Chicagoans can find a range of plays, musicals and dance shows at local theaters large and small. Our guide has the latest on what’s on stage in the city.

Welcome to our highlights of events and entertainment on stage at Chicago’s theaters. From local productions to Broadway hits, our guide has the latest on shows in the city. Bookmark this page and check back for updates and ticket information.

Steppenwolf Theatre

Joan Marcus/WP Theater

What: The final entry in the Steppenwolf NOW virtual season is “Where We Stand,” a storytelling tour-de-force about community and accountability written and performed by Donnetta Lavinia Grays. Through poetic verse and music, the drama challenges our ability to forgive and our ideas of mercy and who might deserve it. The filmed play captures a performance originally presented at Baltimore Center Stage co-produced with WP Theater.

When/tickets: A $75 ticket includes all six of the productions in the NOW series available online through Aug. 31

Visit: steppenwolf.org/now

Goodman Theatre

What: The Goodman Theatre’s “Live” series, which brings together technology, videography and stage production, continues with Adrienne Kennedy’s “Ohio State Murders.” Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene, the drama is the story of a student who arrives at Ohio State University in 1949 and soon discovers there is no safe haven in academia. Years later she returns as an accomplished author to speak about her work and unravel a chilling mystery.

When: Livestreams at 7:30 p.m. June 17-18, 2 and 7:30 p.m. June 19 and 2 p.m. June 20.

Tickets: $25

Visit: goodmantheatre.org/live

Writers Theatre

Michael Halberstam

What: In Reginald Edmund’s “Ride Share,” a co-production of Black Lives, Black Words and Writers Theatre, everything in Marcus’ (Kamal Angelo Bolden) life is going smoothly until he’s laid off from his job. To make ends meet, he becomes a ride share driver. Edmund says the drama, directed by Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway, “takes us on a journey into the depths of the Black male experience in America.”

When: Streams June 23-July 25

Tickets: $40-$100

Visit writerstheatre.org

Marian Pabón

Javier Del Valle

What: The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance presents “Sola en la Pandemia está Cañón (Being Alone in a Pandemic Is Hard),” actor and comedian Marian Pabón’s new one-woman comedy about the madness of surviving the pandemic.

When: Performed in Spanish at 7 p.m. June 19

Where: Joe’s Bar, 940 W. Weed

Tickets: $25. Visit clata.org

Ensemble Español

“Algazara”; photo by Dean Paul

What: Ensemble Español celebrates its 45th anniversary with three outdoor performances. The program features the world premieres of Wendy Clinard’s “Tangos de Granada” and Nino de los Reyes’ “Farruca” and “Solea,” and two audience favorites: Jose Barrios’ “Algazara” and company founder Dame Libby Komaiko’s “Zapateado.”

When: Performances are 7:30 p.m. June 18-20

Where: North Shore Center for the Performing Arts parking lot, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie.

Tickets: $32-$42. The June 19 performance also will be livestreamed ($20) and available on demand through June 26.

Visit: northshorecenter.org.

M.A.D.D. Rhythms

What: M.A.D.D. Rhythms partners with the Harold Washington Cultural Center (2701 S. Martin Luther King Dr.) and Bronzeville businesses for its annual Juneteenth celebration. The in-person afternoon event includes dance, DJ and live music, food, workshops, raffles, art and children’s activities.

When: 1 p.m. June 19 The in-person afternoon event includes dance, DJ and live music, food, workshops, raffles, art and children’s activities.

Tickets: Admission is free

Visit: maddrhythms.com

Court Theatre

What: Court Theatre presents an online staging of Owen McCafferty’s “Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, 1912),” directed by Vanessa Stalling. The drama tells the story of the sinking of the HMS Titanic using verbatim testimonies from a court investigation of the wreck that probe the causes of the catastrophe, the value systems that enabled it and if indeed it was actually preventable.

When: Streams on-demand June 14-July 11

Tickets: $20-$30. Visit courttheatre.org.

Summer Nights with Northlight

What: Summer Nights with Northlight is a cabaret series held at Evanston restaurants to benefit Northlight Theatre. The performers are Alexis J. Roston and Kelvin Roston Jr. (June 10, Good to Go Jamaican, 711 W. Howard), Linda Solotaire (July 27, Sketchbook Brewing Company, 4901 Main, Skokie) and Heidi Kettenring (Aug. 24, Peckish Pig, 623 W. Howard).

When: Performances times are 6 p.m.

Tickets: $60 includes light dinner and select drinks. Visit northlight.org.

Labyrinth Arts and Performance Collective

What: Labyrinth Arts and Performance Collectivepresents “Emerge,” a new cabaret series featuring music, drag performance, comedy and spoken word First up at 10 p.m. June 11 is the retro blues trio Improper Behavior featuring vocalist Sharon Waltham, guitarist Keith Fort and upright bass player Gregory Redfeairn.

When: every second Friday of the month

Where: Porkchop, 1132 W. Grand

Tickets: $20. Visit labyrinthartsperformance.com.

Ghostlight Theatre

Ghostlight Ensemble

WHAT: Ghostlight Theatre’s “Make/Believe,” its annual festival for young audiences, takes place virtually this year. Featured are six new short plays that run the gamut from “Sunshine and the Sea of Lost Things,” about a child with no memory lost at sea to “It’s Poppin’,” about a balloon afraid of soaring through the clouds, to “Splash of Magic,” about a young Black girl trying to conquer her fear of swimming.

WHEN: The festival streams live at 2 p.m. June 5-6 and on demand to July 4

TICKETS: $1-$10

INFO: ghostlightensemble.com.

Chicago Dance Month

Photo by Philamonjaro Studio

When: May 29-June 24

What: June is Chicago Dance Month and it kicks off on May 29 at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand. Presented by See Chicago Dance, the free live event features performances by Aerial Dance Chicago, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Mandala Arts and The Seldoms. The celebration continues with pop-up performances (3 p.m. Saturdays June 5-Sept. 4, Navy Pier), a park-wide dance “scavenger hunt” featuring an eclectic group of artists (4:30 p.m. June 9, 30 in McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing) and a virtual event with more dance performances (6 p.m. June 24). All events are free. Visit seechicagodance.com/dancemonth.

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When president/CEO Ted Phillips announced Thursday that Bears put in a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property, it was a reminder that the team has been here before. Literally. On the same piece of land.

Unhappy with how Soldier Field compared to the rest of the league’s stadiums, the Bears met with the village president of Arlington Heights to talk about building a stadium there. The Bears’ president said the team had “definite interest” in building a stadium on the Arlington International Racecourse property. Plans for a 76,000-seat stadium were eventually unveiled.

The year was 1975.

When president/CEO Ted Phillips announced Thursday that Bears put in a bid to buy the race track property, it was a reminder that the team has been here before. Literally. On the same piece of land.

Since they moved to Soldier Field, the Bears have leveraged grand suburban plans to convince the city to make improvements. Soldier Field wasn’t the team’s first choice, anyway. In 1970, the year before they moved to the lakefront, the Bears signed a five-year deal to share Northwestern’s stadium, only to have the Evanston plan shot down by the Big Ten.

In 1971, they first flirted with Arlington Heights.

In 1975, they negotiated with both Arlington Heights and Elk Grove Village, but stayed at Soldier Field after — see if this sounds familiar — after the city agreed to improve the lakefront stadium.

In 1995 alone, the Bears teased three different potential moves. They announced they held rights to buy land in both Hoffman Estates and Aurora — and also considered a stadium project in Northwest Indiana.

In 1998, with two years left on their lease and seeking a Soldier Field renovation, the Bears returned to Elk Grove Village. Eventually, the Bears got what they wanted — a $587 million Soldier Field remodel in 2002.

Eighteen years after it opened, the stadium feels small and cramped. Because the city owns the stadium, the Bears lack the control that most other professional sports teams take for granted.

The Bears’ latest threat — and Mayor Lori Lightfoot essentially called it that Thursday — is more substantial than those past flirtations. Bidding for property is a loud statement, even if it’s the first of many steps. If the Bears are chosen, both the team and Churchill Downs, Inc., will have time to further vet the details before deciding whether to follow through. While the selection could take weeks, vetting will take months. That’s a long runway for the Bears to negotiate with Lightfoot — but it has an ending in sight.

In 1975, then-vice president Ed McCaskey said the Bears would move if someone else built a stadium “because we can’t afford it.” They’re still renters, but they’re in a different weight class, financially, then they were 46 years ago. Last year, Forbes valued the Bears at $3.53 billion.

In recent years, the McCaskey family has taken steps to shed its once-cheap reputation, paying more than $100 million to renovate Halas Hall and giving Khalil Mack a six-year, $141 million contract that was a record for a defensive player.

Buying land and building a new stadium, though, would be the boldest move in the 101-year history of the Halas and McCaskey ownership. It’s enough to wonder whether the Bears are primed to do something unprecedented — or are in executing the latest leverage play in 50 years full of them.

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The team’s bid signals it’s legitimately considering leaving Soldier Field, home of the Bears since 1971.

The possibility of the Bears leaving Soldier Field for a new stadium in Arlington Heights became significantly more realistic once they put in a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property.

The potential relocation had been little more than speculation until team president Ted Phillips announced the bid Thursday. Phillips couched it as the Bears exploring “every possible option” and allows them to “further evaluate the property and its potential” if their bid is accepted, and it’s obvious that means relocating is legitimately under consideration.

That being said, the Bears have made numerous relocation ploys over the years to gain leverage over the City of Chicago in negotiations over Soldier Field. Arlington Heights was a possibility in the 1970s, when Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley threatened to prevent the team from using Chicago in its name and mused about the lack of interest there would be in “the Arlington Heights Bears.”

Chairman George McCaskey, whose family has owned the team since its inception in 1920, declined comment through a spokesman.

Overall, the Bears want more control over their home stadium, which isn’t actually theirs. Because the Chicago Park District owns Soldier Field, the team is limited in what it can do as far as expanding the capacity beyond its current 62,000, modernizing aspects of a 97-year-old building, selling sponsorships of certain areas of the stadium and building things like a year-round museum and gift shop.

There’d be nothing holding them back in Arlington Heights, where mayor Thomas Hayes has been openly campaigning to lure them. He called a potential Bears move a “best-case scenario” for his village Thursday.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity, but it’s certainly not a done deal,” Hayes said. “There’s a long way to go.”

Hayes said he had met with fewer than 10 potential bidders for the site. Churchill Downs, Inc. owns the property and said it plans to give an update on the sale “in the coming weeks.” A spokesperson declined comment on the Bears’ bid.

On the other end of this tug-of-war, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot sharpened her tone from saying last month she wanted to help the Bears maximize what they’re getting out of Soldier Field and came out with a blazing statement Thursday saying the Bears “are locked into a lease,” and pointing out that “many organizations are doubling down on their commitment to Chicago,” while the Bears flirt with the suburbs.

“This is clearly a negotiation tactic that the Bears have used before,” Lightfoot said. “As a season-ticket holder and longtime Bears fan, I am committed to keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team.”

Then she took the cruelest swipe of all.

“Like most Bears fans, we want the organization to focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant past October,” she said. “Everything else is noise.”

Sun-Times file

That noise probably won’t quiet anytime soon.

The racetrack property covers 326 acres about six miles north of the Northwest Tollway. That’s far more space than they have at Soldier Field, it’s an advantageous location based on internal research that shows the majority of their fan base is in the north and northwest suburbs and it’s about half the trek from Halas Hall in Lake Forest.

The Arlington Heights property would be exclusively for a stadium. The team poured more than $100 million into renovating Halas Hall in 2019 and will hold training camp there for the foreseeable future.

The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971 and have a lease running through 2033. The organization doesn’t consider that lease to be a barrier, a source said, because it could negotiate a buyout and construction on a new facility would take years anyway.

Recently built NFL stadiums have been extravagant in design and enormous in price. The newly opened stadiums in Los Angeles and Las Vegas cost $5 billion-$6 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. The others in the last seven years are for the Falcons ($1.6 billion), Vikings ($1.1 billion) and 49ers ($1.3 billion).

In terms of price and aesthetics, the Bears are likely to give U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis a long look as they imagine their new home. It has a 73,000-person capacity, a glass roof and glass on much of the stadium walls to allow as much daylight as possible.

That stadium opened in 2016 and has already hosted a Super Bowl, a Final Four and various other major concerts and events. Building that kind of venue would give the Bears similar opportunities that simply wouldn’t work at Soldier Field.

Staff writer Mitchell Armentrout contributed to this story.

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“It’s the ‘Chicago Bears,’” one fan tweeted after team president Ted Phillips announced the Bears have placed a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property.

After much speculation, the Bears took a concrete step towards moving the historic franchise by placing a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property Thursday — and as expected fans had much to say.

Some fans applauded the move, as they hoped for a larger new stadium that could be more accessible by car or Metra — while others were outraged by the mere idea of the team leaving the city.

Nicole Richardson, a lifelong fan, told the Sun-Times that Soldier Field is “iconic” even with the renovation that some have compared to a “spaceship.”

“It’s the ‘Chicago Bears,’” Richardson wrote. “If the owners want to move outside of the city they need to relinquish the name.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot took to Twitter and issued a similar statement, affirming her commitment to “keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team.”

In the announcement Thursday, team president Ted Phillips said the Bears are exploring “every possible option,” adding if their bid is selected it would allow them to “further evaluate the property and its potential.”

Since the Park District owns Soldier Field, the team is looking for more control over changes it wants to see at the 97-year-old building.

The Bears would not face such restrictions in Arlington Heights, opening the door for a larger stadium possibly with a dome.

Another lifelong fan, Jamal Neff, fully supports the potential move, hoping it will make games more accessible and affordable.

As an adult, Neff said he has been to only one game at Soldier Field.

“When I was there, the price of the tickets was just outrageous — to sit in an angle that was cumbersome [and] to look at playing that was atrocious,” Neff said.

Like many others, Neff remembers the excitement of the ‘85 Super Bowl season but says the stadium itself had nothing to do with that.

“I remember the city being electric, the neighborhoods coming alive,” Neff said. “I remember the song and how it united the city and it wasn’t really about being at the stadium or in the Museum Campus. It was just about being in the neighborhoods that make up Chicago.”

But Neff said he is positive on the Bears outlook for the future, saying regardless of location “the future is bright” for the team.

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Chicago’s lawsuit seeking fencing, heavy-duty locks and security cameras stalled because the owner could not be reached.

More than a year ago, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the owner of the Englewood home where eight people were shot this week, asking that he install fencing, heavy-duty locks and security cameras to make the property safer.

But the lawsuit stalled because officials could not reach the owner, who did not live in the home in the 6200 block of South Morgan Street. When gunfire filled the two-story house early Tuesday, killing four, the city had made no progress on any of the security measures.

Two days later, the city finally reached the owner, Enrique Badillo Sr., according to city Law Department spokeswoman Kristen Cabanban.

She couldn’t say why the city took over a year to serve Badillo with the lawsuit. Public records show he owns several properties in Chicago and resides in Logan Square.

The court will now have more jurisdiction over compliance with safety improvements, Cabanban said. City officials have seen no evidence that any of the measures have been taken by the owner, she said. A hearing is set for July 1.

The city filed the “public nuisance” suit in March of 2020, months after a man was shot during a large party inside the home, according to the lawsuit.

Police found the man bleeding in the kitchen from several gunshot wounds on Nov. 1, 2019, the suit states. He was taken to a hospital in serious condition. At least 50 people were in the home at the time, the suit claims, and there was drinking and a dice game.

It’s unclear if any of the victims from Tuesday’s mass shooting were living in the home back then. One of those shot and badly wounded was a barber who lived there and cut hair at the house.

Attempts to reach the property owner were unsuccessful Thursday.

Police have released few details about Tuesday’s shooting, and it’s unclear whether any of the measures sought by the city could have prevented it. Police have not said whether there’s any video of the attack, or how the gunman got into the house.

The city had filed the lawsuit to “take action to abate criminal activity” at the home, a two-story wood-frame house with a gray stone front. The lawsuit listed a series of actions the city could take to make the home safer: Evicting residents and ordering the owner to install security measures, including fencing, gate locks, outdoor lighting, security cameras and hiring a security guard.

The home was last inspected in January 2020, though the inspector was unable to enter the home, according to the suit. The inspector listed several code violations: broken windows, an unsafe staircase and porch, and construction work performed without a permit.

The city sought to fine the owner $10,000, plus $1,000 per day for each violation since the inspection.

Ald. Stephanie Coleman, whose 16th Ward includes the home on Morgan Street, did not respond to a request for comment.

Provided photos

The attack was one of three mass shootings in Chicago in little over a week.

Relatives said one of the victims, 34-year-old Blake Lee, lived in the home and did odd jobs in the neighborhood. He died in the attack. Another resident of the home, James Tolbert, ran a barbershop from the house. He was seriously wounded.

“That man is a barber, he cuts hair from here, this is his business and this is his home,” Robyn Eddmonds said during a Wednesday vigil for the victims. “It was his home that he opened up to [others] but it also was his business. He wasn’t a gangbanger… He didn’t do any of that.”

Also living in the home was Tolbert’s girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter. The girlfriend remained in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. The girl was not shot but was taken to a hospital for observation.

The victims were gathered in the home for the 28th birthday of Ratanya Aryiel Rogers, who was shot and killed in the attack. Police said a gunman broke into the home before 5:40 a.m. and started shooting. All but one of the victims was shot in the head, police said.

The others who died were Denice Mathis, 32, a mother of four boys, and Shermetria Williams, 19, the mother of a 2-year-old girl.

Contributing: Madeline Kenney

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The ruling was specific to the facts of the case, sidestepping bigger questions about how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws.

WASHINGTON — In another victory for religious groups at the Supreme Court, the justices on Thursday unanimously sided with a Catholic foster care agency that says its religious views prevent it from working with same-sex couples. The court said the city of Philadelphia wrongly limited its relationship with the group as a result of the agency’s policy.

The ruling was specific to the facts of the case, sidestepping bigger questions about how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws. Instead, the outcome turned on the language in the city’s foster care contract. Three conservative justices would have gone much further, and LGBTQ groups said they were relieved that the decision was limited.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a majority of the court that Catholic Social Services “seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else.”

Roberts concluded that Philadelphia’s refusal to “contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents … violates the First Amendment.”

Roberts noted that no same-sex couple has ever asked to work with Catholic Social Services, which is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. If that were to happen, that couple would be referred to one of the more than 20 other agencies that works with same-sex couples, Catholic Social Services has said.

“For over 50 years, CSS successfully contracted with the City to provide foster care services while holding to these beliefs,” said Roberts, one of seven members of the court who is Catholic or attended Catholic schools.

Because of its beliefs, the Catholic agency also does not certify unmarried couples.

In recent years, religious groups have been delighted by victories at the court, often by wide margins. That includes cases in which the court lifted a ban on state aid to religious schooling, gave religious schools greater leeway to hire and fire teachers and allowed a cross to remain on public land. More recently, the court repeatedly sided with religious groups in fights over coronavirus restrictions.

Philadelphia learned in 2018 from a newspaper reporter that Catholic Social Services would not certify same-sex couples to become foster parents. The city has said it requires the foster care agencies it works with not to discriminate as part of their contracts. The city asked Catholic Social Services to change its policy, but the group declined.

As a result, Philadelphia stopped referring additional children to the agency. Catholic Social Services sued, but lower courts sided with Philadelphia.

In coming to the conclusion that Philadelphia had acted improperly, Roberts said the city gave Catholic Social Services a choice between “curtailing its mission or approving relationships inconsistent with its beliefs.”

He also pointed to language in the city’s standard foster care contract. The contract says that agencies cannot reject prospective foster or adoptive parents based on their sexual orientation “unless an exception is granted.” Because the city created a process for granting exemptions, it cannot then deny Catholic Social Services an exemption, Roberts concluded.

The case’s outcome was similar to a 2018 decision in which the court sided with a Colorado baker who would not make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. That decision, too, was limited to the specific facts of the case and dodged bigger issues of how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws. But the court has grown more conservative since that ruling.

In “both cases the court reached narrow, very fact-specific decisions that leave non-discrimination laws and policies standing and fully enforceable by governments,” said Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union LGBTQ & HIV Project, which was involved in the case on Philadelphia’s side.

Three conservative justices who joined Roberts’ opinion said they would have gone further. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch said they would have overruled a 1990 Supreme Court decision that they said improperly allows limits on religious freedom.

Alito called the court’s ruling Thursday a “wisp of a decision.” Gorsuch said it was an “(ir)resolution,” predicting that the litigation would continue, with the city perhaps rewriting its contract.

Philadelphia City Solicitor Diana Cortes said the ruling was a “difficult and disappointing setback.”

In a statement, she said the court had “usurped the City’s judgment that a nondiscrimination policy is in the best interests of the children in its care.” But she said the city was also “gratified” that the justices did not “radically change existing constitutional law to adopt a standard that would force court-ordered religious exemptions from civic obligations in every arena.”

A lawyer with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty who argued the case on behalf of Catholic Social Services called it a “common-sense ruling in favor of religious social services.”

“The Supreme Court recognized that CSS has been doing amazing work for many years and can continue that work in the city of Philadelphia,” Lori Windham said.

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Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

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Tensions have remained high since a cease-fire halted the war on May 21, even as Egyptian mediators have met with Israeli and Hamas officials to try and shore up the informal truce.

JERUSALEM — Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip late Thursday for a second time since a shaky cease-fire ended last month’s 11-day war. The strikes came after activists mobilized by Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers launched incendiary balloons into Israel for a third straight day.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes, which could be heard from Gaza City. Israel also carried out airstrikes early Wednesday, targeting what it is said were Hamas facilities, without killing or wounding anyone.

The military said fighter jets struck Hamas “military compounds and a rocket launch site” late Thursday in response to the balloons. It said its forces were preparing for a “variety of scenarios including a resumption of hostilities.”

Rocket sirens went off in Israeli communities near Gaza shortly after the airstrikes. The military later said they were triggered by “incoming fire, not rockets.”

Surveillance camera footage obtained by The Associated Press showed what appeared to be heavy machine-gun fire into the air from Gaza, a possible attempt by Palestinian militants to shoot down aircraft. Other footage showed projectiles being fired from Gaza, but it was unclear what kind or where they landed.

Tensions have remained high since a cease-fire halted the war on May 21, even as Egyptian mediators have met with Israeli and Hamas officials to try and shore up the informal truce.

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and countless smaller skirmishes since the Islamic militant group seized power from rival Palestinians forces in 2007. Israel and Egypt have imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, since Hamas took over.

Earlier, Israeli police used stun grenades and a water cannon spraying skunk water to disperse Palestinian protesters from Damascus Gate in east Jerusalem, the epicenter of weeks of protests and clashes in the run-up to the Gaza war.

After the crowds were dispersed, Palestinians could be seen throwing rocks and water bottles at ultra-Orthodox Jews walking in the area.

Calls had circulated for protesters to gather at Damascus Gate in response to a rally held there by Jewish ultranationalists on Tuesday in which dozens of Israelis had chanted “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn.” The police had forcibly cleared the square and provided security for that rally, part of a parade to celebrate Israel’s conquest of east Jerusalem.

In a separate incident, a Palestinian teenager died Thursday after being shot by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank during a protest against a settlement outpost, the fourth demonstrator to be killed since the outpost was established last month.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that a soldier stationed near the wildcat outpost in the West Bank saw a group of Palestinians approaching, and that one “hurled a suspicious object at him, which exploded adjacent to the soldier.” The army said that the soldier fired in the air, then shot the Palestinian who threw the object.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that Ahmad Shamsa, 15, died of a gunshot wound sustained a day earlier.

Settlers established the outpost, which they refer to as Eviatar, near the northern West Bank town of Nablus last month and say it is now home to dozens of families. Palestinians say it is built on private land and fear it will grow and merge with other large settlements nearby.

Nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers live in some 130 settlements across the occupied West Bank. The Palestinians and much of the international community view the settlements as a violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace.

Israeli authorities have evacuated the outpost on several occasions. They appear reluctant to do so this time because it would embarrass Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other right-wing members of the fragile government sworn in over the weekend.

Palestinians from the nearby village of Beita have held several protests in which demonstrators have hurled stones and Israeli troops have fired tear gas and live ammunition. Four Palestinians have been killed since mid-May, including Shamsa and another teenager.

The Israeli military also shot and killed a Palestinian woman on Wednesday, saying she had tried to ram her car into a group of soldiers guarding a West Bank construction site.

In a statement, the army said soldiers fired at the woman in Hizmeh, just north of Jerusalem, after she exited the car and pulled out a knife. The statement did not say how close the woman was to the soldiers, and the army did not release any photos or video of the incident.

The family of Mai Afaneh insisted she had no reason or ability to carry out an attack.

In recent years, Israel has seen a series of shootings, stabbings and car ramming attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the occupied West Bank. Most have been carried out by Palestinians with no apparent links to organized militant groups.

Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups say the soldiers often use excessive force and could have stopped some assailants without killing them. In some cases, they say that innocent people have been identified as attackers and shot.

The Palestinians seek the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exerts limited self-rule in population centers, as part of a future state along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel captured all three territories in the 1967 war and says Jerusalem is indivisible. There have been no substantive peace talks in more than a decade.

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Associated Press reporters Adel Hana and Khalil Hamra in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, and Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed.

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From NFC North to NFC Northwest Suburbs?

Jason Lieser and Patrick Finley break down the Bears’ bid to potentially move the team to the northwest suburbs.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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In Englewood, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network is holding an event on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. where community leaders will talk about their vision for the corner on 63rd Street and Racine Avenue.

President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday afternoon that makes Juneteenth a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

The move comes a day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that officially made Juneteenth a state holiday.

“I’m pleased to see the federal government join Illinois in recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday, offering all Americans a day to reflect on the national shame of slavery and the work we must do to dismantle systemic racism,” said Pritzker. “Most importantly, let us stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Black Americans who will celebrate Juneteenth as a milestone in their fight for every ounce of the freedom that is their God-given right — and continue with them in that fight.”

In observation of the federal holiday, all state government offices will be closed Friday, Pritzker said.

But it’s unclear how most businesses and city government will observe the holiday this year since most of the ordinance passed early this week.

Earlier this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared Chicago would recognize June 19 as an official city holiday starting next year. The city has several events planned as well, but since the city won’t recognize the holiday until next year, many city buildings will remain open Friday.

Last year, Fifth Third Bank shortened its hours in honor of Juneteenth for the first time, but since June 19 lands on a Saturday this year, hours are already shortened. Mark Hoppe, the bank’s president, will join a panel with Chicago’s and the state’s treasurers offices and other bank leaders to discuss advancing equity in the banking industries hiring practices.

Target will be observe the holiday nationwide, and while all stores and distribution centers will remain open, hourly employees who work June 19 will be paid time and a half. Team members will have the option to take the day off with full pay. Juneteenth will remain an annual company holiday.

A spokeswoman with the Chicago Public Library said because the holiday doesn’t go into effect until next year, they won’t be closing. On Thursday, CPL was hosting the first city-wide virtual Juneteenth Reading Circle.

In Englewood, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network is holding an event Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. where community leaders will talk about their vision for the corner on 63rd Street and Racine Avenue.

The Bronzeville Abundance Campaign and Northwestern Medicine will also celebrate Juneteenth with a day of service in the South Side neighborhood. The “Day of Service – A Celebration of Life!” will have volunteers with Northwestern Medicine join community residents for a day of cleaning, painting and updating gardens along the Calumet Avenue corridor.

That day of service will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Piece of Peace Garden at 5135 S. Calumet Ave.

Other events are planned Saturday throughout the Chicago area that include live music, parades, marches, block parties, specialized yoga classes and tours.

Cook County is also at the end of its weeklong celebration of Juneteenth — marking its first year as a paid county holiday.

The county was ahead of the curve when it passed its holiday ordinance in December. On Friday, the county will kick off its Black Culture Week Citywide Caravan March at Malcom X College at 1:45 p.m.

Cook County courts will be closed Friday.

Federal employees and buildings will observe Juneteenth as a holiday Friday since the newly declared Juneteenth National Independence Day falls on a Saturday this year, according to a tweet Thursday from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the human resources office for the federal government.

A portmanteau of June and 19, the holiday celebrates the day when the last enslaved African Americans learned they had been freed.

While the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the South in 1863, it wasn’t enforced in many places until the Civil War ended, two years later. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news to Galveston, Texas.

Contributing: Associated Press

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Former Hawks president John McDonough and current general manager Stan Bowman were among a group of Blackhawks executives informed in 2010 that former video coach Bradley Aldrich had sexually assaulted two players, according to a TSN report Thursday.

Blackhawks management was informed in May 2010 of the alleged sexual assault by former video coach Bradley Aldrich, according to a Thursday report by TSN, but decided not to report the incidents to police.

Former Hawks president John McDonough, current general manager Stan Bowman, current vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac and former skills coach James Gary were told by former skills coach Paul Vincent in a meeting at a California hotel that Aldrich had sexually assaulted two players earlier that season, TSN reported.

But the group of Hawks executives refused Vincent’s request to inform the Chicago police’s sex crimes division about the assaults, TSN reported.

A Hawks spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

One of the unidentified players who was allegedly assaulted by Aldrich filed a lawsuit against the Hawks on April 30 in Cook County Circuit Court. The lawsuit claimed the player notified Gary after the alleged assault but that Gary “did nothing” and instead convinced the player they were culpable for the assault.

Aldrich “sent . . . inappropriate text messages,” “turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of [the player] . . . without his consent” and “threatened to injure [the player if he]… did not engage in sexual activity,” according to the first lawsuit.

Aldrich left the Hawks after the 2010 Stanley Cup championship and pled guilty in 2013 for a criminal sexual-contact incident at a Michigan high school. The victim of that incident filed a separate lawsuit against the Hawks in late May for not reporting Aldrich’s assaults before he began volunteering at the high school.

The Hawks said in a statement after the first lawsuit’s filing that they believe the allegations “lack merit” and that “the team will be absolved of any wrongdoing.”

The Hawks filed a motion Monday to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the player did not exhaust all legal remedies before suing and that the Illinois statute of limitations on sexual abuse expired before the suit was filed.

The original lawsuit argued the statute of limitations did not begin until July 2019, when the player’s memories of the sexual assault were triggered, rather than in 2010.

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