The classic breakfast pastry with Czech roots comes to Chicago.Read More

Read More

Dirksen Federal Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St. | Sun-Times file

The money paid for more than 80 flights for Stuart Nitzkin and members of his family, according to the feds. It paid for vacations to Scotland, Puerto Rico, Las Vegas, Florida, Arizona and Denver, including stays at Ritz-Carlton hotels in several cities and The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

Accusing him of “greed” and a “skewed way of looking at the world,” a federal judge handed a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence Thursday to a onetime disabled children’s charity director who the feds say stole nearly $1 million from the organization.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis handed down the sentence to Stuart Nitzkin of Deerfield, who admitted earlier this year he submitted bogus invoices, receipts and other reimbursement requests to pay for luxury vacations, tickets to NBA games and other personal expenses.

“This was just simple greed,” Ellis said. “And it was your attempt to live a life that you couldn’t afford.”

Before he was sentenced, Nitzkin apologized to the judge and said, “I know that I can bring value to the world, and I pledge to do so.” He added, “Nothing like this will ever happen again.”

Nitzkin served as executive director of American Friends of the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled, court records show. Prosecutors say Nitzkin had previously worked as a telemarketer and a salesman before taking the job, which paid a salary of $150,000 a year.

During the summers of 2014 through 2016, they said he also worked for an unaffiliated camp in Wisconsin, where he was paid $100,000 as its co-director.

Meanwhile, the feds say Nitzkin stole $831,400 from the disabled children’s charity. They said his fraudulent transactions ranged from less than $100 to thousands of dollars. They said he paid for home and auto insurance, purchases at “a large appliance and television store,” duct cleaning, property taxes, a health club and treatment at the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.

The money paid for more than 80 flights for Nitzkin and members of his family, according to the feds. It paid for vacations to Scotland, Puerto Rico, Las Vegas, Florida, Arizona and Denver, including stays at Ritz-Carlton hotels in several cities and The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

Nitzkin charged the charity more than $7,000 for Bulls tickets in 2014 and more than $10,000 for Bulls tickets in 2015, as well as tickets to Cleveland Browns games, prosecutors say. He also spent the money at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macy’s, Target, and even Dairy Queen.

“[Nitzkin] repeatedly has said that he would ‘never hurt the kids,’ but that is exactly what he did,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg wrote in a court memo last month.

The prosecutor wrote that the charity “had to spend considerable time and money dealing with accountants and lawyers” to straighten out the mess Nitzkin left behind, and to reassure and rebuild its donor base. Mecklenburg also acknowledged that, “with the help of its donors, the charity is now more successful than ever.”

But the prosecutor also wrote that Nitzkin “has been thriving financially and has the means to pay the charity full restitution” — but “has chosen not to do so.” Rather, she wrote that Nitzkin settled a lawsuit from the charity for $315,000, meaning he “still owes the charity more than a half million dollars.”

Meanwhile, Mecklenburg said a friend financed Nitzkin’s purchase of the friend’s successful staffing company for millions of dollars. She wrote that Nitzkin pays himself “a lucrative salary” there, in excess of what he made at the charity, “as well as regular substantial bonuses and a car allowance that exceeds his car costs.”

Nitzkin owns a home in Deerfield, land in Texas, Colorado and Missouri, has multiple financial accounts and has a net worth in the millions, Mecklenburg wrote.

“Nitzkin has been thriving for the past five years, while the charity has suffered,” she argued.

When she handed down the sentence, Ellis ordered Nitzkin to pay the remaining $516,400 restitution. She also told him, “There was no reason at all that you could not have paid restitution over the last couple of years.”

“What that would have shown is that yes, you really were remorseful, and that yes, you took responsibility for what you did,” Ellis said.

Read More

Carlos Yanez Jr. (left) with his parents at his swearing-in ceremony on Navy Pier. | Photo courtesy of Carlos Yanez Sr.

Carlos Yanez Jr., shot four times, lost an eye and still has two bullets lodged in his brain, his father previously told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago Police Office Carlos Yanez Jr. was released from the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab Thursday morning where he was recovering from several gunshot wounds he suffered during a traffic stop in West Englewood two months ago.

“We are beyond thrilled that he continues to make a steady recovery,” said Thomas Ahern, a Chicago police spokesman. “He offers his sincere gratitude to the medical professionals who treated him and to the overwhelming love and support he has received from the Chicago Police Department.”

Yanez Jr. was with two partners in early August when they pulled over a gray SUV at 63rd Street and Bell Avenue for having expired license plates. The stop turned violent when one of the passengers pulled a gun and fired multiple shots at the officers.

Yanez Jr. was shot four times and as a result lost an eye and still has two bullets lodged in his brain, his father previously told the Sun-Times. His partner Chicago Police Officer Ella French was killed during the altercation.

Chicago police said at the time of the shooting that Yanez was “fighting for his very life” and in critical condition.

Yanez Jr., who was in a wheelchair, was greeted with a live mariachi band, family and fellow police officers when he left the rehabilitation center Thursday morning, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

“All my family and friends, thank you for all the support. From the officers that saved my life — you know driving me to the University of Chicago — and the medical staff,” Yanez Jr. told several news stations outside the facility. “All the nurses and [Patient Care Technicians], you know, especially here at this facility. It’s the best in the country.”

Yanez Jr.’s father, Carlos Yanez Sr., also gave thanks to the outpouring support his family received.

“He’s come a long way but he’s got a long way to go,” Yanez Sr. said. “Thank you all.”

Read More

The Blackhawks and Seth Jones flopped in their season-opening 4-2 loss to the Avalanche. | AP Photo/David Zalubowski

The Hawks’ new depth won’t help much if their top players don’t perform as expected. But not every opponent will be as tough as the Avalanche.

NEWARK, N.J. — Every offseason brings optimism to most NHL teams. And every opening week dents that optimism in abrupt, startling ways.

So it’s hardly unprecedented that the Blackhawks, despite their ultra-active summer of upgrades, fell flat in their first of 82 games in 2021-22. But the way they did so — looking completely baffled by the sport of hockey for the first period of a lopsided 4-2 loss to the Avalanche — was nonetheless cause for concern.

General manager Stan Bowman and coach Jeremy Colliton touted, before puck drop Wednesday, the Hawks’ bolstered depth as a key ingredient in their anticipated breakthrough.

“Part of that is we’ve brought in some new players, but a lot of these [returning] guys have started to take that next step,” Bowman said. “Last year was a big year for a lot of guys to get their feet wet and to get used to what it would be like in the NHL, but we always want to try to build on that and come back and be further along.

“We’re going to encounter injuries, whether it’s Jonathan [Toews] or whoever, so we’ll be tested… But we’re going to be in a position to hopefully get through that better than in years past.”

In the most basic sense, they’re right: the Hawks do have more NHL-level or close-to-NHL-level players under contract than they have in years. Dylan Strome and Adam Gaudette probably don’t deserve to be healthy scratches. AHL-bound prospects Lukas Reichel, Mike Hardman, Reese Johnson, Nicolas Beaudin and Jakub Galvas could all give good arguments why they should be on the roster, too.

Yet against an extremely well-rounded Avalanche powerhouse (even without superstar Nathan MacKinnon), the Hawks showed they still can’t remotely match that quality of depth. The game was never truly competitive: The Avs at one point led 23-3 in five-on-five scoring chances and finished up 45-24 in total scoring chances.

Although a loss in Colorado hardly spells doom — many other teams will suffer a similar fate this season, and the Devils on Friday will present a much fairer test — it revealed a key flaw in the Hawks’ reconstructed lineup.

Namely, many of the players expected to be top contributors on this team have only been great (or healthy) one of the past two seasons.

In 2019-20, Marc-Andre Fleury was merely average, Alex DeBrincat was snakebitten, Calvin de Haan was injured and Kevin Lankinen and Brandon Hagel were in the AHL. In 2021, Jonathan Toews didn’t play, Jake McCabe and Kirby Dach barely played, Tyler Johnson played fourth-line minutes and Seth Jones struggled mightily. Only Patrick Kane, Dominik Kubalik and Connor Murphy are building off consecutive good years.

The Hawks had imagined, and planned as if, they’d get the other-season — the good-season — versions of those players.

But if they don’t, inexperienced role players will end up over-slotted and over-matched as Colliton desperately seeks to spark his team — as happened Wednesday, when the game finished with Henrik Borgstrom centering Kane and DeBrincat, MacKenzie Entwistle next to Dach and Riley Stillman anchoring Jones.

“We just didn’t have enough guys going,” Colliton said.

When that happens, the depth disappears quickly.

The viability of Colliton’s defensive system is another issue. As intelligent a hockey mind as he is, as similar (contrary to popular belief) the system is to that of numerous other teams and as encouraged as the defensemen sounded about their unit’s progress in training camp, the fact remains that the Hawks have constantly bled scoring chances throughout Colliton’s tenure to date and looked no better defensively Wednesday.

All of the aforementioned concerns can be dismissed, for now, due to the tiny sample size. After all, way-too-early overreactions are as common in the NHL as offseason optimism and opening-week reality checks.

But Wednesday’s disaster did sketch a worryingly believable blueprint for how this Hawks season could crumble in the coming months.

Read More

The Bears and Packers last played Jan. 3. | Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ rivalry game against the Packers at Soldier Field.

The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ rivalry game against the Packers at Soldier Field:

Rick Morrissey

Packers 24-17

It certainly would help the Bears’ cause if Aaron Rodgers developed debilitating bunions right before game time. Short of that, it’s going to take a masterful performance by the Bears’ D to stop Rodgers, whose knowledge of the game and quick release make masterful defensive performances a rarity. The good news? Justin Fields gets another start under his belt. Season: 3-2.

Rick Telander

Packers 24-18

Question: Does it matter they’re playing at Soldier Field where Rodgers will hear an earful all day? I’m saying no. The guy doesn’t have a pulse. Thinking Hannibal Lector calm here, the way Mr. Lector can eat your liver with a nice Chianti and a smile. Rodgers is a cold surgeon. Dissects Bears year after year and eats ’em whole. Yuck. Season: 3-2.

Patrick Finley

Bears 20-17 (OT)

Only a fool would bet against Rodgers, but here’s my argument: Since Week 2 — that’s not taking the Rams’ beatdown into account — the Bears defense ranks first in the NFL in sacks, eighth in passer rating allowed, seventh in passing yards allowed and 12th in yards per carry allowed. If the Bears defense is elite, we’ll see it Sunday. Season: 5-0.

Jason Lieser

Packers 23-19

The Bears appear to be headed in the right direction, but there’s a big difference between that and already being on top like the Packers. Green Bay is just as fearsome as last season, when it was a Super Bowl contender, and the Bears still have some climbing to do to reach that level. Season: 4-1.

Mark Potash

Packers 23-20

With a rejuvenated defense, an improved running game and a wild card in Fields, the Bears have a great chance to pull off the upset. But Rodgers usually finds a way to win. Season: 4-1.

Read More

“Speaking from a player’s standpoint, for sure. I definitely want him in,” White Sox All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson said of manager Tony La Russa. “He did a great job with the way he managed and just being open. “For me, yeah, I want him to be back.” | Stacy Revere/Getty Images

“I want him to be back,” the All-Star shortstop said.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa said he would return next season if the players want him back, and while there isn’t much doubt the 77-year-old Hall of Famer will return, staunch support from an important voice in the clubhouse came Thursday.

“Speaking from a player’s standpoint, for sure. I definitely want him in,” All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson said. “He did a great job with the way he managed and just being open.

“For me, yeah, I want him to be back.”

On Wednesday, Jose Abreu said he hadn’t talked to La Russa about next year after this season ended in a disappointing three-games-to-one defeat to the Astros in the ALDS.

“But I’m pretty sure he’s going to come back,” Abreu said through a translator. “He won’t leave us alone. He’s going to be with us.”

When La Russa was hired in the offseason in a stunning move by chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, an immediate reaction was the assumption La Russa’s age (76 at the time) and old school manner would clash with the culture of a fun, free spirited Sox clubhouse. Anderson’s bat flipping and outgoing persona were driving forces in the team’s “Change the Game” mantra, and Anderson was somewhat skeptical at first. He took a wait-and-see approach.

But he warmed up to La Russa after initial conversations, and his respect for the manager grew during the season.

“Huge impact,” Anderson said of La Russa’s leadership. “Everybody thought we weren’t going to get along, but we were talking behind the scenes the whole time. For him, the players come first, and he makes that known. We’re one big family.”

Anderson has spoken of his appreciation for La Russa’s office door “always being open” for conversations about baseball and non-baseball issues.

“When we took the field, we were going to go out and play hard for him and give him everything we got,” Anderson said Thursday. “I’m very pleased with him.

“He did a great job coming in and being a part of what we’re trying to do. I couldn’t be more happy with what he did. The relationship was great, overall, with the players. Everybody was just getting along with him. Hopefully he can step right back in and continue to push us next year and make these decisions that he did. He did a great job overall, and I was very pleased with how he handled it.”

Anderson charactered the Sox’s season as positive.

“We won the division, that didn’t happen last year. We also brought two playoff games to Chicago, that didn’t happen last year,” he said. “So I think it’s just a step to where we’re trying to get to, and we’ve just got to keep believing and trusting in that process and take it step by step.

“We competed all season, through injuries, really through everything. And just for us to get to where we were, it says a lot about the ball club and this organization.”

La Russa is completed the first year of what is believed to be a three-year contract.

“For me, yeah, I want him to be back,” Anderson said. “But at the end of the day, my decision don’t really matter. So I guess it all depends on what the front office thinks.”

Read More

The Joffrey Ballet ensemble dances “Under the Trees’ Voices” at the Lyric Opera House. | Photo by Cheryl Mann

This well-chosen, often high-voltage program seemed to be just the thing for an audience hungry for live dance.

The Joffrey Ballet opened its 2021-22 season with an aptly titled program that carried at least two timely meanings — “Home: A Celebration.”

On one hand, the first of 10 performances Wednesday evening marked the company’s full-fledged return to the stage — its performing home — after nearly 20 months because of the coronavirus shutdown. (It did previously take part in a Millennium Park dance showcase in August and gave one performance at the Ravinia Festival on Sept. 17.)

While the Joffrey gamely continued its artistic activities on-line during the pandemic, dance — more than perhaps any other art form — needs to be seen live because it depends on such elements as space and physicality, which simply cannot be fully conveyed virtually.

At the same time, there was also another kind of celebration of home Wednesday evening as the Joffrey marked its debut at the Lyric Opera House — a move that was announced in 2017 and delayed by one season because of COVID-19.

The company typically begins its season with a mixed-repertory program, and “Home: A Celebration,” a line-up of four works that ran nearly 2 1/2 hours with two intermissions, was no exception.

Unlike the preponderance of story ballets the company presents the rest of the season, the emphasis here is less on narrative and more on the movement itself and the skills of the dancers, who appear to have lost little if any of their edge during their time away from the stage.

Cheryl Mann
The Joffrey Ballet’s “Birthday Variations,” featuring Amanda Assucena and Alberto Velazquez.

This well-chosen, often high-voltage program seemed to be just the thing for an audience hungry for live dance. There was an appealing diversity of styles and moods among the four works as well as a smart intermingling of solos, duos and larger ensembles — a mix that kept the evening fresh and engaging.

The Joffrey’s mixed-rep offerings often include only recent works, so it was a wonderful surprise to find “Birthday Variations,” a 1986 work by Gerald Arpino, one of the company’s co-founders, heading the program, and it proved to an ideal opener. Although Joffrey puts an accent on the contemporary, classical ballet remains at the heart of everything it does, and this work, which was very much choreographed in that style with tutus and opulent jackets, seemed like the perfect way to re-launch the company’s live performances.

This work is suffused with gentle, unhurried elegance, and while it has its moments of bravura technique, that is not the emphasis. One lovely half-lift in the pas de deux features the female dancer running her feet in the air, an uncomplicated and oft-used choreographic device, but it is done here, like everything else, with a sense of decorum and grace.

“Birthday Variations” features three ensemble sections (at first, five women and one man) and the refined pas de deux stunningly realized by Amanda Assucena and Alberto Velazquez. Also included are six short solo variations, and, of those, Valeria Chaykina’s performance particularly stood out, as she made the most of seemingly very little — a series of skip jumps and a few other choreographic bits.

The work is set to Giuseppe Verdi’s timeless music, which was ably performed by conductor Scott Speck and the Lyric Opera Orchestra. It is taking over as the Joffrey pit orchestra with the company’s move to the venue.

But the work that really sticks in the memory from this program is the poetically titled “Under the Trees’ Voices” by Nicholas Blanc, Joffrey’s rehearsal director and principal coach who is clearly coming into his own as a choreographer. This was its stage premiere following an on-line debut performance in April.

Zeroing in to the very essence of Ezio Bosso’s Symphony No. 2, with its evocative repetitions and ostinatos, Blanc summons a melancholic autumnal feeling, suggesting the looming dangers to the natural world, while hope remains ever-present. Action is set against stillness, as solo dancers and duos rise up and flow fluidly in and out the ensemble of 15 dancers, a community of forest creatures or nymphs with their leaf-patterned, translucent smocks. Through it all, Blanc capitalizes on simple movements like a dancer holding the palms of her hands in front of her face as though reading a book.

Rounding out the program are Chanel DaSilva’s “Swing Low,” centering on five bird men, including an Icarus-like fallen figure, and Yoshihisa Arai’s “Bolero,” set to the famed score of Maurice Ravel. The latter inventively juxtaposes the slightly manic, off-kilter movements of a single female, impressively realized by Anais Bueno, against the suitably hypnotic, almost ritualist movements of a 14-member ensemble.

Read More

Are you the best sports fan in the country? Prove it! FanSided is searching for our Fan of the Year and we’re giving away awesome prizes. We’re all fans of something. Here at FanSided, that fan spirit is what brings us to work every day, working to connect your fan communities with the stories that […] Are you the 2021 FanSided Sports Fan of the Year? – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

A man was shot Oct. 12, 2021, in West Rogers Park. | Sun-Times file

The 38-year-old was outside Tuesday in the 6500 block of North Washtenaw Avenue when someone opened fire, striking him in the head, Chicago police said.

A person was released from custody after a Tuesday morning shooting in West Rogers Park that left a man critically wounded.

The 38-year-old was outside about 8:40 a.m. in the 6500 block of North Washtenaw Avenue when someone opened fire, striking him in the head, Chicago police said.

He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was in critical condition, police said.

The alleged attacker was taken into custody, but was later released without being charged, police said Thursday morning.

A police spokeswoman said the investigation was ongoing.

Read More