The Chicago Bears need help all over the field. Ryan Pace is somehow being afforded the opportunity to be in charge of their draft selections again in 2021. They have a first-round pick this year for the first time in a few years so they need to use it wisely. Unless they make a trade, it will be the 20th overall pick in the draft.
Everyone knows that the SEC is the best conference in college football. Year after year, the top teams in the conference make a case to be in the College Football Playoff. The last two National Champions come from the SEC which shows how good the conference is compared to the rest. The ChicagoBears should consider one of these SEC players with pick 20:
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Azeez Ojulari
EDGE, Bulldogs
The Chicago Bears could use some help with edge-rushing because their guys are overrated.
The Chicago Bears didn’t get to the quarterback enough in 2020. Khalil Mack is a really good pass rusher but he hasn’t been the same since his first year with the Bears (2018). He isn’t bad by any means, and he gets double-teamed and held on every play, but he could definitely use some help which isn’t something we wanted to be said about a player making that much money.
Akiem Hicks may or may not be gone and Robert Quinn was a disaster of a signing. Azeez Ojulari, for that reason, is someone to consider drafting for the Chicago Bears. He was a great edge rusher for the Georgia Bulldogs and is ready to be a high selection after his sophomore season.
Ojulari had a great season as a sophomore. He played in ten Georgia games this season where he recorded 22 solo tackles and nine assists for 31 total tackles. 12.5 of those were for a loss. He also recorded 9.5 sacks for the Bulldogs so you know he was effective in his role. The Bears would benefit from adding a player of Ojulari’s caliber.
ChicagoBears (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bears can forget about Trevor Lawrence or Zach Wilson in the 2021 NFL Draft, but just about any other quarterback could be up for grabs.
The first round of this coming draft is going to be a memorable one. With five quarterbacks set to go in the top half of the round, more than likely, it will be a wild ride.
Bears fans can hardly wait to see what general manager Ryan Pace does, but the angst is not exactly a positive. We have been fooled before, and as a Bears fan, there is nothing more unsettling than waiting on a first-round selection from Pace.
Maybe, when it is all said and done, the Bears are better off staying put with their first-round pick. Staying at number 20, and taking the best player available, could end up working out well for Pace and company — especially if a certain quarterback is on the board at the right place and time for Chicago.
Kellen Mond is an ideal draft target for the Chicago Bears.
Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond is becoming more and more polarizing. For the most part, he had been looked at as a fourth or fifth-round guy. But, the closer we get to the draft, he’s moved up the boards.
Now, it’s pretty safe to say he’s a great candidate to be selected in Round 3, and probably no later than early Round 4. To be frank, the Bears would be foolish to let him slip past them with their third rounder.
In 2020, Mond took a big jump as a quarterback, polishing a lot of the little things. His mechanics looked the best they ever have and he limited turnovers even more so than he normally had in his previous three seasons. Mond could be one of the safest picks in the third round, and ultimately change the future of this Bears franchise.
Some refer to Mond as this year’s Dak Prescott, and of course we’re all trying to find the next mid-round guy to take the league by storm. So, Mond is the ideal candidate with everything taken into consideration.
Should the Bears grab Mond if he’s there in the third round? Absolutely, and for three key reasons.
A former video store three blocks south of the Chicago Ridge police station, revived as a video gaming bar, has gotten caught up in two federal criminal investigations in the past three years.
As Terry Ferguson and his son Timothy Ferguson were working on converting the shuttered video store into a bar, he already was the target of a sting operation in which a federal agent bought guns from a food truck owned by Ferguson, who also had been peddling cocaine.
Ferguson’s arrest in October 2018 ultimately led to the end of his son’s dream of opening the bar.
It’s now in the hands of Rosemary Kowalski, an 80-year-old widow. She’s been the owner since December 2019 of what’s now called DaVinci’s Gaming Bar, which features six video gambling machines on which patrons can place legal bets.
Kowalski’s son and daughter are targets in another federal case. Robert M. Kowalski and Jan Kowalski have been charged with hiding more than $500,000 embezzled from a small bank in Bridgeport, Washington Federal Bank for Savings, that federal regulators shut down in late 2017 over a “massive fraud” scheme they said involved $82 million.
Shortly before the bank was closed, its president was found dead in the master bedroom of a bank customer’s Park Ridge mansion as a result of what the authorities labeled suicide, though his widow disputes that.
When Rosemary Kowalski took over the bar, she agreed to pay nearly half of the $23,642 in rent that the Fergusons owed the bar’s landlord, according to an eviction lawsuit the landlord has filed to evict her over nearly $24,000 in unpaid rent.
The Kowalskis and the Fergusons aren’t talking.
“Mr. Ferguson has no comment other than to make clear that he never received any funds related to the bar from the Kowalskis,” according to Beau Brindley, Ferguson’s lawyer.
Robert Kowalski entering the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on March 4.Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Sun-Times
A few weeks ago, Brindley said in court that Robert Kowalski wanted to hire him to defend him against the bankruptcy fraud and embezzlement charges he faces over the collapse of Washington Federal, but they couldn’t agree on legal fees and how Kowalski would pay them.
Once home to a Hollywood Video store, the twin storefronts at 10721-23 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Chicago Ridge then sat vacant for years until March 28, 2018. That’s when Ferguson Entertainment LLC — which is in Timothy Ferguson’s name — signed a three-year lease with the landlord, Sona Chicago Ridge Realty Inc., which is owned by Nimesh Patel.
Chicago Ridge village officials issued business and liquor licenses to Ferguson’s company and building permits showing the father and son would do work including carpentry, painting and installing drywall for the business, which they planned to call the Gaming Spa.
Village officials apparently didn’t know Terry Ferguson was a convicted drug dealer who also had been under investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since November 2015 over the sale of cocaine and a couple of dozen guns — including a rifle with no serial number — that were transported in Ferguson’s food truck, which he operated as Chicago’s Finest Deli on Wheels LLC, court records show.
Terry Ferguson. | Chicago Police Department arrest photo.
As the Fergusons were preparing to open, Ferguson Entertainment made a $1,000 campaign contribution on Sept. 25, 2018, to Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar, who had approved the company’s liquor license months earlier. Tokar didn’t return calls seeking comment.
A month later, on Oct. 29, 2018, Terry Ferguson, 56, of Willowbrook, and two associates, Jesus Dominguez and William Walsh, were charged in the ATF sting.
And federal authorities subpoenaed Ferguson’s former business partner, who hasn’t been identified, to testify before a grand jury.
Timothy Ferguson, 35, of Chicago, pleaded guilty on April 18, 2019, to obstruction of court orders and later was sentenced to 30 days in jail to resolve his part in the case.
On Sept. 16, 2019, the Illinois Gaming Board rejected his bid to be licensed to operate video gambling machines, finding that he wasn’t a suitable gaming operator because of his arrest and his failure to obtain a liquor license from the state of Illinois.
“You attempted to persuade a witness not to cooperate with law enforcement officials and interfered with an ongoing narcotics and weapons investigation involving your father,” gaming board administrator Marcus Fruchter told Timothy Ferguson in a Sept. 17, 2019, letter.
That left him with no state licenses to sell drinks or take bets — and 21 months remaining on his lease for the storefronts he and his father invested money in remodeling.
Less than three months later, on Dec. 4, 2019, Rosemary Kowalski established a new company, called Nosy Rosie’s LLC, and signed a five-year lease to take over the bar — a deal contingent on “the successful termination” of Patel’s lease with “Ferguson Entertainment LLC along with Terry Ferguson and Timothy Ferguson,” according to the lease.
DaVinci’s Gaming Bar.Brian Ernst / Sun-Times
Rosemary Kowalski also agreed to assume $11,643 of the $23,643 the Fergusons owed Patel’s company and to be responsible for any money the Fergusons owed the village, the lease says.
With help from her daughter Jan Kowalski, who is a lawyer, Rosemary Kowalski applied to the village and state for licenses to sell drinks and take bets at the bar that she renamed DaVinci’s Gaming Bar.
By that time, Jan Kowalski, who had unsuccessfully run in 2018 for Cook County clerk, had been charged with helping her brother hide $567,200 from his bankruptcy creditors, mainly the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which is trying to recover money to repay depositors of the failed Washington Federal Bank.
Authorities have said the bank lost more than $82 million in a “massive fraud” scheme led by bank president, CEO and major shareholder John Gembara, who was found dead, seated in a chair with a rope around his neck, inside the master bedroom of bank customer Marek Matczuk on Dec. 3, 2017. The bank was shut down 12 days later.
Click here to read the initial Sun-Times investigation of fraud-ridden Washington Federal Bank for Savings.
Robert Kowalski — a lawyer and developer who was a friend of Gembara — worked with bank officials to embezzle at least $29 million, according to a federal indictment. Kowalski has said he didn’t steal anything and that he was a victim of Gembara’s scheme.
DaVinci’s opened in early March 2020, as the Illinois Gaming Board was still considering Rosemary Kowalski’s application for a video gaming license. The bar closed because of the coronavirus pandemic but resumed selling liquor last summer, according to its Facebook page.
DaVinci’s drew the attention of Robert Kowalski’s ex-wife Martha Padilla, a former candidate for alderman in Chicago’s 25th Ward. Padilla got a Cook County judge to appoint an attorney, Neal Levin, last summer to determine whether her ex had any hidden assets that she could recover as part of their ongoing divorce case, which began seven years ago.
Levin got a court order and took temporary control of the bar and its contents, including boxes of documents stored in a backroom Jan Kowalski used as her law office. She has, at times, represented her brother in his divorce and bankruptcy cases.
Federal investigators obtained those boxes of records under a subpoena from the grand jury investigating the bank’s collapse. Prosecutors recently said in court they are copying the files in those “eight or nine boxes” and will then return them.
Robert Kowalski – who says he has no financial interest in his mother’s bar — has said that Levin shouldn’t have provided those records to investigators, saying they contained legal files that are protected by attorney-client privilege. He also argues the seized records include the computer thumb drive given to him by federal investigators who are legally required to share their evidence in the investigation of Washington Federal.
DaVinci’s Gaming Bar in Chicago Ridge has six video gaming machines that have taken in more than $435,000 in wagers from gamblers who won nearly $400,000, state records show. Brian Ernst / Sun-Times
Meanwhile, the legal troubles continue for some of those currently and previously involved with the bar continue.
Patel is suing to evict Rosemary Kowalski and Nosy Rosie’s “because they haven’t paid me rent for several months.” In a lawsuit filed last Oct. 23, Patel said he was owed $23,925 in rent — a figure he now says is up to nearly $40,000.
And Terry Ferguson faces the possibility of 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced after pleading guilty March 12 in the ATF sting case, admitting he distributed 1.5 kilograms of cocaine in 2016 and 2018 and that he illegally possessed firearms that the federal agent bought from his food truck.
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street…
Sorry, but if I have to hear the “Sesame Street” theme in my head as I write this review, it’s only fair you join me — and don’t even pretend you’re not hearing it at this very moment.
Screen Media presents a documentary directed by Marilyn Agrelo. Rated PG (for some thematic elements, language and smoking). Running time: 107 minutes. Opens Friday at Landmark Century Centre and available May 7 on demand.
That’s the thing about “Sesame Street.” It’s in our heads and in our hearts and in our memories forever, and we’re all the better for it. So yes, the documentary “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street” is an unabashed love letter to the first 20 years of the most influential, most beloved and most enduring children’s program in television history, and why not? Nobody wants to see an expose ripping the lid off Oscar the Grouch’s trash can to tell the real story about the longstanding feud between Bert and Ernie and the ugly truths about Big Bird’s prima donna behavior, and I’m just kidding, none of that ever happened! By all accounts, Big Bird was a real sweetheart to work with, and Bert and Ernie got along just fine off set.
Told in sober, straightforward, no-frills fashion — a bit of a letdown, given the groundbreaking creativity of the subject matter — “Street Gang” takes us back to the late 1960s, when Children’s Television Workshop co-founder Joan Ganz Cooney (now 91 and a participant in the doc) and the late writer-producer-director Jon Stone co-created a revolutionary children’s show aimed at educating and entertaining kids, particularly minorities in the inner cities. We see fascinating archival footage and still photos of pitch meetings (pure “Mad Men” stuff) and test videos and the building of the remarkable set, which looked like a real street in a real city.
As for the Muppets: Jim Henson’s fantastically funny puppets were already popular on late-night talk shows and variety programs, but they achieved true icon status when the idea was hatched to have Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch et al., interacting with the humans right there on the block, no explanations provided or questions asked. That’s just the way it was on Sesame Street. You were accepted whether you were white or Black or Latino or a giant yellow talking bird. Genius!
“Sesame Street” was an instant sensation — though there was some resistance from television programming to its integrated setting, as we see in news footage in which a Mississippi public television station representative tries to justify not airing the program. (When Mississippi’s commercial TV stations started carrying the show, the public TV station changed its tune.)
We learn of the evolution of Caroll Spinney’s Big Bird, as the decision was made to basically make him a 4-year-old, so he’d reflect the mindset of the young “Sesame Street” viewer. (This was never more evident than in the 1982 episode that addressed the death of actor Will Lee by having Big Bird process — with the help of his human friends — the death of Lee’s character, the shopkeeper Mr. Hooper.) And we’re reminded of Sesame Street’s long and admirable history of addressing social issues when we see a clip of Jesse Jackson on the show in 1972, leading a group of children in a chant of “I Am Somebody.”
Big Bird, the Muppet manipulated by Caroll Spinney (right), was designed to have the mindset of a 4-year-old, “Street Gang” reveals.Sesame Workshop
Director Marilyn Agrelo does a remarkable job of following multiple storylines; it really did take a village to build “Sesame Street.” We follow the journeys of Ganz and her Children’s Television Workshop partner Lloyd Morrisett; legendary music composer Joe Raposo (who spoke to the outcast in all of us when he wrote “Being Green”); actors such as Sonia “Maria” Manzano and Emilio “Luis” Delgado, and, of course, Jim Henson. In cases where the subjects are no longer with us, we often hear fond memories from their grown children. We also feel the pain of Matt Robinson, who was the original Gordon on the show and created a Black Muppet named Roosevelt Franklin — a character that was phased out after criticism from Black parents that Roosevelt perpetuated stereotypes.
“Street Gang” draws the curtain on the “Sesame Street” timeline with the death of Jim Henson in 1990, at the age of 53. Mr. Henson left behind a body of work that continues to endure today, but a great deal of his legacy remains on Sesame Street, and this film tells us exactly how he and everyone else got there.
One person is in custody after shots were fired at Chicago police officers April 22, 2021 in West Englewood. | Sun-Times file
No officers were shot or injured in the incident.
One person was placed in custody Thursday night after a stray bullet struck an unmarked squad car in West Englewood.
Two officers were sitting in a vehicle in the 6300 block of South Damen Avenue about 9:30 p.m. when a male fired shots from a passing gray Chrysler, Chicago police said.
The male in the Chrysler was aiming at another vehicle in traffic when one of the bullets struck the officer’s car door, according to police. No officers were shot or injured in the incident.
The grey Chrysler was seen driving south on Damen when two males got out, leaving on foot, police said.
One was taken into custody and brought to Area One headquarters, according to police. Officers were still searching for the second male, police said.
The vehicle was recovered with a handgun in the 7300 block of South Winchester Avenue, police said.
The officers were not the intended target, according to police. In an earlier statement, officers said shots were fired at the police.
No officers returned fire during the incident, according to police.
There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Virgo.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Batten down the hatches because your home and family life will be unsettled in the next seven weeks because of increased activity and chaos. This could be because of renovations, residential moves or visiting hoards from the hinterland.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
You’re PowerPoint on steroids in the next seven weeks. Not only are the sun, Mercury and Venus lined up in your sign, but fiery Mars has now moved into your House of Communications. Look out world! You’ll be vocal and proactive!
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
You will work hard to earn money in the next seven weeks because Mars is in your Money House. The last time this happened was in 2017. Not only does this mean you will work hard for your money, it also means you’ll spend it!
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
For the first time since 2017, fiery Mars is in your sign to stay for seven weeks. This signals increased activity! You will work hard and make it clear to others what you want. You will fight for your own rights and be physically vigorous!
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Life might be a bit tricky in the month ahead because you might not get credit for what you do. And if there was ever a sign that likes applause, it’s you. This could make you vaguely irritable. You might give the wrong impression and undermine yourself. Be careful.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
You will want to define goals and actively pursue them because you have a strong ego drive in the next seven weeks. You’ll enjoy physical activities with friends, especially competitive activities. You might be bossy with groups. (Focus on cooperation.)
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Your ambition will be aroused in the next seven weeks. (The last time this happened was 2017.) You will identify with whatever you’re doing and work hard to make it a success. Ideally, you should be on your own boss because conflict with coworkers could arise. Oh yeah, you’ll call the shots.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Some of you might encounter legal difficulties in the next month. Many of you will want to do more creative, intellectual work. You want to put out energy into expanding your mind and learning new things. Admittedly, you might be so excited about something, you end up defending your beliefs.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Disputes about shared property, inheritances, taxes and insurance matters are likely for many of you in the next several weeks. Partners might argue about jointly held resources. Meanwhile, your sex drive will be over the top!
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Mars will be opposite your sign for the next seven weeks. (The last time this happened was in 2017.) When this occurs, it’s very easy to feel annoyed with those who are closest to you — dear friends and partners. Your best recourse is to demonstrate grace under pressure. Patience.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
You will accomplish a lot in the next seven weeks. However, the downside is you might work hard and not get credit for what you do. Argh. You might have to work for the benefit of someone else. (Because you feel independent, this is not the time to be a team player.)
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Expect an interesting, fun-loving month ahead because Mars will encourage you to be yourself and express yourself honestly to others. You will be more playful and prankish. You will enjoy amusing diversions as well as sports, athletic activities and fun times with kids. Romance will be energetic! (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.)
If Your Birthday Is Today
Actor, former White House staff member Kal Penn (1977) shares your birthday. You are an optimist who is steady, reliable and honest. You are insightful and creative. You also have an appreciation of history. You are independent and like to do your own thing; nevertheless, you have strong family values. An interesting year awaits you because it will be a year that will bring about a major change in your world.
It has been one step forward, two steps back for the Cubs during the first four weeks of the season, but they slowly might be starting to pick things up.
A team can’t win a division in April, but it certainly can make things tough on itself, and the Cubs appeared to be heading in that direction after four consecutive series losses. But with only one direction to go and the National League Central-leading Brewers coming to town Friday, the Cubs caught the Mets at the right time and have gotten themselves back on track.
Thursday’s series finale looked like it was going to get away from the Cubs, but after giving up the lead late, they were able to secure their first series sweep of the season on Jason Heyward’s 10th inning walk-off single, sending the Cubs to a 4-3 win.
“I think that’s a good character win right there,” manager David Ross said. “Things weren’t playing out the way I think we wanted and felt like we didn’t come through in some moments, but guys stepped up, made pitches, made plays and we came through with the big knock there at the end for [Jason Heyward].
“Sometimes, you don’t execute everything that you want to in a game, but when you come away with a win, you feel really good, especially after a grinder like that.”
The Cubs are going to have to find different ways to win to have success this season, and during the three-game series against New York, that’s what they did. In Wednesday’s 16-4 blowout win, the offense did the heavy lifting.
Strong starting pitching and defense along with some timely hitting got the job done Tuesday in the Cubs’ 3-1 victory and while it won’t always be pretty like in Thursday’s walk-off win, stacking up wins against a team considered to be one of the best in the NL is valuable.
“I think overall it was a tremendous team win,” said starter Trevor Williams who allowed two runs over five innings in Thursday’s win.
The Cubs aren’t going to burn on the basepaths, but against the Mets, they weren’t afraid to push the envelope on the bases, swiping a few bags and taking the extra base, which not only helped put runs on the board but forced New York into several costly mistakes.
The Mets made six errors during the three-game series and a few mental mistakes, and it seemed as if every time they happened, the Cubs made them pay.
“I think that’s important in this type of weather,” Ross said Wednesday. “Because I don’t think you can rely on the home run. ‘I think the little details in games with the cold weather and the wind blowing in here at Wrigley, you need the baserunning and the defense.
“If we need to do the little things, I think that’s what’s going to help us win ballgames. That’s championship baseball. Running the bases well. Playing good defense. We get good pitching and we get some timely hitting, that’s a formula for success. That’s nice to see.”
The Cubs have talked about the team they want to be during their early ups and downs, but they started to play like a team that has its eyes on winning a division.
One of the next objectives the Cubs will have to figure out is playing better against teams in the NL Central. They’re 5-7 against the division, and with Milwaukee coming in and the Reds waiting at the end of their next homestand, they’ll have an opportunity to make up ground.
“I think for us to get our first sweep of the season,” Williams said. “I think it was a real step forward for us to put behind the previous three weeks and we’re starting to ride that flow, so I think it’s something that was really good for us overall as a team to win these last three games and go into a division series to finish up the homestand and get on to Atlanta.”
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