Over the past few days, the ChicagoBears have taken some drastic steps to improve their roster going into the 2021 season. It all started Thursday night when general manager Ryan Pace made the bold move to trade up and snag Justin Fields with the no. 11 overall pick in this year’s draft. He followed […]
DePaul Prep’s TY Johnson (2) delivers the ball to the basket over Fenwick. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
Johnson was grazed in the head Monday night in Englewood on the South Side.
DePaul Prep basketball star TY Johnson was grazed in the head Monday night in Englewood on the South Side.
Just before midnight, the 17-year-old Johnson and an 18-year-old woman were outside in the 7000 block of South Throop Street when someone in a passing car fired at them, Chicago police said.
Johnson was grazed in the back of his head and brought to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition, police said. The woman was struck in the ear and brought to Stroger Hospital, where she was stabilized.
DePaul Prep Athletic Director Pat Mahoney confirmed that the 17-year-old is Johnson. According to a source, Johnson is now at home and resting and is okay. The source says 19 rounds were fired.
Johnson has signed with Loyola. He’s a two-time Sun-Times All-Area player and was this past season’s breakout star. He led the Rams to the Chipotle Clash of Champions tournament title and the No. 1 ranking in the area while averaging 20.2 points.
An aerial view of subway cars dangle at an angle from a collapsed elevated section of the metro, in Mexico City on Tuesday. The elevated section collapsed late Monday killing at least 23 people and injuring at least 79, city officials said. | Fernando Llano/Associated Press
An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent the train plunging toward a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 23 people and injuring at least 79, city officials said.
MEXICO CITY — An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent the train plunging toward a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 23 people and injuring at least 79, city officials said.
Rescuers found four bodies inside a rail car that was dangling from the overpass but were unable to remove them. It was not clear if those dead were included among the toll of 23. A crane carefully lowered the car to the ground Tuesday.
Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said one of the concrete beams collapsed as a train passed over it about 10:30 p.m. in one of the deadliest episodes in the history of the city’s subway system, which is among the world’s busiest.
Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard called the collapse “the most terrible accident we have ever had in mass transportation.” Ebrard was Mexico City’s mayor from 2006 to 2012, when the affected line was built.
“The cause of the collapse of the beam must be established through an expert investigation,” Sheinbaum said.
Earlier, she said someone had been pulled alive from a car on the road. She said 77 of the injured were hospitalized, adding that children were among the dead.
The overpass was about 16 feet above the road in the borough of Tlahuac, but the train ran above a concrete median strip, which apparently lessened the casualties among motorists.
The Mexico City Metro — which is among the world’s cheapest with tickets costing about 25 cents —has had at least three serious accidents since its inauguration half a century ago. In March 2020, a collision between two trains at the Tacubaya station left one passenger dead and injured 41. In 2015, a train that did not stop on time crashed into another at the Oceania station, injuring 12. In October 1975, at least 26 people were killed in a metro accident.
Hundreds of police officers and firefighters cordoned off the scene as desperate friends and relatives of people believed to be on the train gathered. Despite the fact that the coronavirus situation remains serious in Mexico City, they crowded together waiting for news.
Adrián Loa Martínez, 46, said his mother called him to tell him that his half-brother and sister-in-law were driving when the overpass collapsed and that a beam fell onto their car.
He said that his sister-in-law was sent to a hospital, but that his half brother José Juan Galindo was crushed and he feared he was dead. “He is down there now,” he told journalists, pointing to the site.
Gisela Rioja Castro, 43, was looking for her 42-year-old husband, Miguel Ángel Espinoza. She said he always takes that train after work, but he never got home and had stopped answering his phone. When she heard what happened, she immediately feared the worst but has gotten no information from the authorities.
“Nobody knows anything,” she said.
The collapse occurred on Line 12, the subway’s newest. It stretches far into the city’s south side. Like many of the dozen subway lines, it runs underground through more central areas of the city of 9 million but is on elevated concrete structures on the outskirts.
Allegations of poor design and construction on the subway line emerged soon after the Ebrard left office as mayor. The line had to be partly closed in 2013 so tracks could be repaired.
Ebrard, who leads Mexico’s efforts to obtain coronavirus vaccines, has been considered a potential presidential candidate in 2024.
He wrote on Twitter: “What happened today on the Metro is a terrible tragedy.”
“Of course, the causes should be investigated and those responsible should be identified,” he wrote. “I repeat that I am entirely at the disposition of authorities to contribute in whatever way is necessary.”
On Tuesday, Ebrard appeared at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s daily news conference, saying, “I share the indignation that exists.”
It was not clear whether a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in 2017 could have affected the subway line. There were reports that cracks had appeared in the base of at least one of the columns that support the elevated track following that quake.
The line was closed Tuesday and hundreds of buses were called in. Thousands in surrounding neighborhoods lined up before dawn to catch the buses for work.
In this image from a police body camera, officers perform CPR on Adam Toledo after an officer shot him on March 29. | AP Photos
Justice is still imperfect. But the average citizen, the bystander, the victim, has more power.
Lady Justice is no longer blind. She wears a bodycam and holds a smart camera up to her eyes.
We saw it at the trial of the police officer who stood on George Floyd’s neck until he was dead, and we saw it again during the foot pursuit of 13-year-old Adam Toledo that led to his death in a Chicago alley.
There was video. We no longer had to take the word of an unreliable witness or a law enforcement official who shot the only available witness to death.
The image of a blindfolded Lady Justice, holding a sword in one hand and the scales of justice in the other, has been with us for centuries. In the United States, it’s supposed to suggest that justice is dispensed fairly in our courtrooms regardless of an individual’s wealth, race, religion or political beliefs.
In reality, this has never been true. Lady Justice could always see whether the accused was represented by a public defender or a dream team of private lawyers. She could lift that blindfold to determine if the accused was black or white. The scales of justice, held aloft by Lady Justice, were never calibrated correctly. They were weighted in favor of the government.
Justice is still imperfect. But the average citizen, the bystander, the victim, has more power.
Still, there is something missing. Something terribly wrong.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the April 15 video of Toledo’s shooting “excruciating” to watch.
That’s a good word for it. It means intensely painful. Mentally agonizing. Very embarrassing. It is all that and something much more.
This is a youngster who was out at 2:30 a.m. with a 21-year-old companion. Police responded to calls of gunshots fired. They found these two walking together in an alley nearby and the police say they saw Adam carrying a gun.
Prosecutors have indicated that the gun was handed to the teenager by the older man after it was fired.
What we know for sure, looking at the video, is that Adam takes off running as a policeman exits his squad car and shouts at the teenager to halt as he gives chase.
Within seconds, the 13-year-old stops near an opening in a wooden fence. Responding to the policeman’s directive to hold up his hands, Adam does exactly that. And he is shot in the chest.
In real time, it’s almost impossible to determine what happened. In slow motion and stop action it is clear Adam’s hands are empty. He is surrendering. But there is something else. It appears that eve as the youngster’s hands are going up, he throws something behind the fence.
A handgun is later found there. He may well have confused the police officer into killing him.
The public cries out for justice.
I am not sure what that means in this case.
For me, the case of Adam Toledo is more complicated and representative of everything wrong with this country than the case of George Floyd.
This is a child in the company of a 21-year-old man at 2:30 a.m. on the streets of Chicago, one of the most dangerous cities in the country. For two days, Adam’s body remained unclaimed in the morgue because, being too young to drive, he had no identification on his body.
The 21-year-old man who was with him, no apparent relation, said he did not know the name of his companion. Could not identify him for police.
There is something excruciatingly wrong with all of this. And you wonder how this sort of tragedy can happen with such frequency. Children are shot and killed — accidentally, by mistake, intentionally, repeatedly.
Justice no longer wears a blindfold. She can see it all and her hands ought to be held high in the air in the universal sign of surrender. It is all so damn sad. Excruciating.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., Thursday, April 15, 2021, pauses while answering a question during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. | AP
Rather than standing by Liz Cheney — as he did during a failed effort to oust her in February — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy essentially planted himself in the camp of her critics
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stepped up the pressure on No. 3 House Republican Liz Cheney on Tuesday, claiming rank-and-file concerns about “her ability to carry out her job” as she trades insults with former President Donald Trump.
McCarthy’s comments on the Fox News Channel underscored the continued, if not growing, grip that the former president has on the House GOP.
Rather than standing by Cheney — as he did during a failed effort to oust her in February — McCarthy essentially planted himself in the camp of her critics. His positioning with her detractors and their increasingly outspoken attacks suggest her hold on her leadership job is in renewed peril.
“I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out her job as conference chair, to carry out the message,” said McCarthy, R-Calif. “We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority. Remember, majorities are not given. They are earned.”
McCarthy’s remarks come with Republicans optimistic about their chances of winning back control of the House in the 2022 elections. The GOP believes it has a trove of issues to use against Democrats and wants the focus there, not on internal party rifts.
But between now and next year’s elections, the GOP must resolve the power struggle between the party’s pro-Trump loyalists and those who believe he has damaged the party and country by repeatedly — and falsely — claiming that last November’s presidential election was stolen from him.
The fight between Cheney and her critics stands as a microcosm of that battle. It also puts the GOP in the awkward position of seeking to oust its highest-ranking woman from her post at a time when the party is trying to erode Democrats’ decisive advantage among female voters.
McCarthy was interviewed a day after Trump mounted a fresh offensive on his assertions. Numerous state and federal courts and local election officials have unearthed no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 voting,
Trump critics have labeled his claims “The Big Lie,” and he issued a statement trying to claim that moniker himself.
“The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!” he wrote.
But Cheney, R-Wyo., quickly fired back. She was among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in encouraging the Jan. 6 attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, and she used Twitter on Monday to respond to Trump.
“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system,” she wrote.
In response to Cheney, Trump issued a fresh statement reiterating his desire to see her defeated by another Republican in next year’s Wyoming GOP primary and claiming that people in her state “never liked her much.”
Underscoring the Republican rift, Cheney criticized Trump anew at a a donor event she attended over the weekend with the conservative American Enterprise Institute at Sea Island, Georgia, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
“We can’t embrace the notion the election is stolen. It’s a poison in the bloodstream of our democracy,” Cheney said, in comments first reported by CNN. “We can’t whitewash what happened on Jan. 6 or perpetuate Trump’s big lie. It is a threat to democracy. What he did on Jan. 6 is a line that cannot be crossed.”
In another illustration of internal GOP tensions, Cheney and McCarthy have not appeared together at House Republican leadership news conferences for weeks.
Republicans believe Democrats will be vulnerable over President Joe Biden’s handling of the huge numbers of migrants trying to cross the Southwest border and for not prompting pandemic-shuttered schools and businesses to reopen faster.
In February, conservatives unhappy over Cheney’s confrontations with Trump overwhelmingly lost a secret ballot vote of House Republicans aimed at ousting her from her leadership job, 145-61.
But in recent weeks, Cheney’s continued willingness to speak out against Trump has prompted fresh criticism of her. She is a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and like him is viewed as part of the GOP establishment, making her a natural target for the party’s pro-Trump conservatives.
McCarthy has told reporters that during the House GOP’s closed-door February meeting that resulted in Cheney keeping her job, he had defended her.
“People can have differences of opinion. That’s what you can have a discussion about. Liz has a right to vote her conscience,” McCarthy said then.
However, McCarthy struck a completely different tone on Tuesday. He said GOP lawmakers are concerned about the party’s messaging, which is part of the No. 3 leader’s job.
“What’s our best step forward, that we could all work together instead of attacking one another,” McCarthy said.
Sound the alarms! Rejoice! The world-famous Chicago Auto Show will return to McCormick Place this July. It will be the first major convention or festival the city of Chicago has seen since the coronavirus pandemic shut everything completely down in spring of 2020.
Event organizers, along with Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot announced Tuesday that the event will take place on July 15th to July 19th and will remain in its usual home at 2301 S. King Drive. Mayor Lightfoot also announced the news on Twitter early Tuesday morning.
While this marks the first large convention to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we expect to welcome other conventions and tourist events this summer with safety precautions.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) May 4, 2021
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General information for the Chicago Auto Show can be found on the event website. But, tickets will cost $13 for adults, $8 for children ages 7-12 and adults 62 and older. Admission will be free for children 6 and younger as long as they’re with an adult.
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The city has been trending towards this for much of the spring. Earlier in the year, the city announced (alongside the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox) that limited numbers of fans may attend games at Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field for the 2021 season. This was the first step, being as they are outdoor events. City officials made it clear just last week that they’d allow conventions again as vaccines have become available to everyone over the age of 16 and subsequent coronavirus cases continue to drop.
This is also a good sign for other notable Chicago summer events such as the Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza. The city’s events commission has talked about budget constraints limiting their flexibility with large-scale events and limited time to plan and coordinate. However, the green light for the Chicago Auto Show to proceed indoors is a good sign for other iconic summertime Chicago staples to move forward past this COVID-19 pandemic.
Are you the type of person who needs an excuse to drink on a random weekday? If so, Cinco de Mayo happens to fall on a Wednesday and we can’t think of a better excuse to bust open a case of Corona’s and a few orders of tacos to break up the mid-week blues. Fortunately for Chicagoans, there are a myriad of Cinco de Mayo specials going on around the city so you feel right at home despite being north of the border.
Take a look at just a few of our favorites on deck for Cinco de Mayo 2021 right in your neighborhood.
Located in the heat of West Loop, the Rooftop at Nobu Hotel Chicago is serving up mini Nobu Tacos that can be ordered with tuna, king crab, white fish tempura, vegetarian, ribeye, or wagyu. For a celebratory Cinco de Mayo cocktail, order the Market Margarita. A house-made marg featuring Casamigos Blanco, pineapple, serrano peppers, cilanto, lime, & cilantro sea salt.
A good breakfast burrito is the most underrated morning treat and Stan’s knows that, that’s why they’re launching their breakfast burrito in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. The newest addition to their lineup of breakfast items, which itself only launched this past winter, also includes other favorites such as oatmeal, Stanwiches, and egg bites. The burrito will include scrambled eggs, green & red pepper, pepper jack cheese, all inside a flour tortilla and will only cost customers $5.99.
For more information about Stan’s Donuts & Coffee visit their website at: https://stansdonuts.com
We at UrbanMatter Chicago are obsessed with Old Pueblo Cantina. Located right in Lincoln Park, OPC is offering the ultimate Cinco de Mayo specials celebration with a liver mariachi band from 4:30pm-9pm. Think of this as a little preview to the rapidly-approaching Mariachi Monday’s that will begin in full force on May 10th.
This Cinco de Mayo, PB&J is offering diners the opportunity to celebrate with a live mariachi band “Son de Fuego” from 5pm to 6pm. Specialty cocktails including Herradura Paloma and a Pomegranate Herradura Margarita will both be featured and consumed in abundance. Additionally, the outdoor bar will be open from 3pm to 11pm.
For more information about PB&J: Pizza, Beer, & Jukebox visit their website at: https://pbjwestloop.com
Chicago’s largest patio is offering drink and food specials to celebrate Cinco properly. Open starting at 4pm on Wednesday, you’ll need to make a reservation on the patio, however, the evening will be packed with good drinks, a lively atmosphere, games, and incredible food.
The Chicago Cubs have a lot of faith in Ed Howard. They drafted him with the 16th overall pick in last summer’s 2020 MLB Draft. He was the first shortstop taken in the draft. MLB has him as the Cubs’ fifth-best prospect and Baseball America has him as the fourth-best. None of that has any […]
The sounds of in-person classical music are returning to Symphony Center.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association on Tuesday announced the first CSOconcert performances with live audiences in attendance at Orchestra Hall (220 S. Michigan) since the pandemic shutdown of all performing arts venues in March 2020.
The series of concerts, programmed in conjunction with maestro Riccardo Muti, will take place May 27-June 13 “and feature music for brass and percussion, string ensembles and orchestra,” Tuesday’s announcement said.
The concerts will be presented with adherence to current state and city COVID-19 guidelines for public events, including reduced-capacity audiences, mandatory face masks for audience and staff, hand-sanitizing stations, and an HVAC fresh air system that meets current standards.
Due to social distancing guidelines, musicians must be a minimum of six feet apart on stage, which means the orchestra will be reduced to 45 musicians on stage depending on the program (some concerts will feature smaller, CSO ensembles).
“The return of Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts at Symphony Center will put our city that much closer to fully reopening and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a statement. “Having a successful, thriving arts scene is essential to ensuring our city’s post-pandemic prosperity — making programs like these vitally important as we continue our work to revitalize this critical sector.”
Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. May 11, at cso.org or by phone at (312) 294-3000.
Performances will take place over three consecutive weekends at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 1:30 p.m. Fridays, 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays.
The schedule includes (according to the official statement):
May 27, 28, 29, 30: Aaron Copland’s iconic “Fanfare for the Common Man” and Samuel Barber’s 20th-century interpretation of a Bach chorale paired with works influenced by jazz and film by Tilson Thomas, Bernstein and Schuller in a program conducted by CSO trombone Michael Mulcahy.
June 3, 4, 5, 6: Works led by former CSO Sir Georg Solti Conducting Apprentice Erina Yashima, featuring two “Novelettes” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Schubert’s Symphony No. 5, the string orchestra version of “Strum” by newly appointed CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, and Kodaly’s orchestral “Dances of Galanta.”
June 10, 11, 12, 13: Mozart’s Overture to “Don Giovanni” led by conductor Edo de Waart. Also featured are Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.
