The shot clock is coming, recruiting is opening up and more.

Michael O’Brien and I have our takes. Anyone who has listened to our No Shot Clock podcast during the high school basketball season has heard our “Two Takes” segment.

We both give our opinion on a player, team, coach, story or topic as it relates to high school basketball.

Without the podcast in the off season, my takes start to pile up. So it’s time to unpack my bag of a dozen takes here.

1. The shot clock is coming. I don’t think there is any doubt about that. When that officially happens in Illinois remains to be seen.

But news last week from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) that each state association may adopt a shot clock beginning in the 2022-23 season sets the stage. The Illinois High School Association follows the rules of the NFHS.

So, yes, expect a major rule change to Illinois high school basketball in the near future, because there has already been a massive push locally in this state to add the shot clock.

Last summer the discussion of the shot clock was brought to the forefront by several prominent high school coaches throughout the state. They engaged in zoom calls and conducted a massive statewide survey among boys and girls high school coaches.

Nearly 900 coaches from across the state voted in the survey. Overall, 72 percent voted yes to adding a shot clock in Illinois, with a whopping three-fourths of boys coaches across the state in favor.

2. In a few short weeks the recruiting world opens back up. And that’s huge for everyone.

It will have been roughly 15 months since college coaches have watched a player in person or had a player and his family on campus for an official or unofficial visit. Think about that –– 15 months.

But beginning in June the recruiting will spike considerably for talented high school players. They will finally be able to get on campus for visits and, most importantly, be seen.

There will be two “live” weekends in the month of June. Finally. Followed by a still-to-be-determined July evaluation period for grassroots basketball.

But to get things started, the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout, the premier summer event in Illinois, is back. The weekend of June 18-20 at R-B will be the first time college coaches will have laid eyes on a player from Illinois since March 11, 2020.

3. College coaches still aren’t after high school players. So apologies to those still uncommitted and unsigned senior prospects in the Class of 2021.

Every college player has been granted another year of eligibility due to the pandemic. Thus, the transfer portal is still overflowing, and the draw to college-ready players is the optimum choice for a majority of college coaches.

Truth to be told, chances are you probably weren’t good enough for whatever scholarship level you think you should be playing at anyway. Sorry. But go ahead, continue to use the excuse you weren’t seen for a little while longer.

4. While I don’t want to suddenly turn this into a series of negative “takes,” don’t think for a minute that all of these changes aren’t going to have an impact on the current crop of juniors. The Class of 2022 will still feel the affect of the drastic, never-seen-before changes in college basketball.

The no-brainer Division I prospects in the state are still going to be recruited, still have their options among many scholarship offers. But as you work your way down the line of players in my City/Suburban Hoops Report rankings lists, there are going to be prospects who will feel the pinch. The need for the high school player at this moment has dwindled.

The extra year of eligibility, remember, extends to everyone who played college basketball last year –– from graduating seniors to the freshmen who, more or less, were redshirted while still playing in 2020-21.

Plus, the “Wild Wild West” transfer rule will still be in full effect. Players will have that one-time transfer card to play without having to sit out, so the portal will be full again.

The good news? In staying with current lingo, while we will never fully eradicate the new transfer rule and the implications from it, we will eventually reach a little “herd immunity” from it. When massive numbers of college players immediately put themselves in the transfer portal, starting with this current spring, well, their options past that are then limited. In essence, they’re stuck at their second home. That should slow the transfer pace down at least somewhat.

5. While it will be great and advantageous to have college coaches back out again and Illinois players being seen –– not every state across the country will be as proactive with the “live” opportunity as Illinois –– there remains one pitfall.

Sorry. Another negative take.

As of now the IHSA and IDPH are continuing the miles restriction due to Covid-19, limiting team travel to within 30 miles for the foreseeable future. As a result, several prospects will not have the chance to play in events like the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout and the following weekend at the Ridgewood Shootout.

This is really too bad as a player like Tuscola’s Jalen Quinn, one of the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top five prospects in the state in the Class of 2022, was scheduled to make an appearance at Riverside-Brookfield.

6. I’m going to make a prediction right now. Of all the Hoops Report’s highly-ranked players in the current junior class –– we’ll say among the top 10 –– it will be Quinn, the 6-3 point guard from Tuscola in central Illinois, who will pick up the most scholarship offers in July.

That’s partly because he hasn’t been seen at all and that he currently only has a handful or so of offers that he received last year. While the Missouri Valley Conference schools will continue to hope and pray he stays at their level –– Drake, Loyola and Southern Illinois have offered –– there is no doubt this talented guard is going to generate a whole lot of interest and double-digit offers as he plays this thing out.

Locally, the Valley schools are aware. But schools in conferences like the Mountain West Conference and Atlantic 10 are going to soon lay eyes on him, and there are still several high-major programs lurking around and in contact.

7. No already established player has helped himself more this spring in elevating his own recruiting to another level than Buffalo Grove’s Kam Craft.

The 6-5 guard was already a Division I prospect. There was no question he would be playing at that level. But he added April high-major offers from Iowa, Texas Tech, North Carolina State and South Carolina.

But now consider he’s done that with what was just mentioned above in the first take: No one has seen him play live, in person. Heck in many cases, have never seen him.

It’s not as if college coaches were flocking to Buffalo Grove to see him play when he was a sophomore. The club circuit was shut down last spring and summer. No coaches were allowed to be out during the shortened high school season or this spring. So no one has truly measured him up in person.

Yet Craft, through video, streaming and, specifically, word of mouth, has opened more doors for himself at the high-major level. There isn’t a player I have taken more calls on in recent weeks than Craft.

Have I been part of the Kam Craft hype? Sure. I raved about Craft in my scouting service reports to college coaches that subscribe, and there isn’t a payer I have taken more calls on from coaches than Craft.

Simply put, the sport –– at all levels –– craves shot-makers who can spread the floor. Craft makes shots.

8. Timothy Christian’s Ben Vander Wal should certainly have more going than he does at the Division I level.

While Craft has garnered a whole lot of worthwhile attention, Vander Wal should have as well with his play over the past two months. The 6-6 junior has one offer, courtesy of Division II Wisconsin-Parkside.

Now this is no disrespect to Parkside head coach Luke Reigel, one of the most respected coaches you will find at the Division II level who has had a whole bunch of success, but Vander Wal should have at the very least a short list of offers at this point.

I don’t care if coaches haven’t been out. If Kam Craft is able to generate high-major offers with no one watching, Vander Wal should be able to do the same, garnering at least some Division I offers up to this point.

Those offers will surely come. But it just goes to show how wild, crazy and different this recruiting cycle has been.

9. Glenbard West was already likely to be a preseason top five team next season. Now the Hilltoppers add another big piece to an already loaded team that went 16-1 in this past shortened season.

Bobby Durkin, a talented 6-5 junior, is moving to Glen Ellyn with his family after playing the past three years at Hinsdale South. Durkin has put together an outstanding spring while playing with Breakaway on the club basketball circuit. He’s a high-level shooter with size who put up some significant numbers as a junior.

Glenbard West boasts a high-major talent in 6-9 Braden Huff, the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s No. 3 ranked prospect in the Class of 2022, a Division I prospect in versatile 6-5 Cade Pierce, more size and physicality in 6-7 Ryan Renfro and a hard-nosed veteran guard in 6-3 Paxton Warden.

The addition of Durkin and his ability to space the floor with his shooting will only make the Huff and Pierce more dangerous.

10. As I piece together the lineup and matchups for next year’s When Sides Collide Shootout, which will be held in January at Benet Academy, I have to tell you it’s pretty nice to be talking about playing high-profile matchups from different conferences and geographical areas again.

11. While watching a lot of Meanstreets’ ultra-talented 17U team this spring, the high-major trio of Jalen Washington (Gary, Ind.), AJ Casey (Young) and Ty Rodgers (Grand Blanc, Mich.) have been so impressive in HOW they play.

All three are nationally-ranked; Rodgers is a top 75 talent in the country while Washington and Casey are among the top 30 players in the country. They all play along the frontline together for a loaded Meanstreets team.

Yet they all three play within themselves, go about their business in the right way, encourage each other, don’t demonstrate any bad body language or reactions when they are sharing or coming out of the game. The attitudes are exemplary for players who could be prima donnas.

These three are immensely talented in their own way. That’s obvious. But watching three high-profile players like this go about it the way they do is refreshing.

12. Anyone who pays attention to the college basketball coaching carousel, both with head coaches and even assistant coaches, knows how active and busy of a spring this has been –– locally and nationally.

So much for the pandemic’s impact on the finances of athletic programs, I guess.

“Financially strapped” and “long-lasting repercussions” and “It’s going to be quiet on the job market” is all we heard for a year in college basketball. That certainly isn’t the case at the high-major level, or even at the level just below.

Whether it’s buyouts, long-term contracts or the pool of money for assistant coaches and support staff, the amount of money being tossed around is eye-opening, particularly with that repeated financial storyline we’ve heard over the past 12 months.

You do have to love preaching “amateurism” in college while assistant coaches are now being offered $500,000 to $750,000 and $1 million in multi-year deals. We have suddenly soared past and even skipped a certain salary threshold in college basketball. It’s as if they’re making a sudden, all-out effort to try and close the gap between football coaching salaries in college.

Well, if the money is there …

But assistant coaches at the highest level are now pricing themselves out of head coaching job opportunities at the low-major and mid-major levels. Yes, it’s about opportunity, but are you going to be willing to take a significant financial hit? By that we mean anywhere from a $150,000 to $350,000 pay cut to take a low-major or mid-major head coaching job when often so many of those particular jobs are so difficult to win at?

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Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz, 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.

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, 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 — may escalate the potential legal and political liability that the firebrand Florida 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 spokesman 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 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 prosecutor 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 that 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.

As part of his plea deal, Greenberg, 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 the girl 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 is also accused of embezzling $400,000 from the Seminole County Tax Collector’s office, according to the indictment filed against him.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s stand comes despite growing pressure from the United States’ U.N. Security Council partners, some Democrats and others for President Joe Biden’s administration and other international leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signaled Monday the U.S. still was not joining calls for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers as fighting entered its second week, with more than 200 people dead, most of them Palestinians in Gaza.

Blinken’s stand comes despite growing pressure from the United States’ U.N. Security Council partners, some Democrats and others for President Joe Biden’s administration and other international leaders to wade more deeply into diplomacy to end the worst Israel-Palestinian violence in years and revive long-collapsed mediation for a lasting peace there.

Speaking in Copenhagen, where Blinken is making an unrelated tour of Nordic countries this week, Blinken ticked off U.S. outreach so far to try to de-escalate hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel, and said he would be making more calls Monday.

“In all of these engagements we have made clear that we are prepared to lend our support and good offices to the parties should they seek a cease-fire,” Blinken said.

He said he welcomed efforts by the U.N. — where the United States has so far blocked a proposed Security Council statement on the fighting — and other nations working for a cease-fire.

“Any diplomatic initiative that advances that prospect is something that we’ll support,” he said. “And we are again willing and ready to do that. But ultimately it is up to the parties to make clear that they want to pursue a cease-fire.”

As battles between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers surged to their worst levels since 2014 and the international outcry grew, the Biden administration — determined to wrench U.S. foreign policy focus away from the Middle East and Afghanistan — has declined so far to criticize Israel’s part in the fighting or send a top-level envoy to the region. Appeals by other countries so far show no sign of progress.

Pulling back from Middle East diplomacy to focus on other policy priorities — like Biden’s emphasis on dealing with the rise of China — carries political risk for the administration either way. That includes weathering any blame when violence flares as the U.S. steps back from conflict zones in the Middle East, and Afghanistan. But a relatively hands-off approach from the administration in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict also could spare Biden officials years of shuttle diplomacy in support of a peace process that neither side actively supports.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes as of Monday, including 59 children and 35 women, with 1,300 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Eight people in Israel have been killed in rocket attacks launched from Gaza, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier.

Blinken also said he had asked Israel for any evidence for its claim that Hamas was operating in an Gaza office building housing The Associated Press and Al Jazeera news bureaus that was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike over the weekend. But he said that he personally has “not seen any information provided.”

Blinken’s comments came after U.N. Security Council diplomats and Muslim foreign ministers convened emergency weekend meetings to demand a stop to civilian bloodshed, as Israeli warplanes carried out the deadliest single attacks Sunday in the week of fighting.

Biden’s ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told an emergency high-level meeting of the Security Council on Sunday that the United States was “working tirelessly through diplomatic channels” to stop the fighting.

She warned that the return to armed conflict would only put a negotiated two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict even further out of reach.

However, the United States, Israel’s closest ally, has so far rejected moves by China, Norway and Tunisia in the Security Council for a statement by the U.N.’s most powerful body, including a call for the cessation of hostilities.

In Israel, Hady Amr, a deputy assistant dispatched by Blinken to try to de-escalate the crisis, met with officials. Blinken himself has no announced plans to stop in the Middle East on his current trip.

Rep. Adam Schiff, Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, urged Biden on Sunday to step up pressure on both sides to end current fighting and revive talks to resolve Israel’s conflicts and flashpoints with the Palestinians.

“I think the administration needs to push harder on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to stop the violence, bring about a cease-fire, end these hostilities, and get back to a process of trying to resolve this long-standing conflict,” Schiff, a California Democrat, told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, the senior Republican on the foreign relations subcommittee for the region, joined Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the subcommittee chairman, in asking both sides to cease fire. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia separately joined 26 other Democratic senators and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, on Sunday in urging an immediate cease-fire to prevent further civilian deaths and any further escalation of the overall conflict. More Democratic lawmakers joined the calls Monday.

Biden focused on civilian deaths from Hamas rockets in a call with Netanyahu on Saturday, and a White House readout of the call made no mention of the U.S. urging Israel to join in a cease-fire that regional countries were pushing. Thomas-Greenfield said U.S. diplomats were engaging with Israel, Egypt and Qatar, along with the U.N.

Netanyahu told Israelis in a televised address Sunday that Israel “wants to levy a heavy price” on Hamas. That will “take time,” Netanyahu said, signaling the war would rage on for now.

Representatives of Muslim nations met Sunday to demand Israel halt attacks that are killing Palestinian civilians in the crowded Gaza strip.

At the virtual meeting of the Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the U.N. was actively engaging all parties for an immediate cease-fire.

Returning to the scenes of Palestinian militant rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes in the fourth such war between Israel and Hamas, “only perpetuates the cycles of death, destruction and despair, and pushes farther to the horizon any hopes of coexistence and peace,” Guterres said.

Eight foreign ministers spoke at the Security Council session, reflecting the seriousness of the conflict, with almost all urging an end to the fighting.

___

Knickmeyer reported from Oklahoma City, Lee from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Lederer from New York. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed.

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The latest attacks killed a top Gaza leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group whom the Israeli military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military unleashed a wave of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early Monday, saying it destroyed 9 miles of militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders, as international diplomats worked to end the weeklong war that has killed hundreds of people.

The latest attacks killed a top Gaza leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group whom the Israeli military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days.

Israel has said it intends to press on for now with its attacks against Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the United States signaled it would not pressure the two sides for a cease-fire.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, including 59 children and 35 women, with 1,300 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Eight people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel.

Violence has also erupted between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, leaving scores of people injured. On Monday, an Israeli man attacked last week by a group of Arab citizens in the central city of Lod died of his wounds, according to police.

The overnight airstrikes in Gaza on Monday hollowed out one floor of a multistory concrete building. A woman picked through clothing, rubble and splintered furniture in a room that had been destroyed. One strike demolished the wall of one room, leaving untouched an open cabinet filled with bedding inside. Children walked over debris in the road.

A car in the street that witnesses said was hit by an airstrike was bent and torn, its roof ripped back and what was left of the driver’s side door smeared with blood. A beachside cafe the car had just left was splintered and on fire. Rescue workers tried to put out the blaze with a small fire extinguisher. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Gaza’s mayor, Yahya Sarraj, told Al-Jazeera TV that the strikes had caused extensive damage to roads and other infrastructure. “If the aggression continues, we expect conditions to become worse,” he said.

The U.N. has warned that the territory’s sole power station is at risk of running out of fuel, and Sarraj said Gaza was also low on spare parts. Gaza already experiences daily power outages for between eight and 12 hours, and tap water is undrinkable. Mohammed Thabet, a spokesman for the territory’s electricity distribution company, said it has fuel to supply Gaza with electricity for two or three days.

The war broke out May 10, when Hamas long-range rockets at Jerusalem after weeks of clashes in the holy city between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police. The protests were focused on the heavy-handed policing of a flashpoint sacred site during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

More protests were expected across the region Tuesday in response to a call by Palestinian citizens of Israel for a general strike. The protest has the support of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

Since the fighting began, the Israeli military has launched hundreds of airstrikes it says are targeting Hamas’ militant infrastructure. Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired more than 3,200 rockets into Israel. Israeli military officials said Hamas had stockpiled about 15,000 rockets before the war started. Rocket attacks continued Monday, with one hitting a building in the city of Ashdod that caused injuries, the Israeli police said.

U.S. diplomat Hady Amr met with a delegation from the Palestinian Authority on Monday, a day after meeting senior Israeli leaders. But the Biden administration has declined so far to publicly criticize Israel’s part in the fighting or send a top-level envoy to the region.

Speaking to reporters during a trip to Denmark, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would support any initiative to stop the fighting, but signaled the country did not intend to put pressure on the two sides to accept a cease-fire.

“Ultimately it is up to the parties to make clear that they want to pursue a cease-fire,” he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spoke Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, emphasized Germany’s solidarity with Israel, condemned the continued rocket attacks from Gaza and expressed hope for a swift end to the fighting, according to her office.

Hamas’ top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who is based abroad, said the group has been contacted by the United Nations, Russia, Egypt and Qatar as part of cease-fire efforts but “will not accept a solution that is not up to the sacrifices of the Palestinian people.”

In an interview with the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, he blamed the war on Israel’s actions in Jerusalem and boasted that the rockets were “paralyzing the usurping entity (Israel).”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said his government is working to “urgently” end the violence, in his first comments since the war broke out. Egypt, which borders Gaza and Israel, has played a central role in the cease-fires brokered after previous rounds of fighting.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said it struck 35 “terror targets” Monday as well as the tunnels, which it says are part of an elaborate system it refers to as the “Metro,” used by fighters to take cover from airstrikes.

The tunnels extend for hundreds of miles, with some more than 20 yards deep, according to an Israeli Air Force official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, in keeping with regulations. The official said Israel was not trying to destroy all the tunnels, just chokepoints and major junctions.

The military also said it struck nine houses in different parts of northern Gaza that belonged to “high-ranking commanders” in Hamas. Islamic Jihad said a strike killed Hasam Abu Harbid, the militant group’s commander for the northern Gaza Strip.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad say at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel says the number is at least 130 and has released the names of and photos of more than two dozen militant commanders it says were “eliminated.”

Israel’s airstrikes have leveled a number of Gaza City’s tallest buildings, which Israel alleges contained Hamas military infrastructure. Among them was the building housing The Associated Press Gaza office and those of other media outlets. The Israeli military alerted staff and residents before the strike, and all were able to evacuate safely.

Sally Buzbee, the AP’s executive editor, has called for an independent investigation into the airstrike.

Netanyahu alleged that Hamas military intelligence was operating inside the building and said Sunday any evidence would be shared through intelligence channels. Blinken said he hasn’t yet seen any evidence supporting Israel’s claim.

___

Krauss reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Matthew Lee in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.

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A day of reckoning is here: After the 2020 census, the city can no longer maintain all its Black legislative districts.Read More

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 places 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 with some friends (or by yourself, I won’t assume you have friends).

Howard Street Brewing Co.

1617 W Howard St, Chicago, IL 60626 

Located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Howard Street Brewing is a simple taproom 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! 

 

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Rogers Park Social 

6920 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

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

1508 W Jarvis Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

R Public House is a community-driven pub 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 of Rogers Park. 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.

 

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Taste Food & Wine

1506 W Jarvis Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

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 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!

Spiteful Brewing 

2024 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

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 Beer

2050 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

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 our 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 our outdoor beer garden. Although not in Rogers Park, it is a short distance away and is worth 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.

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The post 6 Craft Beers in You Can Find in Rogers Park appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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Now that the regular season is over, it’s time to start turning our attention to the Chicago Bulls offseason. It was an up-and-down year for the Bulls, who looked like they could be in the playoff mix at one point. But, for a couple of reasons, Chicago failed to make the play-in tournament and ended […]

Chicago Bulls: 5 big name free agents to target this summer – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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