The first kings come for shore anglers in Chicago, hook-and-line sturgeon season opens Saturday in Wisconsin and the outlook is more stable for the holiday weekend in this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

LAKEFRONT KINGS

The fall return of Chinook is on around southern Lake Michigan, even in Chicago.

Jason “Special One” Le texted the photo at the top and this on Saturday:

First king in Chicago

My boi Dong [Ho] today at Montrose

Le also posted this video on his YouTube channel

On Monday, he followed up with this from Montrose:

Fresh kings are in

On Monday, Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:

yay we got a start4 that I know of this morning

Late Tuesday morning, she added:

I’m at the shop and the update is there was a couple more caught this morning for sure

Dan Leslie at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan said kings are in and they are overnight bite right now on a plethora of spoons, especially glow; seeing a couple steelhead, too. “What I would tell them to do is use a spoon, then have aa night crawler or a minnow about 3 feet down under a bobber for steelhead,” Leslie said.

Things are more waiting or anticipating on the South Side, as Steve Palmisano at Henry’s Sports and Bait said people are getting their rods and nets ready for the salmon.

STURGEON IN WISCONSIN

Hook-and-line sturgeon season in Wisconsin opens Saturday, Sept. 4, and runs through Sept. 30. Click here for the details.

Season opens Saturday, Sept. 4, and runs through Sept. 30. If harvesting a sturgeon, a valid fishing license and a sturgeon harvest tag are required. Watch for tags on the dorsal fin of lake sturgeon. If a tag is located, anglers should submit the date of catch, location and tag number, color and material composition (i.e. metal or plastic).

Click here for the harvest areas.

ILLINOIS FROG SEASON

Illinois’ bullfrog (only) season runs through Oct. 15. A fishing license is required. “Bullfrogs may be taken by hook and line, gig, pitchfork, spear, bow and arrow, hand, or landing net.” Daily bag limits eight, possession limit 16.

LAKEFRONT PARKING

Chicago Park District’s parking passes for the fisherman’s parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors are on sale at Henry’s Sports and Bait in Bridgeport and Park Bait at Montrose Harbor.

Readers suggest SpotHero app downtown. Otherwise, here are some basics: Foster (free street parking or pay lot); Montrose (now a mix of metered and free street parking); Belmont (pay lots on north and south sides); Diversey (pay lot or street parking); DuSable Harbor (pay lot or fisherman’s lot); Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor (meters, pay lot or fisherman’s lot); 31st/Burnham (meter parking between McCormick Place and 31st Street Harbor); Oakwood/39th (meters); 63rd Street/Casino Pier (pay lot); Steelworkers Park (free street parking at east end of 87th); Cal Park (free parking).

AREA LAKES

Ken “Husker” O’Malley and a local largemouth bass.Provided

Ken “Husker” O’Malley emailed the photos above and below, and this:

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.

Area lakes-fishing has been very good despite the hot temps. Early morning hours and last hour of light are the best times.

Bass are excellent working a BPS wacky stik-o along the outside weedlines. June bug has seen the best color. Evening work a Storm chug bug over the top of weeds for some exciting top water action.

Bluegill have moved away from the shorelines. They can be found along the outside weedlines adjacent to deeper water. A variety of plastics under a slip float will entice the active biters.

Here is the nature pics of the week. Another day coming to an end.

TTYL

—

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

Ken “Husker” O’Malley’s weekly nature photo.Provided

BRAIDWOOD LAKE

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.

CHAIN O’LAKES AREA

Art Frisell at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said catfish are really good on crawlers, stinkbait and large roaches, all over; bluegill are excellent on chartreuse ice-fishing jigs with spikes or waxies; walleye are around bridges and main lake points, try a split shot and a hook, floating jighead or slip-bobber rig with crawlers or leeches; crappie fair early morning; muskie are slow.

NOTE: Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.

NOTE 2: The Stratton Lock and Dam is open 8 a.m. to midnight through Sept. 30.

DELAVAN LAKE, WISCONSIN

Dave Duwe emailed:

Delavan Lake 8/30/21 through 9/6/21

Largemouth bass are still on the rocky points. When you find a school, it’s possible to catch 15-20 fish. They can either be caught drop shotting small 4 inch worms or fishing nightcrawlers on a split shot rig. Look for the fish in 15-20 ft of water. The best location is by Del Mar or by the Yacht Club.

Northern Pike fishing has been very slow. I’ve been dragging suckers around all week and didn’t catch one fish. I still believe that the bluegills are so thick on the weedlines that the pike simply aren’t hungry for anything else. I’ve tried both lindy rigs and slip bobbers without success.

Bluegills for most of the week have been just outside the weed edge in 15-20 ft. However, on Sunday 8/29/10 they were very difficult to catch. I don’t know if it was the time of day or if the fish have moved. I was fishing anywhere between 14 and 27 ft without much success. Leaf worms or red worms have been producing and the best approach has been fishing straight beneath the boat or using slip bobbers. Try for them 1 ft above the weeds.

Crappies continue to be very active. They are on the weedline in 14-16 ft of water. They can be caught on small plastics. Chartreuse or purple have been producing most of the action. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or Willow Point. For live bait fishermen, if you find a nice school, a small fathead minnow fished on a Thill bobber will produce a lot of action as well.

Walleye fishing has been kind of slow. I’ve been catching them here or there but not in any great numbers with any consistency. Most of the time, I’ve been fishing in 15-17 ft of water. I think that the walleyes are a little deeper in 22-24 ft of water on the outside of the weedline. The best approach to catch them is chrome and blue jigging Rapalas.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the weedline. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

DOWNSTATE

HENNEPIN-HOPPER: IFinal day of the season is Monday, Sept. 6. Check regulations at http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/dixon-paddling-fishing.

POWERTON: Hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sept. 30.

EMIQUON: Access permits and liability waivers are again required. They are available Tuesday to Saturday at Dickson Mounts Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.

FOX RIVER

Continues low and clear.

Dicky’s Bait Shop in Montgomery reported relatively slow overall, but the Monsters on the Fox Tournament Series had quite the overnight tournament over weekend with top two spots catching 78-10 and 77-9 for a five-fish limit. Biggest flathead went 36 1/2 pounds. Dicky’s has some suckers and muskie suckers now.

Pete Lamar emailed:

Hi Dale,

With the weather we had last week-unpleasant for me; dangerous for the fish-I spent much of the time catching up on tying flies. Best to be prepared for what’s coming: six more weeks of trout season in Wisconsin; salmon, steelhead and Lake Michigan browns running soon; bass, bluegills and eventually crappies on local waters until ice-up.

I did get out for a couple of hours yesterday when the heat and humidity finally broke. A lot of active smallmouths on the Fox tribs, but most were small. Some big bass were spotted, but unfortunately they spotted me first in the low clear water. One big smallmouth chased a frog up onto the bank only a couple of feet from where I was standing. That gives me a good idea what fly pattern to use on my next outing. the Fox itself continues to be as low and clear as I’ve ever seen it.

Pete

I am going to ask to see the frog fly.

GENEVA LAKE, WISCONSIN

Dave Duwe emailed:

Lake Geneva 8/30/21 through 9/6/21

Northern pike fishing has been all right but nothing like it normally is this time of year. The pike are in 30-38 ft of water. They are being caught on lindy rigged medium suckers. Look for the fish by Fontana Beach, the north shore in the Narrows or by Linn Pier. You really have to fish for them this year, a good day on the water would be 10 fish in 6 hours, last year I was averaging 10 fish in 4 hours. Keep moving to find the active fish.

With the cooler water, the perch are starting to move into the shallows. The best location is by Knollwood or by Belvidere Park in Fontana. They are in 10-12 ft of water and can be caught on leaf worms or small fat head minnows fished on a slip bobber. The average size is kind of small so you need to sort through a lot of fish to get a limit.

Some smallmouth bass are being caught between 27 and 33 ft of water. They are not as abundant as recent years so patience is a virtue. I’ve caught some lindy rigging nightcrawlers or lindy rigging yellow perch that I’ve caught in the lake. Remember, the smaller the weight, the better. The wind will dictate my weight size. As a rule, I will use a 1/4 oz walking sinker, if there is no wind, you can get by with 1/8 oz. Look for the fish by Fontana Beach or by Elgin Club by the big slide.

Some lake trout are being caught in the main lake basin. They are being caught at first light in 115 ft of water, 70-90 ft down. Nickle/Blue or Nickle/green spoons are always the best bait.

Largemouth bass are being caught on the weedline. The best approach is Carolina rigging green pumpkin lizards or drop shotting Gulp finesse worms, also in green pumpkin. Good locations are Trinkes or by Belvidere Park. I like working a depth of 20-25 ft of water. Some of the fish caught last week were the 3-4 lb fish that we like to see.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. Have a great Labor Day. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN

Guide Mike Norris emailed:

Fishing Report – 8/29/2021

Mike Norris

Big Green Lake – Both largemouth and smallmouth bass remain active, and I am finding them just outside the weeds in Dartmouth Bay, Quimby Bay, and Sugar Loaf. Move slowly along the deep weed line while paying close attention to your fishing electronics. Anchor or go to spot lock on your trolling motor when bluegills light up the screen. The bass will not be too far behind. Speaking of bluegills, fishing for them remains excellent. Try drop shot rigs to catch the bass and bluegills. Red worms threaded on a small jig which is suspended beneath a float is also common method I and others use for catching hand-sized gills which can be found in 20 – 30 feet of water. Lake trout fishing is fair right now. Anglers are trolling spoons for them in deep water. Look for lake trout to move shallower in September and becoming easier to target.

To book a guide trip reach out to me via my Facebook page at mike.norris.7773 or email me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

GREEN/STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR weekly report.

HEIDECKE LAKE

Busy or not, Heidecke Lake continues to produce, such as this smallmouth bass over the weekend.Provided by Bob Johnson

Bob Johnson emailed the photo above and this;

Hi Dale -Heidecke Lake was a full house Sunday morning with the usual local crowd and a tournament involving Minooka High School.Smallmouth were active despite added pressure and summer heat. I had success staying with jigs and crawfish trailer. Top water bite was inactive.

Open 6 a.m. (6:30 bank fishing) to sunset.

ILLINOIS RIVER

Bill “Garman” Meyer with his PB northern pike from an Illinois River backwater.Provided

Bill “Garman” Meyer emailed the photo above and this:

Dale,

No, not gar yet, but another toothy predator. The northerns were fierce today on jumbo plastics in a weedy Illinois River backwater. Landed two 30″s, a 33″, and my PB 38″ pike. Had at least 8 bite-offs (including a 40″+) even though I was using 20# braid. Going after ’em tomorrow with a steel leader. Ran into some nice bowfin and bass last time out there too.

ReGARds,

garman

I love when “Garman” sends reports, even when it is for more than gar.

KANKAKEE RIVER

George Peters with a good smallmouth bass from the Kankakee River.Provided

George Peters emailed the photo above and this:

Hi Dale, fished the kkk way up above Momence this week. Bass are up here too like this 18″. Water still high from storms but this week should be better. G. Peters

LAKE ERIE

Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.

LAKEFRONT

Shoreline salmon report is at the top.

Capt. Bob Poteshman of Confusion Charters said that out of Chicago it’s lots of lakers with the occasional steelhead and coho, mornings are best, afternoons tougher, in 110-180 feet. Out of North Point, there’s quite a few steelhead and lake trout with the occasional coho and king from 120 on out.

Capt. Scott Wolfe of School of Fish Charters emailed:

Fishing was great this week for lake trout, steelhead and coho and good for chinook. Anywhere from 55 feet of water out there are fish. The thermocline was 50-55 feet. Lots of mature coho getting ready to spawn, lots of steelhead and lake trout are there with them. The best area for coho and an occasional king turning dark was 70 to 90 feet. The best area for lake trout with good numbers of steelhead and smaller 3 and 2 year old kings was 120-150. The mature kings are really turning and will be in the harbor any day. For rigging, 4 to 10 color lead cores and 2 colors of lead off downriggers 30 to 40 down are best for the coho, steelhead and small kings. Spoons with patters like Warrior Green Menace, Frostbite, Voodoo and UV Hey Babe. The spoons colors seem to change daily, even hourly, so experiment. For the Lake trout, Jimmy Fly Mo Rigs in white and Little Boy Blue behind big 12″ flashers were best run a few feet off the bottom. 300 coppers with magnum Warrior Voodoo, Frostbite and Green Menace took some too.

In the harbor no luck for kings yet, but they are poking in and exploring there. I personally haven’t seen any but guys on my dock saw some rolling this week. A couple of guys bass fishing reported doing really well this week. The bass and northerns seem to really feed heavily just before the kings move in and then hunker down and became hard to catch for about a month when the kings arrive.

Attached is me with a 15# steelhead caught Saturday on my boat on a Warrior Riverside Striper spoon. The biggest steelhead I’ve taken in about 3 years and one of the longest I’ve ever caught. There are some real bruisers there right now.

Capt. Scott Wolfe

School of Fish Charters/Manipulator
schooloffishcharters.com
630-341-0550

Capt. Scott Wolfe with a 15-pound steelhead caught Saturday on a Warrior Riverside Striper spoon.Provided

LaSALLE LAKE

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.

MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN

Click here for the update from D&S Bait.

MAZONIA

I was testing out a kayak with our youngest son last week and, even in the heat of the day, I made about 30 casts while he was paddling far out and caught about eight fish, a mix of big bluegill and small largemouth bass.

Bill Lanham emailed, first I’ve heard from him in a while:

Hello sir,

Mother Nature has certainly been defining the Dog Days of August for us and it takes a few adjustment to fill our creels during this scorching heat. Any mid-day fishing should be done indoors, under the cool breezes, which only air conditioning can provide, not on any reclaimed strip pit; it’s just too darn hot for man and fish both. Early morning and late into the evening are the periods to escape the swelter and hunt out those bluegills, redears and crappies in more reasonable temperatures. Each of these species are actively feeding during the lowered light levels, chasing plankton as they rise from bottom and fill the upper water levels of the lakes. Once the plankton settles back to bottom, the fish can be found suspended in their comfort zone, which looks to be between 20 and 24 foot down in most areas of the lakes and particularly up against the falling breaklines of offshore structure. Now is the time to use live bait to put the odds in the favor of the angler looking to fill his basket for dinner. Go early or go late to find those willing biters.

Bill Lanham

Both units are open for fishing.

MENOMINEE RIVER, WISCONSIN

Smallmouth bass on the Menominee River.Mike Mladenik

Guide Mike Mladenik of bigsmallmouthbass.com emailed:

The topwater bite continued on the Menominee River in August. We had only 4 days this summer that we did not catch smallmouth on topwater! This great topwater bite should continue through mid-September. Lots of quality smallmouth were also caught on Case Magic Stiks rigged with Spearpoint hooks.

The fall bite should be awesome on the river. I still have some prime late September and October dates open so if interested let me know ASAP.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:

The Lakeland area is still in the throes of a warm spell! (Pretty dramatic, eh?)

Actually, the further north you go you’ll see signs of the coming season, but around here, lake surface temps are still in the mid 70’s and only a very few trees have shown any color.

Some submergent plants are dying off, putting certain weed beds into no-swim zones it seems. Best bets are coontail (doesn’t die) offshore humps of sandgrass or rock/gravel or drowned wood. Many of these areas showing fish, yet tough to get bites at times.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Fair – Fish aforementioned gravel humps or coontail edges using drop-shot 3″ minnow imitations, 3″ Wacky Worms or live crawlers. On lakes, depth ranging 14-24′, on flowages 6-14′.

Largemouth Bass: Good-Fair – Have to move away from dying weeds to entice fish to bite along edges. Wacky worming and drop-shotting effective along 12-16′ edges. A few reports of top-water action on evenings.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Deep sandgrass using 1/2 crawlers on Lindy or drop-shot rigs. Flowage Perch in the wood of 12-14′.

Northern Pike: Fair – With weed beds in flux, Pike very scattered. Some along deep coontail, others in green narrow leaf cabbage taking jig/chub combos. When water temps drop below 70’s, look for Pike to get more active and chase spinner baits, Mepps and chatter baits with a little more resolve!

Walleye: Fair – Catches vary day to day, sometimes with small windows of opportunity while biting on large fatheads, medium redtails or crawlers. If you can find a cabbage bed without dying weeds, fish it! Otherwise work deep humps, wood.

Crappies: Fair – Also very spotty! Some deep wood fish, but many reports of sitting over tight-lipped fish. Some big slabs to 14+” this past week, but not a lot of catching.

Bluegills: Fair – The one bright spot was the flying ant hatch that happens every year about the 3rd-4th week of August. If you happen to be on the water and it’s relatively calm, you can have a blast with small dry flys or poppers. Other than that, Gills have been somewhat slower than usual.

Musky: Poor – Not getting many reports of anglers moving fish. Many smaller lakes have algae blooms making sighting tough on follows. Best on surface lures or bucktails with large fluted blades.

The slightly warmer than usual late August temps, algae blooms and dying weeds have made for below typical late August fishing (which is typically tough anyway). Friday’s forecasted dip in temp for a high may trigger some interest, but it looks as if temps will remain in the mid 70’s for the rest of the weekend.

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
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NORTHWEST INDIANA

Lake Michigan success on Triplecatch Charters.Provided by Capt. Rich Sleziak

Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:

Kings outside burns ditch in 40ft of water caught aboard Triplecatch.

Some action out of burns ditch mainly a morning bite mag spoons and plugs doing best.

Perch action was really good but slowed down some last couple days 20 to 35ft of water from dune state park and east all the way to Michigan city

Slezs bait shop will be open 5am to 7pm all weekend and on Labor Day

Christina Petrites at Stan’s Bait & Tackle Center in Hammond emailed:

Hi, Dale! Finally…some cooler weather to encourage anglers to make use of those last relaxing, pleasant fishing days of summer. Here’s what’s been going on the past week:

Fishing continues to stay steady for trollers fishing out of Hot Spot areas like New Buffalo, Portage, & Hammond Marinas, & St. Joseph, with a good number of Trout & Coho fishing in waters 130-180 FOW.

Perch fishing really picked up last week, with good numbers of perch being caught from The eastern portion of the slips on Lake Shore Drive (the Indiana section) to Michigan city and further East to St. Joseph; the best action is 30-50 FOW. Beemoths, crickets, & red worms have been going like crazy.

The river anglers are still catching Walleye and Catfish. Nightcrawlers are working well for both; leeches & doughbait/stinkbait hitting nicely respectively. Wolf Lake has been having moderate success with Northern Pike and Walleye; other inland lake catches remain just OK.

ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.

SHABBONA LAKE

Staff at Boondocks reported fishing was slow with the heat, should pick up with cooler weather, but catfish were busy on chicken livers, primarily, with a few panfish around the weeds.

Concessions are going. Site hours through Oct. 31 are 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT

Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said there’s perch in 42-50 feet off “The Chalets;” for silver fish, it is better south of St. Joseph in 110-150, down 70-90; nothing off the piers.

Paddle and Pole hosts the Berrien Springs Fish Ladder Camera.

WISCONSIN DELLS

Hook-and-line sturgeon season opens Saturday, Sept. 4. Details are at the top. Check with River’s Edge.

WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN

Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted:

Not good this week. Had 5 to 8″ of rain throughout the area, the river is still rising and should crest Thursday. This will bring fish into the river, but it’s very slow now

Read More

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high near 82 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 64. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 78.

Top story

Former suburban CEO becomes first Illinoisan to plead guilty in U.S. Capitol breach

The former CEO of a Schaumburg tech firm tossed a chair toward U.S. Capitol police officers who were “dozens of feet away” and had to be dragged behind a police line to be arrested during the Jan. 6 breach that interrupted the Electoral College vote count.

Those details surfaced as Bradley Rukstales, 53, of Inverness, today became the first known defendant from Illinois to plead guilty to his role in the breach. He entered his plea during a video conference before a federal judge in Washington, D.C.

Rukstales told the judge he did not mean to hit anyone with the chair that he tossed.

Rukstales then pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing inside a Capitol building, for which he faces up to six months behind bars. U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols set Rukstales’ sentencing hearing for Nov. 12. Rukstales has also agreed to pay $500 in restitution to help make up for the estimated $1.5 million in damage done to the Capitol building, according to his plea agreement.

Federal prosecutors have charged 12 additional Illinoisans in connection with the riot, which has led to what they say will likely be the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history. Rukstales was the first Illinoisan to be charged, and he apologized in a statement in January.

Jon Seidel has more on the charges facing Rukstales and other Illinoisans at the insurrection here.

More news you need

According to an internal audit disclosed today, Chicago continues to deposit millions of tax dollars in banks that engage in predatory lending practices. That’s because the Department of Finance is not using the tools at its disposal to stop those practices, the audit found.

Surveillance video captured last weekend in River North shows two men getting beaten and robbed in the middle of the street as onlookers danced and cars drove by. Police responded about six minutes after the altercation began early Saturday, but by then both men were lying on the pavement and had been robbed.

After a series of egg attacks, a Facebook group called Chicago Egg Hunters worked to find who was responsible. The group’s founder now says they’ve cracked the case, something he hopes shows how a community can fight back.
CPD yesterday backed off its decision to keep two officers in 24 high schools that had voted to remove at least one of them. The department’s initial decision to keep the cops in the schools angered students, teachers and school board members and appeared against the wishes of CPS officials.

DuPage Med-ical Group yesterday announced it will mail letters to- 600,000 patients notifying them their personal information may have been compromised last month when its computer network was hacked. DMG is the largest independent physician group in Illinois.

Advocates of removing the state’s lead service lines said yesterday a newly signed law moves the state closer to addressing the issue and ensuring all Illinoisans have clean water to drink. It’s estimated that Illinois has about an eighth of all known lead service lines in the country, State Rep. Robinson said.

Kanye West fans were wowed last week when the artist’s “Donda” listening experience centered on a replica of his boyhood home. But the fake home was only built after the city denied him permission to go through with his initial plan — move the real thing from South Shore to the center of Soldier Field.

A bright one

Pilsen reform school receives grant for youth development, restorative justice programs

Carina Gutierrez always considered herself a “troubled youth.”

At 17, she was incarcerated. On her 18th birthday, she was ordered to enroll in school or face re-incarceration. But it was the middle of the semester, and most schools refused to admit her.

Then her mother told her of a school not far from their Little Village home: Pilsen’s Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy, an alternative school focused on restorative and social justice.

“Without hesitation, they took me in,” Gutierrez said.

Yesterday, the school’s dedication to Gutierrez and other students in similar situations was recognized with an $80,000 grant through Cook County’s Justice Advisory Council.

School staff member Carina Gutierrez poses for a portrait at the Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy at 2570 S. Blue Island Avenue in Heart of Italy, yesterday.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

When she graduated in 2009, Gutierrez wanted to remain part of the school’s community and help youth facing the same struggles she had. In 2014, she applied for a position in the registrar’s office.

Now, Gutierrez is entering her seventh year working on enrollment, attendance and program coordination for the school at 2570 S. Blue Island Ave. The school offers a two-year program for students 15 to 21 years old.

The grant is part of a $1.5 million investment in community-based organizations through the Justice Advisory Council, said Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board.

The council aims to reduce the population of Cook County Jail and Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center through criminal and juvenile justice reform and public safety policy development.

The Rudy Lozano Leadership Program will benefit most from the grant, covering staff stipends, case management and mental health services, college and career counseling, and restorative justice training.

Cheyanne M. Daniels has more on the grant and its projected impact here.

From the press box

Your daily question ?

If you got to rename any building in Chicago, which would it be and what would you call it?

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: What fictional place would you like to visit most? Here’s what some of you said…

“I’ll limit myself to three (fictional universes) 1. Hogwarts, HogsMeade, Ottery St Catchpole, Godric’s Hollow, etc. 2. St. Mary Mead, Woodleigh Common, Much Benham & Market Basing etc. 3. Osiris, Persephone, Bellerophon and Beaumonde, etc.” — Kassandra Veritas

“Kin-iro Mosaic High School.” — Will Cerne

“The Smoke Ring, from Larry Niven’s books of that name and ‘The Integral Trees,’ a gaseous ring, around a star, fully habitable and all in nearly free fall. Given the author, I presume theoretically possible, if unlikely.” — Carey Schug

“Brigadoon! The mythical village in the old-time musical.” — Jean Ceithaml

“Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory! Having seen the original movie, I would know how to behave. I’d have countless sweets, and I’d interview Willy and the Oompa Loompas about their lives and working conditions for a human interest story or potentially an expose.” — Paul Lockwood

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

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With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise, the city is cracking down on businesses that don’t enforce the recently enacted indoor mask mandate.

The city issued 16 “notices to correct” and 20 citations to businesses between Aug. 20 and 29, city officials said Tuesday.

Under the mandate, which went into effect Aug. 20, a business can be issued a notice to correct or a citation for either failing to require masks or for not displaying a mask mandate sign.

“As cases continue to rise in Chicago, [the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection} is putting all businesses on high alert and letting them know that we will be strictly enforcing the City of Chicago mask mandate,” the city said in a statement.

Businesses receiving notices or citations ranged from a music school to a Karaoke bar to an Italian restaurant.

The city is encouraging the public to call 311 to report mask violations.

Read More

In the search to find an eventual long-term replacement for Tom Brady in New England, a new quarterback will get his chance.

The Patriots have released veteran passer Cam Newton, clearing the way for rookie first-round selection Mac Jones to be the Week 1 starter, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Newton, who started last year in his lone season in New England, had been involved in a battle with Jones over the starting job throughout training camp. Newton, 32, had been inconsistent in camp and then was eventually forced to sit out five days and three practices after he was placed in the NFL’s COVID-19 list over what the team called a “misunderstanding” of the league’s rules.

In that time, Jones shined as he played most first-team reps in practice.

The Patriots selected Jones, 22, out of Alabama with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft in April.

Newton now becomes a free agent and will be available to sign with any team. In his one season as a starter in New England, Newton completed 65.8% of his passes for 2,657 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while adding 592 rushing yards and 12 rushing scores.

The Patriots went 7-9 and missed the postseason for the first time since the 2008 season.

In other cut day moves:

New Orleans Saints QB Trevor Siemian

The Saints are parting with former Northwestern QB Siemian, but only for the time being, as NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that the team plans to re-sign him once rosters settle after cutdown day. Siemian would serve as the primary backup to starter Jameis Winston with Taysom Hill playing a hybrid role.

Cincinnati Bengals DT Mike Daniels

The former Packers standout started 11 games for Cincinnati last season as he tried to reboot his career. But the Bengals are now poised to look a little younger along the interior line after the team acquired B.J. Hill from the Giants.

Philadelphia Eagles WR Travis Fulgham

Fulgham finished as the Eagles’ leading receiver last year in a breakout season, recording 38 catches for 539 yards for a passing attack that was in desperate need of reliable targets. With first-round pick DeVonta Smith coming aboard and Quez Watkins breakout in training camp and preseason, however, Fulgham didn’t fit into the Eagles’ plans.

Tennessee Titans WR Dez Fitzpatrick

The Titans are cutting ties with Fitzpatrick approximately four months after trading up to select him in the fourth round of the NFL draft. The Louisville product struggled to make his mark on the receiving corps in training camp and preseason.

New York Jets QB Josh Johnson

The veteran journeyman’s stay with Gang Green was a short one, with the team releasing him less than a month after he was signed. The job backing up rookie Zach Wilson now is set to go to Mike White.

Jacksonville Jaguars WR Collin Johnson

A fifth-round pick in 2020, the 6-6, 222-pound Johnson had 18 catches as a rookie. The Texas product could be an option for the team’s practice squad if he goes unclaimed.

Green Bay Packers WR Equanimeous St. Brown

There will be no NFC North rivalry between St. Brown and his brother, Lions rookie wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, after the elder of the two was waived by the team Tuesday. St. Brown caught seven passes in 12 games last year.

Los Angeles Chargers K Michael Badgley

Nicknamed “Money Badger,” Badgley saw his field goal percentage tumble from 93.8% in 2019 to 72.7% last year. Tristan Vizcaino is now poised to take over kicking duties for the Chargers.

Washington Football Team RB Peyton Barber

Barber tallied four touchdowns last season as a backup to Antonio Gibson, but the sixth-year veteran appears to have been leapfrogged by undrafted free agent Jaret Patterson, who was one of the preseason’s biggest standouts. Washington also cut 2020 fourth-round pick Antonio Gandy-Golden.

Detroit Lions LB Jahlani Tavai

A second-round pick out of Hawaii in 2019, Tavai was taken ahead of the likes of Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, among others. He started 10 games for Detroit last year and received a positive review from linebackers coach Mark DeLeone, who said the third-year player was in “a really good position right now” to make the roster. Ultimately, however, Tavai couldn’t latch on with the new regime of first-year general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell.

Miami Dolphins C Matt Skura

Despite signing the veteran blocker to a one-year deal in March, Miami is already moving on from Skura as it reshuffles its offensive line. The Dolphins also parted with linebacker Benardrick McKinney, whom the team acquired in a trade with the Houston Texans this offseason.

Dallas Cowboys QBs Garrett Gilbert, Ben DiNucci

The Cowboys appear to have settled their backup quarterback battle, keeping Cooper Rush while parting with Gilbert and DiNucci, who each started a game last year when Dak Prescott was injured.

New Orleans Saints RB Devonta Freeman

The former Atlanta Falcons standout won’t get a chance to jumpstart his career with an old NFC South rival, as Freeman didn’t make the cut in New Orleans after signing with the Saints earlier in August.

Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari

The Green Bay Packers won’t have David Bakhtiari for the start of the season as the All-Pro left tackle continues his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Bakhtiari’s agent, Mark Humenik, confirmed Tuesday that Bakhtiari will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list. The designation means Bakhtiari won’t be available for at least the first six weeks.

Read more at usatoday.com

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Authorities have released the name of a 31-year-old man killed in a triple shooting Monday night in Roseland on the Far South Side.

Rahyil Lee and two other men were shot by a gunman who opened fire from a car at 8:50 p.m. in the 400 block of East 111th Street, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Lee was shot in the back and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Another man, 54, was struck in the wrist and went to Roseland Hospital in good condition, police said. A third man, 30, was shot in the foot and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

No arrests were made.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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I am addicted to Old Style beer.

My passion for Chicago’s self-appointed hometown brew began last summer, when I was working as an enumerator for the U.S. Census Bureau. Every day, I walked the streets for seven or eight hours in 85 degree heat, ringing doorbells, climbing stuffy stairwells to the top floors of three flats, badgering building engineers for the identities of missing tenants. Toward the end of a shift, the only thing that kept me staggering to the next address was the thought of a cold tall boy in my refrigerator.

When I came home, hot and thirsty, I wanted an uncomplicated, unchallenging lager I could pour down my throat as fast as possible. No extra hops. No floral aroma. Let the Hopleaf crowd sip a $12 glass of Brasserie Dupont, with its “touch of honey sweetness, grassiness, a bit of hop bitterness, some of the distinctive Dupont yeasty funk & a nearly perfect amount of spritz.” 

Old Style got me through a tough job, so I’ve remained loyal. I still drink it almost every day. I even bought an Old Style t-shirt from Etsy. But even as I’m drinking more Old Style, Chicagoans are drinking less. Despite its reputation as a Chicago beer—some people have joked that an Old Style sign outside a neighborhood tavern is the civic flag—Old Style is far from the city’s most popular brew. That title now belongs to Modelo Especial, which in 2019 surpassed Miller Lite in dollar sales as a result of marketing itself to the city’s burgeoning Latino population. (As of 2019, Chicago was the fifth U.S market it had conquered, after Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Las Vegas.) According to the website BeerBoard, Old Style doesn’t even rank among the city’s 10 favorite beers.

Given all that, does Old Style deserve to call itself Chicago’s beer? Did it ever? Old Style’s identification with Chicago has always been more a matter of marketing than any real connection with the city. The beer was originally produced by the G. Heileman Brewing Co. of La Crosse, Wis., and poured throughout the Midwest. Old Style began a sponsorship deal with the Chicago Cubs in 1950, making it the beer of choice at Wrigley Field. In the 1970s, Old Style salesmen began offering free signs to taverns, with the beer’s emblem above the words “COLD BEER,” “CERVEZA FRIA,” or “ZIMNY PIWO,” depending on the neighborhood’s native language. In 1991, Old Style aired a series of ads starring professional Chicagoan Dennis Farina, in full cop mode, trying to stop New Yorkers and Angelenos from drinking Old Style. “It’s our great beer and they can’t have it,” he declared.

They didn’t need it. This was before the craft beer era, when every city had its own sex-in-a-canoe local lager. Narragansett in Boston. Genesee Cream Ale in Rochester. National Bohemian in Baltimore. Iron City in Pittsburgh. Stroh’s in Detroit. Hamm’s in Minneapolis. Rainier in Seattle. Old Milwaukee in… you know. Cheap, summer cookout beers with very little body, they were regional variations on the same recipe, and as a result, they all tasted pretty much the same.

There were, in those days, other beers more deserving of calling themselves Chicago’s Very Own. Sadly, they didn’t survive into the modern marketplace, which, as Salon once put it, “seems increasingly divided between corporate behemoths and twee craft brews.” Meister Brau was produced in Chicago, by the Peter Hand Brewery, at 1000 W. North Ave. It actually still exists, sort of. In 1967, Meister Brau introduced one of the first low-calorie beers, Meister Brau Lite, “the light and lusty beer.” When the Miller Brewing Company bought out Peter Hand in 1972, it used the Meister Brau Lite recipe as the template for its monstrously popular Miller Lite. Meister Brau staggered on as a legacy budget brand until 2005, when Miller canned it, preferring to peddle Milwaukee’s Best in that niche.

And then there was Falstaff. While actually a St. Louis beer, Falstaff operated a malting plant on the Southeast Side of Chicago. Grain silos painted to look like Falstaff cans were visible from the Skyway. Falstaff was best bottled, though: it was sold in yellow plastic crates that held a dozen bottles, each with a rebus under the cap. (The rebuses became progressively more difficult to decipher as the crate emptied.) Falstaff, once the nation’s third-largest brewery, suffered a decline similar to Meister Brau’s, eventually becoming a subsidiary of Pabst, which also stopped brewing it in 2005.

Beer blogger Jay Theriot theorized that Meister Brau and Falstaff failed because they were neither good enough to be craft beers, nor bad enough to be corporate.

I found Meister Brau to be a solid and delicious beer. On the other hand, this was somewhat of a throwback beer, with its formidable bite, roasty taste profile, and hoppy finish. At the time, with bland being the style of the day, and with Meister Brau not fitting the craft beer niche, it was destined, like Falstaff, to die on the vine. One wonders what could have happened to it (and Falstaff, for that matter), if the brand could have held on just a few more years until the hugely successful retro/hipster beer movement swept the nation. Had that occurred, Meister Brau (and Falstaff as well) may have been brought back to a prominent position. But, it’s gone (and probably forever).

So Old Style survived the corporate/craft beer shakeout not because it was Chicago’s best beer, but because it was the blandest. Even Old Style is now becoming an atavism, as the type of drinker with whom it’s associated—white, ethnic, blue collar—is replaced by Modelo-drinking Latinos and Goose Island-drinking professionals. In 2013, Old Style lost its Wrigley Field sponsorship to Budweiser. The brand is now owned by Pabst, as part of its Local Legends portfolio, which also includes Schlitz, Old Milwaukee, Olympia, Lone Star, Stroh’s, and Schmidt’s. Chicago beer historian Liz Garibay once told WBEZ that “Old Style signs are a relic of 1970s industry. They hearken back to a time when neighborhood bars like Frank & Mary’s opened at 7 a.m. to serve drinks to factory workers coming off overnight shifts.” 

Old Style could, at this point, change its motto to “it’s our mediocre beer and they don’t want it.” The older I get, though, the less I want to drink craft beer, and the more I want to be Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, drinking PBR out of a cooler on my porch. At $4.69 a six pack, I can drink all the Old Style I want.

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Bishop Sycamore is trending for all the wrong reasons.

A blowout loss in a game on ESPN supposedly against two elite high school football teams has drawn national attention and questions about the legitimacy of Bishop Sycamore as a football program and an educational institution.

The school claims to be based in Columbus, Ohio, though there’s no address listed on the website. On Sunday, it lost to the second-ranked team in the country, IMG Academy of Florida, 58-0.

Andre Peterson, who played for Jim Tressel at Youngstown State in the 1980s, is Bishop Sycamore’s founder, director and currently coaches the football team’s offensive and defensive lines.

On Tuesday, he told USA TODAY Sports that the football coach, Roy Johnson had been fired Sunday after the game. Peterson also defended Bishop Sycamore’s purpose of giving players a better chance of playing college football and denied any inkling of a “scam” related to Sunday’s game or Bishop Sycamore.

“There’s nothing that I’ve gotten out of this that would constitute it as a scam because I’m not gaining anything financially from what we’re doing,” Peterson told USA TODAY Sports on Monday night. “The reality of it is that I have a son (Javan) that’s also in the program and has been in the program for four years.

“If it’s a scam and the kids are not going to school and not doing what they’re supposed to do, then I’m literally scamming myself. And most importantly, I’m hurting my own son. So when people say stuff like that … I would literally be taking my son’s future and throwing it in the trash.”

In addition to lacking basic information about the school, Bishop Sycamore’s website looks more like a football blog with advice on how to be recruited.

“We have to make sure that website also includes the academic part of it. There’s things that you learn,” he said. “There’s growing pains that you have. We realized that’s an issue. The reality of it is we’ve caused some of the questions by not doing some of the things that should have been done before. So that’s understandable. I totally get that.

“We have to make it an actual school website.”

However, the Ohio Department of Education lists no charter school for 2021-22 by the name Bishop Sycamore, and last year the department listed Bishop Sycamore as a “non-chartered, non-tax supported school,” a type of school that “because of truly held religious beliefs, choose to not be chartered by the State Board of Education.”

On multiple occasions, Peterson said the school has existed for four years, only to later say it was founded in 2019.

When asked why Bishop Sycamore’s listed address is a P.O. box, he said the school’s actual location is private to protect students who were harassed at their pre-pandemic location. Bishop Sycamore rents space in a building in the Easton neighborhood of Columbus, according to Peterson.

“Prior to COVID, the design of it is they go into the building, they have their computers, they sit down, they do their classes, we have some (adults) that are there that monitor what they do,” Peterson said.

Peterson said it was suggested to him on Monday that he fold the program.

“I can’t,” Peterson said. “I have kids that are dependent on what we do. For me to start all over and send them home and say ‘Hey, you work it out for yourself,’ would be a disservice to them. I just know that we have things to get right.

“We have to make this to where every question that’s asked, there’s an answer to it.”

Read more at usatoday.com

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NEW YORK — Javier Baez and Francisco Lindor have apologized to Mets fans after Baez revealed that a thumbs-down celebration gesture adopted by players was in part a dig at New York fans who have booed the underperforming ballclub.

Baez and Lindor took turns saying they were sorry less than an hour before first pitch of a game Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. That followed a stern statement from team president Sandy Alderson on Sunday night disavowing the gesture, as well as a team meeting Tuesday in which players said they would stop making it.

“I didn’t mean to offend anybody,” Baez said.

The 28-year-old Baez was acquired from the Cubs on July 30 and has hit .210 with four homers and a .709 OPS in 17 games since. Mets fans booed him and others throughout August, when the team has gone 8-19 to fall out of playoff position after leading the NL East for nearly three months.

Players began making the thumbs-down gesture toward their dugout after base hits and other positive plays while at Dodger Stadium from Aug. 20-22.

“When we don’t get success, we’re going to get booed,” Baez said Sunday. “So they’re going to get booed when we have success.”

Lindor and manager Luis Rojas said Tuesday they believe Baez — whose first language is Spanish but doesn’t use an interpreter when speaking to media — misspoke when he said Mets players were booing the fans.

“I didn’t say the fans are bad, I love the fans, but like, I just felt like we were alone,” Baez said Tuesday. “The fans obviously want to win, and they pay our salary like everybody says, but like, we want to win, too, and the frustration got to us. And, you know, I didn’t mean to offend anybody, and if I offend anybody, we apologize.”

Lindor also said the gesture was not explicitly about fans.

“Thumbs-down for me means adversity, the adversity we have gone through in this whole time,” Lindor said. “Like the negative things, we overcome it, so it’s like, ‘We did it! We went over it!’

“However, it was wrong, and I apologize to whoever I offended. It was not my intent to offend people.”

Baez and Lindor spoke to reporters in front of the Mets’ dugout. Lindor was booed by a few fans when he emerged, and two young boys held up thumbs-down signals behind him while he spoke.

Lindor was booed before his first at-bat and again after laying down a successful sacrifice bunt. Baez was not in the lineup for the resumption of a game postponed by rain on April 11.

A four-time All-Star, Lindor was acquired from Cleveland over the offseason in the first major move for the team since Steve Cohen purchased the franchise. Lindor signed a $341 million, 10-year deal to remain in New York, but he has been jeered often during a season in which he is hitting .224 with 11 homers and a .686 OPS.

He was hopeful the gesture wouldn’t spoil his relationship with the fan base he is committed to through 2031.

“I hope this doesn’t stick around because it wasn’t meant to offend anybody, to disrespect nobody,” he said. “This is just a time of trying to pick each other up. We’re going through a rough time, and it was a gesture to pick each other up.”

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In the search to find an eventual long-term replacement for Tom Brady in New England, a new quarterback will get his chance.

The Patriots have released veteran passer Cam Newton, clearing the way for rookie first-round selection Mac Jones to be the Week 1 starter, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Newton, who started last year in his lone season in New England, had been involved in a battle with Jones over the starting job throughout training camp. Newton, 32, had been inconsistent in camp and then was eventually forced to sit out five days and three practices after he was placed in the NFL’s COVID-19 list over what the team called a “misunderstanding” of the league’s rules.

In that time, Jones shined as he played most first-team reps in practice.

The Patriots selected Jones, 22, out of Alabama with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft in April.

Newton now becomes a free agent and will be available to sign with any team. In his one season as a starter in New England, Newton completed 65.8% of his passes for 2,657 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while adding 592 rushing yards and 12 rushing scores.

The Patriots went 7-9 and missed the postseason for the first time since the 2008 season.

In other cut day moves:

Philadelphia Eagles WR Travis Fulgham

Fulgham finished as the Eagles’ leading receiver last year in a breakout season, recording 38 catches for 539 yards for a passing attack that was in desperate need of reliable targets. With first-round pick DeVonta Smith coming aboard and Quez Watkins breakout in training camp and preseason, however, Fulgham didn’t fit into the Eagles’ plans.

New Orleans Saints QB Trevor Siemian

The Saints are parting with former Northwestern QB Siemian, but only for the time being, as NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that the team plans to re-sign him once rosters settle after cutdown day. Siemian would serve as the primary backup to starter Jameis Winston with Taysom Hill playing a hybrid role.

New York Jets QB Josh Johnson

The veteran journeyman’s stay with Gang Green was a short one, with the team releasing him less than a month after he was signed. The job backing up rookie Zach Wilson now is set to go to Mike White.

Green Bay Packers WR Equanimeous St. Brown

There will be no NFC North rivalry between St. Brown and his brother, Lions rookie wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, after the elder of the two was waived by the team Tuesday. St. Brown caught seven passes in 12 games last year.

Washington Football Team RB Peyton Barber

Barber tallied four touchdowns last season as a backup to Antonio Gibson, but the sixth-year veteran appears to have been leapfrogged by undrafted free agent Jaret Patterson, who was one of the preseason’s biggest standouts. Washington also cut 2020 fourth-round pick Antonio Gandy-Golden.

Detroit Lions LB Jahlani Tavai

A second-round pick out of Hawaii in 2019, Tavai was taken ahead of the likes of Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, among others. He started 10 games for Detroit last year and received a positive review from linebackers coach Mark DeLeone, who said the third-year player was in “a really good position right now” to make the roster. Ultimately, however, Tavai couldn’t latch on with the new regime of first-year general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell.

Miami Dolphins C Matt Skura

Despite signing the veteran blocker to a one-year deal in March, Miami is already moving on from Skura as it reshuffles its offensive line. The Dolphins also parted with linebacker Benardrick McKinney, whom the team acquired in a trade with the Houston Texans this offseason.

Dallas Cowboys QBs Garrett Gilbert, Ben DiNucci

The Cowboys appear to have settled their backup quarterback battle, keeping Cooper Rush while parting with Gilbert and DiNucci, who each started a game last year when Dak Prescott was injured.

New Orleans Saints RB Devonta Freeman

The former Atlanta Falcons standout won’t get a chance to jumpstart his career with an old NFC South rival, as Freeman didn’t make the cut in New Orleans after signing with the Saints earlier in August.

Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari

The Green Bay Packers won’t have David Bakhtiari for the start of the season as the All-Pro left tackle continues his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Bakhtiari’s agent, Mark Humenik, confirmed Tuesday that Bakhtiari will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list. The designation means Bakhtiari won’t be available for at least the first six weeks.

Read more at usatoday.com

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