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How do you not get paranoid when half the country is bat s–t crazy and pushing for a return to the antebellum Southon May 20, 2021 at 1:00 pm

Cheating Death

How do you not get paranoid when half the country is bat s–t crazy and pushing for a return to the antebellum South

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How do you not get paranoid when half the country is bat s–t crazy and pushing for a return to the antebellum Southon May 20, 2021 at 1:00 pm Read More »

Soul singer Jackie Ross is so much more than a one-hit wonderSteve Krakowon May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am


Jackie Ross had a smash with “Selfish One” in 1964—but that just happens to be the best-selling single from her decades of great songs.

Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.…Read More

Soul singer Jackie Ross is so much more than a one-hit wonderSteve Krakowon May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

Tuareg guitar group Les Filles de Illighadad lock into their groove as a touring bandBill Meyeron May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am


Fatour Seidi Ghali is surely not the first person to become enamored of an older sibling’s guitar. When she was about ten, her older brother, Ahmoudou Madassane (who currently plays rhythm guitar for Mdou Moctar), brought a guitar from Libya back to their home in Illighadad, Niger.…Read More

Tuareg guitar group Les Filles de Illighadad lock into their groove as a touring bandBill Meyeron May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

13 shot, 3 fatally, in Chicago WednesdaySun-Times Wireon May 20, 2021 at 11:10 am

Thirteen people were shot, 3 fatally, May 19, 2021.
Thirteen people were shot, 3 fatally, May 19, 2021. | Archive Sun-Times

A 16-year-old boy and a bystander were fatally shot during an exchange of gunfire at a in the 1700 block of East 17th Street.

Three people were killed and 10 others wounded in shootings across Chicago Wednesday, including a 16-year-old boy and an innocent bystander who died in an exchange of gunfire at a South Shore store.

The teen fired shots into a store at two people about 8:55 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 71st Street, Chicago police said. The two returned fire, striking the teen in the abdomen and neck, as well as a 49-year-old man who was inside the store, police said.

The boy and the man were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police said

A man died in a drive-by shooting late Wednesday morning in Park Manor on the South Side, police said.

The 32-year-old was outside in the 7400 block of South King Drive when a gunman opened fire from a passing silver SUV, possibly a Dodge Journey, about 11:20 a.m., police said. The man was hit multiple times and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released.

Other shootings:

— A man was critically wounded in a shooting in Washington Park on the South Side. He was in front of a home about 3:50 p.m. in the 5400 block of South Indiana Avenue when someone opened fire from a vehicle, police said. The 26-year-old was struck multiple times, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

— A 28-year-old man was critically hurt in a shooting in Calumet Heights on the South Side. He was walking on the sidewalk about 10:35 p.m. in the 1900 block of East 95th Street when three male people got out of a gray car and began firing, police said. The man was struck in the lower back and was taken to Ignalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey by a bystander, police said. He was later transferred in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

— A man was seriously hurt in a shooting early Wednesday in Woodlawn on the South Side. He was standing on the sidewalk about 1:35 a.m. in the 6600 block of South Evans Avenue when someone fired, police said. The 28-year-old was shot in the abdomen and chest and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition was serious, police said.

At least seven others were wounded in shootings citywide Wednesday.

Fourteen peope were shot, two fatally, Tuesday in Chicago.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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13 shot, 3 fatally, in Chicago WednesdaySun-Times Wireon May 20, 2021 at 11:10 am Read More »

Dear Abby: After surgery, doctor becomes the patient, and he’s not a good oneAbigail Van Burenon May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am


Though his wife is a nurse experienced in this kind of procedure, the recuperating physician refuses to follow her directions.

DEAR ABBY: My physician husband recently had a total hip replacement. (Orthopedics is not his specialty.) I’m a board-certified registered nurse with 40 years of experience who used to work inpatient orthopedics.

He refuses to follow the surgeon’s directions or mine, which are the same. He believes he knows more than all of us combined. However, when the home health nurse and physical therapist came, he accepted everything they told him. When I told him he doesn’t respect my professional opinion, he didn’t respond. Then I told him he’d insulted my integrity, and he blew up and accused me of being crazy.

History will soon repeat itself because he has to have his other hip done in a few months. I am to the point of letting the chips fall where they may and letting his outcomes (good or bad) be his sole responsibility. However, this is difficult to do as a wife and nurse. Plus, I will have to live with the fallout of any suboptimal outcomes. Your advice? — HIP SERVICE IN FLORIDA

DEAR HIP SERVICE: Whether caused by a painful recovery or the drugs he has been prescribed, your husband’s behavior is self-defeating. Because he ignores your and his surgeon’s advice, you have no choice but to let the chips fall where they may. You can suggest and warn until you’re hoarse, and your husband will continue to tune you out. The person who will have to live with the consequences is your noncompliant husband.

Allow me to offer a suggestion: Hire a nurse to tend to him after the second hip replacement and stay safely out of the line of fire. The peace of mind will be worth the money.

DEAR ABBY: I have a niece who is bipolar. She was put into rehab at the age of 20 and has been clean and sober for the last three years. We have always been close, but on a family visit, she asked my opinion about a job choice, and I was honest with her. Because it wasn’t what she wanted to hear, she is extremely distant now. I am no longer “Auntie.” She calls me by my first name only. Weekly calls have ceased.

I have championed my niece, supported her emotionally when she had problems and helped her out financially. Her mother says if you don’t agree with her (even though she solicits your opinion), you are then “against” her. What’s the best way to reach out to her? Due to extreme drug abuse for many years, she seems emotionally stuck at age 14. — AUNTIE NO MORE IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR AUNTIE: With the clear understanding that I am not a psychotherapist, may I point out that some individuals who suffer from mental illness find it necessary to place people into two categories: friends and enemies. Disagreeing with your niece has landed you in the latter. Her mother has explained this to you, so try not to take it personally.

I don’t think this troubled young woman will be receptive to a reconciliation until she has found another target. In the meantime, remain open, stay cordial and fill your life with activities that bring you joy rather than pain. I’m sure her mother will update you on your niece’s progress.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order “How to Have a Lovely Wedding.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds), to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

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Dear Abby: After surgery, doctor becomes the patient, and he’s not a good oneAbigail Van Burenon May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

15 Chicago Alfresco projects get the green light for outdoor dining, cultural arts community spacesMiriam Di Nunzioon May 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm

Anthony Jackson and Robin Jackson relax on a street patio on North Broadway in Lakeview in 2020 as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s “Make Way For Dining” program.
Anthony Jackson and Robin Jackson relax on a street patio on North Broadway in Lakeview in 2020 as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s “Make Way For Dining” program. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised the first round of participants for their “creative ideas for transforming the public way into active community spaces.”

Fifteen community organizations have been approved in the first wave of programming for Chicago Alfresco, the city’s expanded outdoor dining space/cultural arts initiative.

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Choose Chicago made the joint announcement Tuesday in a statement that described the approved applications as “an outpouring of creative ideas for transforming the public way into active community spaces for eating, street vending, storytelling, movie nights, and music and arts programming with the use of street furniture, pavement treatments, plantings, lighting, and other placemaking tools.”

“I am thrilled that so many community organizations across our city have stepped up to participate in Chicago Alfresco and improve their neighborhoods by creating and enhancing spaces for residents to enjoy themselves in,” the mayor said via statement. “With more and more proposals, Chicago Alfresco will only build on the success we have had with similar initiatives, beautify our city, and further ensure that our economic recovery from this pandemic is inclusive of all of our communities.”

The Alfresco initiative — announced in March as an expansion of the city’s Expanded Outdoor Dining Permit that created corridors of “Make Way” outdoor dining spaces to help bolster the city’s devastated restaurant industry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year — comes amid the continued easing of pandemic restrictions in Chicago and across the state.

According to the official announcement, Choose Chicago is providing $2.3 million in grants sponsored by alcoholic beverages giant Diageo North America to approved applicants of projects intended to help create even more outdoor public space for arts, culture and other neighborhood activities such as walking, live performances, movie nights, biking and more. Chicago Alfresco applications are still being accepted by CDOT at chicago.gov/alfresco.

Here are the 15 community organizations selected for the first round of Chicago Alfresco projects, as outlined in the official announcement:

  • Austin Chamber of Commerce (West Madison Street and West Chicago Avenue): Pockets of arts and cultural spaces along the curb anchored by restaurants. These will include the installation of large planters filled with annuals and perennials as well as metal partitions with small planters creating a perimeter section for art performances, art exhibits, art projects and other meetings/events.
  • Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (West 47th Street and Honore Street): The Back of the Yards Caminata will provide spaces for dining, lounging, performing, and flexible programming opportunities.
  • Greater Chatham Initiative (East 75th St.reet, East 79th Street, and East 71st Street): Eight mobile wood modular rectangular parklet units with street barriers, planters, lighting, tables and chairs, will promote dining and community activity.
  • Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce (North Broadway Street): Dine Out program extending the outdoor space near restaurants for full service and pick up orders. The installations will include planters, lighting, signage, and decorative fencing, and will incorporate arts and music programming.
  • Little Village Community Foundation (Perez Plaza): The Mercadito will provide a space for local craftspeople to converge on a weekly basis while promoting additional activity on the plaza. The goal is to promote a seasonal market made from semi‐permanent structures that reflect the cultural vibrancy of the various regions on Mexico.
  • Logan Square Chamber of Commerce (Woodard Plaza): Elements including LED fixtures and picnic tables will promote the use of Woodard Plaza for outdoor dining, performances, craft markets, and social gatherings.
  • Morgan Park Beverly Hills (103rd Street and Wood Street): Installation of a CDOT standard design People Spot in coordination with local businesses.
  • Northwest Side CDC (West Fullerton Avenue and West Grand Avenue): Creation of a plaza space to support street vendors (elotero, paleta, tamale carts and other popular Latin American street foods) in organized “stalls” to support culturally‐relevant dining, public life, community, arts, and culture.
  • Puerto Rican Cultural Center (West Division Street): Curbside and street activation along the Paseo Boricua commercial corridor, incorporating outdoor dining spaces and placemaking to promote foot traffic, foster community engagement and stimulate economic development along the corridor. The project will include artistic interventions and murals, visually appearing wood kiosks, gathering areas, seating arrangements, furniture, and programming, in at least 5 different hubs, each one with its own theme and purpose.
  • Rogers Park Business Alliance (West Jarvis Avenue & North Glenwood Avenue): Expanding on an existing EOD closure along Jarvis Avenue by providing landscape, furnishings and design elements to promote community activities, including daily alfresco dining, as well as special events like live performances, moonlight ice cream socials, festivals, movie nights, and a monthly artisan market from May to September. Closing vehicular traffic along a stretch of Glenwood Avenue and incorporating decorative lighting, seating, signage, performance space, bike parking, and ADA accessible platforms to make the space adaptable for daily alfresco dining use as well outdoor performances and special events.
  • South Shore Chamber of Commerce (East 71st Street): “Walk ‐Shop‐ Dine” curbside activation including planters, patio sets with umbrellas and signage. Bi‐weekly entertainment will include live musical performances, outdoor fitness events, paint parties and outdoor movies.
  • South Chicago Parents & Friends (South Commercial Avenue): ”Who Tells Your Story” is a block long activation and installation comprised of a base module of structures that will incorporate art, seating, planting and programming zones.
  • Uptown United (West Argyle Street): Expanded dining and placemaking using north and south curbside parking along Argyle between North Broadway and Sheridan Road.
  • West Ridge Chamber of Commerce (West Devon Avenue): Devon Potluck Plazas” will serve as pop‐up public plazas on side streets with movable street furniture and temporary surface treatments to encourage carry‐out dining and programming.
  • Woodlawn Chamber of Commerce (East 62nd Street and South Ingleside Avenue): Activation of an underutilized plaza by creating an attractive and accessible space where people will want to gather by bringing local business owners, from caterers to yoga teachers.

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15 Chicago Alfresco projects get the green light for outdoor dining, cultural arts community spacesMiriam Di Nunzioon May 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm Read More »

Man dies after caught in crossfire at South Shore store where one of the shooters, a 16-year-old boy, was also killedSun-Times Wireon May 20, 2021 at 11:15 am

A man and a teenage boy were fatally shot May 19, 2021, in South Shore.
A man and a teenage boy were fatally shot May 19, 2021, in South Shore. | Sun-Times file photo

The teen fired shots into the store at two men who returned fire about 8:55 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 71st Street, Chicago police said.

A man died after he was caught in crossfire at a South Shore store where one of the shooters, a 16-year-old boy, was also killed Wednesday night, according to Chicago police.

The teen fired shots into the store, apparently targeting two people, about 8:55 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 71st Street, Chicago police said.

The two returned fire, striking the teen in the abdomen and neck, as well as a 49-year-old man who was inside the store, police said.

The boy and the man were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police said.

No arrests have been reported.

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Man dies after caught in crossfire at South Shore store where one of the shooters, a 16-year-old boy, was also killedSun-Times Wireon May 20, 2021 at 11:15 am Read More »

Chicago Bears: 5 logical defensive free agents still availableRyan Heckmanon May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am

The hype continues to grow about this current Chicago Bears roster, specifically due to the masterful job general manager Ryan Pace did in the 2021 NFL Draft. But, the job is not yet done. This roster still has the opportunity for growth. Chicago has a lot of reasons to be excited this year, especially when […]

Chicago Bears: 5 logical defensive free agents still available – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Chicago Bears: 5 logical defensive free agents still availableRyan Heckmanon May 20, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

Retiring Riverside police chief who survived a shotgun blast in 1987 reflects on how policing has changedFrank Mainon May 20, 2021 at 10:30 am

Retiring Riverside police Chief Tom Weitzel.
Tom Weitzel’s public profile has been outsized for a chief of a smalltown police department, as he’s spoken out on a number of regional and statewide issues. | Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times

Tom Weitzel says he no longer believes the police could ‘arrest our way out of crime.’ Early education and mental health treatment are key to reducing crime, he says.

Three years into his job as a Riverside cop, Tom Weitzel survived a shotgun blast to the chest.

He was checking on an illegally parked car in the summer of 1987 when a masked man stepped out and blasted him, striking him in his bulletproof vest, which saved his life.

Weitzel remembers sitting in a hospital bed the next day with broken ribs and shotgun pellets in his eyes.

“My wife wanted me to quit,” he says. “But this was my profession. I had to do something to support us.”

Weitzel, 60, retired from the west suburban police department on Thursday after being chief since 2008 — a post in which his public profile has been outsized for a chief of a small-town department..

His near-death experience “shaped me for how serious the job can be even in suburban police departments. It shook this community, I’ll tell you that.”

Tom Weitzel, a Riverside police officer who went on to be police chief, is seen here in 1988 when he was honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He’d been shot the previous year while on patrol.
Brian Jackson / Sun-Times file
Tom Weitzel, a Riverside police officer who went on to be police chief, is seen here in 1988 when he was honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He’d been shot the previous year while on patrol.

Weitzel says policing has changed in Riverside, an upscale town of about 8,700 along the Des Plaines River that’s known for its Victorian homes and gas-lit street lamps.

“When I started, I could come to work on the midnight shift and go a week and have one or two calls for service,” he says. “Those days are gone.”

Weitzel says he’s changed, too. He used to think “we could arrest our way out of crime.” Now, he thinks cops have to work more closely with mental health providers and educators.

“As I’ve gotten older, more educated, wiser and seeing where society is going, I have realized we have to reach the kids at an early age,” he says. “I didn’t believe in that in my early career.”

A turning point for him came when he was dealing with an underage kid locked up at the Riverside police station. The mother came to pick up her son, Weitzel says, but neither she nor her son could read the forms they needed to sign for his release.

“I went back there, and she was so embarrassed, she was crying,” he says. “I read it all to them because she had to sign to pick up her juvenile son. And I’m, like, ‘Wow, we’re missing something as a society.’ ”

Weitzel says he supports Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a nationwide organization of law enforcement leaders who push for better early education.

He also has used his leadership roles in the state and west suburban police chiefs associations to push back on legislation he thought was harmful to society. Weitzel opposed laws that allowed recreational use of marijuana and concealed carrying of firearms, which he sees as a danger to police officers.

He has criticized judges for not cracking down on people who drive under the influence of drugs.

And, in 2014, he ripped then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s unsuccessful effort to get the Illinois Legislature to reduce the penalties for having small amounts of narcotics.

“I thought that I needed to at least speak up and put out our position as to what was happening as an agency,” he says.

Weitzel says his successor — public safety director Matthew Buckley — faces challenges he didn’t have starting out as chief. The starting salary for new Riverside cops is more than $65,000, but recruiting is down, and fewer former military veterans are applying.

“The last time we gave our police test, we had 180 applicants,” he says. “This time, we had 60. The good thing is we have more diverse applicants: African American, Hispanic, female.”

He says one of his few regrets in his career is that the man who shot him was never brought to justice.

After being shot, Weitzel knocked his head on the bumper of his squad car. His handheld radio was shattered, so he crawled back into his car to call for help.

Investigators believed the gunman was a former state prison inmate planning to invade the home of a state corrections official who lived nearby, Weitzel says.

Years later, federal authorities identified the suspect during a gun-trafficking investigation. But a seven-year statute of limitations on shootings had expired, Weitzel says, and prosecutors were unable to charge the man with trying to kill him.

Riverside police Chief Tom Weitzel in 2012, when he was running a west suburban gang task force and said the Chicago Police Department’s success in driving gangs from the city was hurting the suburbs.
Al Podgorski / Sun-Times file
Riverside police Chief Tom Weitzel in 2012, when he was running a west suburban gang task force and said the Chicago Police Department’s success in driving gangs from the city was hurting the suburbs.

He says he got the late state Sen. Judy Baar Topinka to amend the law so shootings of officers in the line of duty no longer have a statute of limitations.

And Riverside started providing officers with new bulletproof vests every five years. Weitzel says he’d previously had to buy his own vest, which was held as evidence in the shooting until the statute of limitations had passed on it, and he got the vest back. He still has it.

Weitzel says he’s the only Riverside officer shot in the line of duty since 1987.

“I hope it stays that way,” he says.

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Retiring Riverside police chief who survived a shotgun blast in 1987 reflects on how policing has changedFrank Mainon May 20, 2021 at 10:30 am Read More »