Five people were shot, one fatally, September 11, 2021 in West Pullman. | Sun-Times file

The group was outside walking toward their vehicles about 9:40 p.m in the 300 block of East Kensington Avenue when someone inside another vehicle fired muliple rounds in their direction.

A woman was killed and five others were shot, including a 15-year-old girl, Saturday night in West Pullman.

The group was outside walking toward their vehicles about 9:40 p.m in the 300 block of East Kensington Avenue when someone inside another vehicle fired several times in their direction, Chicago police said.

A 42-year-old woman, shot in the arm and armpit, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said. She was identified as Schenia Smith by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The teen girl was struck in the arm and transported in fair condition to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said.

A 32-year-old man was shot in the face and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said. Another man, 38, was struck in the stomach and was taken to the same hospital in fair condition.

A third man, 22, suffered gunshot wounds to the arm and leg. He was taken to Roseland Hospital in fair condition, according to police.

A fourth man, 31, was grazed in the head and taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.

No one was in custody as of early Sunday. Area Two detectives continue to investigate.

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Manager David Ross said his time away from the Cubs helped him to see a few things about his team. Namely, it was easier for him to notice on TV how much fun it looked like his guys were having, as well as how much they battled at the plate, even in games they trailed.

”They grind, and they know they’re in it,” said Ross, who was away from the team for the last nine days after testing positive for COVID-19. ”We’ve got some talent up there. They put together at-bats through and through.”

Having fun and battling only goes so far when you’re outmatched, however. The Cubs lost 6-5 to the Giants on Sunday. The defeat completed a weekend sweep by the Giants, who have the best record in the majors at 93-50.

Still, Ross said he was pleased with the effort from his offense. The Cubs’ batters had nine hits and stuck close throughout the game.

”Up and down the lineup, guys are competing,” Ross said. ”When you get good pitching, then you’re in those ballgames. You end up winning most of those.”

Starter Justin Steele yielded a career-high 11 hits and five runs in five innings. Steele walked only two batters, but he and Ross agreed that command was an issue all afternoon.

Ross said he thought Steele might have been rushing his delivery a bit, and Steele said he thought he got behind in too many at-bats. Both might have been partially the product of facing the toughest team in baseball.

”They have the best record in baseball for a reason,” Steele said. ”But it still doesn’t take away from the fact that I need to execute pitches more often, make better pitches.”

Steele said he thought he had a good feel for his curveball and slider, but he wasn’t getting strike one with his fastball, which made the difference. There was a silver lining to his outing, however: At 101 pitches, it was by far his longest start in the majors.

”It’s part of the process,” Steele said. ”It’s part of the work as a starter. You’ve gotta be able to go 100 pitches sometimes; you’ve gotta grind through outings. That was one of those today. You’ve just gotta grind through with what you’ve got.”

Ross’ lineup worked to come from behind, especially in the late innings. In the seventh, the Cubs got within a run after having trailed 6-3. Sergio Alcantara led off with a walk and scored on a double by David Bote. Bote then scored on a single by pinch hitter Robinson Chirinos.

After Rafael Ortega struck out, Frank Schwindel and Ian Happ singled to load the bases. But Willson Contreras and Alfonso Rivas struck out to end the rally. Contreras took strike three with the count full and argued with plate umpire Lance Barrett that the pitch was too far inside. When Contreras went back into the dugout, he broke his bat against a wall in frustration.

After Steele left the game, Cubs relievers Codi Heuer and Rowan Wick combined to allow one run in four innings. Since coming over from the White Sox at the trade deadline in the deal that sent closer Craig Kimbrel to the South Side, Heuer has a 1.23 ERA, four holds and one save. Wick, meanwhile, hasn’t given up a run since Sept. 2.

”We came close today, but it was strictly because of how the bullpen came in and shut things down,” Ross said. ”That’s what great pitching does, put up zeros. The guys continue to fight, you end up winning a lot of those. And we have lately.”

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It took Justin Fields all of four plays to make his NFL debut.

On the Bears’ first drive against the Rams on Sunday night, coach Matt Nagy ran out his rookie quarterback for a special package on second-and-10 from the 12-yard line. Fields looked right and completed a nine-yard pass to receiver Marquise Goodwin. Fields ran off the field and was replaced by Andy Dalton, who started the game.

The Bears had a false start, followed by a timeout, followed by an interception in the end zone after Dalton’s third-and-6 pass was tipped.

In the past few weeks, Nagy had been coy when asked whether he’d put in a special package for his rookie quarterback. He acknowledged the risk, and the reward, involved; last year, he used quarterback Mitch Trubisky in a special package, and he hurt his shoulder on the first play.

“Theres’s always risk,” Nagy said, “but it is football, and we want to make sure that whatever we’re doing with whatever players, we understand that comes with the territory.”

Fields and the 49ers’ Trey Lance were the two of the five first-round pick quarterbacks to not be named the starter this preseason. Lance was used in special packages in the 49ers’ game against the Lions, throwing a touchdown and running twice.

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The teen boy was near the sidewalk about 4:50 p.m. in the 1100 block of North Lawndale Avenue when he was struck by gunfire.

By

Sun-Times Wire

Sep 12, 2021, 6:10pm CDT

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Even though he couldn’t be at Wrigley Field managing the Cubs for the past nine days, manager David Ross kept close tabs on his team.

Ross watched every game with a binder of information that he likes to keep close by and would send texts to his coaches about things he was noticing. The chance to watch the games on television instead of from the dugout helped Ross to see the games a little differently.

“It was just a different perspective,” he said. “The main thing for me was seeing how pitches were coming out of guys’ hands, seeing the at-bats, seeing how other teams attacked our hitters. TV gives you such a different dynamic, and I hadn’t seen that in a while. It was good to be able to have that different perspective.”

It was tough not being able to be around his players, Ross said, because it’s much harder to read things like their body language watching from home.

That meant Ross had to spend a lot more time communicating with his coaches to see where different players were mentally as they scuffled. Patrick Wisdom, for instance, has not homered since August 28 and is in the midst of a .091 stretch at the plate. On Sunday, Ross went with Matt Duffy at third base.

Generally, the time away from the team was a reminder for Ross of how much he enjoys what he does.

“I think it’s clear I really like my job,” Ross said. “The ups and downs of it are what fuel you. I missed this passion, I missed these guys. Being part of a team, it feels good.”

Likes it so much that he watched his team and as well as the rest of the league, looking for ideas to improve his club. Most nights, Ross was sending clips of plays from other games to send to his coaching staff to show the players.

“I watched so much dang baseball I was grabbing stuff from other teams and other games that I would send to Andy (Green),” Ross said.

Ross was thankful not to experience any symptoms from COVID-19, other than boredom.

“Just counting down the days,” he said. “I never really felt bad at all. Thank goodness for college football.”

Nico rehabbing

Nico Hoerner (oblique) started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa Sunday. He played five innings at shortstop Sunday and went 0-for-2 with a pair of groundouts.

The I-Cubs have an off day Monday, and Hoerner is expected to stay on his rehab assignment through at least Wednesday. The team will assess how he is feeling physically and whether Hoerner is ready to rejoin the big league club later in the week.

Hoerner has been on the I.L. since July 29.

(Still) home sweet home

Despite the losing season and being swept over the weekend by San Francisco, the Cubs have a winning record (39-36) at Wrigley Field this year.

The Cubs play six more games at home this season, and if they were to drop four of those, 2021 would be the first time they’ve had a losing record at Wrigley since going 31-50 at home in 2013.

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NBAE via Getty Images

The Sky came within three but never led the Mystics after the first quarter. This loss puts the team back at .500 (15-15) on the season.

The Mystics came into Wintrust Arena Sunday still fighting for a playoff spot while the Sky are fighting to hold on to the No. 6 seed.

As coach and general manager James Wade critically pointed out after the team’s 79-71 loss to the Mystics Sunday, they can’t move up in the standings but they can certainly move down.

“Nobody looks at our team and thinks ‘Oh, I want to be like the Sky,'” Wade said.

Coming off an important, playoff-clinching win against the Las Vegas Aces last week, Sunday’s game should have been a tuneup for the Sky. Instead, they went down early to the Mystics after allowing them to go on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter and spent the rest of the game fighting their way back.

Turnovers, poor shooting and defending the three-point line were all points of issue Sunday. The Sky came within three but never led the Mystics after the first quarter. This loss puts the team back at .500 (15-15) on the season.

Wade expressed extreme displeasure with the starting five as energy was once again an issue for the Sky. He combatted that by switching things up with eight minutes left in the third quarter putting Dana Evans, Lexie Brown, Diamond DeShields, Ruthy Hebard and Stefanie Dolson on the court together.

His only regret was not leaving them on the floor. Evans finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting but only played eight minutes.

“We didn’t have many players that showed up tonight,” Wade said. “The bench came in and gave us a boost. They earned the right to finish it off and I should have stayed with them.”

Kahleah Copper was a nonfactor Sunday afternoon with three points. Candace Parker, Allie Quigley and Azura Stevens all finished scoring in double figures. The Sky made their first three of the game in the third quarter and finished the game shooting 13.6% from behind the arc.

Last time these two teams faced each other Tina Charles went off for 34 points and 17 rebounds. She sent the game to overtime and an eventual win grabbing a late rebound for a putback at the end of regulation. Wade said ahead of the game his team had to beat her to spots, crowd her space and take away her rhythm. They didn’t do any of that.

“Taking away some of her patent moves [was an issue],” Stevens said. “Clogging up her space more. We’ve seen other teams do that and they were successful. We could have done a better job at that.”

Charles had 31 points and 10 rebounds Sunday and shot 50% from three.

The race for the the No. 8 seed is tight between the Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty. While the Sky have clinched a playoff spot, if the Wings win their final two games of the season and the Sky lose theirs it would put them in a two-way tie. The tiebreaking procedure would put the team with the better record in head-to-head matchups at the No. 6 seed, which is Dallas.

The Sky close out the regular season at home against the Aces and the Indiana Fever.

“It’s more of an internal thing [right now],” Dolson said. “We all have to have a bit more pride. We know how to play basketball but every team, every player in this league knows how to play basketball.”

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Caroline Polachek performs at the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Sunday’s performers at the West Loop fest include Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus and Cat Power.

The hot weather continued Sunday but the crowd was noticeably more sparse on the final day of the Pitchfork Music Festival 2021 in Union Park.

A lineup including Caroline Polachek, Thundercat, Yves Tumor, Danny Brown, Andy Shauf, Flying Lotus and Cat Power led up to the headlining set by the unpredictable neo-soul singer-songwriter Erykah Badu.

Hot on the heels of Lollapalooza last month, the music festival has strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place, requiring proof of full vaccination or a negative test within 24 hours for each day of the fest in order to gain entry.

In addition to the music, a popup art fair featuring the work of local artists makes for perfect summertime shopping and browsing.

Here are some images from Pitchfork’s final hours on Sunday:

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Caroline Polachek performs at the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Festivalgoers cheer as Caroline Polachek performs at the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Festivalgoers lounge and walk around the field near the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. Read More

A 16-year-old boy was shot Sunday in West Elsdon on the Southwest Side.

He was riding his bicycle about 1:45 p.m. in the 3600 block of West 56th Street when he noticed a white Jeep Wrangler quickly drive by, Chicago police said.

The teen dropped his bike, ran and someone opened fire, striking him in the leg, police said.

He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition, police said.

Area One detectives are investigating.

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Day Two of Pitchfork Music Festival came with unrelenting sunshine and high temperatures, as some festival-goers laid out blankets in the shade and others opted to stand in the sun while watching the day’s first performances at Union Park.

Scorching sets from Bartees Strange and local act Horsegirl made the afternoon feel even hotter, with both groups performing their own high-energy interpretations of indie rock.

Near the intersection of Ashland and W. Washington, two public transportation vessels sat repurposed — a CTA bus parked as a cooling station in anticipation of the day’s heat, and an L train car, converted into a Goose Island Beer Co. stand, where an exclusive festival collaboration beer with Saturday act Faye Webster was being poured.

Just as it had Friday, Pitchforkpushed a mobile notification about an hour before gates opened reminding fans of COVID-19 protocols, including recommendation for masks — which were present on attendees, but far from ubiquitous.

The festival also announced via its app that hip-hop heavyweight Jay Electronica had been dropped from the bill, without explanation. Scheduled to perform in his time slot was producer RP Boo, adding another local Chicago act to this year’s lineup.

But when fans weren’t packed in to see acts like Maxo Kream (who went shirtless in response to the sweltering heat), chilling in the shade or exploring the park, they were waiting in lines. Lines for the water refill station and stands selling alcohol, food and merch could be seen stretching fairly far back. During the dinner rush Friday night, wait times were long for a taste of local vendors like Cevapcici Chicago and Beat Kitchen.

Highly anticipated on Saturday were late-night sets by Jamila Woods and St. Vincent.

Here’s a look at some of Saturday’s sets:

St. Vincent, 8:30 p.m. Green Stage

Although St. Vincent performed with the Willis Tower blinking in the distance behind her, the singer and guitarist brought her own skyline anyway — a shadowy backdrop that stretched the width of the Green Stage for her Saturday night headlining slot at Pitchfork Music Festival.

The experimental indie rock artist provided a memorable performance on stage, featuring a revolving setpiece, costumes, choreography and more. It was all part of the fully-realized, high concept productions the 38-year-old — named Annie Clark — has become known for throughout her nearly 17-year career.

Clark’s commitment to an aesthetic is a notable characteristic of her St. Vincent project, for which she has created a taxonomy of album eras defined by fashion and sound — like her domme-style dress during 2017’s “MASSEDUCATION,” or the futuristic, spaceship-chic look of her 2015 self-titled album.

Her current aesthetic and sound for her latest album, “Daddy’s Home,” both draw heavily from the 1970s, as the music veers into funk and R&B and the fashion embraces feathery coats and hair. On Saturday, she sported a blazer emblazoned with the word “Daddy” on the back as she brought the album’s singles “Pay Your Way In Pain” and “The Melting of the Sun” into the live setting.

The new throwback direction also informed her opening song, a funk-inspired reinterpretation of “Digital Witness,” from her self-titled record.

Joining her on stage, in addition to her band, were three background singers — one of the best features of Clark’s performance. With nearly flawless harmonies and tight choreography, the three singers added significantly to each song on which they were present.

Some of the best moments of the night came when Clark dug into her back catalog to perform fan favorites like “Actor Out Of Work” — from 2009’s “Actor” — and “Cheerleader” — from 2011’s “Strange Mercy.” Those prompted passionate sing-alongs from the thousands of fans in attendance, and exhibited the artist’s undeniably inventive talent as a guitarist.

Also in the mix was a skit which served as Clark’s slight kiss-off to Pitchfork, which gave her latest record a less-than-glowing review. Pretending to talk to her sister on an old telephone, she asked the crowd to cheer. “You would only give them a 6.8?” she said with a slight smile, before asking the crowd to cheer again. “I know, I know, Best New Crowd,” she said, hanging up.

Jamila Woods, Blue Stage, 7:45 p.m.

Jamila Woods performs at Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on Saturday night.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Chicago singer-songwriter and poet Jamila Woods made her triumphant return to Pitchfork on the Blue Stage Saturday, where the crowd was ecstatic to see her.

Showcasing her sharp lyrics and masterfully arranged contemporary jazz, R&B and indie-leaning sound, Woods jammed through a set composed of pieces from her latest, 2019’s “LEGACY LEGACY! LEGACY!” and her 2016 debut “HEAVN.”

Woods was joined by a four-piece band and two background singers, making for fully realized adaptations of her songs that brought a new, organic energy to her already vital recordings. The one-two punch of her emotionally evocative instrumentation coupled with her poignant lyrics taking on themes like discrimination, gentrification and sexism was moving. In between a few songs, those themes were emphasized by audio of icons such as the poet Lucille Clifton.

The centerpiece of Woods’ set was her voice — an unwavering apparatus that she deftly wielded throughout her set to convey the emotional range embedded within her songs. On “GIOVANNI,” Woods’ vocals came through clear and riveting as she uttered lines like “I am not your rib, I am not your Eve.” On “Lonely,” she was sober, singing with urgency, “I don’t wanna wait for my life to be over to let myself feel the way I feel.”

The crowd was electric, singing, grooving and smiling as Woods did the same, often with her mic on the stand and hands free to flow with the music, pulling the crowd in with each word — resulting in a captivating performance.

One of the many highlights of her set was a ruminative, slow-burning cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It smoothly segued into her song “BASQUIAT,” to the cheers of fans who enthusiastically yelled “Don’t get burned!” with her on the verses.

Woods also debuted a new song she called “Headfirst,” which sounded like a beautiful meditation on falling for someone. “Come in the water’s warm, I won’t hurt you,” she sang reassuringly. It was her first time playing the song in front of people, she said.

Her set was one of the best of the weekend so far, with the artist and her band in sync and sounding just about perfect, and the palpable feeling of joy and gratitude reciprocated by Woods and her fans

That was apparent as she finished her last song — a stunning blend of both versions of her 2020 single “Sula” — and introduced her band to cap her allotted set time.

As chants of “one more song” came from the front of the crowd, others on the edges tapered off to catch St. Vincent’s headlining set as it kicked off on the Green Stage. But Woods and her band actually heeded the call, stepping back onto the stage for a stirring performance of her song “MUDDY.” It served as a treat for those who stuck around and a thank you to the city that made her.

Georgia Anne Muldrow, Blue Stage, 6:30 p.m.

Georgia Anne Muldrow performs at the Blue Stage at Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday night.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Los Angeles producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Georgia Anne Muldrow began her Saturday evening set with an affirmation for the growing crowd in front of the Blue Stage.

“I see the best in you. I wish the best for you. I want the best for you!” she yelled into a mic, as a sequin cape sparkled behind her in the dusk of the evening.

As the crowd cheered back, she moved into her set, standing solo on the stage while producing beats, pounding synth keys, singing, rapping and stringing together words that rang like poetry.

The effect was a live, experimental mixtape that spanned her prolific, more than 15-year catalog, interspersed with improvisations. It all made for one of the weekend’s most provocative and captivating performances.

Muldrow’s latest work is an instrumental album titled “VWETO III,” a record “intended for movement,” as she described in a statement upon its release in May. “It’s to be played when you birth yourself back outside after a long introspective period to get the things you need,” she wrote.

That message felt like the ethos of her Saturday evening set, during which Muldrow dropped virtually nonstop freeform beats that kept the crowd moving on their feet.

In addition to her prowess as a producer, her voice was also an incredibly compelling focal point of her set. It unfurled over synth-heavy beats into a mic soaked in an echo effect. It reverberated as she belted through moments of blues and R&B, as she grooved to the edges of the stage. It commanded as she spit bars, reasserting herself as a profoundly talented emcee.

She left the crowd with a final affirmation: “One word — love yourselves more than you do!” she exclaimed, before blowing kisses into the crowd.

Faye Webster, Blue Stage, 5:15 p.m.

Faye Webster performs at the Blue Saga at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park on Saturday.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Backed by a four-piece band featuring what might have been the only pedal steel heard this weekend, Faye Webster gently rocked the sizable crowd gathered at the Blue Stage to see her Saturday.

The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter and guitarist eased into her evening set with mid-tempo selections from this summer’s “I Know I’m Funny haha” — a breezy, alternative-indie folk album infused with elements of rock and country.

Songs like the album’s title track encapsulated Webster’s ability as a lyricist and singer to balance themes of affection coupled with vulnerability, while cheekily cooing lines like, “I think your sisters are so pretty, got drunk and they forgot they met me.” On Saturday she dedicated the song to “all the sh—y men out there.”

As Webster’s tight, laid-back set moved along steadily, rock artist Ty Segall was ripping into his set on the Red Stage at full volume, sometimes drowning out Webster’s slightly subdued vocals.

“Right Side of my Neck,” arguably Webster’s most upbeat track, was a crowd-pleaser, with fans swaying and singing along to every word. The same was true when she and her band covered a song from the Nintendo Switch game, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”

One of the biggest responses from the crowd came during her final song “Kingston,” one of her most well-known singles, off 2019’s “Atlanta Millionaires Club.” As she does in the recording, Webster uttered the lines, “The day that I met you I started dreaming,” acapella, followed by her band kicking in. Live, the drop hit even harder, as fans cheered — moved by the subtle dynamics that make Webster’s sound so catchy.

Check back soon for more from Saturday’s Pitchfork sets.

Festival-goers sit in the grass and listen as Waxahatchee performs on the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

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A man who was wounded in a shooting last week in Gresham has died.

On Sept. 3, Jamal Gibson, 26, was near the sidewalk in the 1300 block of West 76th Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the head, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Gibson was pronounced dead Sept. 7 at the University of Chicago Medical Center, officials said. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide.

No arrests have been reported.

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