Chicago police investigate the scene where two officers were shot May 16, 2021, in Lawndale. | Anthony Vasquez/Sun-Times
Bruce Lua, who was also shot in the incident, is facing several charges including attempted murder, police said.
A 45-year-old man is accused of shooting two police officers Sunday morning in Lawndale on the West Side.
Bruce Lua, who was also shot in the incident, is charged with two felony counts each of attempted murder and aggravated battery of a peace officer, as well as one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, Chicago police said.
Lua allegedly fired at the officers about 7:20 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Lawndale Avenue, police said. The officers were investigating a ShotSpotter alert and approached Lua in an alley.
An officer was shot in the hand and another in the leg and shoulder, above the vest, police said. One of the officers returned fire and struck Lua in the leg.
Both officers were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they were treated and released later in the morning.
Tom Schuba/Sun-TimesMembers of the police department salute the two wounded officers after they were discharged from Mount Sinai, May 16, 2021.
Lua was being treated at Stroger Hospital, where he remained in custody Monday, police said.
The officers began working for the department in 2017 and were expected to fully recover, officials said.
At a news briefing outside Mount Sinai after the shooting, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said “let’s be clear, this offender turned and immediately tried to kill these officers by firing a gun at them, hitting both of them. But for the good Lord’s grace that we’re not here talking about planning a funeral for our officers.”
The incident is being investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. The agency is charged with probing police shootings.
Lua is expected to appear at a bond hearing Tuesday.
Are you a college student? Do you love beer? Knowing from experience, yes you do. Beer is like the staple drink of choice when you’re in college. It’s the cheapest to buy and the easiest to drink. And Chicago is known for some of the coolest and best bars to grab a pint of the best craft beers. So if you’re a college student, living in or around Rogers Park, here are 6 bars/restaurants/breweries you need to check out. All offering some staples, these places are a must if you’re looking to chill out and grab a couple of drinks with some friends (or by yourself, I won’t assume you have friends).
Located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Howard Street Brewing is a simple taproom and bar built upon the ideas of conversation and community. It only recently opened in the Fall of 2020. Their 37 seat taproom offers 12 beer styles all made within the 4 walls of Howard Street Brewing. Their philosophy towards beer styles is “to brew them all.” And their small system gives them the flexibility to brew any kind of beer they want. Their website has not revealed a menu, but stay tuned as I figure out what they’re offering!
One of the best places for craft beers in Rogers Park is the namesake social. Intended to reflect the soul of the neighborhood, Rogers Park Social offers a unique and inviting venue featuring craft beers and freshly prepared cocktails – lovingly created and served by their friends and neighbors. Founded and operated by neighborhood residents, they strive to mindfully infuse the spirit of community, diversity, and service in all that they offer. Their interior offers two selections, a warm industrial barroom or a retro lounge. Their beer staples include the Dovetail Framboise, a blend of four barrels of their traditionally-made, spontaneously fermented beer from Fall 2016 and Spring 2017, and aged for 10 months on 225 kg of Michigan raspberries, and Empirical HeLa.
R Public House is a community-driven restaurant and bar in Rogers Park that welcomes everyone. They serve as an anchor business in the neighborhood, providing an atmosphere for entertainment and light dining, philanthropy, and goodwill for the diverse population in the area. They offer an extensive selection of beers like 5 Five Rabbits la Pina de Mis Ojos, a sour ale brewed with pineapples, Toppling Goliath King Sue, a hazy double IPA with hints of mango, orange, and pineapple from the use of the delicious Citra hop, Half Acre Daisy Cutter, a master blend of five different hops creates a powerful nose and a dynamic flavor, and Metropolitan Flywheel, a mild, bready malt sweetness with crispy hop flavors.
Taste Food & Wine has been a staple in the Jarvis Square neighborhood of North Rogers Park for over a decade. Their beer selection focuses on locally produced craft beer with stand-outs from across the Mid-West and United States. They also stock a large variety of gluten-free beer, ciders, seltzers, canned cocktails, and sake! The beer list at the brewery and bar features locally brewed craft beers from their friends at Marz! Some of their staples include Margarita Session Sour, Toucan Chan IPA, and Instant Oats Stout. Taste Food & Wine is located just steps from the Red Line on Jarvis Avenue. And they have plenty of street parking and even offer delivery service!
Owners Brad Shaffer, and Jason Klein, met following a spiteful incident during a hockey game on the pond when they were kids. They remained friends and teammates throughout the years, carrying a Spiteful disposition along the way. They opened a brewery together and brewed their first commercial batch, G.F.Y. Stout, in November of 2012. From the humble beginnings on the stove, Spiteful grew to a team of 4 who help brew, package, and deliver cans, bottles, and kegs across Chicagoland! The flagship of their beers, Spiteful IPA is a drinkable, balanced American IPA with orange and grapefruit, dry and crisp with moderate bitterness.
Half Acre is a Chicago beer company invested at each end of the brewing spectrum; time-honored classics and experimental, sensory expanding releases. They have two brewery spaces, the original on Lincoln Avenue and the expanded facility on Balmoral. They both have taprooms and kitchens with food programs unique to the location. Lincoln is also home to their retail shop while Balmoral is home to their outdoor beer garden. Although not in Rogers Park, the brewery and bar is a short distance away and is worth the visit, especially the outdoor beer garden. Their core beers include Daisy Cutter Pale Ale, Pony Pilsner, Bodem Pale Ale, Tome, Fader, and Hallow Double IPA. This selection is brewed and canned all year round.
Craft Beers Rogers Park Featured Image Photo Credit: Pexels
You can walk among life-sized reproductions of a fresco masterpiece when you visit “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” in Oakbrook Center. | SBX Group and SEE Global Entertainment
It may just be the most intimate, up-close-and-personal, no-scaffolding-required way to experience the ceiling masterpiece by the Italian artist-sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti.
If a trip to Italy to see the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel frescoes is not on the horizon, no worries. The Sistine Chapel frescoes are headed our way.
And it may just be the most intimate, up-close-and-personal, no-scaffolding-required way to experience the ceiling masterpiece by the Italian artist-sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti.
“Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” opens Wednesday in Oakbrook Center, bringing with it massive, life-sized reproductions of 33 frescoes in the iconic ceiling, the most famous being the nine scenes from the bible’s book of Genesis, painted by the Italian artist over a four-year period in the early 16th century through a commission by Pope Julius II. Also on display will be life-sized reproductions of Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment,” a separate, five-year fresco project, which covers the entire altar wall of the chapel and was begun some 25 years after the ceiling was completed.
Before you can say “just another art exhibit,” it’s important to note the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel exhibition were crafted via special technology — hi-res prints on special fabric — to recreate the look and texture of a fresco, according to Martin Biallas, the founder and CEO of Special Entertainment Events (SEE), which created and is producing the traveling exhibition. Every brushstroke is visible, giving added depth and breadth to the scope of the paintings, he said. The exhibit puts into perspective the enormous proportions of each of the figures in the frescoes, which make them clearly discernible to Vatican visitors 44 feet below. It is a vastly different experience from the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit, currently on display in Chicago, Biallis stressed.
“The Van Gogh exhibit is images projected onto a screen. Our exhibit features life-sized [floor-to-ceiling] re-creations of the frescoes, making them almost look like we peeled the frescoes off the ceiling walls and are now taking them on a worldwide tour,” he said.
“It took us almost two years to find the right design, high-res images and the best fabric for printing the images so it would provide the right look and feel of a fresco. That wasn’t easy. A fresco is when the artist paints on wet plaster and when it dries it absorbs the color and paint. An oil painting looks completely different.”
It will take visitors roughly 60 to 90 minutes to walk among all the massive panels in the exhibit, which is housed inside the former site of the Sears store in the west suburban mall. Masks must be worn at all times and social distancing will be adhered to. And unlike most museum-quality exhibits, photos are encouraged.
Biallas discussed more details of the unique exhibit via email with the Sun-Times:
Q. What was the genesis of making the Sistine Chapel an immersive experience?
A. The idea came from a visit when I was at the Sistine Chapel back in 2012 and had to go through the nerve-wracking experience of standing in line for hours. And once I got in (together with 2,000 other visitors in a 10,000 square-foot space) I was given 15 minutes to “experience” these magnificent masterpieces that were 60 feet high under the ceiling and looked like a [postage] stamp. The … security guards were ready at all times to intervene and take your camera or phone if you were even thinking about taking a photo; photography is strictly forbidden. That’s when I had the idea to get a license to recreate these frescoes in the original size for people to see up-close and take all the time they want and take as many photos they want. Our visitors will be able to see these frescoes from a perspective like no pope has ever seen them before. You would need a scaffolding structure to elevate yourself that close. People just don’t realize how big these frescoes are.
SBX Group and SEE Global Entertainment“Our exhibit features life-sized [floor-to-ceiling] re-creations of the frescoes, making them almost look like we peeled the frescoes off the ceiling walls and are now taking them on a worldwide tour,” says Martin Biallas, the founder and CEO of Special Entertainment Events, of what to expect at “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition.”
Q. Were [you] allowed to photograph the chapel specifically for this project?
A. No. We have an exclusive license from Bridgeman (which represents the Vatican photographers) for life-size reproductions, and only Bridgeman has high-resolution images that were taken post-restoration.
Q. Can you talk about the music used throughout the experience?
A. That’s Martin’s “top 40” of sacred choir music. I chose these tracks to get the visitor in the right festive mood. The music is not from Michelangelo’s era — the music of that era sounded very plain and not at all festive, so I chose music from 200-300 years later.
BX Group and SEE Global EntertainmentExtensive audio tracks written by a German university scholar guide visitors throughout “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition.”
Q. What can visitors learn about the artwork from this experience?
A. You learn to appreciate even more what an extraordinary talent Michelangelo was. … How can a single man paint all these alone with just one assistant and literally lived on the scaffolding for almost five years without ever leaving that workspace? And the detail and the “secret” messages he was including in the frescoes. Our extensive audio guide tracks written by a German university scholar tell you all about it.
Police cars are parked near West Grand Avenue and North State Street in the River North neighborhood after three people were shot Saturday in a parking garage in the first block of West Grand Avenue, according to Chicago police. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Reese and others were confronted by a man while they were inside a stolen car. Another person then appeared and opened fire. The motive of the shooter was unclear.
New details from police suggest rapper Lil Reese was wounded in a gunfight that broke out after a man tracked his son’s stolen car to a Near North Side parking garage and tried to detain the people inside.
The incident began shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday when the 55-year-old father tracked his son’s stolen car to a garage in the first block of West Grand Avenue, where the son had directed his father by using a GPS tracker in the car and his cellphone, police said.
As the father confronted Reese and others inside the car on the third level of the garage, another person appeared and opened fire on the car, a Chicago police spokeswoman said Monday. The motive of the shooter was unclear.
The car sped off and then crashed, and the people inside the car exchanged gunfire with the other shooter, police said. Three men were wounded in the shootout, including Lil Reese, whose legal name is Tavares Taylor.
Guns were recovered in the stolen car but no one was in custody, police said.
A group of witnesses described what they called a “weird” series of events in the garage connected to a luxury high-rise condominium in a bustling area. The group said they were on their way to their vehicle when they heard what sounded like a car crash. The group also heard two “pops,” which turned out to be gunshots.
When the group drove their car to the third floor of the garage, they saw a vehicle crashed into a cement barrier with its airbags deployed. The witnesses said it was unclear what led up to the crash. Officers told the witnesses that there were four suspects.
Saturday’s attack marked the second time Taylor has been shot since November 2019, when he suffered a neck wound in south suburban Country Club Hills.
Contributing: Madeline Kenney and Emmanuel Camarillo
Chicago police investigate a shooting near Dearborn Street and Grand Avenue, May 15, 2021. At least 48 people were shot, six fatally, over the weekend in Chicago. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A 2-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were among those wounded, as well as two uniformed Chicago police officers.
Chicago was hit with its most violent weekend of the year, with a 2-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy and two Chicago police officers among 48 people who were shot.
At least six of those people were killed: Two men in their 20s at a party in Gresham; another man shot dead at a gas station in West Garfield Park; and a man found dead on the Northwest Side after police arrested a wounded man with a rifle.
The number of people shot was almost double what it was the previous weekend, when five people were killed and 21 others hurt in gun violence across the city. This past weekend had the highest number of shooting victims so far this year, according to Sun-Times records.
As of Monday morning, at least 1,187 people had been shot in the city this year and there have been at least 214 homicides. That’s a sharp rise from last year, when 886 were shot over the same period and there were 187 homicides.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged the “hard weekend” and renewed her call for the Biden administration to push “common sense gun reform” and provide federal help in busting gun trafficking.
“What we want is to see a decrease in the number of illegal firearms, particularly available to kids,” she said. “We’re seeing too many petty fights playing out on social media ending up with somebody, a kid, pulling a gun. Too many instances in which children are in the cars with adults…They get shot at and who gets shot? The child.
“Enough. It has got to be enough,” she added. “But it depends upon us stepping up and saying, `We are not going to tolerate this anymore in our city.’ We need federal support to really make a meaningful difference. And I’m hoping that the Biden administration not only listens to me, but is listening to mayors all across the country who are struggling with the same challenges. We need to have common sense gun reform. Period.”
During an unrelated news conference held to showcase summer jobs and other recreational and educational “opportunities” for young people, Lightfoot said she has urged her longtime friend, U.S. Attorney John Lausch, to form a “multi-jurisdictional task force on gun trafficking and straw purchasing.”
“That is something…that the federal government is uniquely qualified to do. I know they’re doing something. But, it needs to be bigger. It needs to be bolder. Because every single day, lives depend on it,” Lightfoot said.
As for the traditional summer surge of violence, Lightfoot said City Hall and the Chicago Police Department have been planning for months, “following the data” and using the “whole of government approach” to Chicago’s “most challenged” neighborhoods.
“Not only is the Police Department going to be placing additional emphasis on some of those places. Every single city department… has been working…for weeks to understand the assets and opportunities we have on the ground and flooding those areas with support and resources primarily focused on our young people but also their families,” she said.
“If you’re really gonna get to the nub of the problems that create violence, you’ve got to look at the source. And what we see across many of these communities that are plagued by violence is the absence of. The absence of resources and jobs and hope. Our goal is to be present in a tangible way with resources in these communities so that we are showing the residents that the’yre not alone. That they’ve not been abandoned that we are there for them…We’ve got to strengthen these communities by flooding them with resources.”
Earlier in the day, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said his department has been working — for several months — on plans for a potentially violent summer. He said he’s moving commanders in nine of the city’s historically most violent police districts from 9-to-5 to swing shifts.
“With all that pent-up energy because we’ve been in quarantine explodes, with all of the people being out . . .we want to make sure it’s safe,” he said.
Girl shot while riding in car
Among the first shootings of the weekend was the wounding of a 2-year-old as she sat in the back seat of a car in the 2800 block of West 26th Street. A car pulled up and someone inside started shooting about 6:55 p.m. Friday, Chicago police said.
She was hit in the leg and taken by the driver to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, according to police.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-TimesA 2-year-old girl was shot May 14, 2021 in Little Village.
13-year-old boy critically hurt
The boy was on the sidewalk about 7:55 a.m. Sunday in the 3700 block of South Wood Street when a car approached and someone inside opened fire, police said.
He was struck in the head and neck and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said.
Chicago police officers shot
Two Chicago police officers were shot and the suspected gunman was wounded during an exchange of gunfire Sunday morning in Lawndale on the West Side.
The officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert about 7:20 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Lawndale Avenue and saw a 45-year-old man in an alley nearby, Brown said outside Mount Sinai Hospital, where the officers were treated and released.
When the officers approached, the person “immediately began firing a gun at the officers,” Brown said.
Sophie Sherry/Sun-TimesChicago police Supt. David Brown and Mayor Lightfoot speak to reporters outside Mt. Sinai Hospital after two officers were shot May 16, 2021, in Lawndale.
One officer was struck in the hand and the second in the leg and shoulder, above the vest, Brown said. Both were “stable, recovering and in good condition,” he added.
The suspected gunman was also shot in the “lower extremities,” according to Brown.
The men were “all shooting at each other” about 9:50 a.m. inside a parking garage in the first block of West Grand Avenue, according to police.
Two men, 27 and 28, were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said. The younger man was struck multiple times and was in critical condition, while the older man was grazed in the eye and was in fair condition.
Pat Nabong/Sun-TimesChicago police investigate a shooting near Dearborn Street and Grand Avenue, May 15, 2021.
A police source said one of the wounded men was rapper Lil Reese, whose legal name is Tavares Taylor.
A third man, 20, was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition with two gunshot wounds to his knee, police said.
Man killed in possible drive-by in Chicago Lawn
The 24-year-old man was shot by someone, possibly in a silver sedan, as he stood outside with a group of people about 12:40 a.m. in the 6300 block of South Campbell Avenue, police said. He was struck in the upper chest and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he died.
Fatal shooting in Woodlawn
A 21-year-old man was shot dead Saturday afternoon in Woodlawn on the South Side. About 2:45 p.m., he was in the 1300 block of East Marquette Road when someone opened fire, striking him multiple times, police said.
The man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
5 shot, 2 fatally, at Gresham party
Early Saturday morning, two people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting at a party in Gresham on the South Side.
Several people were at a gathering in the 7800 block of South Loomis Boulevard when a gunman opened fire shortly after 3 a.m., according to police.
A 26-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
A 21-year-old was also struck in the head and taken to the same hospital, where he later died, police said.
A 25-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was also taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another man, 23, suffered two gunshot wounds to the right arm and was transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, police said. A fifth man, 21, was struck in the shoulder and listed in fair condition at the same hospital, according to police.
Man shot to death at gas station
A person was found shot to death about an hour later at a gas station in West Garfield Park.
He was found about 4:05 a.m. in the parking lot of a gas station in the 400 block of South Kostner Avenue with a gunshot wound to the chest, police said. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
1 killed, 1 critically hurt in Belmont Cragin
Friday night, a man was killed and another injured in a shooting in Belmont Cragin on the Northwest Side.
About 11:50 p.m., officers heard several shots fired and saw an 18-year-old man running with a rifle in the 6200 block of West Diversey Avenue, police said.
Officers placed him under arrest and noticed he had two gunshot wounds to the back and one to the arm, police said. He was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition.
While searching the area, officers also found a 32-year-old man on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. He was taken to the same hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
Tim Anderson makes a tough play against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The Reds won 1-0. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster) | AP Photos
In high stakes situations, in those moments where the White Sox really need him, Tim Anderson isn’t going to fail on account of anxiousness or letting the moment overwhelm him.
MINNEAPOLIS — In high stakes situations, in those moments where the White Sox really need him, Tim Anderson isn’t going to fail on account of anxiousness or letting the moment overwhelm him.
His pulse stays the same.
“There’s no pressure,” the White Sox shortstop said Monday. “Those are moments I want to be in, those are moments I like. It’s just having no pressure, you’re always calm in certain situations and at the end of the day it’s baseball. It’s a game.”
Anderson is a man playing a kid’s game like a kid, having fun, chirping encouragement at his teammates, celebrating when it’s warranted.
The game will rarely, if ever be mastered but Anderson at the very least seems to be figuring it out more with each passing season. He studies video of opposing pitchers. He walks up to bat with a plan. He adjusts.
In one situation, he’s taking a fastball to right field for a single. In another, he’s driving a breaking pitch over the left field wall.
You’ll often hear Anderson say “I have to keep pushing,” which is what he does. He has won a batting title and now he wants to be an All-Star. He has made great plays on the field but now he wants to cut down on the mistakes on the routine plays, and with just one error this season through the Sox’ first 39 games, he’s off to an excellent start there.
“I feel great,” Anderson said. “I’m just at a point where I understand my work and I understand what I’m doing and knowing what guys are trying to do me. It’s just going in the cage and really taking a swing on every pitch I think they’re going to throw me that night. I feel like I know myself, I really understand what I’m capable of doing and I’ve just go to keep going, keep producing.”
Keep pushing.
Anderson was on the field early Monday, taking ground balls before the Sox played the Twins. He knows he finished seventh in AL MVP voting last season after hitting .322/.357./529 with an .886 OPS and committing six errors in 49 games. He knows if he becomes a Gold Glove caliber defender, an MVP award becomes much more attainable.
“I’m definitely happy to be where I’m at [defensively],” he said. “I’ve been working my butt off since I got in this organization to prove I could be a shortstop. It doesn’t stop here, I’ve got to continue to work and continue to get better. What you guys see, I’ve been putting the work in. I’ve been putting the work in just to get better defensively and offensively, really at all angles. Now you guys are seeing it.”
MINNEAPOLIS — Jose Abreu will miss the series against the Twins with left ankle inflammation, suffered while sliding into home plate to end Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the Royals.
X-rays were negative and an MRI showed the inflammation. Manager Tony La Russa said “there is a possibility” Abreu will return for the Yankees series this weekend.
“But we’re not going to rush him back even then,” La Russa said. “He went through a lot of pain last night.”
Sunday wrapped up an eventful three days for Abreu. Knocked down Friday when he collided with the Royals’ Hunter Dozier, he missed the second half of that day’s doubleheader, somehow recovered in time to play Saturday and homered, then added two more hits Sunday before scoring the winning run.
There was no indication after the slide or the celebration that ensued Abreu was hurt.
“The ankle got turned in a peculiar way,” La Russa said. “He’s gotten beat up the last couple of days, no doubt. He’s due some rest.”
Andrew Vaughn started at first base in Abreu’s customary spot and will likely be there for the entire series, La Russa said. The American League reigning MVP, Abreu would have played his 1,000th game Monday.
The Sox play the Twins Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and after an off day Thursday meet the Yankees in New York for three games Friday through Sunday.
“The way it was examined and the results, there’s a good feeling that three days of treatment, an off day — might even get him to the ballpark on Thursday, just to get him a little work — there’s a good chance he’ll play this weekend,” La Russa said. “If he needs another day or two, you give it to him. Knock on wood, it seems like we’re going to have him sooner rather than later.”
The Sox are now without three of their most prolific power hitters in Abreu, Eloy Jimenez (torn pectoral muscle) and Luis Robert (torn hip flexor) but enter the day with the best record (24-15) in baseball.
Monday’s lineup:
Tim Anderson, SS
Nick Madigal, 2B
Yoan Moncada, 3B
Yermin Mercedes, DH
Andrew Vaughn, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Leury Garcia, LF
Danny Mendick, RF
Billy Hamilton, CF
Dallas Keuchel, SP
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. on NBC SportsChicago.
A representative for the singer confirmed that she recently married real estate agent Dalton Gomez.
Grande’s rep told People that they tied the knot in a small and intimate wedding, where less than 20 people attended. It wasn’t not clear when the wedding took place.
“The room was so happy and full of love. The couple and both families couldn’t be happier,” the rep told People.
Grande, 27, and Gomez, 25, announced their engagement in December. They began dating in January 2020 and quarantined together during the pandemic.
She had been briefly engaged to comedian Pete Davidson in 2018, and before that dated the late rapper Mac Miller, her occasional musical collaborator.
Grande is currently on the pop charts with the hits “34+35,” “Positions,” “pov” and the “Save Your Tears” remix with The Weeknd. She will work as a coach on “The Voice” in the fall.
A 15-year-old girl was shot Monday in Washington Park on the South Side.
Authorities responded to the shooting about 3:25 p.m. in the 6100 block of South King Drive, according to Chicagofire officials.
The girl was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she was “stable but serious,” officials said.
Chicago police didn’t immediately release details.
The shooting comes after a violent weekend in the city saw 48 people shot, including a 2-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy. At least six of those wounded over the weekend have died.
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty Monday to six federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal.
Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz’s, appeared in federal court in Orlando. He pleaded guilty to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted that he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men.
Gaetz was not mentioned in the plea agreement or during the court hearing. But Greenberg’s cooperation — as a key figure in the investigation and a close ally of Gaetz’s — may escalate the potential legal and political liability that the firebrand Republican congressman is facing.
Federal prosecutors are examining whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, according to two people familiar with the matter. Investigators have also been looking at whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, the people said. They are also scrutinizing Gaetz’s connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored.
The people had knowledge of the investigation but were not allowed to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Gaetz has denied the allegations and any accusation of wrongdoing and has said repeatedly he will not resign from Congress. A spokesperson for the congressman has said Gaetz “never had sex with a minor and has never paid for sex.”
During the nearly hourlong hearing Monday, Greenberg, 36, acknowledged he understood the charges he was pleading guilty to and the possible punishment he faced and told the judge he was of a sound frame of mind.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Hoffman told Greenberg that even though prosecutors may request some leniency from his sentencing judge because of his cooperation, there was no guarantee a judge would agree to the prosecutors’ recommendations and Greenberg would be unable to change his plea. No sentencing date was immediately set.
Monday’s court appearance marked the first time Greenberg has been seen in court since the Gaetz investigation blew into the public spotlight in March. Outside the courthouse, a plane flew over during the hearing pulling a banner that read: “TICK TOCK MATT GAETZ.”
After the hearing Greenberg was taken back to jail in handcuffs and shackles, wearing a dark inmate uniform and looking worn down.
“Mr. Greenberg has pleaded guilty subject to a plea agreement that has certain requirements and obligations on him, and he intends to honor them,” Fritz Scheller, Greenberg’s attorney, said after the hearing. “He definitely feels a sense of remorse.”
Asked if Gaetz should be nervous, Scheller said, “I will leave that up to Matt Gaetz’s attorneys to answer.”
As part of his plea deal, Greenberg, a Republican who served as the tax collector in Seminole County, admitted he recruited women for commercial sex acts and paid them more than $70,000 from 2016 to 2018, sometimes through online payment services like Venmo. They include at least one underage girl he paid to have sex with him and others, the plea agreement says.
Prosecutors wrote in the plea agreement that Greenberg had introduced the girl to others, who also “engaged in commercial sex acts” with her. The agreement does not identify the men.
Greenberg first met the girl online from a website where she was posing as an adult and first paid her $400 after a meeting on a boat, the documents said. He later invited her to hotels in Florida where he and others would have sex with her and supplied her and other people with ecstasy, according to the plea deal.
In total, prosecutors say Greenberg had sex with the girl at least seven times.
Greenberg’s legal scrutiny began when he was arrested last summer on charges of stalking a political opponent, Brian Beute. Prosecutors said he mailed fake letters to the school where his opponent worked, signed by a nonexistent “very concerned student,” who alleged the opponent had engaged in sexual misconduct with another student.
“I wouldn’t want to be him,” Beute, who showed up at the courthouse on Monday, said after the hearing.
Greenberg also is accused of embezzling $400,000 from the Seminole County tax collector’s office, according to the indictment filed against him.
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