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Workers at the pioneering south side space organize against unfair labor practices.

It’s no secret that Experimental Station (ES) is unique.…Read More

Two men opened fire on the man after striking him to the ground on Stony Island Avenue, police say.

Two gunmen shot and killed a man they were arguing with late Friday morning in Avalon Park on the South Side, Chicago police said.

One of the men struck the 26-year-old victim in his face, causing him to fall down at 11:40 a.m. in the 8300 block of South Stony Island Avenue, police said.

The men then opened fire and struck the man multiple times in his body.

He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released.

No arrest was made.

Shootings have doubled over last year in the 4th police district, which stretches from South Shore to Hegewisch. The district has seen 69 shootings this year through May 2, up from 39 during the same period in 2020, according to police statistics.

Murders have spiked 54% over last year in the district. Eleven people in the district have been murdered so far in 2021, a jump from the seven people murdered in the same period last year, according to the statistics.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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The team will wear the uniforms in the June 5 game against the Detroit Tigers. 

Expect a blackout at Guaranteed Rate Field next month.

The White Sox and Nike introduced the team’s new City Connect alternate uniforms Friday morning. The dark gray pinstriped uniforms feature the word “Southside” in a Gothic typeface on the front. The cap says “Chi.”

The Sox said the jerseys were sold out three hours after going on sale Friday at the Chicago Sports Depot store at Guaranteed Rate Field. Tim Anderson’s jersey sold out in two hours. Related items, including hoodies and caps, are still available. The team expects to be restocked on June 4 and have items available at the White Sox Watch Party event at Navy Pier on June 5.

The team will wear the uniforms in the June 5 game against the Detroit Tigers.

“The White Sox brand aligned perfectly with their side of town’s attitude,” a statement on the team’s website said. “The look not only resonated on the southside — but permeated through hip hop and youth culture.”

The Sox are the latest team to don a Nike-designed remixed uniform. The Boston Red Sox wore yellow-and-blue uniforms last month to mixed reviews.

The White Sox and Red Sox are two of seven teams using City Connect alternate jerseys this season. The others are the Marlins, Cubs (who are scheduled to debut their versions on June 12), Diamondbacks (June 18), Giants (July 9) and Dodgers (late August).

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Davis was credited with backup vocals but was really a lead singer on albums by Milli Vanilli, whose expeditious ascension into the music world was followed by an equally rapid fall.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — John Davis, one of the real singers behind the lip-synching pop duo Milli Vanilli, died of the coronavirus this week, according to his family. He was 66.

Davis died on Monday in Nuremberg, Germany, where he had lived and performed for a long time, his daughter Jasmin Davis said in a Facebook post.

“We are so incredibly sad and heartbroken,” Davis told The Associated Press in a Facebook message.

Davis was credited with backup vocals but was really a lead singer on albums by Milli Vanilli, whose expeditious ascension into the music world was followed by an equally rapid fall.

Following the debut single “Girl You Know It’s True” and No. 1 hits including “Blame It On the Rain” and “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You,” Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus won the 1989 Best New Artist Grammy Award.

When it was revealed that neither actually sang on Milli Vanilli records, the group was stripped of the Grammy months later and disbanded, reforming as Rob and Fab in 1991, but achieving little commercial success. The duo faced legal challenges, including a successful lawsuit from the 1960s-era band Blood, Sweat and Tears, which accused Morvan and Pilatus of stealing the melody of “Spinning Wheel” for “Girl You Know It’s True.”

Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Davis had lived much of his life in Germany after first being stationed there with the U.S. Army in the 1970s, he told The Hustle podcast on an episode published in April.

He was living in the country working as musician in the 1980s when German music producer Frank Farian selected him to sing on a project — for several times what he made for a regular singing gig — but didn’t tell him others would lip-synch his music, Davis said. Farian had him come to the studio late at night, keeping him separate from other artists, he said.

Only later did he discover that his voice was being attributed to Morvan, Davis told the podcast.

“One evening I was sitting at home watching my TV, and I saw Fab singing ‘Girl I’m Gonna Miss You,’” he said.

Radio stations in Nuremberg began to recognize Davis’ voice on the Milli Vanilli tracks, the singer said. But Davis told the podcast he “made a lot of money” from the recordings and had a comfortable life, despite not achieving the stardom — albeit fleeting — of the faces of the group.

The record on which Davis sang sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. alone. All five singles from the album were Top 5 hits.

Farian later repackaged songs that had been planned for a second Milli Vanilli album, but with Davis and another of the actual singers listed as lead vocals. The album reached Germany’s top 20 in 1991.

Pilatus, a former model who later turned to drugs, died alone at age 33 in a German hotel room in 1998.

Morvan and Davis remained on good terms, performing together on a German television show in 2015. A documentary film about Milli Vanilli’s rise and fall is reportedly in the works.

“We’re going to miss your energy, the big smile you graced me and so many with through the years, we’ll keep you forever in our hearts,” Morvan tweeted Friday, of Davis. “Your golden voice will continue to be heard, you best believe that those classic records will live just like you eternally.”

Davis’ family set up a GoFundMe to help pay for a service, which they called “one last performance, with people he loved and got loved from.”

“He made a lot of people happy with his laughter and smile, his happy spirit, love and especially through his music,” Jasmin Davis wrote on Facebook. “He gave so much to the world!”

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Cindy Martinez was in a car with a 25-year-old man just after midnight Monday in the 2100 block of North Laramie Avenue when someone fired shots from a passing vehicle, officials said.

A woman was fatally shot Monday in Hanson Park on the Northwest Side.

Cindy Martinez was in a car with a 25-year-old man just after midnight in the 2100 block of North Laramie Avenue when someone fired shots from a passing vehicle, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Martinez, 23, was struck in the head and taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead later that day at 3:06 p.m., officials said.

The man was shot in the arm, leg and lower back, police said. He was taken to the same hospital in fair condition at the time.

No arrests have been reported. Area Five detectives are investigating.

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The Chicago Cubs are winners of five straight and are now in first place. They deserve credit for the way they have battled this year with a chip on their shoulder. It would have been easy to throw in the towel after the way the first few days of the season went. With that said, […]

Chicago Cubs: The Quintana trade was even worse than we thought – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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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.

Showers are likely this afternoon with a high near 48 degrees. Tonight, expect more showers and a low around 45. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 60.

Top story

Officer who fatally shot man in Portage Park now under microscope for allegedly pulling gun on another driver

A Chicago police officer being investigated for fatally shooting an armed man from behind two months ago is now the subject of an internal police probe after video shows him pulling a gun during an apparent road rage incident in Logan Square.

In video shot by bystanders, the officer, who was in uniform and sporting a backwards ball cap, can be seen standing outside his red Ford Mustang holding a gun after an argument with another man who’d gotten out of a white SUV.

The incident took place about 6 p.m. May 21 at an intersection on Logan Boulevard a couple blocks west of the Kennedy Expressway.

The officer’s actions are being investigated by the police department’s bureau of internal affairs, police spokesman Tom Ahern said.

The department would not name the officer.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed the officer is the same officer who shot and killed Anthony Alvarez March 31 in the Portage Park neighborhood.

Read Mitch Dudek’s full story here.

More news you need

1. Authorities are still searching for Ray Larsen, a 76-year-old fugitive who was granted parole then disappeared earlier this month following decades in prison for the 1972 killing of a teen boy. “What is our state doing? How do you lose this guy?” asked Tony Casolari, the victim’s nephew.
2. Nearly five times as many Illinoisans have been vaccinated against COVID-19 than have tested positive for it since the start of the pandemic. Still, with under 41% of the state population fully vaccinated and shot demand dropping, officials say more work needs to be done.
3. Why did President Biden’s EPA chief step into the dispute over General Iron’s potential Southeast Side move? EPA head Michael Regan told us the agency’s looking at cases where low income neighborhoods of color are environmentally burdened — so he stepped in.
4. Regan also said Chicago would potentially get a major boost to replace harmful lead pipes under Biden’s infrastructure plan. The bill aims to spend $111 billion for drinking water, waste water and storm water projects nationwide.
5. Tim Mapes, the longtime chief of staff to Mike Madigan, pleaded not guilty today during his arraignment on perjury and attempted obstruction of justice charges. The charges bring prosecutors closer than ever to Madigan, who’s been implicated in a bribery scheme involving ComEd but hasn’t been charged.
6. Democrats had identified ethics reforms as one of their priorities months ago, but since then had said little about the issue publicly. That’s until Mapes was charged — now they say they’re close to introducing ethics legislation.
7. Traffic on Lake Shore Drive was at a standstill this afternoon after wind knocked down a tree branch onto two cars near North Avenue. Three people in the crash refused treatment while one person was hospitalized in good condition, officials said.

A bright one

Rapper Korporate’s videos tell message-related stories about marginalized Chicagoans

Chicago rapper Korporate’s DIY strategy to boost his exposure created a lane that has led to a variety of opportunities.

But there’s more to his popular “#BlackChicagoBeLike” videos than surface-level information — he’s speaking on a part of Chicago that isn’t glamorous by any means.

Korporate acts in, narrates and produces the videos where many of the actors are friends of his. The videos show the South Sider going about his business when a plot twist sets him up for an adventure, and some have reached over a million views.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

“When I say Black Chicago, it’s actually not in regard to ethnicity, but more so in regard to the other side of Chicago like the black market. The Chicago that’s opposite of the Bean [Cloud Gate], the Magnificent Mile and the North Side,” said Donovan Price, who performs as Korporate.

Korporate is as proficient at monetizing social media as the best of them. Between YouTube (1.7 million subscribers), Twitter (22,000 followers), and Instagram (1.1 million followers), he appears to move the needle at will.

“At the end of the day after all the fun and games, I want you to be able to take something away from the videos. … It’s more of a blessing when I take that influence and actually use it effectively.”

Read Evan F. Moore’s full story here.

From the press box

Higher capacities at Wrigley Field mean more revenue for the Cubs, and that could free up the team to make in-season moves that otherwise might’ve been off the table.

It’s also because this team might be pretty good. Public discussions about whether to break up the core that won the 2016 World Series have gladly given way to the thrill of an unexpectedly competitive team, Rick Morrissey writes.

And the White Sox unveiled their new City Connect uniforms today ahead of debuting them June 5 against the Tigers. The Nike-designed jerseys feature the word “Southside” in a Gothic typeface on the front.

Your daily question ?

With Memorial Day weekend finally here, we want to know: What’s the key to a perfect cookout?

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: What do you think of Lightfoot’s proposed ban on booze sales after 10 p.m.? Here’s what some of you said…

“It’s the guns for heaven’s sake! It doesn’t matter how much a person has to drink — take the gun and bullets out of the equation and everybody goes home. Stop the carnage!” — Denise Gant

“Considering the violence in our city already, I don’t think this is a bad thing. Besides, it will help people not make stupid decisions as we are still in a pandemic. Let’s not forget that. Life is worth saving. Let’s not forget that, either.” — Nick Robertson

“I like that plan. Probably will prevent or try to prevent violence. Drunk people are belligerent sometimes…Chicago needs more strict guidelines. Too much craziness.” — Ashley Anne

“I believe it’s ridiculous and will end up being overturned after only a few months, when people decide to go to the surrounding suburbs to purchase their booze. Causing venders in Chicago to protest the weak sales.” — Jose J Aguado

“I’m behind it 100%. If someone is desperate need of alcohol at 10pm, they probably don’t really need it. Just go to a bar.” — Wendy Winzeler

“It’s a law without an actual purpose other than hurting people who work odd hours as well as hurting businesses.” — Frank J Schneider

“Based on incidents around liquor stores at night I support the plan. Our poor neighbors are prisoners in their houses.” — Charlene I-Ward

“I feel like every large city in America has a thriving community of artists, musicians, poets, actors, and writers who rely on late night events at bars. Like it or not, the art community has a foundation around social late night drinking in a city with similar traditions. IMO.” — Hayden Guevara

“The businesses will lose money, while bootleggers pick up their customers.” — Donita Ballard

Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

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WMAQ-TV staffers could always tell when a big story was breaking. The bosses would ask: “Where’s Joe Howard?”

They trusted the gifted writer-producer to turn a complex story into a concise TV report, pairing it with the best video.

After the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, Mr. Howard produced a live, three-hour special on the civil rights leader, whom he’d met and interviewed.

Two months later, while Mr. Howard was in California covering the presidential primary, Democrat Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down in a Los Angeles hotel. Mr. Howard was tapped to write the reports NBC News anchor Frank McGee read to a stunned national audience.

Mr. Howard died May 11 at 90.

Provided

He won six Emmy Awards over the span of a TV news career that, in addition to producing evening broadcasts in Chicago, included producing more than 25 documentaries for NBC as well as segments for “The Huntley-Brinkley” night network news show and the “Today” show.

It was a swaggering time for TV news, when the medium didn’t have to compete with cable, streaming or social media. Yet when people asked what he did at the studio, his wife Bernice “Bunny” Gallagher said he’d say: “Sometimes, they let me push the broom around.”

Outwardly, he was a crusty cigar-chomper. But newsroom co-workers appreciated his kindness, his organizational skills and his grasp of history.

“He knew what the hell he was doing,” former WMAQ anchor Jim Ruddle said.

“Us young guys wanted to hang out with him, hoping a little bit of that might rub off,” said Peter Nolan, a former reporter.

His advice was “invaluable,” said Ron Magers, who sought his guidance when he arrived from Minneapolis in 1981 to anchor the news. “Joe was somebody you needed to talk to to get some perspective on Chicago.”

“He was very kind to me,” former anchor-reporter Art Norman said. “I walked in that newsroom, and I saw Len O’Connor and Floyd Kalber, and I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, these are legends.’ I was afraid to even talk.”

Norman said Mr. Howard’s knowledge enthralled the journalism students he’d host on studio tours. “He would tell them stories about covering Dr. King,” Norman said.

And he said Mr. Howard worked to preserve historical news footage about the Black community. “If you want to find a 1957 interview with Dr. King, it’s in our archive thanks to Joe,” Norman said.

“Joe taught me how to turn financial information into a video story,” personal finance journalist Terry Savage said. “He was never too busy to help, to smile.”

“He knew how to navigate around City Hall and the statehouse, but he also knew how to find a precinct captain,” said Carol Marin, a former WMAQ political editor and WTTW-TV “Chicago Tonight” correspondent.

Young Joe grew up on the South Side, where he went to St. Philip Neri grade school. He graduated from St. Bede Academy in downstate Peru and Quincy College. He went on to work as a reporter for the Herald-Whig newspaper in Quincy.

In the early 1950s in the Navy, he was a fire-control technician on a destroyer in the Pacific.

Provided

He met talent agent Dolores “Dee” Zeigle while working for Wilding Studios, a maker of industrial and educational films. She landed them roles as extras in a scene filmed at the old LaSalle Street Station for Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”

But Hitchcock wasn’t a fan of Mr. Howard’s work in front of a camera. His family said the great auteur told him: “Sir in the blue sweater on the escalator? Stop! You are over-acting!”

“He ended up on the cutting-room floor,” his daughter Lisa said, “while my mom and her sister Carolyn did make it into the final scene.”

Provided

They got married in 1958 and raised their family in Wilmette. He was “the encourager-in-chief” to his four kids, according to his daughter, who said they loved crowding into bed to hear him read “Charlotte’s Web.” In 1999, his first wife died of a pulmonary embolism.

He met Bunny Gallagher at the Irish American Heritage Center. They were married in 2004 and enjoyed trips to Ireland. Mr. Howard, who sang tenor with a barbershop quartet, impressed the locals when he performed “My Tumble-Down Shack in Athlone” at Tigh Hughes’ pub in Spiddal, County Galway.

Provided

He was “the nicest human I’ve ever known,” his wife said.

Once, when she’d been down, he gave her flowers with a card on which he’d written: “Bunny. I love you. Now cheer up. Joe.”

In addition to his wife Bunny and daughter Lisa, Mr. Howard is survived by his children Joseph Howard, Jennifer Bullington and Colleen Quenan, his wife’s children Stephen, William and John Vignocchi and 15 grandchildren. Services have been held.

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