The developer of Lincoln Yards is opening part of the North Side property this summer for public activities such as a basketball camp, outdoor movies programmed by Chicago’s Davis Theater and artistic performances.
Sterling Bay is calling the effort Meanwhile at Lincoln Yards. It will open July 15 at Ada Street and Concord Place but some activities have already started.
It’s a way to introduce the public to the former brownfield. The programs will occur on part of 53 acres Sterling Bay intends to transform into a mixed-use development. The developer plans an office building for life sciences firms in the project’s first phase.
Noting that environmental work has been completed, Sterling Bay CEO Andy Gloor said Meanwhile at Lincoln Yards will engage “local businesses and creative organizations to see what resonates with and is most impactful to the community.”
A fee will apply to some programs and food and merchandise will be sold, but Sterling Bay said it won’t collect any money. All revenue will support small businesses and nonprofits, the company said.
For example, tickets to the outdoor “movies on the lawn” by the Davis will be $10 each. The showings pick up on last year’s drive-in at Lincoln Yards when the pandemic caused strict limits on public interaction. Films this year will include “Field of Dreams” and “The Wizard of Oz.” The Davis has posted a schedule at davistheater.com/drivein/.
Three new basketball courts will host a youth camp run by Hoopademix, which uses sports programs to combat racism. The programs run weekdays through Aug. 27.
The activities are adjacent to Fleet Fields, soccer fields Sterling Bay opened for free or league play.
The company said Urban Gateways is planning various performances and art exhibits through the summer. An area will be set aside for small merchants and food and drink vendors, with alcohol sales allowed.
Businesses and organizations interested in taking part should email [email protected].
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) called the activities “an excellent kickoff to a project that will one day create over 20 new acres of permanent open space along the Chicago River.”
Rules Philadelphia may not punish a Catholic adoption agency for following its religious beliefs.
A First Amendment victory.
A Catholic social service agency can’t be denied a city contract to find foster parents for needy children because the agency refused to certify same-sex couples as foster parents, Supreme Court ruled today.
That flowed from the Catholic Social Services’ sincerely held religious belief that does not sanction same-sex marriage. For that reason, Philadelphia booted the agency from what it had been successfully doing–finding qualified foster care parents for struggling children.
In Fulton v. Philadelphia, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, noted that
The Catholic Church has served the needy children of Philadelphia for over two centuries. In 1798, a priest in the City organized an association to care for orphans whose parents had died in a yellow fever epidemic….
When criticism of asylums mounted in the Progressive Era, see id., at 37–40, the Church established the Catholic Children’s Bureau to place children in foster homes. Petitioner CSS continues that mission today….
Because the agency understands the certification of prospective foster families to be an endorsement of their relationships, it will not certify unmarried couples—regardless of their sexual orientation—or same-sex married couples. CSS does not object to certifying gay or lesbian individuals as single foster parents or to placing gay and lesbian children. No same-sex couple has ever sought certification from CSS. If one did, CSS would direct the couple to one of the more than 20 other agencies in the City, all of which currently certify same-sex couples. For over 50 years, CSS successfully contracted with the City to provide foster care services while holding to these beliefs.
In reversing a 3-0 appeals court decision, Roberts wrote:
The refusal of Philadelphia to contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.
Roberts noted that the agency did not seek to impose its view against same-sex marriage on anyone else. The agency wasn’t preventing same sex couples from fostering children; there are some 20 other agonies in the city that are more than willing to accommodate them.
That didn’t matter to the crowd of the self-sainted who demanded that everyone kneel to their beliefs. Never mind the First Amendment that guarantees everyone the right to practice their religion.
Wokesters’ eyes will be spinning at the decision, claiming that its another win for the religious right’s assault on the victimized. But here’s a view that it is a victory for liberalism, “properly understood.”
But the larger reason why the decision deserves praise is that it upholds a key principle of political liberalism. The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion. Such exercise is not limited to individuals attending church or praying in private homes. It’s a freedom of those individuals to join together and associate with others of their faith in civil society. That includes the freedom of a Catholic social service agency to facilitate adoptions, even when the foundational beliefs undergirding that agency preclude facilitating adoptions for same-sex couples.
To insist that such organizations set aside their foundational beliefs when they clash with the moral convictions of ideological progressivism — or, in the language of Fulton decision, to force a Catholic organization “to curtail its mission or to certify same-sex couples as foster parents in violation of its religious beliefs” — is an act of illiberalism. That’s because it amounts to insisting not just that the state but also private religious entities must uniformly affirm a comprehensive moral view different from and in conflict with their own as the price of entering the public square. That effectively turns the country into a political community with an established church of progressive moral absolutism.
Liberalism is, or should be, an ideology open to a rich and vibrant pluralism. Which is exactly what the Supreme Court has affirmed in its decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia.
Amen to that. If anything, it illustrates just how far from their roots that progressives/liberals/Democrats have wandered in the campaign to impose their views on everyone.
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Pop star Tiffany readies the release of her 11th studio album ‘Shadows’ on October 1, 2021 (Photo by Emily Jones)
Heading into sessions for her 11th studio album Shadows, the goal for pop star Tiffany was to push her music forward while reconnecting with the fun, celebratory tone that defined some of her most well-known songs in the 1980s.
Working with producer Mark Alberici at Rockfield Studios in Wales, Tiffany enlisted friends Johnny Martin (bass) and Scot Coogan (drums) of rockers L.A. Guns. The result is a batch of slick new songs fueled by the pop punk heavy first single “Hey Baby,” a rollicking love song which conjures up images of The Go-Go’s, alongside a rocking reworked rendition of her biggest hit “I Think We’re Alone Now.”
“It’s an evolution thing. I’m growing and you just have to kind of go onto the next thing,” said Tiffany ahead of two shows (5 PM and 8 PM) Sunday at City Winery. “The ‘Mixtape’ tour was a blast and gave me a little bit of the re-connection with the mall tour fans and all of that. And I think this record is a little bit of a throwback to that. That fun 80s sound, punk kind of sound – easy to digest music with a very modern production sound now. It’s the best I think I’ve done in a long time. And it’s definitely a new foundation for me,” said the singer.
“I have lots of fond memories in Chicago. I used to go to Gene and Gorgetti all of the time. And Scoozi. It was so good. I love a lot of things about Chicago. I also have family there. So it’s very nice to be able to see people and hang out. I’m very much looking forward to these shows because they’re going to get to see me after over a year.”
I spoke with Tiffany about recording the new album Shadows, returning to the road, Sunday’s pair of shows at City Winery and launching Let’s Food With Tiffany, an interactive new endeavor geared toward celebrating the art of cooking with her fans. A transcript of our phone conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below…
You’ve been back on the road now for a bit. What’s it been like getting back in front of fans after the last 15 months?
TIFFANY: It has been amazing. It’s been awesome. I’ve been doing live touring now consistently for like seven years. So it’s been my everything. I did movies and I’ve done some cooking, especially now with my company Let’s Food With Tiffany, I’m growing that more and more. Prior to that I did Food Network and little things that interest me – but mostly it was touring and new music. It feels amazing to finally have the Shadows album coming out and the single “Hey Baby” moving forward and playing that live. And now having people really feel confident and comfortable more and more to come to the live shows – I’m forever grateful to everybody.
So it’s very positive. I’m totally excited. I know that a lot of people are waiting until the fall to really start their tours but, for us, we kept waiting for these shows. They kept getting pushed back – but never off the books. So there was always a little hope. So now to be able to do it? I love all of the venues who are moving forward, working with us and making the “Shadows” tour happen.
“Hey Baby,” the new single from Tiffany is now available ahead of release of the new album ‘Shadows’ on October 1, 2021
Your band now features Johnny Martin and Scot Coogan of L.A. Guns. How did you guys wind up getting together?
Tiffany: Johnny Martin is a friend of mine. I met him through my producer Mark Alberici. He’s been rocking L.A. Guns and I’m a fan of them.
It ended up that we were working on a song together for the record, for Shadows. It was just great to be in the studio recording “Keep on Swinging” – which is a Rival Sons song. And that will be out. But I got to know the band more and more. And we thought what about a guest appearance with Johnny and Scot? That way we could also promote the single eventually and get people to know who we are and why. And then it just led organically to the tour. And we’re having a blast.
Your new single“Hey Baby” certainly leans more in that pop punk/rock direction. It kind of reminds me of The Go-Go’s a little bit. Did you grow up as a fan of that stuff?
Tiffany: I did. Yes. I’m a big fan. Belinda is a friend of mine and she’s lovely.
There’s something about the 80s that was exactly that – celebratory and fun and lighthearted. I definitely wanted to bring that back – even prior to COVID. I didn’t know we were going to be in this situation. But I thought, “We just made a really fun album. I want to do something that’s a little more uptempo and a little more of a celebration – still with my quirky side.” As a writer, it’s still got a little bit of a sharp, cheeky side to it. But it needed to be a little bit more like a throwback. 80s music had so much fun and uniqueness to it. For whatever reason, it was easier to digest. And I’m very proud to be a part of that.
So we have a little bit of that punk – I think that comes from the punk element that my producer Mark Alberici brings to the record. We were very mindful of creating something that had that little wink throwback to the 80s but was still very modern.
“Hey Baby” was one of the front runners on the album. And once we got that under our belt, we were like, “Cool. Now we have a sound. Now we know where we’re going. Now we can kind of have fun and experiment.” And then the songs just kept coming.
So I’m very excited about this album.
[embedded content]
When did you record Shadows – was it during the pandemic or prior to?
Tiffany: It was done before – late 2018 into 2019. We had it ready to kind of go in the first part of 2020. I was literally high fiving with all of my team. The “Shadows” tour was maybe six weeks away. We were going to start it slowly. We were ready to go. There were so many good things. And I was going to release the record – because it’s always better to release anything you’re doing while you’re out on the road. It’s just better. So this was all happening and literally two weeks after our meeting to push go, COVID happened. It was like, “What?!” Like everybody, at first, it was like, “Oh this will just be a week, two weeks…” Who would’ve known what was gonna happen?
But, in a weird way, it’s perfect timing now. Because this music really is a lot of fun. It is really a celebration of the past and reconnecting. And then rocking out. Which I think people really want to do right now.
The “Hey Baby” single includes a new version of “I Think We’re Alone Now.” What’s the key to taking a song like that, that fans know so well, and putting a unique new spin on it today?
Tiffany: The song is really special. It just can be done so many different ways: ska, rock, punk. I’ve done it a lot of different ways. And that’s the magic of it really. It keeps having its own life. I love to be a part of that. I’m never tired of singing that song. To remake it and do the new video – go back to my high school and include that – it was a blast to really kind of celebrate the life of this song that I recorded when I was 14 and still continues to make people happy.
We rock it every show. It’s a lot of fun. Because I do like the harder guitars on it just for a modern, updated twist with a little more sass – like me. I love it. It’s a lot of fun to play every night.
Tiffany: Let’s Food With Tiffany was really created after I was going on the road for so long and just learned a lot about my body, a lot about my health and a lot about endurance. It’s a full schedule. So eating processed food for me became where I couldn’t do it. I started noticing a lot of fuzziness – things that were building up in my body. So it became imperative for me to eat clean and pretty much cook.
So Airbnb’s were created on my schedule, where I’d house myself and the band. It’s a little easier if you’re staying a few days somewhere. But what it allows me to do is cook and then cook for the band. And that’s how these last two albums were created, Pieces Of Me and Shadows, where we record at Rockfield in Wales. One studio is right next door to the kitchen. They’re creating music and I’m coming in and out but I’m also creating all of these wonderful, delicious meals. So that’s just kind of the way that we work. It brings a little bit of home. It brings a little normality. But, really, you also feel better.
So that led to me cooking for the band. And before I knew it, fans were catching on. They were using some of my recipes. Because I was just saying it, “Oh, I cooked chicken for the band last night and it was this, this and that…” Unbeknownst to me, they had kind of started their own little cooking following together where they were sharing things. It was brought to my attention and I thought, “Well, it would be a lot of fun to do meet and greets where I cook for people. It could be outdoors, it could be at an Airbnb…”
All of these different things were created – and then COVID happened. So it was always supposed to be part of the tour. When COVID hit, I thought, “What could I do that I really love, that I’d like to develop that will keep me sane? It can’t really be music right now. So, cooking!” I’m a very active person. I like to be proactive. Let’s Food With Tiffany was created in the first week of COVID and it’s really about let’s food together. Let’s cook together. Let’s travel together.
The original idea was to travel all over. For people who’ve never traveled before, I go to Thailand or India. That was one thing that I learned about my family. It wasn’t just me traveling and going to other places, it was being introduced to different cultures and different people and different ways of life. So that’s what the road gives me on a continual basis. So why not food together as well?
So Let’s Food With Tiffany, that’s really what it is. It’s a traveling cooking club when you sign up for a membership. You get my recipes and interaction with me on a different level – more insight into my life. So I really enjoy it.
The best thing to do is go to the website. Because this tour does have a lot of pop up elements. That’s the one thing. We’re in the shadows! There’s so many different things as we’re moving forward from COVID and venues are opening up more. I’ll also have in stores where “Hey Baby” the actual vinyl is physically available. So old school! The best thing for all the pop ups is to go to Tiffanytunes.com.
Two shows at 5PM and 8PM Doors open at 4PM and 7PM
Tickets: $55
To purchase tickets for the 5PM SHOW, click HERE To purchase tickets for the 8PM SHOW, click HERE ______________________________________________________________________________
Jim Ryan has written about music in print and online for a variety of Chicagoland publications for over fifteen years. In addition to duties filling in as Traffic Anchor on CLTV or in the helicopter on NBC 5, you can also catch him Sunday afternoons at 3PM central as host of “The Rock N’ Roll Radio Program” on AM 1420 WIMS (streaming at wimsradio.com and via the free TuneIn Radio app on any computer, phone or device).
Jim has also worked locally for WXRT-FM, lives within walking distance of the Metro and is an avid White Sox and Blackhawks fan whose first live concert experience came at Comiskey Park in 1984 during the Jacksons’ “Victory” tour.
The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971. | Robert A. Davis
Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.
Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high near 91 degrees. Tonight there will be showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 a.m., with a low around 71. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a chance for more rain early on and a high near 92.
The possibility of the Bears leaving Soldier Field for a new stadium in Arlington Heights became significantly more realistic once the team put in a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property.
The potential relocation had been little more than rumor and logical speculation until the team announced its bid today. While the Bears said it was “to explore all options” and “further evaluate the property,” they wouldn’t have bid if they weren’t legitimately considering a move.
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.
A federal judge in New York questioned a member of R. Kelly’s legal team today about her ties to a girlfriend of Kelly and an alleged victim in the federal racketeering indictment filed against him. This comes amid ongoing turmoil within Kelly’s legal team.
In the dark hours last weekend — when she couldn’t sleep, when she was sick with worry — Teodora Ateska tried to imagine what she might have done to make him behave this way.
But it didn’t make any sense. Ateska had always showered him with kisses and fed him bite-size pieces of fresh fruit and vegetables (organic whenever possible). She took him camping and on bike rides in a special backpack with a clear plastic bubble so that he, too, could enjoy the views.
Despite all of this, Ateska’s beloved Quaker parrot, “Stole,” made the decision to escape from the 26-year-old’s second-floor North Side apartment the morning of June 12 through a tiny hole he’d pecked in a window screen.
ProvidedTeodora Ateska and her beloved Quaker parrot, “Stole.”
“Oh, my God, I was in shock,” said Ateska, a safety manager for a trucking company and a native Macedonian.
But this story doesn’t end in tragedy.
Somehow, miraculously, Stole’s bout of insanity ended when he alighted onto the shoulder of a woman about 5 miles away in the Old Irving Park neighborhood. The fellow bird lover seized his little green-and-white body, put him in a cage and then found Ateska through one of her frantic social media posts.
How do you feel about the possibility of a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights?
Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: How do you feel about the city and state making Juneteenth an official holiday? Here’s what some of you said…
“It was kind of embarrassing when people from other countries knew the date and the significance but it was not celebrated here. It is about time.” — Fred O’Neal
“It doesn’t benefit me in any way as a Black person, but it’s kind of cool. As virtues to signal go, ‘owning human beings is bad’ is a pretty good virtue.” — Julia Harris
“This is why we have personal days off. People can use them for whatever they want.” — Frank Farej
“I don’t care what your political views are or the color of your skin. This is a celebration of Freedom, overcoming injustice and living up to our creed, ‘All Men are created equal.’ More Americans died in the Civil War than in any other war. Juneteenth celebrates their victory and struggle. Ending slavery is what they died for. This is a victory for all Americans. I fully back the holiday.” — Paul Wickham
“I feel like it’s pandering. While they are declaring Juneteenth a national holiday the Republicans are legislating away our voter rights and our ability to control our own uterus.” — Michelle Willis
“IMHO: Since the US celebrates many historical events, I believe freeing more than 250,000 people from tyranny and bondage is something to celebrate — after more than 150 years. It is long overdue.” — Joi Taylor
“I don’t understand why it wasn’t already a holiday. It is also part of history. I don’t get why ALL parts of American history are not taught at the same time. For years we all were taught to celebrate Columbus — who came up with that gem?! History shouldn’t be altered to make it pretty. ‘Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.’” — Colleen Lonergan Gallagher
“I think it’s great — I hope it encourages a frank discussion of history. May it be more than just a symbolic gesture.” — Tammy Veach
“It’s an empty gesture. Many Black people have been celebrating Juneteenth for years. Let’s get some action on voting rights and anti-lynching legislation.” — Ayani Good
“It’s an authentic American holiday that commemorates justice, freedom and liberation from bondage. How can anyone question it?” — Craig Barner
“Our family has celebrated June 19th, 1865 for as long as I can remember. I’m 47 and teaching my daughter the same. So many want us to forget that many were enslaved two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. I vow that we never forget and will honor the history of Americans — our Ancestors who were enslaved. I am proud of this day that the Land of Lincoln can officially recognize this important day in our country. As a US Army Veteran, as a Black woman and as a mother, I’m so very proud.” — LeDonna Nubin
Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
The Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California. | Andy Grimm/Sun-Times
Dezhawn Seargent, 26, drove a borrowed SUV in the Aug. 15 shooting, prosecutors said. The gunmen targeted a rival gang member but instead shot and killed a 19-year-old woman, prosecutors said.
The alleged getaway driver in a deadly shooting on the Eisenhower Expressway has been charged with murder.
Dezhawn Seargent had been driving a borrowed SUV alongside a car a rival gang member was traveling in when two gunman inside Seargent’s SUV opened fire on the morning of Aug. 15, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Kevin DeBoni said Thursday.
The rival gang member was not injured.
Instead, the gunmen struck 19-year-old Lakasia Gregory in the head and leg on the Interstate 290 near Central Avenue, DeBoni said.
The driver — the girlfriend of the man the uncharged gunmen were targeting — was also struck in the arm, DeBoni said. That victim survived.
Seargent, 26, had borrowed the SUV used in the shooting hours earlier and drove the gunmen to the block where the victims were hanging out to conduct surveillance, DeBoni said.
When Gregory and the others got into their car and drove away, Seargent followed them onto the expressway and then sped up alongside them, DeBoni said.
ShotSpotter gunshot detectors recorded a barrage of gunfire from two different guns. Sixteen shell casings were collected and the victims’ car was struck 10 times, DeBoni said.
After the shooting, Seargent dropped the SUV back to the individual he borrowed it from, DeBoni said.
That woman later found a shell casing on her driveway near the front door of her SUV. The shell casing, later recovered by Illinois State Police investigators, matched the caliber and make of the casings found at the crime scene, DeBoni said.
Seargent was identified through surveillance videos and phone records, which showed he he and one of the gunmen had communicated before and after the shooting, DeBoni said. Geo-tracking features on Seargent’s cellphone phone also allegedly matched the movements of the car before the murder.
Seargent grew up in the west suburbs, where he still has family, and graduated from Lyons Township High School, an assistant public defender said. Seargent was laid off during the pandemic and is currently unemployed, the defense attorney added.
Judge Mary Marubio ordered Seargent held without bail.
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.
Arlington Heights mayor Thomas Hayes has campaigned for the Bears to move to his city and called them “a great fit.” He said Wednesday he had met with fewer than 10 potential bidders for the site.
The 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 in order to allow as much daylight as possible.
The animated projections of the famous Obama Portraits created by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald will light up at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. every night through Sept. 16.
You can see the Obamas’ larger-than-life portraits glow along the side of the Merchandise Mart building starting Thursday night.
The animated projections of the famous Obama Portraits created by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald will light up at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. as part of the Art On TheMART’s summer program.
The projections can be seen from Wacker Drive and along the Chicago Riverwalk. A musical score will accompany the piece.
You can learn more about available times to get tickets here.
The program’s content rotates seasonally, and along with the Obamas, Chicagoans can get a glimpse of the Frida Kahlo: Timeless exhibition, which is currently being shown at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage until Sept. 6.
The projections will feature several of Kahlo’s works including Self Portrait with Small Monkey (1945) and Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress (1926).
Like the Obamas’ portraits, Kahlo’s works will be accompanied by music with an orchestral score from Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, recorded by New Philharmonic.
Police investigate the scene where 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams was fatally shot April 18, 2021, at a McDonald’s drive-thru near Roosevelt Road and Kedzie. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Devontay Anderson, 21, may have fled to Florida after the shooting. The FBI said Anderson also has links in Indiana.
The FBI has increased a reward to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the second gunman in the murder of 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams at a West Side McDonald’s.
An arrest warrant was issued for Devontay Anderson, 21, on April 26 after he was charged with first-degree murder in Cook County Circuit Court, according to a criminal complaint filed in April in U.S District Court.
The FBI announced an initial reward of $10,000 for information on his whereabouts last month. GPS notifications have last tracked Anderson to Miami, Florida. The FBI said Anderson also has links in Indiana.
FBIThe FBI released these photos of Devontay Anderson, who is wanted in the murder of 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams.
On April 18, Jaslyn and her father, Jontae Adams, were in an Infiniti at a McDonald’s in the 3200 block of West Roosevelt Road when two gunmen got out of an Audi and fired into their car about 4:20 p.m., authorities have said. Jaslyn was killed and her father was wounded.
According to the federal complaint, surveillance video which captured the shooting was viewed by the Chicago Police Department. The complaint said three people were inside the Audi when it pulled behind the Infinti.
Demond Goudy and Marion Lewis have also been charged in connection with the shooting. Lewis was the getaway driver and did not fire any of the shots, prosecutors have said. Lewis and Goudy are being held without bail in Cook County Jail.
Anderson is described as 5-foot-6, 150 to 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has a small tattoo of capital letters written in script over his right eyebrow, the FBI said.
Anyone with information can call the FBI’s Chicago office at 312-421-6700.
Patricia McCloskey, left, and her husband Mark McCloskey leave a court in St. Louis, Thursday, June 17, 2021. The St. Louis couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators last year has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000. Her husband, Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth degree assault and was fined $750. The couple also agreed to forfeit both weapons they used when they confronted protesters in front of their home in June of last year. | AP
Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000. Her husband, Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750.
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators last year pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges and agreed to give up the weapons they used during the confrontation.
Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000. Her husband, Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750.
When several hundred demonstrators marched past their home in June of 2020, the couple waved weapons at them. They claimed the protesters were trespassing and that they feared for their safety.
The McCloskeys, both of them lawyers in their 60s, wore blue blazers and spoke calmly in answering questions from Judge David Mason during Thursday’s hearing. Mason asked Mark McCloskey if he acknowledged that his actions put people at risk of personal injury. He replied, “I sure did your honor.”
Mark McCloskey, who announced in May that he was running for a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, was unapologetic after the hearing.
“I’d do it again,” he said from the courthouse steps in downtown St. Louis. “Any time the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family.”
The McCloskeys’ defense lawyer, Joel Schwartz, said after the hearing the couple had hoped to raise money by donating Mark’s rifle to charity, but acknowledged that it was an unusual request.
Because the charges are misdemeanors, the McCloskeys do not face the possibility of losing their law licenses and can continue to own firearms.
“This particular resolution of these two cases represents my best judgment of an appropriate and fair disposition for the parties involved as well as the public good,” special prosecutor Richard Callahan said after the hearing
The protesters, Callahan said, “were a racially mixed and peaceful group, including women and children, who simply made a wrong turn on their way to protest in front of the mayor’s house. There was no evidence that any of them had a weapon and no one I interviewed realized they had ventured onto a private enclave.”
The June 28, 2020, protests came weeks after George Floyd’s death under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee. Mark McCloskey emerged with an AR-15-style rifle, and Patricia McCloskey waved a semiautomatic pistol, according to the indictment. Cellphone video captured the confrontation. No shots were fired and no one was hurt.
The McCloskeys were indicted by a grand jury in October on felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering. Callahan later amended the charges to give jurors the alternative of convictions of misdemeanor harassment instead of the weapons charge. Under that alternative, the evidence tampering count would be dropped.
An investigation by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office led to the initial indictments — and harsh backlash from several Republican leaders. Then-President Donald Trump spoke out in defense of the couple, whose newfound celebrity earned them an appearance via video at the Republican National Convention.
Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has said that if the McCloskeys are convicted, he’d pardon them. A spokeswoman for Parson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after the hearing.
Callahan, a longtime judge and former U.S. attorney, was appointed special prosecutor after a judge in December ruled that Gardner created an appearance of impropriety by mentioning the McCloskey case in fundraising emails before the August Democratic primary. Gardner went on to win reelection.
The Monday ensemble of “Romeo and Juliet Remix” shows off their homemade masks for “The Capulet Ball” scene. Everyone in the cast decorated their own masks for the play’s pivotal scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet. | Courtesy A.B.L.E.
The Chicago non-profit ensemble creates theater and film for, with and by individuals with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities.
When COVID-19 forced Chicago theater to go dark, the A.B.L.E. Ensemble was one of the first to forge forward into the brave new world of digital programming. Not only did the plucky theater survive, in the face of the pandemic — their artistry thrived.
“You know I feel really humbled honestly because I think it’s been one of our strongest years and kind of our strongest seasons. Especially working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, any sort of social outlet is so important, especially for adults,” said A.B.L.E. executive director Katie Yohe, of Artists Breaking Limits & Expectations (A.B.L.E.). The Chicago non-profit ensemble founded in 2016 that “creates theater and film for, with, and by individuals with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities,” according to its website.
“The mental health toll of the pandemic was really strong for them so we saw a huge demand for programs and services, so we’ve been able to add workshops, add ensembles, and kind of keep pushing ourselves to do more just to make sure there was a place for our community to go.”
Though some theatermakers have groused over the limitations of Zoom, A.B.L.E. stepped up to the challenge. “I think for the folks in the creative arts, it was sort of the ultimate test of all of our theatermaking skills, you know,” Yohe said. “It’s all of the improvisation skills that you’ve acquired, and your willingness to be adaptable, and say yes and keep trying, and work with your team and work with your community.”
And with that embrace of change came unexpected rewards for the actors. “I think having a little more control over their environment, being able to control the volume of class, the lighting in their room, and being in a comfortable familiar space, I think has helped some of our actors to become a lot stronger working virtually than they may have done in person.”
Their talents will be showcased in “Romeo and Juliet Remix,” a new take on the Shakespeare classic that combines the original work with original monologues and songs created by the cast.
“The team working on ‘Romeo and Juliet Remix’ is Zooming in from about 10 different states… we have many actors with Down syndrome, we also have actors who are autistic, we have some participants with cerebral palsy, and then some with a general developmental delay,” Yohe said. “So currently in our ensembles, or at least those folks working on ‘Romeo and Juliet Remix,’ that’s 38 actors ranging in age from ages 15 up to 37.”
A.B.L.E. Ensemble allows actors a large measure of agency in their roles. Yohe delves into the classical adaptation creative process, facilitated in conjunction with their longtime partner, Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
“It’s a way to give our ensemble ownership over some classical pieces that they maybe would have been excluded from, in traditional situations. It’s certainly rare to see even one actor with a disability in a Shakespeare show, let alone the entire cast,” she said.
Courtesy A.B.L.E.The Friday ensemble “takes a laughing potion” while playing the game “What’s in the Apothecary Shop?” Ensembles learned the plot of “Romeo & Juliet” through this and other games.
“We currently have four separate ensembles and each one has up to 10 actors with varying disabilities and varying ages. We spent the first three or four weeks or so really digging into the story and the characters… A lot of people came in obviously already knowing this story, it’s such a part of the zeitgeist in that way even though it’s 400 years old. … We asked each actor what they most wanted to do, if there was a character or moment in the story they felt really connected to; if there was a special skill that they wanted to show off. Did they want to sing? Did they want to dance? Did they want to really do some good meaty acting work or comedic work? And then, if they wanted to focus on Shakespearean text, or if they wanted to devise something new.”
The end result is “Romeo and Juliet” like you’ve never seen it before, with 11 different Juliettes and 9 different Romeos, broken down into 22 different scenes. With the support of teaching artists and volunteers, 70 people are onscreen total, and everything is filmed in the actors’ homes and edited together for one epic tale.
And speaking of film, A.B.L.E. Ensemble also offers referrals for those seeking disabled film and theater actors for hire, as well as professional development classes for those seeking to learn how to work creatively and respectfully with the disabled community.
“I mean if you look at the We See You White American Theater movement, as well as all the changes that we’re trying to talk about, [they] are ultimately going to cost these producers more money, and they have to just pony up. You know you can’t just pay lip service to the cause; you’ve got to actually accept that is going to be part of your budget. It’s got to be a commitment. It’s got to be a financial commitment and not just an emotional commitment.”
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