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Watch Berkowitz’s interview w/GOV candidate Jesse Sullivan, Part 1: Chicago, 25 Chicago Metro N & NW suburbs, Highland Park, Aurora and Rockford, Cable and Webon October 26, 2021 at 1:17 am

Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz

Watch Berkowitz’s interview w/GOV candidate Jesse Sullivan, Part 1: Chicago, 25 Chicago Metro N & NW suburbs, Highland Park, Aurora and Rockford, Cable and Web

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Watch Berkowitz’s interview w/GOV candidate Jesse Sullivan, Part 1: Chicago, 25 Chicago Metro N & NW suburbs, Highland Park, Aurora and Rockford, Cable and Webon October 26, 2021 at 1:17 am Read More »

Legendary Marshall basketball coach Dorothy Gaters steps downMike Clarkon October 25, 2021 at 11:55 pm

Marshall’s coach Dorothy Gaters during a game on January 14, 2020. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Dorothy Gaters, the winningest high school basketball coach in Illinois history, has stepped down after a 45-year career at Marshall that featured more than 1,100 wins, 10 girls state titles and 24 state trophies.

Dorothy Gaters, the winningest high school basketball coach in Illinois history, has stepped down after a 45-year career at Marshall that featured more than 1,100 wins, 10 girls state titles and 24 state trophies.

Gaters, who will remain as Marshall’s athletic director, said she made the decision to give up coaching “some time ago. It wasn’t anything spontaneous.”

The last game she coached was the 2020 Class 2A state final, which Marshall lost 43-37 to Pleasant Plains. Less than a month later, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down high school sports in Illinois.

When basketball finally returned for an abbreviated season earlier this year, Marshall did not field a team. But now Gaters is ready to step aside in favor of Fred Eaton, a longtime assistant who has been in the program for more than 20 years.

Gaters finished 1,153-217. St. Joseph coaching legend Gene Pingatore, who died in 2019, is atop the boys basketball wins list with 1,035.

Gaters said the biggest reason for her decision to leave coaching is the desire to spend more time with her great-grandsons Tristian and Darius, whose father died three years ago.

“I’ve known for some time what I needed to do,” Gaters said. “They spend a few days a week here. They have homework, I never get out of the kitchen.”

Gaters believes girls and women’s basketball are trending upward. “It’s only going to continue to grow,” she said, noting this is the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

There’s also the success of the WNBA champion Sky, which Gaters got to experience in person by taking in Game 3 of the league finals.

Marshall, which won state trophies in Gaters’ final four seasons — a third in 3A in 2017, championships in 2A in 2018 and ’19, and runner-up in 2A in ’20 — is starting over in more ways than one.

“We were going to be rebuilding anyway before the pandemic,” Gaters said. “We only had a varsity team [in 2020] and graduated nine of 12 players.”

In any case, Gaters is at peace with her decision to step away from coaching.

“I haven’t really had time to reflect,” she said. “[But] it’s been a good ride.”

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Legendary Marshall basketball coach Dorothy Gaters steps downMike Clarkon October 25, 2021 at 11:55 pm Read More »

State Police won’t refer Christopher Vaughn case to FBI; clemency bid on holdJon Seidelon October 25, 2021 at 11:58 pm

Mug shot of Christopher Vaughn from the Will County Jail Web site in June 2007. | Sun-Times File

A Will County jury took less than an hour in September 2012 to find Vaughn guilty of the murders of his wife and three children, but he’s now the subject of a high-profile exoneration effort.

The Illinois State Police declined this month to refer questions to the FBI about the case of Christopher Vaughn, the Oswego man convicted of the murders of his wife and three children who has become the subject of a high-profile exoneration effort.

The rejection came after longtime Vaughn investigator Bill Clutter asked State Police Director Brendan Kelly for the FBI referral in a two-page letter dated Oct. 12, claiming “misleading and false” grand jury testimony was used to secure Vaughn’s 2007 indictment.

It’s an allegation Clutter has made before, including to the Office of Executive Inspector General in the months leading up to Vaughn’s 2012 trial, according to records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Meanwhile, Clutter says plans to seek clemency for Vaughn from Gov. J.B. Pritzker are now on hold ahead of a Thursday petition deadline. He said he wants to further test a new claim about how Vaughn’s wife and children wound up dead in the family’s SUV while it was parked on a gravel path near Interstate 55 and Bluff Road on June 14, 2007.

Clutter shared a copy of his letter to Kelly with the Sun-Times, and the State Police shared its one-page response dated Oct. 18. Clutter argued Monday that an internal investigation should at least be conducted. A State Police representative declined to comment beyond the letter.

The State Police letter said copies were sent to Emmerson Buie Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI in Chicago, as well as to Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow. FBI spokeswoman Siobhan Johnson said the FBI would review any allegation of a federal crime that it received.

Clutter said his earlier complaint to the Executive Inspector General about the Vaughn case went nowhere. The Sun-Times obtained a copy of the March 2012 document through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

“They did nothing with that,” Clutter said.

Jed Stone, Vaughn’s new defense attorney, insisted there is evidence of Vaughn’s innocence, but Stone has not yet decided where it will be presented.

“We’re not going to litigate this in the Sun-Times,” Stone said.

A Will County jury took less than an hour in September 2012 to find Vaughn guilty of the murders of his wife Kimberly, 34, and their children: 12-year-old Abigayle, 11-year-old Cassandra and 8-year-old Blake.

Kimberly suffered an “angle-contact gunshot wound” under her chin, records show. The children were each shot twice, in the torso and head. The shots to the children, in the back seat of the SUV, came from over the left shoulder of the front passenger seat, where Kimberly was found, records show. Vaughn also suffered gunshot wounds to his left wrist and thigh.

Prosecutors argued that Vaughn shoved his Taurus handgun under Kimberly’s chin from outside the SUV and shot her, reached over her to shoot his children, and then shot himself. Vaughn’s defense attorneys argued Kimberly shot Vaughn and the kids before killing herself.

Vaughn is serving four life terms in the Pinckneyville Correctional Center, records show.

Clutter’s letter to the State Police this month revolved primarily around grand jury testimony about blood evidence in the case, including blood found on Kimberly’s seatbelt. That evidence has long been seen as key to Vaughn’s conviction, because it contradicted the defense theory at trial. Prosecutors said it showed Vaughn had been moving over his wife’s body after her death.

Clutter alleged that Vaughn’s indictment was secured through faulty testimony from then-State Police Sgt. Gary Lawson. Records attached to Clutter’s letter said Lawson advanced the theory before the grand jury in 2007 that Kimberly’s seatbelt had been buckled when she was shot.

Those records claim “DNA testing had disproven this theory.” But a pair of attached DNA reports — one marked “draft” and dated before Lawson’s testimony, as well as one dated afterward — show only that the blood on the seatbelt belonged to Vaughn and not Kimberly.

A prosecutor did not ask Lawson who the blood belonged to, and Lawson did not say, according to an excerpt of a transcript Clutter sent to the State Police. Prosecutors went on to successfully argue at trial that Vaughn unbuckled his wife’s seatbelt after shooting Kimberly, the kids and himself.

Stone said it would be inappropriate to even imply to the grand jury that the blood on the seatbelt belonged to Kimberly.

“Lawyers are very good at using words to lead and to mislead people,” Stone said.

Lawson could not be reached for comment. The State Police letter to Clutter said “nothing in the information provided would warrant” a referral to the FBI.

Clutter also pointed the State Police to a demonstration performed by two actors based on a third letter, purportedly from Vaughn. First read on the iHeart Radio podcast “Murder in Illinois,” it claims to explain what really happened in the Vaughns’ SUV.

That letter says Vaughn was around the back of the SUV when it suddenly “sounded like the inside of the truck was exploding.” It said he opened his car door and saw Kimberly holding the gun, and she opened fire on him when he jumped into his seat to grab it. It said he fell back out and prepared to make another attempt when she turned the gun on herself.

The letter claims Vaughn checked on the children, but nothing could be done for them. It said he then thought about driving the SUV and tried to buckle Kimberly’s seatbelt, but his hands were shaking and he couldn’t do it. It said he eventually “got to the road to get help.”

Asked whether Vaughn had signed an affidavit or had otherwise sworn to the new theory, Stone declined to answer and said, “when we’re ready to file affidavits, we’ll file them.” Clutter said no affidavit had been signed.

Clutter insists the blood evidence from the SUV matches the new theory, but he acknowledged Monday that multiple portions of that theory were not tested in the demonstration. Among them was the contention that Kimberly shot each of her children in the time it took Vaughn to get from the back of the SUV to his door.

Clutter said a second test, this time of ballistics, will be conducted to help explain the shooting of Vaughn by his wife. He said he is working with an expert in Canada, and COVID-19 restrictions will likely prevent the test from taking place before spring.

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State Police won’t refer Christopher Vaughn case to FBI; clemency bid on holdJon Seidelon October 25, 2021 at 11:58 pm Read More »

Following one’s conscience or ‘fringe elements?’ State seeks to bar moral, religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccine refusalRachel Hintonon October 26, 2021 at 12:38 am

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 members and their supporters protest against COVID-19 mandates outside City Hall Monday morning. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The amendment to the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act is intended to make clear that public officials and private companies can impose COVID-19 requirements as a condition of employment — and fire those who refuse to comply.

Employees could not cite moral or religious beliefs as a valid reason for refusing to comply with a workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate, under a measure state legislators are expected to take up when they return to Springfield this week.

The amendment to the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act is intended to make clear that public officials and private companies can impose COVID-19 requirements as a condition of employment — and fire those who refuse to comply.

The act, on the books since 1998, was originally designed to protect doctors, nurses and other health care providers who refused to perform medical procedures — such as abortions — that they’re opposed to. New language would be added clarifying the right of conscience objection does not apply to COVID-19 requirements.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the act was “never intended to allow people to avoid public health guidance and jeopardize workplace safety during a global pandemic.

“The administration supports efforts to clarify the law, so it cannot be misinterpreted by fringe elements,” the spokeswoman said.

Under the amendment, filed Monday, it’s not a violation of the law for any public official, public or private association, agency or employer to “take any measures or impose any requirements,” including those that involve provision of services by a physician or health care personnel “intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives an update on COVID-19 pediatric vaccinations during a news conference, Monday.

The amendment goes on to say it’s not a violation of the Health Care Right of Conscience Act to enforce the measure through “terminating employment or excluding individuals from a school, a place of employment, or public or private premises in response to noncompliance.”

“Conscience rights” are what health care providers can invoke when they refuse to provide various services on religious or moral grounds, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

State Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, who filed the amendment to the Illinois law, did not respond to requests for comment on the legislation.

A spokeswoman for state Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, said the leader and other members of the Senate Republican caucus “remain extremely skeptical of any effort by the government to mandate Illinoisans to take medical action in contradiction to their sincerely held personal beliefs.”

Screen image.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, left, and Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie, right, meet with the Sun-Times Editorial Board over Zoom In April.

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The Health Care Right of Conscience Act has been cited by some looking to sidestep vaccine mandates.

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, who is battling Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the city’s vaccine mandate, told ABC7 “at face value, it’s usable.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara speaks at a protest against COVID-19 mandates outside City Hall before a Chicago City Council meeting Monday morning.

Conversations around changes to the state right of conscience act started a few months ago when it became clear some Illinois residents were using the law as an “excuse not to participate in workplace safety requirements,” a source within the governor’s office said.

Over the last few weeks, discussions have been underway with the General Assembly’s leaders, individual members and outside stakeholders, the source said.

If passed, the updated legislation will go into effect immediately.

Legislators return to Springfield for their last three slated days of the fall veto session Tuesday. Their agenda will likely include the right of conscience amendment, voting on new congressional boundaries and creating incentives for electric vehicle manufacturers.

House Democratic sources said plans to vote on a repeal of the controversial Parental Notification of Abortion Act are currently “iffy.” The language related to that repeal is still being worked out, and legislators, as well as advocacy groups, are pulling together the votes needed to pass the measure.

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Following one’s conscience or ‘fringe elements?’ State seeks to bar moral, religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccine refusalRachel Hintonon October 26, 2021 at 12:38 am Read More »

Chairman of City Council’s Black Caucus wants CPD to make clear why sworn officers are in jobs civilians could doFran Spielmanon October 25, 2021 at 11:52 pm

Public Safety Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. | Sun-Times file

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) told the Sun-Times “hundreds of sworn officers” remain in “civilian positions,” even though the last four mayors have seemingly made it a priority to get cops out from behind desks and back on the street.

The chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus wants the Chicago Police Department to create “clear criteria for why any positions that civilians can work are filled by sworn officers” and provide quarterly reports on the subject.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said “hundreds of sworn officers” remain in “civilian positions,” even though the last four mayors have seemingly made it a priority to get cops out from behind desks and back on the street.

“We go through these exercises, but nothing really changes. … We move people back into the districts and then, some mysterious way, they find their way back at headquarters,” Ervin told the Sun-Times.

“If there’s a reason why a sworn officer needs to be in a specific position, they should be able to defend that. … We just need to get some clarity on the rationale behind why individuals that could very well be in neighborhoods helping [fight crime] are behind the desk doing some function that very well could be done by somebody else” who is not in uniform.

Five months after taking office, Mayor Lori Lightfoot merged administrative functions of the police and fire departments and the Office of Emergency Management into a new Office of Public Safety Administration.

It was to bring together 280 civilian employees in the finance, human resources, information technology and logistics divisions at a new office in the city’s public safety headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave.

The consolidation was expected to generate “savings over time” by replacing sworn officers with civilians and reducing police overtime, which topped $200 million for the three public safety departments.

The new administration office was supposed to launch in May 2020 but was delayed because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It finally opened last fall under the leadership of Anastasia Walker, former chief administrative officer for the Chicago Fire Department.

The resolution, which Ervin introduced at Monday’s Council meeting, comes at a pivotal moment.

Homicides, shootings and carjackings continue to surge from last year’s troubling levels.

Meanwhile, the tidal wave of police retirements continues, with 703 retirements already this year and 987 sworn vacancies.

Already, the Chicago Police Department is 1,000 officers short of authorized strength — even after Lightfoot balanced her 2021 budget, in part, by eliminating 614 police vacancies.

Exacerbating the problem is waning interest in the police profession and the fact that CPD has slowly begun the process of placing on no-pay status officers who refuse to report their vaccine status on the city’s data portal.

The resolution would require CPD to “create clear criteria for why any positions that civilians can work are filled by sworn officers.”

It further states, “Be it further resolved that, if a sworn officer is in a Police Department or Public Safety Administration position that a civilian can work, there are quarter check-ins to ensure there is still a valid reason they are doing that work.”

CPD and the Office of Public Safety Administration would also be required to provide “quarterly reports” to the Council’s Committee on Public Safety “so there is transparency around progress being made on this issue.”

Ervin said rising crime and the 1,000 police vacancies “definitely helps the argument” for riding herd over a civilianization process that has been so painfully slow, it’s been the subject of several reports by the inspector general’s office.

But, he added: “This should have been done years ago.”

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Chairman of City Council’s Black Caucus wants CPD to make clear why sworn officers are in jobs civilians could doFran Spielmanon October 25, 2021 at 11:52 pm Read More »

Chicago comedy spotlight for Monday, October 25-Sunday, October 31, 2021on October 25, 2021 at 11:01 pm

Comedians Defying Gravity

Chicago comedy spotlight for Monday, October 25-Sunday, October 31, 2021

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Chicago comedy spotlight for Monday, October 25-Sunday, October 31, 2021on October 25, 2021 at 11:01 pm Read More »

Lightfoot booed at annual fundraiser for first union to endorse her 2019 runoff campaignFran Spielmanon October 25, 2021 at 10:11 pm

Mayor Lori Lightfoot attended a fundraiser for Plumbers Union Local 130 at Plumbers Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd. on Sunday. | Google Maps

One person said Lightfoot was “booed off the stage” when she was introduced at the annual event at Plumbers Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd., but a union official disputed that account, saying only “a couple of people” booed.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was booed at a fundraiser Sunday for Plumbers Union Local 130, the first union to endorse her in the 2019 runoff election against Toni Preckwinkle.

One attendee, who asked to remain anonymous, described Lightfoot as having been “booed off the stage” at the annual event at Plumbers Hall, 1340 W. Washington St., to raise money for Local 130’s political action committee — though a union official disputed that account.

The person requesting anonymity said Lightfoot “spoke for less than a minute. And there was a resounding booing throughout the room. Almost deafening, … I was sitting at the table with a bunch of plumbers. They’re like, `We’ve never heard that before here.’ … Clearly, their membership is not with her. … They were calling her names. It was bad.”

Pat McCarthy, the union’s recording secretary, acknowledged Lightfoot was booed during halftime of the Bears’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But McCarthy also insisted the mayor was “able to finish her remarks, got a cheer at the end,” then returned to her seat and watched the rest of the game.

“I was there when she was speaking. There were a couple of people in the corner that booed. But it was nothing significant. And it didn’t disrupt the event at all,” McCarthy said.

“I would have to suspect whoever was booing at that event was not a member of this local. … We respect her and we have no problems with the mayor.”

Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd), however, said a close friend who attended the event showed her a video of the mayor being booed.

Union President Jim Majerowicz said he was downstairs counting money for the football pool when Lightfoot took the stage.

“I didn’t hear nothin’ … I was in a different room, so I can’t say,” Majerowicz said. “You’re telling me some shocking stuff. I find it hard to believe.”

As for the recent changes to the plumbing code that paved the way for increased use of plastic pipe, Majerowicz said, “We’ve been working with the mayor’s office on that. We’ve been supporting the mayor since Day One. We were the first union to support the mayor. She’s been here numerous times at meetings and stuff. She’s a great partner of ours. I just find it hard to believe.”

Business manager Jim Coyne introduced the mayor to Sunday’s crowd of over 1,000 people.

“I did not hear any booing,” he said. “That’s kind of impossible at Plumbers Hall. She’s loved by the plumbers. People wanted to get in line and take pictures with her.”

Whatever happened, Lightfoot’s political director Dave Mellet called it “much ado about nothing.”

The union was the first to endorse Lightfoot in the April 2019 runoff and contributed $58,700 to her runoff campaign. This time, “the mayor will seek their endorsement. They have a great relationship. And I would expect them to be on her team in 2023,” Mellet said.

“I don’t believe that she was, quote-unquote, ‘booed’ at this event,” Mellet added. “I believe she was well received. There may have been a couple of people in the room who came in there to shout and be loud.”

At the March 2019 news conference where the union announced its endorsement of Lightfoot, Coyne said he was “proud and honored” to support a candidate who “has presented herself as someone who is very progressive” and will “fight for our plumbers and their families as well as working families” throughout Chicago.

Lightfoot then took the podium and praised Local 130’s dedication “to making sure that they are opening up doors of opportunity to a diverse class” of union apprentices.

“I really, really appreciate the energy and the devotion that this local has put into making sure that opportunity isn’t something that’s determined by zip code. That’s a critically important thing for our city. It sets exactly the right tone and pace. And I’m honored to be endorsed by this union,” Lightfoot said that day.

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Lightfoot booed at annual fundraiser for first union to endorse her 2019 runoff campaignFran Spielmanon October 25, 2021 at 10:11 pm Read More »

Blackhawks hope to transfer special-teams lessons to fix even-strength woesBen Popeon October 25, 2021 at 9:10 pm

Calvin de Haan and the Blackhawks’ penalty kill hasn’t been the problem so far. | Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

With their 10th-ranked power play and fourth-ranked penalty kill surprisingly clicking, the still-winless Hawks want to apply what’s working there to all situations.

During the Blackhawks’ lone timeout in Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Red Wings — called with 7:22 left to play, entering seven seconds of a five-on-three power play — coach Jeremy Colliton picked up the whiteboard and handed it, still white, to his players.

They wanted to sketch out their own play.

“I don’t have all the best ideas — I’m open to coming up with something different,” Colliton said later. “They had a pretty good play they drew up. If not mistaken, it just got deflected, [Alex DeBrincat’s] one-timer there. Nothing strange about that.”

Pictures of the moment nonetheless went viral as a perceived indication of either Colliton abandoning his coaching duties or the players usurping him and coaching themselves — both of which were almost certainly overreactions. After all, due to COVID, the Hawks are currently missing three assistant coaches, who normally handle such minutiae during timeouts.

Also conveniently forgotten was the fact the Hawks have done well on power plays so far this season. Actually, they’ve done well with special teams across the board.

They finished 1-for-4 on the ‘PP’ on Sunday and now sit at 6-for-22 this season, a 27.3% conversion rate that ranks 10th in the NHL. They were credited with 11 power-play scoring chances Sunday and now rank fourth in the NHL this season in scoring-chance rate on the power play — as well as fourth in shot-attempt rate, fifth in shot-on-goal rate and second in expected-goal rate.

It’s a similarly encouraging story on the penalty kill — formerly a preseason area of concern — through the Hawks’ first six regular-season games.

They’re 20-for-22, a 90.9% kill rate that ranks fourth in the NHL. They’ve allowed the seventh-fewest scoring chances, fourth-fewest shot attempts, ninth-fewest shots on goal and eight-fewest expected goals against per minute.

On both fronts, those are remarkably good results considering how outrageously awful the Hawks have been otherwise.

They’re winless through six games for the first time since 1997 and have allowed four or more goals in six consecutive losses for the first time since 1988. At even strength, they’ve been outscored 25-6 and rank 28th in scoring-chance ratio at 45.4%.

So before practice Monday morning, Colliton and his (temporarily decimated) coaching staff reflected on that strange disparity and talked to the team about trying to carry over the special teams’ effectiveness to non-special scenarios.

“We’re really focused when we’re out there,” Colliton said about the ‘PP’ and ‘PK’ units. “We understand exactly what we’re trying to do, and the players are taking a lot of pride in the little details that make a difference.

“During five-on-five [play], it’s no different. There are details that matter, and you’ve got to do it every time. When you don’t do them, you pay the price. When you do them, you have a chance to be rewarded. [The special teams results are] a perfect example that I believe we have good enough players here to have success as a team. We have to really bear down and be sharp with those little things.”

The Hawks shouldn’t try to transfer identical tactics — a ‘PK’ strategy at even strength would cripple the offense; a ‘PP’ strategy would cripple the defense — but they can certainly learn lessons from their focus, confidence and adherence to the game plan during ‘PK’ and ‘PP’ situations.

“What we’ve been doing on the penalty kill [is] being annoying, get sticks in lanes and whenever you have the opportunity to get the puck out, get it down the ice,” defenseman Calvin de Haan said.

“We have to bring that ‘live to fight another day’ mentality to five-on-five play, to be honest. Sometimes it’s good to win by taking a pound of flesh or [inflicting] death by 1,000 papercuts versus going for that knockout blow all the time.”

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Blackhawks hope to transfer special-teams lessons to fix even-strength woesBen Popeon October 25, 2021 at 9:10 pm Read More »

Melissa Gilbert joins ‘Frasier’ actor in Chicago playDarel Jevenson October 25, 2021 at 9:37 pm

Melissa Gilbert will star in “When Harry Met Rehab” at Greenhouse Theater Center. | Provided

The ‘Little House on the Prairie’ alum will play a rehab therapist in the world premiere comedy.

Melissa Gilbert, the veteran actress still best known for her work on “Little House on the Prairie,” has joined the cast of the Chicago play “When Harry Met Rehab” alongside another familiar TV face.

She’ll star with Dan Butler, who played sports-talk host Bulldog on “Frasier,” in the world premiere that begins previews Nov. 24 at the Greenhouse Theatre Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.

Butler plays the title character in the play based loosely on the real-life experiences of Chicago sports radio personality Harry Teinowitz, who wrote the piece with Spike Manton. Gilbert takes the role of Barb, a rehab therapist and former addict.

Since playing young Laura Ingalls on the 1974-83 NBC period piece “Little House,” Gilbert has appeared in dozens of TV movies and in stage works including “The Glass Menagerie,” “Bus Stop,” “Love Letters” and “Little House on the Prairie: The Musical.”

Tickets for the play are on sale now at whenharrymetrehab.com.

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Melissa Gilbert joins ‘Frasier’ actor in Chicago playDarel Jevenson October 25, 2021 at 9:37 pm Read More »

Legalization of Betting in SportsNed Fon October 13, 2021 at 12:00 am

How well do you know your sports? Is the knowledge enough to help you place bets on the outcome and win some real money? Do you know who invented this form of gambling?

Most countries took their time to allow online casino gambling – and it’s still illegal in some – but they did not hesitate to legalize sports betting. This $150 billion yearly industry keeps growing, and today we have dozens of sites offering these betting services. Because most of the activity is based on actual outcomes from day-to-day sports, those who participate feel like they have more control than they do on casino games whose results are determined by an algorithm. To reap the rewards in this form of betting, you want to know your sports, the teams, and the odds of them winning. There is never a dull moment when you bet on sports.

A Short History of Sports Gambling

Greece is known as the pioneer of many things, and sports betting is only one of them. While the earliest records show it to have started here, it was ancient Rome that first legalized it over 2000 years ago. That was way before the race for online casinos with fast payouts started, or online gambling was even a thought. The Romans gambled on gladiator games before they were banned and continued even after they were no longer played. The spirit of playing for real money had started and was not about to be stopped.

The systems put in place where sports help make money online were quite simple. Players just needed to bet on the outcome of a game where bookies would calculate the odds. Religious groups fought the actions so much that eventually, gambling had to go underground. This didn’t stop its spread into other parts, and as soon as it got to England, it was transported to the rest of the world through trade. Most of today’s betting skills borrow heavily from what was started many years ago.

Current Situation

Vegas took up betting at casinos, giving the illusion that this activity was legal in the country. While reasonable amounts of money were being collected at casinos, even larger chunks were made by illegal bookers who still operate to date. Because several countries have failed to acknowledge this form of gambling, the bookies make a kill while law enforcement officers turn a blind eye.

And then came online betting that discombobulated the industry as we knew it. Now, all you need is an internet connection and a mobile device to place a bet at an online site to make real money. You can bet on almost every conceivable sport and even eSports. Think Football, Basketball, Tennis, Horse racing, Athletics, Rugby, Cricket, and many more.

Countries that have Legalized Sports Betting

Several countries have legalized betting on sports to capitalize on its gains. The restrictions on this form are not as strict as those you find when gambling on slots or card games at online casinos, probably because the activities in the field purely determine the outcome. It is a game of chance because you are betting on an outcome you are unsure of unless the game is staged

What is the future of sports betting? Well, like the spin samurai Australia, the future is promising. More countries find it more appealing than regular gambling, so they are less strict on it, and over time, they could move towards regulation. Those who have legalized it are reaping the benefits from all the earnings collected towards their GDPs, so the data already available could convince more countries to legalize this form of betting.

Here are some of the countries that have legalized it;

Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ghana
India
Kenya
Mexico
New Zealand
Nigeria
Peru
Philippines
Russia
South Africa
United Kingdo

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Legalization of Betting in SportsNed Fon October 13, 2021 at 12:00 am Read More »