Many transgender-rights advocates have criticized Jenner, saying she has failed to convince them that she is a major asset to their cause.

LOS ANGELES — Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic champion and reality TV personality now running for California governor, said she opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports at school.

Jenner, a 1976 decathlon Olympic gold medalist who came out as a transgender woman in 2015, told a TMZ reporter on Saturday that it’s “a question of fairness.”

“That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school. It just isn’t fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools,” Jenner said Saturday during a brief interview in a Malibu parking lot.

It was Jenner’s first comment on the controversial issue since announcing her candidacy to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall election. Five states have passed laws or implemented executive orders this year limiting the ability of transgender youths to play sports or receive certain medical treatment. There’s been a vehement outcry from supporters of transgender rights.

Jenner, a Republican, supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election but later criticized his administration for some discriminatory actions against transgender people.

Many transgender-rights advocates have criticized Jenner, saying she has failed to convince them that she is a major asset to their cause.

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A teenage boy was shot Sunday in the West Chesterfield neighborhood on the South Side.

Someone got out of a black SUV and fired shots at the boy about 10:55 a.m. as he stood outside in the 300 block of East 95th Street, Chicago police said.

The boy, 17, fired back, but was struck in the back and lower buttocks, police said. The SUV fled in an unknown direction.

The boy was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition, Chicago fire officials said.

Area Two detectives are investigating.

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Three people have been killed and 32 others wounded in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend.

Late Saturday night, 12 people were shot within the span of two hours citywide.

One man was killed and another critically wounded in a shooting Saturday in Englewood on the South Side.

Just before midnight, the men, 27 and 30, were outside in the 5600 block of South Morgan Street when they heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said.

The 27-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the hip, shoulder and buttocks, police said. He was taken to St. Bernard Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as Benjamin Dawkins.

The 30-year-old was struck multiple times in the shoulder and taken to the same hospital in critical condition, police said.

About 45 minutes earlier, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot while riding in a vehicle in Burnside on the South Side.

The man was sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle about 11:15 p.m. traveling in the 800 block of East 87th Place when someone fired shots in his direction, police said.

The man was struck three times in the head and twice in the arm, police said. He was taken to Jackson Park Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police. The medical examiner’s office has not yet identified him.

A 37-year-old man was fatally shot during a fight Saturday night in West Pullman on the Far South Side.

Travis Willis was standing outside with a group of people in the 11800 block of South Lafayette Avenue about 10:50 p.m. when he began arguing with another male, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The two started physically fighting and the other male shot Willis once in the head and fled, police said.

Willis was transported to Roseland Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.

In nonfatal attacks, a 35-year-old woman was critically hurt in a shooting Sunday morning in Brainerd on the South Side.

About 4:05 a.m., she was sitting in the front seat of a vehicle driving in the 9400 block of South Halsted Street when someone in a white pick-up truck began shooting at her, police said. She was struck in the back of the head and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

A 29-year-old man was shot Sunday while filling up his vehicle at a gas station in East Ukrainian Village.

The man was at a gas station about 2:35 a.m. in the 1900 block of West Augusta Boulevard when a male approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and went to St. Mary’s Medical Center in good condition, police said.

A 14-year-old boy was shot Saturday night in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

About 7:05 p.m., he was on the sidewalk in the 7200 block of South Blackstone Avenue, when he heard shots and felt pain, police said. He was struck in the hand, calf and grazed on the head, and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said.

Another teenage boy was critically hurt in a shooting Friday night in Lawndale.

The boy, 17, was standing in front of a home about 7:35 p.m. in the 1900 block of South Drake Avenue when someone approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and was transported to Mount Sinai in critical condition, police said.

At least 27 other people have been hurt in shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Last weekend four people were killed and 21 others wounded in shootings across Chicago.

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With little fanfare, two remarkably similar and remarkably successful football coaching careers came to an end last weekend.

With little fanfare, two remarkably similar and remarkably successful football coaching careers came to an end last weekend.

That’s exactly the way Wheaton Warrenville South’s Ron Muhitch and Naperville Central’s Mike Stine wanted it.

Their retirements had been long in the works, but the pandemic scrambled the details and stretched their tenures months beyond their planned end dates.

Muhitch spent 41 seasons at Wheaton Central and its successor, WW South. As an assistant to John Thorne, he was part of four state titles and two runner-up finishes. Then in his 19 seasons as head coach, Muhitch’s teams went 153-63 with state titles in 2006 (8A), 2009 (7A) and 2010 (7A) and a runner-up finish.

Stine coached for 37 years at Naperville Central, winning a state title and finishing second twice on Joe Bunge’s staff before going 104-55 in 15 seasons as head coach with an 8A title in 2013.

Naperville Central not only knew about Stine’s plans for months, it held interviews for his successor last December. A new coach has not been announced yet, out of respect for Stine’s desire for a low-key farewell.

“I didn’t want this season to be in any way about me,” he said.

Muhitch felt the same way. In fact, he didn’t even think there would be a season. After retiring from teaching, he and his wife have been spending winters in Sarasota, Florida. He considered retiring early in the pandemic.

“I thought about it last year at this time,” Muhitch said. “That would have been 40 years. It sounded like a good time to give it to somebody else and move on. As my wife said to me, “It’s about time you graduated from high school.”

Muhitch understood why football wasn’t played in the fall. “You knew it was the right thing to do for kids’ health and safety,” he said.

But as fall passed into winter with no news, Muhitch said, “my wife and I came down (to Florida) thinking it just wasn’t going to happen.”

Then came January, when state officials gave the IHSA the green light to resume competition and football was back — for a six-game season with no playoffs.

Muhitch knew what he had to do. “I made a commitment to these kids,” he said. “I just wanted to honor that commitment to that senior class.”

He’s glad he did. The Tigers went 4-2, wrapping up their season with an entertaining 28-21 loss to St. Charles North last Saturday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.

Sun-Times file photo

Naperville Central finished 5-1 with a 31-30 win over previously unbeaten Maine South. The Redhawks won every game on the field but had to forfeit a victory over Waubonsie Valley because of an ineligible player.

“I’ve loved every second at Naperville Central for 37 years,” Stine said, adding the end of his career “is bittersweet.”

Like Muhitch, he has retired from teaching. Stine and his wife are planning to relocate to Texas, where they’re building a house, so this seemed like a good time to step down.

But neither coach leaves without a lifetime of memories, including their time as friendly rivals in the DuPage Valley Conference.

“Back when I started at Naperville Central in 1984, back then everyone was chasing Wheaton North,” Stine said. “Then you’re chasing Wheaton South and Naperville North.

“The DVC was special. The competitiveness and quality each program brought to the table made us want to be better.”

“The DVC was our starting ground as football coaches,” Muhitch said. “Mike followed a legend in Joe Bunge, I followed John Thorne. At the same time we were trying to continue the same performance level.”

The numbers and trophies suggest that’s just what they did.

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A 17-year-old boy was critically hurt in a shooting Friday in Lawndale on the West Side.

Three people have been killed and 31 others wounded in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend.

Late Saturday night, 12 people were shot within the span of two hours citywide.

One man was killed and another critically wounded in a shooting Saturday in Englewood on the South Side.

Just before midnight, the men, 27 and 30, were outside in the 5600 block of South Morgan Street when they heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said.

The 27-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the hip, shoulder and buttocks, police said. He was taken to St. Bernard Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as Benjamin Dawkins.

The 30-year-old was struck multiple times in the shoulder and taken to the same hospital in critical condition, police said.

About 45 minutes earlier, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot while riding in a vehicle in Burnside on the South Side.

The man was sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle about 11:15 p.m. traveling in the 800 block of East 87th Place when someone fired shots in his direction, police said.

The man was struck three times in the head and twice in the arm, police said. He was taken to Jackson Park Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police. The medical examiner’s office has not yet identified him.

A 37-year-old man was fatally shot during a fight Saturday night in West Pullman on the Far South Side.

Travis Willis was standing outside with a group of people in the 11800 block of South Lafayette Avenue about 10:50 p.m. when he began arguing with another male, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The two started physically fighting and the other male shot Willis once in the head and fled, police said.

Willis was transported to Roseland Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.

In nonfatal attacks, a 35-year-old woman was critically hurt in a shooting Sunday morning in Brainerd on the South Side.

About 4:05 a.m., she was sitting in the front seat of a vehicle driving in the 9400 block of South Halsted Street when someone in a white pick-up truck began shooting at her, police said. She was struck in the back of the head and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

A 29-year-old man was shot Sunday while filling up his vehicle at a gas station in East Ukrainian Village.

The man was at a gas station about 2:35 a.m. in the 1900 block of West Augusta Boulevard when a male approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and went to St. Mary’s Medical Center in good condition, police said.

A 14-year-old boy was shot Saturday night in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

About 7:05 p.m., he was on the sidewalk in the 7200 block of South Blackstone Avenue, when he heard shots and felt pain, police said. He was struck in the hand, calf and grazed on the head, and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said.

Another teenage boy was critically hurt in a shooting Friday night in Lawndale.

The boy, 17, was standing in front of a home about 7:35 p.m. in the 1900 block of South Drake Avenue when someone approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and was transported to Mount Sinai in critical condition, police said.

At least 26 other people have been hurt in shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Last weekend four people were killed and 21 others wounded in shootings across Chicago.

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A 17-year-old boy was critically hurt in a shooting Friday in Lawndale on the West Side.

Three people have been killed and 30 others wounded in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend.

Late Saturday night, 12 people were shot within the span of two hours citywide.

One man was killed and another critically wounded in a shooting Saturday in Englewood on the South Side.

Just before midnight, the men, 27 and 30, were outside in the 5600 block of South Morgan Street when they heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said.

The 27-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the hip, shoulder and buttocks, police said. He was taken to St. Bernard Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as Benjamin Dawkins.

The 30-year-old was struck multiple times in the shoulder and taken to the same hospital in critical condition, police said.

About 45 minutes earlier, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot while riding in a vehicle in Burnside on the South Side.

The man was sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle about 11:15 p.m. traveling in the 800 block of East 87th Place when someone fired shots in his direction, police said.

The man was struck three times in the head and twice in the arm, police said. He was taken to Jackson Park Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police. The medical examiner’s office has not yet identified him.

A 37-year-old man was fatally shot during a fight Saturday night in West Pullman on the Far South Side.

Travis Willis was standing outside with a group of people in the 11800 block of South Lafayette Avenue about 10:50 p.m. when he began arguing with another male, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The two started physically fighting and the other male shot Willis once in the head and fled, police said.

Willis was transported to Roseland Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.

In nonfatal attacks, a 35-year-old woman was critically hurt in a shooting Sunday morning in Brainerd on the South Side.

About 4:05 a.m., she was sitting in the front seat of a vehicle driving in the 9400 block of South Halsted Street when someone in a white pick-up truck began shooting at her, police said. She was struck in the back of the head and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

A 29-year-old man was shot Sunday while filling up his vehicle at a gas station in East Ukrainian Village.

The man was at a gas station about 2:35 a.m. in the 1900 block of West Augusta Boulevard when a male approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and went to St. Mary’s Medical Center in good condition, police said.

A 14-year-old boy was shot Saturday night in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

About 7:05 p.m., he was on the sidewalk in the 7200 block of South Blackstone Avenue, when he heard shots and felt pain, police said. He was struck in the hand, calf and grazed on the head, and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said.

Another teenage boy was critically hurt in a shooting Friday night in Lawndale.

The boy, 17, was standing in front of a home about 7:35 p.m. in the 1900 block of South Drake Avenue when someone approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and was transported to Mount Sinai in critical condition, police said.

At least 25 other people were hurt in shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Last weekend four people were killed and 21 others wounded in shootings across Chicago.

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The Illinois attorney general’s appeal of a downstate judge’s ruling sets up a battle over whether the state can require residents to hold an ID card in order to own a firearm. First enacted in 1968, the state’s Firearm Owner Identification Act does just that. But a southern Illinois judge said that makes residents’ Second Amendment rights a “façade.”

SPRINGFIELD — For more than half a century, anyone in Illinois who wanted to own a gun needed to first apply for a special state identification card.

But now the state’s top court is being asked to decide whether the Firearm Owner’s Identification cards — popularly called FOID cards — are a necessary safeguard or a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Last week, a downstate judge ruled the FOID card system was unconstitutional, reducing residents’ Second Amendment rights to bear arms to a “façade.”

Gun control advocates denounced the ruling as “frightening and radical,” and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul quickly appealed the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The appeal filed last Thursday sets up a battle over whether the state can require its citizens to hold such an ID card in order to own a firearm.

First enacted in 1968, the state’s Firearm Owner Identification Act requires Illinoisans to apply for the card with the Illinois State Police in order to legally own a firearm. But in his ruling Tuesday, White County Judge T. Scott Webb wrote that the FOID card “makes criminals out of law abiding citizens who are attempting to protect their lives within their homes.”

“A citizen in the State of Illinois is not born with a Second Amendment right. Nor does that right insure when a citizen turns 18 or 21 years of age. It is a facade,” wrote White. “They only gain that right if they pay a $10 fee, complete the proper application, and submit a photograph. If the right to bear arms and self-defense are truly core rights, there should be no burden on the citizenry to enjoy those rights.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file

But Webb’s ruling is a “frightening and radical decision contrary to a whole body of research about the effectiveness of FOID-type laws” said Jonathan Baum, a lawyer for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, who has submitted briefs in the case supporting the FOID system’s constitutionality.

“The whole emphasis of this decision is ‘Well, this is taking guns away from law-abiding citizens.’ And yet it wants to strip the state of the mechanism for determining who is abiding the law,” Baum said. “So, all this does is deprive states of a critical tool for keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.”

Webb’s order also dismisses charges from Vivian Brown, whose 2017 arrest had initiated the lawsuit. Brown was charged with owning a rifle without a FOID card even though she was a “law-abiding citizen” and “otherwise eligible to receive a FOID card,” according to her lawyer David Sigale.

Sigale is also the lawyer for several cases initiated by the Illinois State Rifle Association that challenge Illinois State Police delays in FOID and Concealed Carry card applications and renewals. Sigale denied the state gun lobbying group was involved with Brown’s lawsuit, saying she “merely knew someone prominent in the Second Amendment rights community” who put her in touch with him.

Brian Rich/Sun-Times file

Sigale disagreed with Baum, arguing that “numerous other mechanisms” are in place to keep guns away from those who shouldn’t have them and that the FOID law “really serves no purpose.”

“Let’s say a hypothetical person was committing a crime with a rifle or had a felony criminal conviction that would disqualify them from owning a firearm. Without a FOID card that would still be a crime, so the FOID does nothing except to hurt lawful people like Ms. Brown,” Sigale said.

Baum said he is “confident” the state Supreme Court will take up the case in the summer and reverse Webb’s ruling.

Sigale said he “hopes that the [Illinois Supreme] Court knows this law turns people into second-class citizens and treats this right more like a privilege and that’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

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The ultra-talented 19-year-old continued to show flashes of brilliance throughout the first half on Saturday, but then again turned it off as the Bulls blew a lead and fell in Atlanta. His coach and teammates want him to embrace a killer instinct, but it’s proving to be easier said than done.

Patrick Williams was finally acting like a typical 19-year-old on a Saturday night.

His All-Star parents were out for the evening, the house was all his, and the Bulls forward seemed to embrace doing whatever he wanted.

So exactly which neighbor called the police at halftime?

And with just eight games left in the regular season – and in Williams’ rookie campaign – there’s the frustration with the No. 4 overall pick.

Too many flashes of brilliance only to be doused by quarter after quarter of satisfaction in taking a backseat and then explaining away as “making the right play.’’

Without All-Stars Zach LaVine (health and safety protocol) and Nikola Vucevic (right adductor) available against the Hawks on Saturday, Williams needed to realize that he was the most talented Bulls player on the floor.

For the first half he did, going 5-for-8 from the field for 15 points, having opposing defenders bounce off him when he attacked the rim, and hitting two smooth-looking three-pointers.

And more importantly, the Bulls were in command on the scoreboard, up by nine and looking to pull off the must-win game.

Williams finished the night 7-for-13 with 19 points in an 11-point Bulls loss.

“I think we all get lost in the fact that he’s a teenager,’’ veteran teammate Thad Young said of Williams. “We try to instill adult-like stuff into him. Sometimes guys are ready for that, and sometimes guys are not.

“Some of the stuff that he does that we think is spectacular, he doesn’t even know is spectacular. He just thinks it’s just a regular play that he’s done. And we’re, like, ‘No, that was amazing. Whatever you just did, keep doing more of that.’ And he’s, like, ‘Oh, OK.’ He’s going to continue to get better, but I think the mindset is we just have to continue to teach him is he can be a starting-type player in this league with work and with a certain mindset, a killer-instinct mindset.’’

Not an easy transition for certain rookies, but one that has to be made if Williams wants to be an elite two-way player in this game someday.

Look at what Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton has been doing his last five games. Different body type obviously, different position, but a suddenly killer-instinct mindset that has him averaging 18 points and 8.4 assists per game, with Sacramento going 3-2 in that time, with wins over Dallas and the Lakers.

Look at Anthony Edwards most of the second half of the season, but specifically the last seven games, as the Timberwolves have gone 5-2 with him averaging 22 points per game.

Williams has the physical tools to score at that clip, and still be the defensive stopper he so badly wants to be.

“I’ve always felt like every level you go up in the game of basketball, whether you go from high school to college, college to the NBA, the hardest thing to learn is when do I shoot and when do I pass,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “There are times when he tries to be aggressive and it doesn’t work out well and maybe he will back away just because he’s a team guy. And there are other times I just try to thrust him into it and say, ‘You gotta go, you have to go and you have to be aggressive.’ ‘’

It’s beyond that time for Williams now. The season is all but slipping away, and he has to be aggressive.

“I’m trying to be aggressive,’’ Williams said. “But kind of like I said, it’s a learning experience, for sure. We have some more games to go, so hopefully I can continue to get better at that.’’

Ah, teenagers.

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