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1 child, 2 adults killed after Metra train strikes vehicle on Far South Sideon June 28, 2021 at 1:15 am

Two adults and a child were killed after a Metra train struck their vehicle Sunday afternoon on the Far South Side, officials said.

Just after 5 p.m., an inbound train struck a vehicle at the railroad crossing of 107th Street and Vincennes Avenue, Chicago fire officials said. The Rock Island train pushed the car about a half mile before coming to a complete stop near 103rd Street and Vincennes Avenue.

The force of the impact caused the train’s front car to partially derail, according to Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile. At some point, the vehicle caught fire, she said.

Only the frame of the dark SUV remained near the front of the train, after the vehicle had been dragged from 107th to 103rd. Rocks from the tracks littered the intersection at 103rd.

It’s unclear how fast the train was going at the time of the collision, though Reile noted the speed limit for trains in that area is 79 mph.

Two adults and one child riding in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, according to fire officials.

A 43-year-old man, also in the vehicle, was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital in good to fair condition, according to fire officials.

The train’s conductor and engineer also reported injuries, though they were believed to be non-life threatening, Reile said.

Forty-one passengers on board the train refused medical attention. They were transported to the 95th Red Line ‘L’ station so they could continue their way into the city, Reile said.

Sandy Wilson was standing across the street at 103rd and said right after the train came to a stop, two men ran to the vehicle to try to help the victims. She then saw crews work to remove the child and a woman from the car.

Standing nearby, Wanda Durrell said she was heartbroken when she heard one of the victims was a young child. “I have a 5-year-old granddaughter” Durrell said. “I just cant imagine”

Metra is in the early stages of its investigation into the crash.

“Our understanding at this point in time that everything was functioning as intended,” Reile said. “However, we will be doing — and this is normal operating procedure anytime there’s an incident involving a train whether it’s a fatality or not — we take downloads and check the equipment to make sure it was functioning at the time properly. But we have no information at this time to indicate that our signals and gates were not working.”

All inbound and outbound Metra Rock Island service has been stopped near 103rd.

The train was heading north into the city. It left Joliet at 4:25 p.m. and was due downtown at 5:25 p.m., Reile said. Its last stop before the crash was at the Blue Island Vermont Street station. The train was expressing to the 35th Street station.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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1 child, 2 adults killed after Metra train strikes vehicle on Far South Sideon June 28, 2021 at 1:15 am Read More »

Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field: Abreu hit, Keuchel grit and Sox spliton June 28, 2021 at 1:22 am

On Saturday, manager Tony La Russa said that Jose Abreu put his hand on a baseball and swore he was healthy enough to play. The accumulated bumps and bruises of the season had not been enough to sit him down.

A day later, a 96 mile per hour sinker from Mariners pitcher JT Chargois hit Abreu’s left knee and took him out in the third inning of the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader. X-rays were negative for a fracture and Abreu was listed as day-to-day. Abreu was out of the lineup for the second game, leaving his status in question for the start of this week’s Twins series in question.

“He got hit in a really tender spot,” La Russa said. “I think you gotta wait and see tomorrow how it is 24 hours later.”

Abreu was visibly in a lot of pain after the hit by pitch. He collapsed at the plate and at one point threw his helmet to the grass behind home. Fans chanted “MVP” as trainers helped him to his feet, and he had to be assisted to the locker room, unable to put weight on his left leg.

Even amidst a .183 slump in June, Abreu is seen as the backbone of the Sox offense, so a prolonged absence could only exacerbate the rough stretch they’re having.

“It sucks to have [Abreu] go down like that,” Ryan Burr said. “But our guys prepare every day to be ready for something like this happening. It’s a long season. Stuff like this is going to happen. We hope Pito gets better soon.”

After splitting Sunday’s doubleheader with a 3-2 loss in game one and a 7-5 win in game two, the Sox are 12-11 on the month and 2-7 in their last nine games.

La Russa made the decision to use Dallas Keuchel, his regularly scheduled starter for Sunday, as his “starter” for the resumption of the suspended game from Saturday. Because the game picked up in the bottom of the third inning, it was technically a relief appearance for Keuchel — his first since August 6, 2013 with the Astros.

“We spent some time going through all the different alternatives,” La Russa said. “One of the things we looked at was this is Dallas’ day to start, if he starts and does his usual game, that takes us deep into the first one and you play the second one depending on what happened in the first one.”

Picking up resumed play from Saturday’s rainout with the fourth inning, Keuchel pitched five frames, allowing two runs on a pair of solo homers to Taylor Trammell and Ty France. With the game tied 2-2 in the ninth, La Russa went with closer Liam Hendriks, who gave up a game-winning homerun to Trammell.

“[I] would have liked to have gone that ninth inning,” Keuchel said. “I thought at this time in my tenure here, I thought I deserved it.”

Keuchel’s outing freed La Russa to use a host of arms in the second game. Starter Ryan Burr tossed two perfect innings, and Garrett Crochet, Evan Marshall, Codi Heuer, and Aaron Bummer combined to no-hit the Mariners until Mitch Haniger singled off of Jimmy Lambert to lead off the sixth inning. Lambert gave up a three-run homer to Mitch Haniger in the seventh inning that brought the Mariners within two runs, so Hendriks had to come in for his second appearance of the day and earned his 20th save of the season.

In the second game, Zack Collins and Yermin Mercedes combined for all seven runs batted in, production the Sox will need if Abreu is out for a while.

“With that tough loss, what did we do, we rebounded and played a spirited game,” La Russa said of Sunday’s games. “So like I say, our hearts are good, we’re tough enough. Just gotta keep improving, getting better and better.”

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Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field: Abreu hit, Keuchel grit and Sox spliton June 28, 2021 at 1:22 am Read More »

1 child, 2 adults killed after Metra train strikes vehicle on Far South Sideon June 28, 2021 at 12:16 am

Two adults and a child were killed after a Metra train struck their vehicle Sunday afternoon on the Far South Side, officials said.

Just after 5 p.m., the train struck a vehicle near 103rd and Vincennes, Chicago fire officials said.

Forty-one passengers on board the train all refused medical attention.

Two adults and one child riding in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, according to fire officials.

A 43-year-old man, also in the vehicle, was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital in good to fair condition, according to fire officials.

All inbound and outbound Metra Rock Island service has been stopped near 103rd.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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1 child, 2 adults killed after Metra train strikes vehicle on Far South Sideon June 28, 2021 at 12:16 am Read More »

Color Carnival by Iteeon June 28, 2021 at 12:37 am

Chicago’s Art and Beer Scene

Color Carnival by Itee

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Color Carnival by Iteeon June 28, 2021 at 12:37 am Read More »

1 child, 2 adults killed after Metra train strikes vehicle on Far South SideSophie Sherryon June 27, 2021 at 11:07 pm

At least three people were killed after a Metra train struck their vehicle June 27, 2021, on the Far South Side.
At least three people were killed after a Metra train struck their vehicle June 27, 2021, on the Far South Side. | Sun-Times file photo

Forty-one passengers on board the train all refused medical attention, fire officials said.

Two adults and a child were killed after a Metra train struck their vehicle Sunday afternoon on the Far South Side, officials said.

Just after 5 p.m., the train struck a vehicle near 103rd and Vincennes, Chicago fire officials said.

Forty-one passengers on board the train all refused medical attention.

Two adults and one child riding in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, according to fire officials.

A 43-year-old man, also in the vehicle, was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital in good to fair condition, according to fire officials.

All inbound and outbound Metra Rock Island service has been stopped near 103rd.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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1 child, 2 adults killed after Metra train strikes vehicle on Far South SideSophie Sherryon June 27, 2021 at 11:07 pm Read More »

Cold-shooting Sky fall at ConnecticutSun-Times wireson June 27, 2021 at 11:23 pm

Allie Quigley
    Connecticut Sun guard Natisha Hiedeman (2) commits the foul on Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley as Brionna Jones (42) and Jasmine Thomas (5) help on defense in WNBA basketball action Sunday, June 27, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. | Sean D. Ellio/AP

Quigley and Copper scored 11 points apiece to lead the Sky, whose win streak ended at seven

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — DeWanna Bonner hit four three-pointers and finished with 23 points, Brionna Jones added 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun cruised to a 74-58 win over the Sky on Sunday in a Commissioner’s Cup game, snapping the Sky’s seven-game win streak.

The Sun limited the Sky to their lowest scoring output of the season on 33.3% (23 of 69) shooting overall and 20.6% (5 of 24) from three-point range. Connecticut had nine steals and forced 18 turnovers.

‘‘Offensively, we didn’t score, we didn’t move the ball, we turned it over, and those are all kind of the recipe to get the result that we got,’’ Sky guard Allie Quigley said.

‘‘[The Sun are] kind of known for defense and being physical, and we just didn’t match it.’’

Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Quigley each made a three-pointer in an 11-0 run to close the second quarter and Vandersloot’s pull-up jumper to open the third trimmed the Sky’s deficit to 36-32. Bonner answered with a three, Jones hit two free throws and Bonner added another from behind the arc before Jones made a layup to cap a 10-0 run, and Connecticut led by double figures the rest of the way.

Quigley and Copper scored 11 points apiece to lead the Sky (9-8). Candace Parker added six points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.

The Sky had lost seven in a row before their win streak, which included 85-79 and 91-81 home wins over Connecticut on June 17 and June 19, respectively.

‘‘We didn’t execute schemes that we had in place,’’ Sky coach James Wade said. ‘‘We have to start off at a better rhythm. It’s three games in a row that we played against them that we thought we could get back in the game. The first two games we were able to, but this game, they didn’t allow us to, because they dictated the pace. We have to be more determined in who we are.’’

Jasmine Thomas had 18 points and three steals and Beatrice Mompremier grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds for Connecticut (10-5).

The Sun are the third team in the WNBA to reach double digits in wins this season, joining the league-leading Seattle Storm (12-3) and the Las Vegas Aces (10-4).

Connecticut improved to an Eastern Conference-leading 5-1 in the Commissioner’s Cup standings while the second-place Sky dropped to 6-3. Seattle leads the Western Conference at 5-0.

Each team plays 10 Commissioner’s Cup games, finishing on July 10, with the top team from each conference playing a championship game in August for the cup title and a prize totaling approximately $500,000.

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Cold-shooting Sky fall at ConnecticutSun-Times wireson June 27, 2021 at 11:23 pm Read More »

Dealing, reeling, healing: Fergie Jenkins doc a portrait of greatness on field, agony off itSteve Greenbergon June 27, 2021 at 10:39 pm

Jenkins salutes the crowd at Wrigley Field. | AP Photos

‘Glory and Grief’ is about the pain and resilience of the Cubs’ best pitcher ever, whose post-baseball life has been marked by unimaginable loss.

“Glory and Grief: The Ferguson Jenkins Story,” an hour-long documentary produced by MLB Network that premieres Wednesday on Marquee, begins with anecdotes about the confidence the greatest pitcher in Cubs history routinely brought with him to the mound.

“Whenever he walks out there,” manager Leo Durocher says of a young ace in the process of reeling off six straight 20-win seasons on the North Side, “he believes he’s going to beat you.”

But the story of Jenkins is, as actor, Chicago native and narrator Andre Braugher puts it, about “inner strength as much as ability, resilience as much as talent.” It is searingly painful and deeply moving.

“The confidence in him was just inspiring,” said Raymond Jenkins, his adopted son. “It made me actually feel that no matter how we broke down, we could come back. And we did.”

Jenkins, 78, has known unimaginable tragedy. He lost wife Maryanne, Raymond’s mother, after a 1990 car crash when she was only 31. The couple’s 3-year-old daughter Samantha’s life was stolen in 1992 in what was ruled a murder-suicide. Much of his post-baseball life was “agonizing,” he says.

“You can struggle, or you can cope with what the world gives you,” says Jenkins, who also lost his wife of 24 years, Lydia, in 2018.

A wonderful career is revisited, too. Jenkins struck out Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew in his All-Star debut, won the Cy Young in 1971 and — back with the Cubs — notched his 3,000th strikeout in 1982. This time, though, baseball is overshadowed by heart.

Here’s what’s happening:

Phoenix Suns v Los Angeles Clippers - Game Three
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Paul is on the brink of his first Finals.

MON 28

Canadiens at Lightning, Game 1 (7 p.m., NBCSN, Peacock)

The Lightning are going for a rare repeat, but remember: Last year’s finals were in the Edmonton bubble. Hockey fans in Tampa are overdue to explode with emotion.

Clippers at Suns, Game 5 (8 p.m., ESPN)

No matter how the West finals might’ve played out with Kawhi Leonard on the court, 36-year-old Suns point guard Chris Paul deserves a title shot. Then again, that’s what everyone said about Charles Barkley in 1993 and you know how that turned out.

TUE 29

Euros: England vs. Germany (11 a.m., ESPN)

After today’s pair of knockouts — this huge matchup from London followed immediately by Sweden-Ukraine from Glasgow, Scotland — an endlessly entertaining tournament will be down to eight nations.

Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt, Game 2 (6 p.m., ESPN2)

Is this the night the College World Series ends? If a deciding Game 3 is necessary, the Bulldogs and defending champion Commodores will go for all the marbles on Wednesday.

Bucks at Hawks, Game 4 (7:30 p.m., TNT)

Breakout star Trae Young is calling on Atlantans to bring their “A” games to State Farm Arena and basically act like they’ve never been there before. Which, of course, they pretty much haven’t.

WED 30

Cubs at Brewers (1:10 p.m., Marquee)

If the Cubs aren’t careful, they’ll be looking way up at the Brewers by the time they hop a plane to Cincinnati. Either way, it’ll be nice to get a break from trying to remember to say “American Family Field” instead of “Miller Park.”

“Glory and Grief: The Ferguson Jenkins Story” (5 p.m., Marquee)

Start time is approximate. Box-of-tissues time is inevitable.

Sky at Wings (7 p.m., CBSSN, The U)

The Sky lost last time out, snapping a seven-game winning streak that just so happened to follow a seven-game losing streak. Not to tell them how to do their jobs, but we recommend not backsliding into the abyss.

Chicago Cubs v Los Angeles Dodgers
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
Will Bryant be an NL starter?

THU 1

Twins at White Sox (1:10 p.m., NBCSCH)

Win ’em while you can, because after this it’s time to hit the road again for a Sox team that collapsed in a 1-6 heap on its last trip.

USWNT vs. Mexico (6 p.m., FS1)

Just a friendly, but it’s always nice to see the best team in the world do its thing.

MLB All-Star Starters Reveal (8 p.m., ESPN)

Will everyone in the studio please stop talking about Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ronald Acuna Jr. (and any other Junior) for two seconds and let us know if Kris Bryant is starting at third base for the NL?

FRI 2

Cubs at Reds (6:10 p.m., Marquee)

Speaking of Bryant, Great American Ball Park has seen more of his extra-base hits, runs scored and RBI than any yard not named Wrigley.

Red Stars at Washington (6:30 p.m., Twitch)

The Red Stars are a forgotten eighth in the 10-team standings and are stuck on a paltry five goals scored over eight games played. Other than that, they’re in tip-top form.

Vegas Golden Knights v Montreal Canadiens - Game Six
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
Montreal, it’s been awhile.

Lightning at Canadiens, Game 3 (7 p.m., Ch. 5)

First Cup finals in Montreal in 28 years? Laissez le bon temps rouler, baby.

SAT 3

White Sox at Tigers (3:10 p.m., NBCSCH)

Gotta give some credit for a change to the Tigers, who’ve played above-.500 ball since starting a sad, humiliating, pathetic 9-24. Look, we said “some” credit.

Atlanta United at Fire (7 p.m., Ch. 9)

It takes some real staying power to remain at the very bottom of the 27-team MLS as the Fire are doing.

SUN 4

Cubs at Reds (12:10 p.m., Marquee)

The Cubs’ last away game until after the All-Star break. Man, the season is flying by. And you know what? It really hasn’t been half bad.

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Dealing, reeling, healing: Fergie Jenkins doc a portrait of greatness on field, agony off itSteve Greenbergon June 27, 2021 at 10:39 pm Read More »

What’s In a Name? Chicago/”SHIKAAKWA Striped SKUNK/OR SMELLY ONION/ JEAN BAPTISTE POINT du SABLE/ This Too Shall Pass/on June 27, 2021 at 7:20 pm

JUST SAYIN

What’s In a Name? Chicago/”SHIKAAKWA Striped SKUNK/OR SMELLY ONION/ JEAN BAPTISTE POINT du SABLE/ This Too Shall Pass/

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What’s In a Name? Chicago/”SHIKAAKWA Striped SKUNK/OR SMELLY ONION/ JEAN BAPTISTE POINT du SABLE/ This Too Shall Pass/on June 27, 2021 at 7:20 pm Read More »

Could Florida condo collapse happen here?Neil Steinbergon June 27, 2021 at 7:35 pm

Rescue personnel remove a body from the rubble after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, last week.
Rescue personnel remove a body from the rubble after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, last week. | Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty

Chicago high rises coupled with the city’s weather and history of corruption cause cracks in confidence.

Humans are by nature cautious. We are the descendants of those who fled at the snap of a twig, not those who shrugged and told themselves, “That can’t be a saber-toothed tiger coming; I’ll just keep eating these delicious berries …”

Even today, when we read stories of tragedy, the tendency is to try to distance ourselves from whatever bad thing is going on: that’s far away, happening to very different people under very different circumstances than our own.

Which is why Thursday’s collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, with some 150 residents missing, buried in the rubble, can be so terrifying to Chicagoans who live in apartment buildings: it’s hard to dismiss as a Florida phenomenon.

“I have a bad feeling in my gut about this and those sort of buildings in Chicago,” wrote one reader who lived for years in a high rise on Sheridan Road. “Chicago has the additional worries of corruption of inspectors and building materials quality in addition to the weather concerns.”

That’s quite a charge, and I wouldn’t pass it along if I didn’t remember “Operation Crooked Code,” in 2008, when the feds probed bribery in Chicago’s buildings and zoning departments, coming up with a dozen convictions.

Immediately after the collapse, the Department of Buildings pointed out, “Chicago has one of the strictest building codes in the country.” Correct, if disingenuous. The issue isn’t whether those strict codes exist, but were they enforced when a building was constructed? Or did the inspector look the other way?

Be reassured. Despite its reputation for corruption, Chicago is not home to many notorious building failures, the way it has seen a number of historically horrible fires. We did have our previous City Hall/County Building complex settle six inches on a single day (due to shoddy materials used in its foundation), sever its gas lines and explode. But that was back in 1905.

The only relatively recent building failure that leaps to mind isn’t a collapse, but the Amoco Tower, which had no sooner opened in 1974 when the 82-story structure began to shed its skin of white Carrara marble. In its first dozen years, about a third of the 43,000 marble panels buckled outward. Panels also started to pop out and crash dramatically to the street below. The entire skin of the building, now Aon Center, had to be replaced at a cost approaching that of constructing the building itself.

What went wrong? The marble panels were half an inch too thin.

“There is no question about the reduced thickness of the panels being a major contributory cause of their failure,” Matthys Levy and Mario Salvadori write in their 1992 book “Why Buildings Fall Down: How Structures Fail.”

As engineers puzzle over what could have caused the Surfside collapse — a 2018 report citing “major structural damage” offers a few likely suspects — I pulled down this handy volume to search for clues.

One intriguing section is titled “The Florida Pancake” and tells of a 25-story hotel and condominium complex where engineers studied the soil at the site and determined that piles had to be 30 feet deep to support the structure.

“The ordered piles were being driven driven into the ground at column locations when suddenly the operation had to be stopped,” the authors write, “because a pile had disappeared into the soil after the last drop of the pile driver’s weight! An inspection of the hole at that particular spot showed that he soil was Florida pancake, weakly supported by loose sand saturated with water.”

The coastal soil is so varied, they observed, that knowing the conditions of Point A is not a reliable guide to nearby Point B.

“Had it not been for the disappearing pile (and one might not have disappeared only a few feet away), a catastrophe might have ensued.”

A catastrophe such as the one that occurred in Florida last week. The 2018 report cites cracking and crumbling columns, beams and walls in the condo’s underground parking garage. The sort of warning too easy to ignore, until a building falls down. Gravity, time, water, wind are not trifling forces, and it might be good to remember that nature always wins, in the end. The only question is whether we are doing all we can to keep her at bay until then.

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Could Florida condo collapse happen here?Neil Steinbergon June 27, 2021 at 7:35 pm Read More »

Chicago Cubs have 5 fan vote All-Star Game finalistsVincent Pariseon June 27, 2021 at 7:00 pm

The Chicago Cubs have five players that are finalists to be an All-Star Game starter in 2021. We don’t know who is actually going to make the team but the fan vote simply determines the starters. Phase one was to narrow it down to three players at each position from each league and phase two […]

Chicago Cubs have 5 fan vote All-Star Game finalists – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Chicago Cubs have 5 fan vote All-Star Game finalistsVincent Pariseon June 27, 2021 at 7:00 pm Read More »