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The shooting involved an officer of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. It did not involve Chicago police.

A South Shore Line officer shot and critically wounded an unruly passenger he was trying to remove from a train Thursday morning at the Hegewisch station.

An officer of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the South Shore Line, was called to a conductor who said a passenger was being verbally aggressive, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department, which is investigating the shooting.

As the officer tried to remove the 33-year-old passenger from the train, the passenger became “physically aggressive and a struggle ensued,” at which point the officer shot the passenger in his abdomen, police said.

The passenger was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said.

The officer was taken to a hospital for a facial injury, police said. He was in good condition at Trinity Hospital, Langford said.

One gunshot was fired in the incident, according to NICTD President Mike Nolan. The shooting happened on train number 114, which arrived about 8:30 a.m. at the Hegewisch station, 13730 S Brainerd Ave., he said.

The NICTD, based in Michigan City, Indiana, runs South Shore Line trains between Millennium Station in the Loop and the South Bend Airport.

Chicago police asked anyone with tips, images or video to contact Area Two detectives at (312) 747-8271 or online at CPDTIP.com.

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“Ideas that are seen as progressive, modern, or radical always have these associations that come from the West,” said Senyawa vocalist Rully Shabara in a February interview with Reader contributor Joshua Minsoo Kim for his online music zine Tone Glow. “But is that true?” Shabara, 38, and instrument inventor Wukir Suryadi, 43, founded this Indonesian duo in 2010, and when I first wrote about them in 2014, I said their largely improvised music “combines the ancient gravity of a firelit ritual and the electric futurism of the avant-garde.” Senyawa know they aren’t engaged in a mass-market enterprise, so their artistic practice foregrounds collaboration, decentralization, and mutual support.…Read More

Julio Rubio-Gonzalez has been charged with a felony count of first-degree murder.

A 19-year-old Portage Park man was charged in a fatal shooting in December in Mayfair on the Northwest Side.

Julio Rubio-Gonzalez faces a count of first-degree murder in the Dec. 17, 2020, shooting of 19-year-old Carlos Cruz, Chicago police said.

About 12:50 p.m., Cruz was walking his dog in the 4000 block of West Wilson Avenue, when someone in a stolen white Nissan Maxima fired shots, striking him multiple times in the body, police said. He died at Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

The stolen Nissan was found several blocks away in the 4400 block of North LaCrosse Avenue, and officers located the person of interest even farther west in the 4300 block of North Major Avenue, police said.

Rubio-Gonzalez was arrested about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 5500 block of West Grand Avenue, after being identified as someone involved with the shooting, police said.

He was due in bond court Thursday.

Chicago police

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The shooting involved an officer of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. It did not involve Chicago police.

A man was in critical condition after being shot Thursday by a South Shore Line officer at the Hegewisch station on the Far South Side, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The shooting, which involved an officer of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, happened about 8:30 a.m. at 13730 S Brainerd Ave., according to fire department spokesman Larry Langford.

The shooting did not involve the Chicago Police Department, he said. The circumstances of the shooting were not released.

The officer, who was not shot, was taken to Trinity Hospital for an unspecified injury, Langford said. He was listed in good condition.

The man who was shot, in his 30s, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his abdomen, Langford said.

A representative for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District did not immediately return a request for information.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, based in Michigan City, Indiana, runs South Shore Line trains between Millennium Station in the Loop and the South Bend Airport.

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The teen was arrested Wednesday after Chicago police said he was identified as a shooter in the April 10, 2019, murder of Ismael Moore and Terrell James Haggins.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged as the third gunman in a deadly shooting from 2019 in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

The teen was arrested Wednesday after Chicago police said he was identified as a shooter in the April 10, 2019, murders of Ismael Moore and Terrell James Haggins.

LaDarius Howard and Cornelius Valentine were arrested and charged with murder last August in the shooting.

The trio allegedly exited a car and opened fire at a group on the corner of the 600 block of North St. Louis Avenue.

Moore, 19, who was with the group on the corner, was immediately shot and fell to the ground, prosecutors said then. A third gunman walked up to Moore and shot him several more time. Haggins, 17, died on Ohio Street, authorities said. Another person was wounded.

The teen, who’s name wasn’t released by police, was expected in court Thursday on a two murder charges, an attempted murder charge and a count of aggravated battery.

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

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It’s been quite a wild ride for the Windy City.

When does a town become a city? For Chicago, that was exactly 184 years ago, when the state of Illinois officially gave it the bump to city status using the exact language you’d expect from a law written in 1837: “That the district of country in the county of Cook in the state aforesaid … shall hereafter be known by the name of city.”

Similar to how this anniversary doesn’t matter much to anyone outside of Chicago today, it wasn’t a big deal across the country back then. Martin Van Buren was sworn in as the United States’ eighth president on the same day, which dominated national headlines. And unlike the Midwest metropolis it is now, the newly anointed city of Chicago had a population of just 4,500 at the time.

What Chicago did have at the time was tons of prairie land ideally placed between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Great engineering innovations helped overcome critical challenges including sewage and clean water. (You really don’t want those two things to mix.)

Still, those early decades brought big challenges before the city could reach its potential, including…

• A collapse of the national economy within months of being incorporated
• A canal project that initially put the state in financial despair
• Outbreaks of deadly diseases like cholera, dysentery and typhoid
• The country dissolving into civil war for four years
• A fire that wiped out huge parts of the city

But those challenges taught the city critical lessons that helped it grow, improve and thrive. Chicago’s massive water-related government projects informed how many other U.S. cities would provide those resources. The steel- and stone-heavy structures built in place of the wood buildings destroyed in the Great Fire set the stage for other modern cities embracing similar materials.

So it’s fair to say that Chicago has a lot to celebrate on its 184th birthday today. Make sure to wish it a happy one!

A version of this story was originally published March 4, 2020.

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From the inventor of Lincoln Logs to a collaboration between great North Shore architects of very distant generations, warm up to five bright spots with lake access.Read More

Chicago Blackhawks: Biggest test of 2021 is on deck by Vincent Parise

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Chicago Bears (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bears are in two particularly difficult situations between Allen Robinson and their quarterback conundrum.

Fans just rolled their eyes reading the words ‘quarterback conundrum,’ too, because this is the mere definition of being a Bears fan. That’s all they’ve ever been used to. The Bears have never had a Hall of Fame type of quarterback, let alone just a consistently good quarterback.

We can engage in Jay Cutler arguments all day long, but the fact of the matter is, Chicago still hasn’t been a Super Bowl contender for 15 years now and haven’t won a playoff game since, well, Cutler was in town.

One of the quarterbacks that’s seemingly available for the taking right now is Sam Darnold. The New York Jets are open to discussions pertaining Darnold. Not only that, but they’re open to dealing their no. 2 overall pick.

It seems the Bears aren’t the only team with everything on the table — eh?

The Robinson situation is a sticky one, and it continues to get more ugly for the Bears. The more we hear from Robinson’s camp on this issue, the worse Ryan Pace looks. If he could just give the man the money he deserves, we’d be off Pace’s back — for now.

With Robinson’s future in flux, one particular idea that’s been tossed around on social media lately is making an even swap with the Jets for Darnold.

As crazy as it sounds, some folks are all aboard this train, while I’m attempting to make any sense of this ridiculous idea. The Bears trading away one of the NFL’s most consistent and talented receivers for a young, shaky-at-best quarterback seems like another terrible idea for this franchise.

But, because it’s being so heavily discussed, let’s look at what one of a few potential deals might look like if the Bears were to take it seriously.

Next: Trade Number 1

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Jack Eichel would look so awesome in a Chicago Blackhawks sweater by Vincent Parise

The Chicago Blackhawks have really surprised every single NHL fan so far this season. Their roster isn’t that good and it is very young. However, good goaltending, contributions from everyone, and elite play from Patrick Kane have really helped them be one of those surprise teams. At 12-7-4, they are in fourth place of the Central Division and are five points clear of fifth-place Columbus (the top four seeds in each division make the playoffs).

The one tough stretch for the Chicago Blackhawks this season came right at the beginning of the season. They started 0-3-1 with four straight losses to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers (two apiece). They gave up five goals in every game and didn’t do a very good job scoring goals. Now, their toughest test of the season comes as they have to play the Lightning three times in the next four days.

The Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. 2020 was a phenomenal year for them before the COVID-19 pause and then they were very good again in the bubble. They defeated the Dallas Stars to capture their first Cup since 2004. Now, they are looking to repeat which is very difficult but they are good enough. They sit atop the Central with a 15-4-1 record and should have a really nice seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It would look really good for the Hawks if they were able to snag some points. Nobody is expecting them to go 3-0-0 against them but they need to play well. If they somehow were as bad as they were against them early this season, their playoff hopes might be in doubt. There is still going to be a lot of hockey left but this is a big measuring stick.

What is it that makes the Tampa Bay Lightning so good? Well, it starts in their goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy currently has three straight shutouts which is a crazy stat by NHL standards. It is difficult to get one let alone three in a row. The Hawks are going to need bodies in front, deflections, and hard work in order to beat him when he is in the net.

The Bolts are also elite when it comes to defending. It starts and ends with Victor Hedman who might be the best defenseman in the NHL. The rest of the crew behind him isn’t too shabby either so the Hawks must make it hard on them. If they are successful, it should also make things hard on their forwards who are capable of burning you in every way. Guys like Steven Stamkos, Braden Point, and Ondrej Palat are very dangerous and amongst the league’s best.

Related Story: Patrick Kane cannot be stopped for the Chicago Blackhawks

The good news is that these games are at the United Center. The first two games against them were at the Amalie Arena in Tampa. Playing at home should serve them well. They are 6-3-1 at the UC this year so hopefully, that trend continues. It may sound like a cliche at times but this is the most important stretch of the season for them up to this point and it isn’t close.

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