WFLD-Ch. 32 weekend news anchor and weekday reporter Natalie Bomke sold her five-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house in Logan Square on Dec. 11 for $900,000. (VHT Studios)
A second person was charged in the fatal shooting of a retired firefighter early December during an attempted carjacking outside a Morgan Park popcorn shop.
Dwain Johnson, 18, is charged as one of the gunmen of a “carjacking crew” who confronted 65-year-old Dwain Williams, killing him in an exchange of gunfire, Chicago police said.
Johnson, of Gary, Indiana, was arrested Wednesday afternoon by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force in suburban Oak Forest, police said.
He was expected to appear in court later Friday to face a count each of first-degree murder, attempted vehicular hijacking, unlawful possession of an automatic weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said the suspects were part of a group responsible for a number of other crimes in the area.
Two other suspects haven’t been arrested, police said Thursday.
On Dec. 3, the carjackers allegedly followed Williams as he drove to Let’s Get Poppin’, at 11758 S. Western Ave., with the intent to carjack him, prosecutors said during the teen’s bail hearing Thursday.
In surveillance video of the shooting, two people with guns are seen approaching Williams as he walks towards his Jeep with a bag in his hand, authorities said.
Williams then retreats behind his car as a suspect with a gun rushes towards him, authorities said. William fires his own gun and a suspect falls to the ground before returning to the car and fleeing.
Chicago police show surveillance video of the murder of retired Chicago Firefighter Dwain Williams in the Morgan Park neighborhood.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Williams was shot in the abdomen during the exchange of gunfire and died at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.
Williams was a Chicago Fire Department lieutenant who retired about two years ago, officials said. He was about to return to work as a civilian employee at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
A group of activists have put up a combined reward of $34,000 for information leading to any arrests in his killing.
It wasn’t immediately clear if someone claimed the reward.
ChicagoBears (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
The playoffs are still well within reach for the Chicago Bears entering Week 15.
With their first victory in seven games, the Chicago Bears now have a little bit of momentum going into a huge game with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15. The first go-around with Minnesota just a handful of weeks ago saw the Bears lose thanks to an embarrassing offensive performance.
In that first matchup, Chicago’s Nick Foles threw for just 106 yards before getting knocked out right at the tail end of the fourth quarter. The Bears also rushed for a grand total of 41 yards that night.
It was a true prime time letdown for Chicago, whose defense looked stout as usual, only giving up 19 points. The Bears still only lost by six points, despite the failure on offense. Now, after having gone back to Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago’s offense at least looks formidable. With the defense as good as they can be, the Bears really only have to score 20 points to consider themselves having a shot to win on any given day.
Believe it or not, the Bears are all but out of the NFC playoff picture. They still have a shot to sneak in. At the moment, the Bears sit in the 9th seed, just behind the Vikings. Both teams have a 6-7 record, so if the Bears win this weekend, they leap ahead of Minnesota at 7-7.
Minnesota had won five of six before losing to the Bucs last week, and they’re in must-win territory just like the Bears, so it will likely be a tight, hard-fought game. Chicago will have to slow down Dalvin Cook, who has rushed for 1,352 yards even after missing a little time. Cook has been on fire in 2020, and the Bears were luckily able to limit him to just over 3.0 yards per carry in the first meeting.
Funny enough, this one will be on the shoulders of Trubisky. If the offense continues to roll, the Bears have a great chance at coming away with their second victory in a row.
But, that won’t be enough. This weekend, for the Bears to continue to stay in the thick of the race, there are a couple other games we dive into which matter greatly. Who needs to lose? Let’s get to it.
The ChicagoBlackhawks have a stud in Patrick Kane, but is Artemi Panarin better?
The National Hockey League’s website, NHL.com, released its list ranking the top 16 forwards in the league. Of course, the usual suspects are on the list, especially at the top. Names like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby round out the top three and there shouldn’t be much debate there. Where there is a debate to be had is down the list where you will find Chicago Blackhawks forward, Patrick Kane.
He has been near the top of the list before but at this point in the game, a top-ten forward is plenty of respect. The thing that stings about his spot on the list is who is ahead of him. Sitting at ninth is fine for a 32-year old that has already accomplished so much. He is even ahead of Auston Matthews who is on track to be one of the best players in the league.
The thing that stings is the fact that Artemi Panarin is one spot ahead of him. Regardless of if you agree with the ranking or not (you should), the fact that the National Hockey League posted it has to annoy any fan. The fact that he is in the same stratosphere as Patrick Kane makes it even worse that they traded him. It was a move that forced the Hawks to end their run of dominance earlier than they needed to.
Getting Brandon Saad back was cool but giving up Panarin was horrible because he is an all-world player. Stan Bowman has made so many bad trades lately and the Panarin one is the worst. He was good enough to be a Hart Trophy nominee in 2020 which shows he is one of the best players in the National Hockey League.
13 @NHLdotcom writers voted, with Connor McDavid (@cmcdavid97) getting 10 first-place votes and Nathan MacKinnon (@Mackinnon9) getting three. Agree?
Trading an NHL top-ten player for someone who would eventually be traded later for a depth defenseman would get any normal GM fired. For Stan Bowman, he received a promotion. He is now the Hawks President of Hockey Operations along with being the General Manager. It is sad because it feels like the Blackhawks have a long road of mediocrity ahead of them.
Regardless of what this list says, the trade is in the past and Patrick Kane is still an all-time great player. He is going to go to the Hall of Fame as the greatest player in the history of the team. It is a shame that a great player like that who was so good with Kane had to leave so soon but it is what it is. Hopefully, the Blackhawks are able to avoid more incompetence
It has been an absolute roller-coaster of a season for the Chicago Bears. They began the year 5-1 and were a game out of the No. 1 seed in the entire NFC. Unfortunately, that feels like a lifetime ago, even despite it coming in a year that in and of itself has felt like a decade. That’s because so much has transpired since that time.
The team proceeded to lose its next six games, before finally getting back in the win column with a dominating performance against the much-maligned Houston Texans. In that span, they also changed quarterbacks for the second time this year, going back to Mitch Trubisky.
Despite most fans calling for the jobs of everyone within a mile of Halas Hall, a single win against the lowly Texans has seemed to quell the insurrection, and the chatter has inexplicably turned to the idea of possibly bringing back Trubisky, Matt Nagy, and Ryan Pace.
Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that the team still finds itself in the playoff hunt. However, Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is tantamount to a playoff game. If you don’t like the concept of a “must-win” game, then too bad, because this is a must-win game.
If the Bears lose on Sunday, their chances to make the playoffs slip to a minuscule 3 percent. If, however, they find a way to get past a team that is like themselves in so many ways, their chances skyrocket to approximately 42 percent.
Even with a win, their chances of playing a playoff game this year are still worse than a coin flip, but a loss makes it all but impossible.
With that said, Sunday’s game will be full of emotion and the atmosphere (absent the fans) will feel like a playoff game. That’s because the Vikings are also in the playoff hunt, and are actually a game in front of the Bears in the playoff picture.
So it all comes down to Sunday. Can the Bears continue their offensive success against a better, albeit not great Vikings’ defense? Or will Mike Zimmer dial up a scheme that forces the Bears to throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage? Sunday can’t get here soon enough.
You already know this has been the most unusual year in the 125-year history of commercial movies and you already know about the delayed releases of major blockbusters from “No Time to Die” to “Black Widow” to “Coming 2 America” and you already know about the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the movie business and theater chains, and we have fingers crossed and prayers sent that we’ll be back at the movies in full force in 2021, as soon as it’s safe to do so.
In the meantime, here’s my annual look back at the highlights and lowlights of the year in movies.
In numbers too big to ignore, movies including “I Am Woman” (a Helen Reddy biopic starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey) shared a word in their titles.Quiver Distribution
They are women, hear them roar
You could have a stellar one-day film festival just with 2020 movies with “Woman” in the title:
“I Am Woman”
“A Regular Woman”
“I’m Your Woman”
“Wonder Woman 1984”
“Pieces of a Woman”
“Promising Young Woman”
The love of two women played by Kristen Stewart (left) and Mackenzie Davis in “The Happiest Season” made some viewers (and faraway onlookers) unhappy.Hulu
Christmas wins the War on Christmas
Lightning-rod conservative commentator Ben Shapiro caused a tweetstorm when he got his undies in a bunch over “The Happiest Season” (a movie he hadn’t seen), a holiday love story featuring a lesbian couple played by Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis.
“I’m not saying it’s terrible to make … a lesbian romcom,” said Shapiro. “All I’m saying is if you’re a conservative with conservative sensibilities, at a certain point you might get sick that Hollywood only wants to make the kinds of movies that you despise. Right? [‘The Happiest Season’] is all about how a conservative family learns that all of their religious values have been a bunch of crap for years.”
Pro tip: See the movie before you critique the movie. That way, you won’t make a wildly off-base assertion concerning what the movie is actually about.
Also, it should be pointed out “Hollywood,” led by Hallmark, Lifetime and Netflix, is releasing more than 80 — EIGHTY — new holiday films and specials this year, including some 65 with the word “Christmas” in the title. The great majority of these movies and specials actually carry messages in keeping with the most important Christian values — you know, the whole “love thy neighbor,” Golden Rule school of faith and thought.
Never in the history of Hollywood have there been as many Christmas movies as there have been in recent years. Why, the characters are even allowed to say “Merry Christmas!”
The gold standard
It was a great year for former Oscar winners, many of whom will be adding at least another nomination to their resumes:
Anthony Hopkins in “The Father”
Meryl Streep in “Let Them All Talk” and “The Prom”
“Hamilton,” with Lin-Manuel Miranda (left) and Leslie Odom Jr., was the best of this year’s many musicals.Disney+
Singin’ on the screen
The streaming version of “Hamilton” is not eligible to compete for Academy Awards due to a 1997 rule barring films “that are essentially unfiltered records of performances.” Actually, that very language should mean “Hamilton” IS eligible for Oscar consideration. Yes, it is a filmed record of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s brilliant Broadway sensation — but it’s not as if director Thomas Kail stuck a few cameras around the Richard Rodgers Theatre and pressed “Record.” As the New York Times reported, the “Hamilton” you see on Disney+ was filmed over a three-day period, with nine cameras and more than 100 microphones capturing the production. In addition to the two full performances that were recorded, the cast performed 13 numbers with a crane, a dolly-mounted camera and a Steadicam to get close-ups. Then began the editing process.
That’s a movie.
Regardless of the label we affix to “Hamilton,” it’s the leader of a standout lineup of 2020 musicals and music performance films, from the colorful and rousing “The Prom” to the instant holiday classic “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” to the old-fashioned and uplifting “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” to the masterful “David Byrne’s American Utopia” to Taylor Swift’s “Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions” to Beyonce’s “Black Is King” to the animated “Over the Moon” and even the hilarious “Eurovision Song Contest: the Story of Fire Saga.” Granted, 2020 also gave us the execrable “Valley Girl,” a tone-deaf musical update of the 1983 teen classic, but that lump of coal doesn’t take away from the bounty of fantastic musical presents under the tree.
“Wonder Woman 1984,” with Gal Gadot (left), and “Mulan,” with Yifei Liu, were made for theaters but moved to streaming services.Warner Bros.; Disney
Coming soon to a living room near you
To the dismay of big-canvas directors Christopher Nolan and Dennis Villeneuve, WarnerMedia announced all of its 2021 films would be released simultaneously in theaters and on its streaming service, HBO Max. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Nolan said, “Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed … thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.”
Even before the pandemic, the gap between theatrical release and VOD was rapidly closing, and of course this year brought about the straight-to-video releases of films that normally would have opened on thousands of screens, e.g., “Mulan” and “Wonder Woman 84.”
All great respect to the filmmakers, I don’t believe releasing films in theaters and on video simultaneously is a sure recipe for disaster. Even after it’s safe once again to see films in theaters, there’s a substantial audience of a certain age (and financial comfort) who love movies but almost never go to theaters and wait for the home video release. Those folks will pay a premium to see “event” movies from home on the same day we hope millions of others will flock to their local cineplexes.
Seven friends played by Otmara Marrero (clockwise from top left), Ely Henry, Preacher Lawson, Shakina Nayfack, Keith Powell, Jill Knox and Parvesh Cheena stay in touch on group chat on “Connecting.”NBC
COVID material
Some of the first TV shows and movies shot after the outbreak of the pandemic were ABOUT the pandemic, including NBC’s smart and funny “Connecting,” the impactful Netflix dramatic series “Social Distance,” the bombastic action thriller “Songbird” and the HBO movie “Coastal Elites,” which came across as, well, a bit elitist.
Tom Cruise (pictured in “Mission: Impossible — Fallout) demanded compliance with COVID protocols on the set of the next “Mission” movie.Paramount Pictures
Are we clear? Crystal
Tom Cruise’s profanity-laced rant about crew members not following COVID protocols on the set of the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie went viral, with many praising Cruise for rightfully calling out the reckless behavior. As much as I agree with Cruise’s messaging, I disagree with his methodology. When you’re the undisputed Alpha King on the set of a movie that will gross you tens of millions of dollars, dressing down the working crew like a 1960s football coach is unnecessarily demeaning and will make for some tense days on the set. Why not address the troops in a firm but calm manner? The message can be the same — anyone who violates safe practices will be fired — but would probably have been even more effective if Cruise hadn’t been so strident and abrasive.
We’re gonna need a bigger boat — eventually
In addition to a mini-renaissance of drive-in theaters, some promoters floated the idea (so to speak) of “dive-in theaters,” with the movie screen dockside and moviegoers in the water or in boats. The Alamo Drafthouse, the theater chain that has held such screenings in previous years, planned summer screenings of all four “Jaws” movies in Lake Travis in Texas — but the event was canceled due to COVID concerns.
Amity Mayor Larry Vaughn would have been so disappointed.
(Editor’s note: This is one part of a series on December signees by Illinois FCS programs. We conclude tomorrow with Western Illinois.)
There were times when Eastern Illinois started five freshmen in its offensive line last fall. While that group certainly took its lumps, the Panther coaching staff knows the value of early experience. Those same coaches also realize the importance of depth.
EIU football announced the addition of 23 new players Wednesday during the first day of the December signing period. Included in the mix were two offensive linemen from the high school ranks (though one is also listed as a long snapper) along with three transfers.
That trio consists of two junior college transfers and one from a four-year school.
Perhaps that should come as no surprise as EIU head coach Adam Cushing coached the offensive line in his long stint as an assistant at Northwestern.
“The staff did an incredible job on putting this class together,” Cushing said in an EIU release. “The day that COVID started to impact this recruiting class, we didn’t flinch, we embraced the mantra of what does this make possible. The staff remained focused on finding the best players we could for our program athletically, academically and socially. I can’t say it enough times, the credit goes to the guys on our staff that grinded this out.”
Quotable
“In this class we 23 players from several different places including a third of the class from Illinois,” Cushing said. “The point is we are going to go recruit where we have relationships to get the high character players we are looking to add to this program.”
Where are they from?
As Cushing mentioned, nine players played Illinois prep football. Eastern also landed four players from Ohio and three from Kentucky — all from Louisville.
Two players each came from Michigan, North Carolina and Texas. The other player hails from Missouri.
What positions do they play?
Six recruits are defensive backs, while four play on the offensive line and two are linebackers. The class also included a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, kicker and an “athlete”.
What accomplishments do they bring?
The class sports a 3.3 grade point average with 16 of the 23 players named team captain. The group has helped teams win 25 conference championships, make 48 state playoff appearances and 21 state championship game appearances.
This weekend three of the players will face off against each other in the Kentucky Class 6A state championship game. In addition the group includes 29 all-conference selections, six all-state selections and 19 of the 23 were multi-sport athletes in high school.
Eastern will play a seven-game Ohio Valley Conference spring schedule beginning Feb. 21.
Nick Coates Defensive Back 5-10 175 Louisville, Ky. Male HS
Liam Conaghan Defensive Line 6-3 240 Glenview, Ill. Loyola Academy
Simon France Offensive Line 6-1 265 Elyria, Ohio Elyria HS
Jeremy Gelino Linebacker 6-0 220 Lombard, Ill. Glenbard South HS
Zachareus Gentry Defensive Back 6-0 165 Anna, Texas Anna HS
Alton Jefferson Defensive Line 6-0 260 Louisville, Ky. Trinity HS
Chauncey Lee Wide Receiver 5-9 175 Bellwood, Ill. Immaculate Conception HS
Jason Moore Running Back 5-10 190 Chicago, Ill. De La Salle Institute
Julian Patino Kicker 5-10 210 Chicago, Ill. Chicago Mount Carmel
AJ Pontrelli Defensive Line 6-2 205 Lemont, Ill. Lemont HS
Kinstin Reaves Defensive Line 6-0 285 Statesville, NC Statesville HS
Ethan Roberts Defensive Line 6-0 290 Lumberton, NC Saint Paul’s HS
Blake Ruffin Safety 6-4 200 Louisville, Ky. Trinity HS
AJ Sanders Safety 6-0 185 Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington Central HS
Matthew Spofford Athlete 6-1 200 Painesville, Ohio Riverside HS
Elijawah Tolbert Linebacker 6-1 225 Country Club Hills, Ill. Thornton Township HS
Zach Trainor Quarterback 6-1 205 Milford, Mich. Walled Lake Western HS
Collin Tyson Defensive Back 6-0 185 Kansas City, Mo. Platte County R-3 HS
Jack Valente Off. Line / LS 6-4 250 Batavia, Ill. Batavia HS
Sereno Winn Defensive Back 6-1 165 Cincinnati, Ohio Walnut Hills HS
JUNIOR COLLEGE / FOUR YEAR TRANSFERS NAME POSITION HT WT HOMETOWN LAST SCHOOL
Ben Mason Offensive Line 6-3 290 Lucas, Texas Navarro College
Michael McNicholas Offensive Line 6-4 310 Lombard, Ill. Kent State University
Dakota Kerr Offensive Line 6-4 275 Brownstown, Mich. College of DuPage
Blog co-authors Barry Bottino and Dan Verdun bring years of experience covering collegiate athletics. Barry has covered college athletes for more than two decades in his “On Campus” column, which is published weekly by Shaw Media. Dan has written four books about the state’s football programs–“NIU Huskies Football” (released in 2013), “EIU Panthers Football (2014), “ISU Redbirds” (2016) and “SIU Salukis Football” (2017).
A second person has been charged in the fatal shooting of a retired firefighter earlier this month outside of a Morgan Park popcorn shop.
Dwain Johnson, 18, of Gary, Indiana, faces one count of first-degree murder, along with vehicular hijacking and multiple counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, Chicago police announced Thursday night.
Johnson was one of three people who confronted 65-year-old Dwain Williams Dec. 3 in an apparent robbery attempt, Cook County prosecutors said.
Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan described the group as a “carjacking crew,” responsible for a number of other crimes in the area.
The carjackers, driving in a stolen Ford Fusion, allegedly followed Williams as he drove to Let’s Get Poppin’ at 11758 S. Western Ave.
In a video of the shooting, two people with guns are seen approaching Williams as he walks towards his Jeep with a bag in his hand, authorities said.
Williams then retreats behind his car as a suspect with a gun rushes towards him, authorities said. William fires his own gun and a suspect falls to the ground before returning to the car and fleeing.
Williams was struck in the abdomen during the exchange of gunfire and died at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
The teen suspect was unarmed at the time of the shooting, according to public defender Courtenay Harris, but Johnson and the other carjacker were allegedly armed.
Johnson was placed into custody by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force Wednesday in Oak Forest. His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
A judge Thursday ordered the teen to remain in custody ahead of his next hearing on Monday.
More than a dozen people gathered in front of the Chicago Police headquarters Thursday night to condemn the actions of a botched raid on Anjanette Young’s home and demand Mayor Lori Lightfoot hold every officer involved accountable.
“We want to say to Anjanette, we love you, we want you to know that we care about you and what happened to you was a travesty,” said Crista Noel. “The Chicago Police Department doesn’t protect women, it does not.”
Noel was part of a coalition of groups — including Women’s All Points Bulletin, Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization, Black Lives Matter Chicago and GoodKids MadCity — demanding each of the officers involved be fired.
The video showed Young’s front door being burst into while she was undressed, and officers handcuffed her.
“First, you are coming into the wrong house and then you don’t even treat her like she’s a human being?” Noel said. “I don’t understand the dehumanization that happened in her house. How can you be this way?”
Noel also urged that police officers involved with breaking down the doors of homes during raids be required to fix them immediately. She said by not doing so you put families at risk.
Alycia Kamil, of GoodKids MadCity, said what happened to Young is all too common for Black women who face a constant threat from police and others. Lightfoot, she said, has done little to protect them despite claiming she would.
“Lori Lightfoot ran a progressive front, ran off of her being a Black woman, ran off wanting to protect other Black women,” Kamil said. “But just this past summer, me and three other members — Miracle Boyd, Taylor Norwood, India Jackson — all these people were brutalized and hurt by CPD, and she did nothing about it.”
“It’s savage to raid someone’s house, to see them there naked and to act as if they are a criminal,” said Jitu Brown, president of the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization. “Mayor Lightfoot, you promised you would ‘bring in the light,’ but what we are seeing now is deeper strains of darkness.”
Prateek Srivastava 34 for 34 7:00 p.m. Prateek celebrates his 34th birthday with 34 comedians. The best standup from comedians from around the country. You’ll recognize many from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Comedy Central.. Show is free, but donations to St. Judes Children’s Hospital are appreciated. You can donate directly here. Look for Prateek Srivastava’s new album Nick and Sheila’s Kid on December 22!
Riffing for the Georgia Runoffs 7:00 p.m. With Sarah Silverman, Dulce Sloan, Fortune Feimster, Sarah Cooper, Patton Oswalt and more. Volunteers receive free tickets. A production of The Comedy Resistance.
I’ve been a comedy fan since age four when Moe Howard asked me, “What’s your name, lil’ goil?” Fortuitously somehow by way of Washington, D.C., Poughkeepsie and Jerusalem, I ended up in Chicago, the comedy Mecca of the world where comedians are kind enough to give me their time and where I was lucky enough to meet the great Dobie Maxwell who introduced me to the scene. You can reach me at: [email protected]. (Please remember the “w” there in the middle.)
I am often very reasonably asked, “How DO you pronounce that?” The spelling is Teme, but it’s pronounced Temmy.
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