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The former CEO of a Schaumburg tech firm on Tuesday became the first known defendant from Illinois to plead guilty in federal court to his role in the U.S. Capitol breach.

Bradley Rukstales, 53, was the first person from Illinois to face federal charges as part of the investigation into the U.S. Capitol breach. The feds have since 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 pleaded guilty by video conference Tuesday to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and faces up to six months in prison. He was discovered amid members of a crowd inside the U.S. Capitol who were making loud noises, kicking chairs and throwing an unknown substance at officers, according to a charging document filed Jan. 7.

Bradley RukstalesCogensia

Officers at the Capitol had ordered members of the crowd to leave but they responded by shouting and cursing at police, according to the document. Six people, including Rukstales, were near the front of the crowd and refused to leave, it alleged.

Four others members of that group have also pleaded guilty, records show.

During Tuesday’s hearing, a prosecutor told the judge that Rukstales tossed a chair at retreating Capitol officers, who were “dozens of feet away,” and had to be dragged away from a melee by officers.

Before he pleaded guilty, Rukstales told the judge, “I was very careful when I was with the chair to make sure there was nobody within any striking distance and did not purposely throw it at any individual at the time.”

Rukstales also apologized in a statement in January. “In a moment of extremely poor judgement following the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, I followed hundreds of others through an open set of doors to the Capitol building to see what was taking place inside,” he said.

“My decision to enter the Capitol was wrong, and I am deeply regretful to have done so,” Rukstales said. “I condemn the violence and destruction that took place in Washington.”

Rukstales had been CEO of the Schaumburg tech firm Cogensia but was fired by the board.

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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.

Read more at usatoday.com

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Two people were killed and at least 10 others were wounded in shootings in Chicago Monday.

One of the fatal attacks occurred in South Shore when a man was shot by a gunman who forced his way into his home, police said.

The 55-year-old man responded to loud knocking at his door in the 7700 block of South Shore Drive about 1:50 a.m., police said. The man was shot multiple times and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. He has not been identified.

In Roseland on the Far South Side, a man was killed and two others wounded around 8:50 p.m. while standing in the 400 block of East 111th Street, police said. A 31-year-old man was shot in the back and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. He hasn’t been identified. Another man, 54, was struck in the wrist and went to Roseland Hospital in good condition. A third man, 30, was shot in the foot and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Other attacks:

A 17-year-old boy was shot in Burnside on the South Side. About 11:10 p.m., the teen was standing in the 500 block of East 92nd Street when he was struck in the thigh. He was taken to Roseland Community Hospital in good condition.
Another 17-year-old boy was wounded in Chatham on the South Side. The teen was on a bike about 6:50 p.m. in the 7900 block of South Vernon Avenue when someone in a car fired shots, Chicago police said. He was struck in the arm and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.
In the day’s first reported shooting, a man was shot while entering his home in Gresham on the Far South Side. The 26-year-old was shot in the thigh about 2:35 a.m. in the 7500 block of South Honore Street, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.

Five others were wounded in the city.

Six people were killed and 50 others were wounded in shootings over the weekend citywide.

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Don’t be surprised if you see more than a few city slickers sporting Radiator Ranch ball caps, T-shirts, hoodies, etc., after Netflix rolls out the good-natured and charmingly cornpone reality series “How to Be a Cowboy,” featuring ranch manager and YouTube star Dale Brisby and a likable cast of supporting characters as they ride horses, mend fences, feed the cows, buck horses, ride broncs, attend livestock auctions and shoot the breeze from sunrise to sundown.

Heck, there’s already enough merch available to fill a barn on Brisby’s website, and he has an endorsement deal with Rock and Roll Denim and lots of other irons in the fire — but his primary product is Dale Brisby, in the tradition of the self-promoting stars of “American Pickers” and “Pawn Stars” and those 2,985 shows where houses are renovated and flipped and such. Brisby has an enormous ego but it’s wrapped in a world of charisma, and he knows how to play it up for the cameras. In other worlds, as is the case with all reality TV stars and all reality shows, there’s real life, and then there’s the heightened, sometimes manufactured, heavily edited version of real life seen on TV.

Some might compare “How to be a Cowboy” to “Tiger King” in that both series show us a slice of rural life unfamiliar to many urban and suburban Americans. But whereas “Tiger King” was a true crime documentary about mostly awful people doing terrible things to each other while exploiting beautiful cats that deserved better, “How to Be a Cowboy” is much lighter fare with lesser stakes, with each episode clocking in at about 25 minutes as we get to know this colorful bunch, including:

The aforementioned Brisby, who looks and sounds like a country & western star with his flowing locks and Jesus beard, his aviator sunglasses and his well-worn cowboy hat. Brisby loves to talk about his employees and mostly himself, and his various rules for being a cowboy (“A Cowboy is Always Prepared,” “Cowboys Look After Their Own”) and he’s prone to hyperbole, as when he proclaims Radiator Ranch is “the largest ranch in Texas — I haven’t fact-checked that, but I imagine it’s probably true.” (It isn’t.)

Cheech, an amiable, egg-shaped fellow who’s a lifelong cowboy and provides the comic relief and talks about his “bugaboos,” such as lottery players who hold up the line at the convenience store.
Dale’s brother Leroy, who describes himself as the 180-degree opposite of Dale and has a low-key, ongoing competition with him on a daily basis. “He works harder than he ought to, so it’s my obligation to work less,” says Leroy.
Donnie Ray Dayton, “saddle bronc rider extraordinaire,” a former intern and bartender who is now a full-time employee at the ranch and is looking to try his hand at bull riding.
Ranch intern Jordan Halvorsen (right, with Donnie Ray Dayton) hopes to return to the bull riding rodeo circuit.Netflix

Jorden Halvorsen, a female bull rider from North Carolina who signs on as an intern and is looking to return to the rodeo after sustaining a serious knee injury.

“How to Be a Cowboy” is a well-photographed show, filled with gorgeous overhead shots of the Texas ranch, and it mixes moments of beautiful authenticity, such as the birth of a calf, with clearly staged moments, as when Dale and Leroy and Cheech are riding their horses across the tall grass to the sounds of a Western movie type score, and Dale says, “On horseback we ride together, but in our hearts we are self-reliant and answer to no one” — at which point Dale’s cell phone rings and it’s his mother, asking him for help in attaching photos to an email she wants to send to her cousin. Gee, it’s a good thing multiple cameras were there to catch that spontaneous comedic moment! But that’s OK, we’ve come to expect and accept such contrived albeit entertaining vignettes in these types of series.

There’s not a traditional reality TV show villain or even a sad-sack walking punchline in the bunch. (Even the sometimes hapless Cheech is a true cowboy and a good guy and a team player.) Watching this show is like going to one of those dude ranch vacations without having to leave the sofa or risking a burr in your saddle. You can enjoy “How to Be a Cowboy” until the cows come home, and spoiler alert: They actually do come home.

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