People who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 can still go bare-faced in most indoor Chicago settings — for now.

But have that mask ready if you’re heading inside a store in Mokena, a restaurant in Joliet or any other indoor public spot in suburban Will County.

The same goes for just about all of southern Illinois and other parts of the state that are considered to be at a “substantial” or “high” risk for COVID-19 transmission — labels that federal public health officials have now applied to more than half the state’s 102 counties.

And anyone inside a school anywhere in the state should mask up as well.

New masking guidelines laid out Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added the latest web of regulations for Illinois residents to follow — ones that vary county by county — as the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus tears through unvaccinated communities.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Illinois Department of Public Health immediately announced it would adopt the new CDC guidelines, which call for indoor masking regardless of vaccination status in those high- and substantial-risk counties. Masks are also now recommended inside schools no matter what the risk level.

“Cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 both continue to increase, overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated, but the risk is greater for everyone if we do not stop the ongoing spread of the virus and the Delta variant,” state Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement.

“We know masking can help prevent transmission of COVID-19 and its variants. Until more people are vaccinated, we join CDC in recommending everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask indoors in areas of substantial and high transmissions, and in K-12 schools.”

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times file

Under the latest CDC guidelines — which walk back the agency’s controversial protocol in May that said vaccinated people could go maskless in most situations — counties that are adding new daily cases at a rate of between 50 and 99 per 100,000 residents are considered to be at the substantial risk level. That applies to 30 Illinois counties, including Will.

Counties averaging 100 or more cases per 100,000 residents are at a high risk, according to the CDC, including 37 Illinois counties. Many of those border Missouri, which is among several south and southwestern states where the virus is raging once again. The Delta variant is thought to be driving more than 80% of new cases in the Midwest.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The rest of Illinois, including Chicago, is at a moderate risk level for now, meaning most mask recommendations haven’t changed. They could eventually be implemented, though, especially if cases keep piling up as they have over the past month.

At a Tuesday news conference held shortly before the new guidelines were laid out, city Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said her agency would review them, but the CDC’s initial risk rating backed up her assertion that “we’re not at a point where we’re needing to recommend” universal indoor masking again.

An average of 176 Chicagoans have tested positive each day over the past week, a rate that has jumped 69% since last week. On Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot suggested she’d start considering more restrictions or a mask mandate like those that have been reinstated in some other major cities if the city starts topping 200 cases per day.

Arwady said that’ll likely happen within a few days, but a citywide mask mandate isn’t likely to be back on the table until Chicago hits 400 cases per day — which would still fall well below the CDC’s threshold for “substantial” risk. Under the new CDC guidelines, Chicagoans wouldn’t need to start masking up until the daily caseload was exceeding 1,300.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file

“When we get over 200, we start certainly watching more closely — we may make some recommendations around people who are older or have underlying conditions,” Arwady said.

“But my feeling is, we want to make sure if we are moving to particularly a mandate around masking again, even for people who are unvaccinated, I want to do that based on our local data and our local risk, and I want to do it at a time where really the risk is significantly higher. At this point, luckily it remains in that lower risk.”

Arwady added: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we get there. We may, but if you’re worried about it, talk to anybody you know about getting vaccinated, because it really is where more folks are vaccinated, the risk drops for everybody, and we’ve seen that so, so clearly regionally.”

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Throughout the week leading into the 2012 Big Ten championship game, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema had a fine feeling in his gut. Nebraska had what it had — not a bad team at all — but the Badgers were stacked. Even though his team had blown a 17-point second-half lead at Nebraska in a maddening September defeat, Bielema thought about all the pieces he had to play with, particularly in the running game, and thought: This is going to be very good.

In Indianapolis, the tables turned on the Huskers almost obscenely. Riding an incomparable trio of running backs — Montee Ball, James White and Melvin Gordon — the Badgers piled up 539 yards on the ground alone, steamrolled to a 42-10 lead at the half and won 70-31.

“I remember at halftime I thought it was almost too lopsided, that it was going to work against us,” said Bielema, clad in a Cubs jersey — with his name and the No. 91, his digits as a player at Iowa, on the back — Sunday in the press box at Wrigley Field, where he led the seventh-inning stretch. “But our guys kept putting our foot down.”

It was Bielema’s last game at Wisconsin before he left for an ill-fated turn at Arkansas. Nine years later — and four years since his last season as a college coach — Bielema is counting down the days until his Illinois debut on Aug. 28 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. The opponent: Nebraska.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I really am. It’s just a very exciting time.”

Bielema’s confidence in the Illini will need some time to develop. Training camp opens Sunday at a school that hasn’t seen a winning season since 2011. Even though they won 41-23 at Nebraska in 2020 — probably their best performance of the Lovie Smith era — the Illini are 8-point underdogs in the opener.

“The thing you don’t know is the unforeseen,” Bielema said. “A turnover, a caused fumble, something that changes the momentum of the game. That’s what you prepare for and try to be ready for. But I have a pretty good feeling [that] we’re going to play well.”

The Illini were picked to bring up the rear in seventh place in the West division in Cleveland.com’s annual media poll — I picked them fifth — but they do have a not-so-secret weapon, and that’s being the oldest team in any of the Power Five conferences. They have 22 “super seniors,” the moniker given to players who returned from a pandemic season for an extra year of eligibility, and 18 other traditional seniors. The “super” list includes quarterback Brandon Peters and the team’s top three offensive linemen, center Doug Kramer and tackles Alex Palczewski and Vederian Lowe.

Old dudes just want to win.

“Veteran players make veteran decisions,” Bielema said. “Obviously, they haven’t won a lot of games, right? That’s why there was transition [from Smith]. But they’ve been through a lot of experiences, been through a lot of ups and downs. I think they’re hungry and motivated to have success. That’s a very fun environment.”

Bielema was a bit taken aback by what he saw during spring practices. Frankly, he expected less in the talent department.

“Lovie left a lot of really good players,” he said.

Now, it’s about getting ready to pull off some surprises. The 2012 Badgers were at the height of their powers. The 2021 Illini will have to follow the old dudes and sneak up on some people.

JUST SAYIN’

“Root, root, root for the Cubbies …”

Anybody can sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” but did Bielema really mean it? Yes. The Prophetstown, Ill., native grew up a Cubs fan. His father, Arnie Bielema, played baseball at Illinois, though not for long.

“Thankfully, I guess, he left Illinois because he was in love with a young woman by the name of Marilyn, who became my mom,” Bielema said. “So I’m glad he left. Otherwise, I might not be here.”

One would imagine not.

o In case you were wondering about Northwestern: The Wildcats were picked third in the West, behind Wisconsin and Iowa, in the aforementioned media poll. And that’s exactly how my top three looked. Look, at least wait until Pat Fitzgerald and company make it back to Indy before you yell at me.

o Just a thought: Maybe USA Basketball should put a coach in charge of the men’s team who doesn’t have a full-time gig in college or the NBA.

It’s called taking it seriously, folks. Unless, that is, everybody is OK with a bunch of NBA stars going out there with next to no plan and — win or lose — putting on a barely watchable show.

It sure doesn’t appear that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is spending many sleepless nights trying to get this Olympic thing all the way right. The snoozy performance by his team in an 83-76 opening loss to France wasn’t the end of the world — some players had just arrived in Tokyo, after all — but this isn’t slalom canoeing we’re talking about. Or is it canoe slaloming?

“I think it’s just a little bit of hubris if you think the Americans are supposed to just roll out the ball and win,” Popovich said.

Hubris? Please.

Now go win gold. Chop-chop, Pop!

o A day before American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from Olympic team competition, The Wall Street Journal ran a story claiming the 4-8 marvel rises so high on her tumbling passes that she could — and try to stay with me here — dunk a basketball with her feet.

In case anyone was wondering if expectations of the best athlete in the world were a little outsized.

o The latest craze among college football coaches — especially in the South — is not publicly disclosing whether or not they’re vaccinated.

Guess what: They’re all vaccinated. They have too many millions of dollars to lose not to be.

Some of them just don’t have the courage to say it out loud. Which is presposterously stupid, but here we are.

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It turns out when Summerfest revealed about 100 headliners for 2021 in May, they were just getting started.

In subsequent weeks, the largest music festival in the United States has added Megan Thee Stallion, Dave Chappelle, Twenty One Pilots, Motley Crue’s Vince Neil and more to the lineup.

Now the Milwaukee-based music festival — taking place Sept. 1 to 4, 8 to 11 and 15 to 18 — has unveiled more than 30 new headliners, and released the complete schedule Tuesday.

Among the new additions: reggae artist Shaggy; singer-songwriter Yola; pop artist Betty Who; rapper (and Chance The Rapper’s brother) Taylor Bennett; rock bands Falling in Reverse and Manchester Orchestra; and a comedy show headlined by Michael Winslow from “Police Academy.”

There also are multiple new headliners from or based in Milwaukee, including R&B artist Grace Weber; country musician Nora Collins; singer and rapper Klassik; and Beatles and Metallica mash-up band Beatallica.

Nevertheless, Summerfest still isn’t done announcing headliners for 2021. Liz Phair last week canceled her fall tour plans, and a Summerfest headlining spot on Sept. 16 that has yet to be filled, and two more closing-night headliners, on the Uline Warehouse and Miller Lite Oasis stages, have yet to be announced.

General-admission tickets ($23 per adult) are available at summerfest.com. Multi-day general-admission passes are $57 (three days), $75 (six days) and $100 (nine days).

Tickets for the amphitheater shows, and for the front five sections of headliner shows for the BMO Harris Pavilion, are priced individually, with prices ranging per concert. Each ticket covers Summerfest general admission on the day of the show or includes a bonus general-admission ticket.

While the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the live music industry — taking tours off the road in March 2020, only to begin returning in larger numbers this summer — at this juncture, Summerfest should largely look and feel like it did in 2019. Social distancing will not be enforced and masks will not be required, Don Smiley, CEO for Summerfest parent company Milwaukee World Festival Inc., confirmed with the Journal Sentinel.

Summerfest this year was postponed to September for the first time to allow more time for the vaccine rollout, after canceling for the first time in its 53-year history in 2020 because of the pandemic.

On Friday, Milwaukee World Festival will host the first huge concert in the city since March 2020, with the Foo Fighters at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. It’s also a grand reopening for the 24,000-person-capacity venue, which completed a $51.3 million renovation last year.

Ahead of the show, Milwaukee World Festival is doing a week of promotions it’s calling “Live Music at the Lakefront,” including buy one, get one tickets available Thursday for Little Big Town at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on Aug. 13; and a limited number of $25 tickets (fees and taxes included) for eight Summerfest amphitheater headliners — including the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Luke Bryan — available beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• Vixen (6 p.m. Sept. 2, BMO Harris Pavilion)
• Almost Monday (6 p.m. Sept. 2, Generac Power Stage)
• Unusual Demont (6 p.m. Sept. 2, UScellular Connection Stage)
• Yola (4 p.m. Sept. 3, BMO Harris Pavilion)
• Sky McCreery (6 p.m. Sept. 3, BMO Harris Pavilion)
• Grace Weber (3:30 p.m. Sept. 3, Miller Lite Oasis)
• Taylor Bennett (5 p.m. Sept. 3, Miller Lite Oasis)
• DJ Stevie J (6:30 p.m. Sept. 3, Miller Lite Oasis)
• Falling in Reverse (10 p.m. Sept. 3, Generac Power Stage)
• Tenille Arts (4 p.m. Sept. 3, UScellular Connection Stage)
• Cannons (4 p.m. Sept. 4, Miller Lite Oasis)
• Shaggy (10 p.m. Sept. 4, Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• Armchair Boogie (3 p.m. Sept. 9, Uline Warehouse)
• Kentucky Headhunters (4 p.m. Sept. 9, UScellular Connection Stage)
• Niko Rubio (5:45 p.m. Sept. 9, Generac Power Stage)
• CalenRaps (4 p.m. Sept. 10, Generac Power Stage)
• Sophia Messa (6 p.m. Sept. 10, Generac Power Stage)
• Kids of Comedy with Michael Winslow, Marc Price, Mindy Rickles and Camilla Cleese (6:30 p.m. Sept. 10, Uline Warehouse)
• Betty Who (4 p.m. Sept. 11, BMO Harris Pavilion)
• Frederic Yonnet (6 p.m. Sept. 11, BMO Harris Pavilion)
• REYNA (8 p.m. Sept. 11, BMO Harris Pavilion)
• Iya Terra (6 p.m. Sept. 11, Generac Power Stage)
• Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (4 p.m. Sept. 11, UScellular Connection Stage)
• Klassik (6:45 p.m. Sept. 11, Johnson Controls World Sound Stage)
• Daydream Masi (6 p.m. Sept. 16, Miller Lite Oasis)
• Reignwolf (8 p.m. Sept. 16, BMO Harris Pavilion)
• Joan (6 p.m. Sept. 17, Miller Lite Oasis)
• Nora Collins (6 p.m. Sept. 17, UScellular Connection Stage)
• Ekoh (6 p.m. Sept. 17, Generac Power Stage)
• Velvet Starlings (6:30 p.m. Sept. 17, Uline Warehouse)
• 5 Card Studs (8 p.m. Sept. 17, Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
• JEFF the Brotherhood (6 p.m. Sept. 18, Generac Power Stage)
• Beatallica (8 p.m. Sept. 18, UScellular Connection Stage)

Read more at usatoday.com

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A woman who was wounded in a shooting in March in Bronzeville has died.

Cashay Thomas, 18, was pronounced dead Monday afternoon at the University of Illinois Hospital, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

On March 21, she was sitting in a vehicle with a 23-year-old man in the 3800 block of South Michigan Avenue when someone opened fire, striking them both, Chicago police said.

The man was shot in his head and pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as Kelvin Edmonson by the medical examiner’s office, officials said.

An autopsy found Thomas died of complications from her gunshot wounds, the medical examiner’s office said. Her death was ruled a homicide.

No arrests have been reported.

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It was brutal. It was deadly. It was no “loving crowd.”

The first day of the House select committee hearing investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol put to rest the cock-eyed storyline, pushed by former President Donald Trump, talk radio and Fox News, that the rioters were anything less than violent, traitorous law-breakers.

We watched video of a D.C. police officer, Michael Fanone, being dragged out and beaten by the insurrectionists. We heard him plead for his life: “I have kids.” We saw him lose consciousness. We heard an officer call out: “I need a medic! We need EMTs now!” We heard his partner say, “Mike, stay in there, buddy.”

Yet a frightening number of Republicans who are not serving on the committee can’t see the problem. The real issue, they would have you believe, is that the police were unprepared. Because, you know, insurrections are gonna happen. Kids will be kids.

We listened to another D.C. officer, Daniel Hodges, describe how he was pinned against a metal door frame by the rioters and wondered whether he would die there or be dragged outside and “lynched by the mob.” He was beaten with his own face shield and baton. He was taunted: “Here come the boys in blue!” He was called a “traitor.” He was warned he would die on his knees.

And all around him, as he testified on Tuesday, were flags. Some read: “Jesus is my savior.” Others read: “Trump is my president.”

Yet the Republicans who are not serving on the committee would have you believe the riot was somehow not the fault of Trump and others who fed the lie that Trump had won the election. It was all the work of antifa and Black Lives Matter.

We listened to a Capitol Police officer, Harry Dunn, describe how he repeatedly was called the n-word for the apparently unforgivable offense of saying he had voted for Joe Biden. “You hear that, guys,” a man said, “this n—- voted for Joe Biden.” A crowd chanted: “Boo, f—— n—”

Yet Trump would later say, “There was such love at that rally.”

We listened as another Capitol Police officer, Aquilino Gonell, described how the rioters sprayed him with chemicals, even after he had administered CPR to one of the insurgents. When Gonell finally made his way home at 4 a.m. the next day, his wife tried to hug him but he pushed her away. The chemicals saturating his skin and uniform were too toxic. He took a shower, and the pain welled up.

But Republican apologists would prefer to remind you the rioters were not armed.

Officer Gonell, who has been on medical leave for the last six months, had something to say about that:

“For those people who continue to downplay this violent attack on our democracy and officers,” he testified, “I suggest to them to look at the videos and the footage now, because common things were used as weapons, like a baseball bat, a hockey stick, a rebar, a flagpole, including the American flag, pepper spray, bear spray. Those are weapons, no matter if it is a pen. The way they were using these items, it was.”

The purpose of the House select committee hearings is to get to the bottom of what happened and why at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. To nail down facts, dispel myths and refute lies.

That mission began in a powerful way Tuesday with the testimony of four good cops.

No, there were no patriots climbing the walls, bashing through doors, beating police officers and hunting down senators on Jan. 6. But there were plenty of people who belong in prison.

We trust federal judges will agree.

Send letters to [email protected].

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Close to three dozen environmental and community activists held a more than hour-long protest outside the police-guarded gate of a controversial Target distribution warehouse in Little Village Tuesday, saying the new facility will add as many as 700 additional polluting diesel trucks a day to an already congested stretch of South Pulaski Road.

The action took place as about 100 people attended an indoor ribbon-cutting ceremony at the 1 million square foot warehouse at 3501 S. Pulaski Road. Unlike most ceremonial events to mark a business’ opening, media was banned from the indoor event despite Target’s insistence that the warehouse is a positive addition to the community, promising 2,000 jobs starting at $18 an hour.

Only one elected official, Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), attended the event, while protesters held signs outside that read “Don’t Target us.”

The warehouse project has been controversial from the day it was announced three years ago by developer Hilco Redevelopment Partners. Community activists had fought for more than a decade to shut down the Crawford coal-fired power plant that was eventually closed in 2012. But the addition of a warehouse that would substantially increase truck traffic and subsequent air pollution was unwelcome in the Latino-majority community.

“The best we can get is more trailer trucks in our neighborhood,” said Little Village Environmental Justice Organization executive director Kim Wasserman, who helped lead the charge to shut down the Crawford plant. “That ain’t right.”

Calling the addition of another large source of pollution in a low-income community of color racist, Wasserman vowed to keep up the fight.

“We are fighting against environmental racism in this city and we are going to win,” she told the crowd.

Brett Chase

Community outrage grew even more intensely after an almost 400-foot smokestack from the old power plant was taken down with explosives Easter weekend of 2020, creating a giant dust cloud that covered the Little Village community.

“There are vocal folks who are upset with this project and they have their reasons,” Rodriguez said in an interview. “My focus is holding Hilco responsible for the wrongs they have done and making sure that Target is a good new neighbor.”

Rodriguez said he felt responsible as the alderman in the area to attend the ribbon cutting. He said he has a commitment from Hilco and Target that trucks to and from the facility will not cut through nearby residential streets and will remain on Pulaski to and from the Interstate 55 exit close to the warehouse. “I share those concerns and don’t want more trucks in the neighborhood,” he said.

But he welcomes the economic development.

“Job opportunities are important,” he said.

In a fact sheet, Target said it “built relationships” with Rodriguez and others in the community and noted the agreement on truck routes.

A Target spokeswoman declined to comment on environmentalists’ estimates of potential truck traffic, which is based on the numbers traveling to comparable sites.

Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.

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Lollapalooza is set to welcome hundreds of thousands of people this week in Grant Park for the first time since the pandemic, and with the return of Chicago’s biggest music festival comes strict COVID-19 protocols.

Despite a rise in COVID-19 cases in Chicago and Illinois and growing concern about the Delta variant of the virus, city officials have insisted Lollapalooza will be safe and Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he’ll attend the festival himself.

Concert-goers will be required to present a COVID-19 vaccination card or a negative COVID-19 test at the entrances to the park at Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive or at Columbus Drive and Monroe Street.

For people not fully vaccinated, a negative test result must be obtained within 72 hours of attending Lollapalooza, according to the festival’s website. Those individuals are also required to wear a face mask while at the festival. Masks will be provided at entry gates, guest services and medical tents.

The festival is asking people to comply with the Lollapalooza Fan Health Pledge, which asks patrons to not attend the festival if they have tested positive or been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within 14 days; if they’ve had a fever or any symptoms of COVID-19 within 48 hours of attending the festival; or if they have traveled to any foreign countries subject to travel or quarantine advisories due to COVID-19.

The festival will have increased hand sanitizer stations on-site and will have crews cleaning high-touch areas.

Other advice from the Chicago Department of Public Health includes staying away from crowds if you’re unvaccinated or at high risk for severe COVID-19; activating your wristband and registering for cashless transactions to make purchases at the festival; avoiding physical contact with those outside your party; washing or sanitizing your hands frequently; and limiting consumption of substances to ensure you follow safety measures.

The festival kicks off Thursday and wraps up Sunday.

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A federal judge handed a one-year prison sentence Tuesday to a man caught downtown during the May 2020 riots with a hammer and a loaded gun he was not legally allowed to have.

Though prosecutors said they had no evidence Brandon Pegues caused any damage in the city, they said his crime was also symbolic of the gun problem plaguing Chicago.

And in handing down her sentence, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said people who chose to loot and riot in late May 2020 discredited the people who were peacefully protesting the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

That’s because “uninformed individuals would clump them together,” Kendall said.

Before the judge sentenced him, Pegues told her “I take full responsibility for my actions.” He said he has started a landscaping business and said “I would like you to take into account everything I am and not just the person who made an awful decision.”

But the judge also pointed to allegations of domestic battery that surfaced against Pegues earlier this year, telling him, “The aggressive and violent abuse of women is never tolerated in our society.”

Pegues, who turns 30 on Wednesday, pleaded guilty in March to illegal possession of a firearm. Chicago police said they spotted him a little after 12:30 a.m. May 31, 2020, in the 800 block of South Financial Place, where they arrived “in response to mass crowds and multiple reported ongoing crimes, including criminal damage to property,” court records show.

Officers said they saw four men running south on South Financial, and some were carrying hammers. When officers saw Pegues, they said he looked at them, adjusted his waistband, and fled. Police said they ran after him, and Pegues eventually stumbled and fell.

Police said they saw a gun fall to the ground, and they said they saw Pegues push what turned out to be a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol under a nearby vehicle. Prosecutors said Pegues was also carrying a hammer and more than $2,200 cash when he was arrested.

The feds filed charges against Pegues on June 1, 2020. Pegues had previously been convicted of residential burglary, a felony, in January 2010, court records show.

The sentencing of Pegues, one of the first people to face federal criminal charges in the wake of the May 2020 riots, comes as related cases continue to work their way through the court system.

Records show authorities this week arrested Jose Valdovinos, who was charged in June with setting fire to a Walgreens, in the 4000 block of West 59th Street on June 1, 2020.

And earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman gave three years of probation to Jacob Fagundo, who admitted he set fire to a Chicago police SUV during the May 2020 riots downtown.

Also sentenced last March was D Angelo D. Chester, who was caught with a gun he was not legally allowed to possess on the South Side on June 3, 2020. Chester had been out past the curfew implemented by Mayor Lori Lightfoot as a result of the rioting, authorities said.

U.S. District Judge John Blakey gave Chester more than three years in prison, citing a criminal history that increased the risk Chester would commit another crime.

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Sponsor will not be responsible for any cancellations, delays or substitutions or any acts or omissions whatsoever by the venue or any other person or entities providing any of the prize services.  All prize details will be at Sponsors’ sole discretion. Winners assume sole responsibility for all expenses and incidental costs associated with the prize not explicitly outlined above, including without limitation, all federal, state and local income, sales and use taxes (if any), or any other taxes, fees, and surcharges, gratuities, tips, transportation, parking, souvenirs, concessions, upgrades, personal items, and incidentals. There are no refunds. Prize is not transferable or redeemable for cash and may not be sold, bartered or auctioned. Prize may not be substituted except that Sponsor in its discretion may substitute a prize, or portion thereof, with a prize or portion of equal or greater value if it deems necessary. Any such changes will be announced by Sponsor. Any portion of the prize not used by winners is forfeit and no cash substitute will be offered or permitted. If winners are unable to use the gift card, prize will be forfeited. Prize offered is provided “as is” with no warranty or guarantee either express or implied by Sponsors.

Prize voucher will be e-mailed to winner. Sponsor not responsible for loss, delay, or damage in delivery. Prize substitutions are not allowed, and prize is not transferable. Only Sponsor may elect, at their discretion, to substitute a prize of greater or equal value because of lack of availability. Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor. Properly claimed prize will be awarded, but in no event will Sponsor award more prizes than are provided for in these Official Rules.

5) Other Conditions: By entering this Sweepstakes, each entrant agrees to release, waive and hold harmless Sponsors, Tribune Publishing, Instagram, and their affiliates, subsidiaries, parent corporations and advertising and promotional agencies, and all of their officers, directors, shareholders, employees and agents from any and all injuries, claims, damages, losses, costs, or expenses of any kind (including without limitation attorney’s fees) resulting from accessing the Sweepstakes website; submitting an entry or otherwise participating in any aspect of the Sweepstakes; the receipt, ownership or use of any prize awarded; preparing for, participating in or traveling to and/or from any prize-related activity, or; any printing, typographical or other error in these Official Rules or the announcement of offering of any prize. Neither the failure of Sponsors to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of these Official Rules nor the failure, delay or omission by Sponsors in exercising any right with respect to any term of these Official Rules, will be construed as a waiver or relinquishment to any extent of Sponsors’ right to assert or rely upon any such provision or right in that or any other instance. Sponsors also reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to modify these Official Rules for clarification purposes without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the Sweepstakes. If there is any discrepancy between any term of these Official Rules and marketing or entry materials used in connection with the Sweepstakes, the Official Rules will govern.

By accepting the prize, winners agree, where legal, to allow Sponsor and its agents and licensees to use winner’s name, voice, photograph, likeness, any statement provided by winners, and any information provided on the entry form, in any medium of communication, including advertising, promotional or other purposes in connection with the Sweepstakes, without additional compensation.

6) Internet/Fraud/Tampering: If for any reason this Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned, or if this Sweepstakes or any website associated therewith (or any portion thereof) becomes corrupted or does not allow the proper playing of the Sweepstakes and processing of entries in accordance with these Official Rules, or if infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, actions by entrants, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes, in the Sponsors’ sole opinion, corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Sweepstakes, the Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any individual implicated in such action and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend this Sweepstakes or any portion thereof. If this Sweepstakes is canceled, the Sponsors will conduct a random drawing to award prize from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to the time of the action or event warranting such cancellation, provided Sponsors are able to do so. If such cancellation, termination, modification, or suspension occurs, notification will be posted on Chicago magazine’s Instagram feed. Sponsors reserve the right to prohibit any entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes if, at their sole discretion, Sponsors find such entrant shows a disregard for, or attempts to circumvent, these Official Rules, or acts: (a) in a manner the Sponsors determine to be not fair or equitable; (b) in an annoying, threatening or harassing manner; or (c) in any other disruptive manner. If a dispute arises regarding compliance with these Official Rules, Sponsor may consider, in its sole discretion, data reasonably available to Sponsor through information technology systems in Sponsor’s control, but Sponsor will not be obligated to consider any data or other information collected from any other source. Sponsors assume no liability for: (a) any incorrect or inaccurate entry information, or for any faulty, failed, garbled or jumbled electronic data transmissions; (b) any unauthorized access to, or theft, destruction or alteration of entries at any point in the operation of this Sweepstakes; (c) any technical malfunction, failure, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or communications line failure, regardless of cause, with regard to any equipment, systems, networks, lines, satellites, servers, computers or providers utilized in any aspect of the operation of the Sweepstakes; or (d) inaccessibility or unavailability of the Internet or the Sweepstakes website or any combination thereof.

7) In Case of Dispute: By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants agree that: (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Sweepstakes, or prize awarded, will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards will be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Sweepstakes but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses. This Sweepstakes will be governed and enforced pursuant to Illinois law, excluding choice of law provisions. The federal and state courts located in Cook County, Illinois will be the exclusive forum for any dispute regarding any Official Rule or activity associated with the Sweepstakes. All entrants agree, by participation in the Sweepstakes, to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in Cook County, Illinois.

8) Official Rules/Winner List: For an Official Winner List (available after the end of the Sweepstakes Period), or a copy of these Official Rules, send a request and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Tock Sweepstakes Winner List, Chicago magazine, 560 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL, 60654. All requests for Official Rules or Winner List must be received within 60 days of the end of the Sweepstakes Period.

9) Sponsors: Chicagoland Publishing Company, LLC, 560 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL, 60654; Tock, 406 N. Sangamon St., Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60642.

This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. Any questions, comments or complaints regarding the Sweepstakes should be directed to Sponsors, not Instagram.

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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 sunny with a high near 89 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 74. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers, a high near 92 and heat index values as high as 97.

Top story

Lollapalooza 2021: From Miley to Megan, 10 must-see acts to catch this weekend

Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1991, Lollapalooza got its start as a touring event, originally intended as founder Perry Farrell’s way of bidding adieu to his rock act Jane’s Addiction. Yet, it soon proved successful and became one of the early American models for the thriving and popular festivals that have now become a cornerstone of contemporary culture across the globe.

In the past two years, the event has shown its resiliency and innovative spirit, quickly vaulting to a comprehensive virtual model amid a global pandemic in 2020, and returning this summer as one of the first major music festival events hosted in Chicago (and the country for that matter).

Though a few things have changed this year — no Kidzapalooza stage and strict, new COVID-19 guidelines to be aware of before heading to the park — the stacked four-day lineup is an impressive feat to have pulled off in record time.

Here are the 10 acts people will be buzzing about when the weekend wraps:

Coming out of her kid star shell over the course of the past decade, Miley Cyrus has been experimenting with her self image and music image in that time span, but where she’s landed recently with the glam rock album “Plastic Hearts” is a great place for that ballsy energy and unique voice. Cyrus’ constant state of flux also means anything goes in this set. Will she unleash her latest Metallica cover? Will former collaborators The Flaming Lips join her for a hamster ball ‘palooza? Will she do a duet with dad Billy Ray? Cyrus no doubt will bring the surprises in this festival opening night finale. (8:45 p.m. Thursday, T-Mobile Stage)

Click here to read about nine other must-see acts coming to Grant Park later this week.

More news you need

1. A man caught downtown during the May 2020 protests with a hammer and a gun he wasn’t legally allowed to possess has been sentenced to one year in prison. Prosecutors said they have no evidence the man caused any damage, but he committed a crime that’s symbolic of a gun problem in Chicago.
2. Police reform advocates made their case for more sweeping search warrant reforms during a hearing today on an ordinance championed by several aldermen. The ordinance is aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2019 botched raid on Anjanette Young’s home.
3. The CDC backpedaled today on its masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging. The new guidance comes as national COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have increased, especially in the South.
4. A new PBS documentary centering on Buddy Guy tells the story of the blues icon’s career and his deep ties to Chicago. In his review of “Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away,” Richard Roeper calls it a great American story of a great American life.

A bright one

Netflix reveals the man behind ‘Chicago Party Aunt’ Twitter account, announces series

The person behind the famed Twitter account “Chicago Party Aunt” was revealed today.

He’s 38-year-old Chris Witaske, a Los Angeles-based actor and comedian best known for his role on Netflix’s “Love.” He’s been running the Twitter account, which parodies a party-loving, middle-aged woman from Chicago.

The grand reveal came today along with news that Netflix is turning “Chicago Party Aunt” into an adult animated comedy premiering Sept. 17.

Courtesy of Netflix

Witaske, who grew up in St. Charles, previously lived in Chicago where he performed at Second City and iO.

He has appeared on several series including his role as Chris Czajkowski on “Love.” Other television credits include “Arrested Development,” “Teachers” and “Lady Bird.”

“Chicago Party Aunt” will feature Witaske as well as RuPaul Charles, Ike Barinholtz, Jon Barinholtz, Katie Rich and others.

However, Witaske won’t be voicing the title character. That role goes to Lauren Ash, who will voice Diane Dunbrowski, otherwise known as the Chicago Party Aunt.

Katelyn Haas has more on the new show here.

From the press box

Your daily question ?

Say you’ve been tasked with writing a show set in Chicago — who’s the main character? What parts of the city will be featured?

Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: the National Sports Collectors Convention is in town this week. Do you collect anything? What and why? Here’s what some of you said…

“I’ve collected all the hats worn in the locker room after each Chicago Bulls NBA championship game. Never worn and the tags are still on them! I collected them because I realized it was a historic period in Bulls team history. The Bulls dominated the 1990s decade in basketball — Michael, Scottie and the guys. It was great.” — Charles Woods

“I collect sports cards and am planning to go the National this weekend. I collected as a kid and got back into the hobby 2 years ago. It’s fun opening up a box of cards, because you never know what you’re going to get. The people who are in the hobby are great as well. I go to my local card shop frequently and always learn something new or debate a card’s worth with people who enjoy the hobby as well.” — Art Olvera Jr.

“Vinyl records because I enjoy listening to music.” — Mike Guido

“Angels. I had a near-death experience 35 years ago. When I woke up, I was attracted to stories about angels — books, ceramic angels, etc. At one time, I had a collection of over 100 Angels.” — Genevieve Williams

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