Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx speaks to reporters during a news conference at Hope Manor II in Englewood this morning. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be cloudy with a high of 71 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low of around 61. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with a high near 74.

Top story

Kim Foxx says Lightfoot was ‘wrong’ to publicly discuss deadly shootout, says mayor should ‘tell the truth’

Facing heavy criticism after her office rejected charges against five suspects in a deadly shootout, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx today slammed Mayor Lori Lightfoot for raising alarms about the case and allegedly getting certain facts wrong.

During a news conference in Englewood, Foxx said it was “inappropriate” and “wrong” for the former federal prosecutor to publicly discuss details of the gang-related gunfight Friday morning in Austin that left one shooter dead and two suspects wounded.

Yesterday, Lightfoot publicly urged Foxx to personally get involved in the case and to reconsider charging two suspects who allegedly helped instigate the shooting. She and a group of five West Side alderpersons also sent a letter to Foxx voicing their concerns and making a similar request.

Foxx, however, claimed to reporters today that some of the statements Lightfoot made about the evidence in the case “simply weren’t true.”

“I was quite honestly mortified by what happened yesterday,” Foxx said, “particularly because the mayor as a former prosecutor knows that what she did yesterday was inappropriate.”

Though Foxx wouldn’t say what she believes Lightfoot got wrong, she noted that Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan conceded yesterday that the evidence was insufficient to bring the charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery against all five members of two warring factions of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang.

Tom Schuba has more on the fallout from last week’s shootout here.

More news you need

If the trial of Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson goes forward in two weeks as planned, it will be the latest criminal trial at Chicago’s federal courthouse that members of the public will not be allowed to view in person. Instead, video of the proceedings will be streamed for the public in a separate overflow room because of COVID-19 protocols.

“Windy City Rehab” co-host Donovan Eckhardt is ready for round two after his first suit against the television companies behind the show had been tossed by a Cook County judge. In a new defamation suit filed in California, Eckhardt says his false portrayal on the show was the worst humiliation of his life, causing sleeplessness and loss of appetite.

A 22-year-old DePaul University student is at the center of an unusual terrorism trial at Chicago’s federal courthouse, where prosecutors say he designed a computer program to help disseminate propaganda. The student’s defense attorneys say the case raises serious First Amendment issues.

City Council members from across the city aired their frustrations today with problem buildings that are repeatedly hauled into court, only to have judges grant “continuance after continuance.” The flood of comments from alderpersons came while the city’s new buildings commissioner testified at budget hearings.

The Chicago Marathon is back on Sunday, with more than 35,000 people from 50 states and 100 countries expected to compete. Even if you’re not running, chances are the race might affect your travel plans — so here’s a rundown of everything you need to know.

A bright one

Members of Cheap Trick treat Ravenswood residents to surprise performance at backyard concert

Last Friday night in Ravenswood, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, along with his son Daxx, who plays drums for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, surprised a small crowd at a backyard concert — even joining the scheduled band for a couple of songs.

The scene was the home of music lovers John Culver and his wife Kathy Tynus, who during the pandemic found a way to provide some income to bands while providing themselves and their friends a safe way to get their music fix — by hosting small groups at Culver’s home on Warner Avenue.

They asked their guests for voluntary $20 donations to the bands, providing a boost to musicians largely cut off from playing anywhere else.

Bob Chiarito/For the Sun-Times
Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen (left) and son Miles Nielsen playing in Ravenswood on Friday night.

Miles Nielsen and the Rusted Hearts, who played at Culver’s last spring during the shutdown, were playing the yard again Friday. But Miles Nielson had no idea his father and brother Daxx also were in town.

Earlier that evening, Culver’s friend Billy Jacobs, who co-owns the Chicago pizza restaurant Piece with Rick Nielsen, received separate texts, first from Daxx, then from Rick, both telling him they were back from a private gig in Seattle and asking if he wanted to get together.

“I said, ‘Yeah, let’s get some pizza and beer and head up to see Miles and surprise him.’ And that’s exactly what we did,” Jacobs said.

Bob Chiarito has the full story on the surprise set here.

From the press box

Here’s the schedule for the ALDS between the White Sox and Astros.
Matt Nagy keeps saying he’ll do what’s best for the Bears, but what is best for the Bears? Mark Potash says Justin Fields needs to start against the Raiders, and Nagy shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that the team can win games even with the rookie under center.
Running back David Montgomery will be out at least four games with a knee injury.
The Bears acquired kick returner Jakeem Grant from the Dolphins today for a 2023 sixth-round pick. Grant should help the coaches realign their depth chart with Montgomery sidelined.
Only one win from the WNBA Finals, the Sky are trying to stay focused on the task at hand: Putting away a tough Connecticut Sun team.

Your daily question ?

In honor of World Teachers’ Day today, think of a teacher who had a positive impact on your life — what would you tell them if you could talk to them today?

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: What’s your favorite James Bond movie? Here’s what some of you said…

“Absolutely ‘Goldfinger.’ I have vivid memories of watching it (several times) at the Uptown Theater with my friends when it was released. I still watch it annually.” — Kay Tee

“‘Casino Royale.’ It was such a refreshing shock to have Daniel Craig take on the Bond role and change the trajectory of the franchise. Fantastic realistic action, more believable and well put together. Set the tone for the next four movies. ‘Skyfall’ as well!” — Dan Y.

“‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ is a seriously underrated Bond Movie, already seen ‘No Time To Die’ over here in the UK and it’s excellent.” — Simon Shuter

“In the early 1960s, the first two Bond films were ‘Dr. No’ and ‘From Russia With Love’ and both were terrific. The third was ‘Goldfinger’ — that song and especially the film combined for the first real big Bond impact. So, yeah, ‘Goldfinger.'” — Mark Stearns

“‘From Russia With Love’ — Connery before he was sick of the role, the greatest set of villains ever (Lotte Lenya AND Robert Shaw), chases through the imperial cistern in Istanbul AND on the Orient Express, and Bond wasn’t quite gadget-ga-ga (just a Swiss Army knife of an attache case). — David Nix

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Ronald Gaines, former assistant chief of the electronic monitoring unit at the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, discusses his lawsuit alleging age discrimination. | Mark Capapas/Sun-Times

In a lawsuit, Ronald Gaines, 69, claims his supervisor told him he was too old for the job and should retire to allow younger employees to advance their careers. “It was a slap in the face,” Gaines said Tuesday.

A former Cook County Sheriff’s employee has filed a lawsuit claiming he was forced out of his job due to age discrimination.

According to the lawsuit, Ronald Gaines, 69, was told by his boss, Carmen Ruffin, during a meeting in her office in August 2019 that he was too old to continue working as a supervisor in the sheriff’s electronic monitoring unit.

Ruffin, the suit claims, asked why Gaines, who’d been with the sheriff’s office since 2004, wouldn’t just retire and collect the pension he earned from his previous 28 years with the Chicago Police Department, so younger members of his unit could advance.

Gaines told Ruffin he enjoyed his job and declined to retire, according to the suit.

Then, this past March, Gaines said he had an unwelcome surprise at his door.

Members of the Office of Professional Review, which investigates employee misconduct, showed up at Gaines’ home to inform him he’d been fired — without offering any explanation, according to the suit.

Despite multiple inquiries, Gaines couldn’t get a straight answer as to why he was fired, according to the suit.

Only through a Freedom of Information Act request did Gaines learn Ruffin had submitted complaints a week after the meeting in her office, accusing him of not wearing a body camera on duty and of going to his doctor’s office once, briefly, during working hours, according to Gaines’ attorney, Cass Casper.

“It was a slap in the face,” Gaines said Tuesday of his firing. “These types of actions need to stop and be addressed.”

Gaines “never abused benefit and medical time, came to work nearly every day, and was the farthest thing from an attendance problem,” according to the suit,

Also, Gaines was never issued a body camera, Casper said Tuesday at a news conference downtown.

Casper called the complaints against Gaines “trivial” and not warranting termination.

The suit, filed last week in Cook County, names Ruffin and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart as defendants.

A Dart spokesman said in statement: “While we have just received this lawsuit and are reviewing it, Ronald Gaines was terminated because he was found to have left his work assignment for several hours without permission or notification. During the internal investigation into his actions, Gaines refused to cooperate with the investigation, ignored requests to be interviewed, and did not return to work. It was determined he had left his work assignment on other occasions as well. The Sheriff’s Office denies that the investigation into Gaines’ conduct and his subsequent termination had anything to do with his age.”

Casper responded: “We’re going to debunk all of that.”

He added: “We managed to uncover there is a pattern of age discrimination in the electronic monitoring unit.”

Gaines said he has two sons who work at the sheriff’s department and a son, a daughter and a daughter-in-law who work at the Chicago Police Department.

“So me being the head of my family and to be looked upon as far as being terminated for a job that I love in the position that I had, doing a good job, it was just unheard of, especially in my circle of family and friends,” Gaines said. “So that’s why I take it as a personal attack against me and my integrity, I take it as a personal attack against my family who all stand in law enforcement and have done a fine job,” he said.

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Police responded to a shooting Friday in the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue on the West Side. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Police and paramedics were called to the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue.

A SWAT team responded after a man was killed and two others were wounded in a shootout Friday morning in Austin on the West Side.

The man was identified as Devlin Addison, 32, of Berwyn, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said Tuesday.

Police officers responding to a call about 10:30 a.m. saw four people get out of two cars and begin firing toward a house in the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue, Chicago police said.

People inside returned fire and hit one of the gunmen, police said. Addison was transported to a hospital and was pronounced dead, authorities said.

The other shooters jumped back into the cars and left, according to police.

Two people inside the home were also shot, police said.

Paramedics took one person in serious condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said. The other went to a hospital too but the condition was not immediately released.

One person was arrested near the scene and another was taken into custody by Oak Park police officers after the suspects were involved in a crash, police said. The second car was found burnt near Chicago and Lockwood avenues.

A man, woman and juvenile were safely removed from the home as SWAT secured the scene, according to police.

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A man was killed in a shooting Oct. 5, 2021, in East Garfield Park. | File photo

The 36-year-old was in a vehicle about 12:15 p.m. in the 200 block of South California Avenue when someone opened fire, striking him in the head and neck, Chicago police said.

A man crashed his car after he was fatally shot in East Garfield Park Tuesday on the West Side.

The 36-year-old was in a vehicle about 12:15 p.m. in the 200 block of South California Avenue when someone opened fire, striking him in the head and neck, Chicago police said.

The man crashed his car into a nearby fence after he was shot and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His identity has not been released.

No arrests have been reported. Area Four detectives are investigating.

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While the city reflects on the 150th anniversary of the fire, look back on its disaster film portrayal from 1938.Read More

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In a world full of problems he can’t fix, Phil Kadner writes, he might at least try to find a really good toaster. And even that, he says, can be tough.

I realize my search for the perfect toaster seems insignificant, but I embarked on my quest after hearing on TV about the thousands of Haitian immigrants stranded at the U.S. border with Mexico. I could do nothing for them.

I was searching the Internet for the best bagel toaster when I found one that seemed perfect. Extra wide slots for the bagel slices. A gizmo to control how light or dark you wanted the bagel toasted and another gadget for checking on the bagel periodically to make sure it wasn’t overdone. It even had a removable tray for cleaning bagel debris.

But when I went to Amazon to read the reviews of people who had bought the toaster, several were rather negative.

One said the smell from the toaster was so foul he had to put the thing in the garage to keep it from stinking up his house. This reviewer added that after several days of operating in his garage, the stench wasn’t so bad so he brought it back inside. It still smelled a little strange, but the bagels were nicely toasted.

Another reviewer said she purchased the toaster for her business cafeteria and the smell was so rank that people sitting in enclosed offices hundreds of feet away came out in search of the revolting odor.

I moved on. I found another toaster that was not only highly recommended, but much cheaper.

Back to Amazon for the customer reviews.

Great toaster at first, people said, but then it began to smoke and catch fire.

Worse, the bagels were toasted unevenly.

I realize my search for the perfect toaster seems insignificant, but I decided to embark on my quest after hearing on TV about the thousands of Haitian immigrants stranded at the U.S. border with Mexico. I could do nothing for them. No one seems to be able to help.

That was disappointing, so I opened the pages of my favorite newspaper and read a story headlined, “It’s Just Like The Wild West.”

Five men linked to a deadly gang shooting in Austin, the story said, had not been charged with murder and had been released from custody in part, according to an official report, because they were deemed “mutual combatants.”

In other words, if one group of people shoots at another group of people and that group of people fires back the parties are each engaged in a mutual attempt to kill each other so there are no grounds to file charges. Just like the Old West.

This official report may have been written by a fan of the “Squid Game” on Netflix. This is a Korean TV show where hundreds of contestants are invited to participate in children’s games. It is currently the most watched show on Netflix worldwide and one of the big reasons is that the contestants die during the competitions. I should point out that this streaming program is fiction, at least for now.

Back on the streets of Chicago, the Body Snatchers, a faction of a gang known as the Four Corner Hustlers, drove to the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue and fired at least 70 rounds at a home where the Jack Boys were inside firing back.

The Jack Boys are another, rival faction of the Four Corner Hustlers.

This is not fiction, but it is the sort of deadly game children play on the streets of Chicago every day.

I set my newspaper aside and went back to reading a new book by Bob Woodward about Donald Trump that made it sound as though our former president was a real nut job. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cautioned his subordinates not to follow any order issued by the commander-in-chief in his final days without first clearing it with him. He feared Trump might start a war or declare martial law to remain in power.

Millions of people still love Trump and are eager to see him back in the White House. They believe the election was stolen from him because that’s what Trump tells them.

These people also refuse to get vaccinated against COVID. Nothing anyone says seems to change their minds.

So, with no ability to influence really important events, I decided to search for a good bagel toaster. I failed, even at that.

Email: [email protected]

Send letters to [email protected].

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In an appearance before the Economic Club of Chicago, Ken Griffin said, “I mean Chicago is like Afghanistan, on a good day, and that’s a problem.” | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

No wonder he’s packing his tent and likely moving his company.

Ken Griffin, the wealthiest and most charitable man in Illinois, has the audacity to speak the truth about our city and state’s problems. Specifically, he notes that crime, taxes and inadequate schools are causing people who can to flee. He also criticizes Gov. J.B. Pritzker for waiting too long to send out the National Guard last year during riots and looting. And in response an aide to the governor has called Griffin a liar.

Really? After Griffin has donated more than $1 billion to our city? That’s how our leaders treat him? No wonder he’s packing his tent and likely moving his company.

William Choslovsky, Lincoln Park

SEND LETTERS TO: [email protected]. Please include your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should be approximately 350 words or less.

Politics of the Austin shoot-out

When it comes to the Wild West shoot-out in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood on Friday that resulted in no criminal charges being filed, all that she said/she said between Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Mayor Lori Lightfoot feels more like a soap opera than a functioning government.

Whether or not criminal charges should be filed in this case, it’s a classic example of what’s wrong with Chicago. Some of the worst bad guys in the nation are committing atrocities around the clock, yet Foxx and Lightfoot are playing politics.

Lightfoot need to prove she’s tough on crime, while Foxx seems to want to prove she’s not. Whomever you agree with on this one, it doesn’t matter. The people of Chicago are living in the Wild West, living in fear, while the people in charge posture for the next election instead of working together.

Scot Sinclair, Third Lake

Help only for the rich

Republicans object to raising the federal debt ceiling and passing President Joe Biden’s $3.5 billion plan for “soft” infrastructure. They say it will create a “socialist” or even “Marxist” economy and society. But where were these arguments about fiscal caution when these very same Republicans, under presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, approved billions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires and giant corporations?

I guess worries about socialism and Marxism apply only to such Democratic priorities as helping the middle class and the poor.

Tom Minnerick, Elgin

Not a dime for Bears

I wholeheartedly agree that the Chicago Bears organization should be responsible for all costs associated with moving from Chicago to Arlington Heights. As a recent Sun-Times editorial points out, professional sports teams have a way of making these moves and blackmailing cities, counties and states into paying most of the costs. They make the argument, unsupported by the evidence, that the new stadium will bring great benefits to a community.

Let’s not be gullible. The Bears will be the primary beneficiary of this move, not taxpayers. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the mayor of Arlington Heights — and any others in a position of power on this one — need to say no!

Jimmy Boyce, Downers Grove

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Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx speaks to reporters during a news conference at Hope Manor II in Englewood on the South Side, Tuesday morning, Oct. 5, 2021. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Lightfoot on Monday urged Foxx to reconsider charging suspects in the brazen gunfight last Friday in Austin, warning that a lack of consequences for criminals “will send this city into chaos.”

Facing heavy criticism after her office rejected charges against five suspects in a deadly shootout, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on Tuesday slammed Mayor Lori Lightfoot for raising alarms about the case and allegedly getting certain facts wrong.

During a news conference in Englewood, Foxx said it was “inappropriate” and “wrong” for the former federal prosecutor to publicly discuss details of the gang-related gunfight Friday morning in Austin that left one shooter dead and two suspects wounded.

A day earlier, Lightfoot publicly urged Foxx to personally get involved in the case and to reconsider charging two suspects who allegedly helped instigate the shooting. She and a group of five West Side alderpersons also sent a letter to Foxx voicing their concerns and making a similar request.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
People sit on the street near the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue in the Austin neighborhood, where a person was fatally shot and two were injured, Friday morning, Oct. 1, 2021.

Foxx, however, claimed to reporters Tuesday that some of the statements Lightfoot made about the evidence in the case “simply weren’t true.”

“I was quite honestly mortified by what happened yesterday,” Foxx said, “particularly because the mayor as a former prosecutor knows that what she did yesterday was inappropriate.”

Though Foxx wouldn’t say what she believes Lightfoot got wrong, she noted that Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan conceded Monday that the evidence was insufficient to bring the charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery against all five members of two warring factions of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang.

During a budget hearing, Deenihan acknowledged that police video footage doesn’t clearly show some of the shooters, and that none of those arrested were willing to cooperate with investigators.

Deenihan also said he thought prosecutors could pursue lesser charges against at least some of the suspects, though Foxx noted that cops haven’t sought any other charges. Lightfoot and the alderpersons insisted in the letter that Deenihan and Supt. David Brown didn’t agree with the state’s attorney’s office’s decision to reject the initial charges, despite Foxx claiming that detectives backed the move.

Spokespeople for Lightfoot and the police department didn’t immediately respond to questions about Foxx’s comments.

An internal police report obtained by the Sun-Times stated that prosecutors said the charges were rejected because the shootout involved “mutual combatants,” meaning individuals who willingly engage in a violent conflict.

Foxx has refused to discuss the evidence in the case, but she told reporters that mutual combat and self-defense are “complicated issues” as she sympathized with the family of 18-year-old Manny Porties, who was stabbed to death last month during a fight in Schaumburg. The state’s attorney’s office cited mutual combat when they told Porties’ family they weren’t charging the 17-year-old suspect with murder because he was acting in self-defense, CBS2 reported.

There’s video evidence showing both the fatal stabbing and the shootout, but Foxx said her office needs a victim, a witness or someone else to tie a suspect to a crime.

“In order for us to bring charges in a case, it’s not simply, we saw a video of something happening,” Foxx said. “We need to be able to say that the person who we have arrested and charged is the same person who engaged in the act.”

Foxx wants meeting

Foxx also publicly requested to meet with Lightfoot, Brown and Area 5 leaders to address her concerns about certain recent investigations and officials allegedly leaking information to the media. Area 5 detectives had already been at odds with the state’s attorney’s office over other high-profile cases prosecutors refused to take up, including the fatal shootings of National Guard member Chrys Carjaval in July and 7-year-old Serenity Broughton in August.

While the county’s top prosecutor vowed to continue working with police on the case, she said it wasn’t part of her job to “try cases in the media, nor to play politics on the deaths of children and veterans and people in our community.”

“We would expect that our partners, especially those who served as prosecutors, would recognize that,” said Foxx, taking a not-so-veiled shot at Lightfoot. “And more importantly, if engaging in that, [they] would tell the truth. Tell the truth.”

The rebuke came after Lightfoot warned Monday that a lack of consequences for criminals sends a dangerous message amid the current surge in violence.

“If they do not feel like the criminal justice system is going to hold them accountable, we’re going to see a level of brazenness that will send this city into chaos,” Lightfoot said of those stoking the violence. “And we cannot let that happen.”

But Foxx on Tuesday apparently sought to deflect some of the blame back onto the police department. Of the 13,374 citywide shootings that have occurred since she took office in 2016, Foxx told reporters, just 2,447 have resulted in an arrest.

“This isn’t me pointing fingers. … This isn’t me playing the victim,” she said. “This is us in the state’s attorney’s office wanting to work with our law enforcement partners because when we know we have that many unsolved shooting there is a sense that people can get away with murder with impunity, and that makes our communities less safe.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx speaks to reporters during a news conference at Hope Manor II in Englewood on the South Side, Tuesday morning, Oct. 5, 2021.

The political football was eventually kicked to Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday, when he was asked about the shootout and what the state can do to address violent crime in Chicago. He noted that Illinois is “nearly at a state of emergency in our need to address crime,” saying he’s provided Illinois State Police resources and National Guard members when officials in Chicago have requested them.

“When we don’t hear of the need from the city, even though we are offering it, then we don’t provide,” he said. “You can’t just march people in without coordinating with the Chicago Police Department. I am regularly in contact with state’s attorneys across the state, particularly the one in Cook County and with our leaders of our court system.

“And so I want to make sure that we are coordinating all the resources necessary to bring down crime in the city of Chicago.”

Contributing: Cheyanne Daniels

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Justin Fields (1) has started the last two games for the Bear, but coach Matt Nagy said Andy Dalton will start at quarterback against the Raiders if he’s healthy. | Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Matt Nagy keeps saying he’ll do “what’s best for the Chicago Bears” when it comes to managing Fields, but the time has come for Nagy to actually decide, what IS best for the Chicago Bears?

Pick a lane, Matt Nagy.

The course for proceeding with the Bears’ quarterback quandary is more clear than ever for the beleaguered head coach: Play Andy Dalton and perhaps win more games; or develop rookie Justin Fields.

Nagy keeps saying he’ll do “what’s best for the Chicago Bears” when it comes to managing Fields, but the time has come for Nagy to actually decide, what is best for the Chicago Bears?

Is it better for the franchise for him to play the veteran Dalton for — arguably — a better chance to make the playoffs; or to play Fields and allow him to make all his rookie mistakes as a rookie and not a second-year player?

Prior to Week 3, Nagy could hide behind the unknown and stick with the general Alex Smith/Patrick Mahomes game plan to let Fields mostly sit behind Dalton. But now that Fields has made two starts, that template has been fractured.

Fields was overwhelmed in his first start against the Browns, lending credence to the idea that he’s not ready to play. But then he responded against the Lions with an impressive performance that provided evidence of why he should play — including downfield throws for gains of 21, 64, 28 and 32 yards that led to three touchdown drives.

Regardless of Dalton’s health, it would almost be a dereliction of duty to not give Fields a chance to build on the momentum and give Nagy a better chance to see what he’s got. This is a rookie who by the Bears’ own admission learns well, isn’t rattled, practices well, is already showing improvement in reading defenses and gets along well with others. How is he not ready for this?

And the outside evidence is starting to mount. Rookie starters Trevor Lawrence (96.5 at the Bengals), Zach Wilson (97.3 vs. the Titans) and Mac Jones (101.6 vs. the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers) all had impressive performances in Week 4 after coming in with a combined 64.2 passer rating (nine touchdowns, 17 interceptions.

It’s almost like talented, first-round rookie quarterbacks learn and grow as they get more experience. That leads to the sometimes overlooked third scenario Nagy should consider — that playing Fields eventually might also give the Bears the best chance to make the playoffs.

Whether that scenario ensues, it seems pretty obvious which direction Nagy should go.

2. Fields’ 82.7 passer rating (11-of-17, 209 yards, no touchdowns, one interception) actually was the lowest for a Bears quarterback against the Lions under Nagy. In fact, he is the first quarterback with a rating under 100 against the Lions in Nagy’s four seasons. Even Chase Daniel had a 106.8 rating against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in 2018.

But the eye test told a different story. And even statistically, Fields’ 12.3 yards per attempt was the second highest for a starting quarterback in Nagy’s four seasons — behind Mitch Trubisky’s 13.6 in the 48-10 rout of the Buccaneers in 2081, when he threw for 355 yards and six touchdowns.

Truibsky, though, averaged 10-plus yards per attempt three times in 40 starts under Nagy. Fields is 1-for-2.

3. That said, the Bears’ offensive success Sunday came with an asterisk — it was against the Lions, a team that Nagy’s offense has had anomalistic success against.

In Nagy’s four seasons, the Bears have a 115.5 passer rating against the Lions — and an 81.4 passer rating against the rest of the NFL. The Bears have scored 24 or more points five times in seven games against the Lions (71.4%) and 18 times in 45 games (40.0%) against the rest of the league.

In fact, the Bears offense was least successful in the one category the Lions’ defense is most credible — third downs. The Bears were 1-for-8 on third-down conversions against a Lions defense that came in ranked fifth in the NFL in that category.

4a. When offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was asked prior to Week 1 what he wanted to see from the offense this season, he said, “When you look at some of the things we committed to improving from last year, I’ll put third downs [at] the top of the list.”

That continues to be the biggest red flag for the Bears’ offense in Nagy’s fourth season. The Bears, who were 31st in the NFL in third-down conversions last year, are 32nd and last after four weeks this season — 13-of-45, 28.9%.

4b. The Bears also are 1-for-7 on fourth-down conversions (14.3%, tied for 29th), even after David Montgomery’s nine-yard gain on fourth-and-1 against the Lions. For what it’s worth, the top 10 teams in the NFL in third/fourth down conversion percentage are a combined 29-11. The only teams without winning records are the Chiefs (2-2) and Saints (2-2).

5. A new stadium for the Bears was a pipe dream prior to the June announcement that the Bears were bidding on buying Arlington Park in Arlington Heights. Now it appears to be a fait accompli after the Bears signed an agreement to buy the 326-acre site.

The city’s underwhelming response to the initial volley underscored the reluctance of politicians (and Chicagoans) to spend even a dime of public money on a new Bears stadium — an understandable concern with taxpayers still footing a $600 million bill for the 2002 renovation of Soldier Field.

There is a measure of civic pride in Chicago’s sports teams playing with the city limits. But while economic realities in sports are often distasteful — does every single thing that happens in a baseball game have to be sponsored? — some actually drag us into the current century.

Like lights in Wrigley Field, a state-of-the-art stadium would accomplish that. Now it’s up to the Bears to make it happen. There’s a long way to go.

6. If NFL officials are given the latitude to determine when “hand-fighting” becomes pass interference, they should also have the same latitude on roughing-the-quarterback and taunting penalties. But it seems like they feel bound to go by the letter of the law in calling both infractions.

Khalil Mack’s roughing-the-passer penalty against the Lions — and Darren Waller’s taunting penalty for spiking the ball at no one against the Chargers — were the latest examples of officials getting it wrong.

7. Nagy went against convention by taking the ball when the Bears’ won the coin toss Sunday. It was only the second time in the 29 times the Bears have won the toss in Nagy’s four seasons that they have elected to receive. The only other instance was against the Jaguars in Week 16 last season — also a Lazor-called game. The Bears went three-and-out, but won 41-17.

8. Bits & Pieces: The Bears’ defense is second in the NFL in sacks per play, but 26th in third-down conversions (46.2%) — a dubious disparity. … The Bears had four pass plays of 25 or more yards against the Lions — the last time they had more than that was in 2018, when they had six, also against the Lions. … The Bears are second in the NFL in gross punting average (50.7), but 20th in net yards (39.6) — the biggest “drop” in the NFL. … The Bears’ 17 pass attempts are the fewest in a victory in Nagy’s four seasons. … The Bears are 14-3 under Nagy when they pass 30 times or fewer — tied for sixth best in the NFL. … Cole Kmet has eight receptions (29th among tight ends) for 59 yards (39th) on 15 targets (23rd) through four games.

9. Josh McCown Ex-Bear Player of the Week: Falcons wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson caught three touchdown passes — for 42, 12 and 14 yards — from Matt Ryan in a 34-30 loss to Washington. Patterson had five receptions for 82 yards (16.4 avg.) and six carries for 34 yards (5.7 avg.) in the game.

Patterson (18 receptions, 235 yards, 13.1 avg., four touchdowns) already has more receiving yards in four games with the Falcons than he had in two seasons with the Bears (32 receptions, 215 yards, 6.7 avg., zero touchdowns).

A Bears receiver has caught three touchdowns in a game just four times in the last 20 years. Taylor Gabriel was the most recent — in 2019 against the Redskins. Brandon Marshall (2012, 2014) and tight end Greg Olsen (2009) are the others.

10. Bear-ometer: 5-12 — at Raiders (L); vs. Packers (L); at Buccaneers (L); vs. 49ers (L); at Steelers (W); vs. Ravens (L); at Lions (L); vs. Cardinals (L); at Packers (L); vs. Vikings (W); at Seahawks (L); vs. Giants (W); at Vikings (L).

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