Videos

Fall forward? As Illinois COVID-19 numbers improve, ‘now is the time’ to have some fun before ‘winter bump’Mitchell Armentrouton September 24, 2021 at 10:29 pm

Go outside and have some fun, Chicago — not only to capitalize on the fleeting days of warmth before another brutal winter, but to take advantage of a break in the COVID-19 storm.

That’s the prescription from one of the city’s top infectious disease specialists, who said that while she expects a seasonal bump in cases when people are forced inside, Illinois’ improving coronavirus numbers mean most residents can safely enjoy some “normal” activities right now.

“Now is the time for people who are looking to get out and do stuff, for those who have been risk-averse,” University of Chicago epidemiologist Dr. Emily Landon said Friday. “If you’re looking for a little getaway, a trip to the movie theater, some of those fun things that you might have been avoiding — now is the time.”

Unless, of course, if you’re unvaccinated.

“Then you should stay inside. There’s no getting around Delta,” Landon said, who added that masking up indoors is still an essential for all.

As leaves begin to turn, the latest figures released Friday show the state closed out its second COVID-19 summer in a more encouraging fashion than its first, as the Delta variant surge wanes.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 21,787 new cases were diagnosed over the past week, or about 3,112 per day. That marked a 16% decrease in daily infections from the previous week, and a third straight week with declining cases numbers after about two months of exponential increases.

New COVID-19 cases by day

Graphic by Jesse Howe and Caroline Hurley | Sun-Times

Source: Illinois Department of Public Health

Graph not displaying properly? Click here.

COVID-19 deaths also dipped about 16% compared to the previous week, with the virus claiming an average of 34 Illinois lives each day.

Hospitals saw an 8% decline in coronavirus patients, with 1,926 beds occupied Thursday night. Even southern Illinois — the region with the state’s highest positivity rate and lowest vaccination rate — reported a modest improvement in availability. Its intensive care unit beds were filled to capacity most of last week, forcing some patients to travel out of state for critical care, but five ICU beds were available Friday across the entire 20-county region.

But just two of those ICU beds were available for the 60,000-plus residents of the seven counties that make up the southern tip of the state.

“That’s still not a great statistic to be staring at, but our total cases have been trending down, so we’re hoping we’ll see that number of available beds trend upward here in the next week,” said Nathan Ryder, community outreach coordinator for the Southern 7 Health Department.

Statewide, the seven-day average case positivity rate has shrunk from 4.1% last week down to 2.7%, suggesting the virus is spreading at the slowest pace seen in two months.

That’s better than Illinois was doing this time last year, when the positivity rate was at 3.5% and on the rise toward the state’s worst surge of the pandemic, which peaked in mid-November.

Now, with three highly effective vaccines available and nearly 80% of eligible residents having received a dose, the threat of a winter spike still looms as more people crowd indoors, but not as greatly, Landon said.

Dr. Emily Landon of the University of Chicago.Cortesia

“It would be overly optimistic to think there’s not going to be a winter bump. It could possibly be a big bump in some areas with low vaccination rates. We just don’t know how big it’ll be,” she said.

“It could be a major surge if the vaccines start wearing off, if a dangerous new variant emerges or something else horrible happens. But we’re heading into this winter with more protection [through vaccination].”

With flu season approaching, Landon urged residents to keep masking up, washing hands, staying home when they get sick and getting tested if they do. “Coming inside, that’s when we’re going to see large groups of people exposed,” she said.

Flu shots, like COVID-19 shots, are free and available at most pharmacies. For help finding a dose, visit coronavirus.illinois.gov or call (833) 621-1284.

Read More

Fall forward? As Illinois COVID-19 numbers improve, ‘now is the time’ to have some fun before ‘winter bump’Mitchell Armentrouton September 24, 2021 at 10:29 pm Read More »

Patrick Kane ‘optimistic’ nagging injury won’t affect his 15th season with BlackhawksBen Popeon September 24, 2021 at 10:44 pm

Patrick Kane looks around the Blackhawks locker room with mixed emotions.

On one hand, many of his longtime teammates — his closest friends throughout the greatest heights of his career — are now gone.

Corey Crawford, Brent Seabrook, Andrew Shaw and Duncan Keith have all left the organization in the past year. Even Jonathan Toews is different than the old Toews, having endured a year in “outer space” to potentially return this season.

“It feels different, for sure, especially this year,” Kane said Thursday. “Even last year, ‘Duncs’ was here and ‘Seabs’ was around. Those two guys are such good players, but also their voice carries a lot of weight in the locker room. You’d wake up and be excited to see Seabrook at the rink, just to hear what he had to say — [like] his stupid little jokes all the time. I definitely miss that. But you stay in touch with those guys.”

On the other hand, the new guys brought in to flesh out the Hawks’ reconstructed core have introduced excitement, freshness and renewed belief that the team can re-reach those great heights. Kane described the 2021-22 Hawks as a “relevant team again.”

“It seems like, the way the team is built this year, it can do some special things,” he said. “I was personally really excited about the opportunity to play with Seth Jones. [General manager] Stan [Bowman] had mentioned to me that they were going to go after him, with one year left on his deal. It’s amazing. When they mention something like that and they go and get it done, it’s a great feeling. He’s going to help us so much.”

Kane himself remains the Hawks’ one largely untouched centerpiece. When the 32-year-old winger celebrated his 1,000-career-games milestone last March, well on his way to leading the Hawks in scoring for the sixth consecutive season, he still seemed unaffected by aging.

That immunity has started to change over the past six months, though. An undisclosed yet nagging injury sprang up during the 2021 stretch run, slowing his production from 40 points in the season’s first half to 26 points (including only four goals) in the second half.

And even after a restful offseason — he admitted the first two days of training camp Thursday and Friday were the first times in a while that he’d “skated hard” — that injury continues to hang around.

“It’s something that’s not completely healed,” Kane said Thursday, admitting he did have some worries about it over the summer. “But I’m optimistic with where I’m going, and happy after today’s skate with how I felt.”

Bowman downplayed concerns, pointing out most players feel discomfort in some part of their body at any given time and clarifying Kane’s injury hasn’t and won’t need surgery.

“You want to always feel 100% all the time, so you can be at your best, but if you were to talk to all of our players, it’s rare when they feel 100%,” the GM said. “There’s usually something that’s a little bit off… But Patrick never complained about it at all. He’s one of those guys that just wants to show up and play and not complain about anything.”

The issue also hasn’t prevented Kane from continuing to perfect the nuances of his game.

In his work with trainer Brian Keane this summer, he focused on “weight shifting to deceive the defenders” while skating, as well as “changing the angle and point of attack” of his shot to get pucks through traffic more easily.

The end result should be another season of dangerous, dynamic Kane, taking full advantage of the extra space and support the Hawks’ strengthened lineup — including Jones and apparent new first-line center Tyler Johnson — will offer.

But as he approaches his 15th NHL season, his and the Hawks’ evolution over time has become impossible to ignore.

Lankinen, Hardman on COVID list

Despite being 100% vaccinated, the Hawks will still be affected by the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols this season, and they didn’t have to wait long to realize that.

Goalie Kevin Lankinen and forward Mike Hardman were added Friday to the COVID-19 protocol list, meaning they either tested positive, received an unconfirmed positive or had a close contact test positive.

Goalie plan unclear

With Lankinen and Marc-Andre Fleury established as the Hawks’ NHL goalie rotation this season — “It’s pretty clear right now who the top two guys are,” Bowman said, in case there was any confusion — the Hawks have a dilemma with Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia.

Both will require waivers to be sent to the AHL, and both — particularly Subban — have enough previous NHL experience that another team could be intrigued enough to claim them.

The Hawks could either try to trade one or simply hope they slip through waivers. Bowman seemed to favor the latter plan Thursday.

“We’ll see how it shakes out; we’ll see how health goes,” he said. “You’re going to need to use at least three goalies this year — some years we’ve used four and five goalies — so having depth there is not a bad thing. But we haven’t spent too much time really listing them out in order.”

His reasoning was immediately backed up Friday by Lankinen’s news and by Delia — filling in for Lankinen with the first practice group — leaving the ice in discomfort after some laps.

Prospect goalie Arvid Soderblom is also in camp, but won’t require waivers.

Local TV schedule

NBC Sports Chicago will televise all 69 regular-season Hawks games not already chosen for national TV or exclusive online streaming rights, the team announced Friday.

Five of six preseason games will also air on NBC Sports Chicago, excluding the Oct. 2 game against the Blues in Kansas City (which is radio only).

Read More

Patrick Kane ‘optimistic’ nagging injury won’t affect his 15th season with BlackhawksBen Popeon September 24, 2021 at 10:44 pm Read More »

Motorist shoots two teens during carjacking in Hoffman EstatesDavid Struetton September 24, 2021 at 8:59 pm

Two 16-year-old boys were shot by a motorist they tried to carjack at gunpoint Friday morning at a gas station in suburban Hoffman Estates, police said.

As the teens were stealing the car, the man — a concealed carry license holder — took out a gun and shot at the pair.

The wounded teens ditched the stolen car a short distance away and were gone by the time police arrived, police said.

The carjacking happened around 5:40 a.m. at a Mobil station at Golf and Roselle roads, police said.

Later that morning, the teens showed up at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park with gunshot wounds they claimed they got in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, Chicago police said.

But police determined they had actually been shot in Hoffman Estates.

The pair were being questioned as persons of interest in the carjacking, Hoffman Estates Sgt. John Bending said.

Read More

Motorist shoots two teens during carjacking in Hoffman EstatesDavid Struetton September 24, 2021 at 8:59 pm Read More »

R. Kelly jurors start deliberations in Brooklyn trialAssociated Presson September 24, 2021 at 9:04 pm

NEW YORK — R. Kelly’s fate is now in a jury’s hands after weeks of lurid testimony in his sexual misconduct trial.

The panel of seven men and five women began deliberating racketeering and sex trafficking charges against the R&B superstar Friday.

A couple hours into the deliberations, the jurors sent the judge a note asking to review a transcript of testimony and evidence regarding a woman who claimed Kelly sexually assaulted her in 2003 when she was a 21-year-old radio station intern. She testified she was kept locked up in a recording studio for days and drugged before the assault.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys finished their closing arguments this week. The 54-year-old singer is accused of running a Chicago-based criminal enterprise that recruited his accusers for unwanted sex and mental torment.

The witnesses said Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Kelly “believed the music, the fame and the celebrity meant he could do whatever he wanted,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadia Shihata said in federal court in Brooklyn in a fiery rebuttal to the defense’s closing argument that portrayed Kelly as a victim of false accusations.

But, she added, “He’s not a genius, he’s a criminal. A predator.” She added that his alleged victims “aren’t groupies or gold diggers. They’re human beings.”

The 54-year-old Kelly, perhaps best known for the 1996 smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly, ” has pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges accusing him of abusing women, girls and boys for more than two decades.

He is also charged with multiple violations of the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport anyone across state lines “for any immoral purpose.”

Prosecutors say their evidence proves how Kelly, with the help of some loyal members of his entourage, used tactics from “the predator playbook” to sexually exploit his victims.

The tactics included isolating them in hotel rooms or his recording studio, subjecting them to degrading rules like making them call him “Daddy” and shooting video recordings — some seen by the jury at trial — of them having sex with him and others as a means to control them, prosecutors said.

In his closing, defense attorney Deveraux Cannick told the jury that testimony by several accusers was full of lies, and that “the government let them lie.”

Cannick argued there was no evidence Kelly’s accusers were ever forced to do anything against their will. Instead, Cannick said, Kelly’s girlfriends stuck around because he spoiled them with free air travel, shopping sprees and fancy dinners — treatment that belied the predator label.

“He gave them a lavish lifestyle,” he said. “That’s not what a predator is supposed to do.”

Read More

R. Kelly jurors start deliberations in Brooklyn trialAssociated Presson September 24, 2021 at 9:04 pm Read More »

The pressure isn’t on Bears QB Justin Fields vs. the Browns. It’s on Matt Nagy.Jason Lieseron September 24, 2021 at 9:37 pm

This is when an offensive mastermind would prove himself.

While the starting quarterback getting knocked out by injury would be a major setback to most teams, being forced to shift from Andy Dalton to Justin Fields isn’t a problem that’s been dropped into coach Matt Nagy’s lap. It’s an opportunity.

A thrilling one.

Nagy’s imagination started spinning when he studied Fields’ before the draft and he showed snapshots of those ideas in the first two games. But now, as the Bears prepare to visit the Browns on Sunday, it’s time to design an entire game plan around a quarterback who is inexperienced, but multidimensional and more polished than most rookies.

“A quarterback that can throw the ball like he can, run like he can, has the ability to process, the fire and the competitiveness — all that together, that’s why you go get him,” Nagy said. “When it is his time, there’s going to be a lot of good stuff that we can do with this offense, but that does take a little bit of time.”

Patience is sensible, but time is something Nagy doesn’t have. His job is on the line, and while no one expects the Bears to go to the Super Bowl, he needs to live up to the credentials that got him hired: an expert quarterback teacher and limitlessly creative play caller.

There was little evidence to support either claim over the last two seasons as his quarterbacks floundered and the Bears scored the seventh-fewest points in the NFL.

Now would be a good time to come up with a brilliant plan. Show us something.

Nobody doubts Fields’ talent. The concern is whether Nagy knows how to use it.

While Nagy praised Fields’ progress throughout the last five months and admitted he exceeded all internal benchmarks by the start of the season, his rigid commitment to Dalton prevented Fields from showing he could handle even more.

This week, with Fields off the scout team and taking the full share of first-team reps, has been eye-opening for Nagy.

“There’s little things that we’re learning,” Nagy said. “There’s things that we’re seeing that maybe we didn’t see in the first two weeks. That part is good.

“That’s the beauty of him having these great reps in practice, which is what he wasn’t getting. But now he has an opportunity to do it, so we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Fields’ mobility, whether sprinting upfield or simply buying time, could offset all the shortfalls of the Bears’ offense. He isn’t as dependent on the offensive line or Nagy’s play call working. The play can implode, or the defense can simply cover every facet of it, and Fields can still make something happen–as he did when he took off for 10 yards on a late third-and-nine to clinch victory over the Bengals.

“Mobile quarterbacks make the game tougher on a defense,” Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks said. “There is a great deal of benefit to having a quarterback that can move around in the pocket, get you out of a bad situation — even keep his eyes downfield and make a good throw.”

Fields is a weapon.

And it’d be easy to make pre-excuses for Nagy and the offense because they’re facing a good team — as opposed to a much more favorable scenario next week at home against the Lions — but the Bears can’t keep pointing toward tough opponents and throwing their hands up like they did against the Rams.

Sure the Rams and Browns are good, but there are plenty more teams like them coming. Nagy went 3-11 against playoff teams over the last two regular seasons. Two of those wins were in 2019 against the Vikings, one in a meaningless finale, and the other was over the eventual champion Buccaneers last season.

That’s why the pressure really isn’t on Fields. It’s on Nagy.

Read More

The pressure isn’t on Bears QB Justin Fields vs. the Browns. It’s on Matt Nagy.Jason Lieseron September 24, 2021 at 9:37 pm Read More »

Man dies in Jeffery Manor shootingSun-Times Wireon September 24, 2021 at 7:58 pm

A 24-year-old man was killed in a shooting Thursday in Jeffery Manor on the South Side.

Deshawn Reed was in the 9800 block of South Chappel Avenue about 8 p.m. when someone opened fire, striking him multiple times, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:34 p.m., officials said.

An autopsy Friday ruled his death a homicide. Reed lived in the neighborhood where he was shot, the medical examiner’s office said.

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

Read More

Man dies in Jeffery Manor shootingSun-Times Wireon September 24, 2021 at 7:58 pm Read More »

Afternoon Edition: Sept. 24, 2021Matt Mooreon September 24, 2021 at 8:00 pm

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 mostly sunny and breezy with a high near 78 degrees and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Tonight we’re expected to see showers and thunderstorms with a low around 51. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 70 degrees.

Top story

Bodycam video of Chicago police officer grappling with lakefront dog walker released

New video footage was released this week by lawyers of a Black woman who said she was racially profiled and manhandled by a Chicago police officer while she walked her dog on the lakefront.

The 4-minute, 40-second video from the officer’s bodycam shows a different vantage point and has superior audio quality compared to the viral cellphone recordings that Nikkita Brown and a truck driver captured.

Attorneys with Saulter Law P.C., who posted the latest footage on the firm’s website, did not immediately return a call from the Sun-Times today.

The bodycam video shows the officer — identified by Brown’s lawyers as Bruce Dyker — jump out of his vehicle to confront Brown at North Avenue Beach shortly after midnight on Aug. 30.

Audio from the bodycam does not start until Dyker is seen stepping out of his vehicle. At that point, Brown is captured on video with her cellphone raised as Dyker approaches. The conversation quickly escalates to shouting after Brown asks the officer to “respect her space.”

“Respect your space? I’m about to put handcuffs on you,” Dyker can be heard saying.

“You don’t have a mask on,” Brown is heard replying as she backpedals away from the officer while her small white dog strains at its leash.

“I don’t need a mask on. I’m outside… know the ordinances,” Dyker said, walking toward Brown as she repeatedly says “back up” and keeps moving away from Dyker.

Andy Grimm has more on the bodycam footage and Brown’s allegations against Dyker.

More news you need

Camp Tivoli, run by Norbertine priests in Wisconsin for more than 50 years, attracted numerous children from the Chicago region. It also attracted clergy as counselors and administrators who were alleged child molesters, our Robert Herguth reports in a new Watchdogs story.

A south suburban teen has been charged with making online threats of gun violence to several Chicago public schools, including Simeon High School, which lost two students to shootings this week. At the time of arrest, he was on electronic monitoring for making similar threats to schools in a nearby city, police said.

Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will officially break ground on the Obama Presidential Center on Tuesday. Groundbreaking celebrations for the complex will start Monday with a gathering of Obama campaign and administration alumni.

Chicago Public Schools won’t allow fans at tomorrow’s Phillips vs. Simeon football game due to concerns over gun violence. Phillips coach Joe Winslow told our Michael O’Brien officials are “worried about security of the families and fans.”

Chicago’s property tax levy will rise by $76.5 million in 2022, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot has focused on the fact that the City Council will not be required to take a “new vote” to raise property taxes. But several aldermen aren’t buying Lightfoot’s argument.

The families of three men killed in an explosion near Starved Rock State Park have sued the construction companies and demolition team they believe left behind an undetonated explosive device. Little Village residents Immer Rivera Tejada, Rafael Rivera Tejada and Guillermo Rivera Tejada were killed in the May 6 explosion.

Fifty-five years after her baby was kidnapped, Dora Fronczak finally got to talk to her biological son on the phone in 2019. That was thanks to the detective work of Paul Fronczak, Dora’s adopted son — who, after learning via DNA he was not theirs, set out on a quest to find his identity and the kidnapped baby.

Northwestern University scientists say they have developed the “microflier” — the smallest-ever, man-made flying structure. The microfliers could be dropped from an airplane or a drone and used to collect data on things like air pollution, they said.

A bright one

Local artist fulfills dream of creating mural visible from the L

The construction work that’s temporarily shut down the CTA’s Lawrence Avenue L stop has meant more people are getting on and off at the nearby Wilson Avenue station instead — much to Joe Miller’s delight.

That gives them more time to notice Miller’s new mural, titled “Uptown Dot King,” which spans 140 feet of a building at 1124 W. Wilson St. in view of the busy L stop.

“Being from Chicago, I’ve always wanted a piece that was visible from the train,” says Miller, who lives in Lincoln Square. “And not just a little thing you can spot. Something that was almost intended for the train. That first train ride looking at it was pretty awesome.”

A southbound Red Line L train passes Joe Miller’s “Uptown Dot King” mural at 1124 W. Wilson St. in Uptown. The Lincoln Square artist always wanted to do a large-scale mural that could be seen from a train platform.Andrew Hickey/@drewinchicago

Working with his girlfriend Sunni DiLuzio, Miller, 38, painted the mural in August as the jewel of the second annual Uptown Art Week, a nine-day event featuring mural painting and art exhibits and the creation of close to 150 new artworks, according to the economic development group Uptown United.

The group has been working with the Uptown Chamber of Commerce to beautify the area around the century-old Wilson station, which underwent major reconstruction that ended in 2018.

With the current CTA work closing the Lawrence Avenue station, “People who used to use Lawrence every day now have a two-block detour,” says Justin Weidl, Uptown United’s neighborhood services director. He says the aim with Miller’s mural and other art “was to kind of make that two-block pedestrian detour as fun and exciting as possible.”

Zack Miller has more on the mural’s backstory here.

From the press box

Your daily question ?

What is one iconic, but long-gone Chicago business you would bring back if you could? Tell us why.

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: If you could be on one reality competition or game show, which would you choose? Tell us why. Here’s what some of you said…

“‘Double Dare.’ I want to run through slime and pick flags out of noses.” — Dan Seaway

“‘The Amazing Race’ — great adventure all around the world! My sister and I would crush it.” — Nancy Campbell

“‘Wipeout’ or ‘American Ninja Warrior.’ They both are a lot of fun and would love to know my limitations.” — Sasja Alskare

“‘Wheel of Fortune,’ because I have tried to get on the show when they had auditions years ago at the United Center. Every day at 6:30 p.m. I am watching my favorite game show and solving the puzzles before the contestants do!” — Sharon Bartley

Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.

Read More

Afternoon Edition: Sept. 24, 2021Matt Mooreon September 24, 2021 at 8:00 pm Read More »

CPS won’t allow fans at Simeon vs. Phillips football game on SaturdayMichael O’Brienon September 24, 2021 at 6:58 pm

Chicago Public Schools won’t allow fans at Saturday’s Phillips vs. Simeon football game.

The game, scheduled for 4 p.m. at Gately Stadium on the South Side, has been referred to as the Public League Super Bowl the past several years. It’s debatable if the Wolverines and Wildcats are still the top programs in the Public League (Morgan Park and Kenwood have made major strides) but the game would have been the top draw of the season so far in CPS.

“It’s because of the violence that’s been going on around the schools,” Phillips coach Joe Winslow said in a text. “They’re worried about security of the families and fans.”

CPS did not confirm the news but said it would provide a statement by the end of the day on Friday.

Earlier today a south suburban teen was charged with making online threats of gun violence to several Chicago public schools, including Simeon, which lost two students to shootings this week.

Simeon (2-2) has bounced back from decisive losses to Joliet Catholic and Bolingbrook with a pair of lopsided wins against CPS rivals.

The Wolverines’ Malik Elzy, a 6-3, 198-pound receiver, is one of the state’s top juniors and his 13 offers include Illinois, Notre Dame, Michigan and three SEC schools (Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt).

Phillips (2-2) has had a similar trajectory, losing to Batavia and Mount Carmel before handling a pair of city rivals.

Read More

CPS won’t allow fans at Simeon vs. Phillips football game on SaturdayMichael O’Brienon September 24, 2021 at 6:58 pm Read More »

Ex-Blackhawks coach Bradley Aldrich assaulted 2 men at Miami University, investigation concludesBen Popeon September 24, 2021 at 7:17 pm

An investigation into Bradley Aldrich’s time at Miami (Ohio) University concluded the former Blackhawks video coach sexually assaulted two men at Miami in fall 2012.

The final report about the investigation, conducted by the law firm Barnes & Thornburg and released Friday, did not mention Miami receiving any recommendation letter from the Hawks when hiring Aldrich.

Aldrich has been the subject of intense scrutiny after two negligence lawsuits relating to him were filed against the Blackhawks in May and June.

The first lawsuit alleged that Aldrich sexually assaulted a Hawks player in May 2010 and that Hawks management covered up the assault while quietly firing him that summer. The second alleged the Hawks provided recommendation letters for Aldrich to his future employers, including Miami University and later Houghton (Michigan) High School, where he assaulted a 16-year-old member of the boy’s hockey team. The Hawks have filed pending motions to dismiss both lawsuits.

The Miami investigation determined Aldrich assaulted a summer hockey camp intern and a Miami undergraduate student who worked at the ice rink. Both assaults occurred after Aldrich invited the men to sleep over on his couch.

But the investigation also concluded Miami “acted in an appropriate manner” after becoming aware of each incident and “met all of its legal duties.” Miami suspended Aldrich’s employment after the intern reported his assault, prompting Aldrich to resign. The undergraduate student, conversely, did not report the assault until 2018, per the report.

The process of Miami hiring Aldrich is of most relevance to the Hawks, however. An original version of the second lawsuit filed against the Hawks alleged the Hawks “provided positive references to future employers,” whereas an amended version alleged the Hawks merely provided a “positive review and/or employment verification of Aldrich to Houghton” specifically. The Hawks have called those allegations “demonstrably false” in their own filings.

Friday’s new report concluded Aldrich “did not provide any references [to Miami] in his resume,” and the report makes no mention of any letters or recommendations from the Hawks. The report states Miami’s hockey coach at the time, Rico Blasi, did talk to the Notre Dame University coaching staff — where Aldrich worked from 2010 to 2012, after leaving the Hawks — and “received favorable information.”

Miami conducted a background check on Aldrich before hiring him and, although it wasn’t completed until after his hiring, it turned up no red flags because Aldrich “did not have any criminal convictions or arrests” at the time, per the report.

A separate investigation being conducted by the law firm Jenner & Block into Aldrich’s tenure with the Hawks is still ongoing.

Read More

Ex-Blackhawks coach Bradley Aldrich assaulted 2 men at Miami University, investigation concludesBen Popeon September 24, 2021 at 7:17 pm Read More »

Man charged with shooting at Chicago police officers in Rogers ParkDavid Struetton September 24, 2021 at 7:42 pm

A 31-year-old man accused of running away during a traffic stop and firing a gun at a Chicago police officer in Rogers Park earlier this week was ordered held without bail Friday.

The bullet Timothy Thomas allegedly fired late Tuesday night missed the officer but struck a window of a home across the street, Cook County prosecutors said.

No officers fired their guns during the incident, prosecutors said.

After shooting his gun, Thomas tripped and threw his weapon before he continued running, prosecutors said. He was arrested minutes later at 11:45 p.m. after officers found him hiding on a nearby back porch in the 7600 block of North Ashland Avenue.

The confrontation began moments earlier when officers pulled Thomas over after seeing him drive through a stop sign, prosecutors said.

Thomas stopped his vehicle, put his hazards on, stepped out and started walking toward the parked police SUV, prosecutors said. He then allegedly rushed to the SUV’s passenger door and pushed it shut on the leg of the officer who was stepping out.

That officer chased Thomas down the street to the corner in the 1500 block of West Jonquil Terrace. There, Thomas pulled out a handgun from his waistband and fired one shot at the officer, prosecutors said.

Police recovered the gun, its shell casing and a bullet fragment from the window of the home, prosecutors said.

They also found the black hoodie Thomas had been wearing in a nearby trash bag, prosecutors said.

The incident was captured on surveillance video, prosecutors said.

Thomas was charged with attempted first-degree murder of an officer, aggravated battery of a peace officer and habitual criminal.

Thomas has previous a previous weapons conviction and convictions for aggravated DUI possession of a controlled substance and attempted robbery.

He has a temp job and is married with two young children, Thomas’ attorney said.

Read More

Man charged with shooting at Chicago police officers in Rogers ParkDavid Struetton September 24, 2021 at 7:42 pm Read More »