Say it ain’t so! Soldier Field may not be home to the Chicago Bears for much longer.

The team announced Wednesday morning they have agreed to purchase the Arlington Park property in Arlington Heights.

We asked Chicago Sun-Times readers on Facebook and Twitter what they thought of the news. Here are some of the best responses:

“About time! Chicagoland deserves an amazing state-of-the-art stadium. Soldier Field is great but it’s not awesome. It’s too small. Arlington Park is a great location with the train already there.” — Mackenzie Currans

“In retrospect, they probably should have built a new stadium elsewhere in Chicago 20 years ago instead of trying to fit a modern stadium at Soldier Field. The NFL has changed since then, so this might be the best option.” — Kurt Regep

“Would hate to see them leave, but it makes a lot of sense for them to make the move. It doesn’t seem as Chicago can even remotely provide the space and resources to generate to compare. The Bears could potentially build a top-notch stadium with a dome to attract other events, including the Super Bowl and control all the space around the stadium to build out bars, restaurants, other entertainment venues. That isn’t possible in Chicago, unless they are willing to knock down the Old McCormick place which isn’t really utilized anymore and build out a new stadium with a dome and top-notch amenities that produced increased revenue for the Bears, I can’t see them staying around.” — John Holton

“Bear management has shown us time and time again that all they care about is money — not the players, not the city, not the fans. Let them move. But they should forfeit the right to use ‘Chicago’ in their name.” — Greg Berezewski

“San Francisco does not play in San Francisco, New York does not play in New York, Dallas does not play in Dallas. It’s okay if the Chicago Bears play in Arlington Heights.” — Gloria Chevere

“Maybe with additional seating the prices will come down. Wishful thinking, I guess. I love Soldier Field, but it’s hard to find parking and prices are so high… maybe I’d get a chance to see the Bears play.” — Penny Curran

“They lose in the city and they will lose in Arlington Heights too.” — Diane Gioia-Esposito

“Won’t actually happen, they don’t have the money to pay for a new stadium and all the infrastructure upgrades… and the public isn’t going to pay for it. This is all just a ploy for leverage in their negotiations with the City.” — Robert Ivaniszyn

“They better put a great product on the field because all of the pregame and postgame excitement of going to a Bears game will be forever removed. Moreover, there will no longer be the wonderful shots of the city that make Soldier Field the most beautifully set stadium in the NFL.” — Daniel Giudice

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The uncomfortable issue confronting Bears coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace since they were fortunate enough to avoid getting fired at the end of last season is whether they are committed to what’s best for the team or what’s best for their own jobs.

Nagy just clarified it, by accident.

Rather than give the Bears’ quarterback of the future an opportunity to cleanse the foul memory of his starting debut by getting back out there Sunday against the lowly Lions, Nagy intends to start Andy Dalton over Justin Fields.

Intends is the key word. Dalton exited in Week 2 with a bone bruise in his knee and didn’t practice last week. He was only a partial participant Wednesday, while Fields was full-go despite a wrap on his right thumb and wrist from an injury he said was minor.

Regardless, it’s short-sighted to send Fields back to the bench after a disastrous day in which Nagy did next to nothing to help him schematically and he tumbled to a final line of 6-of-20 passing, 68 yards and a 41.2 passer rating with just three runs for 12 yards.

If the mission, as Nagy and Pace always say, is to do what’s best for the Bears, isn’t Fields’ ongoing development the most important factor?

“More than fair question,” Nagy said before not really answering it. “Justin did a good job in many ways — just keeping composed in that environment… That one was a rough one, and I put that on me. That’s on me for why that went that way.

“I’ve gotta learn from that… I think we have some answers, which is good.”

Sure, he has answers. But the fear all along, for Fields’ sake, is that they aren’t the correct ones.

When the Bears signed Dalton, it felt desperate. When they drafted Fields, it restored some faith that Pace and Nagy were being responsible stewards of an organization that might be handed over to a new general manager and coach at the end of the season.

But they’ve tipped their hand by insisting Dalton as the starter and Fields as his understudy. There was, indeed, a lot for Fields to learn after the Bears drafted him No. 11 overall, but they limited his opportunity to from Day 1. Dalton was assured of the job, and Fields was put on a slower track that included offseason homework of practicing calling plays into a phone and sending the audio files to the coaches.

If the Bears had gone full speed with Fields, he’d be further along. Everything about his makeup suggests he’s a quick learner, which should compel Nagy to start him again. It’s a much better education than story time with Dalton and Nick Foles.

But Nagy played Fields last week only because he was forced to, and that’s the only way Fields will start against the Lions.

He might be right that Dalton gives the Bears a better chance to win Sunday than Fields, though the fact that this is being debated ahead of an opponent that might be the NFL’s worst team is profoundly sad, but that’s a preoccupation with the short term.

And that’s the biggest problem at Halas Hall: In what world did it make sense to go all-in on this season, financially or otherwise, with a team that went 16-16 over the last two and had minimal salary-cap space to make improvements? It’s a problem of George McCaskey’s own making by bringing them back for one more season when it was obvious the Bears needed to rebuild.

It’s not worth stunting Fields’ growth just to go 9-8 — an unambitious record that increasingly seems like it’ll be difficult for the Bears to reach — and hope that’s enough to make the playoffs.

Fields has tremendous potential, but it’ll take time to reach. He needs to ride out early struggles. There’s no fast-forwarding through that part. Long-term thinkers would see that.

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The cost of breaking their Soldier Field lease would be a pittance for the Chicago Bears compared to the price tag of a shiny new suburban stadium — and it could be dwarfed by the amount of government subsidies the team might ask for to break ground in Arlington Heights.

That’s according to a Sun-Times analysis of the team’s lease with the Chicago Park District, which owns the aging lakefront gridiron and has the Monsters of the Midway on the hook for nearly $87 million if they skip town for Arlington Heights within the next few years.

The Bears — among the few NFL teams that don’t own their home turf — signed the lease in 2001 after pushing for Soldier Field’s notorious overhaul. They started playing at the renovated stadium in 2004, paying $5.7 million a year for use of the stadium and parking lots.

The contract with the park district runs through 2033 and calls for that payment to increase every five years, an increase tied to the Consumer Price Index, putting their current rate at about $6.6 million per year.

Arlington International Racecourse owner Churchill Downs said the sale to the Bears could close by early 2023. If the Bears were to break ground then, followed by an estimated two years for construction, the team could be expected to break their Soldier Field lease in 2026.

But the Bears’ contract with the park district puts the team on the hook for 150% of their remaining obligations if they go through with such an “improper relocation,” which shakes out to roughly $86.9 million, the Sun-Times calculates.

When the Bears signed the contract to play in a renovated Soldier Field, they agreed to pay a fine if they broke the lease and left before the term was up.AFP/Getty Images

That buyout fee decreases the longer the team stays at Soldier Field. For example, it’d be closer to $55 million if they stick around till 2029, or less than $12 million if they break the lease with a year remaining.

The contract also leaves open the possibility of either side challenging the contract through independent arbitration.

Still, $86.9 million is less than half what the Bears agreed to pay for the 326-acre Arlington Heights property, and it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the financing needed for a new stadium guaranteed to cost billions.

The Arlington property has plenty of land for the Bears to develop as they see fit. It also has a Metra stop right next to it.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Whatever the price, the move is an attractive option for the Bears, who would stand to generate huge new revenues over Soldier Field. It has the NFL’s smallest capacity at 61,500.

Meanwhile, with or without the Bears, taxpayers will still be paying off debt on the Soldier Field renovation for another decade. It was financed by bonds issued by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, obligations that will total $660 million by the time it’s paid off in 2032.

Officials at the Facilities Authority did not respond to requests for comment on the Bears’ threat to move.

While the team has said it’s still only in the “exploration” phase of a move, one conservative group is urging state and local officials not to “repeat the mistakes of the past” with sizable public financing and tax breaks.

“I expect the Bears to ask for the world,” said Brian Costin, deputy state director of the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity.

He pointed to the case of southwest suburban Bridgeview, which issued $135 million in bonds in 2005 to build what’s now called SeatGeek Stadium, only to see its main tenant, the Chicago Fire, break its lease to move to Soldier Field — while the village’s bond rating plummeted to junk status.

Bridgeview built a new soccer-only stadium to lure the Chicago Fire from Soldier Field to the western suburb in 2006. But the Fire reversed course and returned to Soldier Field in 2020, though the Chicago Red Stars, who play in the National Women’s Soccer League, are still a tenant, however.Sun-Times file

But Costin noted a multibillion-dollar stadium would be a boon for Arlington Heights and Cook County through property taxes — something the Bears have never paid as lakefront tenants.

“This can be a very pro-taxpayer development with private financing and the right policies in place,” he said.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes declined to comment on whether he’d support subsidizing the Bears’ move, or whether the team has broached the topic.

“We’re certainly looking forward to further exploring this potential move, and we’re going to have a lot of community discussions,” Hayes said.

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There’s definitely something old school about DeMar DeRozan.

It’s as if the Bulls forward graduated magna cum laude from Ball Don’t Lie University back in the day, spent the last 12 years putting together a solid All-Star resume, and now was brought to Chicago to not only try and end a four-year playoff drought, but also play mentor to the younger players along the way.

So when asked this week about trying to get a bunch of score-first type players to sacrifice a bit of their game to make this work, well, of course DeRozan took a very straight-forward, honest attitude in replying.

“It’s basketball at the end of the day,” DeRozan said. “You put me out there, I’m going to figure out whatever needs to be figured out for us to be successful. I don’t overthink it. I think that’s when a lot of people get in trouble – when you try to overthink this game. It’s a simple game. You understand what it takes, what needs to be done and you go out there and execute it and do it to the best of your abilities.

“That’s what it’s all about. I don’t get caught up in ‘I got to do this, do this.’ Whatever it takes to win, that’s all I care about.”

An attitude that just might be perfect for this group.

Even when executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas acquired All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline last season, all the talk between the center and elite scorer Zach LaVine over the final push of the season was meshing and figuring out how to make it work.

Overthinking It 101.

That’s why the addition of DeRozan might be right place, right time, especially with all he’s gone through the last four seasons, having to leave a Raptors organization that he knew his entire career, spending the last three years with the Spurs, and getting a first-hand lesson on the true meaning of “whatever it takes to win.”

That’s why the idea of having three 20-point plus scorers a night on the same roster doesn’t have DeRozan overly-concerned about figuring out how to make it work, especially with LaVine.

The two can both score, can both play-make, and trust their abilities to hit final shots that matter. But in DeRozan’s opinion it doesn’t have to be put under a microscope to figure out.

“It’s not rocket science,” DeRozan said. “[LaVine] has a passion for the game and a love and appreciation to want to win. The knowledge and everything I’ve gained over my years being in the league and being in different situations and seeing success and playing with all type of players, I understand what it takes. So for me, it’s just about us putting in the hard work and understanding each other. And not just me and him – as a team, as a collective together. And once we unlock that and figure that part out, with hard work and just being consistent it’s going to go a long way.”

LaVine sounds like he’s buying into that theory as well.

He made sure to spend some time working out with DeRozan once the vet was acquired, and both also arrived into Chicago a few weeks early for the start of camp, again looking to get over any growing pains.

“We’re not going to try and change our games and not step on each other’s feet because if we’re not playing our games we’re not ourselves,” LaVine said. “They brought us here to be ourselves, so we’re going to go in there with that mindset and figure it out, but with great players going in with one goal it will figure itself out.”

See, it’s really not rocket science, and LaVine sounds like a fast learner.

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If you happen upon a full-on, in-the-ring wrestling meet or the riotous strains “All You Need Is Love” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater this month, be not confused. The Navy Pier venue has not forsaken its Elizabethan namesake for extreme sports and cover bands. It’s merely that director Daryl Cloran’s 1960s-set staging of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” features extensive live wrestling and more than two dozen tunes from the Beatles catalogue.

The artistic director of Edmonton Canada’s Citadel Theatre slashed half of Shakespeare’s text to make room for the music in the Chicago production opening October 6. The first act’s wrestling match was not among the casualties.

“We wanted to throw audiences right into the world of the play, as soon as they arrive. There’s a big wrestling match in the play. So why not a preshow tournament?,” Cloran said of the 15-minute fisticuffs that foreshadow the play’s bout between the scrappy outcast hero Orlando (Liam Quealy) and the gargantuan, pragmatically named Charles the Wrestler (Austin Eckert).

Daryl Cloran is directing his unique musical take on “As You Like It” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.Mark Capapas/Sun-Times

Cloran is unbothered by purists who would blanch at losing 50% of Shakespeare’s words in the translation from page to stage.

“Every once in a while, I have someone say ‘oh I missed that monologue’ or that one line. But I feel that the songs do the work of moving the story forward, and do the work really well. I don’t think that would be the case with every Shakespeare play. But it is with this one,” he said.

“As You Like It” is a rom-com of the first order: It follows the adventures of best friends and first cousins Celia (Melanie Brezill) and Rosalind (Lakeisha Renee). At lights up, we learn Celia’s royal father Duke Frederick (Kevin Gudahl) has usurped his older brother/Rosalind’s father Duke Senior (also Kevin Gudahl). Like her banished father, Rosalind dons a disguise and heads for the sanctuary of the woods, accompanied by Celia. As they gambol through nature amongst various foods, shepherds and trees that sprout love letters, the women find adventure, love, wisdom and redemption. As this is a comedy, most everyone is neatly married off in the end.

The Beatles and the Bard are a solid pairing, Brezill said. “You think about Shakespeare and the Beatles; they both wrote some of the most iconic verses about love and hope, lines we’re still quoting today.”

Still, finding the right song for the right scene was a challenge. ” ‘As You Like It’ is the most lyrical of Shakespeare’s plays — it already has songs inside of it,” Cloran said. “What we wanted to be sure of was that the music we added wasn’t just a pause for some of our favorite Beatles songs and then the show carries on. The music has to serve the story and the characters.

“There were a few songs that were so obvious to me it felt like they were written for the play, so I started from there,” Cloran said.

Among the “obvious” numbers: “Fool on the Hill,” which accompanies the court jester Touchstone (Kayvon Khoshkam) as he makes his entrance.

” ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ is another one,” Cloran said. “The song is such a bittersweet commentary on the predicament Rosalind finds herself in, falling in love and then immediately having to hide it.”

The plot itself follows an arc that’s not completely divorced from the Beatles’ own progression from mop-topped pop stars to counterculture icons, Cloran pointed out.

” ‘As You Like It’ starts in such a naive, hopeful, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ kind of place,” Cloran said. “And then it goes into the forest and gets much more philosophical. You think of how the Beatles’ music changed from their earliest stuff to what they put out after spending time in India — it’s the same kind of evolution the play makes.”

Khoshkam has been the show’s Touchstone (“a mix of Austin Powers and Elton John,” according to Cloran) since its Vancouver premiere in 2018, reprising the role in Winnipeg, Edmonton, and now Chicago.

“I think entertainment and theater in general allows you to have a shared experience, where everything else melts away. And in this particular entertainment, everything else melts away into this big old burst of VW vans and Beatles music,” he said.

The themes of loyalty and friendship threaded through “As You Like It” are more powerful than ever, post-lockdown, said Brezill. She’s taking the lessons she learned in lockdown into rehearsal.

“I’ve come to appreciate how important it is to have people who will go into the woods with you,” the South Shore native said. “Community has been the one single most thing that has sustained me through the past year and a half. At some point, we all need that someone who is willing to walk through danger with us. That’s what this play is about in so many ways. Finding the community that supports you when times get really, really tough.”

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An arrest warrant has been issued for a man charged with killing a father who was driving his daughter to school earlier this month on the West Side.

The warrant charges Avanta Ware with the murder of 33-year-old Travell Miller, Chicago police announced Wednesday. Ware is also wanted for two counts of carjacking in Berwyn.

Miller was stopped in traffic the morning of Sept. 1 in the 3000 block of West Chicago Avenue when Ware got out of another car, walked up and opened fire, police said. Miller was hit four times and pronounced dead.

Avanta Ware is wanted for a murder Sept. 1 in Chicago.Chicago Police Department

Miller bent over to protect his 7-year-old daughter, who was in the passenger seat and was uninjured, family said.

Detectives shared photos of the suspected shooter the day after the murder, seeking to identify him.

Police on Wednesday said Ware, 18, was last seen driving a silver 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix with no plates and with possible damage to the driver’s side rear quarter panel.

Family has said detectives were investigating if the shooting stemmed from road rage. The relatives said they had no other idea why Miller would have been targeted, saying he had no enemies and had just moved to the area days earlier.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Miller’s father said the murder charges were “appropriate.”

“They need to get him before he hurts someone else, or he needs to receive what he gave” Joseph Gilmore said.

“When people lead risky lives, you expect something to happen to them,” Gilmore added. “But when someone who wasn’t at risk falls to violence, it’s depressing. It’s hard to move on from this — especially since Travell was such a lively person.”

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The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday offered a first glimpse of the COVID-19 protocols that will be in place at the upcoming 2022 Winter Games in Beijing — including lengthy quarantines for unvaccinated participants, daily COVID-19 testing and the absence of international spectators.

The countermeasures, which were proposed by local Beijing organizers and detailed in an IOC news release, mirror those at the recent Tokyo Summer Games in some respects and appear more strict in others.

Among the most notable differences: Unlike in Tokyo, where athletes mostly competed behind closed doors, Beijing 2022 organizers have indicated that some Chinese fans will be permitted to attend their Games, as long as they follow to-be-determined protocols.

Foreign spectators, including athletes’ family members and friends, will once again be barred from attending.

The IOC and International Paralympic Committee said in the news release that they support local organizers’ decision to sell tickets to Chinese residents.

“This will facilitate the growth of winter sports in China by giving those spectators a first-hand Olympic and Paralympic experience of elite winter sports, as well as bringing a favourable atmosphere to the venues,” the entities said.

“However, all parties feel for the athletes and the spectators from around the world, knowing that the restriction on spectators from outside mainland China had to be put in place in order to ensure the safe holding of the Games this winter.”

Similar to the Tokyo Games, the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics will try to create a bubble-like atmosphere for participants — dubbing it “the closed-loop management system.”

Vaccinated participants will be permitted to enter the bubble immediately upon arrival, while those who are not vaccinated will have to quarantine in Beijing for 21 days. The bubble will have its own transport system, according to the IOC news release, and all of the participants inside will be subject to daily COVID-19 testing.

Team USA announced earlier this month that it will require all of its athletes and staff members to be fully vaccinated in order to travel to Beijing.

The principles that were unveiled Wednesday serve as a precursor to the full COVID-19 countermeasures, which will be outlined in what organizers call “playbooks.” The first edition of the playbooks will be released next month, with a revised version to follow in December.

The Beijing Winter Games begin Feb. 4.

Read more at usatoday.com

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The Blackhawks haven’t selected a successor for departing TV play-by-play voice Pat Foley, but there’s a chance that person could come from the group of announcers who will fill in for the Hall of Famer this season.

Mike Monaco, Stephen Nelson, Chris Vosters and Hawks radio voice John Wiedeman will be among those occupying Foley’s seat on the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast for select games, the team announced Wednesday. They’ll work with analysts Eddie Olczyk and Colby Cohen, who joined the Hawks’ content team last month.

Wiedeman will call most of the games on WGN Radio with analyst Troy Murray. When Wiedeman is on TV, Alan Fuehring, Joey Zakrzewski and Jason Ross Jr. will be among those filling in. The broadcast schedule will be announced throughout the season.

The team is following the lead of the Bulls, who employed several substitutes for TV voice Neil Funk in 2019-20, his final season before retiring. Adam Amin was among them, and he became the team’s full-time voice last season.

The Hawks also added contributors to their roster of broadcast and content teams, including Adam Burish, Caley Chelios, Colin Fraser, Genna Rose, Patrick Sharp and Andrew Shaw. All will appear in various roles, such as TV pre- and postgame shows, podcasts and social media, as well as fill in for Murray, who announced last month that he has cancer.

“We’re always looking to elevate our fan experience to higher levels, and this is just the start of many exciting things coming on all Blackhawks content channels,” Blackhawks president of business Jaime Faulkner said in a release. “Fans will get more information, behind-the-scenes access and entertaining content this season.

“We are adding additional experienced and energetic voices to our legendary and popular broadcast booth to further enhance our broadcasts on NBC Sports Chicago and our Blackhawks content channels to showcase the dynamic team we have on the ice.”

The Hawks announced in June that Foley’s 39th season with the team would be his last. The season will include a yearlong celebration of Foley, culminating with a game night in his honor April 14. Foley, who’s in the last year of his contract, called Hawks games from 1980 to 2006 before a two-season stint with the Wolves of the AHL. He returned to the Hawks in 2008.

“We are always evolving storytelling and content with our live production and pre- and postgame programming to give the viewers the best experience on TV,” said John Schippman, vice president of content for NBC Sports Chicago. “We have been partnering with the Blackhawks since January to develop new elements to this year’s broadcast, and adding top talent was a key first move.”

Chicago sports viewers might be familiar with some of the fill-in announcers. Monaco filled in for White Sox TV voice Jason Benetti this season when Benetti contracted COVID-19. He has worked at ESPN and has called hockey for the Big Ten Network and Notre Dame, his alma mater.

Nelson works at NHL Network and MLB Network, where he hosts the show “Intentional Talk.” His broadcasting career began with the Hawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, for whom he served as studio host, game analyst and play-by-play voice.

Vosters has worked for BTN, Fox, ESPN, NBC and Stadium. He has called the 2019 NCAA women’s Frozen Four and Big Ten hockey.

On the radio side, Alan Fuehring, a Bradley graduate, is the director of broadcasting and communications for the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Joey Zakrzewski has led the IceHogs’ broadcasts since 2017, and Jason Ross Jr. began at ESPN this summer.

Former Hawks Burish, Fraser, Sharp and Shaw highlight the content contributors. Joining them are Chelios, former Hawks defenseman Chris Chelios’ daughter, who has spent the last five seasons as the Lightning’s full-time radio analyst, and Rose, who joins Jon Hansen as the in-arena hosts.

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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 sunny with a high near 82 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 60. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 81.

Top story

Lightfoot prepared to move on at Soldier Field — with or without the Bears

Mayor Lori Lightfoot today sounded almost resigned to moving on at Soldier Field without the Bears, at least if convincing the team to stay requires building a new stadium to accommodate the financial reality of the modern-day NFL.

Lightfoot was forced to face the possibility that the Bears will leave Chicago one day after the team upped the ante in the high-stakes negotiations by signing an agreement to purchase the Arlington International Racecourse property.

Churchill Downs pegged the sale price at $197.2 million and said it anticipated closing the sale in 2022 or early 2023.

Between now and then, Lightfoot hopes to talk turkey with the Bears about what she can do within fiscal reason to expand and improve Soldier Field and maximize year-round revenues.

But if nothing short of a new, preferably-domed stadium — either in parking lots adjacent to Soldier Field or on land now occupied by McCormick Place East — will prevent the Bears from moving to Arlington Heights, the beloved Bears could be a goner.

“In a time where we’re going through a recovery from an epic economic meltdown as a result of COVID-19, we’ve got to be smart about how we spend taxpayers’ dollars and I intend to do just that. … I would love that the Bears be part of our present and our future. But we’ve got to do a deal that makes sense for us in the context of where we are. I’m always focused on our taxpayers. Always, always, always. And maximizing the value for them,” Lightfoot said.

Fran Spielman and Mitchell Armentrout have more on the Bears’ future in Chicago here.

More news you need

Chicago Teachers Union leaders renewed their call today for beefed-up safety measures at schools across the district. For months, the union has been demanding — in writing — a set of protocols from CPS that would include widespread testing for COVID and on-site vaccine clinics.

Six aldermen who are among the police union’s staunchest City Council supporters urged Mayor Lightfoot today to reconsider her vaccine mandate for the city’s 30,885 employees. Lightfoot has said she won’t move her Oct. 15 mandate deadline just because police unions are dead-set against it.

Chicago police issued an arrest warrant today for an 18-year-old man charged with killing a father who was driving his daughter to school earlier this month. Police said the man was last seen driving a silver 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix with no plates and possible damage to the driver’s side rear quarter panel.

The Sun-Times and the parent company of WBEZ are exploring the possibility of becoming a “combined entity.” Sun-Times CEO Nykia Wright emphasized in a memo to staff this morning that “we are not close to any deal.”

A Lake County man died after being bit by a rabid bat in August, the first reported human case of rabies in the state since 1954, state health officials said. The man, who was in his 80s, woke up with a bat on his neck in August, part of what wildlife experts would later find was a bat colony in the man’s home.

Last week, members of Chicago’s Haitian community traveled to the southern border to assess how to help Haitians seeking asylum. During the 24-hour trip, they spoke with migrants who had been traveling through Latin America, including children who needed medical care.

About 100 neighbors from Bucktown, Wicker Park and Logan Square met with aldermen and Chicago police yesterday to address an uptick in carjackings in the area. CPD plans to start patrols earlier and conduct routine seatbelt checks to increase police visibility in the neighborhoods.

Some good news for hot dog and Italian beef lovers — Portillo’s plans to pop up in hundreds of locations nationwide in the coming years. The chain plans to increase the number of restaurants by about 10% each year to reach 600 restaurants in the U.S. in 25 years, our Clare Proctor reports.

A bright one

After the death of his father, man takes over family business, creates signature dish

Cedars has been known for its traditional Mediterranean cuisine for decades, but the late founder Sudki Abdullah’s son has recently started to bring in new and inspired twists on classic flavors.

“In the last two years, after my father passed … I took over and I had a theme of like, ‘Well, I’m not just Middle Eastern, I’m very American, very western,'” owner Amer Abdullah said. “So I was like, ‘I think the theme would be more accurate if I put my fingerprints on it.’ Middle East meets Midwest, and that’s kind of what we do.”

The Arab swag tacos at Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen are a tasty and prime example of that infusion of cultures and flavors.

The idea of making Middle Eastern tacos came from Abdullah’s partner, Kinan Moufti, but it took a few tries to get it right.

Luckily, Rocio Garcia, another team member, stepped in and offered to help. Garcia drew inspiration online before the Cedars team perfected the recipe.

Customers were initially very surprised by the idea of tacos at a Mediterranean restaurant, Abdullah said.

“I think it was literally love at first bite. People tried them and the next thing you know it was like 50 orders every Tuesday, 75 orders every Tuesday, and it just kept going up and up from there,” Abdullah said.

Madeline Kenney has more in the latest installment of her “Dishin’ on the Dish series here.

From the press box

Our Bears beat reporters discuss what’s next for the Bears after they agreed to buy the Arlington Heights property in the latest episode of the Halas Intrigue podcast.
Putting aside the Bears’ suburban stadium situation, there’s still a game Sunday at Soldier Field against the Lions. Who will start? Matt Nagy said today he’s going back to Andy Dalton if the veteran is healthy.

Courtney Vandersloot etched her name in the record books in the Sky’s 101-95 playoff win over the Sun last night, putting up the second triple-double in WNBA postseason history with 12 points, 10 rebounds and a record-setting 18 assists. “It will go down as one of the best point guard games in playoff history,” Sky coach James Wade said afterwards.
Turning to high school football, the next few weeks will be critical to deciding the pecking order for the teams in the Public League. Michael O’Brien looks at the top five teams in the league — Phillips, Simeon, Kenwood, Morgan Park and Taft — entering that key stretch.

Your daily question ?

How do you feel about the Bears’ efforts to leave the city for a new stadium in Arlington Heights?

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: How would you describe autumn in Chicago to someone who’s never experienced it before? Here’s what some of you said…

“Your vehicle has a closet full of clothes just in case, flipping your thermostat from A/C to heat is a twice-daily ritual, and your kids run out of hoodies to bring to school in the morning because they forget to bring them home in the afternoon.” — Sue Johnston

“Autumn in Chicago is a very joyful time. Especially in the month of October. We have such wonderful weather. Although are September has been warm, October is still the most joyful time when it comes to Mother Nature. We have beautiful leaves that turn beautiful gold and green. We have beautiful weather as the sun shines most of October. Chicago is a great town — it is the city by the lake. It’s a city with a big heart.” — Lamonte Dixon

“Could be 90, could be 30, could rain, could be sunny, could snow — all on the same day.” — Mary Jo Kerber

“Trees are changing colors, it’s beautiful, and light breezes on these warm days cool the nights. And there’s a smell to it — it’s hard to describe, but just you just know it’s fall and it just smells good and just gives you a good feeling inside.” — Bob Baker

“Uh, last time I checked, Chicago only has three seasons throughout the year: winter summer and construction.” — Steve Price

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The owners of bars, restaurants and hotels near Soldier Field who rely on customers who flood the area when the Bears play home games are hoping the city strikes a deal to prevent the team from moving to Arlington Heights

“For lots of reasons, it would be sad,” said Grant DePorter, head of Harry Caray’s Restaurant Group, which has a location on Navy Pier that shuttles fans to and from Soldier Field via boat on game days.

“When the Bears play it brings a lot of business to Chicago, a lot of people travel in for the weekend to watch their team play the Bears and fill up hotels and restaurants. It would be a big economic loss. I’m just hopeful they’ll decide to stay,” DePorter said.

“In New York City and Los Angeles, they have Hollywood actors, but in Chicago your celebrities are the sports stars, and the Bears are some of the biggest stars that exist,” he said.

“The Bears are great for us,” said Billy Lawless, owner of the Gage, a restaurant on Michigan Avenue that’s walking distance from the field. “A move wouldn’t be good for hotels and restaurants in the area, but realistically it’s only eight days a year,” he said, referencing the amount of regular season home games the Bears play.

“I hope they can work it out, though. Emotionally, it’s very important to have the Bears in the city, they’re part of our identity,” Lawless said.

Sam Toia, head of the Illinois Restaurant Association, is hopeful a deal can be struck.

“A move for the Bears out of the city would definitely impact restaurants and bars in the South Loop, West Loop and central business district,” he said.

“Hopefully City Hall and the Bears can work it out,” he said. “We do have (restaurant) members in Arlington Heights as well, but Chicago is the economic engine of the state.”

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