Watch Berkowitz & Martin discuss the issues that may make Gov. Pritzker vulnerable to a current or new 2022 GOP GOV opponent, Cable/Webon July 31, 2021 at 8:04 am

Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz

Watch Berkowitz & Martin discuss the issues that may make Gov. Pritzker vulnerable to a current or new 2022 GOP GOV opponent, Cable/Web

Watch Berkowitz & Martin discuss the issues that may make Gov. Pritzker vulnerable to a current or new 2022 GOP GOV opponent, Cable/Webon July 31, 2021 at 8:04 am Read More »

Horoscope for Saturday, July 31, 2021Georgia Nicolson July 31, 2021 at 5:01 am

Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The moon is in Taurus.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

This is a solid day for business and commerce. In fact, you might attract money or assets to you today. If shopping, you will want to buy beautiful things for yourself and loved ones. This evening something unexpected could affect your wealth, so keep your eyes open!

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Today the moon is in your sign supported by your ruler Venus. Early morning is a bit rocky but the rest of the day is friendly, sociable and pleasant. Enjoy fun outings, especially with kids. Romance is favored. This evening you might feel restless or caught off guard.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

This has been a busy, fast-paced week; and today you need to take a breather. Therefore, grab a chance to withdraw from the busyness around you so that you can catch your breath and get grounded. Note: This evening, something might surprise you.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

This is a lovely day to schmooze with friends and groups. You will enjoy meeting or hanging out with artistic, creative people, especially in a club or group setting. It’s also a good day to think of your goals. This evening someone will surprise you.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

You are noticed today! This is hardly surprising considering that the sun, Mercury and Mars are all in your sign. For some reason, personal details about your private life are public — be aware of this. This evening, a parent, boss or the police might surprise you. Stay cool.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

You feel a strong need to socialize with others today, in large measure because you seek adventure and you want a change of scenery — something different. A chance to travel or learn something new will certainly appeal. Nevertheless, this evening travel plans might suddenly change.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Your popularity continues, especially with younger people. Competition and group sports are likely. Take care of some red-tape details regarding inheritances, taxes, debt and insurance matters. In fact, something related to these areas might surprise you this evening.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

You continue to look marvelous to others, especially bosses and parents with the sun at the top of your chart casting you in a flattering spotlight! This is a great day to socialize with others, especially partners and close friends. Be alert this evening because someone might throw you a curveball.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Travel, publishing, the media, higher education and a chance to explore adventure are all on the table for you. Today you can work to get organized so that you can figure out ways to pursue these adventures. This evening, something unexpected might affect your pet or your health.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

After some minor restrictions this morning, this will prove to be a fun-loving, playful day for you! Enjoy social outings, the arts or sports and fun times with kids. Note: Social plans might change this evening. Guard against accidents with your kids.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

With your focus strongly on partners and close friends, today you will want to cocoon at home or enjoy some peace and quiet where you live. In the morning, a brief difficulty with an authority figure might occur. This evening, something unexpected will affect your home routine. (It’s minor.)

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

You’re eager to communicate to others in a real way. In other words, you want to connect at a meaningful level. In the morning, someone might be tough to deal with. Relax because most of this day is upbeat and enjoyable. Guard against minor accidents this evening.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Author J.K. Rowling (1965) shares your birthday. You are cheerful, witty and entertaining. You are also creative and imaginative! Through hard work and determined tenacity, you reach your goals. You are a seeker who is interested in philosophical views about life. You will enjoy this year because it is a year of learning for you. It might be formal learning or learning through travel and life experiences.

Horoscope for Saturday, July 31, 2021Georgia Nicolson July 31, 2021 at 5:01 am Read More »

Lollapalooza 2021 reviews, Day 2: Tyler the Creator, Mick Jenkins, Polo G, Omar Apollo, tobi lou, Mothica, Black Pistol Fire, White ReaperSelena Fragassi – For the Sun-Timeson July 31, 2021 at 4:36 am

With Day 2 of Lollapalooza almost over, festival organizers on Friday had some big news regarding COVID safety protocols: starting Saturday, masks will be required at all indoor spaces on the festival grounds. The areas include the box office, merchandise shop, two hospitality lounges and wristband help tents.

The announcement was made via Lolla social media accounts and app. Festival-goers are also “encouraged” to bring along a a mask for Saturday and Sunday.

Amid the evolving protocols, the music played on.

Here are reviews of some of the sets at Day 2 of Lollapalooza 2021 in Grant Park:

Tyler, the Creator

Tyler, the Creator was trending on social media ahead of his headlining set to close out Day 2 of Lollapalooza. Half of the people were upset the festival was not yet streaming his performance on Hulu and had chosen to broadcast Marshmello instead, and the other half were pleading with the universe to make his rumored appearance with his Odd Future cohort Frank Ocean happen (though that seemed like a tall order).

One was righted as the livestream picked up the performance a half-hour later, thankfully allowing a much larger crowd to pay witness to the visionary, art-driven set that melded jazz, R&B, rap, trip hop, and darkcore.

The Grammy Award winner astutely merged the worlds of live theater and concert in his hour-plus set, sparing no effort to bring his full production stage the “creator” part of him is known for, even as live touring just starts to make its comeback and while most sets this weekend have been understandably scaled back. This time, the theme was in alignment with his latest album “Call Me If You Get Lost” that came out on June 25. With a lush wilderness backdrop and camp sign bearing the album’s name, Tyler started the set dressed as a bellhop, quickly rifling through suitcases to find his eventual stage getup — a leopard print shirt that matched his colorful persona (he would also later don a Warhol-like green suit and blonde wig).

With a prop sea cruiser, Tyler quite literally rocked the boat as he nonchalantly moved through his bold set, not even refraining from addressing the controversy that swirled around his career in years past — his new song “Manifesto” addressing the maelstrom that his early lyrics caused, nearly canceling his career over claims of homophobia and misogyny. In the years since, Tyler has rebounded and commented on his 10 years since releasing his first solo album “Goblin” in 2011. “They told me I was too weird, too niche, it was shock value and I’d last 6 months. But here I am headlining Lollapalooza now,” he said to thunderous applause. “That pushed me; it may have taken 10 years but let me tell you no matter how long it takes, keep it running,” he advised the crowd.

Weird and niche as he may be, Tyler is also eccentric and eclectic and pushes the boundaries all true creators need to do to make art. — Selena Fragassi

Polo G

In three short years, Chicago-born rapper Polo G has quickly risen to the ranks of the next level Kanye or Chance to come out of the city’s still-unstoppable hip-hop nexus. This summer, G’s latest album “Hall of Fame,” scored his first No. 1 on the Billboard charts following the success in April of his early top-of-the-charts single “Rapstar” that further cemented his reputation as one to watch.

So to say that his Lollapalooza set was anything less than anticipated would be an understatement. As the hype DJ got the crowd warmed up, the ground was quite literally shaking near the Petrillo Music Shell as throngs of the artist’s newest disciples jumped to the beats. But people didn’t stay long, departing in steady lines as the rapper came on stage a few minutes late and left 15 minutes early, and filled the remainder of the time with a lukewarm delivery of his varied material including “Black Hearted,” “Flex,” “Rapstar,” “Pop Out” and his earliest hit “Finer Things.”

While entertaining at its core, the performance was not on the same pedestal he is on at the moment and was void of suspected guest stars even though the night prior, ideas might have had the chance to hatch as Polo G, Vic Mensa, G Herbo and Cole Bennett met with city officials at The Robey for “a night of change” to discuss greater investment in inner city neighborhoods of Chicago with ideas for programs to combat lack of education and mental health as well as more crime prevention tactics.

Though Polo G no longer lives in Chicago, like his hip-hop brethren he has done many things to take up the crusade to make a better living environment for many of the city’s residents. And hopefully with a bit more time to germinate, his headlining festival sets will be just as impactful. — Selena Fragassi

Omar Apollo

If Omar Apollo was bothered by starting his 9 p.m. slot at the Grubhub Stage amid the thumping bass and fireworks from Marshmello at the Bud Light Stage while thousands flooded the T-Mobile stage to see Tyler, the Creator, you wouldn’t have known it. Not even a little bit.

The 24-year-old indie/R&B artist was in his own world, where only he, his tight three-piece band and his devout fans existed. Easing through several slow jams, Apollo crooned, sauntered across the stage, thrust his hips, twirled and jumped — prompting frenzied screams from adoring fans. The result was an intimate nighttime performance, complete with ruby red curtains behind him and moody lighting shining down from above him.

When he wasn’t gripping the microphone and belting, he was soloing on a cream-colored Stratocaster, delivering a near-flawless set with his band.

The crowd was no doubt smaller than most sets so far this weekend, but it was arguably one of the most engaged. Hundreds of fans gathered at the front of the stage to passionately scream each time he danced, swaying to the beat and singing along with every word.

On the outskirts of the crowd, people relaxed, sitting in the grace or holding their own space to dance freely.

The atmosphere was a type of oasis, tucked back among some trees and away from the chaos of throngs of maskless festival-goers clashing in several different directions to get to another show.

A slow song can drop like a brick during most Lollapalooza sets, disengaging concertgoers as they turn to each other to talk or leave altogether. For Apollo, fans were completely enraptured and enthralled by every song, including the slowest, most sensual songs on his setlist, like the song “Want U Around, from his 2020 album “Apolonio.” It was one of those rare instances where an artist striving for sexy succeeds — and that’s because he was clearly having so much fun.

A highlight of the night was when Apollo broke into “Kamikaze,” which got the crowd moving even more, in a steady, joyful groove.

The set got even more intimate when he and his guitarist broke out acoustic guitars for a sultry performance of Dos Uno Nueve, an ode to his hometown of Hobart, Indiana.

Following chants of “We love you” from the crowd, Apollo prepared to deliver his last song of the night, “Go Away,” released earlier this month.

“It’s about to feel amazing,” he told the crowd, before gliding into the single. — Matt Moore

White Reaper

“This is the Louisville stage today,” declared White Reaper’s Ryan Hater during the band’s early evening set, right before fellow Kentuckian Jack Harlow took the Lakeshore Stage. And the buzzy quartet — looking like a gang out of the ’80s movie “The Outsiders” who combine punk rock hooks with emo vibes and near pop choruses — clearly had friends in the crowd that either live in Chicago or made the six-hour drive to see the band get their moment at the big time that everyone has been preaching they deserve.

At one point they wished someone a happy birthday and at another point played matchmaker, telling a girl named Valerie that her ex-boyfriend missed her and wanted her back. Hopefully she got the memo.

The highlight of the set was predictably “Might Be Right,” the band’s come-hither hit that has earmarks of Weezer at their prime. White Reaper may have had one of the first tries at a circle pits this weekend, which was an oddity for their laidback sound, but at least everyone was having fun — most of all Hater who may be the most jovial keyboard player to grace a stage. — Selena Fragassi

Mothica

The BMI Stage is famously where many a star has been born — both Lady Gaga and Halsey once played on this more modest platform — and all signs point to Mothica to being blessed with the same fate.

Even tastemaker Wayne Coyne, leader of The Flaming Lips, was spotted near the front of the stage snapping photos and videos during her set (though it certainly begs the question where he was during collaborator Miley Cyrus’ set last night).

A darker Lana Del Rey with a bit of a gothic Evanescence vibe, Mothica has been hailed as “the artist letting her inner demons out through pop music” by Teen Vogue and, in true form, she drew the audience into her real talk of mental health struggles and how she overcame them through music.

“Fifteen-year-old me tried to take her own life … and sometimes I remember that girl and how none of this would have been here … It took 10 years but I’m headlining a stage at Lollapalooza,” she said, getting emotional, as she launched into the heart-tugger “Upside.”

She also dedicated an earlier song to anyone that has been affected by sexual assault, encouraging people to “get angry” with her. It was just one of the emotions felt during this charged set that gave creedence to the release and connection music offers to so many people. — Selena Fragassi

Mick Jenkins

Hip-hop has a strong presence at Lollapalooza this year, including its own class of Chicago talent.

South Sider Mick Jenkins kicked things off on Friday afternoon, warming up the Bud Light Seltzer Stage before fellow born-and-raised wordsmith Polo G came on. Bolstered by a live drummer and DJ, Jenkins gifted the crowd with several firsts in his set, including new tracks from his as-to-be-named upcoming album, none more so gripping than the soul-busting track “Things You Could Die For If Doing While Black.” The title says it all, his informed lyrics referencing innocent activities like going for a jog that led to the death of Ahmaud Arbery, and selling cigarettes that unfolded in the killing of Eric Garner. “I really just want respect,” Jenkins declared several times in the song.

Jenkins is an incredible mouthpiece for a conscious rap style. He leads the collective Free Nation “that promotes creative thought without accepting narrow views imposed by the powers that be,” according to his label, Cinematic Worldwide, and it’s a message seen in his thought-provoking tracks that spread both love and truth.

Free Nation crew member Stock Marley also got his time in the spotlight during Jenkins’ set — something he almost didn’t live to see.

“I almost died last year; doctors gave me a 33% chance to live,” the West Side rapper shared, noting it wasn’t due to COVID-19 and then giving a shout out to the Loyola medical team that helped him recover from his illness.

Offering two memorable numbers, Marley cut the background track to deliver his final few verses, hoping the crowd would pay attention to his words like the true poet he is.

“It’s only worth living for if you’ll die for it,” he gave as his final pearl. The only thing missing was the mic drop. — Selena Fragassi

Black Pistol Fire

Kevin McKeown of Black Fire Pistol performs on day two of the Lollapalooza music festival on Friday, July 30, 2021, at Grant Park in Chicago. — Kevin McKeown of Black Fire Pistol performs on day two of the Lollapalooza music festival on Friday in Grant Park.

Some might say rock ‘n’ roll is in a tough spot as younger music consumers flock to hip-hop pomp and pop star allure — but that was all thrown out the window watching Austin, Texas-based Black Pistol Fire bring the literal heat on Friday afternoon.

“There’s just two guys up there,” one younger fan exclaimed, awestruck as were many by the mini manpower that lit up the Lolla circuit grid as curious passerbys stopped to see what all the fuss was about.

Shirtless drummer Eric Owen was the picture of primal energy as he beat his kit so furiously on tracks like the explosive opener “Pick Your Poison” that it might’ve broken some laws. He was well-paired by rhythmic ringleader and singer Kevin McKeown, whose guitar gymnastics on surf rock-leaning numbers like “Lost Cause” could be their own sport in Tokyo, while his trailing solos could match up with the best of them at Buddy Guy’s Legends across the street from the fest.

Black Pistol Fire are the type of band you want to see at a wayside hole-in-the-wall but they are also equally made for the primetime festival stage, gaining acclaim for previous sets at Riot Fest and Voodoo Fest — and certainly now at Lollapalooza.

Among all the loops and sampling and production that oftentimes drown out these festival grounds, this unassuming duo showed that flair only goes so far and sometimes the simpler, the better. As McKeown curled in furor on the stage floor, wielding his guitar like a sacrifice to the sky — and later crowdsurfed during a long jammy outro — there’s no doubt kids were already on their phones buying up new Gibsons. Rock and roll isn’t dead — it’s alive all well, it just needs bands like Black Pistol Fire to look up to and emulate. — Selena Fragassi

tobi lou

When tobi lou took the Lake Shore Stage on Friday afternoon, he looked like a man with something to prove.

Clad in football pads, Oakleys and joggers, the rap and R&B artist tore into his song “Lingo Starr: RETURN OF THE DRAGON,” yelling each lyric while jumping and running across the stage.

Rap artists projecting their lyrics in a festival setting isn’t new, but it was a far cry from the usual laid-back, melodic delivery the Chicago-raised lou has become known for during his steady rise in popularity over the past few years.

The different approach took some getting used to at first, but his live vocals combined with the mellow production worked as a fresh take on his sound that still hyped up the crowd. And even though he was on home turf and faced with hundreds of fans shoulder-to-shoulder, lou acknowledged he may be unfamiliar to some festival-goers. So he worked liked an underdog athlete in a championship game, staying attentive to the crowd’s responses to his every move and putting his all into a performance to win them over — and it worked.

Lou eventually shed the shoulder pads and ran through crowd faorites like “Waterboy,” “Just Keep Going” and “Uncle Iroh” — all songs that have become staples on Spotify playlists, netting thousands of streams.

He also paid homage to Chicago’s Kanye West, rapping nearly 16 bars of West’s 2007 single “Flashing Lights” toward the end of his song “TROOP.”

“It feels so good to be home,” lou said. “Can I be super honest with y’all? This is my first time outside in almost two f—— years — and I’m here with y’all! I came home to do this s– with y’all!”

The homecoming feeling was present during performance of “Buff Baby,” when he tenderly shouted out to his mother who was standing stage left, masked up and filming her son’s performance on her phone.

Lou wrapped up his set with one of his most popular songs, “I Was Sad Last Night I’m OK Now,” and the crowd yelled every word back at him. When the beat ended, a look of accomplishment grew on his face as he gazed into the crowd.

If anyone there didn’t know who he was, they did now. — Matt Moore

Lollapalooza 2021 reviews, Day 2: Tyler the Creator, Mick Jenkins, Polo G, Omar Apollo, tobi lou, Mothica, Black Pistol Fire, White ReaperSelena Fragassi – For the Sun-Timeson July 31, 2021 at 4:36 am Read More »

How ‘the twisties’ stopped Simone Biles coldWill Graves | AP Sports Writeron July 31, 2021 at 2:53 am

TOKYO — Maybe Simone Biles made soaring through the air look too easy. It’s not — a fact she and other gymnasts who constantly negotiate with the laws of physics have long understood.

Every leap, no matter how routine, requires an innate sense of time and space. You have to know how many fractions of a second you have to make your body do what it needs to do. Just as crucially, you need to know you’ve got enough room to do it before the ground renders a verdict one way or another.

Simone Biles went undefeated for eight years. Gravity is forever-and-0.

Sometime after qualifying at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, the four-time Olympic gold medalist lost her way. She kept telling her body to twist. It kept saying, “How about no.”

The “twisties,” as they’re known within the gymnastics community, were back. And Biles knew it, leading her to withdraw from the team final after one rotation and skip the all-around final. She watched from the stands on Thursday as U.S. teammate and good friend Sunisa Lee claimed the gold.

Biles hasn’t ruled out competing in the event finals — she’s qualified for all four — starting on Sunday. Yet even a minibreak from the competition floor hasn’t cured her. During a series of social media posts on Friday, the 24-year-old provided an inside look at the “twisties.”

So what are they?

The “twisties” are the sudden inability for a gymnast to make the requisite spins — or sometimes any spins — for a particular maneuver.

Biles posted a video — which she later deleted — of her doing a dismount on the uneven bars during training. She kept trying and failing to do 2 1/2 twists, just as she failed to do a full Amanar vault during the team finals on Tuesday night, coming up one full twist short, leading her to step away from the competition to protect herself.

“Sometimes I can’t even fathom twisting,” Biles posted. “I seriously cannot comprehend how to twist.”

She called it the “strangest and weirdest thing.”

Why do they pop up?

No one knows. Not even the greatest of all time. Despite some sloppy — by her unparalleled standards — moments during qualifying, Biles said the “twisties” didn’t pop up until Monday.

She’s dealt with them before. The difference this time? They’re not just affecting her on vault and floor exercise, as they have in the past. Now, they’re following her to bars and beam, too.

“It’s honestly petrifying,” she wrote, “trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync.”

How long do they last?

It depends on the athlete. For Biles, they can hang around for two weeks or more, making her availability for event finals seemingly a long shot at best.

Two-time Olympic gold medal trampolinist Rosie MacLennan of Canada struggled with her own version of “the twisties” while training for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She recovered in time to top the podium in Brazil, but only after painstakingly relearning her skills over time.

“There (are) mental pieces to all sports, but in aerial sports where you’re slipping and twisting, there’s a huge mental component,” MacLennan said Friday after finishing fourth. “And when you get lost in the air, it’s one of the most terrifying experiences you can have.”

A terror that never really fully goes away.

“It sticks with you,” the 32-year-old MacLennan said. “So it’s something that like even to this day that you second guess yourself sometimes and it just takes a lot of really diligent work and a lot of patience and a lot of support around you.”

Are there other versions of the twisties?

Turns out, yes. American trampolinist Nicole Ahsinger was a 12-year-old prodigy in southern California when she developed a case of what she calls “the flippies.” She would over-rotate time and again. Ground would become sky and vice versa.

It got to the point where Ahsinger, now 23, became too afraid to do one flip let alone the two — or more — required for a sport that sends athletes three stories into the air.

“I would cry every day,” said Ahsinger, who came in sixth in the trampoline finals in her second Olympics.

She ended up moving from San Diego to Louisiana in an effort to recalibrate. The “flippies” eventually eased, but only after she rebuilt her skills literally from the ground up. Biles doesn’t have that kind of time.

So what’s next?

The vault and uneven bars finals are on Sunday. Biles announced Saturday morning that she will not compete in either, meaning she will not get a chance to add the Yurchenko Double Pike vault to the list of skills that already bear her name in the sport’s Code of Points.

She unveiled the vault — one never done before by a woman in competition — in May and had been pointing to Tokyo as a chance to do it in front of the world. She’s opted to err on the side of caution instead to protect herself. She was unlikely to medal on bars, where Lee and Belgium’s Nina Derwael are poised for an epic showdown.

Beam, where she earned bronze in Rio, and floor exercise are later in the week. Maybe she somehow regains her confidence in herself and her surroundings.

Big, big maybe.

How ‘the twisties’ stopped Simone Biles coldWill Graves | AP Sports Writeron July 31, 2021 at 2:53 am Read More »

Lollapalooza 2021 reviews, Day 2: Mick Jenkins, Polo G, tobi lou, Mothica, Black Pistol Fire, White ReaperSelena Fragassi – For the Sun-Timeson July 31, 2021 at 2:57 am

The announcement was made via Lolla social media accounts and app. Festival-goers are also “encouraged” to bring along a a mask for Saturday and Sunday.

Amid the evolving protocols, the music played on.

Here are reviews of some of the sets at Day 2 of Lollapalooza 2021 in Grant Park: