A woman was shot dead June 20, 2021, in Bucktown. | Adobe Stock Photo
She was riding in a vehicle about 1 a.m. in the 2100 block of North Oakley Avenue when a vehicle drove up alongside and opened fire, Chicago police said.
A woman was fatally shot Sunday in Bucktown on the Northwest Side.
She was riding in a vehicle about 1 a.m. in the 2100 block of North Oakley Avenue when another vehicle drove up alongside and someone inside opened fire, striking the woman, Chicago police said.
The 32-year-old was dropped off at Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
No arrests have been made. Area Five detectives are investigating.
A man was killed in a shooting June 20, 2021 in Humboldt Park.
He was driving a Jeep about 1:40 a.m. in the 3100 block of West Augusta Boulevard when a car pulled up next to him and someone from inside fired shots.
A 21-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting early Monday in Humboldt Park.
He was driving a Jeep about 1:40 a.m. in the 3100 block of West Augusta Boulevard when a car pulled up next to him and someone from inside fired shots, Chicago police said.
The man was shot in the head, police said. A passenger in the Jeep drove him to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
He hasn’t been identified.
No one is in custody as Area Three detectives investigate.
Supporters of a fully elected Chicago school board demonstrate outside City Hall on March 3, 2021. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
What measures were taken to ensure that property taxes won’t be hiked again by this new board?
Though many people are celebrating the passage of a bill in Springfield to create a fully elected school board for Chicago, I’m struggling with the many unanswered questions. Key among them is the question of who will the board actually represent? Will it represent the Chicago Teacher’s Union, whose members will be allowed to run for seats? Will it represent only those Chicagoans who can afford to high cost of a campaign to run for the board?
That certainly wouldn’t be a board that represents the families of the children who attend the Chicago Public Schools.
I’m also left wondering what measures will be taken to ensure that property taxes won’t be hiked again, which is one of the easiest ways for school boards to raised money. Without the guaranteed support of City of Chicago funding, there could be a $500 million hole in the school system’s budget. Surely, that burden will be passed on to taxpayers.
While the idea of an elected school board has some appeal, a bill more thoughtful than the one just passed would have had much more appeal.
Erica Salem, former CPS parent, Lakeview
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What about rigged legislatures?
In Jacob Sullum’s recent screed of a column discussing the “dangers” of giving governors too much power during the pandemic, I missed any reference to our neighbors to the north, Wisconsin. Sullum wasn’t interested in mentioning that the opposite of this problem — a governor with strong powers — is a legislature that abuses its power. And in a politically rigged state like Wisconsin, there is simply no hope of voting the abusers out of power.
At least when you give governors power, they face a referendum each Election Day on how they used or abused that power. Just ask Bruce Rauner of Illinois.
Don Anderson, Oak Park
Decide DuSable Drive by referendum
It is understandable and commendable that a number of Chicago aldermen wish to rename Lake Shore Drive in honor of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. Other than a high school, a museum and a few other places, DuSable is barely recognized for being the first non-indigenous resident of Chicago. Certainly, DuSable deserves better.
On the other hand, is it appropriate for the City Council to rename Lake Shore Drive, a name that is internationally recognized and loved by thousands of Chicagoans? Instead of the City Council making this call, Chicagoans themselves should decide, by referendum, whether the name should be changed.
Thomas Mackin, Rogers Park
I fell for Chicago along Lake Shore Drive
I came to the United States from Peru in the 1960s to study architecture at the University of Nebraska. One of the first things I was told to do was go to Chicago and ride along Lake Shore Drive and admire the architecture from all the world-famous architects. I did just that. And after taking that first ride, I took an architectural tour by boat in Lake Michigan — again along the route of Lake Shore Drive.
I then promised myself that after graduation I would come to Chicago to live. I would make Chicago my home.
I have now lived in the Chicago area for more than 50 years. Please do not rename Lake Shore Drive.
Robert Mendez, Glen Ellyn
Slavery persisted after Juneteenth
I enjoyed the story about Juneteenth in Friday’s paper. Very informative and inspirational. As a lifelong American, I am delighted that the end of slavery is being celebrated in an official way.
I was also delighted to see the word “portmanteau” used. Nice writing.
I thought the last two paragraphs, though, perpetuated a common misconception. Slavery remained alive and legal in certain parts of the United States until December of 1865, when the 13th Amendment took effect. The Texas slaves were among the last freed, but they were not the last, missing that mark by nearly 6 months.
Mark Anderson, Park Ridge
Throw the ball, Rodgers
Professional football is a game, but more importantly it’s a business. And it is the responsibility of a team’s management to keep that business viable by making decisions for the overall good of the organization. With that in mind, the Green Bay Packers made a decision to draft a franchise quarterback in Jordan Love out of Utah State, much to the chagrin of 37-year-old Aaron Rodgers. He’s miffed because he wasn’t involved in the hiring process.
Rodgers has to remember that he is a player, a highly paid quarterback. Management should manage, and Rodgers should throw the ball.
A man was shot June 20, 2021 in Chatham. | Sun-Times file photo
The man was getting inside his vehicle about 4 a.m. in the 7600 block of South Vernon Avenue when a woman he knows approached him and fired a shot.
A man was critically wounded in a shooting early Sunday in Chatham on the South Side.
The man was getting inside his vehicle about 4 a.m. in the 7600 block of South Vernon Avenue when a woman he knows approached him and fired a shot, Chicago police said.
She shot him in the abdomen and left the scene, police said.
The man, 35, got inside his vehicle and drove to the 7500 block of South Eberhart Avenue, where he crashed into a parked car, police said.
Paramendics arrived and transported him to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
No one is in custody as Area Two detectives investigate.
The mothers say they bought the “puddle jumper” children’s swim aids to keep their children safe in the water.
Colorful and buoyant, they’re produced by an array of manufacturers under various names, including the Original Puddle Jumper and Splash Jammer.
Now, Nicole Hughes says, she wishes she had never seen one.
“We genuinely thought that was the best thing to do,” says Hughes, a writing teacher who says she always put her 3-year-old son Levi in the one-piece, wraparound floatie for his chest and upper arms whenever he was in a swimming pool.
On a family vacation in 2018, Levi drowned.
His mother says the floatie vests teach young children to be upright and vertical in the water — the wrong body position for learning how to back float or swim. And by making it effortless to bob around, chin above water and arms unmoving, the devices leave little kids feeling like they can independently swim, even though they can’t, she says.
Levi had his off when he drowned.
Levi Hughes loved his wraparound flotation device, but Nicole Hughes believes it gave her 3-year-old son a false sense of confidence. He drowned in 2018 on a family vacation.Provided
The day he died in June 2018, Hughes, who lives in Tennessee, was with her husband, children and friends at a rented beach house on vacation. Five families were there, including 12 adults — half of them doctors — and 17 kids. The group had played in the pool earlier and was waiting to go crab hunting when Levi, now out of his floatie vest, came over to his mom. She split a brownie, gave him half and kissed his head.
Hughes has relived the next moments endlessly. She closed a bag of chips, threw something away, put the other half of the brownie in her mouth — “it was less than a minute, it was so fast” — and realized Levi was gone.
She looked out at the pool and saw him — his bright yellow T-shirt visible from the deep end.
She and another adult leapt in and pulled Levi out. The group, which included five cardiothoracic anesthesiology physicians, got his pulse back before an ambulance came, but Levi died.
Hughes and other parents of young kids who’ve drowned are warning against using the popular flotation devices their kids always wore — until they accidentally entered the water without one.
Some of the floaties are labeled “U.S. Coast Guard-approved.” Hughes says that leads parents to think the government has evaluated them as a “learn-to-swim” aid, as some are marketed. In fact, the Coast Guard rates flotation devices only for their functionality on vessels in open water.
Nicole Hughes holding her son Levi on a beach outing.Provided
A spokeswoman for Newell Brands’ Original Puddle Jumper says the devices “are carefully and thoughtfully engineered and tested to U.S. Coast Guard requirements to offer the maximum comfort, flexibility, range of motion and in-water safety and stability for children” and, “when properly used, helping to protect children learning to swim.”
She says they shouldn’t be relied on, though, in place of adult supervision, swim survival lessons and safety education.
A spokeswoman for Speedo USA, the manufacturer of the Splash Jammer brand devices, says: “We have the deepest sympathy with anyone who has dealt with the tragedy of a youth drowning. All our flotation devices are thoroughly tested by independent industry experts and are U.S. Coast Guard-approved. Learning to swim starts with feeling confident in and around water, and flotation devices can support this important first step.”
The American Red Cross recommends that young children experience time in the water with hands-on adult supervision — and no floaties.
It also advises that Coast Guard-approved life jackets, not puddle jumpers, “be worn … when it is play time — especially if the child is relying on a flotation device for safety.”
Dr. Ben Hoffman, who chairs the Itasca-based American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention, says “it’s hard to find fault” with the products’ buoyancy but that calling them learn-to-swim aids is a stretch.
Hoffman says there’s no solid research on whether they promote or impede swimming skills: “We just don’t know.”
But Lisa Zarda, executive director of the United States Swim School Association, advises parents to avoid them.
“Kids get so used to the puddle jumpers that they think they can jump in the pool, and they’ll be just fine,” Zarda says.
Groups involved with drowning prevention say multiple safety steps are necessary to protect kids from drowning, which is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children 1 to 4 years old, responsible between 2008 and 2018 for the deaths of 4,645 children in that age range nationally.
That multi-layered approach to child water safety includes having four-sided fencing around pools, with latches and alarms, and always having a watchful adult there when kids are swimming.
Experts say child drownings are usually silent deaths and can happen in as little as 20 seconds.
Christi Brown, a Texas mother whose 3-year-old son drowned in 2016, says her group, the Judah Brown Project, has heard from numerous families who believe their children’s faithful use of flotation vests predisposed them to drowning.
Judah Brown leaps into the water wearing a flotation vest. His mother Christi Brown says the device gave him a false sense of confidence and taught poor body positioning, which she believes put him at greater risk. He was 3 when he drowned, having gone in the water not wearing it.Provided
Christi Brown became an advocate for drowning prevention after the death of her son Judah in 2016.Provided
“The vertical position in the water is the drowning position,” Brown says.
Very young children, with their relatively large heads, can’t keep their chins above the water line even as their legs furiously cycle below, she says.
Jenny Bennett leans in to catch her toddler son Jackson, who loved to wear his floatie vest.Provided
“They’re expending all that energy, and they’re not able to get up and get air,” Brown says.
Jenny Bennett is a registered nurse in Texas whose 18-month-old son Jackson loved to bob in his flotation vest with his family. He drowned in 2016 after quietly squeezing through a doggie door that was accidentally left unlocked. He wasn’t the vest.
Bennett would like to replace the prevailing “water baby” culture that praises floatie-wrapped toddlers.
“Our entire culture surrounding young children and water is all wrong,” says Bennett, who, as co-founder of the organization Parents Preventing Childhood Drowning, says she knows “at least 50” families who used the devices before experiencing a drowning.
Jenny Bennett with Jackson in the hospital after his drowning accident. He did not survive.Provided
Bennett, Brown and Hughes are advocates of what’s called Infant Swimming Resource — ISR — training, a series of 10-minute daily lessons for children as young as 6 months that teaches the “muscle memory” skill of floating on their backs.
Dominic Altobelli, 14 months old, gets an individualized back float lesson at CAST Water Safety Foundation’s pool in Forest Park.Brian Ernst / Sun-Times
The idea is that, if a young child accidentally falls in, he’d float long enough for someone to notice and come to the rescue.
“They’re so much safer in the [back] float,” says Liz Huber, founder of the nonprofit CAST Water Safety Foundation in Forest Park, which last fall opened an ISR swim school.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says there’s no evidence that such infant swimming programs are beneficial.
But Kelly Wulf, who moved from Lake in the Hills to downstate O’Fallon, feels differently after enrolling her young twin daughters in a different ISR course.
“Within five weeks, it was amazing what they could do,” Wulf says. “They’re not drown-proof. This is just an added layer of protection.”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 15: Taylor Hall #71 of the Boston Bruins skates against the New York Islanders during the third period at TD Garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeat the Islanders 4-1. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Chicago Blackhawks believe that they are going to be in contention next season. At least that is the direction that Stan Bowman wants us to believe that they are headed in. Regardless of what you think about that, there is no doubt that they are going to try and improve yet again in 2021-22. If they are to do that, they might look towards another Original Six franchise for some help.
The ChicagoBlackhawks are going to be looking to add some players this offseason.
The Boston Bruins put out a good product year after year. No matter what, that team believes that they can win the Stanley Cup every single year and nobody blames them for it. With players like David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Charlie McAvoy amongst others, it is hard to look at that roster and think they don’t have a chance.
There are going to be a few new names with that team next year. That is always to be expected when you have as many unrestricted free agents as the Bruins have. Of course, a few of them are going to resign but chances are that a few of them will make their way to a new team.
In fact, the Chicago Blackhawks would look really smart if they brought in anyone that came from the Boston Bruins organization. There are a lot of good names on the list that other teams are going to try and steal. If the Chicago Blackhawks were to try and take one of these Boston Bruins players, these are three that they might consider:
I celebrated twenty-nine of them as a son before my father died, at age fifty-seven, in 1982. It was a case of quality over quantity, although in this case, a little more quantity would have been sweet.
Today is my thirtieth Father’s Day as a dad. Like are ages, it’s another milestone in which I’ve both happily and sadly surpassed my own dad. I’m crossing my fingers that we get at least another ten years of these. That would make it an even forty years. Four decades has a nice ring to it. We can reevaluate the number in 2031.
There is one thing about this day in which I have little experience. How is a grandfather celebrated? This is my first Father’s Day as grandpa. I’m at a loss on how this works.
I mentioned earlier that my father died thirty-nine years ago. At the time of his death, only the first of what are now his eight grandchildren had been born…and he was only two years old. I can picture their interactions, but barely. This doesn’t give me much to go on.
My own grandfathers are even more deeply recessed in my memory. My paternal grandfather died in 1948, four years before I was born. All I know of him is what I’ve been told by others. I’ve heard he was a very nice man and a true stand-up guy. Yeah, those are great things, I’d love to live up to those standards, but it doesn’t help me with being a grandfather…at least not today.
My maternal grandfather was a different story. He was around until I was about six years old. I remember coming home one afternoon from second grade and finding out he had died the night before. It was the first time I had any dealings with death. It was scary for a young child.
I have one real memory about my grandfather. He bought me a purple bicycle. I’m not sure if I knew how to ride a bike when I first received it, but I loved that bike. That’s not going to help much today either. You can’t buy a bike for a nine month old boy, can you?
The other things I know about my grandfather come from stories I’ve been told. He wasn’t quite the stand-up guy as my other granddad. This guy like to gamble at the race track…a lot. He also liked women…a lot…especially if they were not my grandmother. On the night of his death, he was getting ready to meet a woman when he collapsed with a heart attack. They found him on the floor with a two things in his pocket….a quarter and a condom. Sigh!
Maybe my goal as a grandparent should be somewhere in between my two grandparents? It would probably be good to lean more to my father’s side, don’t you think?
I may be lacking in grandfather experience, but I’m pretty sure I know how this day will go. I’m going over to my daughter’s home for a visit. Her young son will also be there, because where else could a nine month baby go. He’s kind of a tough nut to crack and get close to, but I have a plan. See, he loves this song by Kool and the Gang. Whenever you sing “Celebrate”, he starts to smile, laugh and even do a little dance. So on this Father’s Day, it seems appropriate to “celebrate and have a good time.” That’s what Father’s Day/Grandfather’s Day is all about. I didn’t need anyone from my past to tell me that.
My so called friends think it’s time to edit this section. After four years, they may be right, but don’t tell them that. I’ll deny it until they die!
I can’t believe I’ve been writing this blog for four years.
It started as a health/wellness thing and over the years has morphed to include so many things that I don’t know how to describe it anymore.
I really thought this was going to be the final year of the blog but then Donald Trump came along. It looks like we’re good for four more years..God help us all!
Oh yeah…the biographical stuff. I’m not 60 anymore. The rest you can read about in the blog.
A man and woman were shot June 20, 2021 in Humboldt Park. | Adobe File Photo
A man and woman were shot early Sunday near the 1200 block of North Kedzie Avenue.
Two people were hurt, one critically, in a shooting early Sunday in Humboldt Park.
About 1 a.m., a 28-year-old woman was in a minor crash near the 1200 block of North Kedzie Avenue when she was shot in the head, Chicagoo police said.
She was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said,
Shortly after, a man, 33, was standing on the sidewalk when he was struck in the back, police said. He was taken to Mt. Sinao Hospital, where he was in fair condition.
Officers believe the man was caught in the crossfire and wasn’t the intended target, according to police.
No one is in custody as Area Five detectives investigate.
A man was killed and a woman was critically wounded in a shooting June 19, 2021, in Humboldt Park. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
About 9:15 p.m., the man and woman, 24 and 25, were in the 3200 block of West Division Street, when they were attacked by up to three males who fired shots at them.
A man was killed, and a woman was critically wounded in a shooting Saturday night in Humboldt Park on the Northwest Side.
About 9:15 p.m., the man and woman, 24 and 25, were in the 3200 block of West Division Street, when they were ambushed by up to three males who fired shots at them, Chicago police said.
The man was rushed to Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. He has not been identified.
The woman was struck in the neck and rushed to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said.
At least five evidence markers could be seen in the street next to a black SUV. Neighbors peered down a usually busy Division Street to get a look at the investigation, some even stopping to ask what happened.
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