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Demdike Stare celebrate Jamie Hodge’s techno productions with an archival double LPLeor Galilon August 31, 2022 at 11:00 am

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A teenage Jamie Hodge enchanted the international underground-dance community in 1993 with his debut 12-inch as Born Under a Rhyming Planet, Analog: Heaven. Techno figurehead Richie Hawtin released Hodge’s music on his Plus 8 label after the Chicago producer played him some original recordings—he dropped in on Hawtin in Ontario at the end of a tour he and his mom had taken to visit east-coast colleges he was thinking of attending. Hodge stopped releasing solo dance recordings after a couple more singles for Plus 8, just as the larger music industry shifted focus from alternative rock to electronic dance. As Peter Margasak detailed in a 2001 Reader profile of Hodge, the hype that swept the scene helped push him out of it—he feared it would corrode what he loved about the music. Hodge redirected his energy into crate digging and joined DJ crew Sheer Magic, whose soul and funk sounds helped make Danny’s Tavern in Bucktown a nightlife destination. He also launched Aestuarium Records in 2001 with a reissue of the 1967 soul-jazz masterpiece On the Beach by Philip Cohran & the Artistic Heritage Ensemble. Hodge didn’t stop making music completely, though, and in the late 1990s, he began exploring the intersection of down-tempo techno and jazz as part of Conjoint, a group that also included three German musicians. But nearly three decades have passed since the most recent 12-inch by Born Under a Rhyming Planet, which makes that solo project more appealing to the Hodges of the world—it’s become crate-digger bait itself. 

Fortunately, UK underground duo Demdike Stare have made it a lot easier to hear Hodge’s solo work. In late July, their DDS label issued the first-ever full-length under the Born Under a Rhyming Planet name. The archival compilation Diagonals spans more than a decade of Hodge’s tinkerings and collaborations, from the early 90s till the mid-2000s, and its cheeky irreverence creates a zone where all sorts of clashing aesthetics can rub elbows: lighter-than-air ambient jazz (“Menthol”), brooding down-tempo techno (“Hyperreal”), and noise that’ll test your patience even if you can dance to anything (“Interstate”). Diagonals captures what made Hodge a phenom in the first place. The firm, gentle pulse of “Avenue,” with its up-tempo, bell-like melody, massages you into a trance, while the tranquil “Siemansdamm” pours on layers of light percussion and synths like melted chocolate over nougat (Hodge wrote it with his collaborators in the group Studio Pankow, Kai Kroker and David “Move D” Moufang, the latter also of Conjoint). Diagonals can be a lot to swallow at once, even after Born Under a Rhyming Planet’s long absence, but it’s a good reminder of how much richer music is with Jamie Hodge in it.

Born Under a Rhyming Planet’s Diagonals is available through Boomkat.

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Demdike Stare celebrate Jamie Hodge’s techno productions with an archival double LPLeor Galilon August 31, 2022 at 11:00 am Read More »

The cop who would be mayorKelly Garciaon August 31, 2022 at 4:00 pm

Content warning: this article contains descriptions of police violence and sexual assault.

Frederick Collins is not shy about his troubling record as a Chicago police officer. The 53-year-old second-time mayoral candidate flaunts his nearly 30 years on the force and publicly embraces the decades-long list of complaints on his file. They’re merely accusations to him. 

According to records obtained by the Reader, 42 complaints have been filed against Collins with police oversight agencies since 1995. Collins, however, denies all the allegations. 

“I certainly wasn’t found guilty of anything because I still carry my star,” Collins said. He flatly denied that any of the accusations against him have even been sustained. “No, they were not sustained,” he told the Reader when asked. According to CPD records, 20 percent of the allegations against Collins were sustained, meaning investigators found enough evidence to warrant discipline.

The records include investigations conducted by three police oversight agencies that have been rebranded over the course of Collins’s career, thanks to community organizing efforts that had some success in reforming police accountability. The Office of Professional Standards (OPS) was established in 1974 and replaced by the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) in 2007. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) replaced IPRA in 2016 following the murder of Laquan McDonald by then-Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. The agencies have had varying degrees of success in holding police officers, including Collins, accountable for misconduct.

Some of the complaints in his file detail incidents in which Collins used excessive force on people including young children, like when he allegedly shoved a boy’s head into a locker while working as a security guard at an elementary school on the west side in 2008. Other complaints give us a glimpse into accusations that Collins sexually assaulted and harassed women, such as an incident in 2000 when he allegedly invited himself into the home of a complainant and inappropriately touched her. 

Of all the complaints that were sustained, Collins never received more than a 30-day suspension. He was fired by the Chicago Public Schools for using excessive force on a student, but he was reinstated the following school year. 

In 2013, a woman sued Collins for attacking her inside a Walgreens and arresting her without justification. The woman sued Collins and the city; according to court documents, she had stopped at the Walgreens after finishing her waitressing shift when she encountered Collins. The woman told Collins he’d illegally parked his car, and he followed her into the store, “forcibly grabbed her arm, causing bruising . . . then grabbed her in a bear hug from behind, and then forcibly hauled her to the area of the pharmacist in the store.” He then produced a badge and arrested the woman, who was attempting to call 911. IPRA investigators closed the case because the complainant refused to sign a sworn affidavit, but the city settled the lawsuit for $35,000. 

At one point, Collins was accused by his supervisors of working part-time for the Chicago Park District while faking medical leave as a police officer. 

Collins says he believes wholeheartedly in his innocence concerning all 42 complaints—in part because he’s still a police officer. Now, he’s also running to be mayor of Chicago. 

“Under my administration as mayor, due process will be granted to everyone,” Collins said. “The full investigation would actually occur, not just settling accusations without any investigation whatsoever, just so you don’t take the risk of finding out whether you’re gonna pay more for a lawsuit or not pay for a lawsuit at all. To me, that makes no sense. That has got to stop. It just makes it so that the city’s just an open checkbook for anybody.”

“That young boy is trying to terrorize the neighborhood”

According to complaints filed with the OPS, Collins lived in Woodlawn near 59th and Wabash during the mid-90s. Residents frequently complained that Collins would threaten them with false arrest while also physically and verbally abusing them. 

In 1995, a man accused Collins of searching his car near 59th and Wabash. The complainant told investigators that when he approached his car, Collins pointed a gun at him, threatened him with false arrest, and told him he would tow his car. 

“The man stated . . . he saw a man searching his auto on the street,” the complaint reads. “He went downstairs and confronted this man who then pointed a gun at his face. [Redacted] stated that everyone at [redacted] house was hollering at the man to let him go from the third floor balcony. The man then threatened [redacted] with false arrest and told him that he would have his car towed. The complainant also stated that the accused is named Collins and has a star of 4827.”

A few weeks later, another man accused Collins of threatening him with false arrest in the same location for simply hanging out in the area. After he refused to leave, the man said Collins threw him to the ground, handcuffed him, then threw him against a wall, patted him down, and pressed a flashlight to his face and head. 

At a convenience store near 59th and State the following year, a complainant alleged that Collins “squeezed [a] man’s neck” and stole $200 from him.  

59th and Wabash was also a popular spot for the neighborhood kids to hang out, according to the complaints. One person accused Collins of harassing the kids and dispersing the crowd while off duty. According to one complaint, Collins told a girl that if she kept hanging around with gang members, he would “put something on her, and she would go to the Audy home [juvenile jail].” 

One neighbor accused Collins of threatening him by saying, “I’m a west side policeman and I’ll have a bluecoat take you for a ride and you’ll be found.”

By the late 90s, Collins owned property at 1841 W. Walnut in the West Loop, where his tenants and neighbors described being terrorized by him. 

In June 1997, one tenant accused Collins of verbally threatening him and refusing to let him retrieve his personal property. He told investigators that Collins forcibly removed him from the building, kicked him in the back, and struck him in the chest with an unknown object. The tenant said he returned a few days later to attempt to retrieve his personal items again, but that Collins threatened to shoot him. 

The following year, another tenant accused Collins of telling him to “get the fuck off my property” and displaying his weapon. In a separate incident a few weeks later, Collins was accused of threatening to kill the complainant, having him illegally evicted, and falsely arresting him. 

Neighbors also complained about Collins’s behavior. One neighbor accused Collins of threatening him by saying, “I’m a west side policeman and I’ll have a bluecoat take you for a ride and you’ll be found.” The neighbor also accused Collins of telling him he was going to “beat his ass.” 

When investigators attempted to contact the complainant at his residence, they ran into another neighbor who described Collins as “that young boy [who] is trying to terrorize the neighborhood.” 

By the turn of the century, Collins had 17 complaints on his record, three of which were sustained. Despite that, Collins was hired as an off-duty security guard at the Chicago Public Schools.

From the streets to school hallways

In November 2001 at Haines Elementary School in Chinatown, Collins was accused of dragging a student by the collar into a room, pinning him to the ground with his knee, and grabbing him around the neck. According to the complaint, the student told Collins he was unable to breathe and asked him to remove himself, but Collins told the student he wasn’t “going to take that risk.”

OPS partially sustained the allegations and found Collins guilty of discrediting the department by physically abusing a minor.

Then in 2008, Collins was accused of physically and verbally abusing a student in two separate incidents at Gladstone Elementary School. The student complained that in January 2008, Collins approached him and ordered him to pull his pants up. When he refused, he said Collins then grabbed him by the right side of the ribs, pulled him over a railing, and said, “Who the fuck do you think you are talking to me like that?” Collins then allegedly grabbed the elementary-school student by the waist, placed his foot behind his leg to trip him, slammed him down to the floor, and handcuffed him. The student was arrested and charged with aggravated battery to a police officer. 

A few months later, Collins grabbed the same student in a “bear hug” from behind and walked him into the bathroom, where Collins threatened to call the student’s parole officer because he took his friend’s baseball cap. Collins then allegedly poked the student in the head, spoke to him close to his face, and used profanities while telling the student about “who was waiting outside for him.” 

Investigators claimed they could not find any witness to corroborate the student’s account, so they determined the allegations to be unfounded.

Later that year, Collins was accused of physically abusing a student at Brian Piccolo Elementary School in West Humboldt Park. According to the complaint, the student was horseplaying with other kids in the lunch line when Collins told them to shut up. The student said he immediately stopped laughing, but Collins grabbed him by the neck, took him around a corner so no one could see them, and shoved his head into a locker. 

Another student told investigators he later witnessed Collins walking the victim to the school disciplinarian, striking him on the mouth with his right hand while saying, “I am Chicago police, I own everybody, we run this.” 

CPD records show the student was arrested for assault after he was told to stop horseplaying and failed to comply. The report indicates the student was accused of raising his balled fist towards Collins, placing the officer “in fear of battery.” The report also indicates Collins made several calls for backup claiming battery was made against him and that the offender was in custody. 

Investigators determined there was not sufficient evidence to support the student’s claims because while he said there were multiple witnesses to the incident, he couldn’t remember their names and had no contact information for them. Collins also denied the allegations. 

Though the incident was reported to CPD on the same day it occurred, it took the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) four years to investigate. During the investigation, IPRA requested information from CPS about the incident. CPS sent IPRA the results of another investigation of an incident that occurred at the same school a month after the lunchroom incident. 

In that incident, Collins was accused of grabbing an elementary school student by her neck and slamming her face-first onto the floor in 2008. Collins then placed his knee onto her back as he struggled with another student who was attempting to help the girl. He then handcuffed the girl and walked her out of the lunchroom. 

The student told investigators that Collins “grabbed her by her neck with both hands, picked her up, and threw her. [She] related that he roughly placed her hands behind her back, placed his knee on her back, handcuffed her, and dragged her out of the lunchroom.”

Multiple witnesses, including a school security guard who worked with Collins, told investigators his actions toward the student were “excessive.” One witness, who testified that he had “a good working relationship” with Collins, told investigators Collins grabbed the girl by the neck and threw her to the ground. The witness testified he asked Collins, “Why did you handle her like that?” 

A school assistant also corroborated the student’s claims, and told investigators Collins  “grabbed [the student], picked her up, and flipped her to the ground. Once on the ground, Officer Collins put his knee in the student’s back and handcuffed her.” The assistant testified she later saw the student “handcuffed and screaming” on the floor of the school security office. She asked Collins to remove the handcuffs, which he refused to do. She then asked him to leave the school. 

CPS investigators determined there was credible evidence to suggest Collins used excessive force, and according to the complaint file, in September 2009 the office of the CPS chief executive officer sent Collins documents stating that the Board of Education approved firing him. Collins didn’t appear at his dismissal hearing and later told IPRA that he never received notification because CPS sent the letter to the wrong address. He claimed he learned of his dismissal when he attempted to obtain information on his school assignment. Collins says that’s when CPS offered to reinstate him. 

Despite CPS’s findings, IPRA determined that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations that Collins used excessive force on the student. However IPRA did find him guilty of failing to submit a Tactical Response Report, which officers are required to submit whenever they use force. 

Allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and domestic violence

Some of the complaints in Collins’s file included allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault. 

In 2000, a woman who was in her 20s accused Collins of sexually assaulting her beginning when she was eight years old. She signed a form releasing her medical records to the CPD’s Internal Affairs Division—since renamed the Bureau of Internal Affairs—which was handling her complaint, and provided a statement. Investigators determined the allegations were unsustained because of insufficient evidence.

In a separate incident in 2000, a woman accused Colins of failing to return her car keys or inventory them after towing her car. She also accused Collins of inappropriately touching her after pulling her over and searching her. After getting bailed out, the woman says Collins offered her a ride home, entered her home, “made sexual advances and touched her leg in her house.” 

Investigators determined there was insufficient evidence to prove that Collins made sexual advances towards the woman, but they found that he “unnecessarily made two unexplained visits inside an arrestee’s home,” and that he made false reports when he denied entering her home. Collins was suspended for ten days. 

In 2004, according to OPS investigative documents, the mother of Collins’s child was involved in a custody battle with him when she came to Dett Elementary School to pick up their daughter. The complainant had been granted an order of protection and custody of the daughter, who “was to have no contact by any means with Officer Collins.” The woman accused Collins, who had also come to the school to take their daughter home, of physically abusing her by grabbing her by the coat, shoving her, kneeing her on the chest and back, elbowing her on the back, squeezing her head and neck, pushing her to the ground, twisting her arms, handcuffing her too tightly, and then paying witnesses to say the complainant attacked him. 

Multiple witnesses testified that the two had been involved in an altercation that became violent. OPS investigators determined that the allegations were either unfounded or not sustained because of insufficient evidence, contrary accounts from witnesses, and because there were “conflicting accounts” as to when Collins was made aware of the order of protection. 

Credit: David Alvarado

A police officer seeks public office

Despite racking up dozens of complaints as a police officer by the 2010s, Collins began acting on his aspirations for elected office. In 2012, he unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary for the First U.S. Congressional District, coming in second with 24 percent of the vote. 

He then ran for mayor in 2015, but withdrew from the ballot after facing challenges to his petition signatures. The following year he threw his name in the hat for a seat in the 7th U.S. Congressional District, but withdrew before the primary. 

Collins’s mayoral campaign website describes him as a “predecessor of what Harold Washington stood for.” His public safety plan includes a promise to “bring back and Implement ‘STOP AND FRISK LAWS’ with the use of new technologies such as police body cameras to insure that there is public ‘TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST.’” He also promises to “remove the useless and destructive policies such as the ‘DO NOT CHASE POLICY’ implemented by the ‘MAYOR LIGHTFOOT’ administration that has severely ‘BLOCKED’ our brave men and women in uniform from effectively being able to do their job of ‘PROTECTING’ the citizens of this great city.” 

Collins denied all the allegations in the 42 complaints against him, including the nine that investigators sustained. “I bet if you look in all 40 of those complaints, there’s no affidavit from the complainant,” he said. “You know why? Because they know, if they got found out that they were lying, they could be prosecuted on that affidavit. And that’s one of the things as the next mayor of Chicago, if you make a complaint against any city employee, you’re going to have to sign an affidavit.”  

Beginning in 2004, affidavits were required of witnesses to police misconduct for full investigations to occur, but the SAFE-T Act changed that in 2021 after advocates spent years arguing that the requirement discouraged victims from pursuing complaints against cops. 

Of the 42 complaints against Collins, seven were filed after 2004 and required an affidavit, which complainants refused to sign. All seven cases were subsequently closed and no disciplinary action was recommended. 

“If there [were proof], I’d be in a court of law,” Collins said about the myriad allegations against him. “I’d already be in the federal penitentiary.” 

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The cop who would be mayorKelly Garciaon August 31, 2022 at 4:00 pm Read More »

Pick up a copy of this week’s print issueChicago Readeron August 31, 2022 at 5:21 pm

The Chicago Reader is published in print every other week and distributed free to the 1,100 locations on this map (which can also be opened in a separate window or tab). Copies are available free of charge—while supplies last.

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The latest issue

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Chicago Reader 2022 print issue dates

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Pick up a copy of this week’s print issueChicago Readeron August 31, 2022 at 5:21 pm Read More »

Bears claim former 1st-round OL Alex Leatherwood, 5 others

The Bears’ extreme roster makeover continued Wednesday when new general manager Ryan Poles claimed a whopping six players off the waiver wire.

The biggest name is former Raiders tackle Alex Leatherwood, who was a surprise first-round pick just last year. The No. 17 overall pick played every game for Las Vegas last season, starting at right tackle and struggling before moving to right guard. He began the preseason back at right tackle and was cut by a new regime after the Raiders fired GM Mike Mayock.

By claiming Leatherwood, the Bears inherit his contract. Leatherwood signed a four-year, $14.4 million deal as a rookie, though the Raiders have already paid him a $7.8 million signing bonus.

The Bears also claimed cornerback Josh Blackwell from the Eagles, tight end Trevon Wesco from the Jets, defensive end Kingsley Jonathan from the Bills, nose tackle Armani Watts from the Vikings and linebacker Sterling Weatherford from the Colts.

To make room, the Bears must remove six players from their 53-man roster.

No Bears players waived Tuesday were claimed by any other NFL team.

Starting Wednesday afternoon, the Bears can also begin assembling their 16-man practice squad.

Halas Intrigue Bears Report

Expert analysis and reporting before and after every Bears game, from the journalists who cover the Monsters of the Midway best.

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Bears claim former 1st-round OL Alex Leatherwood, 5 others Read More »

2023 Spring Training: Cubs scheduled to face White Sox four times in Cactus League play

The Cubs are set to wrap up the 2023 Cactus League schedule with back-to-back games against the White Sox, before opening the regular season at home against the Brewers on March 30.

Major League Baseball announced next year’s tentative spring training schedule on Wednesday, including a set of games featuring World Baseball Classic teams.

The Cubs are set to face a WBC team at Sloan park on March 8, but their exact opponent has yet to be announced.

The Cubs open spring training at Sloan Park on Feb. 25 against the Giants. Their 33 games on the schedule include 18 home games and 15road games.

They’re scheduled to face their crosstown rival four times, including one half of a split-squad game on March 17, in Glendale. The Cubs are set to host the other three games against the White Sox, on March 10, 27 and 28.

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2023 Spring Training: Cubs scheduled to face White Sox four times in Cactus League play Read More »

Bears claim O-lineman Leatherwood off waiverson August 31, 2022 at 6:19 pm

play

Justin Fields fine with the Bears being underestimated this season (3:25)Bears quarterback Justin Fields discusses the noise surrounding the team as it moves toward a new chapter. (3:25)

12:36 PM ET

The Chicago Bears claimed offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday.

Leatherwood was one of an NFL-high six players claimed off waivers by the Bears.

Leatherwood, the Raiders’ 2021 first-round draft pick, was waived on Tuesday as Las Vegas trimmed to its initial 53-man roster.

Leatherwood, who was taken with the No. 17 overall pick out of Alabama to be the Raiders’ foundational right tackle, regressed in the preseason, and Las Vegas’ new regime of coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler had seen enough.

Leatherwood is scheduled to make $14.39 million fully guaranteed this season as part of his rookie contract.

He was considered a draft reach last season by many observers and struggled enough early in the season that he was moved from right tackle to right guard in Week 5.

He was moved back to right tackle in training camp and was competing with Brandon Parker before Parker went down with an arm injury in the Hall of Fame Game. But Leatherwood was supplanted by rookie seventh-rounder Thayer Munford Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor, making him expendable since Leatherwood could not fulfill the role of a swing tackle, either.

Other players claimed off waivers by the Bears were DB Josh Blackwell (from Philadelphia Eagles), DE Kingsley Jonathan (from Buffalo Bills), DT Armon Watts (from Minnesota Vikings), LB Sterling Weatherford (from Indianapolis Colts) and TE Trevon Wesco (from New York Jets).

ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.

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Bears claim O-lineman Leatherwood off waiverson August 31, 2022 at 6:19 pm Read More »

Chicago Bears NFL 2022-23 Predictions

A look at 2022-23 predictions for the Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are in a rebuilding stage. Last season was pretty much a washout and expectations are low for 2022. Many sportsbooks have given them little to no chance and they are currently ranked 28 of 32 on most books, with staggering odds of +10,000.

So, what should Chicago Bears fans expect for 2022/23? Should you just sit back, let the chaos happen, and then hope for better things in the future? Or is there even a remote chance of a good season?

Check out these Chicago NFL predictions as we take a deeper dive into the upcoming season, looking at how the Chicago Bears will perform and seeing if there is any value in futures bets and game bets.

Week by Week Bears Predictions

The best way to judge how this season will go for the Bears is to look at each of Chicago’s games in turn. Obviously, a lot can happen over the course of a season. We could lose Justin Fields or another star player to injury. We could hit a good run of form that sees us play above and beyond expectations.

We can’t predict the future, but we can make some assumptions and try to get as close as possible.

Week 1: Bears vs San Francisco

This one could go either way. The heart says it’s going to be a close win for the Bears. The head says that the 49ers will have the edge. Either way, it’s a key game and a great way to start the season. A win here could set the stage for the rest of the season.

Week 2: Bears at Green Bay

Aaron Rodgers is edging closer and closer to the big four-zero, but he’s still as formidable as ever and when he’s on form, the Packers are unstoppable. It’s hard to see how the Bears will get anything from this one. 

It’s a Green Bay win all the way, and one in which they should comfortably cover the spread.

Week 3: Bears vs Houston

The Texans are struggling and this should be a win for the Bears. The opener at San Fran was a hard one to call, but this should be an easy win for Chicago. Expect the Bears to cover the spread.

Week 4: Bears at N.Y. Giants

The Giants are another struggling team and this is another early chance for the Bears to get a big win. It could take a field goal either way, and we’re going with the Bears to get the W.

Week 5: Bears at Minnesota

The Vikings have too much offensive power for the Bears. There’s no way we’re leaving Minnesota with anything except a heavy loss.

Week 6: Bears vs Washington

A closely fought game that will no doubt be very sloppy and low scoring. Expect field goals. Expect disappointment. And expect plenty of interceptions, fumbles, and grumbles from the crowd. By this point, the Bears could be on a good run. If so, the momentum may be all we need to carry us over the line.

A win would be great, as there are a few very difficult weeks ahead and the Bears could find themselves in a serious rut.

Week 7: Bears at New England

The Pats are not what they used to be, but Belichick knows how to nurture young teams and will get the better of the Bears.

Week 8: Bears at Dallas

Dak Prescott should be able to boss this game, scoring some big yards through the air and helping the Cowboys to cover the spread.

Week 9: Bears vs Miami

The Dolphins could have their sights set on a playoff spot at this point in the season, making this a big game for them. Tua should get them over the line and secure an important win for the Florida franchise.

Week 10: Bears vs Detroit

A chance for the Bears to end a losing streak. They will need to stop Jared Goff, though, and that’s easier said than done. It will be a close one and it’s hard to call. If you’re looking for betting tips, back the Under.

Week 11: Bears at Atlanta

Week 11 is a road game that the Bears can—and perhaps should—win. There could be just a field goal in it at the end of play, but the W will be coming back to Chicago.

Week 12: Bears at N.Y. Jets

A very winnable game that could easily swing the other way. Late in the season, with hopes either high or dashed, this is a tough one to call. We would expect a decent number of points, though, so bet the Over.

Week 13: Bears vs Green Bay

Another showdown with the Packers and another chance for Aaron Rodgers to shine. We have a chance to get something out of this game if we have momentum from the Jets fixture, but either way, the odds favor Green Bay.

Week 15: Bears vs Philadelphia

Week 14 is a Bye for the Bears, taking us into the Eagles game after a short break. It’s a break that probably won’t help the Bears, with the points going to the Eagles who should also cover the spread.

Week 16: Bears vs Buffalo

This one could get ugly for Chicago, as the high-flying Bills are everyone’s pick for Super Bowl success. It’s not a question of “if” the Bills will win, but by how much.

Week 17: Bears at Detroit

Another loss is on the cards, though by this point in the season, both teams could be significantly affected by injury, disappointment, or nerves. It won’t be the same as week 10.

Week 18: Bears vs Minnesota

Another game against Minnesota and another win for the Vikings, capping off a very disappointing season for the Bears. 

Summary: Can the Bears Win the Super Bowl?

The Bears could win the Super Bowl…eventually. But not this season. If Chicago gets anywhere near the big game it’ll be one of the biggest upsets in recent NFL history.

After all, we’re talking about +10,000 odds, which means a $100 bet will give you a massive $10,000 payout. The bookies have made mistakes in the past, of course, but there’s nothing to suggest that this is one of those times.

The Bears could have a good season, but the Super Bowl is a step too far. Instead, it’s best to see this season for what it is: a chance to build, improve, and come back stronger next season. If we can keep making those improvements, who knows, the Bears could be genuine Super Bowl contenders within the next few years.

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Chicago Bears NFL 2022-23 Predictions Read More »

Teaching to the testKelly Kleimanon August 31, 2022 at 4:16 pm

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If National Merit had to be pitched as a movie, it would be “The Breakfast Club in a test prep class.” Competing for high scores and the scholarship that goes with them—and, perhaps more important, the accolade of National Merit Scholar—are The Privileged Jerk, The Sidekick, The Striver, The Weird Girl . . . . But because it’s 2022 there are also issues of race and ethnicity (notably missing from John Hughes’s utopia) with a glance at homophobia and suicide for added weight. I’m making it sound more formulaic and trivial than it is: in director Enrico Spada’s skillful world premiere production of Valen-Marie Santos’s play for BoHo Theatre, we believe in all of these people as well as in the instructor, who seems to have even less perspective than they do, and in his aide, a literal cheerleader whose unceasing efforts to please evolve from silly to annoying to pathetic. 

National Merit Through 9/25: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Sat 9/3 and 9/17, 3 PM, Mon 9/12, 7:30 PM, and Wed 9/21, 7:30 PM, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, 773-975-8150, bohotheatre.com, $30 ($15 seniors, military, and first responders, $10 students)

My companion shrugged and said, “Right, we know, we put too much pressure on these kids.” But that wasn’t how I understood the piece at all. Perhaps the difference was that she’s the mother of someone who went through this experience, whereas I’m still someone who went through this experience myself. My brother was a National Merit Scholar, and it was so important for me not to compete with him, risking either failure or success, that I overslept on the morning of the test and missed it. So the disproportionate urgency felt by these characters and the accompanying distortion of their behavior felt to me both real and vital.

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Teaching to the testKelly Kleimanon August 31, 2022 at 4:16 pm Read More »

The Reader’s guide to the 2022 Chicago Jazz FestivalBill Meyeron August 31, 2022 at 4:17 pm

In a less imperfect world, Millennium Park would be hosting the 44th annual Chicago Jazz Festival right about now. As of 2019, the festival had been held in downtown parks for an unbroken string of 41 years. Thanks to COVID-19, though, it was canceled in 2020 and 2021. The first summer of the pandemic, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) sponsored online jazz programming over Labor Day weekend, including specially recorded new concerts by local musicians and videos of highlights from previous fests. And last year Chicago in Tune, a broad celebration of the city’s musical heritage, included an evening of jazz at Pritzker Pavilion on Saturday, September 4. But this weekend’s event is the first complete Jazz Festival in three years.

Pritzker Pavilion as seen from the lawn during the 2018 Chicago Jazz Festival Credit: Michael Jackson

Reassuringly, the fest’s main events will once more take place in the evenings at Pritzker Pavilion on the Thursday through Sunday before Labor Day. On Thursday afternoon, the Chicago Cultural Center will host film and music. In the afternoons on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, concerts will be held on the Harris Theater rooftop (many of them student bands) and at the Von Freeman Pavilion on Millennium Park’s North Promenade. The festival is shrinking a little for 2022—unlike previous years, there won’t be a stage on the South Promenade—but admission remains free, as always. 

Chicago Jazz FestivalThu 9/1, 11 AM-9 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, and Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph; Fri 9/2-Sat 9/3, 11:30 AM-9 PM, Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph; Sun 9/4, 11 AM-9 PM, Maxwell Street Market, 800 S. Desplaines, and Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph; free, all ages

The neighborhood concerts organized by DCASE in partnership with local presenters run from Tuesday, August 23, through Wednesday, August 31, so most of them will be over by press time. But throughout the festival, many of the city’s jazz clubs will step up their game with special bookings—I’ve collected some of the best.

The Jazz Institute of Chicago’s festival programming reaffirms the organization’s commitment to presenting a variety of jazz by local, national, and international artists. Main-stage sets by Jazzmeia Horn and Carmen Lundy should please fans of vocal jazz, while straight-ahead modern jazz is represented by Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days. The Nick Mazzarella Quintet bridge soul jazz and the avant-garde, and Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses celebrate the sounds of New Orleans. Saturday at Pritzker Pavilion, MacArthur winner Miguel Zenón will share his nuanced, bicontinental vision of American music.

The Jazz Festival program distributes the chance-takers and crowd-pleasers pretty evenly, so no matter when you show up, you can feast on comfort food as well as challenging new dishes.
These dazzling bookings—Henry Threadgill Zooid, Kris Davis, the William Parker Quintet, and more—span all four days of the fest.

by Bill Meyer


New and upcoming records by Chicago acts booked at this weekend’s fest

by Hannah Edgar


Jazz Festival weekend includes a full slate of top-shelf club shows, including the Soul Message Band, the Abigail Riccards Quintet, and a bill of three Matt Ulery combos.

by Bill Meyer

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The Reader’s guide to the 2022 Chicago Jazz FestivalBill Meyeron August 31, 2022 at 4:17 pm Read More »

Party like it’s 1926Boutayna Chokraneon August 31, 2022 at 4:34 pm

Blank Theatre Company’s production of The Wild Party (book, music, and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and based on the 1926 narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March), directed by Jason A. Fleece, tells the story of Queenie and Burrs, toxic lovers in the roaring 20s. In their Manhattan apartment, they throw a party, which manifestly goes awry when the promiscuous Kate and mysterious Mr. Black arrive. 

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Karylin Veres’s heartfelt portrayal of Queenie, the beautiful vaudeville dancer, complements Dustin Rothbart’s Burrs, the short-tempered vaudeville clown. The audience opening night began rooting as soon as the first number, “Queenie was a Blonde,” began, whistling and cheering “Yes queen!” and “Slay!” Yet Kate is the life of the party, thanks to LJ Bullen’s unmatched vocal performance. 

The Wild Party Through 9/25: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 5 PM; also Mon 9/19, 7:30 PM, Reginald Vaughn Theatre, 1106 W. Thorndale, blanktheatrecompany.org, $20-$30

The supporting characters make this party a blast. Mary Nora Wolf as Madelaine the lesbian delivers a solo that’s a comic highlight. Kaitlin Feeley and Ian Reed as Mae and Eddie are admittedly “Two of a Kind.” And Nicky Mendelsohn’s performance of the flamboyant composer Phil D’Armano is hilarious and instrumental in relieving some of the tension from the more serious scenes. 

Though the production is amusing, two hours is a long time to watch 14 people partying. And while the musical addresses some of the barriers victims face in abusive relationships, the acknowledgement is superficial at best. Some parts are hard to watch without clenching, like the abrupt assault scene between Queenie and Burrs in act one. 

If you’re looking for a raunchy yet low-key event, The Wild Party may be right for you. Besides, a little party never killed anybody. 

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Party like it’s 1926Boutayna Chokraneon August 31, 2022 at 4:34 pm Read More »