A Chicago man has been sentenced in federal court to three years of probation after he admitted he set fire to a Chicago police vehicle during the May 2020 riots downtown here.

The sentencing of Jacob Fagundo appears to be the first in Chicago’s federal court to directly address the downtown violence that followed the murder of George Floyd by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

“It’s just a shame that you did this,” U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said, agreeing with Fagundo’s defense attorney that the crime appeared to be an aberration in Fagundo’s behavior.

The judge noted that Fagundo has no criminal history and has dealt with mental illness in the past.

Fagundo pleaded guilty in April to obstructing law enforcement amid a civil disorder. Though he originally faced charges in state court, the feds wound up filing charges against him in late March.

Federal prosecutors said Fagundo should spend between eight and 14 months in prison for committing a crime “against the fabric of our democratic society while it was being pulled apart.”

But his defense attorney explained that Fagundo saw a police officer “split open the head of [a] young girl with whom he was — at that time — peacefully protesting” in Chicago on May 30, 2020.

Chicago Police

That’s when attorney Robert Kerr said Fagundo’s “personal shortcomings caught up with him,” prompting him to throw a lit firework into a Chicago police vehicle. Kerr also wrote in a court memo that Fagundo hadn’t been “on top of [his] mental health like [he] should’ve been.”

Kerr also noted that Fagundo participated in May graduation ceremonies at the School of the Art Institute, where he came to be regarded not only “as an employee, student, mentor, role model, and friend of the highest character, he came to be known as [an] incredibly talented artist.”

When Fagundo pleaded guilty in April, Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Cooke told the judge that Fagundo had purchased fireworks, lighter fluid and other products at a department store on May 29, 2020, ahead of the George Floyd protests. The next day, Cooke said, Fagundo joined with others and spray-painted a Chicago police vehicle.

The evening of May 30, 2020, Cooke said Fagundo discovered a CPD SUV in a garage at 30 E. Kinzie St. The prosecutor said the vehicle’s windows, including its rear windshield, were shattered. Then, about 6:45 p.m., Cooke said Fagundo lit a firework and tossed it through the SUV’s rear window frame.

Fagundo fled when police arrived, Cooke said. The prosecutor said the vehicle was a total loss, and it cost CPD $58,125 to replace it. Gettleman ordered Fagundo to pay that amount in restitution.

Another man, Timothy O’Donnell, is also charged in federal court with setting fire to a CPD vehicle during the unrest while wearing a “Joker” mask. He is set to go to trial Feb. 7.

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Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville has offered to participate in the Blackhawks’ review of allegations by a former player who says he was sexually assaulted by a then-assistant coach in 2010.

Quenneville, 62, coached Chicago to three Stanley Cup titles over 10-plus seasons before he was fired by the team in November 2018. He was hired by Florida in April 2019.

A former federal prosecutor has been hired by the Blackhawks to conduct what the team says is an independent investigative review of the allegations in a pair of lawsuits filed against the franchise. In an internal memo sent on June 28, CEO Danny Wirtz said Reid Schar and Jenner & Block LLP “have been directed to follow the facts wherever they lead.”

The first suit alleges sexual assault by former assistant coach Bradley Aldrich during the team’s run to the 2010 Stanley Cup title, and the second was filed by a former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan.

Making his first public comments since the suits were filed, Quenneville called the allegations “clearly serious.”

“I first learned of these allegations through the media earlier this summer,” Quenneville said Tuesday in a statement provided by the Panthers. “I have contacted the Blackhawks organization to let them know I will support and participate in the independent review. Out of respect for all those involved, I won’t comment further while this matter is before the courts.”

A message was left Tuesday seeking comment from the Blackhawks. In his June 28 memo, Wirtz said the team would refrain from further comment until the independent review and legal proceedings had concluded.

In his lawsuit, filed on May 7 in Cook County Circuit Court, the former player says Aldrich assaulted him, and that the team did nothing after he informed an employee. The suit also alleges Aldrich assaulted another unidentified Blackhawks player. The former player who sued and is seeking more than $150,000 in damages is referred in the document as “John Doe.”

The eight-page lawsuit says Aldrich, then a video coach for the Blackhawks, “turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of” the player without his consent. It says Aldrich also threatened to “physically, financially and emotionally” hurt the player if he “did not engage in sexual activity” with him.

Paul Vincent, then a skills coach with the team, said he was told by two players in May 2010 of inappropriate behavior by Aldrich. Vincent said he asked mental skills coach James Gary to follow up with the players and management.

Vincent was called into a meeting with then-team President John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, hockey executive Al MacIsaac and Gary the next day. He said he asked the team to report the allegations to Chicago police, and the request was denied.

Vincent made his remarks in an interview with TSN, and he told The Associated Press in an email that he stands by everything he said. He said Monday in another email to the AP that he had not been contacted by Jenner & Block.

An attorney for Aldrich told Chicago public radio station WBEZ that his client denies the allegations in the lawsuit. In a May statement to the radio station, the Blackhawks said the allegations directed at the team were groundless.

After leaving the Blackhawks, Aldrich was convicted in 2013 in Michigan of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a high school student and is now on that state’s registry of sex offenders.

The former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting filed a separate lawsuit against the Blackhawks on May 26, saying the team provided positive references to future employers of Aldrich despite allegations from at least one player and took no action to report the matter.

That suit says the student was a hockey player at Houghton High School near Hancock in 2013 when Aldrich sexually assaulted him at an end-of-season gathering.

Houghton police records say an investigator reached out to the Blackhawks about Aldrich, but human resources executive Marie Sutera would confirm only that he was once an employee. She requested a search warrant or subpoena for any further information regarding Aldrich.

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Still trying to figure out where to watch the Olympics? You can always rent out the home of a gold medal winner and six-time NBA champion.

Scottie Pippen is renting out his Chicago home via AirBNB for Olympic watch parties, TMZ Sports reported. Three one-night stays for a maximum of four people will be available. The house is going for $92 a night in an apparent reference to the 1992 U.S. Dream Team.

According to the AirBNB listing: “When you enter my home, you’ll step into sport history — finding Olympic Games memorabilia from my time as a U.S. Olympian, plus items from Team USA’s 2020 Medal Stand Collection that you can take home with you! During your overnight stay, you and up to three guests have the opportunity to watch the magic of the Olympic Games basketball competitions on NBCUniversal’s broadcast networks and streaming services from my home theater, and channel your inner athlete on my indoor basketball court.

“Whether you want to cheer on Team USA this year or steep yourself in the nostalgia of our historic 1992 run in Barcelona, get ready for a one-of-a-kind experience commemorating the long-awaited return of the Olympic Games.”

According to the listing: “Booking opens at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 22 for three stays on August 2, August 4 and August 6.”

Pippen himself won’t be there, but renters will receive a virtual greeting from the former Bulls great.

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Where’s the coolest basketball court in all of Chicago? Burnside Park may be in the running, if not the outright leader, now after receiving a glow-up courtesy of the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Park District.

The court — which was unveiled by the Bulls on Wednesday in partnership with sponsor Zenni Optical and the park district — boasts an incredible, colorful look from local artist Anthony Lewellen. The design includes a very clean, white overall background with big splashes of color inside the three-point arcs. On each side under the basket, a giant bull blows smoke out of its nose.

Compared to the old black asphalt that had been there prior to the renovation, it’s fair to say the court looks much more exciting now. Check out these before and after photos from the team:

The Bulls say this is now the “freshest court” in the city … and it may be difficult to disagree.

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I’m old enough to remember when, along with lowering the debt and deficit, anti-protectionism and so-called “family values,” a strong opposition to population control was one of the bedrock principles of the conservative movement and Republican Party.

But apparently, like lowering the debt and deficit, anti-protectionism, and so-called “family values,” a strong opposition to population control has been another casualty of the Trump era, a faded memory of the right-wing populists who prefer owning the left over principles and policies.

How else to explain the utter weirdness that occurred on the right-wing, Trump-loving cable network Newsmax the other night?

Anchor Rob Schmitt, previously a host at Fox News, suggested that COVID-19 vaccines are “generally kind of going against nature.”

He added, “Like, I mean, if there is some disease out there — maybe there’s just an ebb and flow to life where something’s supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people, and that’s just kind of the way evolution goes. Vaccines kind of stand in the way of that.”

Schmitt, though perhaps singular in his eloquence, is hardly alone in his opinion that “vax bad, COVID good” in the new right wing, the movement that’s chosen to parrot disgraced President Donald Trump’s anti-science quackery, villainization of public health, and rejection of common sense. (It painfully bears pointing out that Trump, some of his family members, and many of his employees contracted COVID-19 while bragging openly about flouting mask and social-distancing recommendations.)

At a gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas this weekend — a once annual event that now so effectively spreads Trump’s self-interested conspiracy theories that they held it twice this year — a crowd cheered at the pronouncement that the country has not met its vaccination goals. The inanity was breathtaking.

“We’ve got Republican governors across this country pretending they didn’t shut down their states, that they didn’t close their regions, that they didn’t mandate masks,” she outraged, conveniently ignoring that that stuff might have kept South Dakota from becoming, on a per capita basis, one of the worst states in the nation for COVID-19 infections.

Other right-wing media personalities have also tried to scare Americans off the life-saving vaccine, for all kinds of insane “reasons,” including my favorite — that Bill Gates, who’s donated at least $1.75 billion to fight the virus, and the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, created the pandemic to insert trackable microchips in people’s arms. If you want a quick laugh (or cry), scroll through TikTok to watch people insist spoons are sticking to the subversively implanted magnets in their arms.

But Schmitt’s cavalier population control musing stands out for its absurdity, because someone forgot to tell him and others that conservatives are supposed to be against these sorts of arguments. Bigly.

Back in 2009, President Obama’s climate czar John Holdren faced considerable scrutiny over a 1970 textbook he co-authored that examined extreme and hideous ideas to curb population growth, like “forcing pregnant single women to undergo abortions and adding chemicals to drinking water to make people infertile,” as the New York Times put it.

Many on the right were understandably horrified.

More recently, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders came under fire for his response to a question about population growth and climate change at a 2019 town hall. He suggested more abortion access in poor countries was the solution. National Review rightly called that “outrageous,” and linked it back to the long and lamentable history of progressive eugenics.

Search “population control” on right-wing sites like The Federalist, and a long list of articles, spanning years, and covering issues like China’s one-child policy, pop up.

So, what’s changed? Are Schmitt and others who have suggested that COVID-19 is evolution or even God’s way of thinning the herd, merely unaware that such arguments are long disavowed by the political movement they presumably support? Have they forgotten to read their recent history? Have they failed to consider the moral and ethical implications of such dangerous arguments?

That might be giving them too much credit. More likely, Trump and his corrupted GOP have so effectively turned conservative orthodoxy on its head that up is now down and right is now left.

The well-reasoned principles that helped drive the party to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been abandoned — by Trump notably, but most egregiously by movement conservatives, elected Republicans, and a right-wing media that should know better, that’s been here before.

So, when one goes on television and blithely cheerleads a gruesome argument for population control, presumably because he believes it will please his audience and the Republican base, it’s horrifying, disorienting and shameful — but wholly unsurprising. What it isn’t is conservatism. But, then, not much is nowadays, which is perhaps why Republicans keep losing. Because with ideas like these, who needs an opposition?

Send letters to [email protected]

S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.

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Chicago Bears: Evaluating the defensive line for the upcoming season by Ryan Taylor

The Chicago Blackhawks, in all likelihood, are going to be a bad hockey team in 2021-22. They are one of the worst ran teams in the National Hockey League and it continues to get worse and worse. With all of the off-ice issues that they are dealing with right now, it is the perfect time to clean house. If they were to do that, they likely would be doing the future of the franchise well.

It would cause the team to be bad for a while but that is the key to rebuilding sometimes. Landing a franchise-altering draft pick is a possibility if they are bad enough in 2021-22. After the Duncan Keith trade, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are the only core members of the dynasty left. However, there are some good young players to continue building around and developing.

Being a bad team in 2021-22 could be the best thing for the Chicago Blackhawks.

There are some prospects that you watch play for their junior teams or their college teams and they look like NHL stars in the making. Then, there are other players that look just a little bit different than even the best prospects in the world. Everyone knew that kids like Patrick Kane, Nathan MacKinnon, and Jack Eichel would develop into MVP caliber players but guys like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid were just a little different.

There is a kid like that in the 2022 NHL Draft named Shane Wright. He is going to be the number one overall pick in that draft and teams are going to load up the tank for a player like him. He is known as an exceptional two-way player that can play at an elite level in all three zones.

He played for the Under-18 Team Canada this year as an underage player and led them to a Gold Medal. He was the captain of the team as an underage player which tells you everything you need to know about his maturity in comparison to his peers. In that tournament, he scored five goals and had nine assists for 14 points in five games.

He didn’t play for his OHL team, the Kingston Frontenacs in 2020-21 because of COVID-19 canceling their season. The year before that, he had 39 goals and 27 assists for 66 points in 58 games for them. That is crazy for a kid that was 15 and 16 throughout that season. In fact, that OHL rookie point total broke Connor McDavid’s points per game record. He is going to put up otherworldly numbers in his draft season if he stays healthy.

In order to play in the OHL at such a young age, you have to be granted “exceptional player status”. Obviously, Wright was given that honor. He joins John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, and Joe Veleno as the only players to ever receive that honor. He is going to be a stud in the NHL and there is little doubt about it.

Related Story: Could the Duncan Keith Trade lead to more?

If the Hawks were able to land a kid like Wright, they would have the next big NHL superstar. Being a mediocre team in 2021-22 isn’t worth letting a chance to draft him slip away. Obviously, the lottery balls need to land your way but giving yourself a good chance might be the key.

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Chicago Blackhawks: 1 prospect is worth rebuilding for in 2021-22 by Vincent Parise

Going back to the last offseason, fans have been clamoring for the Chicago Bears to extend their star wide receiver, Allen Robinson and yet no deal is expected to be reached by the franchise tag deadline per Ian Rapoport.

The Chicago Bears need to get Allen Robinson’s contract situation figured out.

Many have pointed the finger at general manager Ryan Pace, questioning why he would not extend Robinson to let him grow alongside Justin Fields. However, upon reading the tea leaves and examining Pace’s recent history extending players, another story begins to unfold involving head coach Matt Nagy.

The Chicago Bears must extend Allen Robinson and given Pace’s track record handing out extensions in Chicago, the lack of movement in Robinson’s contract talks is alarming.

Looking at Ryan Pace’s track record, it’s abundantly clear that getting extensions done and signing the players he’s brought in has never been an issue. Here’s a look at some of the contracts Pace has handed out in the last three seasons:

• Gave Khalil Mack a record-setting contract
• Made Eddie Jackson the NFL’s highest-paid safety
• Extended Eddie Goldman (4 years, 42 million)
• Extended Tarik Cohen (3 years, 17 million)
• Signed Robert Quinn (5 years, 70 million)

This has all happened over the past three years and given this track record, it’s easy to understand why Bears fans have been confused about the lack of traction on Allen Robinson’s contract talks. For a player who came in saying he wanted to re-write the Bears record books for wide receivers, retire as a Chicago Bear, has been an absolute stud on the field, and has been a consummate professional off of it – what possible reason could justify the lack of an extension?

There are some who would point to the finances – that Robinson is demanding a contract that Pace can’t afford given the Bears’ current cap situation. However, they were ready to move money into next year to make room for Kenny Golladay (to who they reportedly offered a massive multi-year deal) so if they wanted to, Allen Robinson could have already had his extension.

Additionally, the Chicago Bears will have an estimated 50 million dollars in cap space next summer with only David Montgomery and Roquan Smith in line to receive extensions – further undermining the idea that money is why Robinson has yet to be extended. This leaves Chicago Bears’ Head Coach Matt Nagy as the most likely reason why Allen Robinson has not been extended.

Matt Nagy has quietly obtained more control over the Bears’ personnel decisions than those in the media and fans have realized. During the draft process, Pace noted how involved Nagy is in the scouting process as he filed scouting reports alongside the scouts for almost every player the Bears were interested in.

Even Louis Riddick commented, following the selection of Justin Fields, that the pick had Matt Nagy’s fingerprints all over it. So, is it possible that his power has even extended to having a larger say in who the Bears extend and let walk?

The Chicago Bears and Allen Robinson have been “engaged” in trade talks dating back to last season and earlier this offseason it was arguably the second most pressing issue the team faced behind, obviously, figuring out the quarterback position. However, there has been little to no news surrounding these talks with most updates reiterating that no progress has been made.

Even Nagy’s comments surrounding Robinson don’t provide much optimism for a deal. Take a look at what he had to say about the Allen Robinson situation back in early March:

A-Rob [Allen Robinson] knows how much we love him…A-Rob knows how much that me as a head coach and Ryan as a general manager, the importance that he brings to the city, to the organization, to his teammates, to all of us. And then…the things that he has done with us and the things we have done for him, being able to help him be productive, now you get to this point. And this is where Ryan and Joey will do their thing and A-rob and his agent work together and you try to figure out” – Matt Nagy via Kevin Fishbain of the Athletic

This sounds more like a thank you note to Allen Robinson for his efforts in Chicago than a ringing endorsement or an outspoken push for management to get this done at all costs.

For example, when asked about Lamar Jackson’s impending contract extension, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh did not even bat an eye as he called it a “done deal” per Mike Garafolo. That is how you use your influence as a coach to keep the best players on your team – something Nagy failed to do with Robinson on countless occasions.

Furthermore, it has become apparent to me that Matt Nagy is attempting to build an “Andy Reid” roster in Chicago. His two prior coaching stints with Reid were in Philadelphia and Kansas City. In Philadelphia, he worked with an offense built around the speedy DeSean Jackson as the primary wide receiver and a tight end in Brent Celek underneath whose career peaked from 2009 to 2011 when Nagy was on the coaching staff. In Kansas City, he worked with and coordinated an offense built around arguably the best tight end in the game in Travis Kelce and arguably the fastest wide receiver in NFL history in Tyreek Hill.

Nagy has shown that he can be extremely stubborn about his vision for the offense, seeking to play his style more than catering the scheme and play-calling to the strengths of his players. Is it possible that he has his eye on other free-agent wide receivers in 2022 that he would prefer over Allen Robinson who doesn’t offer the same top-line speed Nagy has enjoyed in his two other coaching stints?

All in all, this is what is known: Allen Robinson not being extended is a mystery despite Ryan Pace having a history of getting these types of deals done early and Matt Nagy has been more involved in personnel decisions historically made solely by the front office – a combination of facts that makes it hard to ignore Nagy’s likely involvement in this entire situation.

Related Story: Why Rodgers, Packers drama is irrelevant

The Chicago Bears have a star wide-receiver, something they have never really had. Additionally, it appears they have found their quarterback of the future. The fact that they wouldn’t do everything in their power to keep the star wide-out with their young quarterback is astonishing and it has become increasingly clear that the man behind the stalemate is none other than head coach Matt Nagy.

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The Quark In The Road

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A Memo to Richard Branson

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By Aquinas wired,
today at 10:39 am

Thank you, Richard Branson

For promoting and advancin’

Future trips to outer space.

Grateful though I am I’ll stay in place.

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  I’m Jerry Partacz, happily married to my wife Julie for over 40 years. I have four children and eleven grandchildren. I’m enjoying retirement after 38 years of teaching. I now have an opportunity to share my thoughts on many things. I’m an incurable optimist. I also love to solve crossword puzzles and to write light verse. I love to read, to garden, to play the piano, to collect stamps and coins, and to watch “Curb Your Enthusiasm”.

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NEW YORK — Candace Parker grew up playing video games, and now she’ll be the first female basketball player on the cover of one.

The Sky star will appear on the NBA 2K22 cover for the WNBA 25th Anniversary special edition when it’s released Sept. 10.

“I grew up a video game fanatic, that’s what I did, to the point where my brothers would give me the fake controller when I was younger where I think I was playing and I wasn’t,” Parker said. “All I wanted to do was just be like them. As a kid growing up, you dream of having your own shoe and dream of being in a video game. Those are an athlete as a kid’s dreams. To be able to experience that, I don’t take it lightly.”

Parker said when she was just starting in the WNBA in 2008, she might not have appreciated it as much as she does now.

“I think when you’re young and experience these type of things, you’re onto the next thing,” she said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really savored the moment.”

Parker joins an exclusive group of female athletes to adorn covers of sports games. Shawn Johnson was on a Gymnastics by Wii game in 2010, and Jelena Dokic was on a tennis game in the early 2000s.

“I think it’s a benchmark of women’s basketball for sure. I think most importantly it speaks to visibility and how important it is and how important the WNBA is,” Parker said. “Everyone is looking at it that it’s impacting little girls, but it’s also impacting little boys and young men and young women and men and women. I think our game is different than the NBA, now it’s embracing that fact. Now more than ever, fans want to follow the athlete. Through social media, through video games, it’s adding and benefitting the WNBA.”

The 35-year-old former MVP knows that there were a lot of players who could have been the first and was humbled by the fact that she was the one they chose.

“It means a lot to me. I’m a fan of basketball. I eat, sleep and breathe basketball. I’m a historian within basketball. I am a fan of basketball. I commentate basketball. I play video games,” she said. “It was really the perfect storm because there are a lot of other people well deserving of this and I know that.”

Parker joins Luka Doncic, who was named cover athlete for the game’s regular edition, and Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who were recognized as cover athletes for the NBA 75th Anniversary Edition.

While the WNBA will be on an Olympic break for the next month, Parker will be busy. The two-time Olympic gold medalist will be commentating the medal rounds at the Tokyo Games.

“I had an opportunity to go earlier, for me I wanted to be with my team as long as I can,” she said. “Wanted to do both, and this was a great opportunity to me. I remember Craig Sager interviewing me and it was unbelievable. The broadcast does amplify the game. To be a part of the experience of the Olympics, I’m really excited about.”

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Metra Union Pacific West trains were delayed Wednesday morning after a freight train caught fire in west suburban Lombard.

A Union Pacific locomotive caught fire shortly before 8 a.m., according to the Lombard Fire Department. The “locomotive failure” needed “minor extinguishing,” a fire department official said.

At least two Metra UP-W trains were canceled, Metra said in an alert. The commuter rail line said it would operate two extra trains from Villa Park and Elmhurst to Chicago.

Two tracks had been reopened by 8:40 a.m., Metra said.

A spokesperson for Union Pacific did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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