Two people were injured, including a Chicago police officer, as residents were forced to jump from an apartment building fire in Englewood on the South Side.

The blaze was reported about 9:45 p.m. in the 6400 block of South Morgan Street, according to Chicago Fire Department officials.

A police officer was taken to the hospital in good condition, police said. A person from the building was taken to the hospital in serious condition.

Firefighters continue to battle the blaze.

This is a developing story, check back for details.

Read More

A Chicago police lieutenant allegedly shoved a flashlight between the buttocks of a handcuffed carjacking suspect and then yelled to the 17-year-old, “That’s what you get for carjacking,” prosecutors said Thursday at a felony bond hearing for the officer.

Lt. Wilfredo Roman, 44, and other officers had just caught up to a 17-year-old boy when the incident, which was recorded on police body-worn cameras, took place on the evening of Feb. 9.

The teen allegedly carjacked a man at gunpoint and later bailed out of the car and ran off after police gave chase. The teen surrendered in an alley in the 2000 block of North Leclaire Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood as he tried to scale a fence that he’d just tossed a gun over, prosecutors said.

The teen was complaining about his handcuffs being too tight and that he’d been “just running” when Roman yelled for him to “shut up” and approached him from behind and “shoved a flashlight in between [his] buttocks,” Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Mary McDonnell said during the hearing.

The teen reacted by “yelling out,” she said. Roman then walked away and turned and yelled in the teen’s direction “That’s what you get for carjacking!” McDonnell said.

Roman is charged with aggravated battery in the public way and official misconduct, both felonies.

Roman’s attorney, James McKay, said he couldn’t believe the action landed his client in court and pointed out there was no penetration and the flashlight was never on bare skin but over the teen’s clothes.

“The movement of Lt. Roman is a split second, on the fleshiest part, outside of clothing, with absolutely no injury whatsoever,” he said. “This is a spank, or a spanking, for the love of God. I’ve had nuns that treated me far worse when I was a kid.”

The teen was not injured and didn’t request medical attention, McKay said.

“Your honor, the flashlight in question is smaller than my pen,” he said.

McKay said the teen was “an armed carjacker” who is 6-feet-2 and weighs 200 pounds.

Judge Arthur Willis took issue with McKay’s repeated reference to the teen’s alleged involvement in a carjacking.

“The fact that the individual may have engaged in a serious felony offense does not mean that he should be treated in any way different than anyone else who may come into contact with police,” he said. “That is not an argument that this court finds very persuasive.”

Juvenile charges against the 17-year-old and another teen accused in the carjacking are pending.

Willis allowed Roman to go free on a $5,000 I-bond, meaning that if he doesn’t show up to his next court date, Roman will be on the hook for the $5,000.

Willis denied prosecutors’ request that Roman surrender his FOID card and all his weapons.

“I will not order him to turn in his weapon at this time. That will be for the Chicago Police Department to decide if they wish to allow this man to continue exercising his police powers,” Willis said.

Roman, who lives on the Northwest Side, became a cop in 2000 and has accumulated more than 219 awards, McKay said. He also has two children and a fiance, all of whom were in court Thursday. Roman graduated from Steinmetz High School and received a criminal justice degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago before earning a master’s degree in business from St. Xavier University, McKay said.

Roman surrendered to members of the department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs Wednesday night at the Central District police station at 1718 S. State St., the Chicago Police Department said in a statement Thursday.

After learning of the incident in July, four months after it occurred, the department “promptly relieved Roman” of his police powers, the statement said.

“He could face additional disciplinary actions pending the outcomes of the criminal and administrative investigations,” the statement said.

McKay said Roman had never been arrested or disciplined by the police department.

Roman earns $138,150 a year, according to a city employee database.

A spokesman for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates police wrongdoing, offered no additional information Thursday other than to say an investigation involving Roman was ongoing.

Over the course of his career, Roman has been named in three civil lawsuits that have cost the city a combined $278,000.

The first suit, filed in federal court in Chicago in 2009, accused Roman and other officers of illegally searching an apartment in the 2600 block of North Kimball Avenue a year earlier. It was settled for $18,000, records show.

Roman and a group of officers were then embroiled in another federal case stemming from an incident in August 2011 in the 900 block of North Parkside Avenue in which they allegedly chased down and shot the plaintiff, Richard Keeler, “without good cause.” Brought in 2012, the lawsuit didn’t specify which officers allegedly fired the shots that struck Keeler twice and left him “severely” wounded.

The suit further accused the officers of giving false information to investigators that led to charges of aggravated assault against Keeler, who was allegedly unarmed when he was shot. A settlement of $200,000 was ultimately reached.

The most recent case, filed in Cook County court in 2015, alleged that Roman and another officer brandished their guns and arrested two brothers without cause during a street stop in November 2013, court records show. When the plaintiff, Edward Matthews, asked why he and his brother were being targeted, Roman allegedly kneed him in the stomach.

Facing felony counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer, records show Matthews was held in Cook County Jail for months and then placed on electronic monitoring before he was found not guilty. The suit was settled for $60,000.

Roman isn’t the only Chicago cop to face charges this week.

On Wednesday, two Chicago police officers were charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct for allegedly beating a 17-year-old boy they said crashed into their unmarked squad car in January and pointed a gun at them during a pursuit on the South Side.

Officers Jeffery Shafer and Victor Guebara were released on their own recognizance after a bail hearing. They were relieved of police powers in January.

Read More

Illinois has been a fertile recruiting ground for Duke, coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant Jon Scheyer over the years.

But Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt is Duke’s first Illinois prospect to commit since Scheyer was named the Blue Devils’ coach-in-waiting.

Scheyer, who is set to take over for the legendary Krzyzewski following the 2021-22 season, has secured a commitment from the state’s best shooter and arguably its best prospect.

Schutt took an official visit to Duke this past weekend and ended a process that included visits and offers from several Big Ten programs. The 6-5 guard took an official visit to Michigan State and an unofficial visit to Illinois in June and was set to visit Florida in September.

But Schutt ended it on Tuesday morning when he committed to Scheyer and the Blue Devils before making a formal and public announcement on Wednesday.

It was the connection Schutt felt with Scheyer, the former Illinois high school basketball prodigy and McDonald’s All-American from Glenbrook North, that stood out. One of Schutt’s earliest memories of watching NCAA Tournament championship games as a kid, he says, was when Duke and Scheyer took down Butler in 2010.

The link between Schutt and Scheyer was only enhanced during his official visit this past weekend when he was able to sit down and talk to his future head coach — and the Duke staff and players — in person.

“The relationship with coach Scheyer and the staff — it just felt comfortable talking about basketball and other things outside of basketball,” said Schutt. “There was a level of comfort I had with them that stood out to me.

“It was a great, all-around feeling I had while I was down there and a really cool atmosphere. All the players love it there and they were recruiting me hard as well. It’s a very successful school, both basketball, obviously, and academically.”

An elite shooter with textbook form, outstanding range and an ability to get his shot off, Schutt has been a prolific scorer at Yorkville Christian since he arrived.

The pure-shooting guard averaged 24 points a game this past season and has already scored 1,400 career points. Schutt, who made 17 three-pointers in one game during his sophomore season, has a whopping 217 career three-pointers in three seasons.

After a standout summer where he helped lead the Illinois Wolves to an Under Armour Association championship on the grassroots basketball circuit, Schutt’s national reputation has risen.

Scheyer has been busy assembling a top-notch recruiting class — only now it’s for himself and his program. He has already landed two five-star prospects in the Class of 2022 in 6-10 forward Kyle Filipowski out of Massachusetts and 6-8 Dariq Whitehead from Montverde Academy in Florida, Now he’s tapped into Illinois to secure a top 100 talent in Schutt.

The Yorkville Christian star is excited to be part of Scheyer’s first recruiting class.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this class, the belief he has in me is real,” said Schutt. “They’ve had some great shooters and know how to utilize those shooters and know what to do with a player with my skill set. They have had a lot of players like me that have gone through Duke that have had a lot of success, both in college and the NBA.”

Schutt joins a long list of top Illinois players who have headed to Duke over the past four decades, including Scheyer. The former Glenbrook North star was an All-American at Duke and led the Blue Devils to a national championship.

Young’s Jahlil Okafor and DJ Steward, Simeon’s Jabari Parker, Fenwick’s Corey Maggette, Glenbrook North’s Chris Collins and Julian’s Sean Dockery are a few of the former Illinois prep stars who went on to play at Duke.

“This has definitely been a different experience, unlike any other,” said Schutt of the recruiting process. “It was a blessing to be recruited by all these great schools and have so many choices and getting to know these coaches. But it’s a great program Coach K has built at Duke, and it’s exciting to be able to continue that with coach Scheyer.”

Read More

A SWAT team responded to Chicago Lawn Thursday after a person suspected of shooting and critically wounding a man barricaded themselves inside a home.

About 4:30 p.m., a 69-year-old man was in the 5900 block of South Richmond Street when a male approached him and opened fire, Chicago police said.

The man was struck in the neck and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

The alleged gunman then barricaded himself inside a home, police said. A SWAT team was called to the scene.

The incident is ongoing.

Read More

Mark Potash, Jason Lieser and Patrick Finley break down Ryan Pace’s press conference, Akiem Hicks’ lack of press conferences and wonder when Danny Trevathan and Justin Fields will play again.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Read More

For Jason Peters, last week’s preseason finale against the Titans was a positive start. But the nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle still has to prove he is ready to face opponents at regular-season game speed — and that he can hold him for an entire game after not having played since last Dec. 6.

Peters again was doing extra individual work before practice Thursday to speed up the acclimation process. But Bears general manager Ryan Pace said, “I think we were fortunate there” to sign Peters after rookie Teven Jenkins had back surgery.

“It’s exciting,” Pace said. “He’s working back into football shape — he knows that, so we’re being smart with that. But if you just watch his foot quickness and how he moves — his technique; his experience; He’s just as savvy vet that’s still moving very well. That’s a credit to the athlete that he is and keeping himself in good shape.”

Rookie Larry Borom, a fifth-round draft pick whom the Bears had “graded close” to Jenkins, according to Pace, is a legitimate option to Peters.

“Larry has lost a lot of weight since he played at Missouri,” Pace said, “so what you are seeing is a guy with a former basketball background, really athletic feet, playing almost 40 points lighter than he played in college and [is] moving a lot better. He’s looking like he can play on either side, so that’s going to pay off moving forward.”

Goldman absent

Nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who played 10 snaps against the Titans last week, was not on the practice field Thursday for undisclosed reasons. But coach Matt Nagy said prior to practice he was encouraged by Goldman’s performance.

“He’s been really good,” Nagy said. “He made some great plays, took on some double teams. The other day we were just talking about [how] it felt good for him to get out there.”

Adams returns

Wide receiver Rodney Adams, who made the initial 53-man roster before being cut Wednesday, cleared waivers and was signed to the practice squad Thursday. Adams led the Bears in the preseason with 10 receptions for 161 yards, with one touchdown.

Justin Fields note of the day

Nagy said rookie Justin Fields initially wasn’t thrilled with scout-team work but already is taking to it, Nagy said.

“It was just like, ‘This is what you gotta do — work on your feet, step up and step out and now he’s like awesome,” Nagy said. “So he gets it. He understands the way.”

Nagy said Fields also will get some reps with the game plan for the upcoming opponent — as they started doing with young players last season. And he’ll continue to work with quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo on fundamentals.

“Every week, every play and minute that goes by, he just keeps growing,” Nagy said. “Flip has a great plan ready for him.”

Read More

Two new appointees to the Chicago Park District board were put on notice Thursday: aldermen want them to clean up the ugly “culture” that allegedly set the stage for sexual assault, sexual harassment, physical, verbal, drug and alcohol abuse among the district’s lifeguards.

Myetie Hamilton and Modesto Valle were on the hot seat at a confirmation hearing before the City Council’s Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation. Such hearings normally are love fests.

Finance Committee Chairman Scott Waguespack pointed to the firing of Chicago Park District deputy inspector general Nathan Kipp, which Kipp has called a “concerted effort” to prevent him from “continuing to investigate criminal activity and employee misconduct that seemingly pervade” the Beaches & Pools Unit.

“That is direct retaliation, which is prohibited. And to see the board and the Park District supervisors not jump in and see that this is a problem when we have decades of this problem going on — it cannot be resolved overnight. It cannot be resolved by simply making a few changes. And it really puts any third-party report into the position of being suspect or undermining what the actual code says,” Waguespack said.

Waguespack noted the City Council is powerless to “remove anybody.” That puts the onus on the board.

“This affects men and women throughout the Park District. It’s been going on for decades. And the touches around the edge of trying to fix this issue are not gonna be done overnight. They’re not gonna be done by a third-party. It has to be done internally. And people need to be held accountable,” Waguespack said.

“I just hope you will take on this task for those of us who cannot take it on. For those victims who cannot take it on. Chicago needs to change that culture in the Park District. … Especially for those of us who have children [who] use the pools and for the employees that work there.”

When Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) opened the questioning about the lifeguard scandal, Committee chairman Nick Sposato (38th) said he didn’t “know how fair of a question” it was.

“If either one of you wants to answer that question or just take a pass, I’m fine with it. It’s something that didn’t happen under your watch. It’s an unfortunate thing that went on. The wheels are rolling to take care of the evil people that did whatever,” Sposato said.

Hamilton said she looks at the scandal as a woman and as the mother of teenage girls.

“I believe that the parks are a public trust and that we should lead through this with transparency. We should lead through this with integrity. And also with urgency around resolving it,” she said.

A former deputy network chief at Chicago Public Schools, Hamilton said it’s her understanding an investigation has been conducted by an “external party” and a report “will be made available.”

She was apparently referring to Park District Inspector General Elaine Little, who fired Kipp and whose investigation Kipp has branded highly suspect — in part, because she has made no effort to interview Park District Superintendent Mike Kelly.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this month that in February 2020, an Oak Street Beach lifeguard sent 11 pages of explosive allegations to Kelly about lifeguards’ conduct during the summer of 2019. She said she’d been pushed into a wall, called sexually degrading and profane names by fellow lifeguards, and abandoned for hours at her post for refusing to take part in their drinking parties and on-the-job drug use.

Kelly has been under fire for giving his top managers first crack at investigating those complaints instead of referring those allegations immediately to the inspector general.

That’s what he promised the young woman he would do in an email applauding the lifeguard for her “courage” in coming forward.

Though required by park district rules, Kelly — who worked for several years in the 2000s as a park district attorney — did not contact the inspector general until a second lifeguard’s more graphic complaint of more serious allegations was forwarded to him by Lightfoot’s office.

He has acknowledged second thoughts about how he handled the first woman’s complaint.

“I would be happy to join this board and to lean into this work to bring this to a resolution with the proper mitigations that are necessary so that this will never happen again,” Hamilton said.

Valle, who runs the Center on Halsted, said the park board has “an obligation” to create “safe environments — not only for the community, but also our employees,” he said.

“There is no room for sexual harassment. I take that very seriously. I take that very seriously in my workplace,” he said.

Read More

The Blackhawks’ front office quietly experienced another shakeup this summer.

Jay Blunk, formerly the executive vice president, and Pete Hassen, formerly the vice president of marketing, headline a lengthy list of departures.

Blunk, who jumped from the Cubs to Hawks in 2008, had operated closely with former president John McDonough until McDonough’s sudden firing last year. Hassen had worked with the Hawks since 2005.

Blunk and Hassen join Norm Maciver, who left for the Seattle Kraken in January, atop the list of executives who exited the Hawks in 2021.

Two former employees connected to the 2010 Bradley Aldrich sexual assault scandal — mental skills coach James Gary and vice president of human relations Marie Sutera — are no longer listed in the Hawks’ front office directory, either.

Gary was the first person the Hawks player Aldrich allegedly assaulted went to in May 2010 for advice, but Gary convinced the player the assault was his own fault, according to a lawsuit. Three years later, Sutera told police investigating Aldrich’s assault of a Michigan high school student that they’d need a search warrant or subpoena to gain information about Aldrich’s departure from the Hawks, according to police documents.

But the Hawks have also hired dozens of new employees this summer. New manager of hockey strategy Dominik Zrim, who previously founded the popular NHL contract-tracking website Capfriendly, and new TV studio analyst Colby Cohen are among the most public-facing of those.

The Hawks’ hiring spree — which has taken on a forward-looking focus during business president Jaime Faulkner’s first year — will continue in the coming months. Searches for new vice presidents of revenue and of marketing and content are underway.

“Our new leadership has implemented operational and leadership changes within the front office that reflect the Blackhawks’ vision for the future and the required skillsets to best implement those plans,” the team said in a statement.

Read More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Former NFL player Keith McCants was found dead Thursday at his home in Florida after a suspected drug overdose, investigators said. He was 53.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said in an email that deputies were called to a St. Petersburg home about 5:10 a.m. Thursday. McCants was dead inside the house, where others also apparently lived who made the 911 call.

“It appears it was a drug overdose, but we are awaiting confirmation from the medical examiner’s office,” sheriff’s spokesperson Amanda Sinni said. “This is still an open investigation.”

McCants, a linebacker, was the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Mobile, Alabama, native earned All-America honors as a college player at the University of Alabama.

McCants played for three seasons in Tampa, followed by stints with the then-Houston Oilers and Arizona Cardinals before his football career ended in 1995. McCants was arrested several times for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia over the years.

His longtime friend, St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon, said he and others who knew McCants decided in 2010 to try to turn his life around.

“This morning, we lost that battle,” Blackmon said in a Facebook post, adding that McCants had renewed optimism after hip replacement surgery in May.

“We began to talk about his future again. The next 20 years. Buying a boat. His signature grin was back. But for every battle I could help him fight, there were others he had to face alone,” Blackmon said.

McCants also had financial troubles, detailed in 2012 in an ESPN documentary titled “Broke,” about former professional players who went through bankruptcy and other money difficulties.

In his NFL career, McCants played in 88 games and recorded 192 tackles, 13.5 quarterback sacks and a single interception he returned for a 46-yard touchdown with the Cardinals.

After retiring from football, McCants became the first Black marine police officer in Alabama at the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Read More

For no reason, Bears coach Matt Nagy out of the blue made a point recently to tell Akiem Hicks how much he appreciated “the way he has handled this training camp.”

It had nothing to do with Hicks’ desire for a contract extension that compelled Nagy to massage his star defensive end. Nothing to do with any possible unhappiness or frustration he might be feeling. Maybe the mood just struck him.

“I mean, he has practiced hard. He’s being a great leader in meetings. He’s really been awesome,” Nagy said. “And for that I told him, ‘You know, sometimes we as coaches can always talk about the bad — whether it’s what you did wrong in a play or what we need to do here or there. And a lot of times we don’t give enough praise when we just take it for granted.’

“I told him, ‘Listen man, I love your leadership. I love the way you’re handling this summer and where you’re at and it’s really neat to see right now where you’re at.”

It’s good that Nagy knows where Hicks is at, because Hicks has been a mystery to the rest of us. The standout defensive end has been one of the Bears’ most publicly engaging players — not only available to reporters on a regular basis, but a willing participant who enjoys a good conversation about football and tells it like it is more often than most. For us, he was a go-to guy.

But not anymore. Hicks has taken a sudden, inexplicable heel-turn this season — refusing to fulfill any and all media responsibilities in defiance of the NFL’s media policies, and without explanation. It’s one thing when getting Khalil Mack to the media room is like pulling teeth — he’s disdained the process from the time he got here. But Hicks has done a 180 — from a good guy to a bad guy.

We know you don’t care about that. But Hicks has had a couple of curious episodes on the field as well during training camp. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said early in camp that Hicks, who is on the final year of a four-year $48 million contract, is looking for a contract extension.

On July 29, Hicks missed practice moments after coach Matt Nagy did not list him as injured. It later was called a foot injury. On Aug. 17, Hicks mysteriously left practice during warmups and did not return — with no explanation from Nagy. On Aug. 23, he arrived to practice 40 minutes late, again with no explanation.

So what’s wrong? Not a thing, Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace said. If Hicks is unhappy about his contract situation, they’re not seeing it.

“For me, Akiem has been in an unbelievable place,” Pace said. “How he’s been as a teammate; how he’s been in our building; the shape he’s in right now; the effort he’s playing with has been awesome. I think he’s gonna have a really big year, and we’re excited about that.”

So why did he leave practice last month?

“No update,” Nagy said at the time.

“That feels like six months ago to me,” Pace said Wednesday. “So I don’t even remember.”

Maybe there really is nothing to see here, but the Hicks situation bears watching as he goes into the final year of his contract at 31. Hicks still is the heart-and-soul of the Bears defense — ahead of Mack, linebacker Roquan Smith, nose tackle Eddie Goldman and safety Eddie Jackson. There’s a reason why Pace kept Hicks and cut cornerback Kyle Fuller to get out of a salary cap bind.

But if Pace wouldn’t splurge on 28-year-old Allen Robinson, the only extension Hicks is likely to get at this point will be at the Bears’ price — especially with with outside linebacker Robert Quinn and linebacker Danny Trevathan slowing down at 30 last season.

So Hicks likely is in the same position he’s been in for most of his NFL career — another prove-it year. Because no matter how much they love your leadership and how hard you work and how awesome you are in meetings, business is still business.

Read More