty seats paid sad tribute to the pandemic that is spiking in Japan and elsewhere across the world. Athletes competed under severe, even crippling heat, harsh testament to the extreme weather that is the product of heedless human impact on our climate.

Sports pages hyped the competition for the most gold medals or total medals as an emerging Cold War faceoff between China, Russia and the United States. On the field, however, the athletes once more expressed the true spirit of the Olympics.

The best in the world competed fiercely at the highest levels of their sport. Their skill and conditioning reflected years of discipline and training. With level playing fields and one set of rules, athletes from different countries, cultures, races and religions competed on the basis of their ability and their character, not on the color of their skin or the nature of their religion.

Champions from Fiji, Kosovo, Qatar, Venezuela, Uganda, Jamaica, Cuba and Croatia and some 65 countries in total captured the gold. When the playing field is even, the rules are public and the goals are transparent, we all win.

Their rivalries were fierce, so too was their camaraderie. Many athletes trained in virtual isolation during the pandemic, suffering the year-long Olympic postponement. Some won gold, such as Karsten Warholm of Norway and Sydney McLaughlin of the U.S. in the 400-meters hurdles, breaking previous world records.

When Tamyra Mensah-Stock became only the second U.S. woman to win gold in wrestling, her tearful celebration and irrepressible jumping became a global social media hit. When the dynamic Simone Biles chose to withdraw rather than risk injury in gymnastics her teammates rushed to support her; gymnasts across the world defended her when she came under criticism. Then she showed the grit to come back to win a bronze medal on the balance beam.

The athletes recognized and paid tribute to their competitors. They cried together; they embraced and cheered together. Gianmarco Tamberi, the Italian, embraced Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar after they agreed to forego a jump-off and share the Olympic title in the high jump. In the 100-meter hurdles, Luca Kozak helped lift Yanique Thompson after both tumbled to the ground. Norwegian triathlete Lotte Miller consoled Belguim’s Claire Michel, sobbing after finishing last.

And despite the strictures of the organizers, the athletes demonstrated that they were citizens as well as athletes. Even before the games opened, the women’s soccer teams from the United States and Sweden, Britain and Chile, New Zealand and Australia took a knee or joined arms in an overt gesture against racism.

As the games end, the challenges we face across the world are only increasing. Olympic athletes will join in protesting the efforts to suppress the vote in the United States. The movement for Black lives will continue to build. Women will continue to demand equal rights at work and on the playing field.

The Tokyo Olympics provided a clear lesson in the imperative of joining together to fight the pandemic and to address the challenge of global warming. It also provided a clear example of what is possible at home and across the world if we all play by the same set of rules.

We can compete without turning to violence or war. We can win or lose and still respect one another, across lines of race, religion, gender and nationality. Global warming may end up turning the Summer Olympics into the Fall Olympics, but the Olympic spirit should not be lost amid the profit-making, the national rivalries, the ideological and racial divides.

The Olympic spirit shows us the way out and up.

Send letters to [email protected].

Read More

Chicago Police officers turned their backs to Mayor Lori Lightfoot because they are “at the breaking point” and believe “leadership across this country, across this city do not have their back,” an influential alderman said Monday.

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) is Lightfoot’s hand-picked chairman of the City Council’s Aviation Committee. It was a reward for his runoff endorsement of the mayor, which helped pave the way for her landslide victory over County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

O’Shea also represents a Far Southwest Side ward that’s home to scores of Chicago police officers.

That’s why he was not at all surprised by the cold shoulder Lightfoot got Saturday night from rank-and-file officers gathered on the 7th floor of the University of Chicago Hospital after the fatal shooting of Officer Ella French.

The officers were there to pray for French, 29, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in West Englewood, and for her critically-wounded partner, who is still fighting for his life.

“They’re at a breaking point. Clearly, our police officers have been under siege, under-appreciated and thrown under the bus for the last year and a half. They feel — and rightfully so — that leadership across this country, across this city do not have their back,” O’Shea told the Sun-Times.

“Anybody who was working Saturday night as those calls came over the radio and they learned of what had happened to their colleagues — that’s a tipping point. And it’s a tipping point that many of us have been waiting to happen as the unbelievable violence we see in communities all across this city, where criminals have absolutely no regard for human life, no fear of the consequences of their actions. To shoot at point-blank range two Chicago police officers. We are a city in crisis.”

O’Shea was asked what message Lightfoot should get from the show of disrespect by rank-and-file officers and the tongue-lashing the father of the wounded cop gave to her at the hospital.

“I would hope she gets an understanding that police officers across this city feel that leadership does not have their back. That’s what I’m hearing. That’s what I’ve been hearing for a long time,” the alderman said.

Noting that West Englewood residents assisted police officers in apprehending two of these suspects, O’Shea said: “The majority of people in this city support the police, want to see something done to send this pendulum back the other way. They’re sick and tired of the violence. Sick and tired of innocent children being murdered.”

Far Northwest Side Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) has served the city as both a Chicago police officer and firefighter.

Like O’Shea, his constituents include scores of police officers.

Napolitano has clashed repeatedly with Lightfoot on police reform issues, most recently on the issue of civilian oversight.

But he does not believe the mayor alone wears the jacket for what happened to French and her partner.

“I never saw her as an anti-police advocate. But I will put this 550 percent on these socialists and these progressives in the City Council. This blood is on their hands, without a doubt,” Napolitano said.

“They’re the ones who created this whole anti-police movement that has made these brazen acts of violence against police officers [possible] — 39 this year alone. This is created by them. This whole defund and disrespect movement that they have started. These pieces of s–t are the ones that created this and talk anti-police. And they’re the ones begging for more police in their communities. They’re the biggest hypocrites. They disgust me.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) is a former Chicago firefighter whose Northwest Side ward is home to scores of Chicago Police officers. He’s one of the rank-and-file’s biggest defenders in the Council.

Sposato said the show of disrespect Lightfoot got from cops who are “hurting,” was understandable, but also “disappointing” and unjustified.

“People want to play the blame game. I don’t blame anybody for this. It’s the time and the culture,” Sposato said.

“I know first-hand that the mayor is not anti-police. I know what she tells me. Sometimes, maybe, she doesn’t show it as well in public.”

Although the unprecedented show of disrespect was directed at Lightfoot, Sposato said crime-weary Chicagoans are “mad at all politicians.”

“It’s not just her. It’s probably 45 of the aldermen. It’s the state’s attorney. It’s the chief judge. … If you’re an elected [official], you’re to blame because [of] this whole cancel culture and the lack of support by electeds for police officers. It’s not just in Chicago. It’s all over the place,” Sposato said.

“Two or three aldermen are always supporting the police. Some of ’em don’t bash the police, but they sort of sit on their hands. And some of the Commies are just constantly bashing the police and saying bad things about ’em and want to defund ’em. And we get lumped in with the rest of them.”

Public Safety Committee Chairman Chris Taliaferro (29th) called the cold shoulder that Lightfoot received “unfortunate,” “tragic” and unwarranted.

“I do not agree,” Taliaferro said.

“We can’t let that be our focus. We just can’t. You have a young lady 29 years old with only three years of service on the police department. That has to be our focus rather than on sensationalizing what might have happened at the hospital.”

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara has clashed with Lightfoot over all manner of law enforcement issues.

Catanzara said the mayor could easily have avoided the hospital confrontation.

“She was told, ‘Don’t come upstairs’ several times. I know that because I was downstairs in the E.R. when her people were told that the family did not want her upstairs. And she went up there anyway,” Catanzara said.

The father “expressed his views,” Catanzara said, telling the mayor she was to blame.

Catanzara couldn’t agree more. State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is “not the only problem here.” Lightfoot is equally to blame, he said.

“From no vehicle chases at all under any circumstances pretty much to … 13 pages of a foot chase policy — that’s all on the mayor. It’s stupid. And she’s been vilifying the police for two-and-a-half years now,” Catanzara said.

“Now, all of the sudden, she’s having a come-to–Jesus moment because she’s got John O’Malley as her deputy mayor? Nice enough dude, but enough is enough. Nobody’s buying it. She can say whatever the hell she wants and look like a hero. But she’s full of s–t.”

The mayor’s office issued a statement saying Lightfoot is singularly focused on “healing the wounds” and would “reject any and all [who] try to use this moment to drive further divisions in our city.”

“This is an extremely difficult and heartbreaking time for the Chicago Police Department, and for our entire city. The Mayor was present at the emergency room to offer support and condolences to the families involved and the hundreds of line officers and exempts who were there, which she did. In a time of tragedy, emotions run high and that is to be expected,” the statement said.

“The Mayor spoke to a range of officers that tragic night and sensed the overwhelming sentiment was about concern for their fallen colleagues. As the Mayor stated [Sunday], now is not the time for divisive and toxic rhetoric or reporting. This is a time for us to come together as a city. We have a common enemy and it is the conditions that breed the violence and the manifestations of violence, namely illegal guns, and gangs.”

Read More

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 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. Namoff’s defense attorney could not immediately be reached, but he was expected to file his own memo Monday.

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.

Read More

Orland Park, IL-based Edwards Realty Company (ERC), a boutique property management, investment, and development firm, announced the expansion of its Pop Local program to Orland Park Crossing. The program, which has supported local entrepreneurs across the Midwest, focuses on giving small business owners an opportunity to gain awareness for their products in a traditional retail environment.

Edwards Realty Company is a leading real estate investment, development, and management firm with three decades of experience investing in communities. Over the past 30 years, Edwards Realty Company has developed a diverse portfolio of mixed-use properties across the Midwest. Their open-air centers are “Centers of Attention” in their respective neighborhoods and represent an innovative convergence of community, compassion, commitment, and commerce.

ERC kicked off the program at the Orland Park Crossing on August 3rd. They’re offering one local entrepreneur or small business owner free retail space beginning in October 2021 for three full months through the holiday season and into the new year. The Pop Local program is an additional initiative led by ERC to help invigorate an important intersection within Orland Park into a defined and vibrant centralized business district.

Through Pop Local, the lucky winner will gain access and support to reach local residents in Orland Park and the surrounding area, as well as provide resources to build out their space and marketing support to draw attention to their business.

“Orland Park has been our company’s home for many years. Bringing our successful Pop Local program to this area is just one way that we can help small business owners get their businesses off the ground,” said Ramzi Hassan, President of ERC. “We are thinking big picture for Orland Park by identifying opportunities to incorporate Orland Park Crossing into our overall vision for Downtown Orland Park. Our hope is that through this strategy and with programs like Pop Local, we can draw attention and interest from small business owners and local area residents to our community.” 

Local small business owners and entrepreneurs who are interested in participating in the program can apply through an online application form at ShopPopLocal.com from August 3– August 31st. Submissions will be narrowed down to three finalists and the community will have the chance to vote for the winner online. Finalists will be notified at the beginning of September and the official program winner will be announced on October 1st. For more details on the Pop

Local program, and to apply, please visit ShopPopLocal.com

Read More

The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

• Home
• Why “The Barbershop?”
• Check out my new website
• My Chicago Tribune archives
• Order my historical novel, “Madness: The War of 1812”
• Contact me

Would Facebook block an ad honoring fallen Chicago police officer Ella French?

Leave a comment

Tweet

By Dennis Byrne,
today at 2:11 pm

Not if it would treat her the same as a heroic downstate Illinois police officer.

Facebook blocked ad honoring a hero Illinois cop who stabbed multiple times while doing his job.

East Peoria (Illinois) Police Department patrolman Jeffery Bieber on February 2, responded to a domestic disturbance call, among the most dangerous kind of police duties.

Reports The Epoch Times:

Bieber was repeatedly stabbed in the head and neck by Joshua Crites. Bieber backed away, used his taser, but still could not subdue Crites. Bieber finally shot Crites when Crites got on Bieber’s back. Crites died on the scene, according to a Facebook post by ILACP.

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police gave Bieber its 2021 Most Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award. It wanted to post the ad to honor Bieber but Facebook blocked it. Asked why, Facebook explained the ad was “political”–thereby excluding ads that mentions politicians or officials appointed by politicians without meeting special Facebook requirements.

What? You mean that a police officer now is a politician?

Not exactly. According to the group, the “ad mentioned Bieber’s nominator, East Peoria Police Chief Brodrick, who was appointed by Mayor John Kahl and the City Council.”

What nonsense.

Now, ask what Facebook would do about an ad mentioning Mayor Lori Lightfoot memorializing Chicago Police Officer Ella French, who was shot and killed in the line of duty. Another officer, unidentified as of this writing, was in the hospital fighting for his life.

At a news conference, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, “Stop. Just stop. This constant strife is not what we need in this moment. The police are not our enemies. They’re human, just as we are.”

Now if Lightfoot wanted to put an ad in Facebook expressing those sentiments and praising the two officers, would Facebook declare it political and subject the mayor the same rules regulating political ads?

Not by any stretch of reason. But that’s where we are. Simple-minded, woke bureaucrats hidden somewhere in the Facebook labyrinth are work. Just one more sorry example.

To subscribe to the Barbershop and be notified when I post, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Filed under:
Uncategorized

Tags:
Ella French, Facebook, Jeffery Bieber

Tweet

• Advertisement:

• Advertisement:

• 
  

  Welcome to ChicagoNow.

  Meet
  our bloggers,
  
  post comments, or
  
  pitch your blog idea.

  Sign in
  Pitch your idea
  Play games

• Facebook

• Visit my new website

  I’m a freelance writer, editor and author. I can help you with a wide variety of projects. Check out my new website at www.dennisbyrne.net

• Subscribe to The Barbershop

  Enter your email address:

  Delivered by FeedBurner

• Dennis Byrne’s Facebook Fan Page

  [embedded content]

• Blogroll

  The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor’s favorite blogs
  • Blithe Spirit
  • Center for Media and Public Affiars
  • Chicago Daily Observer
  • Forgotten Chicago
  • Pat Hickey’s “With Both Hands”
  • QT brought to you by Zay Smith

• Like me on Facebook

  [embedded content]

• Blogroll

  The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor’s favorite blogs
  • Blithe Spirit
    Assorted commentary offered in lieu of organized commentary that is not yet organized
  • Center for Media and Public Affiars
  • Chicago Daily Observer
    Intelligent commentary about Chicago politics
  • Forgotten Chicago
    A great site featuring what Chicago used to be and how it got to what it is now.
  • Pat Hickey’s “With Both Hands”
  • QT brought to you by Zay Smith
    Chicago’s wittiest columnist

• Our National Debt

• Twitter

• Tags

  • politics (269)
  • Illinois (166)
  • Chicago (157)
  • Obama (105)
  • COVID-19 (89)
  • Barack Obama (76)
  • Obamacare (72)
  • elections (69)
  • Donald Trump (66)
  • health care (62)
  Show more tags »

• Recent Comments

  • 

    jnorto

    53 minutes ago

    In reply to Dennis Byrne:

    Dennis, you are calling the Washington Post reporter a liar and by association me as well. In fact, your regurgitation…
    Read the story | Reply to this comment
  • 

    Dennis Byrne

    1 hour, 56 minutes ago

    In reply to Aquinas wired:

    Read the above information about obtaining a proper ID.
    Read the story | Reply to this comment
  • 

    Dennis Byrne

    2 hours, 14 minutes ago

    In reply to jnorto:

    He’s a retired engineer and presumably can read. If so, he (or his friends and attorneys) ought to be able…
    Read the story | Reply to this comment
  • 

    jnorto

    2 hours, 19 minutes ago

    Dennis, you wrote this glowing endorsement of DeSantis for president. I wonder if you stand behind that endorsement now, a…
    Read the story | Reply to this comment
  • 

    Aquinas wired

    4 hours, 59 minutes ago

    In reply to HSPARKS:

    What do you find believable about Donald Trump or Tucker Carlson?
    Read the story | Reply to this comment

• 

• /Users/dennisby/Desktop/trailer.mp4

• Recent posts

  • Would Facebook block an ad honoring fallen Chicago police officer Ella French? »

    Dennis Byrne on The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor
    Posted today at 2:11 pm

  • America’s brutal introduction to unsettled science. »

    Dennis Byrne on The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor
    Posted Monday at 2:51 pm

  • What you need an ID for in Texas? Plenty. »

    Dennis Byrne on The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor
    Posted August 1, 2021 at 10:13 am

  • Can we have a rational discussion about Jan. 6? »

    Dennis Byrne on The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor
    Posted July 29, 2021 at 9:53 am

  • Jacksonville, Florida is the American city with the fourth greatest economic growth in 2021. »

    Dennis Byrne on The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor
    Posted July 28, 2021 at 10:59 am

• Latest on ChicagoNow

  • Would Facebook block an ad honoring fallen Chicago police officer Ella French?

    from The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor by Dennis Byrne
    posted today at 2:11 pm

  • The raw, uncomfortable truth about racism from a black woman who’s experienced it

    from Opinionated Woman by Judy Marcus
    posted today at 1:56 pm

  • Chicago Shakespeare Theater is back in person with a full season of productions and special events

    from Show Me Chicago by Carole Kuhrt Brewer
    posted today at 12:23 pm

  • Please don’t ask me how I am unless you want to know

    from Marching to a Different Drummer by K.Yvonne
    posted today at 11:35 am

  • On Milkweed: A Layman’s Take (with apologies to Margaret Serious)

    from The Quark In The Road by Aquinas wired
    posted today at 10:23 am

• Posts from related blogs

  • 

    Marching to a Different Drummer

    Most recent post: Please don’t ask me how I am unless you want to know

  • 

    The Quark In The Road

    Most recent post: On Milkweed: A Layman’s Take (with apologies to Margaret Serious)

  • 

    Margaret Serious

    Most recent post: Chicago Now’s best posts for July 2021

  More from News: Opinion

• Read these ChicagoNow blogs

  • 

    Cubs Den

    Chicago Cubs news and comprehensive blog, featuring old school baseball writing combined with the latest statistical trends
    • Daily Cubs Minors Recap: Young’s bat and baserunning propel Smokies to win; Herz dominates early; South Bend breaks out big bats; Nwogu with another multi-hit game; Hernandez hits first career HR
  • 

    Pets in need of homes

    Pets available for adoption in the Chicago area
    • Amelia – Hyde Park Cats
  • 

    Hammervision

    It’s like the couch potato version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
    • Movie Review: The Mitchells vs. The Machines

• Read these ChicagoNow Bloggers

  • 

    Carole Kuhrt Brewer

    from Show Me Chicago:
    Chicago Shakespeare Theater is back in person with a full season of productions and special events
  • 

    Dennis Byrne

    from The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor:
    Would Facebook block an ad honoring fallen Chicago police officer Ella French?
  • 

    LeaGrover

    from Becoming SuperMommy:
    After the Exit, A Scattered Road Trip
• Advertisement:

ChicagoNOW

• About ChicagoNow
• •
• FAQs
• •
• Advertise
• •
• Recent posts RSS
• •
• Privacy policy (Updated)
• •
• Comment policy
• •
• Terms of service
• •
• Chicago Tribune Archives
• •
• Do not sell my personal info

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

Read More

Opinionated Woman

• About
• Subscribe by Email

The raw, uncomfortable truth about racism from a black woman who’s experienced it

Leave a comment

Tweet

By Judy Marcus,
today at 1:56 pm

Truth. That’s what we’re talking about today.

I figure, if we want race relations to improve, we better start listening to each other. That’s why I asked Cheryl Lewis, a 66-year-old black wife and mother from Calumet Heights, to talk about racism from her own personal perspective.

Although Cheryl retired seven years ago, she had worked steadily since she was 15. For 24 years, she worked at Mr. G’s supermarket, my family’s now defunct business. Later, she worked as a teacher’s aide and a hearing and vision screener for the Chicago Public Schools.

Thanks in part to Facebook, Cheryl and I have stayed in touch. We had not talked about racism previously, at least not to this extent. Here’s my interview with her.

What would you like white people to know about being black in America?

Cheryl: That it’s not easy–in terms of jobs, where you can live, the way police treat black folk, it isn’t a level playing field. And you always have to think ahead–like when you’re driving through certain predominantly white areas like Mount Greenwood or Oak Lawn. You have to remember to slow down. The police will pull you over for nothing.

I assume you have personally experienced racism. Can you tell me about some of those times?

Cheryl: Yes, there have been many times.

Years ago, my dad, who could pass for white, wanted to rent an apartment in Hyde Park at 53rd and Kimbark. He went by himself to look at a place, and the owner agreed to rent to him. Later, when my dad returned to sign the lease, he brought his wife (my mother), who was obviously black, the owner suddenly said the apartment was already rented. But my dad knew the real reason why he was denied.

Wow, that happened in Hyde Park, a liberal, integrated community?

Cheryl: There were pockets of racism in Hyde Park, certain blocks. We ended up living in an apartment one block west, on Woodlawn. My parents lived there for almost 30 years.

My earliest memory of racism was when I was four. I didn’t even know what racism was. I was down south in Louisiana, and I went to see a movie at a theater with my cousins who were darker-skinned. A lady told them to go upstairs. The lady told me to go downstairs. I said, “Can’t I sit with my cousins?” I was light-skinned, and the lady didn’t realize I was black. She shouted at me, “You’re with them!? Go upstairs to the balcony!” It was the first time anyone ever spoke harshly to me. I don’t care how old you are. A kid can feel hate and rejection.

Another time, around 1979, I was in Woolworth’s on 53rd Street with my son who was about two at the time and dark-skinned–like chocolate. He was playing in the aisle with a little white girl, the way kids do. When the boy’s dad saw them together, he yelled to his daughter, “Get away from him!” Again, it was obviously because my son was black.

My brother did two tours of duty in Vietnam, and when he came home, he was taking classes at the Circle (UIC) campus. He was crossing the street there, around Taylor and Halsted. Apparently, he wasn’t walking fast enough because a guy in a car yelled, “Get off the street, n-word (* my word, not hers. I won’t print that word here.)!”

My older son, who is now married, was walking down the street with his wife and her sister when they were robbed. My son called the police and when they came, my son, who is an artist, gave them a detailed sketch of the man and what he was wearing. The cop told him that wasn’t enough information to go on. But what was really happening was understood. The cop thought it wasn’t worth his time to pursue it. It was like he thought black people have no value.

Today, there isn’t as much blatant racism. But sometimes you can feel racism in the air. And if someone does do or say something racist, it’s all over social media. The exposure can be career-ending so people dial it back a bit. Still, we’ve lost ground when Trump was in the White House.

But personally, I don’t do “isms”–racism, classism or sexism. I always hated “isms.”

Are there things a white person should do or not do when they’re with black people?

Cheryl: Yes.

1. Never touch a black woman’s hair or ask to touch her hair.

2. Never pat a black man on the top of his head. It makes them feel like they’re being treated like animals. It’s about domination, like “I own you.” If you’re being friendly and want to touch a black man, touch his shoulder.

3. Never call a black man, boy. And for that matter, don’t call an adult black woman, girl.

4. Develop a relationship with black folks, get to know them and ask questions. As a black woman, it hurts my heart when I hear of a black person committing a heinous crime. But if you’re white and have never spoken to any black people and only hear about black people committing crimes from watching TV news, you’re going to assume all black people commit crimes. Don’t assume anything. Continue to talk, communicate.

Have your sons ever been treated poorly by the police?

Cheryl: Yes. When my son was a teenager, he was stopped by the police often– while driving and even walking down the street. And he wasn’t a bad kid. I raised gentlemen. One time, my son was crossing the street to meet me at the front door, and a cop put him on the hood of a car, frisking him. I had to tell the cop to leave him alone, that he was my son.

Kids get lost in the system because of incidents like this. That’s a problem for the community. But my best friend is a cop. I’ve taught my son that the police aren’t bad. There are just some bad people who happen to be police.

I think cops should be held to a higher standard. I don’t like the blue code of silence. If you commit a crime, I’m going to turn you in. I don’t care if it’s a black guy or Jeffrey Dahmer. There’s a level of disrespect and disregard for the police. The problem is young people don’t have a good authority figure. There’s no “Officer Friendly.”

What do you think needs to be done to curb violence in Chicago?

Cheryl: It’s about the breakdown of the family and having no one to teach respect. Young people need to have a momma and daddy or a strong momma or daddy to teach them respect. There needs to be structure, accountability. Kids need jobs or some supervised activity to keep them busy and out of trouble. And there needs to be consequences. If you’re over 15 and shoot someone, you’re old enough to go to grown-up jail.

How did you feel when OJ Simpson was found innocent?

Cheryl: I must admit I was happy back then because of the way black folks have been treated (by the system). I was happy he was found innocent–to have a win no matter how ugly the win was. Looking back, I’m a little embarrassed I felt that way.

How do you think being a light-skinned black woman has affected you in society?

Cheryl: There is colorism in the black community. People treated me ugly because I was light. When I was a child, I was called hurtful names like “half-breed” and “yellow” (by other black kids). Not so much anymore, but in the past, there were black people–adults–who didn’t like me because of the color of my skin. There was resentment, this belief that light-skinned people were snobby, that they thought were better than others, that they got treated better.

On the other hand, when dealing with white people, they aren’t as threatened when they see a light-skinned person. I initiated this idea, but my husband, who has dark skin, has me go first when we go into a restaurant or business in a predominantly white area to break the ice. “Soften the way,” he says.

Filed under:
Uncategorized

Tweet

• Advertisement:

• Advertisement:

• 
  

  Welcome to ChicagoNow.

  Meet
  our bloggers,
  
  post comments, or
  
  pitch your blog idea.

  Sign in
  Pitch your idea
  Play games

• Meet The Blogger

  

  Judy Marcus

  Judy Marcus is a freelance writer whose work appears in a variety of publications. She’s also a food lover. For news, recipes and commentary about food, check out her blog, Sugar Buzz Chicago. For news and opinions on almost anything else, visit Opinionated Woman.

• Subscribe by Email

Completely spam free, opt out any time.

Facebook

Latest on ChicagoNow

• Would Facebook block an ad honoring fallen Chicago police officer Ella French?

  from The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor by Dennis Byrne
  posted today at 2:11 pm

• The raw, uncomfortable truth about racism from a black woman who’s experienced it

  from Opinionated Woman by Judy Marcus
  posted today at 1:56 pm

• Chicago Shakespeare Theater is back in person with a full season of productions and special events

  from Show Me Chicago by Carole Kuhrt Brewer
  posted today at 12:23 pm

• Please don’t ask me how I am unless you want to know

  from Marching to a Different Drummer by K.Yvonne
  posted today at 11:35 am

• On Milkweed: A Layman’s Take (with apologies to Margaret Serious)

  from The Quark In The Road by Aquinas wired
  posted today at 10:23 am

Posts from related blogs

• 

  Retired in Chicago

  Most recent post: If you’re falling short of 10,000 steps

• 

  JUST SAYIN

  Most recent post: A SHAMEFUL CITY/ A COPS DEATH/THE MAYHEM BEAT GOES ON/ MORE SHOCKING VIOLENCE/Chicago’s Cops are Listening to Bob Dylan

• 

  Cheating Death

  Most recent post: You are a bad-tempered, surly, argumentative, self-centered, cranky and cantankerous old geezer and that’s just for starters

More from Lifestyle: Opinion

Read these ChicagoNow blogs

• 

  Cubs Den

  Chicago Cubs news and comprehensive blog, featuring old school baseball writing combined with the latest statistical trends
  • Daily Cubs Minors Recap: Young’s bat and baserunning propel Smokies to win; Herz dominates early; South Bend breaks out big bats; Nwogu with another multi-hit game; Hernandez hits first career HR
• 

  Pets in need of homes

  Pets available for adoption in the Chicago area
  • Amelia – Hyde Park Cats
• 

  Hammervision

  It’s like the couch potato version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
  • Movie Review: The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Read these ChicagoNow Bloggers

• 

  Carole Kuhrt Brewer

  from Show Me Chicago:
  Chicago Shakespeare Theater is back in person with a full season of productions and special events
• 

  Dennis Byrne

  from The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor:
  Would Facebook block an ad honoring fallen Chicago police officer Ella French?
• 

  LeaGrover

  from Becoming SuperMommy:
  After the Exit, A Scattered Road Trip

Advertisement:

ChicagoNOW

• About ChicagoNow
• •
• FAQs
• •
• Advertise
• •
• Recent posts RSS
• •
• Privacy policy (Updated)
• •
• Comment policy
• •
• Terms of service
• •
• Chicago Tribune Archives
• •
• Do not sell my personal info

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

Read More

Luis Robert’s rehab stint with Triple-A Charlotte is complete.

The center fielder will join the White Sox in Minneapolis and is expected to start in center field Monday night when the Sox open a three-game series against the Twins.

Robert, 23, suffered a Grade 3 strain of his right hip flexor running to first base May 2, and the Sox have been getting along without him since. He began his rehab assignment July 21 at High-A Winston-Salem, and now, two weeks after Eloy Jimenez returned from his injury, is set to return.

To make room for Robert, the Sox optioned infielder Gavin Sheets to Charlotte. They also released outfielder Luis Gonzalez.

“It was official this morning,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said Sunday as the team prepared to complete a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

“The guys are fired up, we’re all fired up.”

And why wouldn’t they be?

Robert was runner-up for American League Rookie of the Year in 2020 and won the Gold Glove Award for AL center fielders. He was batting .316/.359/.463 with one home run, one triple, nine doubles and eight RBI in 25 games when he got hurt. Stats aside, Robert’s presence will add a rangy, strong-armed dimension to center field, and his speed and power should inject a jolt of energy to a lineup that could use one. The Sox signed him to a six-year, $50 million contract extension in 2020.

Jimenez returned from a torn pectoral muscle suffered in spring training and has played in nine games since returning July 26. And now that Sox, with a 10 1/2 -game lead in the AL Central, are getting very close to having their full team together for the final two months of the season and postseason.

“To have them both on there at the same time and getting [catcher Yasmani Grandal] back one of these days, that’s something we look forward to,” La Russa said.

Grandal, coming back from knee surgery, has been working out with the team and could be going on a rehab assignment soon, perhaps in a week or two. He was booming batting practice home runs off the Jumbotron at Wrigley on Sunday.

“He’s very impatient and pushing it but the training staff is monitoring it, holding him back,” La Russa said. “But he’s making a lot of progress. Knock on wood he’ll be back sooner than we expected.”

Knock on wood, Robert won’t get sidetracked the way Jimenez did when he returned. Jimenez missed five days after experiencing groin soreness in his third game back.

“We expect [Robert] to play tomorrow and once you’re in person, I don’t know he couldn’t play back-to-back [games],” La Russa said. “But no matter how much you work out, when you play in the major leagues with the stress level there and the determination to dig a little deeper, you want to make sure we don’t have a little setback like we did with Eloy.

“Communication, and go day-to-day.”

Jimenez, who calls Robert his “brother,” has been in almost daily contact with his fellow outfielder. They rehabbed their injuries together in Arizona and watched from afar as fill-ins such as Andrew Vaughn, Brian Goodwin, Gavin Sheets, Jake Lamb, Gavin Sheets and Billy Hamilton helped the Sox build a comfortable lead without them and Adam Engel.

Sheets or Lamb, a corner infielder by trade who is out of minor-league options, could be the odd man out on the roster. Seeing a teammate exit won’t be fun but seeing the team — bolstered at the trade deadline with bullpen additions Craig Kimbrel and second baseman Cesar Hernandez — better equipped for a World Series bid will be.

“It’s going to be fun,” Jimenez said. “He’s one of the best players we have.”

Read More

NEW YORK — After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B hitmaker R. Kelly started Monday with jury selection in New York City.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly began questioning potential jurors about whether they can keep an open mind about Kelly two years after he was charged with abusing women and girls for nearly two decades. She reminded them the defendant was presumed innocent and that they should not be influenced by anything they’ve previously heard about the case.

The proceeding was being conducted amid coronavirus pandemic precautions restricting the press and the public to overflow courtrooms with video feeds.

Kelly, 54, has been locked up since he was indicted, mostly housed in a federal jail in Chicago. He was moved last month to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to face trial in a case that’s further diminished his superstar status.

Last week, defense attorney Deveraux Cannick told a judge that Kelly needs to be measured for new clothing because he’s gained so much weight in jail. And he asked that court transcripts be provided at no cost because Kelly has been unable to work for two years, saying: “His funds are depleted.”

The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling singer has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of leading an enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex. Federal prosecutors say the group selected victims at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly.

Defense lawyers have said Kelly’s alleged victims were groupies who turned up at his shows and made it known they “were dying to be with him.” They only started accusing him of abuse years later when public sentiment shifted in the #MeToo era, they said.

The trial had been expected to start earlier in the year. But opening statements were moved to Aug. 18 after Kelly fired his original defense team.

Jurors are expected to hear testimony from several of his accusers. A judge has ruled that the women will only be referred to by their first names.

Prosecutors also are expected to offer evidence that Kelly schemed with others to pay for a fake ID for Aaliyah, a singer on the rise at 15 years old, in a secret ceremony in 1994.

Aaliyah is identified as “Jane Doe #1” in court papers because she was still a minor when Kelly began a sexual relationship with her and believed she had become pregnant, the papers say.

“As a result, in an effort to shield himself from criminal charges related to his illegal sexual relationship with Jane Doe #1, Kelly arranged to secretly marry her to prevent her from being compelled to testify against him in the future,” the papers say.

Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton, worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” She died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.

The case is only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

Kelly won multiple Grammys for “I Believe I Can Fly,” a 1996 song that became an inspirational anthem played at school graduations, weddings, advertisements and elsewhere.

Nearly a decade later, he began releasing what eventually became 22 musical chapters of “Trapped in the Closet,” a drama that spins a tale of sexual deceit and became a cult classic.

But Kelly has been trailed for decades by complaints and allegations about his sexual behavior, including a 2002 child pornography case in Chicago. He was acquitted in that case in 2008.

Scrutiny intensified again amid the #MeToo movement in recent years, with multiple women going public with accusations against the singer. The pressure intensified with the release of the Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” in 2019.

Criminal charges soon followed.

Read More