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A year and a half after a Des Plaines police officer accidentally shot a promising young guitarist at a Northwest Side music school, the department’s chief is finally speaking publicly — and raising questions about how the teenager’s devastating injuries occurred.

“We just didn’t feel that the full picture and the totality of the events that occurred that evening were made clear to the community,” Des Plaines Police Chief David Anderson told the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday.

Anderson, who has been chief for about four months, said that after repeatedly reviewing security video from UpBeat Music & Arts, he is uncertain whether Des Plaines Police Officer James Armstrong actually struck Rylan Wilder, a budding musician working as an intern at the store on the evening of Nov. 19, 2019, when he was shot.

“If you listen to the video, what I hear is the potential of a shot being fired just prior to Officer Armstrong firing his weapon,” Anderson said.

Rylan’s shooting stemmed from a bank robbery in Des Plaines that led to a police chase into the city. One of the alleged bank robbers, Maurice Murphy, was arrested not far from the bank. The other man, Christopher Willis, carjacked a Buick and made it to the Northwest Side, where he opened fire, injuring a veteran police officer.

Willis then ran into the music store, and Armstrong chased after him. When Willis raised his gun, Armstrong shot and killed him, Chicago police said at the time. The officer also accidentally shot a fleeing Rylan during the incident, CPD has said.

“That person [Willis] was armed and there’s, in my opinion, a possibility that he could have fired a round in that store also. I just can’t prove that. I can’t confirm that right now,” Anderson said.

The Wilder family attorney, Tim Cavanagh, said it’s clear who shot Rylan.

“The suggestion that anyone other than a Des Plaines police officer shot Rylan Wilder is nonsense,” Cavanagh said. “The video makes very clear that the bullet that struck Rylan’s arm came from a military weapon held by Officer Armstrong.”

In a lawsuit filed in Cook County, the Wilders claim that Armstrong’s use of force was “excessive” and that it constituted “reckless, willful and wanton conduct.”

Before the shooting, Rylan’s band, Monarchy Over Monday, had played at Riot Fest and the House of Blues. Since that November 2019 day, Rylan has required multiple surgeries to repair the extensive damage done to his left arm, and doctors aren’t certain whether he’ll ever regain full use of the limb.

Armstrong could not be reached for comment Monday. In a sworn statement he gave to an outside company the City of Des Plaines brought in to investigate the incident, Armstrong said Willis at one point “with the firearm in hand, started pointing it in my direction.” Armstrong said he’d previously ordered Willis to drop his weapon. He also said he didn’t see Rylan run into his line of fire.

Chief Anderson said Armstrong, who remains with the department, did “the absolute best he could under a very difficult situation.”

But why, given the potential to injure innocent bystanders, did Armstrong open fire in the music store?

“We train our officers, especially with an active shooter, to go in and deal with the threat as quickly as possible because that eliminates hostage situations. It eliminates the potential for other bad outcomes,” Anderson said.

He pointed out that prior to rushing into the music store, Willis had already fired at and struck a police officer.

“Officer Armstrong was trying to stop a very violent, active shooter,” he said. “These are very dynamic, difficult events.”

And asked why the pursuit wasn’t handed over to Chicago police when Willis entered the city, Anderson said: “Jim was obviously one of the closest vehicles because he ended up hitting [Willis’] car. So I don’t know that that would have been a realistic option for him to turn that over without potentially losing contact with the suspect.”

Anderson said there is police bodycam video of the incident inside the store but that there is “a lot of camera movement,” making it of little use.

Of what happened to Rylan, Anderson said: “I feel such sympathy for that young man. It had to be a terrifying event for him, just like all the other students in the store at the same time, and the teachers.”

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WASHINGTON — U.S. population growth has slowed to the lowest rate since the Great Depression, the Census Bureau said Monday, as Americans continued their march to the South and West and one-time engines of growth, New York and California, lost political influence.

Texas and Florida, two Republican Sunbelt giants, will gain congressional seats from the 2020 census as chillier climes like New York and Ohio lose them.

Altogether, the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281 last year, the Census Bureau said, a 7.4% increase that was the second-slowest ever. Experts say that paltry pace reflects the combination of an aging population, slowing immigration and the scars of the Great Recession, which led many young adults to delay marriage and families.

The new allocation of congressional seats comes in the first release of data from last year’s headcount. The numbers generally chart familiar American migration patterns but also confirm one historic marker: For the first time in 170 years of statehood, California is losing a congressional seat, a result of slowed migration to the nation’s most populous state, which was once a symbol of the country’s expansive frontier.

It all marks the official beginning of once-a-decade redistricting battles. The numbers released Monday, along with more detailed data expected later this year, will be used by state legislatures or independent commissions to redraw political maps to account for shifts in population.

Those shifts have largely been westward. Colorado, Montana and Oregon all added residents and gained seat a seat each. Texas was the biggest winner — the second-most populous state added two congressional seats, while Florida and North Carolina gained one. States losing seats included Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Neighborhood counts mattered. Census said if New York had counted 89 more residents, the state would have kept its seat and Minnesota would have lost one.

The reshuffling of the congressional map moved seats from blue states to red ones, giving Republicans a clear, immediate advantage. The party will have complete control of drawing the congressional maps in Texas, Florida and North Carolina — states that are adding four seats.

In contrast, though Democrats control the process in Oregon, Democratic lawmakers there have agreed to give Republicans an equal say in redistricting in exchange for a commitment to stop blocking bills. In Democratic Colorado, a nonpartisan commission will draw the lines, meaning the party won’t have total control in a single expanding state’s redistricting.

It’s been a bumpy road getting this far. The 2020 census faced a once-in-a-century coronavirus pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes, allegations of political interference with the Trump administration’s failed effort to add a citizenship question, fluctuating deadlines and lawsuits.

The new congressional numbers contain some surprises. Though Texas and Florida grew, the final census count had them each gaining one fewer seat than expected. Arizona, another fast-growing state that demographers considered a sure bet to pick up a new seat, failed to get one. All three states have large Latino populations that represent about half their growth, and this could be an early sign that Hispanics shied away from the Trump administration’s count.

Still, Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he wasn’t ready to “sound the alarm” over the underperformance of states with large Hispanic populations. On the contrary, he believes Hispanic growth helped states like Colorado and Oregon gain seats and prevented states like New York and Illinois from losing more.

The overall numbers confirm what demographers have long warned — that the country’s growth is stalling. Many had expected growth to come in even below the 1930s levels given the long hangover of the Great Recession and the drying up of immigration, which came to a virtual halt during last year’s pandemic.

William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., warned that even a recovering economy may not change the trend with the population aging rapidly and immigration contentious. “Unlike the Great Depression, it’s part of a process where we’re likely to keep having slow growth,” Frey said.

Meanwhile, Americans continue to move to GOP-run states. For now, that shift provides the Republicans with the opportunity to shape new congressional districts to maximize the influence of their voters and have a major advantage in upcoming elections — possibly enough to win back control of the U.S. House.

But in the long term, it’s not clear the migration is good news for Republicans. Many of the fastest growing states are increasingly competitive political battlegrounds where the new arrivals — including many young people and people of color — could at some point give Democrats an edge.

“What’s happening is growth in Sunbelt states that are trending Democratic or will soon trend Democratic,” Frey said.

That means Republicans may be limited in how many favorable seats they can draw as Democrats move to their territory.

“It’s going to be harder and harder for the Texas Legislature to gerrymander advantageous congressional districts” for Republicans, said William Fulton, director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University in Houston. “Texas hasn’t flipped blue yet as a state, but the blue population centers are growing really fast.”

Fulton, who moved to Texas from California, said his new home has become “the new California — the big state that’s adding a lot of population.” He believes California risks becoming the new Northeast — which he characterized as a stagnant, crowded area that retains wealth and intellectual clout but loses innovators to more promising places.

Despite California’s slow growth, the state still has 10 million more residents than Texas.

North Carolina and Texas, Fulton said, are positioned to become the intellectual powerhouses of the new economy, as the South has snatched away major manufacturing industries like automobiles from the Rust Belt. “We are 10-20 years away from the South and the West being truly dominant in American culture and American society,” Fulton said.

But population booms also bring new burdens, like increased traffic, rising home prices and strains on an infrastructure already grappling with climate change — vividly illustrated when the Texas power grid failed in the winter storms of February.

The pattern outlined in the the Census data was one started in the 1930s with the invention of modern air-conditioning and has been steady since then, according to experts. The only change in the pattern was the halt in California’s growth.

That has happened as home prices have soared in California, contributing to a steady stream of residents leaving for other Western states. Those relocations helped turn Colorado and Nevada into Democratic states and made Arizona competitive.

“That’s the California exodus, blue state immigrants,” Frey said. “Californians are taking their votes and moving to other places.”

The power shift is also being driven by Hispanics. Over the decade, Hispanics accounted for around half of the growth in Arizona, Florida and Texas, according to figures from the American Community Survey, a Census Bureau program separate from the decennial census.

The state population figures known as the apportionment count determine not only political power but the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal spending each year.

The legal deadline for turning in the apportionment numbers was Dec. 31, but the Census Bureau pushed back that date to April because of challenges caused by the pandemic and the need for more time to correct not-unexpected irregularities.

More detailed figures will be released later this year showing populations by race, Hispanic origin, gender and housing at geographic levels as small as neighborhoods. This redistricting data will be used for redrawing precise congressional and legislative districts.

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Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Follow Nicholas Riccardi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NickRiccardi

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The city of Chicago is suing an Indiana gun store, accusing it of putting “hundreds, if not thousands, of illegal firearms” on city streets.

Westforth Sports in Gary is “knowingly selling its products to an ever-changing roster of gun traffickers and straw (sham) purchasers,” according to the lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County.

Those buyers then take the weapons to Chicago, “where they are resold to individuals who cannot legally possess firearms, including convicted felons and drug traffickers.”

In the lawsuit, city attorneys list several examples, including one man who bought 19 guns at Westforth over seven months, and another who bought five guns at once.

Studies cited in the suit allege Westforth Sports is directly linked to more than 850 guns recovered from crime scenes between 2009 and 2016.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has cited the store for, among other things, transferring firearms to straw purchasers after a failed background check, and failing to conduct a background check in the first place.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who normally won’t comment on pending litigation, made an exception this time in part because “the data is fairly compelling against that particular store,” she said Monday. “They are selling thousands of crime guns every year.”

CPD takes “more crime guns off the street every year than New York and L.A. combined,” the mayor added.

“It’s not because we have a better strategy or more focus. We’re surrounded by states and other cities that have much a more lax gun control environment,” she said. “You can literally go over the border to Indiana and get military-grade weapons in any quantity you want if you have the amount of money to spend.

Besides seeking unspecified monetary damages, the city, among other demands, also wants Westforth’s gun sales to be supervised for five years by a court-appointed monitor.

This is not the first time the City of Chicago has sued an independent gun shop. In 1998, the city sued a group of suburban drug dealers after 10 undercover CPD officers bought 171 guns in 62 days, using only three FOID cards between them.

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DePaul basketball player — excuse me, former DePaul basketball player — Charlie Moore is transferring from the Blue Demons to Miami for the 2021-22 season.

This will be Moore’s fourth Division I team in five years. He started at Cal, then moved to Kansas, then to DePaul and now down to Miami.

Actually, it will be his fifth Division I school if you count the fact that in November 2015, at the start of his senior year at Morgan Park High School, he signed a letter-of-intent to play at Memphis.

In the spring of 2016, the 5-11 point guard was named Mr. Illinois Basketball. Shortly after that, Moore dumped Memphis for Cal.

The way I look at it Moore is on a dribbling road trip to see the entire United States. From Chicago to Berkeley, California, to Lawrence, Kansas, to Chicago to Miami, then back home to Chicago (someday) is, according to my Trippy.com research, 7,225 miles.

May we call him ”Suitcase Charlie”?

The reason Moore transferred at the start was because of coaching changes. He averaged 12.2 points and 3.5 assists for Cal before coach Cuonzo Martin abruptly left for Missouri. So Moore split for Kansas, sat out a year to fulfill NCAA transfer rules, then didn’t play much the next season, averaging only 13 minutes and 2.9 points.

His father, Curtis, had suffered a stroke, and Moore at least was closer to home at Kansas for visits to see his dad — 548 miles compared with 2,117 miles at Cal.

Then he came back to Chicago to be near his wheelchair-bound dad, signing with DePaul and playing well for coach Dave Leitao for two seasons, even being named to the 2020 preseason All-Big East team.

But Leitao was fired last month, and off ”Suitcase Charlie” went again. The guy is 23 (even if he looks 15), and if there were no NCAA rules, it seems he might play college ball until he’s gray and lame. Remember, there’s New England, Alaska and — Aloha! — Hawaii yet to explore.

Critics say Moore’s unanchored movement is the stuff that creates the destabilizing of high-level college sports and ruins the beauty and moral certitude of time-honored amateur student-athlete competition.

To which I say, after sustained belly laughter, moral certitude? Student-athletes? Amateur?

Oh, you like your rosters firmly set well before the ”Big Dance,” so you can get proper bets down with DraftKings and FanDuel?

And you like that college players are beholden to teams, while their coaches come and go (and get fired and hired) like seeds on a dandelion?

And that amateurism works well, as long as it’s only coaches, athletic directors, sponsors, TV networks, betting parlors and hangers-on who are pros and can make millions?

Got it.

Miami, where Moore soon will be, lost four of its own players to transfer because the NCAA recently dropped its sit-out-a-season requirement and players are on the move everywhere. Reports say 1,280 college basketball players entered the transfer portal this spring.

Why did the NCAA drop the sit-out-a-year rule? Likely because it’s about 100% illegal.

Will this create mild chaos in college hoops? Yes, of course.

Did players start this? Hell, no.

Who professionalized and sold every aspect of big-time college sports? Stand up and bow, university presidents, chancellors, board trustees, athletic directors, coaches, marketers, boosters, fans and ankle-tapers.

Funny how we make determinations about who should get what in this world. Boeing, the airplane company, laid off thousands of workers last year and reported a $12 billion loss, yet CEO David Calhoun was rewarded with $21.1 million. According to the New York Times, Hilton Hotels lost $720 million in 2020, but chief executive Chris Nassetta raked in $55.9 million. Freedom!

Many NCAA rules are restrictive, and they must go. The rulebook is a big, bloated joke. Somehow, it will be done someday.

In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing opening arguments Wednesday in NCAA v. Alston, with amateurism, compensation for players and possible restraint of free trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act being at the core of the suit. Former college football and basketball players, led by former West Virginia running back Shawne Alston, are the plaintiffs.

We’ll see what happens. You never can trust judges to be unbiased. Remember, they all went to college and are all fans.

Until then, you go, ”Suitcase Charlie”! Safe travels.

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Liam Hendriks is as straightforward when discussing his job as he is while performing it.

The new White Sox closer comes right at hitters with a high-90s fastball, daring the game’s best to prove him wrong. When hiccups happen, as they have twice already through his first nine appearances, it sticks with the candid Australian.

“The one pitch that got away from me (that) didn’t come back — that’s the one that keeps me up at night,” Hendriks said. “It’s just that little one where you’re cruising along and all of a sudden you lose focus for that split second and it comes back to bite you.”

Signed this offseason to a three-year, $54 million contract, Hendriks has blown two of his first six save chances since joining his fifth big-league club. Both came at Guaranteed Rate Field on game-tying solo homers: April 11 to the Royals’ Carlos Santana and April 24 to the Rangers’ Willie Calhoun.

With four homers allowed through just 9 1/3 innings, Hendriks is nearly halfway to his combined total of nine from the previous three seasons. Those came across 134 1/3 innings while Hendriks, 32, was reinventing himself after a journeyman period that included a 3-15 record as a failed starter from 2011-14.

In fairness, Hendriks was making his first back-to-back outings for manager Tony La Russa over the weekend. That included a 32-pitch, five-strikeout save on Friday night in the series opener against the Rangers.

He wasn’t about to beg off duty in a chilly rain the following night, when Calhoun tomahawked a 97.5-mph heater at eye level. Nor is Hendriks the type to make excuses.

“At the end of the day I get (ticked) off when I give up a run,” Hendriks said. “That’s what I need to be. On the mound you need to be that little bit selfish. You need to make sure that you pitch every single pitch like it’s a two-strike pitch and you go out there and execute that pitch.”

La Russa has quickly grown fond of a throwback closer who wants the ball, no matter what. On April 18 in Boston, when the White Sox swept a doubleheader, Hendriks finished both games.

He earned the save in the opener, then came back with another clean inning in the nightcap. The 24 total pitches he threw that day didn’t begin to describe the impact of that statement.

“His heart and his guts (are) as big as his talent,” La Russa said. “Most closers, they have trouble if it’s a multirun lead. He just loves to compete. Comes in there: ‘Boom, boom, boom.’

That’s a really good combination — for us and him.”

Hendriks, who had 39 saves with a 1.79 ERA over his final two seasons in Oakland, is a cerebral sort who will drop words like “plethora” into casual conversation. He’s also willing to embrace the leadership role that goes with the ups and downs he’s experienced in his career.

That includes being ready to pitch every single day, mentally and physically.

“I came in with this crew and told them, ‘If I’m down, you need to tell me. I’m not going to make that decision myself,’ ” Hendriks said. “As soon as I start thinking I’m down, I get into a bad place mentally. So I come to the field every day ready to pitch. I just sit out there and wait for the phone to ring.”

And once he does reach the mound, Hendriks expects to finish the job.

“I just want the ball and I’m going to take the ball until you tell me to give the ball back to you,” he said. “And even then I’m going to be mad.”

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Early-season stats can be a bit wonky, thanks to extremes born of small sample sizes.

The White Sox’ Yermin Mercedes has been amazing, leading the majors with a .414 batting average and ranking fourth with a .477 weighted on-base average (through Sunday). The Cubs’ Ian Happ has been slow out of the gate with a .154 batting average and a .261 wOBA. The major-league averages are .232 and .308.

We can expect time and hundreds of plate appearances to lead to slopes down for Mercedes and up for Happ. For the time being, we can look a little deeper with expected stats.

Expected stats change the question from ”What results has a player achieved?” to ”What results would we normally expect from a player’s quality of contact?”

Fangraphs.com player pages and expected stats leaderboards at baseballsavant.mlb.com list xBA, xSLG and xwOBA, with the ”x” standing for ”expected.”

If a batter bloops a ball that would be a base hit only 12% of the time, that’s 12% of an expected hit. If he’s robbed by a diving catch on a ball that would drop safely 92% of the time, he has an expected 92% of a hit.

The ”x” stats weigh exit velocity and launch angle. On some balls in play, sprint speed is taken into account. The Sox’ Luis Robert, with a sprint speed of 28.5 feet per second, has a much better chance of turning an infield nubber into a hit than Yasmani Grandal at 22.7 feet per second.

With all that factored in, along with strikeouts for xBA and xSLG and strikeouts and walks for xwOBA, Mercedes still comes across near the top of the class.

Mercedes’ .328 xBA is 86 points lower than his batting average, but it ranks 22nd in the majors. His .657 slugging percentage ranks 12th and .632 xSLG 27th, and his .477 wOBA ranks sixth and .417 xwOBA 25th.

There’s a gap between Mercedes’ results and the results his quality of contact normally would generate, but maintaining his expected numbers would be reason to celebrate.

As for Happ, his .154 batting average ranks 269th among major-league qualifiers, his .200 slugging percentage 284th and his .261 wOBA 226th.

But Happ’s average exit velocity is 90.6 mph, 43rd in the majors. Expected stats suggest he has hit the ball better than his results show. Happ’s xBA is .210, his xSLG .384 and his xwOBA .334. That above-average xwOBA is fueled largely by his 15 walks, tied for eighth in the majors.

Among other Chicago players, the Cubs’ Kris Bryant has better results but still strong expected results, with a .292 batting average, .597 slugging percentage and .411 wOBA vs. a .261 xBA, .504 xSLG and .357 xwOBA.

The Sox’ Jose Abreu’s early results are a near-match for his ”x” stats, with a .225 batting average, .438 slugging percentage and .325 wOBA vs. a .235 xBA, .478 xSLG and .332 xwOBA.

Samples will get larger. Hot and cold streaks will smooth out the averages. In the meantime, stats based on quality of contact give us extra information about player performance.

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From sauerkraut and schnitzel to bratwursts and hasenpfeffer, Chicago has some truly amazing German restaurants. Traditional Deutschland food is usually rich, heavy, and meat-focused. So if you’re looking for a hearty hangover cure or some protein-packed eats, check out this roundup of amazing restaurants serving up the best German food in Chicago.

1709 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Not only do they have a fun name but this modern beer hall also serves a mashup of Southern and German flavors in Chicago’s West Town. Influenced by his German heritage and South Carolina upbringing, Chef Mark Steuer created a menu that’s out of this world. Popular items include the pork chop choucroute, potato crusted eggplant schnitzel, and käsespätzle. 

2566 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

Here’s a fun fact: Prost is the German word for cheers! So next time you’re raising a glass, surprise your friends with that little tidbit, courtesy of UrbanMatter. Located in Lincoln Park, this lively bar/restaurant is known for their currywurst, pork belly reuben, and giant pretzels. Pro-tip: order a boot full of Hofbräu for the full experience.

17 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60603

Over a century ago, owner Herman Berghoff set up a stand at the entrance of the Chicago Fair and sold beers. He was wildly successful which prompted him to consider a more permanent place to sling alcohol and food. From there, The Berghoff officially opened their doors in 1898. Back then, beers were only a nickel (!!!) and they came with a FREE sandwich. 

2251 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

Can’t decide on pizza or schnitzel? Get both at Himmel’s! This sister-owned, north-side location considers themselves an, “Italian restaurant with German flair.” Favorites include Bavarian pork shank, sauerbraten, and spaetzles. We’ll have all three!

2034 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60618

Looking for awesome food, a killer beer selection, and wonderful staff? Then head over to Resi’s for all that and more. Highly recommended dishes include the Sheboygan bratwurst dinner, wiener schnitzel, and leberkäse. Be sure to check out their beer garden, perfect for upcoming summer days!

1202 N Wells, Chicago, IL 60610

Whether you’re stopping in for a meal or beverage, the Glunz Tavern offers a thoughtful selection of traditional tavern favorites, reminiscent of the early 20th century. A few must-try items: Bavarian veal bratwurst, french onion soup (just trust us on this one), and schnitzel sandwich. Wash it all down with one of their several German beers on tap. Köstlich!

Best German Food Chicago Featured Image Credit: Resis Bierstube Chicago on Facebook

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A man was grazed in a shooting Monday in the South Loop.

The man, 20, got into an argument with someone about 3:45 p.m. as they left a building in the 800 block of South Wabash Avenue, Chicago police said.

The other person then pulled out a gun and opened fire, grazing the man on the foot, police said. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition.

Columbia College, which operates just a few blocks away, sent out an alert saying that the shots were fired outside 829 S. Wabash Ave., which is home to East-West University student housing.

East-West University officials declined to comment on the shooting.

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An 18-year-old man was killed in a shooting Monday in Bronzeville on the South Side, police said.

He was near an alley about 4:20 p.m. in the 200 block of East 38th Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the head and chest, Chicago police said.

The man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His identity has not been released.

Area One detectives are investigating.

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Steve and Tommy from the Sons of Hahnarchy podcast join Nick for Episode 95!

We talk all things Sox especially Kopech, TLR, Madrigal, Vaughn, and of course Mercedes!

The post GGTB Chicago White Sox Podcast Ep. 95: I’m Only Sweeping with Special Guests Steve and Tommy from the Sons of Hahnarchy Podcast first appeared on CHI CITY SPORTS l Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Fans – Rumors.Read More