And, no, it will not destroy women’s sports.

Federal civil rights law protects Americans against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability or religion.

But there is nothing in the law that protects people against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Legislation we strongly support, The Equality Act, which was passed by a bipartisan vote of 223-206 in the House in February, would change that. It would expand civil rights protections to this group of Americans left out in the cold.

But now the bill faces long, perhaps insurmountable, odds in the Senate, largely due to an argument being made by Republican opponents that, frankly, is of little consequence in the real world. They warn that transgender girls would participate in female athletics and have an unfair advantage.

A question: Have you seen much of this at your local high school? And if you were to, now and again, would it be the end of the world?

Or should we focus instead on what really matters here: extending full civil rights protections to every one of us?

The Equality Act would provide anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life such as employment, housing, credit, education and in federally funded programs.

Typical of the arguments made against the bill are those of Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Missouri, who warns that allowing transgender women to compete against cisgender women — a term used for people who identify with the sex assigned to them at birth — would “decimate” female athletic competition. Testosterone, that is to say, would win out.

How the issue has played out in real life, though, says otherwise.

The International Olympic Committee has allowed transgender athletes to compete for years under specific parameters, the Associated Press reports, and, to date, there have been no known transgender women compete in the Olympics. Only one known transgender woman has competed at the Division I level in the NCAA.

“The answer to this latter question, are trans athletes winning everything, is simple — that’s not the case,” Dr. Eric Vilain, a pediatrician and geneticist who studies sex differences in athletes, told NPR.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois says he has been waiting for an “avalanche of problems” — describing the GOP’s argument — to surface, but they haven’t.

“No American should face discrimination because of who they are or who they love,” Durbin told the Sun-Times. “Republican claims of transgender girls having an unfair advantage in sports is a discredited and shameful distraction to score cheap political points. We should not punish LGBTQ Americans — including LGBTQ kids — for simply living their lives.”

Send letters to [email protected].

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The updated guidelines remove the need for masks or social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated and would also allow them to go without a mask in crowds outdoors.

Those who’ve rolled up their sleeves can now take off their masks — even in most indoor gatherings.

And they can huddle in a little closer.

That’s the gist of the newest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, allowing fully vaccinated people to safely stop wearing masks outdoors and in the majority of indoor settings for the first time in about 14 months.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to revise his executive orders related to face coverings following the CDC guidelines issued Thursday. His revised orders will mirror the new rules from the federal health organization, a Pritzker spokeswoman said.

“The Governor believes firmly in following the science and intends to revise his executive orders in line with the upcoming CDC guidelines lifting additional mitigations for vaccinated people,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “The scientists’ message is clear: if you are vaccinated, you can safely do much more.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file

The new CDC guidance, which was announced Thursday afternoon, still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings — such as buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters. But it could help clear the way for a reopening of workplaces, schools, and other indoor venues.

The updated guidelines remove the need for masks or social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated and would also allow them to go without a mask in crowds outdoors.

The new CDC recommendations come just two weeks after the federal agency advised those who are fully vaccinated to continue to wear masks in all indoor settings and in large crowds outdoors.

But on Thursday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, announced the update on face coverings during a White House briefing. She attributed the change in guidance to the millions of people getting vaccinated — and based on the latest science about how well those shots are working.

“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities — large or small — without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” Walensky said. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.”

“We have all longed for this moment: when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”

Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images file

According to the new CDC recommendations, those who are fully vaccinated can resume their pre-pandemic activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, “except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

Those who aren’t fully vaccinated should still follow prevention measures.

So far, a little over 10 million people in Illinois have received their first shot, according to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health. And nearly 4.7 million Illinoisans are fully vaccinated.

The easing of guidelines governing the usage of face coverings comes a day before Illinois enters its 28-day “bridge” phase between Phases 4 and 5 of Pritzker’s reopening plan.

Entering that intermediate phase means museums, amusement parks and zoos will be able to increase capacity from 25% to 60%, while festivals and other general admission outdoor events will be able to seat 30 people per 1,000 square feet.

Meetings, conferences and conventions will also see their capacity limit increase to either 1,000 people or 60% — whichever is less — with the same applying to theaters and performing arts venues.

Barring another surge of infections, or a downturn in other reopening metrics, Pritzker will allow the state to fully reopen June 11.

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The state’s latest effort in incentivize COVID-19 shots comes as kids as young as 12 become eligible to receive them — and as overall vaccine demand continues to dip.

A shot in the arm will soon give thousands of Illinoisans a fluttery feeling in the pits of their stomachs, a disorienting sensation of flight and a rush of adrenaline.

Those aren’t side effects of the life-saving COVID-19 vaccines that are readily available to anyone as young as 12 — they’re now being offered as a reward for rolling up your sleeve.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday announced Six Flags Great America is offering up 50,000 free tickets to its amusement parks in Gurnee and Rockford to newly vaccinated residents, the state’s latest effort to incentivize inoculation, especially for the youngsters who became eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine this week.

“Thanks to the life saving power of vaccinations, it feels once again like summer is in the air,” Pritzker said in front of the north suburban park’s famous double-decker carousel. “For many people, the protection from COVID-19 is more than enough reason to get vaccinated … but I also know that other people might need a little bit more of an incentive.”

The $4 million worth of tickets that were donated by Six Flags are geared toward communities of color that “have historically seen less investment” and might be on the fence about getting a shot, the governor said.

Some of the tickets will be given away outside the park itself, where an Illinois National Guard mobile vaccination team will set up shop the first weekend of June. Other tickets will be given out by local health departments in the north suburbs, along with other community groups in Cook County and elsewhere across the Chicago region.

State of Illinois livestream

“Especially for 12- to 15-year-olds, it is absolutely an incentive to get to visit the park,” Six Flags president Hank Salemi said. “I am 100% confident this will motivate vaccinations. That’s why we’re doing it at the end of the day.”

Pritzker’s health team has already toyed with a couple of motivating tactics, including free shooting targets to downstate vaccine recipients and free tickets to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.

Pritzker didn’t rule out a multi-million dollar lottery game like the one announced earlier this week in Ohio.

Jean Lachat/Sun-Times file

“We’re going to use our resources as wisely as we can and incentivize people as best we can,” he said.

That’s becoming increasingly necessary as vaccine demand dwindles across Illinois. About 62% of residents have gotten at least one shot, and about 37% are fully immunized, but the state is averaging barely 76,000 shots administered per day. That rate has fallen by 43% in the last month.

Graph not displaying properly? Click here.

Just 68,035 shots were given Wednesday, though that figure doesn’t include vaccinations at CVS pharmacies due to a reporting issue, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

And while the state reported 35 more coronavirus deaths, most metrics are at their lowest levels in almost two months. The latest 1,918 cases were diagnosed among almost 89,000 tests, keeping the average statewide positivity rate at 2.7%.

That means the state will advance to the “bridge phase” of Pritzker’s reopening plan Friday — the final phase of loosened restrictions before a full reopening.

The bridge phase allows most venues — including Six Flags — to expand capacity to 60%. That will soon apply at Cubs and White Sox games, which will have designated sections for vaccinated fans. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also announced vaccinated patrons won’t count against capacity limits at city restaurants.

Barring a surge in cases, all pandemic restrictions will be lifted June 11 across most of the state — though Lightfoot has said the city is aiming more conservatively for July 4.

Almost 1.4 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Illinois since last year, and 22,320 of them have died.

To sign up for a vaccine appointment in Chicago, visit zocdoc.com or call (312) 746-4835.

For suburban Cook County sites, visit vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or call (833) 308-1988.

To find providers elsewhere, visit coronavirus.illinois.gov or call (833) 621-1284.

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Reggie Spears was also a Golden Apple Scholar while attending Illinois State University.

A music teacher at Bronzeville Classical Elementary School got the surprise of a lifetime Thursday morning when he thought he was walking into a union meeting but instead received a Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching.

Reggie Spears has been teaching music for over a decade — the last three years at Bronzeville Classical Elementary School — but said he didn’t ever expect to win this award.

“I was just doing what I thought was best. It never even crossed my mind that this would be a possibility for me,” Spears said.

Annually, the Chicago-based Golden Apple Foundation honors educators from across the state for the positive and lasting effects they have on their students’ lives, and the impact they have on building stronger communities.

Spears is one of 10 teachers who received the award this year, which saw a record-breaking number — 700 — of nominations of pre-K through third grade teachers.

Golden Apple recipients each receive $5,000 and a spring sabbatical provided by Northwestern University.

Grace Asiegbu/Sun-Times

This award is something Spears knows all too well. He was part of the Golden Apple Scholars — a teacher preparation and tuition assistance program — while he was an undergraduate student at Illinois State University nearly 15 years ago. But winning it wasn’t something he ever expected.

“When I got nominated several months ago, I was shocked. I still don’t know who nominated me for the award,” Spears said, still breathless from the surprise celebration. “I couldn’t believe that I was one of 32 finalists, and now here I am, a winner. I am still in shock.”

He may have been shocked, but school principal Nicole Spicer was not.

“Mr. Spears is an absolutely amazing teacher,” she said.

“When we knew we were opening remotely, he applied for a grant that gave music boxes for all the kids,” Spicer said. Spears secured the funding for a set of 30 boxes for each of his classes, allowing students to practice their instruments — guitars, recorders, triangles and even drums — from home.

“The kids love him because from the time they are in kindergarten, he cultivates this love for music,” she said.

Golden Apple Foundation president Alan Mather called Spears an “amazing” teacher with a culturally responsive and engaging approach to teaching.

“His efforts to bring the community into the school [and vice versa] and his ability to say, ‘Students need to see their own experiences reflected in the music they do or performances they’re a part of,’ is key to help lift students up,” Mather said.

Spears said in his music class, students learn about more than just music.

“Music is so important because it encompasses all subjects,” he said. Students learn science when they discuss how instruments produce sound waves, and learn history when he teaches genre development and different styles of music.

“Bronzeville has a really rich musical history with the development of gospel music and its role in the development of jazz in Chicago,” he said. “We are very fortunate that we are a school that has students from all across the city coming here to learn, and giving them the understanding of the community that they are a part of is very important.”

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Smoke can be seen billowing from several windows in the building in video of the fire posted to Twitter by fire officials. 

A cat put one of its nine lives to the test Thursday after it jumped out of a fifth-floor window to escape a fire in Englewood.

The blaze broke out at an apartment building about 3 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Lowe Avenue, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said.

Smoke can be seen billowing from several windows on the fifth floor of the building in video of the fire posted to Twitter by fire officials.

While crews were working to extinguish the fire, onlookers on the sidewalk began pointing at one of the open widows as the cat approached a ledge, Langford said.

“It was looking out for quite a while,” Langford said. “After a couple of minutes the cat got closer to the edge and it looked like she was getting ready to go and she just did.”

The cat can be seen stretching out its paws as it leaps from the window and narrowly misses hitting a wall on its way down, according to the video. The cat appears to bounce a single time off of a patch of grass before strolling away.

“It went under my car and hid until she felt better after a couple of minutes and came out and tried to scale the wall to get back in,” Langford said.

The cat was not injured, Langford said, adding that he was still trying to track down its owner.

The blaze was put out by 3:25 p.m. and was contained to a single unit, officials said. No one was injured.

Elizabeth Thomas, who lives above the unit where the fire started, was in her apartment when she smelled smoke and started to get worried.

“I’m sitting there thinking this ain’t nobody BBQing, this smells a little bit more like a grease fire or something that’s getting out of hand,” said Thomas, 49.

She exited her apartment and walked outside of the building, where she says she saw smoke coming out of the unit below hers. Other residents joined her outside.

Thomas said she didn’t see the cat make the leap, but heard everyone around her react to its daring escape.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh my god, oh my god,’ thinking that it might be hurt but eventually we saw it get up and go limping away,” she said.

Thomas said the cat was seen walking near the building after firefighters left, possibly trying to get back inside. However, later Thursday evening she and other residents were unsure where the cat had gone; the owner of the unit that caught fire could not be reached.

“I’m just glad no one got hurt. Thank god that cats do have nine lives. I hope I got nine,” Thomas said.

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Chicago Bears Schedule Release: When will Justin Fields start? by Jordan Campbell

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Chicago Bears (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

Making an NFL roster is not an easy thing to do for the majority of collegiate players, but a few in particular are about to try to kickstart that process over the weekend with the Chicago Bears.

General manager Ryan Pace went to work over the 2021 NFL Draft, kissing the easy route goodbye. Pace was as aggressive as ever, landing his franchise quarterback Justin Fields along with the team’s big offensive tackle of the future in Teven Jenkins.

Beyond those two, Pace continued to work wonders later in the draft. But, he also made some excellent moves immediately following the conclusion of the draft. The Bears brought in several undrafted free agents, including a couple of guys who very well could have been drafted.

All rookies alike will now head to rookie minicamp this weekend from Friday May 14 through Sunday May 16. This is their first chance to make an impression before the rest of the team joins the activities.

The Chicago Bears’ young crop of talent includes some players who will fight for their professional futures.

As stated, it’s not easy to make an NFL roster in general. But, if you’re one of those late-round prospects or undrafted kids, the road becomes a bit more interesting. Some of these guys could be on the fringe from the beginning of the offseason, all the way to the end.

This weekend is not only a chance for those lesser-known guys to make a name for themselves, but for the drafted rookies to establish themselves as worthy selections. No matter the round, every rookie should come in with a chip on their shoulder.

This is where the hard work gets even harder. These guys have entered the big stage, and rookie minicamp begins an even more improbable battle for some of them.

Next: 1. CJ Marable

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The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

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How involved was Fauci in the origination of the novel virus that caused COVID-19?

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By Dennis Byrne,
today at 4:29 pm

Top-notch investigative journalism details his link to the Wuhan lab that probably created the virus.

According to a Wall Street Journal report:

Before Covid-19 ravaged the world, Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funded coronavirus research that included work at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The idea was to study the ability of such viruses to attack humans, but could a Fauci-funded experiment actually be the source of the deadly global infection? In an exhaustive account of the viral possibilities published this week by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Nicholas Wade argues that the Chinese lab is the most likely source of the world-wide agony. 

In ““The origin of COVID: Did people or nature open Pandora’s box at Wuhan?” Wade details a link between Fauci and the federal funding of the lab that was working on creating a version of coronavirus virus that could more easily infect humans–a process called gain of function. The stated justification was that a more deadly and infectious virus would help in the creation of a vaccine that would more effectively combat a pandemic.

Gain of function research is so dangerous that it has been banned in the United States. An exemption exists for federal funding of gain of function outside of the United States when a clear and immediate danger exists. This, according to Wade, allowed the National Institutes of Health to support the lab’s work.

Wade concludes that more and better evidence points to the lab as the source of the virus, from whence it escaped. That evidence, he wrote, is better than what supports an opposing theory that the virus naturally jumped from bats to humans–an explanation not surprising supported by China and the World Health Organization.

The implication of the virus having escaped from a lab would be very troubling, indeed. He wrote:

Virologists…had much at stake in the assigning of blame for the pandemic. For 20 years, mostly beneath the public’s attention, they had been playing a dangerous game. In their laboratories they routinely created viruses more dangerous than those that exist in nature. They argued that they could do so safely, and that by getting ahead of nature they could predict and prevent natural “spillovers,” the cross-over of viruses from an animal host to people. If SARS2 had indeed escaped from such a laboratory experiment, a savage blowback could be expected, and the storm of public indignation would affect virologists everywhere, not just in China. “It would shatter the scientific edifice top to bottom,” an MIT Technology Review editor, Antonio Regalado, said in March 2020.

Thus, you might expect Fauci to stoutly deny he had anything to do with the program, as he did.

To understand Wade’s timeline and links, you need to read the entire lengthy article. Wade is no far-right conspiracy nut, but a respected and well-credentialed former science writer for the New York Times. The Bulletin Atomic Scientist in which the article appeared is far from a conservative publication.

By the way, my own question is: Why is the United States funding this kind of research that has military implications in a lab under the control of the Chinese Communist Party?

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ESPN could be rewarded with additional playoff games under its new deal with Major League Baseball.

Walt Disney Company and MLB announced a seven-year extension of their rights agreement Thursday. ESPN has aired games since 1990 and the new deal means that will continue until at least 2028.

“This agreement solidifies baseball’s ubiquitous presence across ESPN platforms, including ESPN+. The impactful collection of exclusive content, including ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ which has served as the signature MLB series for more than 30 years, will be amplified by the surrounding rights we have to make these live events even bigger,” ESPN Chairman James Pitaro said in a statement.

ESPN will exclusively air 30 regular-season games, with 25 taking place on Sunday nights. The other five will include a broadcast on Opening Day. ESPN also retains the rights to the Home Run Derby, which takes place the night before the All-Star Game.

The deal also includes the rights to air an expanded wild card round if it comes to fruition during talks between MLB and the Players Association on a new collective bargaining agreement. ESPN and ABC aired those games last year when the playoffs were expanded due to the shortened coronavirus season.

If the current wild card format remains, ESPN will continue to have one of the two games as well as receive eight additional regular-season games. There is the possibility the Home Run Derby could be simulcast on ABC, but there are no immediate plans for that to happen.

“Sunday Night Baseball” is up 34% over last season, averaging 1.65 million viewers. The package has had steady audience growth since the start time was moved to 7 p.m.

The agreement also includes the ESPN+ streaming service airing at least one game a day as well as an extension of ESPN Radio’s contract, which includes regular-season games, the All-Star Game and the postseason.

ESPN will no longer consistently air games on Monday or Wednesday, but there still will be plenty of baseball on television. Turner will have a game on Tuesday nights starting next season while Fox and FS1 have a Saturday package. ESPN also has a reduced inventory of open broadcast windows starting next spring when it adds the Stanley Cup playoffs as part of its new agreement with the NHL.

The extension also means all of MLB’s rights deals with Fox, Turner and ESPN will expire after the 2028 season.

“ESPN has been one of MLB’s longest and most important partners. As the way in which fans consume baseball continues to change, this partnership provides expanded opportunities for fans to engage with our content and we are excited to present those new opportunities,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

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Endorsements from the NBA’s elite are nice, but as Zach LaVine pointed out, talk is talk until the Bulls can live up to the hype.

“You can’t take that as a sign that we’re there yet,” the Bulls guard said, when hearing some recent comments from two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant. “We still have to get the job done. I think we’re a better team and we’re going to continue to get better. Always having your peers’ respect is big, but you have to earn your respect as well.”

After the Nets beat the Bulls Tuesday night, Durant commented that he was “really a fan of this team.”

Sure, Durant was also coached by Billy Donovan back in their Oklahoma City days, so there remained a good connection there, but Durant isn’t one to throw out compliments just to go through the motions.

“Obviously, being coached by Billy and his staff, a few of those guys on his staff, I know exactly how those guys are approaching every day as a unit,” Durant said. “And you can just see it out on the floor.

“Having [Nikola] Vucevic come midseason, those guys trying to figure out who they are in such a fast pace, you know, the last 20 games of the season, so I feel like they’re going to figure it out even more going into next season. But they have a lot of talent, a lot of different guys that can do a variety of things. But Zach and Vuch and Coby [White] I feel like are the key pieces to this team — and Patrick Williams.”

Durant wasn’t the only veteran to give Donovan and the coaching staff a pat on the back for this season, despite where the Bulls currently sit in the standings.

Bulls forward Thad Young, who also isn’t one to mince words when it comes to a coaching staff and front office, spoke on Thursday about how much more open dialogue there has been this season compared to the Jim Boylen coaching staff and old front office.

“I think they’re receptive to things that we want to do as players,” Young said. “They want to continue to help guys grow and get better. But they’re coming each day with a winning mindset. And the only thing they believe in is winning. There’s no, ‘Oh, we’re just developing.’

“I love that about Billy and his staff. This year was more like a family as opposed to kind of like last year where guys felt like they weren’t listened to and everything was kind of off the wall a little bit. The coaches, they listen. We’re able to go in and talk to [executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas] AK and [general manager] Marc [Eversley] whenever we want to. It’s open line of communication everywhere, throughout the whole organization.”

Growing pains

Young did admit before the game with the Raptors that playing in a new role since the Vucevic trade was made at the deadline has been an adjustment for him.

“Obviously there’s some challenges there, just being able to figure out how to facilitate for the rest of the team and having ‘Vuch’ on the court with me doing different things, but I think it definitely can work,” Young said.

It’s that facilitating that has been the issue, as Young’s assist numbers have dropped a bit since the All-Star center was acquired from Orlando. Young averaged about 4.4 assists through March, and that dropped to 3.9 for the month of April.

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A recent lawsuit filed by a former Blackhawks player describes an alleged 2010 sexual assault by a former Hawks assistant coach.

The lawsuit, filed April 30 in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges that the former assistant, Bradley Aldrich, assaulted the player — identified only as “John Doe” — in May 2010, during the team’s Stanley Cup run. The lawsuit also alleges Aldrich had previously assaulted a different Hawks player.

Aldrich “sent…inappropriate text messages,” “turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of [Doe]…without his consent” and “threatened to injure [Doe]…physically, financially, and emotionally if [Doe]…did not engage in sexual activity,” according to the lawsuit.

The player allegedly reported Aldrich’s assault to Hawks mental skills coach James Gary, according to the lawsuit, but Gary “did nothing” and instead “convinced [Doe]…that the sexual assault was his fault, that he was culpable for what happened, made mistakes during his encounter with the perpetrator and permitted the sexual assault to occur.”

The lawsuit — filed by lawyer Susan Loggans — seeks $150,000 in damages from the Hawks, alleging the player continues to suffer from the trauma of the incident.

The Hawks did not respond to a Sun-Times request but for comment, but in a statement to WBEZ said that an internal investigation determined the organization committed no wrongdoing.

“The Chicago Blackhawks take the allegations asserted by a former player very seriously,” the team told WBEZ. “Based on our investigation, we believe the allegations against the organization lack merit and we are confident the team will be absolved of any wrongdoing. As this is a pending litigation matter, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”

Aldrich worked as a Hawks video coach, under then-head coach Joel Quenneville, from 2008 until sometime between 2010 and 2013. He also worked for the U.S. national men’s hockey team during the 2010 Winter Olympics and for the University of Notre Dame prior to joining the Hawks.

Aldrich pled guilty in December 2013 — and was sentenced in February 2014 to nine months in prison and five years probation — for an unrelated criminal sexual contact incident in Houghton, Michigan. Aldrich had been volunteering with the Houghton High School hockey team when he had sexual contact with a 16-to-18-year-old student.

The former Hawks player’s memories of the alleged 2010 sexual assault were triggered, according to the lawsuit, when he learned about Aldrich’s Michigan case in July 2019, shortly after Aldrich’s five-year probation ended.

The player had previously believed Gary, the mental skills coach, that the incident he experienced was not actually sexual assault, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit claims the statute of limitations therefore did not start running until 2019.

Aldrich has not been criminally charged in regards to the alleged Blackhawks incident.

The Hawks’ 2021 season ended Monday.

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