Michael Williams, 30, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and felony gun charges.

A man upset with his ex-girlfriend shot her and their young son when he fired a gun through their kitchen window while trying to get into their West Side garden apartment, Cook County prosecutors said Thursday.

Michael Williams, 30, faces attempted murder, aggravated battery and felony gun charges, for Tuesday night’s shooting, which took place after Williams repeatedly called and texted his 30-year-old ex, prosecutors said.

Chicago police

A Chicago police POD camera recorded Williams as he walked into the gangway of the woman’s building around 11:45 p.m, prosecutors said.

After, the woman heard banging on her kitchen door and saw Williams standing outside, prosecutors said.

The former couple share three children, including a 20-month-old boy who Williams’ ex-girlfriend was holding when Williams started pounding on the door, prosecutors said.

After breaking the glass window on the door with his hands, Williams fired multiple shots into the apartment, prosecutors said. Williams’ ex-girlfriend suffered graze wounds to a finger and her back. The toddler boy was struck multiple times in the legs. The child was still recovering at a hospital on Thursday, prosecutors said.

Williams was arrested early Wednesday while he was driving in the 7200 block of North Sheridan Road. He was bleeding from a cut on his hand when he was apprehended and blood was found on the broken glass of victims’ kitchen window. A .40-caliber handgun was also recovered from Williams’ car, prosecutors said.

While in custody, Williams allegedly admitted to detectives that he fired the shots.

Williams was sentenced to a year of conditional discharge in 2011 for endangering the life of another of the couple’s child, who was five years old at the time, prosecutors said.

Williams, a father of four, works as a general laborer for Midwest Cannabis Corp., an assistant public defender said.

Judge Mary Marubio ordered Williams held without bail Thursday.

He’s expected back in court June 11.

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Osaka, who also acknowledged suffering “long bouts of depression,” received criticism by some who say the media events are just “ part of the job. “ But Nike, Sweetgreen and other sponsors put out statements in support of the 23-year-old star after she revealed her struggles.

NEW YORK — A few years ago, a star athlete dropping out of a major tennis tournament over mental health issues might have been seen as a sign of weakness.

Today, at least for Naomi Osaka’s corporate sponsors, it is being hailed as refreshingly honest.

That would explain why so many of them have stuck by Osaka after the four-time Grand Slam champion announced Monday that she was withdrawing from the French Open because she didn’t want to appear for the requisite news conferences that caused her “huge waves of anxiety.”

Osaka, who also acknowledged suffering “long bouts of depression,” received criticism by some who say the media events are just “ part of the job. “ But Nike, Sweetgreen and other sponsors put out statements in support of the 23-year-old star after she revealed her struggles.

“Our thoughts are with Naomi,” Nike said in a statement. “We support her and recognize her courage in sharing her own mental health experience.” Sweetgreen tweeted that its partnership with Osaka “is rooted in wellness in all its forms.” And Mastercard tweeted: “Naomi Osaka’s decision reminds us all how important it is to prioritize personal health and well-being.”

Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, said that Osaka’s disclosure has made her a more authentic spokesperson — and more valuable to corporate sponsors.

“Every athlete gets a sports sponsorship because they win games or perform well,” he said. “But the best ones become true brand ambassadors when they have a broader persona. The best brand ambassadors are real people. (Osaka) is talking about an issue that is relevant to many people. Mental health is a bigger issue than winning or losing tennis.”

Reilly Opelka, a 23-year-old American tennis player seeded 32nd at the French Open who plays his third-round match Friday, told The Associated Press he’s glad Osaka “is taking time to get better.”

“She’s one of the best players in the world — she’s very influential,” Opelka said. “The sport needs her. She’s an icon. It’s bad for the sport to have one of the main attractions not around.”

Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father, moved to the United States with her family when she was 3, and now lives in Los Angeles.

She has taken a leading role in protesting the deaths last year of George Floyd and other Black people who died at the hands of the police, wearing a mask with a different victim’s name on each match day at the 2020 U.S. Open. She was named the 2020 AP Female Athlete of the Year.

According to Forbes, Osaka is the world’s highest-paid woman athlete, earning $37 million in 2020 from blue-chip sponsors such as Tag Heuer, AirBnB, and Louis Vuitton in addition to Mastercard and Nike.

Nike has stood by sports stars after other controversies, including Tiger Woods after his 2009 sex scandal and former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick after he knelt during games to protest police brutality against Black people. But it recently dropped Brazilian soccer star Neymar after he refused to cooperate with an internal investigation into sexual assault allegations from a Nike staffer.

Osaka’s disclosure comes as celebrities and other public figures openly address their own issues with depression and anxiety. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, shared their experiences in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey and have since teamed with her to create a mental health focused series called “The Me You Can’t See,” in which Prince Harry talks about working through anxiety and grief.

Osaka also joins a growing list of top-tier athletes speaking out about mental health. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, NBA players Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan, and the WNBA’s A’ja Wilson have all spoken very publicly about their bouts with depression, sharing both the successes and setbacks.

The four Grand Slam tournaments reacted to Osaka’s withdrawal by pledging to do more to address players’ mental health issues. The episode also could serve as a tipping point for the professional tennis tours — and leagues in other sports — to safeguard athletes’ mental, and not just physical, health, said Windy Dees, professor of sport administration at the University of Miami.

“It’s absolutely a growth opportunity for the (Women’s Tennis Association) and all leagues, there’s a lot of work to be done,” Dees said.

Marketing consultant Adamson believes Osaka’s decision to come forward will encourage many more athletes to divulge their own mental health battles. He noted that if Osaka had revealed her bouts with depression 10 years ago, her corporate sponsors likely would have stayed on the sidelines because the issue had been taboo. But, he noted, the pandemic has raised awareness around mental illness.

From August 2020 to February, the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%, according to a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Census Bureau.

The survey also found the percentage of those reporting they didn’t get the help they needed increased from 9.2% to 11.7%. Increases were largest among adults aged 18–29 years and those with less than a high school education.

Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer for the National Alliance On Mental Illness, said Osaka’s decision to go public is a positive development for all people who feel isolated.

“We are moving from mental health and mental illness as a ‘they” thing to a ‘we’ thing,” he said. “These are ordinary common human problems. And I firmly believe that isolation and shame directly contributes to people not getting help. I look at a great athlete, an exceptional athlete, as one potential role model.”

——

AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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Markets have been wobbly all week as investors closely watch the labor markets for more signs of economic growth and consider any information that could give more clues about rising inflation.

Stocks mostly fell on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday as investors weighed the latest economic reports showing that unemployment claims are falling but labor costs are rising.

Markets have been wobbly all week as investors closely watch the labor markets for more signs of economic growth and consider any information that could give more clues about rising inflation. Labor costs rose at a 1.7% rate in the first quarter, up from the initial estimate that costs had fallen 0.3%. That could stoke more fears that inflation might run hotter than expected.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% as of 2:14 p.m. eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14 points, or less than 0.1%, to 34,613 and the Nasdaq shed 0.8%.

The benchmark S&P 500 was roughly split between gainers and losers, and the slide has erased its gains for the week. Technology companies, whose pricey stock values make them more sensitive to inflation fears, were the biggest weight on the market. Microsoft fell 0.9% and Intel slipped 2%.

A variety of companies that rely on direct consumer spending and communications companies also had some of the biggest declines. Banks and energy companies rose.

Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.62% from 1.59% late Wednesday.

Rising inflation is expected as the economy recovers from the pandemic’s impact, but the key question for many on Wall Street is whether it will be temporary or more permanent.

“The main concern in the markets, rightfully so, is inflation,” said Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Wealth. “Data points are beginning to confirm the view that inflation is likely to be more sticky.”

Wall Street will get more detailed data on the labor market Friday when the Labor Department releases its monthly jobs report. Economists are projecting that it will show employers added more than 650,000 jobs in May.

Expectations of a strong increase in hiring have stoked worries about inflation and how the Fed may respond to it. The concern is that the global recovery could be hampered if governments and central banks have to withdraw stimulus to combat rising prices.

Inflation worries are also butting up against the recovery seemingly shifting from a sharp rebound to a grind, which could mean more choppiness as the economy adjusts.

“When the rubber meets the road with the realities of reopening, we think we could be in for a rocky period,” Hodge said.

AMC Entertainment recovered from a sharp pullback and rose 7.7% after the movie theater operator said it would sell more shares following a huge run-up in its stock price on surge of interest from individual investors. The stock is still up about 2,800% this year.

General Motors jumped 6.3% after saying it expects earnings in the first half of the year to exceed its earlier forecasts as its efforts to manage a global computer chip shortage have worked better than expected. Rival Ford Motor rose 6.8%.

European and Asian markets closed mixed.

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The Bears want their prized rookie to serve an apprenticeship under Andy Dalton, but giving Fields second-team reps ahead of Nick Foles is a sign the Bears will give themselves a chance to see if Fields might be ready sooner than they think.

When Bears coach Matt Nagy was asked after rookie minicamp in May if quarterback Justin Fields will get a chance to prove he’s ready to start sooner than the Bears think, he basically said, “We’ll know it when we see it.”

But it didn’t answer the question: Will he give Fields the opportunity for them to see it? If Fields is buried behind Andy Dalton and Nick Foles in training camp practices and the preseason, would Fields even get the chance to open their eyes?

It’s still unlikely that Fields will be in a dogfight for the starting job in training camp — let alone the Week 1 starter. But Nagy gave the first indication he’ll be more open-minded to that possibility when he said at Wednesday’s OTA practice that Fields would get second-team reps and Foles the third-team reps in mini-camp and presumably training camp.

With the Bears concerned about pulling the rug out from under Dalton after signing him in free agency to be the starter when he had other options, Fields’ rise up the depth chart — barring an injury — is likely to be incremental, if not subtle. Getting second-team reps ahead of Foles is a significant first step.

When Mitch Trubisky was in a similar position in 2017 — expected to spend a year of apprenticeship under Mike Glennon — he was behind both Glennon and Mark Sanchez at the start of training camp. And even when Trubisky jumped ahead of Sanchez and took second-team reps in the sixth practice of camp, coach John Fox was quick to say, ‘Don’t read too much into it.’ Still, Trubisky started the season as the No. 2 quarterback and replaced Glennon in Week 5.

Nagy is just as resolute that Dalton is — and will be — the starting quarterback in Week 1. But it seems already like this will be a more fluid situation than it was with Trubisky in 2017 — that Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo will give themselves a chance to be intrigued by the prized rookie and perhaps set the bar higher for Dalton. In 2017, Glennon only had to be standing to keep the job. If Fields shows anything in training camp, Dalton will have to actually be good.

Dalton worked with the first-team offense and Fields with the second-team offense at Wednesday’s OTA. It wasn’t revealing at all. It’s almost like the Bears are practicing just for show on media-access days during OTAs and saving the real work for Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Be that as it may, Nagy was typically and expectedly encouraged by Fields. It’ll be interesting to read between the lines as mini-camp and training camp ensue, but for now, it’s pretty standard.

“He’s done a really good job at just trying to digest everything we are teaching in this offense right now,” Nagy said of Fields. “The one thing you learn with Justin is that he does everything really well in a group setting. He listens. He observes Andy, Nick, coach Flip, Bill Lazor, myself when we are in there. But when you have one-on-one conversations with him, sometimes those settings are easier and you can be a little more specific with him — you really see him open up.”

But already, there’s a little bit of intrigue for Nagy.

“It will be cool to see him once he really starts understanding what we do in this offense, to see him continue to grow and open up and ask good questions, which he had done. Everything that we thought he was going to be when he got here with learning and being obsessed with everything that we teach him and then being able to be himself on the field — he’s doing things in a really good way.”

It’s still June. Things won’t pick up steam until training camp in late July. That’s when we’ll get a better idea of just how much Nagy is looking at this situation with open eyes and an open mind.

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The in-person Chicago Marathon was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bank of America Chicago Marathon organizers are drawing up multiple plans for some 35,000 runners to hit city streets this fall after canceling the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 marathon was canceled for only the second time in the 43-year history of the race, with runners getting the news three months ahead of the scheduled race date in October. Organizers held a “virtual” marathon, with competitors running their own 26.2-mile routes.

Organizers plan to register 35,000 runners, down from the usual 40,000.

The announcement Thursday comes at what would be the start of an 18-week training schedule for marathon athletes in the run-up to the race Oct. 10. Runners who registered for the 2020 marathon are able to transfer their registration to compete in this year’s event, or in the 2022 or 2023 races.

“The (marathon) has long been one of our city’s most exciting events for runners and onlookers alike — making last year’s decision to cancel it all the more difficult,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. “Now, thanks to the progress we’ve made in our COVID-19 journey, we will be able to bring back this Chicago staple and welcome thousands of marathoners and fans back to our streets this fall.”

Race officials have not settled on final plans and protocols for the event. Organizers noted that public health guidance “continues to evolve” but runners should be prepared for COVID-19 safety measures that could include wearing a mask when not on the 26.2-mile course, providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test result or vaccination.

Chicago was not alone among the major marathons to cancel last year, with 2020 races shut down by COVID-19 in Boston, New York, London, Tokyo and Berlin.

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Desmen Williams, 29, was charged with first-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon for the shooting that claimed the life of Jemel Murphy.

A 29-year-old man has been charged with murder in a deadly drive-by shooting that allegedly stemmed from a fight at a nearby Rogers Park restaurant.

Jemel Murphy, was standing with a friend outside the restaurant near Howard and Paulina streets on May 6 when Desmen Williams pulled up in a 2013 Jeep around 3:15 p.m., Cook County prosecutors said.

Williams and Murphy’s friend were captured on surveillance cameras arguing, prosecutors said Friday. At one point, Williams allegedly got punched in the face. That prompted Williams to go back to his car to retrieve a crowbar. But the fight had broken up, prosecutors said.

However, as Williams got back in his car to leave, he allegedly threatened his rivals, saying that “he would be back.”

A half hour later, Murphy and his friend were standing in the 1300 block of West Jonquil Terrace when surveillance cameras captured shots being fired from Williams’ Jeep as it drove by, prosecutors said.

Murphy, 22, was struck in the arm by a bullet that entered his chest. He later died at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, authorities said.

Chicago police

Murphy’s friend identified Williams as the gunman and another witness identified Williams as one of the men involved in the fight at the restaurant, prosecutors said.

A Chicago police surveillance camera captured the license plate of Williams’ Jeep, which was registered to Williams and his mother, prosecutors said. Cellphone records also showed Williams’ phone was in the area at the time of the fight and at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said.

Officers who arrested Williams in West Rogers Park Monday found a bag that contained marijuana, blocks of Psilocybin — a hallucinogenic component of psychedelic mushrooms — and a Glock handgun inside Williams’ car, prosecutors said.

Williams, who has a FOID card but not a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon, prosecutors said. Test results are pending on whether that weapon used in the drive-by shooting.

“We don’t know who was driving [the Jeep],” and assistant public defender told Judge Charles Beach, noting that Williams was not seen inside the Jeep on the surveillance footage.

Williams, who works for a carpentry and landscaping business, is married and a “very involved” father of four children, the defense attorney added.

Beach ordered Williams held without bail.

He is expected back in court June 22.

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Imagine this, your parents are visiting from out of town. You had a fancy dinner last night and just want a quiet night at home. However…your mom wants BBQ, dad wants burgers, husband is craving tacos, and you just want food. Quick. Instead of ordering from a bunch of different restaurants and forking over insane delivery fees, you remember a unique multi-restaurant concept, Kitchen United MIX, that just opened in the West Loop. Everyone is happy and you’re crowned a food queen. 

What is Kitchen United MIX?

Think of it as a “ghost kitchen” where you can order food from a variety of restaurants on the same delivery or pickup order. Which means mom can order Smokey Bones, husband can get his taco fix from Trejo’s Tacos, and dad can get The Burger Experience. All ordered and ready at the same time. 

This smart concept first launched in California and soon expanded to Texas, Arizona, and Chicago. The West Loop location is a second for Chicago, located in the former Wells St. Market at 205 West Wacker Street. The space itself is massive and features ten kitchens, a main order and pickup area, and plenty of seating if you’d rather eat onsite. 

Chief Business Officer, Atul Sood, agrees Chicago has been a great market, stating, “We opened in River North in April 2019 and we’ve really loved being in this city. We couldn’t turn down the opportunity to open a second location with more great restaurants in a new neighborhood.” 

Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect at the Loop Kitchen United MIX location: 

• Trejo’s Tacos: traditional Mexican American food
• Camile Thai: healthy Thai food
• Hawaiian Bros: authentic Hawaiian plate lunches, sides and salads
• Greenleaf: fresh, high-quality food using local ingredients
• Siri Indian Express: authentic South Indian food
• Bad-Ass Breakfast Burritos: tortillas filled with premium meats, eggs, cheese, and potatoes
• Smokey Bones: world’s best BBQ 
• The Wing Experience: 50 flavors of wings and crinkle cut fries
• Plant B: plant-based burger and sausage creations
• Dog Haus: gourmet hot dogs and sausages
• The Burger Experience: five quality burgers and new crinkle cut fries
• Bad Mutha Clucka: all-natural Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, wings, and sides

Start your order here and enjoy!

Featured Image Credit: Kitchen United MIX on Facebook

The post Kitchen United MIX Opens New Location in the Loop appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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In three years worth of draft picks, Wade has kept one of his original first-round selections, Ruthy Hebard who he took with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.

Less than two months after Sky coach and general manager James Wade drafted Shyla Heal with the eighth overall pick in this year’s WNBA draft, she was traded to and immediately waived by the Dallas Wings.

On draft night, Wade raved about Heal’s ceiling. After scouting her, Wade thought her professional experience in Australia combined with her style of play, which he said was similar to Courtney Vandersloot’s, made her a great fit for the Sky’s system.

After four games and just 31 WNBA minutes, Heal was gone.

In three years worth of draft picks, Wade has kept one of his original first-round selections, Ruthy Hebard whom he took with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.

In his first draft at the helm of the Chicago Sky organization in 2019, Wade selected Katie Lou Samuelson with the fourth overall pick, passing on eventual Rookie of the Year Napheesa Collier and runner-up Arike Ogunbowale. Similar to his expectation for Heal to develop behind Vandersloot, Wade said toward the end of the 2019 season he was looking for Samuelson to be a solution to an impending problem in Allie Quigley’s eventual retirement.

Less than a year later, Samuelson was gone as was a 2021 first-round draft pick in a trade to the Wings for forward Azurá Stevens.

Stevens’ full potential remains to be seen. During the 2020 WNBA season, she left the Bubble early after suffering a season-ending injury to her left knee. She started in all 13 games she appeared in for the Sky, averaging career highs in points (11.5 per game) and rebounds (5.9 per game) while shooting 50% from the field.

She started this season on a minutes restriction. In five games she’s averaged 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.8 minutes. Her minutes off the bench have been critical with Candace Parker out due to an ankle injury she suffered after the Sky’s season opener.

Still, Hebard is Wade’s only draft pick that’s had an impact with this team.

“We’ve been a playoff team every year,” Wade said. “You have to look at the sum of everything. I don’t think you can just go by we traded our draft picks early. That remains to be seen.”

Wade’s decision to trade Heal for Dana Evans in order to make room to sign experienced guard Lexie Brown to a rest-of-season contract on June 13 makes sense. In her 31 minutes, Heal looked outmatched. With Brown on the court against the Phoenix Mercury, the Sky had their lowest number of turnovers all season.

Still, the trade is a response to a problem drafting Heal didn’t solve. The Sky need a backup point guard for Vandersloot.

Wade is one of five people in the WNBA who play the dual role of general manager and coach.

The Sky have a severely limited front office staff with three basketball operations positions outside of Wade’s assistant coaching staff. The reigning WNBA champion Seattle Storm in comparison have 12 basketball operations staff members outside of their coaching staff. The Washington Mystics have nine.

Strength and conditioning coach Ann Crosby, who also serves as the director of basketball operations, has long been described as someone who does it all. The team doesn’t have a director of player development or an assistant general manager.

Is this staff conducive for building a WNBA championship-caliber team is a question that remains to be answered.

“You make the team that you want to coach,” Wade said. “I took the job because I wanted the job. Sometimes decisions have to be made that are tough decisions. At the same time, you’re the only one who has a gage on your team.”

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The awards bestowed since December honor a wide range of work by individual journalists, the newspaper’s editorial board and the entire staff.

Since December, Chicago Sun-Times journalism has received a host of national, state and regional honors. The awards recognize a wide range of work by 27 individual Sun-Times journalists, the newspaper’s editorial board and the entire staff.

They include:

National Association of Black Journalists

In December 2020, one staff member received recognition for her lifetime achievement, and six Sun-Times staffers received honors for three powerful stories:

• Mary Mitchell | Enshrined in the NABJ Hall of Fame, recognizing the work she’s done over the span of her career.
• Mary Mitchell | NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards, first place for best feature for her July 26, 2019, report “A century of progress but still an invisible divide,” in which she wrote about how much — and how little — has changed in Chicago since the city’s 1919 race riots.
• Carlos Ballesteros, Tom Schuba, Jon Seidel and Rachel Hinton | NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards, first place in the category “news-single story” for “Rev. Leon Finney Jr.’s free fall,” published Sept. 8, 2019, an examination of the precarious finances of a clout-heavy minister with decades of government contracts.
• Manny Ramos | NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards, first place for business reporting for “Why tearing down Englewood to save it hasn’t worked,” by Manny Ramos, published Aug. 25, 2019, investigating systemic housing redevelopment failures in the South Side neighborhood.

National Headliner Awards

• Nader Issa | National Headliner Awards, second place, education beat reporting, recognized for his reporting on the Chicago Public Schools. Three of his stories were honored for best education beat reporting in 2020:

‘At CPS high schools, a stark racial divide on when cops are called on students and arrests’

‘Inside the life of a homeless Chicago student in the age of the coronavirus: Fear of failing — or not surviving

‘From 1619 to now: How CPS students are learning about black history and white supremacy — and how that’s helping them understand George Floyd’

Illinois Associated Press Media Editors Awards

In May 2021, Sun-Times journalists were recognized with 10 first-place honors in the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors Awards for work published in 2020. Awards included breaking news coverage, best website, video storytelling, enterprise reporting, sports columns and editorial writing.

The Sun-Times also swept the statewide competition’s three top honors — for general excellence (for the best showing overall in all categories), a best-in-show “sweepstakes” honor selected from among the winners in all categories and “news innovator of the year.”

One staff member also received a lifetime achievement recognition.

The Sun-Times staff also swept 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in two categories — sports columns and editorial writing — and was recognized with 1st and 2nd place awards for video storytelling and enterprise reporting.

The top honors

• Mary Mitchell | Lincoln League of Journalists induction, a lifetime achievement honor “bestowed on professionals whose careers have greatly advanced the cause of newspaper journalism in Illinois.”
• Sun-Times staff | General excellence, first place, recognized for the best overall showing among big-circulation newspapers in the competition.
• Frank Main and Andy Grimm | Editorial / writing sweepstakes winner, recognized for the investigative series “Long delays for justice.”
• Paul Saltzman and Alice Bazerghi | “News innovator of the year,” recognized for a yearlong daily reader outreach that used a daily newsletter and social media to solicit readers on their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic and their views on issues related to the pandemic. This effort produced dozens of stories (including multiple page 1 stories) and a curated stream of the findings.

Other IAPME Awards first-place honors

• Sun-Times staff | Best website, recognized for chicago.suntimes.com, the Chicago Sun-Times’ main web portal.
• Sun-Times staff | Breaking news coverage, recognized for “3 shot, 2 of them fatally, as third night of unrest grips Kenosha.”
• Sun-Times editorial board | Editorial writing, recognized for “Strife on the streets and police reform” editorials.
• Frank Main and Andy Grimm | Enterprise reporting, recognized for the investigative series “Long delays for justice.”
• Rick Morrissey | Sports columns, recognized for a selection of three sports columns.
• Sun-Times staff | Video storytelling, recognized for “Experience Illinois’ first day of legal recreational pot in under 3 minutes,” a video compilation of reports from Jan. 1, 2020, the day Illinois first allowed the sale of marijuana for recreational use.

Studs Terkel Community Media Awards

In May 2021, Maureen O’Donnell received the Studs Terkel Community Media Awards for her obituaries that provide an insightful look into the lives of ordinary people in and around Chicago. The honor spotlights journalists “whose work is driven by service and connection to their communities.”

• Maureen O’Donnell | Studs Terkel Community Media Awards, recognized for a selection of obituaries.

Illinois Press Association Editorial Excellence Contest

In May, Sun-Times journalists were recognized with 22 first-place awards in the Illinois Press Association’s editorial excellence contest for work published in 2020 — as well as an award in the IPA’s advertising contest for the best newspaper promotion for “Lost and found: rescuing the Sun-Times photo archive,” a video report by Brian Ernst, Ashlee Rezin Garcia and Brian Rich.

The winning entries included top honors for: editorial writing, sports coverage, news reporting, government beat coverage, business reporting, obituary writing, feature writing, columns, photography, design, graphics, video journalism, best website, best coverage of taxes, investigative reporting and agricultural coverage.

• Sun-Times editorial board | Local editorial, recognized for “Strife on the streets and police reform” editorials.
• Neil Steinberg, Ashlee Rezin Garcia | News reporting-single story, recognized for “Our worst day,” an inside look at a hospital during the coronavirus epidemic.
• Frank Main and Andy Grimm | News reporting-series, recognized for the investigative series “Long delays for justice.”
• Tom Schuba | Government beat reporting, recognized for a series of stories documenting failures by the state of Illinois to meet social justice and diversity goals in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.
• Tim Novak and Lauren FitzPatrick | Business and economic reporting, recognized for a series of investigative reports documenting failures by the Cook County Land Bank Authority.
• Maureen O’Donnell | Obituary tribute, recognized for her Danny Leake obituary, “Longtime sound engineer for Stevie Wonder, Lane Tech grad.”
• Stefano Esposito | feature writing, recognized for “’25 years later, Fox River Grove Metra-school bus crash still haunts engineer, other survivors,” a retelling of a horrific crash in which he got the train engineer to talk for the first time to any reporter — 25 years after the crash.
• Rachel Hinton, Ashlee Rezin Garcia and Brian Rich | feature writing-personality profile, recognized for “Resettlement, reunification and romance,” the richly reported story — in print and video — of a refugee couple finally together in the United States after nearly four years apart.
• Mary Mitchell | original columns, for a selection of three columns.
• Tyler Lariviere | feature photo, for “My kind of town,” a photo shot June 4, 2020, of Chicago police officers using a CTA bus and themselves to block Black Lives Matter marchers heading toward police headquarters after George Floyd’s death.
• Akiko Spencer | informational graphic, for a Sports Saturday graphic headlined “10 more men of steal.”

• Eric White | single-page design, for a front-page design highlighting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Sun-Times staff | newspaper design, recognizing outstanding design throughout the newspaper based on two complete editions.
• Darel Jevens | headline writing, for selection of five headlines.
• Sun-Times sports staff | sports section, recognizing outstanding work based on two sample sports sections.
• Sun-Times sports staff | special section, recognizing “Visionaries,” a 2020 baseball preview section.
• Ben Pope | sports feature, for “Last fan standing,” for a story, told through the eyes of fans who were there, of the last pro sports game in Chicago before the coronavirus pandemic shut things down.
• Tom Schuba | agriculture reporting, for “ ‘Epic failure’ on legal weed licensing in Illinois” series.
• Rachel Hinton, Ashlee Rezin Garcia, Brian Rich and Brian Ernst | video journalism, recognized for “Resettlement, reunification and romance,” the richly reported story — in print and video — of a refugee couple finally together in the United States after nearly four years apart.
• Sun-Times staff | Best website, recognized for chicago.suntimes.com, the Chicago Sun-Times’ main web portal.
• Tim Novak and Lauren FitzPatrick | best coverage of taxation, Maurice Scott Award, recognized for a series of investigative reports documenting failures by the Cook County Land Bank Authority.
• Frank Main and Andy Grimm | investigative / enterprise reporting, Knight Chair Award, recognized for the investigative series “Long delays for justice.”

Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism

In May, Sun-Times journalists were recognized with 12 top honors in the Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, sponsored by the Chicago Headline Club, an affiliate of the Society of Professional Journalists, for work published in 2020.

The winning entries included “bests” for politics and government reporting, columns, editorial writing, business reporting, sports writing, design and breaking news coverage.

Altogether, 14 individual Sun-Times staffers — as well as the Sun-Times staff for the year-in-review special section, best news website, best email newsletter and general excellence in online journalism — won top honors.

Sun-Times winners

• Frank Main and Andy Grimm | Politics and government reporting, recognized for the investigative series “Long delays for justice.”

• Ismael Perez | News column / commentary, recognized for a selection of three columns: “Mexican mother raised American children,” “Remote learning bilingual students challenges Chicago public schools” and “Non-voting Latino ballot box.”

• Lee Bey | Editorial writing, recognized for a series of “Keep Mercy Hospital open” editorials.

• Tim Novak and Robert Herguth | Business / consumer reporting, recognized for reports examining “What Chicago’s COVID hospital cost.”

• Ben Pope | Sports story, recognized for “Last fan standing,” looking at the last pro sports event in Chicago before the coronavirus pandemic shut things down.

• Ashlee Rezin Garcia | News photo, recognized for “Burning rage,” capturing a police car set on fire during protests following the killing of George Floyd.

• Eric White | Best design (among all newspapers regardless of circulation), recognized for three examples of page 1 design.

• Sun-Times staff | Best special news section (among all newspapers regardless of circulation), recognized for “2020: The year in review.”

• Sun-Times staff | News website, recognized for chicago.suntimes.com, the Chicago Sun-Times’ main web portal.

• Sun-Times staff | Email newsletter, recognized for “Chicago coronavirus newsletter” daily email newsletter.

• Tom Schuba, Rachel Hinton, Ashlee Rezin Garcia, Jake Wittich, Brian Ernst and Brian Rich | Breaking news, recognized for “Customers turned away as recreational weed sales wrap up historic first day in Illinois.”

• Sun-Times staff | General excellence in online journalism.

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Your cash is no good here, mostly, and men mask up in the restrooms. But the old ballgame is back.

The man sitting across from us on the ‘L’ Wednesday wore an official Cubs pinstripe jersey, open, with shorts; the uniform of easily half the passengers on the 12 noon Skokie Swift to Howard. Beside him, a girl, 4, had made a different fashion choice: a pink tutu paired with a raccoon mask.

The man met my eye.

“So nice everything’s fun again,” he said. Usually I’m the one making uninvited public overtures, addressing strangers, commenting on whatever is going on like a Greek chorus.

I agreed. After 14 months away, at least, it felt great just being on a train. The fact we were heading to a Cubs game was icing on the cake.

Regular readers know baseball is not ordinarily my idea of fun. But my younger son had said, “We should go to a Cubs game.” A suggestion I promptly ignored, as the savvy parent will do when optional activities involving the expenditure of of time, effort and money are proposed by children. But he said it a second time, cannily attaching a specific. “We should go to the Cubs game Wednesday; they play the Padres.”

My immediate unfiltered thought demonstrates how truly out of the swim I am, baseball-wise.

“That’s an expansion team.” I thought, pouting. Meaning, “not quite worth seeing.” The Padres started playing in 1969. Since then, they’ve won more pennants than the Cubs over the same period (two). They have the second-best record in the National League now.

The last Cubs game I attended was July 4, 2016, for the reason I normally go: a pal gave me tickets. This time I bought four good upper-deck seats for $45.92 apiece from a season ticket holder friend. I knew it wouldn’t involve him handing over four pasteboard ducats in an envelope. But I didn’t expect to have to download an app (MLB Ballpark) and fiddle with it for an hour. Eventually, utterly bolloxed and certain no relaxation at the ballpark could possibly counterbalance the frustration of doing this, I thrust my phone at my older son who, I kid you not, glanced at it, swiped it once with his thumb and handed it back, the tickets having magically appeared. “You need to refresh,” he said. Tell me about it.

When last at Wrigley, the Ricketts clan had begun the process of erecting a hotel and other suburban mall-like structures around Wrigley. So I braced myself to encounter some hellish Disney World of Baseball, with a drool-encrusted Clark the Cub dropping to a knee to embrace children while the baseball equivalent of “It’s a Small World After All” blared maddeningly from hidden speakers.

Credit where due: Wrigley looks nice. The ballpark shone from the outside. There was no seedy older gent at the entrance selling scorecards, like I expected. When asked, one of the friendly ushers, stationed every 10 feet, smilingly pointed me toward a stand selling $30 stocking caps. Most people in line were buying $1 scorecards, jamming their credit cards into a reader, a process that takes longer than simply handing over a dollar bill. Did you know that Wrigley has gone cashless this year? It has, in theory. After three guys ahead of me went through the credit card calisthenics, the guy behind the counter asked me, “Do you have a dollar?” I did, and handed it over.

“It’ll be our secret,” I said, feeling rebellious.

We got to our seats, upper deck, section 312L. I looked around and — if this surprises you, imagine what it did to me — choked up. Tears in my ears, face sort of crumpling, for a moment anyway. I’m not sure why. It was just so … beautiful. I was so happy to be here.

Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times

I probably should mention the Cubs played a game. As if to make up for the masks and cashlessness and antiseptic homogenized crowd screened just to hang around outside Wrigley, the game itself was noticeably slapdash. The Padres played like an amateur team of comic klutzes, balls popping out of their grasps, a pop fly plunking down a yard from a bewildered player scanning the sky, a pair of outfielders slamming into each other in what ended up as a double play. (“Good luck scoring that,” said the guy down the row I consulted to figure out what the heck just happened.) Only thing missing was the jeering calliope music that usually goes along with antics like this.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Cubs hit a triple, then a single, then a home run, and then a double. The homer, by Javier Baez, was a wonder to behold, a marvelous parenthesis set on its side from home plate into the left field bleachers. The Cubs won 6 to 1. I was hoarse the next day.

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