The teen fired shots into the store at two men who returned fire about 8:55 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 71st Street, Chicago police said.

A man died after he was caught in crossfire at a South Shore store where one of the shooters, a 16-year-old boy, was also killed Wednesday night, according to Chicago police.

The teen fired shots into the store, apparently targeting two people, about 8:55 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 71st Street, Chicago police said.

The two returned fire, striking the teen in the abdomen and neck, as well as a 49-year-old man who was inside the store, police said.

The boy and the man were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police said.

No arrests have been reported.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised the first round of participants for their “creative ideas for transforming the public way into active community spaces.”

Fifteen community organizations have been approved in the first wave of programming for Chicago Alfresco, the city’s expanded outdoor dining space/cultural arts initiative.

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Choose Chicago made the joint announcement Tuesday in a statement that described the approved applications as “an outpouring of creative ideas for transforming the public way into active community spaces for eating, street vending, storytelling, movie nights, and music and arts programming with the use of street furniture, pavement treatments, plantings, lighting, and other placemaking tools.”

“I am thrilled that so many community organizations across our city have stepped up to participate in Chicago Alfresco and improve their neighborhoods by creating and enhancing spaces for residents to enjoy themselves in,” the mayor said via statement. “With more and more proposals, Chicago Alfresco will only build on the success we have had with similar initiatives, beautify our city, and further ensure that our economic recovery from this pandemic is inclusive of all of our communities.”

The Alfresco initiative — announced in March as an expansion of the city’s Expanded Outdoor Dining Permit that created corridors of “Make Way” outdoor dining spaces to help bolster the city’s devastated restaurant industry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year — comes amid the continued easing of pandemic restrictions in Chicago and across the state.

According to the official announcement, Choose Chicago is providing $2.3 million in grants sponsored by alcoholic beverages giant Diageo North America to approved applicants of projects intended to help create even more outdoor public space for arts, culture and other neighborhood activities such as walking, live performances, movie nights, biking and more. Chicago Alfresco applications are still being accepted by CDOT at chicago.gov/alfresco.

Here are the 15 community organizations selected for the first round of Chicago Alfresco projects, as outlined in the official announcement:

• Austin Chamber of Commerce (West Madison Street and West Chicago Avenue): Pockets of arts and cultural spaces along the curb anchored by restaurants. These will include the installation of large planters filled with annuals and perennials as well as metal partitions with small planters creating a perimeter section for art performances, art exhibits, art projects and other meetings/events.
• Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (West 47th Street and Honore Street): The Back of the Yards Caminata will provide spaces for dining, lounging, performing, and flexible programming opportunities.
• Greater Chatham Initiative (East 75^th St.reet, East 79^th Street, and East 71st Street): Eight mobile wood modular rectangular parklet units with street barriers, planters, lighting, tables and chairs, will promote dining and community activity.
• Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce (North Broadway Street): Dine Out program extending the outdoor space near restaurants for full service and pick up orders. The installations will include planters, lighting, signage, and decorative fencing, and will incorporate arts and music programming.
• Little Village Community Foundation (Perez Plaza): The Mercadito will provide a space for local craftspeople to converge on a weekly basis while promoting additional activity on the plaza. The goal is to promote a seasonal market made from semi‐permanent structures that reflect the cultural vibrancy of the various regions on Mexico.
• Logan Square Chamber of Commerce (Woodard Plaza): Elements including LED fixtures and picnic tables will promote the use of Woodard Plaza for outdoor dining, performances, craft markets, and social gatherings.
• Morgan Park Beverly Hills (103rd Street and Wood Street): Installation of a CDOT standard design People Spot in coordination with local businesses.
• Northwest Side CDC (West Fullerton Avenue and West Grand Avenue): Creation of a plaza space to support street vendors (elotero, paleta, tamale carts and other popular Latin American street foods) in organized “stalls” to support culturally‐relevant dining, public life, community, arts, and culture.
• Puerto Rican Cultural Center (West Division Street): Curbside and street activation along the Paseo Boricua commercial corridor, incorporating outdoor dining spaces and placemaking to promote foot traffic, foster community engagement and stimulate economic development along the corridor. The project will include artistic interventions and murals, visually appearing wood kiosks, gathering areas, seating arrangements, furniture, and programming, in at least 5 different hubs, each one with its own theme and purpose.
• Rogers Park Business Alliance (West Jarvis Avenue & North Glenwood Avenue): Expanding on an existing EOD closure along Jarvis Avenue by providing landscape, furnishings and design elements to promote community activities, including daily alfresco dining, as well as special events like live performances, moonlight ice cream socials, festivals, movie nights, and a monthly artisan market from May to September. Closing vehicular traffic along a stretch of Glenwood Avenue and incorporating decorative lighting, seating, signage, performance space, bike parking, and ADA accessible platforms to make the space adaptable for daily alfresco dining use as well outdoor performances and special events.
• South Shore Chamber of Commerce (East 71^st Street): “Walk ‐Shop‐ Dine” curbside activation including planters, patio sets with umbrellas and signage. Bi‐weekly entertainment will include live musical performances, outdoor fitness events, paint parties and outdoor movies.
• South Chicago Parents & Friends (South Commercial Avenue): ”Who Tells Your Story” is a block long activation and installation comprised of a base module of structures that will incorporate art, seating, planting and programming zones.
• Uptown United (West Argyle Street): Expanded dining and placemaking using north and south curbside parking along Argyle between North Broadway and Sheridan Road.
• West Ridge Chamber of Commerce (West Devon Avenue): Devon Potluck Plazas” will serve as pop‐up public plazas on side streets with movable street furniture and temporary surface treatments to encourage carry‐out dining and programming.
• Woodlawn Chamber of Commerce (East 62nd Street and South Ingleside Avenue): Activation of an underutilized plaza by creating an attractive and accessible space where people will want to gather by bringing local business owners, from caterers to yoga teachers.

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The hype continues to grow about this current Chicago Bears roster, specifically due to the masterful job general manager Ryan Pace did in the 2021 NFL Draft. But, the job is not yet done. This roster still has the opportunity for growth. Chicago has a lot of reasons to be excited this year, especially when […]

Chicago Bears: 5 logical defensive free agents still available – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Tom Weitzel says he no longer believes the police could ‘arrest our way out of crime.’ Early education and mental health treatment are key to reducing crime, he says.

Three years into his job as a Riverside cop, Tom Weitzel survived a shotgun blast to the chest.

He was checking on an illegally parked car in the summer of 1987 when a masked man stepped out and blasted him, striking him in his bulletproof vest, which saved his life.

Weitzel remembers sitting in a hospital bed the next day with broken ribs and shotgun pellets in his eyes.

“My wife wanted me to quit,” he says. “But this was my profession. I had to do something to support us.”

Weitzel, 60, retired from the west suburban police department on Thursday after being chief since 2008 — a post in which his public profile has been outsized for a chief of a small-town department..

His near-death experience “shaped me for how serious the job can be even in suburban police departments. It shook this community, I’ll tell you that.”

Brian Jackson / Sun-Times file

Weitzel says policing has changed in Riverside, an upscale town of about 8,700 along the Des Plaines River that’s known for its Victorian homes and gas-lit street lamps.

“When I started, I could come to work on the midnight shift and go a week and have one or two calls for service,” he says. “Those days are gone.”

Weitzel says he’s changed, too. He used to think “we could arrest our way out of crime.” Now, he thinks cops have to work more closely with mental health providers and educators.

“As I’ve gotten older, more educated, wiser and seeing where society is going, I have realized we have to reach the kids at an early age,” he says. “I didn’t believe in that in my early career.”

A turning point for him came when he was dealing with an underage kid locked up at the Riverside police station. The mother came to pick up her son, Weitzel says, but neither she nor her son could read the forms they needed to sign for his release.

“I went back there, and she was so embarrassed, she was crying,” he says. “I read it all to them because she had to sign to pick up her juvenile son. And I’m, like, ‘Wow, we’re missing something as a society.’ ”

Weitzel says he supports Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a nationwide organization of law enforcement leaders who push for better early education.

He also has used his leadership roles in the state and west suburban police chiefs associations to push back on legislation he thought was harmful to society. Weitzel opposed laws that allowed recreational use of marijuana and concealed carrying of firearms, which he sees as a danger to police officers.

He has criticized judges for not cracking down on people who drive under the influence of drugs.

And, in 2014, he ripped then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s unsuccessful effort to get the Illinois Legislature to reduce the penalties for having small amounts of narcotics.

“I thought that I needed to at least speak up and put out our position as to what was happening as an agency,” he says.

Weitzel says his successor — public safety director Matthew Buckley — faces challenges he didn’t have starting out as chief. The starting salary for new Riverside cops is more than $65,000, but recruiting is down, and fewer former military veterans are applying.

“The last time we gave our police test, we had 180 applicants,” he says. “This time, we had 60. The good thing is we have more diverse applicants: African American, Hispanic, female.”

He says one of his few regrets in his career is that the man who shot him was never brought to justice.

After being shot, Weitzel knocked his head on the bumper of his squad car. His handheld radio was shattered, so he crawled back into his car to call for help.

Investigators believed the gunman was a former state prison inmate planning to invade the home of a state corrections official who lived nearby, Weitzel says.

Years later, federal authorities identified the suspect during a gun-trafficking investigation. But a seven-year statute of limitations on shootings had expired, Weitzel says, and prosecutors were unable to charge the man with trying to kill him.

Al Podgorski / Sun-Times file

He says he got the late state Sen. Judy Baar Topinka to amend the law so shootings of officers in the line of duty no longer have a statute of limitations.

And Riverside started providing officers with new bulletproof vests every five years. Weitzel says he’d previously had to buy his own vest, which was held as evidence in the shooting until the statute of limitations had passed on it, and he got the vest back. He still has it.

Weitzel says he’s the only Riverside officer shot in the line of duty since 1987.

“I hope it stays that way,” he says.

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Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Virgo.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

The pace of your days will accelerate in the next four weeks because you have places to go, things to do and people to see. Enjoy all this to-ing and fro-ing and interacting with others. Focus on your immediate surroundings.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

In the next four weeks, you will think more about what you value and what you own. When it comes to your stuff, does it serve your needs or is it a burden? This is a good time to sort out what you really want to keep for the ride.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Whoopie! The sun is in Gemini for the next four weeks, something that occurs once a year. When it does, it’s your chance to boost your energy and recharge your batteries for the months ahead. The sun in your sign will attract people and favorable circumstances to you. Bonus!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Your personal year is coming to an end, but your new year will not begin until your birthday. Use the next four weeks to think about what you want for yourself, especially for your new year ahead. If you define some goals, it will help you achieve them.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

You will be more popular in the next four weeks. Plus, you will be more involved with groups and organizations. During this time, take a moment to think about your friends and the role they play in your life. Do you value your friends? What kind of friend are you?

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Once a year, the sun sits at the top of your chart for four weeks thrusting you in the limelight, which is why people notice you more, especially bosses and VIPs. It’s important to know this spotlight is flattering, which means others admire you. Now is the time to make your pitch!

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Feelings of escapism and longing “to get away from all this” are strong in the next four weeks. Normally, you would travel. But this isn’t possible with COVID restrictions. Therefore, travel online and learn new things to feel stimulated and excited about life.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

You will have some strong psychological compulsions in the next four weeks. You want to get to know yourself better, which is why everything will feel a bit more intense. You don’t want to skate along on the surface of things. Not now.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

You will need more sleep in the next four weeks because the sun is symbolically as far away from your sign as it can get all year, and the sun represents your energy. This is a great time to learn more about how you relate to those who are closest to you.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Roll up your sleeves because you’re keen to work hard in the next four weeks. You also want to work smart. You want results for your efforts and top productivity. This same high standard will extend to your health. Oh yeah, you want it all!

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

One of the most playful, light-hearted times of the year awaits you in the next four weeks. Do anything that resembles a vacation. Enjoy fun activities with kids. Enjoy the arts and sports events. The bottom line is to please yourself and have fun!

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Home and family will be your focus in the next four weeks. Many of you will be more involved than usual with a parent. You will learn something from quiet introspection as memories of the past bubble to the surface of your mind.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actor Matt Czuchry (1977) shares your birthday. You’re nurturing, warm and loving. You also have a fully developed sense of intuition. You crave security, but you are also restless and impulsive. Your analytical mind is constantly alive! You have an interesting year ahead because this will be a year where you will have to make an important choice. It will be more social and more friendly.

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The 35-year-old right-hander, nicknamed Klubot for his robot-like demeanor, came within a four-pitch walk in the third inning of throwing a perfect game.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Kluber threw the the major leagues’ sixth no-hitter this season and second in two nights, leading the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers 2-0 on Wednesday night.

The 35-year-old right-hander, nicknamed Klubot for his robot-like demeanor, came within a four-pitch walk to Charlie Culberson in the third inning of throwing a perfect game.

Kluber, a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, pitched his gem a night after Detroit Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull threw one against the Seattle Mariners, marking the first no-hitters on consecutive days since 1969, when Cincinnati’s Jim Maloney threw one on April 30 and Houston’s Don Wilson on May 1.

“It was a lot of fun, I think it was a special night,” Kluber said. “I’ve never been part of one, witnessed one, yet alone thrown one.”

While looking calm on the outside, Kluber said he had to take a breath after warming up before his first pitch in the ninth inning to “calm myself down a little bit.” But he also drew back to the feelings he’s had before playoff starts, when the heartbeat is faster and the adrenaline is pumping.

Kluber (4-2) struck out nine and and threw 71 of 101 pitches for strikes in his ninth start for the Yankees. With his fastest pitch at 92.5 mph, he mixed 31 curveballs, 27 cutters, 23 sinkers, 18 changeups and two four-seam fastballs.

“I had butterflies in that ninth inning, I’m getting a little emotional now, even just getting to witness that was was really, really special,” manager Aaron Boone said. “And to see his teammates and the excitement of everyone for Corey and just the excitement for themselves being a part of such a thing. What a performance.”

Kluber was pitching on that same mound when he was hurt after one inning last season, when he tore a muscle in his right shoulder on July 26 in his Texas debut. He said he didn’t even think about that until after that game when Robinson Chirinos, the former Rangers catcher now on the Yankees taxi squad, mentioned that it was better than his previous start there.

That was the second straight shortened season for Kluber, whose 2019 season ended May 1 when he was hit on the forearm by a comebacker. He left the Rangers as a free agent to sign an $11 million, one-year deal with the Yankees.

Right fielder Tyler Wade made a running catch of pinch-hitter David Dahl’s flyball for the second out in the ninth inning before Willie Calhoun’s game-ending groundout to shortstop Gleyber Torres. Wade entered in the third inning after Ryan LaMarre injured a hamstring.

Boone, whose dad Bob caught Angels pitcher Mike Witt’s no-hitter at Texas in 1984, said he got nervous on the ball Dahl hit, thinking it was going to get down the line, but then noticed what a good jump Wade had gotten on the ball.

“I knew I was going to catch it,” Wade said. “I didn’t know if I was going to have to dive, or catch it like I did. But I knew I was going to catch it.”

Wade said he wasn’t sure because he was unable to hear the bat off the ball with a screaming crowd of 31,689 — many of them Yankees fans.

Kluber said that was one of the few balls hit during the game that he thought might fall for a hit.

“His closing speed was pretty impressive,” Kluber said.

“It stinks. It’s baseball. No-hitters happen. There’s been a lot so far this year. Unfortunate for us that we’ve been a part of two of them,” Culberson said. “It just shows you how good these pitchers are, these teams are and what they’re doing.”

It was the 12th no-hitter in Yankees history, the 11th in the regular season and the first since David Cone’s perfect game against Montreal on July 18, 1999. It was the fifth against the Rangers, who were nalso at home April 9 when San Diego native Joe Musgrove threw the first no-hitter in Padres history.

“We expected some outings like that in our ballpark, unfortunately not against us,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “I can’t say enough good things about him. I’m not surprised by this guy’s success. I’ve watched this guy go through his routine and the work he puts in.”

New York got its only runs in the sixth inning when Kyle Higashioka had a leadoff walk and scored on a triple by Wade. DJ LeMahieu followed with a sacrifice fly against Hyeon-Jong Yang (0-1).

That is about the time Kluber really starting thinking about a no-hitter.

“After that point, we had gotten a couple of runs … makes it a little easier to kind of pound the strike zone and know you have that run support in your back pocket,” he said.

Before getting hurt in 2019, Kluber was a 20-game winner in 2018, and had thrown at least 203 innings with 222 strikeouts each season from 2014-18. He was the Cy Young winner in 2014 and 2017.

“Obviously wish this guy well,” Woodward said, ”but I didn’t wish him that well.”

The four no-hitters in May are the most in a month since June 1990. It is also the first time three three teams have been no-hit twice in one season, with the Rangers joining Cleveland and Seattle.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: LaMarre grabbed at his right hamstring just before getting to first base when running out a groundball. … OF Clint Frazier (neck issues) was out of the lineup for the second game in a row. “I don’t know if it’s stiffness or what, but we’re looking into all that and what it could mean,” Boone said. … C Gary Sánchez, who left Tuesday night’s game with cramping in his left hamstring, was available to play. Boone said he had always anticipated Sánchez not playing Wednesday night before the day game for the series finale.

Rangers: 3B Brock Holt (right hamstring strain) played his second rehab game with Double-A Frisco. He has been out since May 3.

UP NEXT

The Yankees are 6-3 going into the finale of their trip. Domingo Germán (3-2, 3.62 ERA) pitches for New York against Rangers right-hander Dane Dunning (2-3, 4.34) whose ninth start will be the most among AL rookies.

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Arrieta allowed four runs over five innings in the Cubs’ 4-3 loss. It’s just the second time this season he’s allowed more than three earned runs in a start.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta has been sharp in most of his starts, leading the Cubs’ rotation through nearly two months of baseball. But after tossing his best game of the season in his last outing against the Tigers, Arrieta wasn’t quite as fine Wednesday in the 4-3 loss to the Nationals.

Arrieta, however, has been able to keep the Cubs in games even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, and that was the case as he went toe-to-toe with Nationals ace Max Scherzer.

Arrieta got through the first two innings without any damage. But the Nationals started to make him work in the third inning, going deep in counts, spoiling pitches and increasing his pitch count.

“I think tonight, he got ahead of a lot of guys. I just thought he didn’t have that finishing pitch tonight,” manager David Ross said. “He wasn’t getting a lot of chases underneath. Got ahead and then not being able to really finish hitters off tonight was really the only issue.”

“I came out a little flat,” Arrieta said. “First and second inning were pretty good. Just was flat in the third, fourth, and fifth inning. A lot of high-stress pitches with guys on base and couple of walks. Command wasn’t very good.”

Trea Turner’s RBI single tied the game at 1 in the third. Turner would come around to score on a wild pitch by Arrieta to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead.

Arrieta continued to grind in the fourth and fifth innings as the Nationals added two runs. The hardest contact came off the bat of Juan Soto. He turned on a 3-2 slider from Arrieta, crushing it off the scoreboard in right field in the fifth to make it 4-1.

“He’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Arrieta said. “If he needs to go the other way to get a rally started or is looking to do damage, he’s capable of just about everything.”

Even though Arrieta didn’t allow a ton of hard contact and wasn’t overly wild, Washington made him pay for leaving pitches over the inner third of the plate.

It was only the second time that Arrieta, who has kept the ball away from the barrel well this season, had allowed more than three earned runs in a start.

He gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings.

“Just didn’t really get into a rhythm,” he said. “It was a tough night, not what I wanted, especially going up against Max. I need to be better than that.”

But Arrieta wasn’t the only former Cy Young winner who had to battle through five innings.

Scherzer was not at his best against the Cubs. He racked up eight strikeouts but did not have his normal control, walking four batters and giving the Cubs several opportunities. They had at least one baserunner in every inning Scherzer pitched after the first.

The best opportunity came in the fifth inning after Arrieta led off with a broken-bat single. The Cubs loaded the bases with one out against Scherzer and got an RBI single from Ian Happ to make it 4-2.

But Willson Contreras struck out and David Bote flied out to end the threat. Javy Baez hit a solo shot in the ninth inning to close the deficit to 4-3.

A night after losing first baseman Anthony Rizzo to lower-back tightness, right fielder Jason Heyward was removed in the fifth inning because of tightness in his left hamstring.

Heyward is the Cubs’ only outfielder who hasn’t missed time this season. He was replaced by catcher P.J. Higgins, who made his major-league debut.

“This group rallies,” Ross said. “Guys continue to battle. That’s a banged-up group and these guys faced a really good pitcher today and held that thing together out there to the end and just came up on the short end.”

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The teen fired shots into a store at two men who returned fire about 8:55 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 71st Street, Chicago police said.

A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot during a shootout in South Shore and a bystander was killed in the crossfire, police said.

The teen fired shots into a store at two males about 8:55 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 71st Street, Chicago police said.

The males returned fire, striking the teen in the abdomen and neck, as well as a 49-year-old man who was inside the store, police said.

The boy and the man were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police said.

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

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Christopher Rucker II, a former participant in the lauded Becoming A Man (BAM) program for at-risk Chicago Public Schools youth, is an example of what happens when potential meets opportunity. BAM helped secure him a full-ride scholarship to Philander Smith College, where he just graduated — within 2 1⁄2 years, and with a 4.0 GPA.

Christopher Rucker II was emotionally floundering his freshman year at Bronzeville Scholastic Institute High School when he learned about the Becoming A Man (BAM) program that serves at-risk Chicago Public Schools youth.

His father, who promised to be in the audience when Rucker gave his eighth-grade valedictorian speech at Harold Washington Elementary, died of a sudden heart attack.

Soon after, his mother lost her job. Things were really, really tight. Life seemed dark.

“I was just out of it. By the time I got to high school, all I could think about was loss. My father lived out of town, but we talked several times a week. He was flying in for graduation,” said Rucker, who just graduated from Philander Smith College — with a 4.0 GPA, and within 2 ¹⁄₂ years.

“It was the first time I would have seen him in seven years.

“I remember the BAM counselor trying to recruit folks to come to a meeting. He asked me in the middle of the hallway, ‘Are you a man?’ I’m like, ‘Uh, yeah.’ He said, ‘OK, come to this session, and let’s see if you’re a real man,’” Rucker recounts.

“A couple friends and I went. He started breaking it down. And something he said at that first session stays with me to this day. He said, ‘There’s no one way to be a man.’ ”

Rucker, now 21, was raised under challenging circumstances, mostly by his grandmother, in the Burnside, Chatham and South Deering neighborhoods.

BAM, founded in 2001 to help young men navigate difficult circumstances, helped him see college as part of his future.

After going on college tours organized by the group, he applied at several, hoping to attend through scholarships and loans. BAM, however, did him one better.

“My BAM counselors said, ‘No, your grades are too good. You’ve got community service hours. We’re going to get you a full-ride somewhere.’ And they did,” he said.

Dar’tavous Dorsey, then a BAM supervisor, reached out to his Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. frat brother, Philander President Roderick Smothers, about Rucker and a second young man, Damontae Warren, a Marshall High School graduate that BAM also sent to Philander.

Both were welcomed into the President’s Scholar program at the Little Rock, Arkansas, school.

Provided

Rucker finished his political science degree in December, walking the stage May 8.

“Brother Dorsey brought the young men from BAM down, and that’s how I met Mr. Rucker. If you were to ask him what are his goals or aspirations in life, he will tell you, ‘I’m going to be the next Black president of the United States,’ ” Smothers recounted.

“I found that quite intriguing. He came with that mindset to Philander Smith College, and was just a model student, involved in everything, from Student Government Association to the Empowering African American Males Initiative, Christian Scholars to our 100 Black Men collegiate chapter. What I most appreciated about him was his inquisitiveness.

“I said how is it that this young man is coming from all those challenges, with all the odds stacked against him in Chicago, and yet he comes to the table with such strength, such ambition, such pride? That was worth investing in and giving my time to,” said Smothers.

As Chicago braces for another long, hot summer of potentially escalated violence claiming more lives in maligned South and West side neighborhoods, programs like BAM, now also running a girls’ program, Working on Womenhood (WOW), are ever more critical.

“Mentorship is powerful tool,” said Dorsey, who after four years with the organization, left in 2019 to become associate director of strategic engagement at the University of Chicago Urban Labs. The 35-year-old Bronzeville resident remains on BAM’s Associate Board.

“When you hear about young Black men in the city of Chicago, we automatically profile them — urban setting of violence, gang activity, housing/education mobility, justice system involvement, etc.,” he said.

“But if we only can be willing to set aside self and offer up time to inspire, uplift and support youth who have all the potential and deserving talent to be impactful in life, the stereotype of young Black males will change to a positive profile.”

Provided

Local and national studies of programs like BAM show significant benefits to young people, including better relationships, improved school performance and decision-making, greater confidence and optimism, and reduced risk factors for violence.

In fact, a U of C Crime Lab study on BAM found arrests for violent crime plunged — 44% — and school attendance improved, among troubled teens served by the program, run by the nonprofit Youth Guidance organization.

A study by the Illinois Mentoring Partnership and University of Illinois at Chicago, however, found a statewide shortage of male volunteers for these critical modeling programs.

“Christopher and Damontae overcame all the negative outcomes of life by first believing in themselves and secondly, trusting someone to believe in them,” notes Dorsey.

Warren, 21, raised by his single mother in East Garfield Park, is majoring in computer science, currently maintains a 3.4 GPA and is set to finish next semester, in 3 ¹⁄₂ years.

“Signing up for BAM sophomore year of high school was the best decision I ever made. Mr. Dorsey has been a great mentor. I didn’t even know if I was going to go to college, because of the expense,” he said. “But with Mr. Dorsey’s guidance and BAM, I was helped to figure out which path I wanted to take in life.”

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