What a week it has been for Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears. Starting quarterback Andy Dalton was diagnosed with a bone bruise after a knee injury knocked him out of Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Then, it was rookie Justin Fields who got the nod in Dalton’s place. After the victory, though, the controversy began — and it’s reached an all-time high as of this very moment.
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An 18-year-old man was walking about 12:30 a.m. in the 8000 block of South Marshfield Avenue when someone approached and opened fire.
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Sep 23, 2021, 6:59am CDT
8 shot Wednesday in ChicagoSun-Times Wireon September 23, 2021 at 11:59 am Read More »
The Chicago Bears are finally making the right decision to start Justin Fields. It is largely because of Andy Dalton’s status in terms of his health as he is dealing with a knee injury. Regardless, we finally get to see what the kid can do knowing he is the starter for the whole game. This also means that he is going to get first-team reps in practice which should really help him.
As fun as it is to think about Fields under center, there is also a bit of coincidence with this decision. Justin Fields finished his collegiate carer with Ohio State before being drafted to the NFL. His first career start is going to come in the same state of Ohio against the Cleveland Browns. Those fans have been watching him for a long time.
Every time we’re ready to go all in, they push us out.
“The Guilty” features a star-power performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, crisp and economic direction from Antoine Fuqua (who previously teamed up with Gyllenhaal on the underrated boxing flick “The Southpaw”) and has first-class source material, as it’s a remake of the 2018 Danish gem of the same name. Alas, something gets lost in the translation, and what should be an engrossing, claustrophobic thriller keeps on throwing us for a loop and has us asking questions about logic when we should be so immersed in the story we don’t care about the plot holes.
Save for one brief sequence, the 85-minute run of “The Guilty” takes place within the LAPD Emergency Service Division, where Gyllenhaal’s Joe Baker is working the late shift against a backdrop of TV monitors displaying the chaos enveloping the Los Angeles area as wildfires rage out of control. We eventually learn Joe, a police detective, is off the streets because he’s facing charges about deadly serious misconduct — and the court hearing is tomorrow, and doesn’t it seem odd the Department would have Joe working such a stressful post, especially on the eve of such a huge day in his life? That’s the first indication “The Guilty” is going to bend reality to suit the story, but not the last.
With Fuqua’s cameras following Joe around in a docudrama style, with a myriad of closeups of Joe’s face, his eyes, his mouth, as he navigates through an endless tsunami of emergency calls, it’s apparent Joe is under a great deal of stress — on the job and in his personal life, as he’s been estranged from his wife for six months and he misses his daughter, which leads to Joe making such stupid decisions as calling the house at 2 a.m. and asking his wife if he can speak to their child. No, Joe. She’s asleep. Jeez. Besides, you’re not supposed to be on your personal phone, you’re supposed to be manning those incoming 911 calls.
On one such call, Joe ascertains that a young woman named Emily (voiced by Riley Keough) has been abducted by her ex-husband Henry (Peter Sarsgaard), leaving their 6-year-old daughter and infant son home alone. (We never see any of the characters who appear via phone conversations.) With Joe continually looking at a photo of his own daughter so we don’t miss the symbolic heaviness of this situation, he embarks on a frantic mission to determine Emily’s whereabouts and also contact Emily’s daughter to assure her everything will be all right.
Along the way, Joe snaps at his co-workers, gets into heated arguments with a California Highway Patrol dispatcher (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), asks his old friend Sgt. Bill Miller (Ethan Hawke) to break the law on his behalf, and is so obviously on the verge of his own meltdown that it feels like someone should be calling 911 to report HIM.
“The Guilty” wants to make a statement about a man who’s trying to save himself through saving others, but the message is delivered with all the subtlety of a frantic 911 call.
A man was shot to death early Thursday in Austin on the West Side.
The 22-year-old was sitting in a vehicle about 12:30 a.m. in the 800 block of North Mayfield Avenue when a person approached and opened fire, Chicago police said.
His fiends drove him to West Suburban Hospital with gunshot wounds in the head and buttocks, police said. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
His name hasn’t been released.
Area Four detectives are investigating.
Man shot to death in Austin: policeSun-Times Wireon September 23, 2021 at 6:40 am Read More »
Welcome to our highlights of events and entertainment in Chicago at our city’s best museums and galleries. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on the latest activities.
Photo by unknown photographer, Richard Nickel at the Garrick Theatre in midst of an interview with unidentified journalist, c. 1960.Ryerson & Burnham Libraries, Art Institute of Chicago
When: Sept. 24-Dec. 18
Where: Wrightwood 659, 659 W. Wrightwood
What: This two-part exhibit explores long-gone architectural masterpieces: Louis H. Sullivan’s Garrick Theatre in Chicago and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Larkin Building in Buffalo, New York. Included are 3D models and digital re-creations of the original edifices; salvaged architectural ornaments and artifacts; original furniture; historical documentation of the design, construction and demise of the buildings and archival photographs taken by noted preservationist Richard Nickel. Tickets: $15, available online only.
More information: For updated information regarding the gallery’s COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit wrightwood659.org.
Barbara Kruger. Untitled (Truth), 2013. Digital image courtesy of the artist
When: Sept. 19-Jan. 24
Where: Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan
What: The Art Institute presents a major solo exhibition devoted to the work of Barbara Kruger, a conceptual artist known for combining images and type that raise questions about our relationship to consumerism, society and more. The exhibit includes early work and rarely seen paste-ups of the early 1980s, which reveal her process, to her digital productions of the last two decades. Admission: $14-$25. (Also Art on the Mart is projecting a selection of Kruger’s work on the facade of the Merchandise Mart through Nov. 25.)
More information: For updated information regarding the museum’s COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit artic.edu.
Dancer Katherine DunhamSun-Times file
When: To Dec. 30
Where: Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton
What: This interesting new exhibit puts the spotlight on five women whose lives and careers embodied a uniquely Chicago style of avant-garde creativity in 1930s-1950s: artist Gertrude Abercrombie, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, dancers Katherine Dunham and Ruth Page and curator Katharine Kuh. “All five women challenged social constraints — based on their gender, their race, or both — to subvert convention and find beauty and freedom in their art,” says curator Liesl Olson. The exhibit includes paintings, photographs, posters, dance costumes and rare video footage. Admission is free.
More information: For updated information regarding the museum’s COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit newberry.org.
When: Through Oct. 31
Where: 325 W. Huron
What: This pop-up features an immersive exhibition of nearly 70 neon and light-based sculptures. Among the highlights are John Bannon’s 14-foot-tall neon sculpture “Breathe,” Monika Wulfer’s installation “Circle’s Edge” and an iconic neon self-portrait by John Lennon. Other artists include feminist neon artist Zoelle Nagib, pop sign artist Jason Pickleman, projected light specialist Gary Justis, abstract artist sculptor Michael Young and more. Tickets: $40+, reservations required.
More information: For vaccination and/or mask policies, visit neonandlightmuseum.com.
(C) 2020 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
When: Through Oct. 15
Where: https://theccma.org/ticket-information
What: Though it closed Sept. 12, the not-too-miss art exhibit of the summer can still be seen on a virtual tour. Dolores Olmedo’s collection of paintings and works on paper by Kahlo were on view at the newly expanded Cleve Carney Museum of Art in Glen Ellyn. Curator Justin Witte and executive director Diana Martinez offer commentary during the virtual tour. Also featured are a multimedia timeline that offered a framework of Kahlo’s life, more than 100 photographs, a Kahlo-inspired garden and a family-friendly children’s area featuring a replica of Kahlo’s Casa Azul in Coyoacan, Mexico. Tickets: $18.
George Rodriguez, “Mictlantecuhtli Offering,” 2020, ceramic installation, is featured in the exhibit “Dias de Muertos: A Time to Grieve & Remember.”Courtesy of the artist
When: Sept. 10-Dec. 12
Where: 1852 W. 19th
What: This year’s Day of the Dead exhibition at the National Museum of Mexican Art pays tribute to and remembers the many individuals from Mexico and the U.S. who have died from COVID-19. An annual time-honored tradition in Mexico, the Day of the Dead offers a way to join together to grieve and celebrate the lives of loved ones. The exhibit is a way to contemplate this moment via artworks and installations by artists from both sides of the border. Among those creating installations are Sandra Cisneros, Hector Duarte, Alejandro Garcia Nelo, Enrique Garcia and the Yollacalli Arts Center. These colorful displays sit alongside artwork by a long list of Mexican and Mexican American artists. Admission is free.
More information: For vaccination and/or mask policies, visit nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org.
“Untitled (Death by Gun),” by Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1990)Provided
When: Sept. 10-Feb. 20
Where: 600 S. Michigan
What: The Museum of Contemporary Photography presents an exhibit that brings together work by nine artists who examine the past three decades of gun culture in the United States. Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Carolyn Drake, Zora J Murff, Stephen Foster, Renee Stout, Hank Willis Thomas, Kambui Olujimi, Nancy Floyd and Andres Gonzalez use photography to approach the topic from a wide range of perspectives. “We hope this exhibition lays bare the persistent epidemic of gun violence in this country,” said Karen Irvine, MoCP chief curator and deputy director. “These artists point us towards nuanced ways of reckoning with this tragic — and uniquely American — plight.” Admission is free.
More information: For vaccination and/or mask policies, visit mocp.org.
A “Future Fossils: SUM” piece by Lan TuazonCourtesy of the artist
When: Sept. 7-Nov. 13
Where: 5020 S. Cornell
What: This is the final sculpture installation in Lan Tuazon’s decade-long trilogy of work that visualizes the lifespan of our material goods. The Chicago artist calls her process “documentary sculpture.” Common packaged goods, tchotchkes and household items are accumulated, dissected and layered to give an accounting of the unseen byproduct of consumption. Tuazon offers visitors an encounter with a future house — one constructed solely with recovered materials — built to scale and exhibited from inside the two-story gallery at the Hyde Park Art Center. Admission is free.
More information: For vaccination and/or mask policies, visit hydeparkart.org.
Bani Abidi’s watercolor “The Man Who Talked Until He Disappeared.”Courtesy of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
When: Sept. 4-June 5
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago
What: Two decades of the work of multidisciplinary Pakistani artist Bani Abidi are brought together for this exhibition. Informed by her upbringing in Karachi and experiences in cities including Chicago, where she studied at the School of the Art Institute, Abidi, a master storyteller, uses video, photography, sound and installation to uncover the influence of cultural and political power struggles on everyday life. Admission: $15.
More information: For vaccination and/or mask policies, visit mcachicago.org.
The Museum of Contemporary Art presents “Chicago Works: Caroline Kent,” the first solo museum exhibition of work by the multidisciplinary Chicago-based artist. Nathan Keay, (C) MCA Chicago
When: To April 3
Where: 220 E. Chicago
What: The Museum of Contemporary Art presents the first solo museum exhibition of work by the multidisciplinary Chicago-based artist. In this site-specific installation, Kent explores the abbreviated forms of communication that develop in intimate relationships such as those between sisters. Inspired by the experience of communicating with her own twin, she transfers her visual language to painting, sculpture and installation. Admission: $15.
More information: mcachicago.org
Paul Nicklen, “Face to Face,” Svalbard, Norway, 2008.Courtesy the artist
When: Aug. 27-Oct. 2
Where: Hilton/Asmus Contemporary, Morgan Arts Complex, 3622 S. Morgan
What: The work of National Geographic photographers, filmmakers and marine biologists Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier are featured in this new exhibit. Nicklen, one of the world’s prominent nature photographers, has spent the last 20 years documenting the beauty and the plight of our planet. Mittermeier, whose work documents the conservation movement, is globally recognized as an influential wildlife writer and conservationist. Admission is free.
More information: Hilton-asmus.com
Banksy’s “Flower Thrower”The Art of Banksy
When: To Oct. 31
Where: 360 N. State
What: The identity of the artist known as Banksy has for years been the art world’s most intriguing mystery. But while we don’t know the man, we do know the art. The English-based street artist has created some of the most iconic images of the past few decades. A new exhibit brings more than 80 of these original works to Chicago. World-famous pieces from private collections including “Flower Thrower,” “Rude Copper” and “Girl with Balloon” will sit alongside other works rarely seen by the general public. As the artist-provocateur Banksy says: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” Tickets: $40, $30 for 16 and younger.
More information: banksyexhibit.com
“Helmut Jahn – Life + Architecture”Chicago Architecture Center
When: To Oct. 31
Where: 111 E. Wacker
What: Chicago Architecture Center presents a new exhibit honoring the late Chicago architect, which highlights his designs ranging from signature early projects like the Michigan City Public Library (1977) and the James R. Thompson Center (1985) to the Sony Center in Berlin (2000) and the Pritzker Military Archives Center, currently under construction in Somers, Wisconsin. Photography, models and sketches illuminate each project and explore the collaborative design and engineering process, while personal imagery, video and recollections by those who knew and worked with Jahn underscore his flair for the dramatic and zest for life. Admission is $15.
More information: architecture.org
“Van Gogh for All”Lou Bank
When: To Sept. 26
Where: 333 N. Michigan Ave.
What: The immersive art experience that debuted in Chicago in 2019 returns for a limited run. The exhibit allows attendees to step into many of the artist’s works and learn about them in a whole new way. Fly through the Starry Night or step behind the shutters of his iconic Yellow House and walk through a re-creation of his studio. Open seven days a week 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Tickets: $20, $10 for 12 and under.
More information:vangoghforall.org
“Untitled” by Mimi Cherono Ng’ok(C) Mimi Cherono Ng’ok
When: To Feb. 7
Where: Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan
What: This new exhibit features the work of a photographer who travels extensively across the tropical climates on a mission to understand how natural environments, botanical cultures and human subjects coexist and evolve together. In this solo exhibit, she presents photographs and a film in which she tracked flowers and floral imagery across varied contexts and a range of hidden associations. Admission: $14-$22.
More information: artic.edu
When: Ongoing
Where: 2430 N. Cannon Dr.
What: The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, where children of all ages can connect to nature and science, reopened July 8. Exhibits include “Without a Trace,” selections of photographs by Zbigniew Bzdak; “Patterns in Nature: A Bridge between Art and the Natural World,” mixed media work by artist Katherine Lampert; “Judy Istock Butterfly Haven,” “Birds of Chicago” and many more. Admission: $6-$9, children under 3 free.
More information: naturemuseum.org
Toba Khedoori’s “Untitled” at the Smart Museum of Art.Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner and Regen Projects, Los Angeles (C) Toba Khedoori.
“Toward Common Cause — Art, Social Change and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40” is a multi-museum venture organized by the Smart Museum of Art that explores the current sociopolitical moment, challenging questions of inclusion, exclusion, ownership and rights of access. In its gallery, the Smart Museum features works by Mark Bradford, Mel Chin, Nicole Eisenman, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Jeffrey Gibson, Toba Khedoori, Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, Julie Mehretu, Fazal Sheikh and Xu Bing. From July 15-Dec. 19 at Smart Museum, University of Chicago, 5550 S. Greenwood. Admission is free. Visit smartmuseum.uchciago.edu; for a list of participating museums visit towardcommoncause.org.
Stony Island Arts Bank’s contribution is “Towards Common Cause.” The group show features work by Carrie Mae Weems, Kerry James Marshall, Gary Hill, Whitfield Lovell, Trevor Paglen, Deborah Willis, Dawoud Bey, Fred Wilson and Nicole Eisenman. From July 18-Dec. 19 at Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island. Admission is free. Visit rebuild-foundation.org.
The reopened DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Pl., participates with an exhibit of “Presenting Negro Scenes Drawn Upon My Passage through the South and Reconfigured for the Benefit of Enlightened Audiences Wherever Such May Be Found, By Myself, Missus K.E.B Walker, Colored,” a signature black silhouette installation from the artist Kara Walker. Admission: $3-$10 (Sundays free), children under 5 free. Visit: dusablemuseum.org.
Mel Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill ProjectProvided/Courtesy of the artist
When: July 25-Oct. 24
Where: 5020 S. Cornell
What: Mel Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill Project as well as works by LaToya Ruby Frazier and Fazal Sheikh are on display at the Hyde Park museum as part of “Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40.” Chin’s 13-year-project, here titled “Chicago Fundred Initiative: A Bill for IL,” invites people to create their own “Fundred,” a form of currency that affirms the right of each maker to equal protection against lead contamination; Frazier’s film “Flint is Family” uses her photographs and voiceover by Flint, Michigan, resident Shea Cobb to understand the Flint water crisis; Sheikh’s landscape photography examines the connection between desertification, colonialism, and the displacement of Bedouin communities from ancestral lands in Israel’s Negev desert. Admission is free.
More information: hydeparkart.org
“My Friends are Picking Flowers,” by Salvador Gomez JiminezWendy Ewald Collection
When: Sept. 24-Dec. 18
Where: 688 N. Milwaukee
What: As part of the Smart Museum’s ongoing initiative “Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40,” the gallery presents work by Wendy Ewald and Amalia Mesa-Bains, whose projects focus on Latinx migration in Chicago. Ewald’s exhibit includes photographs and writings from a workshop where young students expressed their dreams and concerns about contemporary migration as well as photographs and a film made in Chiapas, Mexico, in 1991. Mesa-Bains offers an installation that is a personal and historical meditation on migration through the lens of her own family. Admission is free.
More information: For updated information regarding the gallery’s COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit weinbergnewtongallery.com.
A 1954 “Brenda Starr” panel at the Chicago Cultural Center exhibit.DCASE
When: To Oct. 3
Where: Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph
What: This exhibit looks at Chicago’s significant role in the development of the early comic strip. Curated by artist-author Chris Ware and the City of Chicago’s cultural historian emeritus, Tim Samuelson, it focuses on comics in popular publishing, African American cartoonists, the first women cartoonists, the first daily comic strip and more. Admission is free. (The exhibit is a historical companion to “Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now,” the survey of contemporary Chicago comics at the Museum of Contemporary Art.)
Visit: chicagoculturalcenter.org
“We the People” by Chaz BojorquezNational Museum of Mexican Art Permanent Collection, gift of Chaz and Christina Bojorquez
When: Ongoing
Where: National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th street
What: After being closed for 15 months, the museum has reopened with a handful of exhibits. “Spotlight on Chaz Bojorquez and Enrique Alferez” features the museum’s newest acquisition, “We the People,” a painting by Bojorquez, and Alferez’s iconic bronze sculpture “La Soldadera.” Plus “Adlateres and the Unexpected Journey: Works by Carmen Chami” features paintings inspired by Mexican Baroque painting and figurative style. Admission is free.
More information: nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org
“Mother and Child,” Njideka Akunyili Crosby (2016). Courtesy the artist, Victoria Miro and David Zwirner.(C) Njideka Akunyili Crosby
When: To Nov. 21
Where: National Public Housing Museum, 625 N. Kingsbury, and at the Minnie Riperton Apartments, 4250 S. Princeton
What: The National Public Housing Museum partners with the Chicago Housing Authority to display artwork by MacArthur Fellow Njideka Akunyili Crosby as part of “Toward Common Cause,” a multi-site exhibition organized by the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the MacArthur Fellows Program. Crosby uses acrylic, colored pencil and photo collages to create her distinctive portraits of African American life. “I almost want people to feel like the door is open and they’re walking by a scene into someone else’s life,” she says, “because that really is what I’m doing… mining my life to tell a story that is global but really wanting people to feel like they’re getting a glimpse into my world.” Crosby’s artwork installation is displayed on 70-foot banners on the sides of two buildings.
More information: nphm.org
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill MauldinCopyright the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
When: Through spring 2022
Where: 104 S. Michigan
What: Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Mauldin, who studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and was a cartoonist for the Chicago Sun-Times, is the subject of a retrospective at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. “Drawn to Combat” covers Mauldin’s career as a wartime cartoonist focusing on soldiers’ experiences and as a political cartoonist. The exhibit draws from more than 5,000 cartoons and objects donated to the museum by the Mauldin family. Tickets: $8, $10, children under 12 free.
More information: pritzkermilitary.org
Nick Drnaso’s painting for the cover of his graphic novel “Sabrina” in “Chicago Comics.”Provided
When: To Oct. 3
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago
What: A new exhibit celebrates Chicago’s pivotal role as a national and innovative center for comics and cartooning. With a focus on rediscovering the work of women and BIPOC comic artists, this major exhibition presents the last 60 years of the city’s artful cartooning history, showing how comic art is a democratic medium that allows artists to speak directly to people in relatable ways. Over 40 cartoonists are featured including Lynda Barry, Lilli Carre, Daniel Clowes, Nick Drnaso, Edie Fake, Emil Ferris, Nicole Hollander, Charles Johnson, Kerry James Marshall and Chris Ware. On display are comics, graphic novels, zines, original drawings, dioramas, commissioned films, installations, rare ephemera and books. Admission: $8, $15.
More information: mcachicago.org
Vivian Maier, “Three Highland Park firemen,” Highland Park, August 1964, inkjet print. Gift of Jeffrey Goldstein/(C) The Estate of Vivian Maier
When: To May 8, 2023
Where: Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark
What: Much has been heralded about street photographer Vivian Maier’s black-and-white photographs in exhibits, books and films. Now this multimedia exhibit features 65 color images made during her time as a suburban Chicago nanny from the 1950s to 1970s, many of which have never been seen before. Maier, who died in 2009, was a bit of a character and always had a Roloflex camera around her neck as she walked the streets snapping images of women, children, the old, the poor, the abstract. While her motives remain elusive, her photographs continue to speak volumes. Tickets: $17, $19.
More information: chicagohistory.org
The Paderewki Collection at Polish Museum of America.Courtesy Polish Museum of America
When: Ongoing
Where: 984 N. Milwaukee
What: The museum, since 1935 a repository for a wide variety of materials pertaining to Poland and the Polish-American community, has reopened after being shuttered for more than a year. Among the many permanent exhibits are “Polish Chicago 1850-1939,” “Folk Art Collection” and “The Paderewski Collection,” which documents the life of Polish pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Tickets: $6-$10.
More information: polishmuseumofamerica.org
The Hartwell Memorial Window bears a design attributed to Agnes F. Northrop of Tiffany Studios.The Art Institute of Chicago
When: Permanent
Where: Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan
What: A magnificent stained glass window made by Tiffany Studios in 1917 is now on permanent display at the Art Institute. The Hartwell Memorial Window, attributed to Agnes F. Northrop, Tiffany’s leading landscape window designer, was originally commissioned for a church as the gift of Mary L. Hartwell in memory of her husband Frederick W. Hartwell. It consists of 48 different panels, and is a scenic view of Mount Chocorua, a peak in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. The window, located near the museum’s entrance, is one of the most ambitious landscape window projects produced by Tiffany. Museum admission: $14-$25.
More information: artic.edu
Gears that open the bridge.Friends of the Chicago River
When: Ongoing
Where: 99 Chicago Riverwalk
What: This five-story museum celebrates the Chicago River and its world-famous movable bridges. Visitors explore a historic bridgehouse, watch the massive gears of a moving bridge and learn about the history of the Chicago River. Plus from the top floor, there’s a 360-degree view of the city and river. Find the museum at 99 Chicago Riverwalk. Admission: $5, $6; children 5 and under free.
More information: bridgehousemuseum.org
A week after the Park District inspector general resigned, officials announced a former federal prosecutor takeover of a probe of allegations of sexual harassment among lifeguards at city pools and beaches.
Valarie Hays, a partner at law firm Arnold Porter, will lead the sexual harassment investigation, Park Board President Avis LaVelle announced in a statement Wednesday. Inspector General Elaine Little resigned last week, and Deputy Inspector General Nathan Kipp, one of two IG staffers who had been working on the lifeguard inquiry, was suspended and then fired after going public with his concerns that high-ranking Park District employees were attempting to “whitewash” the investigation of the sexual harassment complaint and an alleged coverup.
“We are committed to a thorough investigation of what has been done and to hold accountable those responsible for wrongdoing,” Lavelle said in a statement. “However, we also see this as an opportunity to make changes for the better. Our goal is to protect our park staff and patrons and heighten overall awareness of appropriate workplace behavior even in settings where playfulness is a primary component of what we do each day.”
LaVelle also announced the hiring of attorney Alison Perona, who from 2012 to 2015 served as the Park District’s first inspector general, to again serve as IG on an interim basis while the district searches for a permanent replacement for Little.
Hays was a federal prosecutor in Chicago and now is a partner at Arnold Porter, where she leads the law firm’s white collar criminal defense and corporate investigations practice. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx also is investigating the allegations.
Asked about the investigation at an unrelated press event Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she was “disappointed” that Park District officials didn’t make her aware of the allegations sooner.
An IG report released by Little detailed sexual misconduct and an alleged sexual assault by three former Park District lifeguards. That investigation was launched after Supt. Mike Kelly went to the IG’s office with a complaint that had been forwarded to him by Lightfoot’s office. Kelly had received a similar complaint six weeks earlier, in February 2020, and assigned two deputies to investigate rather than going to the IG with the allegations, as Park District policy dictated.
The 11-page email Kelly had received detailed a booze-filled “rookie initiation” for lifeguards at Oak Street Beach in the summer of 2019, and a long-running pattern of lewd comments and sexual harassment among lifeguards. The subsequent IG’s report included incidents involving six female lifeguards, including an attempted rape, dating back as far as 2016.
The report included misconduct including lifeguards drinking on duty, and a seasonal lifeguard that allegedly groped his female colleagues at pools in Portage Park and Jefferson Park in a pair of incidents two years apart. Another male lifeguard allegedly attempted to rape a female colleague in his car after giving her a ride home from work. The same male lifeguard was allegedly visibly intoxicated while on duty during the 2018 Chicago Air & Water show.
Welcome to our roundup of movie screenings and events in Chicago. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on shows and activities.
Frank Mayo and Sylvia Breamer in “The First Degree.”Universal Pictures
When: 7 p.m. Sept. 29
Where: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State
What: The Chicago Film Archives, in partnership with the Gene Siskel Film Center, presents the premiere of this 1923 silent film, a previously lost melodrama discovered in the CFA’s Charles Krosse Collection in the summer of 2020. Frank Mayo stars as Sam Purdy, a banker-turned-politician-turned-sheep farmer who is repeatedly blackmailed by his jealous half-brother Will (Philo McCullough) because of their mutual affection for Mary (Sylvia Breamer). The film’s musical accompaniment is an original score performed live by Quasar Wut-Wut; film historian Tom Gunning introduces the film. Tickets: $20.
More information: For updated information regarding the Siskel Center’s COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit siskelfilmcenter.org.
Deragh Campbell in “Anne at 13,000 Ft.”The Cinema Guild
When: Ongoing
Where: 1517 W. Fullerton
What: Facets returns to indoor screenings with the Chicago premiere of Canadian director Kazik Radwanski’s “Anne at 13,000 Ft.” (Sept. 17-26, $12). Deragh Campbell stars as a young woman struggling to preserve her identity as her seemingly grounded life gives way to increased anxiety and recklessness. During the extended down time, the Facets team has also been busy creating and polishing a series of new initiatives ranging from a program to help Chicago filmmakers premiere their films and a late-night series featuring screen gems and more to an enhanced Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (Nov. 5-14) and a new in-house cafe and studio space for workshops and receptions.
More information: For updated information regarding Facets’ COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit facets.org.
“Dykes, Camera, Action!”Provided
When: Sept. 19-27
Where: Online
What: PrideArts hosts a trio of documentary films about different aspects of queer life in America. “Dykes, Camera, Action!” is a history of Lesbian cinema from the women who made it happen, “P.S. Burn This Letter, Please” profiles drag queens from the 1950s when public cross dressing was illegal and “Proper Pronouns” looks at some of the transgender Americans serving as ordained Church ministers. Tickets: $12.
More information: pridearts.com
Jean Arthur (from left), John Lund and Marlene Dietrich in “A Foreign Affair.”Paramount Pictures
When: Sept. 5-Oct. 3
Where: 3733 N. Southport
What: The Music Box Theatre honors the great German American actress Marlene Dietrich with a matinee series featuring her work with directors Fritz Lang (“Rancho Notorious”), George Marshall (“Destry Rides Again”), Billy Wilder (“A Foreign Affair”) and longtime collaborator Josef von Sternberg (“Morocco” and “Shanghai Express”). Tickets: $9.
More information: For vaccination and/or mask policy information, visit musicboxtheatre.com.
Music Box Theatre’s Garden Movies features films screened in the theatre’s expanded courtyard under the stars.Music Box Theatre
When: All summer long
Where: 3733 N. Southport
What: The Music Box Theatre is screening films in its expanded courtyard under the stars. Tickets: $9.
More information: musicboxtheatre.com
Just a block or so from Simeon Career Academy, two students gave out a yell as they released star-shaped balloons into the Tuesday evening sky in memory of a friend who had just been killed there.
As they held their small vigil and talked to reporters, another Simeon student was shot about six miles away in Hyde Park. He would die the next day.
Both were 15. Jamari Williams, shot near the school in Chatham, was on the junior varsity football team and had lost his father to gun violence within the last year.
Kentrell McNeal was shot as he sat in a car with a 14-year-old boy, who was also wounded. McNeal was known for his sense of humor and was an active member of the nonprofit youth group Good Kids Mad City.
“It just felt like a dark vibe,” a freshman said Wednesday about losing two classmates to gun violence so close together. “After something bad like that happened, it’s just a dark day today.”
Chicago police work the scene where two teens were shot in the 5200 block of South Lake Park Ave. in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
The deaths bring to at least 19 the number of children 15 and younger who have been shot and killed this year in Chicago. That’s nearly double what it was at the beginning of summer, when children in the city were already dying at a much higher rate than last year.
Among the youngest victims this year was 4-year-old Mychal Moultry Jr. He was visiting with family from Alabama on Sept. 6 when gunfire tore through the front window, striking him in the head and killing him.
Weeks earlier, Serenity Broughton, 7, was killed and her 6-year-old sister wounded in a shooting Aug. 15 as their mother placed them into the backseat of a car in Belmont Central. That case is still unsolved.
The total number of children shot in Chicago this year is even more stark: at least 148 children 15 years of age and younger, according to Sun-Times data. Fourteen of the wounded were under 6 years old.
Last year at this time 119 kids had been shot, 24% fewer than now. The pace of children being shot far outpaces the overall 10% rise in shootings this year.
“Some of us haven’t even hit 18 yet and we have to lose so many people,” Aie’rianna Williams, a senior at Simeon, said Tuesday at the scene of the shooting outside her school.
Another student, a freshman, said she was shocked that two students her age were killed — and barely a month into the school year.
“It was just very heavy, it was like gloomy,” said Layla Rodgers. “You could tell that someone at the school was no longer there.
“I felt sad because they’re just freshmen and they didn’t even get to finish high school, get the experience,” she said. “It was just taken away.”
This is the unfortunate reality of Chicago, and some teens have accepted it, said Ronnie Mosley, a member of Simeon’s local school council.
“That’s the sad part about it, and that’s why we really have to step up as the caretakers and those that are responsible for creating the best and brightest future in Chicago, and changing the environment, providing the resources,” Mosley said.
Members of Chicago’s Board of Education were silent about the shootings during its regular meeting Wednesday. A spokesperson would not even confirm that the two boys were from Simeon.
“CPS extends its condolences to the family and friends impacted by this loss,” the district said in a statement.
Tamar Manasseh, founder of Mothers Against Senseless Killings, worries that young people are afraid for their lives now more than ever.
“There’s nowhere safe anymore,” she said. “It’s too many guns and too much misery, and this is what you’re going to get.
“They are afraid of getting shot at that red light; they are afraid of getting shot at a gas station; they’re afraid of being shot on the expressway,” she continued. “That’s what they’re afraid of — COVID is not their main concern, and the city needs to treat it like that.”
Both boys had been struggling with the violence around them, friends said.
Jamari Williams hoped he would succeed enough in football to get him and his mother out of their neighborhood. He also rapped and released at least one video on YouTube.
The Rev. Donovan Price, a community activist, said Williams didn’t hang out with the wrong crowd and had a good support system around him.
Kentrell McNeal was a member of Good Kids Mad City in Englewood on the South Side. The group describes itself as developing “young leaders to advocate for resources that will allow them to create sustainable, livable community conditions.”
“Lately I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Kentrell,” the group’s executive director, Carlil Pittman, said on Twitter. “This is why it’s so important to have creative spaces and outlets for young people to be able to go to, because there’s nothing on the streets of Chicago for them already.”
Manasseh agreed there are too many guns on the street and not enough mental health facilities, especially for children who are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or survivor’s guilt after they lose loved ones to violence.
She pleaded with city officials to be more creative.
“We’re not paying attention to what’s going on. We’re paying attention to the pandemic but not the epidemic, and the epidemic is getting worse,” Manasseh said. “We care about those COVID numbers going down and we care about stopping the surge and we care about getting people vaccinated but … you got to care about the people who are being shot.
“If you don’t address the mental health issue that’s getting these kids, I mean, you’re killing them, you’re part of the problem.”
Mosley applauded Simeon for the support it provided students Wednesday, though he said more needs to be done by the community to ensure students feel safe on and off school property.
“Again, just making sure that we are doing all that we can to make sure that the future is different than the past,” Mosley said. “That’s gonna take the mayor, really taking a look at communities and helping to meet the needs.”
Contributing: Mohammad Samra
We have struggled, in our own minds, to square the circle of our strong support for union rights with our nation’s need to take bold measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
We would prefer that public and private employers negotiate with organized labor the rules of vaccine mandates. But if push comes to shove, what matters most is getting those life-saving vaccines into workers’ arms.
Now a small group of state workers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker have demonstrated how to square that circle in a sensible way. They’ve reached an agreement that addresses the practical concerns of union members when it comes to mandated vaccines, such as the need for paid time off should a worker have to be quarantined, without giving an inch to false political narratives about the dangers of the vaccines or violations of personal freedoms.
We urge every employer and union to take note and follow suit.
About 260 supervisory workers in state-run residential facilities, represented by the Laborers International Union of North America-Illinois State Employees Association, Local 2002, have agreed to a deal in which they will get extra “COVID time” if quarantined, as well as an additional personal day. And if the vaccine is not available during an employee’s regularly scheduled shift, he or she is to receive regular pay for the time taken to receive the vaccine.
That’s the carrot. Now here’s the stick:
The workers must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 18 unless they obtain a medical or religious exemption — honest exemptions, we would hope. If they are not vaccinated by then, they will face disciplinary measures and could be fired.
We see no better approach. The first priority of organized labor, if they care about the health of their members and ending the pandemic, should be to find union-friendly ways to make vaccine mandates work.
Send letters to [email protected].
