With Lollapalooza just days away, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is saying she won’t hesitate to return to a mask mandate if Chicago’s daily rate of coronavirus cases is “consistently going over” 200.

“If we get back into an area where we feel like we’re in a red zone, which we are working very hard to make sure that our daily case rate is below 200, if we start to see consistently going over that, we’re not only going to look at a mask mandate, but we’re going to look back at other tools that we’ve been compelled to use,” the mayor told Kara Swisher on the New York Times’ “Sway” podcast, posted online Monday.

Later Monday, Lightfoot told reporters she would consult with organized labor before reinstating safety mitigations. She advised both vaccinated and unvaccinated Chicagoans to wear masks indoors.

“Everybody’s got to make their decisions about what makes the most sense for them. But if we see a surge anything like we’ve seen in the past couple of cycles, then everything is on the table,” she said

“Right now, I feel confident with the measures that are in place. But everything is subject to change, based upon the data and the science.”

Lea este articulo en espanol en La Voz Chicago, un servicio presentado por AARP Chicago.

The current daily case rate in Chicago is 130. That’s up 76% from 74 cases a day just a week ago.

Throughout the pandemic, Lightfoot has alternated between implementing mitigations that are even tougher than Gov. J.B. Pritzker and criticizing the governor for going too far at times, particularly in terms of closing schools and banning indoor dining at restaurants.

More recently, Lightfoot has sounded the alarm about the Delta variant and the rise in cases among the large number of unvaccinated Chicagoans, while also saying she has no regrets about green-lighting Lollapalooza’s return to Grant Park this weekend with hundreds of thousands of young people jammed together, in front of multiple stages, dancing, singing and swaying to the music.

To be allowed to enter Grant Park, attendees must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test no older than 72 hours.

At an unrelated news conference Monday afternoon, the mayor said she has no second thoughts about green-lighting the city’s marquee music festival.

That’s because the event is outdoors and because, as the mayor put it, Lollapalooza organizers have done “a tremendous job of educating” their “core” patrons about “the necessity of getting vaccinated.”

“If I thought for a moment that shutting down Lolla would prevent further spread in the way that we’re seeing it, then I wouldn’t hesitate to do that. But it’s outdoors. We’ve been having large-scale events all over the city since June without major problems or issues,” she said.

“The Lolla team has been phenomenal. They’ve hired their own public health experts who’ve been working hand-in-glove with us since we started these discussions back early in the spring. … So, God bless the critics standing on the sidelines. But I feel confident that the Lolla folks have a good solid plan in place. And we’re gonna obviously hold them accountable to make sure that plan is enforced.”

Lightfoot’s “critics standing on the sidelines” include University of Chicago epidemiologist Dr. Emily Landon, who has said it’s a “bad idea” to hold the jam-packed event, which she said is “all about the money.”

“God bless Dr. Landon. I don’t agree with her. She’s said a lot of things over the course of this last 16 months which I don’t agree with. Who I have confidence in is Dr. Allison Arwady, our director of public health, who has been working with the folks at Lolla for some time now — and particularly over the last few weeks — to understand what their plan is … and that we’re all on the same page about what’s needed,” the mayor said.

During the podcast interview, Lightfoot told Swisher the Delta variant has her incredibly concerned. So does the fact that vaccine “uptake” in some South Side neighborhoods was “in the high-teens” not too long again, she said, and is still under 40%.

“When I see statistics like 97% of the people that are getting sick or 97% of the people that are dying are folks who are unvaccinated, that is alarming. The southern part of our state is starting to really catch fire with new COVID infections. I’m worried about a surge there. So I’m concerned. We’re sounding the alarm. And we’re going to be looking closely at how the data progresses,” Lightfoot said.

Swisher noted Los Angeles County has already restored an indoor mask mandate. That county’s vaccination rate is “similar to” Chicago’s, she added, with about 70% of eligible adults having received at least one dose. The mayor was asked whether she was considering reinstating a mask mandate.

“We’re not there yet, but I am very concerned about what we’re seeing in the uptick in our cases,” Lightfoot said. “We’re still in a good place as we are speaking. But we’re seeing an uptick in daily cases. We’re starting to see a slight uptick in hospitalizations. You know, the deaths are kind of a trailing indicator. That’s steady for now.”

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The final victim of the condo building collapse in Florida has been identified, a relative said Monday, more than a month after the middle-of-the-night catastrophe that ultimately claimed 98 lives.

Estelle Hedaya, an outgoing 54-year-old with a love of travel, was the last victim identified, ending what her relatives described as a torturous four-week wait.

Her younger brother, Ikey Hedaya, confirmed the identification to The Associated Press. The news comes just days after rescuers officially concluded the painstaking and emotionally heavy task of removing layers of dangerous debris and pulling out dozens of bodies.

“She always mentioned God anytime she was struggling with anything,” he said. “She had reached a different level spiritually, which allowed her to excel in all other areas.”

Her brother said he is drawing strength from God, just as he’d seen his sister do in troubling times. A funeral was scheduled for Tuesday.

The site of the June 24 collapse at the oceanside Champlain Towers South has been mostly swept flat, the rubble moved to a Miami warehouse. Although forensic scientists are still at work, including examining the debris at the warehouse, authorities said there are no more bodies to be found where the building once stood.

In the end, crews found no evidence that anyone who was found dead had survived the initial collapse, Fire Chief Alan Cominsky has said.

Search teams spent weeks battling the hazards of the rubble, including an unstable portion of the building that teetered above, a recurring fire and Florida’s stifling summer heat and thunderstorms. They went through more than 14,000 tons of broken concrete and rebar before finally declaring the mission complete.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s urban search-and-rescue team pulled away from the site Friday in a convoy of firetrucks and other vehicles, slowly driving to their headquarters. The fire chief saluted their bravery, saying they had worked 12-hour shifts while camping out at the site and also dealing with the heavy emotional burden.

Linda March, a 58 year-old attorney and fellow former New Yorker, was close friends with Hedaya. Oddly the two were the last three victims to be identified, along with 24-year-old Anastasia Gromova of Canada.

Leah Sutton, who knew Hedaya since birth and considered herself a second mother to her, said she and March were both “forces to be reckoned with.”

“My two beautiful amazing fearless friends saved for last, have to believe there was a reason for them to be last,” she said Monday. “Estelle’s love of God was unbelievable and unwavering.”

The dead included members of the area’s large Orthodox Jewish community, the sister of Paraguay’s first lady, her family and their nanny, along with an entire family of four that included a local salesman, his wife and their two young daughters, 4 and 11, who were buried in the same coffin.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear what will happen at the collapse site. A judge presiding over several lawsuits filed in the collapse aftermath wants the property sold at market rates, which would bring in an estimated $100 million or more. Some condo owners want to rebuild, and others say a memorial should be erected to remember the dead.

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Chicago Bears News: Jesse James brings excellent skill set by Ryan Taylor

Over the weekend, the Chicago Bears traded Anthony Miller to the Houston Texans. It was a good move for the Bears as they don’t need him as a distraction on the team right now. They already have enough issues going on with the wide receiver room.

He is a highly skilled player but he never seemed to get it done in the biggest moments for the Bears. Unfortunately, it seems now like this trade has opened the door for the Green Bay Packers to have Aaron Rodgers this season.

Trey Wingo reported that Aaron Rodgers coming back to Green Bay would require them to trade for an old friend. He wants them to trade for Randall Cobb who is currently a member of the aforementioned Houston Texans. It does seem possible that this could get done (if the rumor is true) because of the fact that the Bears traded Miller there.

Cobb is now more expendable because of the fact that the wide receiver room just received another notable player. Cobb isn’t the player he once was but he is capable of making Aaron Rodgers happy which is the number one issue in Green Bay right now. If he is happy, he will play well. If he plays well, they have a chance to win the Super Bowl.

The Chicago Bears are seeing a lot of news coming out about their biggest rivals.

Hearing Rodgers coming back to GB hinging on trading for former teammate Randall Cobb . If Cobb is in Green Bay it looks like Rodgers will be too

— trey wingo (@wingoz) July 26, 2021

Shortly after this rumor came out, ESPN’s Adam Schefter came out with a report that is bad news for Bears fans. There were already reports from earlier in the day that they were going to have Rodgers for this season. Then, Schefter reported that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are close to a deal that is going to bring in more money for Rodgers. The Packers are giving in and giving him what he wants is what it sounds like. The Chicago Bears are going to have to face Rodgers in 2021.

Packers are offering concessions and are close to an agreement that would bring Aaron Rodgers back to Green Bay for at least this season, sources tell ESPN. Deal is not done but it is close.

More on NFL Live at 4.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 26, 2021

If this happens and the Cobb news comes true, the Bears can’t blame themselves. It did make him easier to trade but nobody would have ever seen this coming. At this point, for the Bears, the most important thing has to be developing their new young quarterback. Aaron isn’t going to be there for most of Justin Fields’s career so just worry about that.

Having Anthony Miller gone should be a good thing for the team in the long run anyway. If bringing back an aging wide receiver is what Green Bay needs to do to keep Rodgers happy, that is okay with us. Hopefully, the Bears can start worrying about themselves and that could lead to more winning.

Related Story: Will Charles Tillman go to the Hall of Fame?

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SAITAMA, Japan — Time would solve many problems for the U.S. men’s basketball team right now. A few practices to develop chemistry and figure out exactly how these roster pieces fit together would do wonders.

It’s not happening.

There is no time. Or, more accurately, this is the time. The U.S. men have two games left in group play at the Tokyo Olympics — Wednesday against Iran and Saturday against the Czech Republic — to figure whatever needs to be figured out. An opening loss to France on Sunday didn’t seem to surprise the French much, and in a more ominous sign, didn’t seem to surprise the Americans that much either.

“This is the time for us to really hone in, lock in,” U.S. center Bam Adebayo said after the 83-76 defeat at the hands of the French.

He’s right. The game against Iran — FanDuel says the Americans are 37.5-point favorites — on Wednesday should be a way to build some momentum, going into what could very easily be a win-or-go-home game against the Czechs.

Win both, and the U.S. is headed to the quarterfinals and with a very real chance to win the whole thing. Lose one of the next two, and this almost certainly will go down as the worst showing ever for a nation that has never gone to the Olympics and not won a medal.

“I think that’s just what the expectations are when you play for Team USA,” guard Damian Lillard said after the Americans wasted a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter in the loss Sunday. “I think we have a history of dominance and, maybe not always blowing people out, but we have a history of winning. It’s not often that you see Team USA go out there and lose, especially to start.”

He added, “I think that’s why a lot of people make it seem like the end of the world.”

Losing to France wasn’t the end of the world. The U.S. still has time to get things right. And there is reason for hope that things will get better for the Americans.

Khris Middleton, the second-best player on the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, played only 5-1/2 minutes on Sunday and missed both of his shots. Devin Booker went 1 for 6. In both cases, it’s reasonable to say that flying 6,600 miles the day before just to get to Tokyo after the NBA Finals probably had some sort of effect on their performance.

Lillard shot 3 for 10. Kevin Durant shot 4 for 12. The Americans shot only 31% from 3-point range. They overpassed on some possessions, turning down layups and shooting 3’s instead. There didn’t seem to be a ton of interest in defense at certain times; Jrue Holiday was a clear exception to that rule, picking up full court even after being on that long flight with Milddleton and Booker.

They’re better than this. They should play better than this.

“If we put together some good possessions down the road, we’ll be fine,” Durant said.

Thing is, there’s been that sense — “we’ll be fine” — since the exhibition losses to Nigeria and Australia. They’re not fine. This team has been together, in full, for exactly one game. The chemistry isn’t there. It’s a bunch of highly talented individuals who know each other and like each other, but if they were a band they would just be making sounds right now in jam sessions. Music isn’t happening.

“I think we are more than capable of doing it,” said Lillard, who knows a thing or two about how to make music. “I think our No. 1 challenge has been taking a group of talented individuals and turning into a team, in a short amount of time.”

They’ve been saying that for a while now.

And yes, it’s clear that the experience other nations have is an advantage for those teams. France’s core has played together for years. Spain, Argentina and Australia, too. They all smell blood. They all think the U.S. is vulnerable, and the U.S. is doing nothing to dispel that notion.

“You can definitely tell they’re tired of the USA winning,” Adebayo said. “Everybody wants that feeling of getting that gold medal. And we can’t rely on talent all the time to just bring us home.”

Adebayo said the Americans know their backs are against the wall now.

It’s time. Or else.

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The Bears’ plan for this season is perfect — as long as everything goes exactly right.

Like a wild, multi-team parlay in Las Vegas, it’s more hopeful than prudent. That’s why Vegas, by the way, gives them the same odds of winning the Super Bowl as the Atlanta Falcons at 50-to-1.

When players report to Halas Hall for training camp Tuesday, it’ll be much different than two years ago when they rolled into Bourbonnais talking about a dynasty. The tone will be more measured, but it’s a given that general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy will open camp by telling everyone they feel “really good” about the team they’ve built.

The truth is, this is a bridge season to Justin Fields taking over as full-time starting quarterback in 2022. And while the Bears don’t want to waste this season altogether, especially when they don’t have a first-round pick next year, they’ll need all their dreams to come true in order to make the playoffs.

That starts with quarterback Andy Dalton, the consolation prize after the Bears weren’t able to trade for Russell Wilson or any of the other big names who were thought to be available in the offseason.

Dalton, 33, is a household name because he has been in the NFL a long time, not because he’s a star. The Bengals spent nine years trying to decide whether he was good enough.

Nobody pounced on him to be their starter when they cut him after the 2019 season, and in 11 games for the Cowboys when Dak Prescott was injured, he had a lower passer rating (87.3), touchdown-to-interception ratio (1.8) and yards-per-game average (197.3) than Mitch Trubisky. Their career numbers are remarkably similar, too.

Nagy has raved about Dalton’s accuracy and ability to read defenses — two major frustrations for Trubisky — but Pro Football Reference charted him at 78% on-target passes last season and 72% in 2019. Trubisky and Nick Foles were both at 76% last season.

So the Bears’ bet is that, four seasons removed from his last Pro Bowl, they can squeeze playoff-caliber football out of a quarterback who has been adequate most of his career and looks like he’s close to retirement.

And that’s assuming they’ve solved their offensive line, where they’ll likely turn to rookies Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom at left and right tackle, respectively.

It also assumes they’ll supply Dalton with enough threats despite Allen Robinson being the only sure thing at wide receiver, tight end Cole Kmet being unproven and running back David Montgomery still developing.

Lately, the Bears’ overwhelming defense has offset the offensive shortfalls. The thinking inside Halas Hall has been that if the offense can be merely league-average, the defense can make the Bears a contender. But that’s no longer a certainty, and the team is taking significant risks on that side of the ball.

The Bears are still a good defense, but this blueprint requires them to be great. The defense must be what it was in 2018, when it allowed the fewest points in the NFL, forced the most turnovers and were third in sacks. The Bears haven’t had that level of ferocity since.

The decline was most noticeable against the pass last season, and the Bears took a step backward by releasing star cornerback Kyle Fuller for salary-cap reasons. Now they’re banking on second-year player Jaylon Johnson to take over as their No. 1 corner.

That’s fine. He’s ready for it. But there are vacancies at the other outside corner and at nickel, and the options are shaky. Desmond Trufant is 30 and hasn’t played a full season since 2018. Duke Shelley played just 19% of the defense snaps last season, and Kindle Vildor played 13%. Artie Burns is coming off a torn ACL.

That group would look better if the Bears got their pass rush rolling, but that’s another wild card. Pace signed Robert Quinn to a $70 million contract last year and he began his Bears career with two sacks in 548 snaps. He was out during minicamp last month because of a back injury. The Bears are counting on not only production from him, but the ripple effect of Quinn drawing attention away from Khalil Mack.

Some of what the Bears sketched out as a best-case scenario surely will materialize this season, but it’s awfully ambitious to expect all of it to break their way. And that’s probably what they’ll need.

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The executive board of the Fraternal Order of Police has overwhelmingly approved a new eight-year contract, setting the stage for a ratification vote by rank-and-file Chicago police officers in line for a 20% pay raise, more than half of it retroactive.

FOP President John Catanzara pegged the cost of the retroactive pay raise alone at $600 million. The retroactive pay raise for firefighters and paramedics cost taxpayers $96 million, and “we’re three times their size and we got an extra year,” he noted.

“It’s not because we’re taking ’em to the cleaners. It’s because we waited four years for the money,” Catanzara said Monday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot didn’t quarrel with the $600 million price tag when asked on Monday how she plans to pay for it.

“If you check our budget, we’ve been tucking money away for this, little by little, every year. So we feel prepared to manage the expense that will be incurred. And we can give you more details later,” the mayor told reporters after an unrelated afternoon news conference.

For weeks, Lightfoot had played cat-and-mouse about the new contract. When Catanzara announced the deal to his members by posting a YouTube video, Lightfoot said he was mistaken.

That finally changed when City Hall announced the deal Monday afternoon — after it had been reported by the Sun-Times and after ballots starting going out to rank-and-file officers who still must ratify the deal.

“I am pleased that we finally got it done. It shouldn’t have taken this long. I shouldn’t have walked into office with a contract that was already two years expired. It shouldn’t have taken us two more years to get it done because we had an FOP leadership that was literally refusing to get to the table,” she said.

“I told them over and over again, `We’re not gonna talk about money unless we talk about accountability.’ I’m happy with the progress that we’ve made on reform and accountability. … Those are the top-line features. We’ve built into the contract some other resources to help support our men and women around health and wellness. But it shouldn’t have taken another two years. … This could have been something that we did a year ago.”

Catanzara said he has no idea how much money, if any, the city has squirreled away for the 10.5% portion of the pay raise that will be retroactive. Lightfoot’s 2021 budget included just $100 million for that purpose.

Asked where the money will come from, Catanzara said it’s not his problem.

“That’s on the mayor and that’s on every single alderman who didn’t pay attention when they passed a budget last October that clearly had only $100 million set aside for police back-pay, which was pretty short-sighted, since the Fire Department got the same amount,” he said.

“They have $900 million from the federal government, at least, out of $2 billion that we’re getting. … I have no idea what the guidelines are” for spending the federal relief money, Catanzara added. “I know it was OK to use to hire police officers. I know it can’t be used for pension obligations. But I don’t know that there’s a prohibition for using it for anything else other than that.”

During landmark debate last week on civilian police oversight, Catanzara told the Sun-Times the new eight-year contract includes a host of accountability reforms Lightfoot has long demanded.

Among those reforms, according to the city:

o Ending “the 40-year ban on the investigation of anonymous complaints about police misconduct” and expediting the override process that paves the way for those complaints.

o No longer allowing officers to change their stories after reviewing bodycam video of an incident.

o Eliminating a requirement that disciplinary records older than five years be destroyed.

o Broadening the use of police disciplinary records in cases involving police misconduct, including verbal abuse.

The contract calls for rank-and-file Chicago Police officers to receive a 10.5% retroactive pay raise and 9.5% more through January 2025.

The city has also agreed to increase so-called “duty availability pay” to $950-per-quarter and raise the annual uniform allowance to $1,950.

Duty availability pay will be offered “retroactively” from July 2017 to all officers whose probation period has ended after 18 months. And going forward, duty availability pay will be available after 18 months, instead of after 42 months.

On the health care front, rank-and-file police officers will be asked, for now, to absorb “only 50%” of the increase in health care contributions imposed on police sergeants and Chicago firefighters and paramedics. The rest of that increase will be postponed until next July, allowing members to retire under the current 2.2% at age 55 and at 0% for those 60 and over.

Although the contract includes what FOP negotiator Paul Vallas has called “core accountability issues,” more controversial disciplinary changes must still be negotiated and “may end up in arbitration.”

Despite the $600 million tab for retro pay alone, Vallas has argued the contract “should not require an increase in taxes. Nor should it delay the filling of police vacancies in order to have the needed financing.”

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Meanstreets vs. Illinois Wolves.

Let’s play it out.

After a full July of grassroots basketball, where dozens and dozens of club basketball programs from Illinois traveled across the country, two teams stood out from the rest. Both the Meanstreets and Illinois Wolves club basketball programs shined this past month.

Unfortunately, the two elite 17U teams never faced one another on the court. Not in April, not in May and certainly not in July when the two teams played exclusively on their shoe-sponsored circuits.

The Illinois Wolves played in the Under Armour Association with three “live” evaluation weekends in Atlanta, Dallas and Indianapolis. Meanstreets played on Nike’s EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) circuit which culminated with an appearance in the prestigious Peach Jam Tournament this past weekend.

With college coaches at all levels watching and national evaluators eyeballing their players, these two teams were pretty spectacular throughout the month. They should be celebrated, competing, producing and winning at the highest levels of grassroots basketball.

The Illinois Wolves do have talent. There are high-major prospects leading the way and Division I prospects coming off the bench. But this year’s Wolves team was also kind of the antithesis of AAU basketball — or at least the perception of what AAU basketball is and what it’s often criticized for being.

Illinois Wolves coach and founder Mike Mullins has been at this since starting the program with his then grade school son, Bryan Mullins, now the head coach at Southern Illinois, just over two decades ago. Mike Mullins has had talented groups of teams over the years, but this one was special in that it was a group of unselfish players — from the stars right on down to the last man on the bench.

Together this Illinois Wolves team bought into roles and a winning mentality in a short period of time. They played a disciplined, fun, altruistic brand of basketball at both ends of the floor.

Yes, Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt and Glenbard West’s Braden Huff are high-major players and can play just about anywhere they want at the next level. That’s a great start. But in club basketball the very best teams all have stars destined to play high-major basketball.

But it was also Tuscola’s Jalen Quinn steady play at point guard. It was Glenbard West’s Cade Pierce providing versatility and toughness. It was Glenbrook South’s Cooper Noard fighting for everything and hitting clutch threes. It was out-of-state import Alonas Peciulis from Tennessee adding size, athleticism and some dirty work. It was DePaul Prep’s Dylan Arnett and Hillcrest’s AaReyon Munir-Jones providing valuable depth in the frontcourt and backcourt, respectively.

They all fueled a sensational run through the month of July, which included a 16-1 record and an Under Armour Association title this past Sunday. The Illinois Wolves beat the Riverside Hawks from the East Coast in the championship of the UA Finals 32-team tournament.

Meanwhile, Meanstreets has been a club basketballs staple for 20 years under founder Tai Streets, who is also the head coach at Thornton. Meanstreets won AAU championships in the early days and captured a Peach Jam title in 2006 with Derrick Rose in the backcourt. So many greats have come through the program, including current NBA star Anthony Davis.

This year’s team was among the best in Nike’s EYBL play, reaching the semifinals of the Peach Jam Tournament, which is considered the best, highest level grassroots event in the country. Like almost all Tai Streets-coached teams, this one played extremely hard and with that attacking style Streets preaches and demands.

Plus, like the Illinois Wolves, the biggest names on the team were pretty selfless in their approach to being stars on the summer circuit.

Meanstreets featured big out-of-state prospects to be sure, but there were in-state players who more than made a name for themselves, including Buffalo Grove’s Kam Craft and Glenbrook South’s Nick Martinelli. Both Craft and Martinelli are rising seniors who have made their college choices, committing to Xavier and Elon, respectively.

Young’s AJ Casey is a high-major recruit who came into the summer as the No. 1 prospect in the state. He battled through a broken finger to help Meanstreets these past two weeks, while Oak Forest’s Robbie Avila came off the bench to provide minutes.

The average basketball fan probably doesn’t understand or even care to know the politics of shoe-sponsored club basketball in the off season.

Those diehards in the Pontiac bleachers in December and so many other passionate high school basketball fans throughout the state could give two hoots about a Peach Jam, a Meanstreet, the circuit or how Under Armour, Nike, Adidas or anyone else conducts their summer business or who wins what in July. Right now that large group of fans are just aching for an actual State Finals in Champaign and an IHSA championship to be played.

Ask the majority of high school basketball coaches in the state and most are oblivious to the inner-workings of grassroots basketball. They pay little attention to it aside from following and pulling for their own players within their program who are playing on the circuit.

But there are a small number of fans who do follow summer basketball, live and breathe it just as they do in the winter months of the high school basketball season. And those who do follow the grassroots basketball scene would love to see it: Meanstreets vs. Illinois Wolves.

Better yet would be an eight-team All-Illinois Club Basketball Tournament, highlighted of course by Meanstreets and the Illinois Wolves. Those two would be your top two seeds and a debate would rage among their ardent supporters as to who should be awarded the top seed.

The Illinois Wolves have the best record and actually won the Under Armour Association title. And unlike Meanstreets, the Illinois Wolves only have one major contributor from out of state. That scores points for me but doesn’t matter a whole lot when it comes to club basketball.

But Meanstreets, which had three starters and five of its top nine from either Indiana or Michigan, played in Nike’s EYBL. And that matters.

There has been and continues to be a different look to those EYBL teams and players when it comes to size, athleticism and pure talent. I did a recent informal poll among 22 college coaches asking them to name the best grassroots basketball circuit and the best place to evaluate. It was unanimous as all 22 said Nike’s EYBL and, specifically, the Peach Jam.

Our hypothetical tournament, however, would be featuring two of the premier teams in the country, regardless of shoe affiliation, right at the top. And it would provide a chance for so many others to get their shot at the best.

This hypothetical tournament would include these seven teams: Meanstreets, Illinois Wolves, Mac Irvin Fire, Illinois Hoopstars, Fundamental U, Team Rose and Young & Reckless. Then we would have the Southwest Illinois Jet and NJ Benson facing off against Breakaway and Ben VanderWal in a play-in game for the eighth spot.

If we go the extra mile and put together a 16U All-Illinois Tournament of eight teams, I’m going to swap in Midwest Pro Academy somewhere. That team is a must for any Illinois 16U tournament.

(All those teams that weren’t included? Sorry. But don’t worry. There is another tournament for you somewhere with some title awarded or championship given; that’s the nature and beauty of AAU basketball.)

Other Illinois programs fare well

There was a lot of talk coming out of the spring that Illinois players would be so far behind many other states due to how the state chose to handle the pandemic and high school sports, particularly basketball.

But in many cases the results from this summer would prove otherwise.

As noted, Meanstreets and the Illinois Wolves 17U teams thrived. Plus, a few other 17U teams fared very well this past month against quality competition, including the Illinois Hoopstars and Fundamental U.

Underneath the Under Armour umbrella there is the Under Armour Association — the top 26 Under Armour teams in the country that are officially sponsored by the shoe company — and also what is called Under Armour Rise. Those are 48 teams that are provided a platform to play through Under Armour events.

The Illinois Wolves are the only Illinois-based Under Armour program. But there are several that play in what is the Under Armour Rise division, including the Illinois Hoopstars and Fundamental U.

Fundamental U had arguably the best non-shoe sponsored 17U team in Illinois. Mike Weinstein’s program featured a 17U team that was led by New Trier’s Jackson Munro, Carmel’s Bryce Moore and Niles North’s Yogi Oliff.

As a result of Fundamental U going an impressive 9-1 in Under Armour Rise play, it was rewarded with a berth in the Under Armour Association Tournament as one of six UA Rise at-large teams.

The balanced Illinois Hoopstars played in the Under Armour Rise Championship Bracket after going 8-4 in regular-season play. The Hoopstars rolled to five victories, including a 66-65 win over Dallas Showtyme in the championship, to claim its own title.

The biggest name for the Hoopstars is Normal’s Zach Cleveland, a top 15 prospect in the state who has committed to Liberty. Cleveland and recently graduated big man KJ Debrick of Springfield Lanphier were the go-to players.

But several local players made an impact, including the St. Ignatius tandem of Kolby Gilles and AJ Redd, Solorio’s Donovan Jones, Marian Catholic’s Jeremiah Jones and Class of 2021 graduate Freddie Cooper of Corliss.

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The executive board of the Fraternal Order of Police has overwhelmingly approved a new eight-year contract, setting the stage for a ratification vote by rank-and-file Chicago police officers in line for a 20% pay raise, more than half of it retroactive.

FOP President John Catanzara pegged the cost of the retroactive pay raise alone at $600 million. The retroactive pay raise for firefighters and paramedics cost taxpayers $96 million, and “we’re three times their size and we got an extra year,” he noted.

“It’s not because we’re taking ’em to the cleaners. It’s because we waited four years for the money,” Catanzara said Monday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, however, had continued to play cat-and-mouse about the new contract until Monday afternoon, when it was announced by City Hall — after it had been reported by the Sun-Times.

Until then, including on a New York Times podcast, she had refused even to acknowledge the existence of the tentative agreement the FOP board already has approved by a 14-to-1 vote. The union also has received a signed copy from the city and started mailing out copies for the rank-and-file to ratify.

“I think we will ultimately get there. But we’re gonna do it on a timeline that makes sense for our city, for our taxpayers, for the members” of the City Council, Lightfoot had told Kara Swisher on the New York Times’ “Sway” podcast, posted online on Monday.

“We need to make sure that the dollars that they propose make sense. We’ve obviously got to think about what are the revenue sources for that. And we’re fly-specking all of the reform measures that we’ve advocated for to make sure that we’ve gotten everything that I know that we need to be able to move forward. We’re doing our diligence.”

Catanzara said he has no idea how much money, if any, the city has squirreled away for the 10.5% portion of the pay raise that will be retroactive. Lightfoot’s 2021 budget included just $100 million for that purpose.

Asked where the money will come from, Catanzara said it’s not his problem.

“That’s on the mayor and that’s on every single alderman who didn’t pay attention when they passed a budget last October that clearly had only $100 million set aside for police back-pay, which was pretty short-sighted, since the Fire Department got the same amount,” he said.

“They have $900 million from the federal government, at least, out of $2 billion that we’re getting. … I have no idea what the guidelines are” for spending the federal relief money, Catanzara added. “I know it was OK to use to hire police officers. I know it can’t be used for pension obligations. But I don’t know that there’s a prohibition for using it for anything else other than that.”

During landmark debate last week on civilian police oversight, Catanzara told the Sun-Times the new eight-year contract includes a host of accountability reforms Lightfoot has long demanded.

The mayor referred to those disciplinary changes when asked why negotiations have dragged on for years.

“People want reform. They want accountability. So do I. And I’m determined that we’re gonna deliver it. So why this has been protracted is, the FOP president knew that the status-quo that didn’t have the kind of controls around it — that pre-dated my time as mayor — was probably the best contract he was gonna get regarding reform and accountability, because it didn’t really have any measures in it. But that’s not reality,” Lightfoot said.

“Luckily, our state legislature has also upped the ante by mandating certain reform measures as a matter of state law. That can’t be ignored.”

The contract calls for rank-and-file Chicago Police officers to receive a 10.5% retroactive pay raise and 9.5% more through January 2025.

The city has also agreed to increase so-called “duty availability pay” to $950-per-quarter and raise the annual uniform allowance to $1,950.

Duty availability pay will be offered “retroactively” from July 2017 to all officers whose probation period has ended after 18 months. And going forward, duty availability pay will be available after 18 months, instead of after 42 months.

On the health care front, rank-and-file police officers will be asked to absorb “only 50%” of the increase in health care contributions imposed on police sergeants and Chicago firefighters and paramedics. And the “second half” of that increase will be “postponed until July, 1, 2022 to allow members to retire under the current, 2.2% at age 55 and 0% for those 60 and over.”

The contract has two phases.

Phase One, an agreement on officer compensation, also addresses what unpaid FOP negotiator Paul Vallas has called “core accountability issues.” Phase Two will “take much more time to resolve,” presumably because it includes the most controversial disciplinary changes that “may end up in arbitration.”

“The consensus was that it was important to get the financial issues resolved and have accountability provisions that mirrored the city’s agreement with the sergeants, with some clarifications,” Vallas wrote in a Facebook post on negotiations.

Despite the $600 million tab for retro pay alone, Vallas has argued that the contract “should not require an increase in taxes. Nor should it delay the filling of police vacancies in order to have the needed financing.”

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SAITAMA, Japan — The soundtrack of the NBA a generation ago has made its way to the Tokyo Olympics.

“Roundball Rock” — the iconic score composed by John Tesh about three decades ago — is being utilized again by NBC at the Tokyo Games, as the theme music for men’s and women’s basketball on their broadcasts.

Tesh’s music was the theme for the “NBA on NBC” coverage from 1990 through 2002, spanning parts of the careers of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and many others. The music started being used again on the Olympic basketball telecasts on NBC’s networks over the weekend.

Tesh once said that he came up with the theme on a trip to Europe but didn’t have a piano available to him on the trip. He called his home answering machine and sang the idea for the theme into the phone, leaving the message to himself.

It was even parodied on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in 2013 in a skit featuring, among others, Jason Sudeikis — who now stars in “Ted Lasso.”

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Days after Attorney General Merrick Garland came to Chicago to promote a new program to combat gun violence in part by targeting so-called straw purchasers, a federal judge handed down an eight-month prison sentence in what the feds called a “case study” in the problem.

Federal prosecutors say Eric Blackman bought a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol for someone who was underage in August 2019 from a licensed firearms dealer in Oak Forest. They said he later told investigators, “I just figured, what’s the worst that could happen?”

But the feds say that gun was ultimately linked to a Dec. 22, 2019 mass shooting on the South Side that injured 13 people in the 5700 block of South May Street. Of the 31 cartridge casings found at the home where the shooting happened, 13 came from the gun Blackman purchased.

By buying the gun, Blackman played the role of the so-called straw purchaser — using his lack of criminal history to purchase a gun for someone who wasn’t supposed to have it.

Before U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman handed the eight-month sentence to Blackman on Monday, Blackman told the judge, “It was basically a mistake that was made that I wish I could really take back.”

Blackman’s defense attorney, Michael Leonard, tried to underscore Blackman’s lack of criminal history and said that Blackman is “not the guy we’re looking for to solve the gun problem.”

But Gettleman noted that Blackman’s lack of criminal history helped him commit his crime.

The judge noted that Blackman didn’t seem to commit his crime for money — distinguishing his from other straw-purchasing cases. But Gettleman also said guns have “destroyed so many lives in our city” and “stray bullets are killing children almost every week in this community.” The judge rejected a request from Blackman’s attorney for no prison time.

The person Blackman purchased the gun for was caught with it a little more than a week after the mass shooting when officers saw him walking with what appeared to be a gun handle sticking out of his right coat pocket, according to court records. The feds say the firearm was loaded and had an obliterated serial number.

That person was not accused of participating in the shooting, the judge said during Monday’s hearing.

Jon Seidel/Sun-Times

Garland paid an overnight visit to Chicago last week to tout a new Justice Department program meant to combat gun violence in Chicago and in other cities across the country, in part by targeting straw purchasers.

Asked about people who consider straw-purchasing a “paper crime” because it involves lying on a form — Blackman pleaded guilty to lying about a firearm sale — Garland called that characterization “unfortunate.”

“We do not regard this as a minor matter,” Garland said. “We regard this as a major matter.”

Meanwhile, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Wong wrote in a recent court memo that, “The straw purchaser plays a significant role in the gun violence that has continuously troubled the city of Chicago and threatened the public safety of its residents.”

Wong called the Blackman case “representative of the harmful ripple effect that straw-purchased firearms can have,” and she wrote that Chicago “has been inundated with violence from the actions of individuals who illegally possess firearms and then use those firearms to commit crimes.”

During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Wong told the judge, “Saving this city starts by sending a message.”

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