Chicago Blackhawks: Reports on Jonathan Toews are all positiveVincent Pariseon September 21, 2021 at 11:00 am

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Chicago Blackhawks: Reports on Jonathan Toews are all positiveVincent Pariseon September 21, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

Horoscope for Tuesday, Sept 21, 2021Georgia Nicolson September 21, 2021 at 5:01 am

Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Aries.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

For the next four weeks, you will need more sleep, because in your chart, the sun will be opposite your sign, which is as far away from you as it can get all year, and the sun is your source of energy. You will focus more on partners, spouses and close friends.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You will work hard to get better organized in the next four weeks because you want to be on top of your game! You want to be healthier and more energetic. Yes, it’s time to turn over a new leaf.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Grab every opportunity to play and have fun in the next four weeks. This is the perfect time for a vacation. Enjoy sports events, fun activities with kids and the entertainment world. Grab every chance to express your creative talents! (TikTok here I come.)

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Your focus will be on home, family and your private life in the next four weeks. Many will interact more with a parent. Home redecorating and improvements plus dealing with increased chaos and activity will demand your attention.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

The pace of your days will accelerate in the next four weeks because of tasks, errands, short trips as well as increased reading, writing and studying. You will enjoy socializing. You will also express yourself with intensity and enthusiasm!

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Your focus on money, cash flow, earnings and your movable possessions will increase in the next four weeks. You will spend more, especially on beautiful things. Fortunately, you will attract money to you. You will also think about your values.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

The sun will be in your sign for the next four weeks giving you a chance to recharge your batteries for the rest of year. This happens only once a year and when it does, you easily attract people and favorable situations to you. This is an excellent time to buy wardrobe treasures.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Your personal year is coming to an end; but your new year will not begin until your birthday. Therefore, the next four weeks are a time of limbo for you. Use this window of time to think about what you want for your new year ahead. Define some goals because they will help you achieve what you want.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

You will enjoy increased popularity in the next four weeks, talking to younger people, creative people, and possibly being active in physical competition with others. This is an excellent time to share your hopes and dreams for the future because someone’s feedback will help you.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

The sun will be at high noon in your chart for the next four weeks, casting you in a flattering spotlight. This happens only once a year and when it does, people are impressed with you even if you don’t do anything special. Use this time to advance your agenda and make your pitch!

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Grab every chance to travel and explore your horizons in the next four weeks because you want to be stimulated. You also want to learn more! This is an excellent time to take a course or go back to school. Explore opportunities in publishing, the law, medicine and the media.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

The next four weeks will be particularly passionate and intense for you. You will be passionate about everything – including romance. Keep your pockets open because you can attract gifts, favors and money to you. A most fortunate time!

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actor Bill Murray (1950) shares your birthday. You are energetic, friendly and always witty. You love mysteries and are a skilled and original communicator. You are also confident in your ability to put your own spin on things. This is an excellent year for you because it’s a time of achievement and recognition. You might get a promotion, an award or acknowledgement of your successful efforts. Bravo!

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Horoscope for Tuesday, Sept 21, 2021Georgia Nicolson September 21, 2021 at 5:01 am Read More »

R. Kelly trial moves into next stageTom Hays | APon September 21, 2021 at 1:57 am

NEW YORK — Prosecutors at the R. Kelly sex trafficking trial ended their case Monday after calling dozens of witnesses over the past month who detailed the government’s sweeping allegations against the singer in lurid detail.

The defense began its case later in the day by starting to call Kelly loyalists to the witness stand in an effort to cast doubt on some of the accusers’ accounts.

A New York City jury has heard several women and two men who were in Kelly’s celebrity orbit tell the panel that he groomed them for unwanted sex and psychologically tormented them — mostly when they were teenagers — in episodes dating to the 1990s. Their accounts were backed at least in part by former Kelly employees whose own testimony suggested they were essentially paid off to look the other way or actively enable the recording artist.

Kelly’s lawyers must find ways to counter testimony from accusers alleging perverse misconduct spanning three decades. Among the troubling tableaus: his entourage locking a radio station intern in a room where he sexually assaulted her while she was passed out; witnesses claiming that he gave them herpes without disclosing he had an STD; and Kelly shooting a shaming video of one alleged victim showing her smearing feces on her face as punishment for breaking arbitrary rules meant to protect his fragile ego.

On Monday, Larry Hood, a childhood friend who worked security for Kelly as an off-duty Chicago police officer in the early 2000s, claimed he never witnessed Kelly misbehaving with underage girls. A defense attorney also asked if he saw his friend lock anyone in a room.

“No, sir,” Hood responded. If he saw that, he added, “As a police officer, I would have had to take action against that.”

On cross-examination, Hood admitted the police department fired him in 2007 after a guilty plea in a counterfeit money case, though he got to keep his pension.

A large chunk of the testimony focused on an infamous scandal involving his youngest and most famous alleged victim: R&B phenom Aaliyah. One of the final witnesses described seeing Kelly sexually abusing Aaliyah around 1993, when Aaliyah was only 13 or 14. The former backup performer also told the jury Kelly sexually abused her as well when she was 15 — another in a series of accusers who say he exploited them when they were underage.

Jurors had previously heard evidence about a fraud marriage scheme hatched to protect Kelly after he feared he had impregnated Aaliyah. A marriage license that was put into evidence falsely listed her age as 18; he was 27 at the time.

Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton, worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” She died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.

The last government witness was an expert witness on abusive relationships. Dawn Hughes testified about studies showing that many abusers systematically isolate, demean, subjugate and spy on their victims as means of control — all tactics allegedly used by Kelly. Generally speaking, it isn’t unusual for powerful people like Kelly to be surrounded by underlings who “knew about it and didn’t do anything,” Hughes said.

The 54-year-old defendant, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges accusing him of running a Chicago-based enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit and transport his victims. That alleged travel violated the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport anyone across state lines “for any immoral purpose” — the same law that sent rock legend Chuck Berry to prison in 1959.

Kelly, whose song “I Believe I Can Fly” topped charts, has vehemently denied the charges, claiming that the women were groupies who wanted to take advantage of his fame and fortune until the #MeToo movement turned them against him.

Oddly, members of the press and public haven’t actually seen the jailed Kelly in person since the trial began on Aug. 18. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly has barred people not directly involved in the case from the courtroom in what she called a coronavirus precaution.

Observers are restricted to an overflow courtroom, leaving them to try to follow the case through a video feed.

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R. Kelly trial moves into next stageTom Hays | APon September 21, 2021 at 1:57 am Read More »

White Sox’ offense striking right balanceJohn Grochowski | For the Sun-Timeson September 21, 2021 at 2:22 am

There has been no power shortage on the South Side this season. The White Sox’ 174 home runs through Sunday rank 19th in team history, with plenty of opportunity to move up.

Yet the way baseball is played today, the Sox seem almost like a spray-hitting bunch. They’re one of three teams with 400 or more runs scored on balls in play, generating action on the bases.

Major-league teams have averaged 183 homers so far. That leaves the Sox nine below average. First baseman Jose Abreu (30th in the majors with 29 homers) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (22 in 325 plate appearances) have been consistent power sources, but the Sox have been less homer-reliant than most teams.

The American League Central-leading Sox’ 738 runs include 411 on balls in play, trailing only the AL West-leading Astros (444) and AL-East leading Rays (419). Combined with their 327 runs on balls not in play, the Sox rank sixth in the majors in runs, nicely balancing a pitching staff that ranks fourth in fewest runs allowed at 593.

But homers remain king, even though the three AL division leaders also are strong in scoring on balls in play. Major-league teams this season have scored 46.8% of their runs on balls not in play — primarily homers, but also including runs on wild pitches and passed balls and those forced in by bases-loaded walks and hit batsmen.

Of the 10 teams currently in playoff positions, six exceed the major-league average for runs on balls not in play, showing more reliance on homers than average teams.

The National League West-leading Giants (54.7%), NL East-leading Braves (54.02%) and AL wild-card-contending Blue Jays (51.21%) score more than half their runs on balls not in play.

They’re followed by the NL wild-card-contending Dodgers (48.1%), the Rays (47.4%, despite their production on balls in play) and the NL Central-leading Brewers (47.11%).

The wild-card-contending Cardinals in the NL (46.4%) and Red Sox in the AL (46.1%) are nearly at the major-league average, leaving only the Astros (44.3%) and Sox (44.2%) as playoff teams significantly below the major-league average in home-run reliance.

On balls not in play, the Sox have struck out 1,284 times, a tiny bit below the major-league average of 1.298. They’ve drawn 540 walks, a big step up from the major-league average of 486. Their .335 on-base percentage ranks second to the Astros’ .341. There have been runners to drive in.

Contrast that with the Cubs, whose 1,488 strikeouts lead the majors. With 200 homers, the Cubs have scored 51.69% of their 650 runs on balls not in play.

With an average of 1.17 homers per game, the Sox are poised to move up their own list. Averaging 1.17 in their last 13 games would give them another 15. That would take them to 189, 14th in team history and one behind the 2007 team.

That’s a powerful team in the context of Sox history. But in a 2021 major-league context, it’s a Sox team that’s getting the job done in ways other than homers.

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White Sox’ offense striking right balanceJohn Grochowski | For the Sun-Timeson September 21, 2021 at 2:22 am Read More »

Recovery channel: Fields needs to watch NFL’s good and bad QBs — and learnRick Telanderon September 21, 2021 at 2:29 am

The best thing Justin Fields did Sunday was not a pass or run or block or even a handoff.

It was a doglike scramble on the ground in the third quarter to regain possession of a ball he fumbled at the Bears’ 33-yard line.

If Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson had been able to scoop up the ball — which he would have without Fields’ leaping slap and recovery — he’d have waltzed into the end zone for a touchdown that could’ve been the difference in the game.

A white-knuckle 20-17 Bears victory is simply proof that every game in which the Bears might be leading this year could be lost at almost any moment.

Quite frankly, Fields stunk at quarterback. Let’s be honest. He did some good; he did some bad. But he did more bad than good.

Yet his hustle on a play in which he could have lain on the turf, wealthy quarterback-style, and watched the results — that was nice. It was real.

There’s no great offensive stat for recovering your own fumble. But there’s an intangible one that translates into teammate approval and an infectious desire for winning.

It also means Fields should learn.

First lesson? Pass rushers will come from your blind side. Fast. And they will clobber you, make you fumble, possibly destroy you.

The interception Fields threw in the fourth quarter was another lesson.

The seven-man Bengals rush turned into a sneaky six-man rush when Wilson suddenly dropped into coverage and snagged Fields’ pass intended for Marquise Goodwin.

Don’t think he saw that in the Big Ten.

The best thing for Fields, who could be the de facto starter if Andy Dalton can’t go or keeps getting injured, would be to watch the other NFL quarterbacks — good and bad — and learn from them.

Start with the Buccaneers’ Tom Brady. The dude is 44, says he’ll play till he’s 50 and seems to be getting younger, with thick, rich hair and (maybe?) Gisele’s skin toner in action. On Sunday, he threw five touchdown passes in a win over the Falcons. He has nine in the first two games for the 2-0 Bucs.

Whatever this man is doing, no sane young quarterback should ignore.

Then there was the dazzling display put on Sunday night by the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.

What the pair did was amazing. Mahomes threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns, and Jackson threw for 239 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. But Jackson rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns, and some of those runs were astounding.

Jackson punctuated his night by joyously flipping into the end zone on a one-yard option late in the fourth quarter. That gave the Ravens the 36-35 victory and made viewers shake their heads in wonder.

Those star quarterbacks made mistakes, but their creativity overwhelmed the flaws. Mahomes’ scrambling, falling sidearm throws were amazing, and Jackson’s jump-pass TD throw was something out of a basketball point guard’s repertoire.

What Fields should see are the risks and rewards of being brazen and making stuff up. Not being crazy, but knowing when breaking the rules will work. He has 4.4 speed in his pocket, and that’s like a gift from the Hall of Fame.

Young quarterbacks go up and down. The Bengals’ Joe Burrow has been all over the map. And there are some, like Jets rookie Zach Wilson, who are just down and may get booed into cave-dwelling. Rookie Mac Jones is playing it safe for the Patriots, and that worked Sunday while beating the Jets.

Fiery Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is so reckless, he simply gets his bum non-throwing shoulder yanked back into its socket after it’s dislocated and keeps playing. And you can believe his teammates respond to that guttiness.

Quarterbacks get hurt all the time. Running ones perhaps most of all. There are so many ways to lead a team, and Fields must figure out what the best way is for him.

Getting hurt does nobody any good. But playing to the edge of injury — simply holding the ball for that extra millisecond — is where the greatness lies.

Little Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a touchdown in a win against the Vikings. And he survived.

Fields needs to watch it all and figure it out.

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Recovery channel: Fields needs to watch NFL’s good and bad QBs — and learnRick Telanderon September 21, 2021 at 2:29 am Read More »

Chicago Bears: This Joe Burrow stat is absolutely incredibleVincent Pariseon September 20, 2021 at 9:22 pm

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Chicago Bears: This Joe Burrow stat is absolutely incredibleVincent Pariseon September 20, 2021 at 9:22 pm Read More »

Music, culture, family celebrated alongside heartache in ‘American Mariachi’Mary Houlihanon September 21, 2021 at 12:00 am

Mariachi music is deeply rooted in the Mexican American community. It is a nostalgic bridge to the past, but it also remains a steadfast element today in the cultural traditions of families at baptisms, birthdays, weddings and funerals.

It is the music that playwright Jose Cruz Gonzalez grew up with; his parents were avid listeners. And it was the music that many years later he would learn to play, an experience that would inspire his play “American Mariachi,” which is making its Chicago debut at the Goodman Theatre in a co-production with the Dallas Theater Center and as part of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance’s Destinos Festival.

It all started when Gonzalez noticed a student mariachi group performing on the campus of California State University Los Angeles, where he was a professor of theater arts for 30 years. “I discovered mariachi was a class in the music department and I approached the teacher, and for the next 10 years I took lessons,” he says.

Gonzalez is the first to admit he didn’t “have any kind of musical talent in his body” but he did have the desire to learn and became proficient on the guitarron, the large acoustic bass guitar that is a staple of mariachi groups. He also studied the culture of mariachi, how it is traditionally passed down from father to son and why it’s an important aspect of the Mexican American community and how it’s the soundtrack of many lives.

One day a fellow player mentioned to Gonzalez that she and her group had performed for an elderly woman on her birthday: “She described how when they played a certain song this woman would just come alive and sing along. This idea of music as memory stayed with me.”

“American Mariachi” would grow out of this idea. Set in the 1970s, the story revolves around a young woman Lucha (Tiffany Solano) caring for her mother, Amalia (Gigi Cervantes), who is suffering from dementia. One day, she plays an old record of mariachi songs which sparks her mother’s memory, which in turn inspires Lucha, against her father’s wishes, to create an all-female mariachi band — something unheard of in the ’70s. The cast also features Lucy Godinez, Amanda Raquel Martinez, Molly Hernandez, Gloria Vivica Benavides, Erendira Izguerra and Christopher Llewyn Ramirez.

“A big part of the story is about a young woman’s strength and determination to follow her dreams but it’s also about a family struggling with this disease and a married couple who have drifted apart,” says Gonzalez, whose own mother suffered from dementia.

Lucha (Tiffany Solano) from left, Boli (Lucy Godinez) and Amalia (Gigi Cervantes) are shown in a scene from “American Mariachi.”Liz Lauren

“I think Jose really captures the dynamics of a fractured family and weaves together all these narratives in a really beautiful, heartwarming and heartbreaking way,” says the play’s director Henry Godinez. “And then there’s the music which is just amazing.”

The play is infused with mariachi music and includes members of the Chicago group Sones de Mexico performing on stage along with the actors who learned instruments for their roles. Sones co-founder Victor Pichardo serves as music director. (Sones also partnered with the Goodman Theatre on the lovely musical play “Zulema,” which toured city parks in August.)

Mariachi dates to the 1800s in the countryside of various regions in western Mexico and evolved over time into what Pichardo calls “small orchestras” with a rhythm section, a horn section and a string section.

“Mariachi is happy music but also very passionate music. I think that is what appeals to the listener,” Pichardo says, adding, “I think ‘American Mariachi’ opens hearts and minds and doors for people who want to be part of this tradition.”

Godinez agrees that a goal of the show is to dispel the stereotypes of what mariachi is: “Through the show we come to realize that mariachi is not just something you hear in restaurants and drives you crazy. It actually has deep folkloric roots and has many different genres that weave into it including romantic boleros and polkas.”

“American Mariachi” was set to open at the Dallas Theatre Center in March 2020 but was cancelled because of the pandemic. Godinez says he hopes people feel “a real joy at being back in the theater.”

Adds Gonzalez: “I’m so happy it’s finally on stage with this cast of actors from Chicago and Dallas. This play is filled with such hope, and we really need that right now given all the challenges we’ve all faced in the past few years. It celebrates family, it celebrates life, it celebrates music, it celebrates a culture.”

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Music, culture, family celebrated alongside heartache in ‘American Mariachi’Mary Houlihanon September 21, 2021 at 12:00 am Read More »

Lightfoot willing to expand and improve Soldier Field to keep Bears in ChicagoFran Spielmanon September 20, 2021 at 11:03 pm

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she wants the Bears to stay in Chicago and she’s willing to work with the team she loves to expand and improve Soldier Field and maximize year-round revenues, but in a “fiscally-prudent way that doesn’t preclude other uses.”

Three months ago, Lightfoot cavalierly dismissed the Bears decision to put in a bid to buy the Arlington Heights International Racecourse property as the same old, boy-who- cried-wolf-negotiating ploy.

She’s not doing that now.

During a Zoom meeting with the Sun-Times editorial board that primarily focused on her 2022 budget, Lightfoot made it clear she is taking the Bears’ threat to leave Chicago seriously.

A die-hard Bears’ fan and season ticket holder, Lightfoot acknowledged the need to enhance the fan experience at Soldier Field and turn the stadium into a year-round revenue generator.

“I am a Bears fan. I want the Bears to stay in the city of Chicago. And we are willing to work with them to try to address their concerns. But, I’ve got to do it in a way that is fiscally prudent and doesn’t preclude other uses in that stadium,” she said.

“We are evaluating ways in which we can enhance the fan experience at Soldier Field. …I know that it can be better. I’ve been to other stadiums across the country where the fan experience is far superior to what we have at Soldier Field.”

Lightfoot was asked repeatedly whether turning Soldier Field into a year-round revenue generator includes the possibility of adding the retractable dome that many of Chicago’s movers and shakers thought the city should have built in the first place.

She never answered the question. Lightfoot would paraphrase a Rolling Stones’ lyric.

“You can’t always get what you want. But you can try sometimes and get what you need,” the mayor said — without singing.

Turning serious, Lightfoot said she is “very sympathetic to some of the things the Bears have identified” and there are “a lot of different options we have to think about to really enhance” the fan experience and bolster “revenue-generating opportunities — not only for Bears games.”

“There are other stadiums across the country that I’ve been to that have really taken advantage of the ability to make the stadium a year-round destination — not just something that’s only used during football season and then lays dormant for the rest of the year,” she said.

“That stadium sits on a museum campus. … Outside of Bears’ season, there’s no real dining experience except for the food within the museums themselves. Even afterward, if you want to enjoy a nice meal or convene in another place, you’ve got to go outside of the stadium footprint.”

On the day the Bears took out the option on the Arlington property, Lightfoot said the Bears were “locked into a lease” at Soldier Field. She dismissed their real estate maneuver as a “negotiation tactic” the team had used before.

“Like most Bears fans, we want the organization to focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant past October,” she said. “Everything else is noise.”

Overall, the Bears want more control over a lakefront stadium that was renovated for them nearly 20 years ago at an expense to Chicago taxpayers that still won’t be paid in full for decades.

Soldier Field renovations under way in 2002.Associated Press

The Chicago Park District owns Soldier Field, so the team is limited in what it can do as far as expanding the capacity (currently about 62,000), modernizing aspects of a 97-year-old building, selling sponsorships for certain areas of the stadium and building a year-round museum and gift shop.

There would be nothing holding them back in Arlington Heights, where Mayor Thomas Hayes has openly campaigned to lure them. Hayes has called a potential Bears move a “best-case scenario” for his village.

On Monday, Lightfoot said she is putting together a small team” to try and accommodate the Bears’ needs.

“I’m willing to sit down with the Bears at any time. But it takes two to tango. They’ve got to articulate to me and my team a specific set of asks and we have not gotten that yet from them,” she said.

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Lightfoot willing to expand and improve Soldier Field to keep Bears in ChicagoFran Spielmanon September 20, 2021 at 11:03 pm Read More »

Possible indoor vaccine mandate faces flak from city restaurant groupJason Beefermanon September 20, 2021 at 11:19 pm

Some Chicago restaurant owners are pushing back against calls to require proof of vaccination in public indoor settings, saying such a mandate would place an “undue burden” on an already crippled industry.

The plea against an indoor mandate is in response to an early September letter in which eight aldermen urged Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady to require that customers show proof of a jab for some indoor gathering spots, such as restaurants, bars, gyms and theaters.

“The responsibility for vaccination rates is squarely on the alderman and the mayor and not on small businesses,” Roger Romanelli, coordinator of the Chicago Restaurants Coalition, said at a Monday news conference. “We’re asking the eight misguided aldermen to withdraw their letter calling for restaurants to check their customers for vaccination papers and redouble their own efforts to end the COVID crisis.”

One owner said restaurants already have been hit too hard by the pandemic to take on a responsibility they say belongs to the city.

“If they really, really, really want to have this done, have the city hire and provide people who can work the doors and do this,” said Mary Kay Tuzi, owner of Twin Anchors Restaurant in Old Town. “The city needs to stop shirking its responsibility.”

Chicago restaurant owners say a mandate requiring staff to check customers’ vaccination status at the door would put an “undue burden” on already short-staffed restaurants.Jeff Chiu/AP

Tuzi said the pandemic has cut her profit margin in half, and a recent increase in the minimum wage has increased her payroll costs. She said doesn’t have enough employees to check the vaccination status of each patron who walks through the restaurant’s door.

“We’re a family restaurant. We’re not a nightclub; we’re not a bar,” she said. “It’s mind-boggling how the aldermen came up with this idea — let’s put the burden on the restaurants — when this is not something that we can handle.”

The Illinois Restaurant Association did not respond to requests for comment.

Romanelli said all partners of the Chicago Restaurant Coalition “fully support vaccinations for all Chicagoans,” but that pandemic shutdowns on indoor dining have crippled the industry. The coalition estimates 300 Chicago restaurants have shut their doors permanently since the pandemic began and is now calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot to provide additional relief.

A possible vaccine mandate also has some restaurateurs worried that policing customers will lead to arguments and even physical altercations. Last week, a restaurant hostess was attacked in New York by two diners when she asked for proof of vaccination. New York and San Fransisco are among the cities that already require proof of vaccination for indoor diners.

“We all know this is a violent summer. It’s a violent city,” said Len DeFranco, owner of Hawkeye’s Bar and Grill on the Near West Side. “To ask, and it’s always a young person, to check IDs, and to ask for a vaccination card from everybody in a party, presents a little more danger than I want to give my people.”

But some Chicago restaurants and bars have chosen to require proof of vaccination to enter. Nikki Lopez, a bartender at Four Moon Tavern in Roscoe Village, said the pub’s vaccination requirement has made customers and staff feel more comfortable.

“I’d rather have to take the time to do that,” she said of checking customers’ vaccinations. “I like working in a place that does this, and I would have anxiety [if not]. I prefer it. I can vouch that most of the staff does here, too.”

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Possible indoor vaccine mandate faces flak from city restaurant groupJason Beefermanon September 20, 2021 at 11:19 pm Read More »

Justin Steele reflects on first season with the CubsRussell Dorseyon September 20, 2021 at 11:30 pm

If the 2021 season has been a classroom , left-hander Justin Steele is trying to be the best student he can be. The Cubs’ young southpaw has been given an opportunity to show what he can do in the team’s rotation in the second half and prove he can be part of the team’s plans going forward.

It was on May 4 against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers where felt he belonged. With runners on first and second and two outs, Steele struck out Austin Barnes on a wipeout breaking ball. As he walked off the mound, the Cubs’ lefty was fired up letting out a ‘Let’s Go’ as he smacked his glove.

The moment, which was also his first career win, laid the foundation for the rest of his season.

“That was sweet,” Steele told the Sun-Times. “And that was the last game of a sweep. But it was just a really cool moment. Tied ball game. You just kind of like the emotions take care of everything and to get out of that situation. We won it the next inning. Just all learning experiences, I won’t ever forget any of them.”

Since that game, the Cubs have given Steele several different learning experiences. He thrived as the “bridge guy” in the team’s lockdown bullpen earlier this season and had lots of success with a 2.03 ERA as a reliever.

Following a hamstring injury in June, the team sent him down to return to his more natural role and stretch him out to pitch in the big leagues.

Steele’s performances as a starter definitely resemble a young pitcher with upside. There have been moments of good with a combination of pitches that can consistently get major-league hitters out.

The Cubs’ lefty believes the focus he’s had in each of his different roles has been the thing that he’s most proud of from his first season in Chicago.

“It would be attention to detail on every single throw,” Steele said. “Working on all my pitches. Even when I’m playing catch or in my bullpen work. It’s just attention to detail. Just working on the two-seam, on the four-seam, slider and curveball. Just fine tuning every pitch every day with every throw that I have. I would say that’s been the biggest difference this year.”

But mixed with the good there have been moments to grow from. Steele has a 5.12 ERA in seven starts this season and while he has gone at least five innings in four of those games. Like Adbert Alzolay and Keegan Thompson, growing from the bad moments while holding on to the good is the balance the Cubs are going for with their young arms.

“Everybody’s not your first-round Walker Buehler-type that comes in and dominates, right?, manager David Ross said. “The ups and downs of a major league player, especially a young player, there’s going to be some success, there’s going to be bumps in the road. … Just the fact of like having that back and forth and hoping to continue to see the progression forward is what we’re looking for.

“The nice thing about the group you mentioned is there’s some success in a lot of different areas. So we realize there’s a lot of flexibility there. From a staff total standpoint, going into next year, there’s a lot of positives, and we can pull from different areas to see how it fits into what the roster looks like.”

One of the areas Steele has shown he still needs to improve is his efficiency, his pitches and commanding the strike zone. While getting through five innings is a good starting point, if he can command his fastball better, making it not only to the sixth inning, but through it is the next step.

“Definitely fastball command,” he said. “Commanding all my pitches is what I wanna come into spring training with. You know when Jon Lester is pitching, he’s gonna go out there and fill up the strike zone. I want to be one of those type of guys. Come in and fill it up. Give our team a chance to win ballgames.”

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Justin Steele reflects on first season with the CubsRussell Dorseyon September 20, 2021 at 11:30 pm Read More »