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Chicago Public Schools students evaluate Biden’s and Trump’s speeches after Capitol insurrectionon January 14, 2021 at 8:36 pm

The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues

Chicago Public Schools students evaluate Biden’s and Trump’s speeches after Capitol insurrection

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Chicago Public Schools students evaluate Biden’s and Trump’s speeches after Capitol insurrectionon January 14, 2021 at 8:36 pm Read More »

City investigates after fire prompts evacuation at Gibsons Bar and Steakhouseon January 14, 2021 at 7:34 pm

City officials were investigating possible COVID-19 violations after a fire at Gibson’s Bar & Steakhouse forced patrons to evacuate the famed Gold Coast restaurant Wednesday night.

The fire started about 9 p.m. in a second-floor fireplace and was quickly extinguished, leaving damage only to the walls and ceiling, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

A tweet from the fire department said no one was injured and that patrons were evacuated safely.

Spokesmen for the police and fire departments would not clarify whether the Gold Coast restaurant was seating outdoor or indoor diners. Statewide Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions and the local stay-at-home order — recently extended to Jan. 22 — ban indoor seating.

The Business Affairs and Consumer Protection is investigating any possible coronavirus restriction violations, according to agency spokesman Isaac Reichman.

However, the agency had already investigated Gibson’s less than a week before the fire and found them in compliance with COVID-19 regulations, Reichman said in an email.

He noted that, while indoor dining is prohibited, indoor tables are allowed if they were within 8 feet of a wall that is 50% open to the outdoors.

A Gibson’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

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City investigates after fire prompts evacuation at Gibsons Bar and Steakhouseon January 14, 2021 at 7:34 pm Read More »

Valerie Jarretton January 14, 2021 at 7:20 pm

■ Being bullied as a child made me shy and withdrawn, a little bit timid — all words which no longer describe me, but that shyness remained well into adulthood. It wasn’t just the bullying; it was feeling different anytime anybody asked, “Where were you born?” In my early years, nobody had ever heard of Iran. And during the summers, we would travel for my father’s medical work. You return to school and people ask, “What did you do on your summer vacation?” “Well, I went to Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Iran.” That doesn’t fit. I just wanted to go to camp like everybody else.

■ My parents wanted me to see the world. And not from luxury hotels. One lesson I learned from them was that when you’re in somebody else’s home, you play by their rules. I remember going to Damascus, Syria, when I graduated from high school and making sure we were well covered when we went into the mosque. There’s a certain level of respect for other cultures they taught me that not every American has.

■ I joined local government right after Harold Washington was reelected as mayor. I found my voice there. I also learned that public service is 24/7. People come up to you in the grocery store or at the dry cleaner’s. People would lobby my daughter when she was a little kid. You learn to listen, regardless of the decibel level.

■ Harold Washington had this delicious personality that made everybody feel like they had his undivided attention. I was a very junior person in the city’s law department, so I did not have meetings with him with any frequency. But one lesson he taught me by example was how to disagree without being disagreeable. I watched him during his first term, when he didn’t have control of the City Council, and the aldermen — the Vrdolyak 29 — were horrible to him, just dreadful. But he would joke with them behind the council chambers. He always had good humor and recognized that it wasn’t personal.

■ When Barack Obama offered me the job, I said, “Well, I’m kind of used to being the boss of you.” And he said, “Yeah, but I’m going to be president and leader of the free world.” And I was like, “I guess that’s a good point.” I joined his administration knowing that my close relationship with both him and Mrs. Obama was going to be threatening to some people. I’ve known them for almost 30 years. There’s something about the White House that often brings out people’s insecurities. But I felt that if I could earn the trust of my colleagues, they would appreciate that I wasn’t going to use my relationship with the president to their detriment.

■ The Obamas are very grounded people who don’t have the patience for sycophants. They just want someone who will be clear and true.

■ I became a better friend to Barack Obama by being his senior adviser and was a better senior adviser for being his friend. When we were at work, we compartmentalized with ease. I called him Mr. President, and I was extraordinarily judicious with using his time. But when he and I were watching a movie, I would talk his ear off.

■ The rigor and discipline that he applied to that job was extraordinary. I marveled at the fact that I never walked into a meeting with him when he was unprepared. He took it really seriously. And this is a guy who in law school would open the book the night before the final exam and still get in an A.

■ I miss the Truman Balcony. It’s one of my most favorite places on earth. You’re looking out over the South Lawn at the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. It’s a magnificent view. I also miss driving through the gates and walking along the colonnade. The day you’re not in awe of working in the White House is the day you should walk out the door.

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Valerie Jarretton January 14, 2021 at 7:20 pm Read More »

How to Make Spinning J’s Saag Paneer Pot Pieon January 14, 2021 at 4:56 pm

If pot pie is the cozy sweater of meals, then the version at Spinning J in Humboldt Park delivers comfort with style. Chef Dinah Grossman fills a buttery pie crust with saag paneer, the classic Indian mixture of spinach, spices, and cubes of paneer, a mild, creamy Indian-style cheese that miraculously holds its shape and texture when baked. You can find it fresh or frozen at Metro Spice Mart or Cermak Fresh Market. See the full recipe here.

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How to Make Spinning J’s Saag Paneer Pot Pieon January 14, 2021 at 4:56 pm Read More »

PHOTOS: Golfer Jeff Sluman buys Lincoln Park duplex for $880,000on January 14, 2021 at 2:59 pm

ChicagoNow Staff Blog

PHOTOS: Golfer Jeff Sluman buys Lincoln Park duplex for $880,000

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PHOTOS: Golfer Jeff Sluman buys Lincoln Park duplex for $880,000on January 14, 2021 at 2:59 pm Read More »

The Devil Wears Prada announces Chicago run dateson January 14, 2021 at 5:51 pm

Show Me Chicago

The Devil Wears Prada announces Chicago run dates

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The Devil Wears Prada announces Chicago run dateson January 14, 2021 at 5:51 pm Read More »

Illinois marijuana legalization a dismal failureon January 14, 2021 at 6:23 pm

The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Illinois marijuana legalization a dismal failure

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Illinois marijuana legalization a dismal failureon January 14, 2021 at 6:23 pm Read More »

The Chicago Bears Press Conference Was a Masterclass in Insulting Our Intelligenceon January 14, 2021 at 5:31 pm

For 90 minutes on Wednesday morning, Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey, team president and CEO Ted Phillips, general manager Ryan Pace, and head coach Matt Nagy sat on a Zoom call and lied to you. 

The Mt. Rushmore of Mediocrity, as I like to call them, sat there and delivered can-made opening statements and answered questions with the transparency of Kayleigh McEnany, and lied to you—about everything. 

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To them, 2020 was a success.

To us, an abomination.

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To the rest of the NFL, a joke. The Chicago Bears are a laughing stock; washed in a thick, tar-like cloak of mediocrity that weighs them down impeding any semblance of meaningful progress. Their organizational credo says simply showing up is good enough for the decision makers. See, we know the Chicago Bears are toast. But that wasn’t going to stop McCaskey and Phillips from toasting each other for the hard-fought, 8-9 2020 season that saw them become a charity case in an expanded NFL playoff. They think they’ve had success at Halas Hall, because that’s the bar you set for yourself when you achieve the average in positions you’re not qualified for to begin with. 

Their delusion no more evident than in two moments: 1) When George McCaskey claimed that he was proud and acknowledged Pace and Nagy were collaborating and growing within their roles and 2) when Ted Phillips refused to give an answer when legendary football columnist Hub Arkush simply asked which year Pace and Nagy’s contracts ran through.

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Each egregious for their own reason but two moments in a baseless hour and a half that highlights just how out-of-touch with the current reality the Chicago Bears truly are. Their belief is that they’re close when in reality they stand squarely on the edge of complete and total irrelevance and the only course forward is to jump completely off. 

Phillips is an issue of his own. He’s a business guy who makes football decisions and has overseen 21 years of not-so-great to even-worse results. It’s what makes it so insulting when he laughs off a question regarding the Bears’ football culture, and how he believes the one in place is the right culture moving forward despite no evidence it’s a winning one. He categorized questions about management’s contract status as “not pertinent to this conversation,” proving just how little he gives a damn about fans having the full picture. 

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I could dive in deeper on Phillips but I’ll just let this Dan Durkin tweet tell the rest of the story. 

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But McCaskey’s philosophies are downright dangerous at times. 

Ryan Pace now enters Year 7 of his time with the Chicago Bears, and he’s growing in the role?  It’s a problem in and of itself that your team chairman believes it is OK to still ride with your training wheels on more than half a decade into your very influential role within a $4 billion organization. But when you take a look at Pace’s track record on the job it gets worse. The team is 42-54 in six years of Ryan Pace, they’ve made the playoffs just twice, drafted a QB just once, have not addressed the offensive line before the 6th round a single time, and signed two horrifically bad veteran QBs in an attempt to throw a band-aid on a gunshot wound. 

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That is flat-out trash. Unless you work for the Bears.

The Bears’ run-it-back mentality is more rooted in relationships than results. When Pace took over, Matt Nagy was not in the picture. Thus, Matt Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky are not connected the way Pace and Trubisky are, or even the way Pace and Glennon were. The point being, McCaskey’s belief that Pace is still growing in his role is tethered to his belief that Nagy is in fact growing in his and that together, they can take the Bears forward, starting with a quarterback position that’s been devoid of consistent success since, well, ever. Pace is seemingly getting another crack at the whip in 2021 because he’s able to collaborate on personnel decisions with Nagy unlike in 2017. 

However, it’s this form of regressive thinking that inspires no confidence in the Chicago Bears. If anything, it only highlights the ramifications empowerment can lead to when given on the basis of favoritism and nepotism, which famously permeates the corridors of Halas Hall. Nagy has his own issues on the field, but credit should be given in his ability to target players he believes will fit in his system, be it through the draft or free agency. Guys like Tarik Cohen, David Montgomery, Allen Robinson, and Darnell Mooney, all have come to Chicago and displayed success on the field. 

The issue is, the con’s have far outweighed the pro’s for not only Ryan Pace individually, but for the Pace-Nagy combination that George McCaskey and the Chicago Bears believe so devoutly in. They’re lying to you when they say otherwise, which is why it was so insulting to hear them trot the word ‘collaboration’ out so vehemently on Wednesday morning as the primary reason they believe success is on the horizon for the organization. He praised the fact that the Bears’ so valiantly overcame a six-game losing streak in the middle of the middle of the season without acknowledging the fact that a six-game losing streak would be a fireable offense for any one of the other 31 NFL franchises, or, the fact that they righted their ship against the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Minnesota Vikings—three teams with a combined record of 12-36.

The issues for the Chicago Bears moving forward go much deeper than finding an improvement at quarterback, though that is one of them. It’s systemic. It’s an organizational mantra that, from the top down, says we will accept just good enough so long as you show us you’re trying and that our bottom line stays nice and healthy. Should you fail, we’ll find someone else to scapegoat. Wednesday was just a reiteration of that—an eerily similar set of words to the one delivered at the end of 2019’s 8-8 campaign. 

While 2019 may have been the outlier in their eyes, 2020 proved it is the norm. It’s an insult that the people in charge are the only people who don’t care.

Featured Image Credit: Chicago Bears Facebook

If you’d like your day to end in frustration, you can watch the full press conference below. 

George McCaskey & Ted Phillips

Ryan Pace & Matt Nagy

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The Chicago Bears Press Conference Was a Masterclass in Insulting Our Intelligenceon January 14, 2021 at 5:31 pm Read More »

Chicago Bears: 5 big questions after press conferencePatrick Sheldonon January 14, 2021 at 4:00 pm

The Chicago Bears left fans with a lot of questions. Yesterday, the Chicago Bears “brain trust” (if you can even call it that) spoke for 82 minutes and managed to say very little, if anything, about the 2020 season or the future of their franchise. It was actually quite impressive how they wove platitudes, buzz […]

Chicago Bears: 5 big questions after press conference – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Chicago Bears: 5 big questions after press conferencePatrick Sheldonon January 14, 2021 at 4:00 pm Read More »

Chicago Blackhawks: It is going to be a very long seasonon January 14, 2021 at 3:00 pm

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 13: David Kampf #64 of the Chicago Blackhawks faces off against Mitchell Stephens #67 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during a game on opening night of the 2020-21 NHL season at Amalie Arena on January 13, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – JANUARY 13: David Kampf #64 of the Chicago Blackhawks faces off against Mitchell Stephens #67 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during a game on opening night of the 2020-21 NHL season at Amalie Arena on January 13, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

The first game of the season didn’t go well for the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Chicago Blackhawks went into their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning severely outmatched on paper and it ended up being even worse than we thought on the ice. Not every game is going to be like that for Chicago but it was proof that it is going to be a very long season. Tampa Bay started the night off by raising their Stanley Cup Championship banner and that gave them the momentum that they needed to start the game the right way.

Chicago started Malcolm Subban in net to begin their campaign and it didn’t go well for him. It isn’t clear if he will be the number one this year but he was surely thrown to the wolves in this game. Not only does Chicago play a “run and gun” system but the Lightning is very skilled themselves. It is a nightmare scenario for a goaltender and Subban saw it first hand as the Lightning won the game 5-1.

Giving up five isn’t going to be the everyday norm for any Blackhawks goalie but it is certainly a possibility against an elite team like the Lightning. The Blackhawks did take four minor penalties and the Lightning scored on three of their four power plays. The penalty kill (from the skaters to the goalies) needs to be better.

That type of Special Teams disappointment can’t continue. The Hawks were only outscored 2-1 at even strength which sounds much better going forward. It would be nice to see them stay out of the box and actually kill some penalties when they do take them. They also went 0 for 3 on the Power Play so the Special Teams units clearly were a difference-maker in the game.

Their one goal came from Dylan Strome, assisted by Andrew Shaw and Adam Boqvist. The Hawks need to see Boqvist develop his offensive game from the back end this season and this was a nice step. Strome is a big part of this team going forward so it will be nice to see his game evolve this year, especially since he will be the number one center.

Of course, there was no production offensively from anybody else but there were some nice chances at times. Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the best goalies in the world and he looked like it in this game. Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Dominik Kubalik will certainly get going here and it will be important for this team’s chances on a nightly basis.

Hot: Three Chicago Bears to consider trading this offseason

We know how strange this season is already and is going to be until the very end. COVID-19 has made it where the divisions are realigned and each team will only play its division. Well, it is also going to offer parts of the schedule where teams play each other in the same building a few times in a row. The Hawks have that here as they will play the Lightning again at the Amalie Arena on Friday night. We will see by then if some changes are made but they have that tough matchup yet again.

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Chicago Blackhawks: It is going to be a very long seasonon January 14, 2021 at 3:00 pm Read More »