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Man fatally shot on West Sideon June 1, 2021 at 1:53 am

A man was killed in a shooting Monday on the West Side.

The 40-year-old was traveling in a vehicle about 7:10 p.m. in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue when someone fired shots at the vehicle from the sidewalk, Chicago police said.

The man was struck multiple times and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His identity has not been released.

Area Four detectives are investigating.

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Man fatally shot on West Sideon June 1, 2021 at 1:53 am Read More »

White Sox ‘can’t get complacent’on June 1, 2021 at 1:55 am

CLEVELAND — There are wins the White Sox will put a star next to as they slog through the 162 games that take them to a postseason they fully intend to make.

Their 8-6 victory in eight innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader Monday against the Indians, perhaps their biggest worry in the AL Central, was one of those.

“Any team that gets to the World Series, you kind of look back at wins like this where you don’t really want to be denied,” said right fielder Adam Eaton, who returned after resting his sore legs for the last four games by launching a two-run homer in the eighth. “You kind of come to the park wanting to win, expecting to win and when you get in those one-run ballgames, you just know someone’s going to do it.”

There’s usually a good chance Jose Abreu will be that someone, and the reigning MVP collected his league leading 46th RBI with a line sacrifice fly to left field in the eighth, breaking a tie with free runner Billy Hamilton on third base. Facing righty James Karinchak, one of the toughest relievers in baseball in the first two months of the season — and in the 5 o’clock shadows at Progressive Field — Abreu delivered on an eight-pitch of an at-bat manager Tony La Russa raved about.

“That at-bat by Abreu, it would be tied for first for one of the greatest I’ve seen against a pitcher of that caliber in that kind of situation,” La Russa said. “I’ll never forget it. The fans will never forget it.

“The toughness and concentration and the ability to put it into play someplace. There are really good RBI guys and there are great RBI guys. Abreu is great.”

Eaton followed with a homer, and Aaron Bummer pitched the eighth for his first save before the Indians beat prospect Jimmy Lambert in a 3-1 victory in Game 2. The Sox were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position against starter Cal Quantrill and four relievers who pitched scoreless ball in the nightcap.

The Game 1 “that was a whole eight innings of character,” as La Russa described it, prevented the Sox from getting swept by a team they want to keep in their rearview mirror.

“So much happened in that game,” La Russa said, including Abreu starting a double play and running on a 3-2 pitch with Yermin Mercedes to keep the Sox out of a double play and more when second baseman Cesar Hernandez’s backhand flip bounced off his helmet, allowing a run to score in the fifth.

So much of the season is left, reminded Yoan Moncada, who endured losing seasons when he broke in with the team and is taking nothing for granted despite the Sox’ favored status in their division.

The loss in the nightcap, in which the Sox were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, was their second defeat in nine games since getting swept by the Yankees.

“We have a good team. But we can’t be too complacent,” said Moncada, who had three hits including a double in the doubleheader and is the team’s leader with 2.4 wins above replacement per Baseball Reference. “We have to keep working hard, keep doing our thing because it’s a long season and we want to win it all. It was good what happened last weekend [sweeping the Orioles in four games], but there’s still plenty of season in front of us. We have to keep grinding.”

The Sox are 33-21 and lead the Indians through the first two months of the season. They were 14-11 in April and 19-10 in May.

It’s on to June, with four months of the regular season left.

“It’s very early still,” said Eaton, who played on a World Series winner with the Nationals. “Anybody can do it for two months, you’ve to to do it for six-plus.”

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White Sox ‘can’t get complacent’on June 1, 2021 at 1:55 am Read More »

Watch discussion of IL Fiscal Titanic from Dems’ partisan re-districting & gift of more monopoly power to IL public sector unions: Cable & Webon June 1, 2021 at 12:48 am

Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz

Watch discussion of IL Fiscal Titanic from Dems’ partisan re-districting & gift of more monopoly power to IL public sector unions: Cable & Web

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Watch discussion of IL Fiscal Titanic from Dems’ partisan re-districting & gift of more monopoly power to IL public sector unions: Cable & Webon June 1, 2021 at 12:48 am Read More »

Artist Feature — RODNEY DURANon June 1, 2021 at 1:33 am

Chicago’s Art and Beer Scene

Artist Feature — RODNEY DURAN

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Artist Feature — RODNEY DURANon June 1, 2021 at 1:33 am Read More »

Paul Weldon, owner of oldest U.S. manufacturer of starter drives, dies at 64Nina Molinaon May 31, 2021 at 10:00 pm

Paul Weldon at a family wedding.
Paul Weldon at a family wedding. | Photo courtesy of Julia Franzosa

“He really just made life so fun. What I’m going to miss most are those little moments,” Mr. Weldon’s daughter Treacy Weldon O’Keefe said. “Just being around him was a gift.”

Paul J. Weldon’s company made starter drivers, but at home he also dabbled in lamination.

Treacy Weldon O’Keefe remembered her father printing and cutting out clippings of his children’s sports achievements, laminating them and putting them up in their kitchen.

“He was the most vibrant, loving, supportive dad to us growing up. When my mom passed away, he took the role of being mom and dad, and he truly never skipped a beat,” she said.

Mr. Weldon, 64, third-generation owner of the oldest U.S. manufacturers of starter drives, died May 24 from complications of multiple myeloma.

Born in River Forest, Mr. Weldon attended St. Luke School and Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest before graduating from Fenwick High School in Oak Park. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Loyola University Chicago and an MBA from Roosevelt University.

Mr. Weldon had led the 102-year-old Van Bergen & Greener, Inc. in Maywood since his father died in 1988.

“And like my father, he was greatly respected as an ethical man who was true to his word and was highly respected by clients, customers and all his employees,” said Mr. Weldon’s younger sister Michele Weldon.

Before his cancer diagnosis in 2016, Mr. Weldon would call her on his morning drives to work with a joke or some advice.

“In the last year, when he was ill, I made him soup every Saturday. That was a way for us to just talk and be candid. He was still giving me advice as only he could,” Michele Weldon said.

Mr. Weldon married Bernadette Treacy in 1985. The couple raised their three children Matthew, Treacy and Marirose in River Forest before moving to Oak Brook.

“He was most proud of his relationships with his children and his family,” Michele Weldon said.

Mr. Weldon’s first wife died in 2004 from a brain tumor.

“His children lost their mother at a young age,” said Mr. Weldon’s older sister Madeleine Weldon-Linne. “The youngest was only 9. But they grew up to be fair and driven and kept their faith in God.”

In 2015, Mr. Weldon married Diane Schikora Tentler. She survives.

Mr. Weldon was active in Catholic charities, as well as the Lumen Christi Institute, an organization that promotes the Catholic intellectual tradition in schools.

“He felt it was his responsibility to give back because my mother would always say, ‘To whom much is given, much is expected,’ and he lived that mantra,” Michele Weldon said.

Aside from his dedication to business and family, Mr. Weldon was also an entertainer and prankster, breaking into exaggerated dance moves and imitations at family gatherings, she said.

“When he was about 3 years old, he used to always put a T-shirt over his dirty shirt so at the end of the day he had about 10 shirts on. And we made fun of him for that forever,” Weldon-Linne said.

“He was in a cooking group once, but he never cooked anything. He only bought carry out to every potluck. But all my friends really really enjoyed and appreciated him,” Michele Weldon said.

“He really just made life so fun. What I’m going to miss most are those little moments,” Weldon O’Keefe said. “Just being around him was a gift.”

Mr. Weldon’s youngest daughter Marirose Weldon moved back to Chicago from Los Angeles in March 2020, supporting her father in his final months and helping with the business.

“I was very happy to be there because he could trust me, and I was able to learn a lot. And he was still working up until about a month ago,” said Marirose Weldon. “My dad was very supportive and outrageously generous.”

She said she will miss her father’s humor.

Mr. Weldon could often be seen in his neighborhood driving his 2000 red Corvette with the license plate, “OOH YAH.”

Other survivors include Mr. Weldon’s other three siblings, Mary Pat Woitas, Maureen Weldon and Bill Weldon; stepchildren Robert, David and Julie Tentler; and 27 nieces and nephews.

Services have been held.

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Paul Weldon, owner of oldest U.S. manufacturer of starter drives, dies at 64Nina Molinaon May 31, 2021 at 10:00 pm Read More »

White Sox win Game 1 of doubleheader from Indians in extra inningsDaryl Van Schouwenon May 31, 2021 at 10:36 pm

Getty

Abreu sacrifice fly, Eaton homer make difference in three-run eighth

Jose Abreu drove in the go-ahead with a sacrifice fly to left field, and Adam Eaton tacked on a two-run homer as the White Sox defeated the Indians 8-6 in the first game of a doubleheader Monday for their fifth win in a row.

In the eighth inning of a game scheduled for seven, Abreu knocked in Billy Hamilton, the free runner at second who stole third base. Eaton, playing for the first time after missing the Sox’ four-game sweep of the Orioles over the weekend, homered against righty James Karinchak.

Sox manager Tony La Russa called Abreu’s at-bat, in the shadows against tough right-hander James Karinchak, one of the “greatest” he’s seen in that type of situation.

“I’ll never forget it, and our fans will never forget it,” La Russa said.

Indians right-hander Triston McKenzie struck out 10 Sox, including a club record eight in a row, but allowed five runs on four hits and two walks. The major league record for strikeouts in a row is 10.

The Indians (28-24) are in second place behind the AL Central leading Sox, who won for the seventh time in eight games and 17th time in 24.

Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, who threw a no-hitter against the Indians on April 14, battled through six innings, allowing a season high five runs that raised his ERA to 1.98. Cesar Hernandez and Armed Rosario homered to start the first inning against Rodon, and Hernandez homered again in the third inning. Rodon, who threw 85 pitches, struck out Hernandez with a 99-mph fastball, his final pitch, with the go-ahead run on third and a runner at second.

“I just knew, probably at the end of the last pitch of the game for me I was going to give it all I had on that fastball,” Rodon said. “Wanted to challenge him. Because he hadn’t seen one like that yet.”

“That was a whole eight innings of character,” La Russa said. “Rodon gets in there and it’s forest fire right away. You saw what McKenzie was capable of . Everybody that pitched and played showed character to match their talent.”

The Sox (33-20) scored four in the second on a two-run double by Zack Collins, with a third run (Leury Garcia) scoring when second baseman Hernandez bobble a relay. Collins scored from third when Tim Anderson was picked off and in a botched rundown between first and second, crossing the plate before Anderson was tagged out.

The Sox led 5-4 when Yoan Moncada singled leading off the sixth, advanced to third on two wild pitches and scored on Yermin Mercedes’ fielder’s choice ground ball to Hernandez, who back hand flip trying to force Abreu hit the Sox first baseman’s helmet.

The Indians tied it against Rodo the sixth when Bradley Zimmer beat out a roller to Anderson at short with Josh Naylor on third.

Codi Heuer (4-1) pitched a scoreless seventh and Aaron Bummer pitched the eighth for his first save. Close Liam Hendriks was not available after a heavy workload against the Orioles.

Rodon allowed nine hits and a walk.

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White Sox win Game 1 of doubleheader from Indians in extra inningsDaryl Van Schouwenon May 31, 2021 at 10:36 pm Read More »

After strong May, June presents Cubs with a new challenge as West Coast swing loomsRussell Dorseyon May 31, 2021 at 10:48 pm

AP Photo/Paul Beaty

The Cubs will play 13 games against the Padres, Giants and Dodgers in June after going 19-8 in May. Each team has a top-3 record in the National League.

Who are the Chicago Cubs?

Over the course of the first two months of the season there have been two answers to that question. During April, the Cubs didn’t look like a team that was going to be playing meaningful baseball late in the season as they stumbled out of the gate.

But after a scorching May where they went 19-8 with a resurgence on offense and improved starting pitching despite a crazy run of injuries, and currently sit atop the National League Central, they’ve shown they aren’t looking to roll over any time soon.

“I think we knew we had a good team starting the season and I think when you get to prove your beliefs and have a really good month like we just had, it’s always encouraging,” manager David Ross said.

June will offer a new challenge for the Cubs and after digging themselves out of an early hole, they begin a long stretch against some of baseball’s best. After their three game set against the Padres at Wrigley Field, the Cubs embark on a West Coast trip with series against the Giants, Padres and Dodgers later in the month – each has a top-3 record in the NL.

“I think anytime a team goes out to the West Coast, it’s challenging,” Cubs president Jed Hoyer said. “Just like it’s challenging for a West Coast team to come East. We do that twice in the next month and it’s a real challenge for any team. It’s a real challenge for us. I think we’ll learn a lot about this team over the month of June.

“To go out there and have success, that’s certainly a mark of a team that has a chance to compete in the postseason. That’s the kind of environment you have to play in the postseason, you have to go to the West Coast. Right now, those three teams in the West are certainly in the cream of the crop in the National League so far.”

The Cubs have been playing their best baseball of the season over the last month and continued to play that way in Monday’s 7-2 win over the Padres. The Cubs are currently 12-9 against teams with winning records this season and will have to keep that level of play going with 13 games against NL West opponents in June.

“When you play against the best, it’s incredible what it does,” hitting coach Anthony Iapoce said. Competition really brings the best out when trying to beat the best. … I think the guys enjoy it when they look at the lineup card and see who they’re facing and they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be a good one.”

It’s difficult for any team to try to compete with a big portion of the roster unavailable, but that’s now the Cubs reality with 12 players currently on the injured list.

As Jason Heyward, Jake Marisnick, Nico Hoerner, and most recently Anthony Rizzo and Trevor Williams work their way back from various injuries, things are not going to get any easier, at least for the foreseeable future.

“It’s what this season kind of has in store for Major League Baseball,” Ross said. “It’s never fun. You want to cry uncle sometimes, but it is what we’re dealing with … I’m not going to complain about it, just move through it. We’ve got some guys that are out there … that I don’t think are too far away [from returning].”

“I feel like everybody’s pulling on the same end of the rope. Not to be cliche, but it does feel like everybody has continued to next man up [mentality] and done a nice job and going out there and competing and trying to win baseball games and you feel that from our dugout.”

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After strong May, June presents Cubs with a new challenge as West Coast swing loomsRussell Dorseyon May 31, 2021 at 10:48 pm Read More »

Naomi Osaka pulls out of French Open, will take a break from competitionon May 31, 2021 at 9:01 pm

Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday and wrote on Twitter that she would be taking a break from competition, a dramatic turn of events for a four-time Grand Slam champion who said she has “suffered long bouts of depression.”

Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that the world’s No. 2-ranked tennis player was pulling out before her second-round match at the clay-court tournament in Paris.

The stunning move came a day after Osaka, a 23-year-old born in Japan and now based in the U.S., was fined $15,000 for skipping the postmatch news conference after her first-round victory at the French Open. She also was threatened by all four Grand Slam tournaments with possible additional punishment, including disqualification or suspension, if she continued with her intention — which Osaka revealed last week on Twitter — to not “do any press during Roland Garros.”

She framed the matter as a mental health issue, saying that it can create self-doubt to have to answer questions after a loss.

“First and foremost we are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka. The outcome of Naomi withdrawing from Roland Garros is unfortunate,” French tennis federation president Gilles Moretton said Monday. “We wish her the best and the quickest possible recovery. And we look forward to having Naomi in our tournament next year.”

Moretton said the four major tournaments, and the professional tennis tours, “remain very committed to all athletes’ well-being and to continually improving every aspect of players’ experience in our tournament, including with the media, like we always have.”

In Monday’s post, Osaka spoke about dealing with depression since the 2018 U.S. Open, which she won by beating Serena Williams in a final filled with controversy.

“I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly,” Osaka wrote.

She also said speaking with the media makes her anxious.

“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” Osaka wrote. “I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer.”

She continued: “Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety. … I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media.”

Osaka has never been past the third round on the French Open’s red clay. It takes seven victories to win a Grand Slam title, which she has done four times at hard-court tournaments: the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020; the Australian Open in 2019 and this February.

“Here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences,” she wrote.

Tennis players are required to attend news conferences if requested to do so. The maximum fine of $20,000 is not a big deal to Osaka, the world’s highest-earning female athlete thanks to endorsement contracts totaling tens of millions of dollars.

Other players, notably 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and No. 1-ranked Ash Barty, have said they respect Osaka’s right to take a stance but explained that they consider speaking to reporters part of the job.

After Osaka’s post Monday, several athletes in tennis and other sports tweeted their support.

Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, wrote: “I am so sad about Naomi Osaka. I truly hope she will be ok. As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental & emotional aspect gets short shrift. This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference. Good luck Naomi- we are all pulling for you!”

Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry wrote that it was “impressive taking the high road when the powers that be dont protect their own. major respect.”

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Naomi Osaka pulls out of French Open, will take a break from competitionon May 31, 2021 at 9:01 pm Read More »

Home Run Happy: Javy Baez, Patrick Wisdom homer twice in Cubs’ win over Padreson May 31, 2021 at 9:13 pm

The Padres are one of the best offenses in baseball, but the Cubs were up for the challenge and had their power hitting shoes on to face the National League West’s best.

The Cubs closed the month of May with a bang, using four homers to carry them to a 7-2 win over the Padres at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs trailed 1-0 early, but got the lead right back in the third inning. After Kris Bryant kept the inning alive with a two-out triple, shortstop Javy Baez got every bit of 3-2 changeup from Chris Paddack, blasting a 455-foot homer to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

The Cubs’ shortstop had an encore in the seventh inning as he homered again. It was the ninth multi-homer game of his career.

Baez wasn’t the only one to have a big day at the plate as third baseman Patrick Wisdom got in on the action.

The Cubs have had to find production from different places with several players on the shelf with injuries. Third baseman Patrick Wisdom has gotten an opportunity to make a name for himself and had a big day at the plate in Monday’s win.

Wisdom did damage against the Padres, launching a 423-foot solo shot in the fourth inning helping to pad the Cubs’ lead. But he wasn’t done there, Wisdom crushed a second solo home run in the sixth to make it a 6-2 game.

It was the first multi-homer game of his career. Bryant added a two-run shot of his own in the fifth inning.

Appendicitis sends Williams to the IL, Stewart shines in his place

The Cubs put starter Trevor Williams on the 10-day injured list before Monday’s win with appendicitis. Williams underwent an emergency appendectomy on Sunday and will have a follow-up with doctors on Thursday, according to Ross.

Right-hander Kohl Stewart took Williams’ place on the 26-man roster and on short notice gave the Cubs exactly what they needed.

Stewart was strong against a formidable lineup and didn’t allow San Diego to get anything going offensively. going five innings and allowed just one unearned run on three hits in his first win since July 21, 2019.

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Home Run Happy: Javy Baez, Patrick Wisdom homer twice in Cubs’ win over Padreson May 31, 2021 at 9:13 pm Read More »