The indictment is the latest development in a case that traces its way back to Dec. 3, 2017, when John F. Gembara was found dead in Marek Matczuk’s home, according to police reports.

The man who owns the million-dollar Park Ridge home where a Bridgeport bank president’s dead body was discovered three years ago now faces criminal charges as the investigation into massive alleged fraud at Washington Federal Bank for Savings continues to expand.

Marek Matczuk is among four new defendants accused in a 67-page indictment filed Thursday that also names James R. Crotty, a former vice president at the bank, as a defendant. The indictment alleges that $1.8 million had been embezzled for the benefit of the late bank president, CEO and chairman of the board of directors, John F. Gembara.

It was used in part for the purchase of a Sea Ray 420 Sundancer boat named “Expelliarmus.”

Also charged are real estate developers Boguslaw Kasprowicz and Miroslaw Krejza.

The indictment is the latest development in the case that dates to Dec. 3, 2017, when Gembara’s dead body was found in Matczuk’s home, according to police reports. Gembara was found in a seated position, fully clothed, with his glasses on and a green rope wrapped around his neck and tied to the bannister of a spiral staircase, according to the reports.

Kevin Tanaka / Sun-Times

The death was ruled to be a suicide. Federal regulators abruptly shut the bank down days later.

Records have previously shown that Matczuk got more than $2.8 million in unsecured loan advances between January 2013 and Nov. 1, 2017, one month before Gembara was found dead in Matczuk’s home. Matczuk had five mortgages from Washington Federal totaling nearly $2 million at the time of Gembara’s death, covering his home and three other residential properties.

Crotty, who lives in Tinley Park, was fired from the bank in May 2017 shortly before regulators discovered the fraudulent scheme.

Kasprowicz also got 93 loan advances totaling $9.3 million between January 2013 and Nov. 13, 2017, according to a claim by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Washington Federal also issued six mortgages totaling $2.4 million to Kasprowicz, including one for $750,000 on his home in the 1800 block of North Honore.

Kasprowicz got his first loan from Gembara’s late father Emil, according to a 66-page history of the bank published in 2013 to mark the institution’s 100th anniversary.

“He was a hard working man who was always there for me,” Kasprowicz said. “From morning to night he worked and always took time to see me. I never needed an appointment. Then his son John took over the business. He takes time to listen to me and has helped me with my construction projects. I respect the family.”

The new indictment comes roughly two years after the first criminal charges related to the bank fraud were filed by prosecutors against sibling attorneys Robert and Jan Kowalski. Prosecutors accused them early in 2019 of concealing assets in Robert Kowalski’s bankruptcy case. Then, in 2020, the feds expanded the case with an indictment alleging that four employees of Gembara’s bank helped Robert Kowalski and others embezzle at least $29 million.

Provided Photo

That indictment last August added two of the bank’s former top executives — Rosallie Corvite, of Chicago, and Jane Iriondo, of Boise, Idaho — to the list of defendants, along with Alicia Mandujano and Cathy Torres, both of Chicago.

Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall ordered Robert Kowalski behind bars in October because he allegedly reached out to Gembara’s widow over a lawsuit he filed — seeking to have the bank president’s body exhumed. Robert Kowalski has since been released but has again been threatened with jail for not following the rules.

Kowalski, an attorney and small residential developer, has told the Sun-Times that Matczuk did roofing jobs for his company.

Investigators have said they believe more than $80 million was siphoned from Washington Federal, with years of phony paperwork obscuring the missing cash from regulators. Prosecutors have said they expected “many” people would be charged.

Authorities have said Gembara used the bank’s money to pay property taxes for Robert Kowalski and that the dead bank president was part of an embezzlement scheme. They’ve said Gembara and an unnamed person transferred money from the bank to Robert Kowalski without any paperwork, then created phony documents to conceal it from federal regulators and that the bank gave loans to Robert Kowalski and others that weren’t expected to be repaid.

Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th) got an $80,000 loan from Washington Federal in October 2017 as regulators were uncovering financial irregularities at the bank. The loan was for repairs to the 11th Ward Regular Democratic Organization’s office at 3659 S. Halsted St. It wasn’t secured by collateral and was deposited in the ward’s campaign fund.

The Chicago Sun-Times also recently reported that Thompson bought a $340,000 summer home in Michigan with a secret loan from the bank. Thompson has not been charged with any crime.

Colin Boyle / Sun-Times file

Six months before federal auditors uncovered fraud at Washington Federal, the bank got a clean bill of health from internal auditors Bansley & Kiener, a firm that also does work for Daley-controlled political campaigns. Bansley & Kiener agreed to pay a $2.5 million settlement last year to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the government agency that took over the bank after regulators closed it on Dec. 15, 2017.

Washington Federal was founded in 1913 by Polish immigrants in Bridgeport. Gembara’s grandfather was among the earlier investors. Its main office was in Bridgeport at 2869 S. Archer Ave., with a branch at 1410 W. Taylor St. in Little Italy.

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Newman, in a House floor speech supporting the LGBTQ Equality Rights Act, talked about her trans daughter; Greene later engaged in a personal transphobic attack.

WASHINGTON — To understand this story about Thursday’s vote on a transgender rights bill, first know that freshmen Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., are across-the-hall neighbors in the Longworth House office building.

Greene is on the fringe of the fringe.

So much so that Democrats who control the House stripped her of committee assignments after the QAnon conspiracy booster and 9-11 denier threatened to execute Democrats, spread anti-Semitic tropes and pushed baseless claims about staged school shootings.

On Tuesday, Newman delivered an impassioned speech on the House floor to support passage of the LGBTQ anti-discrimination Equality Act.

She knows a lot about this issue.

Her daughter Evie, 20, a DePaul University student, transitioned about five years ago.

The Equality Act is needed, Newman said in her floor speech, because she knew from the day Evie “came out to her parents as transgender” she could be “discriminated against merely because of who she is.

“And yet it was still the happiest day of my life. And my daughter has found her authentic self.”

Later on Tuesday, Newman tweeted out a clip from that speech, adding the line, “I’m voting to pass the Equality Act for my daughter — the strongest, bravest person I know.”

On Wednesday, Greene tried unsuccessfully to block a vote on the Equality Act.

That prompted Newman on Wednesday afternoon to plant the light-blue and pink transgender flag next to the State of Illinois flag outside her office — where Greene would be sure to see it.

Newman wrote in an afternoon tweet above a video of her putting up the flag, “Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can look at it every time she opens her door.”

A short time later, Greene tweeted in reply, “As mothers, we all love and support our children. But your biological son does NOT belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams.”

Even though Newman got this ball rolling by planting the trans flag — a symbol — Greene knew or should have known how making her blunt message specifically about Newman’s child could be hurtful.

A few hours later, Greene escalated by putting up an in-your-face sign outside her door that said: “There are two genders. Male & Female. “Trust The Science,” said Greene.

That this message was directed to the mother of a trans child made it more than a matter of a policy dispute. What kind of unfeeling person does that?

Greene said in a tweet about her sign, “Our neighbor, @RepMarieNewman, wants to pass the so-called “Equality” Act to destroy women’s rights and religious freedoms. Thought we’d put up ours so she can look at it every time she opens her door.”

And by the way, Greene does not trust science. She had to be forced to wear a COVID mask on the House floor.

A NEWMAN – GREENE BACKSTORY

It’s not like Newman did not try to get to know Greene when they both got to Congress. She did.

Earlier this month, when Greene made a Feb. 4 speech from the House floor where she was trying to avoid being stripped of her committees — she did finally accept that the 9-11 attacks happened — she tried to position herself as misunderstood.

“I haven’t gotten to know any of my Democratic colleagues,” Greene said from the floor.

Like much of what Greene said, that was not quite right. I talked to Newman on Feb. 4 and asked her — in the wake of what Greene said about not knowing any Democrats — whether she had gotten to know her office neighbor.

Said Newman, “We bumped into each other several times and I would say, ‘Hi, how are you. How’s it going?’ And she just refused to acknowledge me, and I know for sure she knew who I was and that I was her neighbor. I’ve had no interaction because she refuses to have interaction.”

And to add another wrinkle to this, on Thursday, Facebook removed Newman’s video. “Facebook took down our video of me putting up the Transgender flag outside my office and labeled it as “hate speech.” Meanwhile, they’re still allowing Marjorie Taylor Greene’s transphobic video to be posted.” Facebook put it back, telling Newman it was removed in error.

HOW ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS VOTED

The Equality Act passed the House on a 224-206 roll call to meet an uncertain future in the Senate. The 18 Illinois House members split along party lines. The 13 Democrats voted yes and the 5 Republicans were no votes.

Read More

Here’s the latest news on how COVID-19 impacted Chicago and Illinois.

On the same day that eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine expanded across Illinois, the state reported that it blew away its record for most doses administered in a day. Meanwhile, the United Center is expected to open soon as a mass vaccination site.

Here’s what happened today.

Latest

TOP STORY: With 130K shots given, Illinois sets single-day vaccine record as eligibility expands

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Illinois set a new record for most COVID-19 vaccinations administered in a day as hundreds of thousands more people become eligible to receive them, public health officials announced Thursday.

The 130,021 shots that went into arms Wednesday shattered the state’s previous high of 95,375 inoculations given Feb. 11, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

And after a week of brutal winter weather slowed down the rollout, Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he expects six-figure vaccination days to become the norm as pharmaceutical companies bolster production and the federal government parcels out larger shipments.

The pool of people vying for coveted vaccine appointments grew Thursday, too, as the Democratic governor’s expansion of the Phase 1B rollout took effect, allowing residents 16 or older with underlying health conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes, to register for a shot.

Read the full story here.

6:12 p.m. As hospital numbers fall, fatigued staff get relief at last

MISSION, Kan. — When COVID-19 patients inundated St. Louis hospitals, respiratory therapists arriving for yet another grueling shift with a dwindling supply of ventilators would often glance at their assignments and cry, heading into the locker room to collect themselves.

“They were like, ‘Man, another 12 hours of this slog of these on-the-verge-of-death patients who could go at any moment.’ And just knowing that they had to take care of them with that kind of stress in the back of their head,’” recalled Joe Kowalczyk, a respiratory therapist who sometimes works in a supervisory role.

Now the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. has dropped by 80,000 in six weeks, and 17% of the nation’s adult population has gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, providing some relief to front-line workers like Kowalczyk. On his most recent shift at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, there were only about 20 coronavirus patients, down from as many as 100 at the peak of the winter surge.

“It is so weird to look back on it,” he said. “Everyone was hitting their wit’s end definitely toward the end just because we had been doing it for so long at the end of year.”

Read the full story here.

4:22 p.m. United Center mass COVID-19 vaccination site could give out 8,000 shots per day

Authorities are expected to announce plans to stand up a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the United Center during a Friday new conference.

Crain’s on Thursday first reported that the new vaccination site will use a combination of drive-through and temporary walk-up facilities and could be used to inoculate thousands of people each day.

On Thursday, Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Democrat whose 8th District includes portions of Chicago’s West Side, said the site will be used to administer up to 8,000 daily vaccine doses to people over the age of 65.

Ald. Walter Burnett, whose 27th Ward includes the United Center, said officials with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office are planning to hold a news conference to announce the site Friday. He noted that the United Center has “the plans ready and they’re ready to do it.”

Read the full story from Tom Schuba here.

3:22 p.m. CPS open to improving remote learning as F’s increase, attendance drops

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

As students continue to ask for more leniency and support in remote learning, Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson reiterated her stance Wednesday that the school district would not reduce screen time — but she suggested officials would be willing to revisit how that time is spent.

Those students’ pleas come as new data released Wednesday shows failing grades are up and attendance is down across Chicago Public Schools, largely along racial and socioeconomic lines.

The district’s year-to-date attendance has dropped 1.9% this school year compared to last —92.5% to 90.6% — with the most serious decreases coming among Black students at 4.5%, Latino children at 1.4%, special education students at 3.6% and homeless students at 6.7%, district records show. White and Asian American kids are attending at higher rates than last year.

High schools have faced a 4.3% drop in attendance compared to 0.9% for elementary schools, and charter school attendance has fallen 6.3% compared to 1.3% for district-run schools.

Grades, meanwhile, are skewing to extremes. There are more A’s but also more F’s in reading and math at all grade levels and in all racial groups. Elementary students in particular are getting F’s at more than double the rate as last year. Perhaps most troubling to district officials is a significant rise in failing grades handed out to Black and Latino students.

Read the full story from Nader Issa here.

3:19 p.m. BLM launches Survival Fund amid federal COVID-19 relief wait

NEW YORK — The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is formally expanding a $3 million financial relief fund that it quietly launched earlier this month, to help people struggling to make ends meet during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The foundation, which grew out of the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement nearly eight years ago, said Thursday that it plans to make up to 3,000 microgrants of $1,000 each to people who it believes need it most. The BLM foundation has already begun asking recipients to apply for the Survival Fund grants as it builds out its philanthropic arm.

If approved, the money is deposited directly into recipients’ bank accounts or made available on prepaid debit cards, the foundation said — no strings attached.

“This came from a collective conversation with BLM leadership that Black folks are being hurt the most financially during the pandemic,” BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors told The Associated Press.

“I believe that when you have resources, to hoard them is a disservice to the people who deserve them,” she said.

Details about the initiative were shared with the AP ahead of the announcement.

Read the full story here.

10:46 a.m. Amid COVID-19 pandemic, flu has disappeared in the US

NEW YORK — February is usually the peak of flu season, with doctors’ offices and hospitals packed with suffering patients. But not this year.

The flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades.

Experts say that measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, social distancing and virtual schooling — were a big factor in preventing a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. A push to get more people vaccinated against flu probably helped, too, as did fewer people traveling, they say.

Another possible explanation: The coronavirus has essentially muscled aside flu and other bugs that are more common in the fall and winter. Scientists don’t fully understand the mechanism behind that, but it would be consistent with patterns seen when certain flu strains predominate over others, said Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert at the University of Michigan.

Nationally, “this is the lowest flu season we’ve had on record,” according to a surveillance system that is about 25 years old, said Lynnette Brammer of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitals say the usual steady stream of flu-stricken patients never materialized.

Read the full story here.

9:20 a.m. Trisha Yearwood battling COVID-19; husband Garth Brooks tests negative

Country music star Trisha Yearwood is currently “under the greatest care” at home after contracting COVID-19, according to a statement from her husband, Garth Brooks.

A press release from Brooks’ publicist says the couple was already quarantining at home after a member of their team recently tested positive, and that the winter weather in Tennessee prevented them from getting tested for almost a week. Both have now been tested twice, and Brooks remains negative.

“Officially, she’s diagnosed as ‘on her way out of the tunnel’ now, though,” Brooks said in the release. ”Which I’m extremely thankful for.”

“Anyone who knows me knows my world begins and ends with Miss Yearwood, so she and I will ride through this together. And anyone who knows her knows she’s a fighter and she’s been doing everything right, so I know we’ll walk out the other side of this thing together.”

The press release says Yearwood is “doing okay so far” but dealing with unspecified symptoms, and Brooks welcomes fans’ prayers and thoughts.

“If anyone asks, that’s what you can do for her. That’s what I’m doing. Living with her, I sometimes take it for granted she’s one of the greatest voices in all of music, so the possible long-term effects on her concern me as her husband and as a fan. We’re very lucky she is currently under the greatest care in the best city for treating and healing singers.”

Read the full story here.

New Cases

• Officials reported 2,022 new cases were diagnosed among 82,976 tests, sending the average statewide testing positivity rate down to 2.6%.
• Coronavirus hospitalizations are back to summer lows with 1,511 beds occupied across the state as of Tuesday night.

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Please send scores and corrections to [email protected]

Thursday, February 25, 2021

CATHOLIC – CROSSOVER

St. Ignatius at Fenwick, 7:15

CENTRAL SUBURBAN – SOUTH

Glenbrook South at New Trier, 5:30

LITTLE TEN

Hiawatha at Indian Creek, 6:45

NIC – 10

Belvidere at Jefferson, 7:30

Belvidere North at Guilford, 7:30

Boylan at Rockford East, 7:30

Harlem at Freeport, 7:30

Hononegah at Auburn, 7:30

NORTHEASTERN ATHLETIC

Christian Life at Our Lady Sacred Heart, 5:30

Harvest Christian at Schaumburg Christian, 6:00

Parkview Christian at South Beloit, 6:00

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch at Lakes, 6:45

Grant at Grayslake Central, PPD

Grayslake North at Round Lake, at Magee MS, 7:00

Wauconda at North Chicago, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Bogan at Corliss, 6:00

Brooks at Longwood, CNL

Morgan Park at Kenwood, 5:00

Phillips at Hyde Park, 5:30

Simeon at Curie, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE WHITE-CENTRAL

Dunbar at King, 5:00

Hubbard at Catalyst-Maria, 5:00

Richards (Chgo) at Lindblom, 5:00

Solorio at Kennedy, 6:30

Urban Prep-Englewood at Tilden, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE WHITE-SOUTH

Carver at Agricultural Science, 7:00

Dyett at Urban Prep-Bronzeville, 5:00

Harlan at Vocational, 5:00

Perspectives-Lead at ACE Amandla, 5:00

South Shore at Fenger, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE-CENTRAL

Acero-Soto at Horizon-Southwest, 5:00

DuSable at Excel-Englewood, 5:00

Englewood STEM at Instituto Health, 5:00

Gage Park at Acero-Garcia, 5:00

Hancock at Kelly, 5:00

Harper at Back of the Yards, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE-SOUTH

Air Force at Washington, 5:00

Chicago Military at EPIC, 5:00

Goode at UC-Woodlawn, 5:00

Hirsch at Excel-South Shore, 5:00

Julian at Bowen, 5:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – BLUE

Hillcrest at Oak Forest, 5:30

Lemont at Thornton Fr. North, 6:00

Tinley Park at Bremen, 5:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – RED

Evergreen Park at Richards, 6:30

Oak Lawn at Argo, 6:00

Shepard at Eisenhower, 6:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – CROSSOVER

Reavis at Thornton Fr. South, 6:00

SOUTHLAND

Bloom at Crete-Monee, 4:30

Kankakee at Thornwood, 5:00

Rich at Thornridge, 7:00

UPSTATE EIGHT

Bartlett at Fenton, 7:30

East Aurora at Streamwood, 7:30

Elgin at West Chicago, 7:30

Glenbard East at South Elgin, 7:30

Glenbard South at Larkin, 7:30

NON CONFERENCE

Homewood-Flossmoor at Young, 6:30

Northridge at Lake Forest Academy, 6:15

Westlake Christian at Richmond-Burton, 7:30

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Turns out the top four teams left out of March Madness won’t have their bubbles burst quite yet.

Under a contingency plan released Thursday by the Division I basketball committees, those four at-large teams that don’t make the original field in the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments will be placed in order and serve as the replacement teams should any conference with multiple bids have a school that is unable to participate due to COVID-19 issues.

If the tournament begins without any withdrawals, the four would still be eligible to compete in the NIT.

The contingency plan only applies to the short period between the announcement of the brackets — March 14 for men and March 15 for women — and the start of games later that week. Once a tournament begins, any team whose opponent is forced to withdraw would automatically advance to the next round.

If there are COVID-19 issues with a qualifying school leading up to the NCAA Tournament selection, conferences get to designate a replacement team and it will be seeded in the bracket based upon its own body of work.

Single-bid conferences likewise can choose their replacement provided the team has gone seven days without a positive test.

Due to the pandemic, the entire men’s tournament will take place in Indianapolis and the surrounding area beginning with First Four games March 18 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette and Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The Final Four will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium with the championship game scheduled for April 5.

The women’s tournament, which begins with first-round games March 21, will take place in San Antonio and neighboring cities of Austin and San Marcos. The Final Four is set for the Alamodome with the title game April 4.

The basketball committees formulated their contingency plan based on four core tenets: once the bracket is released, it will not be changed or reseeded; it will attempt to ensure a full field before the tournament with no replacement teams once play begins; every participating conference should have at least one team in the field; and the replacement teams should be the best teams considered for an at-large that still remain.

Many of the same rules were used by the Division I competition and oversight committee to create a similar plan for winter championships such as wrestling and gymnastics. The plan also covers men’s and women’s cross country and men’s water polo, which are fall sports but whose champions will be decided in March.

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Just N

• About

Dorian Missick Discusses His Characters Development On ABC’s FOR LIFE

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By Nekia Nichelle,
today at 4:51 pm

[embedded content]

Dorian Missick currently stars on SEASON 2 of ABC’s hit crime drama/thriller FOR LIFE, which aired its season 2 finale on February 24th. Created by Hank Steinberg and produced by 50 Cent, the timely drama is based on the true story of Isaac Wright Jr., who was imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit. While incarcerated, he became a licensed attorney and helped to overturn the wrongful convictions of twenty of his fellow inmates, before finally proving his own innocence.

Missick first gained recognition when he starred in the critically acclaimed TNT series “SouthLAnd” opposite Emmy winner Regina King. Missick then stayed in the John Wells family and had a heavily recurring role in the TNT series “Animal Kingdom.” Other recent roles include a series regular on CBS All Access’s Tell Me A Story, Marvel’s Luke Cage, the lead opposite Brandy in BET’s comedy series “Zoe Ever After,” NBC’s drama “The Cape,” JJ Abrams’ “Six Degrees” for ABC.

Missick’s recent film work includes BRIAN BANKS with Greg Kinnear and Aldis Hodge, the SXSW independent JINN, Sony’s ANNIE, Screen Gem’s DELIVER US FROM EVIL, and BIG WORLDS (Slamdance 2014) which was distributed by Ava Duvernay’s ARRAY films, in which he played the title character.

We chatted with Missick before season 2’s finale to talk about his character and development on the show.

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A Billionaire Has found a new Basket of Deplorables/ The ILLINOIS GOVERNOR Says “Crime Victims are Fearmongers”/Let Them Eat Cake Act II

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By BOB ANGONE,
today at 4:00 pm

Imagine for just a few seconds that you lived in Chicago. Every single day you read and hear about the soaring violence and the tremendous impact it has on the thousands of victims. In a 14 month period over 875 souls have been murdered, infants, babies, toddlers, hundreds of teens, seniors, no age group or gender spared. Another 4,600 have been shot and over 1,718 have been victims of violent carjackings.

No matter where one lives in the City the violence is real and folks are aware and living, if not in fear then in a state of high alert. So along comes none-other than the Governor of Illinois using his pulpit when signing a Supposed Criminal Justice Reform Bill to label folks as FEARMONGERS who are concerned about a major part of the bill that will completely eliminate cash bail from the Bonding process. Gee! ya think they would be at least a bit concerned to learn that violent criminals will be sent right back through the revolving door they came through in less than 24 hours most times. Not so in the Governor’s mind, HE’S LABELED THOSE CONCERNED FOLKS FEARMONGERS. I’m not sure what kind of a life J.B Pritzker lead before he spent almost 173 million dollars of his own fortune to become Governor, but I’m betting it was either Disney World or the land of the STEPFORD WIVES.

One could not be that out of touch unless he lived on another planet. Not since Hillary Clinton labeled those who disagreed with her political platform a”BASKET OF DEPLORABLES” has a politician besmirched so many decent people with such a blatant disregard for legitimate concerns. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Marie Antoinette at least offered cake, Pritzker and his family who are surrounded by armed security 24 hours a day offer up an astonishing insult.

I once had a young police officer who was assigned to my unit to work undercover as a decoy. Strong-armed robberies, armed robberies, and chain snatchings were gripping the city’s transit system. He felt that he was not doing something quite right, none of the offenders were picking him out and he was frustrated. I explained to him that it was his demeanor and his sense of security, he was armed, he had other protections on his person, and of course, he had back up no more than 10 seconds away, so his aura, so to speak, gave him away.  He didn’t have the same look as a defenseless citizen would have and the criminal element could sense he was not a typical victim. I sense that Governor Pritzker and his assessment of other people’s fear as Fearmongering also lacked that urgency and most likely NEVER EVER felt what most city folks live with on a daily basis and that is to be alert to your surroundings.  Chicago is not Disney World, dangerous people exist, a little fear and apprehension are sometimes very prudent in order to stay safe.

The question that comes to mind is could a person who was born with billions of dollars and lived in a mansion most of his life ever be able to feel, what hundreds of thousands of others do, who have to negotiate life in a big city? Being a billionaire could possibly cause one to feel “Entitled, Impatient and Arrogant,  but a sense of decency carries no monetary weight. Governor Pritzker needs to know that the mind is slow to unlearn what it learned earlier. Lots of folks in Illinois will not forget being labeled a Fearmonger and maybe another 173 million dollars will not be enough next election. Leadership cannot be bought.  Even people labeled Fearmongers have long memories.

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Spring Training Rundown: Starting Pitchers

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By Michael Ernst,
today at 5:36 pm

Kyle Hendricks (Photo by Stephanie Lynn)

Starting Rotation

Workload figures to be a buzzword throughout baseball this year, with more attention than ever being placed on innings bumps from previous season, pitch counts, and monitoring pitchers for dead arm periods. It is possible the league will not see a single starter surpass 200 innings as clubs will be cautious to protect their top arms for potential postsesaon runs.

Kyle Hendricks was one of just three MLB pitchers to surpass 80 innings during the shortened 2020 campaign. None exceeded 85. Don’t be surprised to see piggybacks, six-man rotations or at least more frequent spot starts employed by the Cubs and all MLB clubs throughout 2021. The Iowa shuttle figures to be even more imperative than usual in order to keep fresh arms available in not just the bullpen, but the rotation as well.

2020 Innings Pitched

• Hendricks 81.1 (12 GS)
• Davies 69.1 (12 GS)
• Mills 62.1 (11 GS)
• Williams 55.1 (11 GS)
• Arrieta 44.1 (9 GS)
• Alzolay 21.1 (6 G/4 GS)
• T. Miller 5.0 (2 G/1 GS)
• Marquez 0.2 (1 G/0 GS)

Other SP 40-Man Roster: Stewart (Opted Out), Abbott (Alternate site only), K. Thompson (Alternate site only), Fenter (Rule 5)

NRI SP: S. Miller (Opted Out 2020)

The Cubs starting rotation may not impress in terms of velocity, but in what figures to be a taxing season on arms, having so many guys who don’t overthrow and rely on contact may not be such a bad thing. It certainly was not the Cubs plan to construct their rotation entirely around soft tossers, but if you are looking for a silver lining, of all the seasons to run out a group groundball specialists, 2021 is probably the best one. The Cubs feel they have the defense (they won the inaugural Team Gold Glove Award for 2020) and that their pitching infrastructure is well suited to get the best return on investment on these types of arms.

Jake Arrieta and Adbert Alzolay both battled injury the last couple of seasons, but Arrieta only missed two starts and Alzolay also went through 2020 unscathed once he got going in South Bend. Their other four main options for the rotation are command and offspeed specialists who rarely break the 90-mph barrier with their fastball. All managed to stay healthy and not miss a start in 2020. The ability to take the ball every five days is always an underappreciated asset, and figures to be so even more this year.

Kyle Hendricks is already lined up to start the Cactus League opener on Monday and the Cubs Regular Season opener April 1st. We all know what type of pitcher he is, and the addition of an improved curveball in 2020 made him even more effective. I’m curious to see whether Hendricks relies even more heavily on it this season, as it was arguably his best pitch in several outings.

Fans may remember Zack Davies from his several seasons up in Milwaukee as an effective but unimpressive innings eater, but he took a step forward in his career with his move to San Diego last year. He stopped relying on his sinker (just 38.5% usage, down from 52.6%) and greatly increased usage of his cutter (up ~5.5%) and most importantly his changeup (up 10.0%). This new pitch mix helped him increase his K rate to a respectable 22.8%. His changeup is even more effective than the one Hendricks throws, so continuing to throw it at a high rate is a no brainer, but I do wonder if the Cubs can help him reincorporate a modified curveball into his arsenal. He rarely throws it anymore (around 2-3% of the time), but Davies had some success with the pitch early in his career, and the Cubs have helped several guys (including Hendricks) rebuild that offering in their pitch lab in recent years. If that happens, Davies could even graduate from being a poor man’s Kyle Hendricks into being a Hendricks facsimile.

Trevor Williams was working his way toward becoming a reliable starter for the Pirates, posting two straight 2.5 fWAR or better seasons in 2017-18 at the ages of 25-26. But he’s backslid the past two years, culminating in the Pirates non-tendering him last fall after he posted a 6.11 ERA in 11 starts. Williams has remained healthy and has not really lost velocity, as he stills sits in the low-90s. He’s tried diversifying his repertoire over the last two seasons, which has meant he’s used his four seamer and sinker less than he used to, which may have proven a mistake as his fastballs were probably his best pitches. If the Cubs can help him regain trust in that sinker especially, Williams should quickly grow to trust the Cubs infield defense, and that could help him get his career back on track.

Alec Mills

On the flip side is Alec Mills, whose offspeed stuff is legit but the four seam fastball gets him in trouble on occasion (especially with the long ball). Fans shouldn’t write off Mills the way I’ve seen many do this offseason as his sinker, changeup and breaking balls tunnel extremely well and few, if any, pitchers on the Cubs staff gets as much consistent horizontal movement across their entire repertoire as he does. He’d be well served by relying even more so on his secondary pitches and mixing their usage up even more than he already does (he threw all five of his pitches at least 10% of the time in 2020). His no-hitter wasn’t a fluke. He may only be a two times through the order starter, but I do feel comfortable with him in the rotation, and wouldn’t be shocked if he opens the year as one of their five.

Don’t presume the Jake Arrieta signing is just a nostalgia acquisition by the Cubs front office. One thing which has been brought up in regards to Arrieta’s struggles in Philly is that he lost his arm slot, and the lower his arm dropped since leaving the Cubs, the more velo and effectiveness he lost. This is not dissimilar to the challenges the Cubs faced with Craig Kimbrel last year. And once they managed to restore a proper arm slot for Kimbrel during the season, his velo and performance took a huge leap. Now, Arrieta is a little older, with far more wear and tear on his arm, so there may be more of a challenge in restoring it as who knows how much age and injury are contributing factors to it. But again, there is an identifiable path toward improvement, and the Cubs do have a recent example of resolving that particular issue, so it is okay to hope they can do so for Arrieta in 2021.

Adbert Alzolay

Will 2021 be the year Adbert Alzolay breaks through? His late season performance certainly points toward that outcome. Thanks to improved health and the development of a potentially devastating slider, Alzolay missed bats at an impressive rate (33.3 K%) over his 21.1 innings. Consistent command was still an issue, just as it has been throughout his career, so it is difficult to label him a surefire starter rather than reliever, but if the slider gets locked in as a legit chase pitch Alzolay will not require his command to be as refined as he would have if he was relying on his inconsistent change and curve. He’s the Cubs only option capable of missing bats at an above average rate, so he’ll be afforded every opportunity to seize a rotation slot this spring.

It figures to take a village this year, not just the six starters discussed above. The Cubs have experimented with piggybacks at the MLB level in the past, and I have little doubt we will see that strategy deployed at times this year as well. While I don’t expect the Cubs to run a true 6-man rotation at any point, the Cubs do have multiple stretches in their schedule where they play games for 16 or more consecutive days. In those instances, I can see the club dropping an extra starter into the mix to function as a de facto extra off day for the rotation, especially in the dog days of summer. Those extra starts may simply go to the swingman in the pen, but I think the team can and should use those opportunities to summon help from the Minors. This will not only help keep the MLB arms (both in the rotation and pen) fresh, but will provide valuable experience to their young arms, who they will need production from in the coming years.

Depth

I was a big fan of Kohl Stewart in his draft season, but I have to admit, I never really paid much attention to him as he worked his way through the Minors. He seems to have settled in as groundball specialist who has never really developed an out pitch, especially as he lost velocity working his way up to the Majors. He no longer possesses an exciting profile, but what he has is similar enough to the guys above that presumably he’s worth rolling the dice on in 2021 to see if the Cubs can unlock some of his lost potential. He’s got an option, so the Cubs can send him to Iowa to serve as experienced depth.

Tyson Miller and Brailyn Marquez both received their first cups of coffee in the bigs last year. While I expect the Cubs to remain patient with Marquez, as he further refines his pitches and works on locking in his mechanics, Miller figures to have a real hot at being the first call up from Iowa this year. He’ll have stiff competition from Stewart, as well as fellow prospects Cory Abbott (best shape of his life alert!) and Keegan Thompson, who were both added to the 40-man roster this offseason.

Tyson Miller (photo by Stephanie Lynn)

Miller offers an intriguing mix of length and athleticism which helps him throw strikes and gives him a boost in perceived velocity thanks to the extension he creates in his delivery. Consistent actual velocity has been an issue for him in the past (he’d fluctuate between 89-92) but he reportedly picked up a couple mph in South Bend last year, and that carried over into his five big league innings where was held both his four and two seamer well above 90 mph mark. His four seamer and changeup both have natural cutting action, so the addition of his two-seamer with arm side run last year was a pleasant surprise and could be a huge key to him becoming a full-time MLB pitcher down the road. He went from being an extreme flyball pitcher when last we saw him in the Minors in 2019 to inducing a 58.8% GB rate in his small sample of MLB action so it is hard to say what Miller really is at this point. Either way, he’ll need to further refine the changeup and/or slider into a more consistent out pitch.

He won’t show up on the Cubs top ten prospect lists (although he certainly has a case) but Cory Abbott should not be overlooked in 2021. Had an injury not held him back last summer, it is possible Abbott could have received a summons to Chicago in addition to, or possibly instead of Marquez and Miller. Coming off a terrific 2019 in AA, he was in line to be a main cog in the Iowa rotation throughout 2020. That figures to be his role in 2021, but now healthy and on the 40-man roster there is nothing holding him back from leapfrogging Miller, Stewart and any other Minor League competition to be the primary rotation depth for the Cubs this summer. Early reports are he he’s throwing better than ever, and if he adds an extra tick or two of velocity this year the way Miller did last year, Abbott should carve out a nice career as a backend MLB starter. His offspeed stuff is solid, as is his command, so as long as the fastball doesn’t hold him back the former 2nd rounder should succeed.

Keegan Thompson (Photo by Stephanie Lynn)

Like Abbott, Thompson is a sum is greater than the parts pitcher. He looked great in his first start in 2019 before an injury cost him the majority of the year. He returned for the AFL and received solid reports before spending last summer in South Bend. Thompson throws the kitchen sink at opposing hitters with what appears to be a four seam, two seam and cutter, as well as a slider, curve and change. The curve has traditionally been his best offering, but with so little data on him the last two years, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a slightly different (and hopefully improved) set of offerings in 2021.

An overslot pick by the Orioles in 2015, TJS cost Gray Fenter his 2016 season, and the Orioles were weirdly cautious working him back into the mix after his return. He eventually posted a dominant 2019 season in Low-A, culminating in a 13K performance in the SAL playoffs) as a 23-year old. He worked in the low-to-mid-90s, with a hammer curve, and was also developing a slider which showed promise according to his coach. He honestly should have been in High-A in 2019, so it is hard to know how to weigh his performance (1.81 ERA, 15.6 SwStr%). Add in that we have no data on him in 2020, and your guess is as good as mine in regards to his chances of sticking with the Cubs in 2021 (as a Rule 5 pick he would need to be offered back to Baltimore if he doesn’t stick). If he does, it is most likely to be as a reliever rather than starter.

The only NRI with much hop of carving out a 2021 role as a starter would be Shelby Miller. He opted out of the season after what was reportedly a decent 2020 spring performance. He hasn’t been good (or healthy) since leaving Atlanta in 2015, so this is most likely just a flier on an experienced arm, but like with so many guys, we just don’t have enough recent info to really know what to expect.

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