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A 19-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting Thursday in the 2500 block of West Cermak Road.

One person was killed and eight others wounded Thursday in shootings across Chicago, including a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot in Little Village on the Southwest Side.

A vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots at the man about 8:50 p.m. in the 2500 block of West Cermak Road, Chicago police said.

The teen was struck in the chest and face, police said. He was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet identified him.

In nonfatal attacks, two people were shot in Lawndale on the West Side.

The pair, a 32-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, were dropping someone off about 10:45 a.m. when someone fired shots at them in the 4100 block of West Ogden Avenue, police said.

The man and woman fled in their vehicle but the shooter continued to fire shots, striking the man in the armpit and the woman in the side and back, police said. They drove themselves to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where they were listed in fair condition.

A 19-year-old man was shot Thursday night in Douglas Park on the West Side.

About 6:35 p.m., the man was on the sidewalk in the 1200 block of South Sacramento Drive when someone shot him in the back, police said.

He was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, police said.

A 47-year-old man was shot in Lawndale on the West Side.

He was in a parking lot about 8:35 p.m. in the 1000 block of South Western Avenue when an unknown person shot him in the foot, police said. He was transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition.

Minutes later, a man was shot in Heart of Chicago.

The 29-year-old was riding in a vehicle in the 2300 block of South Leavitt Street about 10:30 p.m. when someone inside a passing dark-colored sedan fired shots, police said. The man was struck in the head and taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition.

A 21-year-old man was shot late Thursday in Little Village on the Southwest Side.

The man was driving about 11:55 p.m. in the 2400 block of South Troy Streen when shots were fired, police said. He was struck in the shoulder and was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.

In the day’s first reported shooting, a man was grazed by a bullet Thursday morning in South Loop.

About 4:20 a.m., he was in his apartment in the 1400 block of South Michigan Avenue, when three males came in and fired shots, police said. He was grazed by a bullet on his chin and took himself to Stroger Hospital where he is in good condition.

Eight people were shot, three fatally, Wednesday in Chicago.

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According to a source, the rapper-producer was found unresponsive Thursday in a hotel room in Tampa, Florida.

LOS ANGELES — Shock G, who blended whimsical wordplay with reverence for ‘70s funk as leader of the off-kilter Bay Area hip-hop group Digital Underground, has died. He was 57.

Nzazi Malonga, a longtime friend who served as head of security and helped manage the group, said the rapper-producer was found unresponsive Thursday in a hotel room in Tampa, Florida. Malonga said the performer, born Greg Jacobs, had struggled with drug addiction for years.

The group found fame with the Billboard Top 10 hit “Humpty Dance” in 1990, as Jacobs donned a Groucho Marx-style fake nose and glasses to become one of his many alter egos, Humpty Hump. He initially maintained the flamboyant Humpty was a separate person, doing in-character interviews and sometimes having his brother Kent Racker play the part.

“Same Song” a year later served as 2Pac’s introduction to music fans, with Shock G handing the baton to the future megastar, who had been working as a roadie for Digital Underground: “2Pac, go ‘head and rock this.”

Jacobs was an introverted “technical wizard” adept at arranging samples who played keyboards and drums, said Digital Underground co-founder Jimi Dright, known as Chopmaster J. Dright met his future bandmate while buying equipment at a music store in San Leandro, California, where Jacobs was working.

Big Boi, Chuck D, Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes were among those posting online tributes to Jacobs, with many expressing pain after the deaths earlier in the month of rappers DMX and Black Rob. “Our brother Shock G was a GIANT. There’s not one aspect of what we do musically that this man has not influenced,” wrote Talib Kweli.

“The Humpty Dance” invited an audience of awkward youth into hip-hop with its embrace of misfits and outcasts. “Stop whatcha doin’ / ’Cause I’m about to ruin / The image and the style that ya used to,” Shock G rapped with lighthearted bravado. “I’m crazy / Allow me to amaze thee / They say I’m ugly but it just don’t faze me.”

”‘The Humpty Dance’ spoke to all the people that were like him — the fat people, the unattractive people. If you moved like him, you could be whatever you want,” said Malonga.

The group’s platinum-selling debut album “Sex Packets” was titled after an imagined “sex in a pill” product product that Dright said was a response to the AIDS crisis. It was followed by the gold-selling “This is an EP Release” and “Sons of the P.”

Jacobs, whose partner-in-rhyme was the smooth-voiced Money-B, was most comfortable performing in disguise and often struggled privately with the spotlight. “He got to be the star of a production that we had assembled and it ate him up. He didn’t want to be that guy,” Dright said.

Malonga said Jacobs had lived with him in the Los Angeles area for several years to get sober in the early 2000s, but had relapsed and been recently living with family in Florida. He gave away much of his wealth and worked on many unfinished side projects, struggling to find validation from those around him.

“He had hundreds of things he could create. He could draw, he could write music, play piano, he could score things, he could write stories and scripts,” Malonga said. “But unless someone was telling him he was OK, he would never present that.”

“I was very disappointed that he didn’t really see his own talent,” he added. “He was far more humble and insecure than people thought.”

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Chicago Bears NFL Draft 2021: 3 reasons to target Kellen Mond by Ryan Heckman

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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bears need help all over the field. Ryan Pace is somehow being afforded the opportunity to be in charge of their draft selections again in 2021. They have a first-round pick this year for the first time in a few years so they need to use it wisely. Unless they make a trade, it will be the 20th overall pick in the draft.

Everyone knows that the SEC is the best conference in college football. Year after year, the top teams in the conference make a case to be in the College Football Playoff. The last two National Champions come from the SEC which shows how good the conference is compared to the rest. The Chicago Bears should consider one of these SEC players with pick 20:

13

Azeez Ojulari

EDGE, Bulldogs

The Chicago Bears could use some help with edge-rushing because their guys are overrated.

The Chicago Bears didn’t get to the quarterback enough in 2020. Khalil Mack is a really good pass rusher but he hasn’t been the same since his first year with the Bears (2018). He isn’t bad by any means, and he gets double-teamed and held on every play, but he could definitely use some help which isn’t something we wanted to be said about a player making that much money.

Akiem Hicks may or may not be gone and Robert Quinn was a disaster of a signing. Azeez Ojulari, for that reason, is someone to consider drafting for the Chicago Bears. He was a great edge rusher for the Georgia Bulldogs and is ready to be a high selection after his sophomore season.

Ojulari had a great season as a sophomore. He played in ten Georgia games this season where he recorded 22 solo tackles and nine assists for 31 total tackles. 12.5 of those were for a loss. He also recorded 9.5 sacks for the Bulldogs so you know he was effective in his role. The Bears would benefit from adding a player of Ojulari’s caliber.

Next: Player two helps the Bears in the backfield

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Chicago Blackhawks: Malcolm Subban can stand on his head by Vincent Parise

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Chicago Bears (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bears can forget about Trevor Lawrence or Zach Wilson in the 2021 NFL Draft, but just about any other quarterback could be up for grabs.

The first round of this coming draft is going to be a memorable one. With five quarterbacks set to go in the top half of the round, more than likely, it will be a wild ride.

Bears fans can hardly wait to see what general manager Ryan Pace does, but the angst is not exactly a positive. We have been fooled before, and as a Bears fan, there is nothing more unsettling than waiting on a first-round selection from Pace.

Maybe, when it is all said and done, the Bears are better off staying put with their first-round pick. Staying at number 20, and taking the best player available, could end up working out well for Pace and company — especially if a certain quarterback is on the board at the right place and time for Chicago.

Kellen Mond is an ideal draft target for the Chicago Bears.

Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond is becoming more and more polarizing. For the most part, he had been looked at as a fourth or fifth-round guy. But, the closer we get to the draft, he’s moved up the boards.

Now, it’s pretty safe to say he’s a great candidate to be selected in Round 3, and probably no later than early Round 4. To be frank, the Bears would be foolish to let him slip past them with their third rounder.

In 2020, Mond took a big jump as a quarterback, polishing a lot of the little things. His mechanics looked the best they ever have and he limited turnovers even more so than he normally had in his previous three seasons. Mond could be one of the safest picks in the third round, and ultimately change the future of this Bears franchise.

Some refer to Mond as this year’s Dak Prescott, and of course we’re all trying to find the next mid-round guy to take the league by storm. So, Mond is the ideal candidate with everything taken into consideration.

Should the Bears grab Mond if he’s there in the third round? Absolutely, and for three key reasons.

Next: 1: Experience and skill set

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A 53-year-old man was killed after a fire broke out in a home early Friday in Little Village on the Southwest Side.

Firefighters responded to a call of a blaze at a home in the 2600 block of South Harding Avenue, Chicago Fire officials said.

The man died in the fire, fire officials said.

Another person was transported to a hospital with a nonfire related issue, fire officials said.

Four people were displaced from their home, according to fire officials.

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A former video store three blocks south of the Chicago Ridge police station, revived as a video gaming bar, has gotten caught up in two federal criminal investigations in the past three years.

As Terry Ferguson and his son Timothy Ferguson were working on converting the shuttered video store into a bar, he already was the target of a sting operation in which a federal agent bought guns from a food truck owned by Ferguson, who also had been peddling cocaine.

Ferguson’s arrest in October 2018 ultimately led to the end of his son’s dream of opening the bar.

It’s now in the hands of Rosemary Kowalski, an 80-year-old widow. She’s been the owner since December 2019 of what’s now called DaVinci’s Gaming Bar, which features six video gambling machines on which patrons can place legal bets.

Kowalski’s son and daughter are targets in another federal case. Robert M. Kowalski and Jan Kowalski have been charged with hiding more than $500,000 embezzled from a small bank in Bridgeport, Washington Federal Bank for Savings, that federal regulators shut down in late 2017 over a “massive fraud” scheme they said involved $82 million.

Shortly before the bank was closed, its president was found dead in the master bedroom of a bank customer’s Park Ridge mansion as a result of what the authorities labeled suicide, though his widow disputes that.

Federal authorities have said they’ve been trying to determine whether Rosemary Kowalski bought the bar with money they believe her son has been hiding from regulators trying to recover the bank’s missing millions.

When Rosemary Kowalski took over the bar, she agreed to pay nearly half of the $23,642 in rent that the Fergusons owed the bar’s landlord, according to an eviction lawsuit the landlord has filed to evict her over nearly $24,000 in unpaid rent.

The Kowalskis and the Fergusons aren’t talking.

“Mr. Ferguson has no comment other than to make clear that he never received any funds related to the bar from the Kowalskis,” according to Beau Brindley, Ferguson’s lawyer.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Sun-Times

A few weeks ago, Brindley said in court that Robert Kowalski wanted to hire him to defend him against the bankruptcy fraud and embezzlement charges he faces over the collapse of Washington Federal, but they couldn’t agree on legal fees and how Kowalski would pay them.

Once home to a Hollywood Video store, the twin storefronts at 10721-23 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Chicago Ridge then sat vacant for years until March 28, 2018. That’s when Ferguson Entertainment LLC — which is in Timothy Ferguson’s name — signed a three-year lease with the landlord, Sona Chicago Ridge Realty Inc., which is owned by Nimesh Patel.

Chicago Ridge village officials issued business and liquor licenses to Ferguson’s company and building permits showing the father and son would do work including carpentry, painting and installing drywall for the business, which they planned to call the Gaming Spa.

Village officials apparently didn’t know Terry Ferguson was a convicted drug dealer who also had been under investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since November 2015 over the sale of cocaine and a couple of dozen guns — including a rifle with no serial number — that were transported in Ferguson’s food truck, which he operated as Chicago’s Finest Deli on Wheels LLC, court records show.

As the Fergusons were preparing to open, Ferguson Entertainment made a $1,000 campaign contribution on Sept. 25, 2018, to Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar, who had approved the company’s liquor license months earlier. Tokar didn’t return calls seeking comment.

A month later, on Oct. 29, 2018, Terry Ferguson, 56, of Willowbrook, and two associates, Jesus Dominguez and William Walsh, were charged in the ATF sting.

And federal authorities subpoenaed Ferguson’s former business partner, who hasn’t been identified, to testify before a grand jury.

Days after getting the subpoena, the former business partner got a visit on Nov. 7, 2018, from Ferguson’s son Timothy Ferguson and two others, warning him not to testify in the case, authorities say. The Fergusons and another man subsequently were charged with attempting to intimidate a federal witness.

Timothy Ferguson, 35, of Chicago, pleaded guilty on April 18, 2019, to obstruction of court orders and later was sentenced to 30 days in jail to resolve his part in the case.

On Sept. 16, 2019, the Illinois Gaming Board rejected his bid to be licensed to operate video gambling machines, finding that he wasn’t a suitable gaming operator because of his arrest and his failure to obtain a liquor license from the state of Illinois.

“You attempted to persuade a witness not to cooperate with law enforcement officials and interfered with an ongoing narcotics and weapons investigation involving your father,” gaming board administrator Marcus Fruchter told Timothy Ferguson in a Sept. 17, 2019, letter.

That left him with no state licenses to sell drinks or take bets — and 21 months remaining on his lease for the storefronts he and his father invested money in remodeling.

Less than three months later, on Dec. 4, 2019, Rosemary Kowalski established a new company, called Nosy Rosie’s LLC, and signed a five-year lease to take over the bar — a deal contingent on “the successful termination” of Patel’s lease with “Ferguson Entertainment LLC along with Terry Ferguson and Timothy Ferguson,” according to the lease.

Brian Ernst / Sun-Times

Rosemary Kowalski also agreed to assume $11,643 of the $23,643 the Fergusons owed Patel’s company and to be responsible for any money the Fergusons owed the village, the lease says.

With help from her daughter Jan Kowalski, who is a lawyer, Rosemary Kowalski applied to the village and state for licenses to sell drinks and take bets at the bar that she renamed DaVinci’s Gaming Bar.

By that time, Jan Kowalski, who had unsuccessfully run in 2018 for Cook County clerk, had been charged with helping her brother hide $567,200 from his bankruptcy creditors, mainly the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which is trying to recover money to repay depositors of the failed Washington Federal Bank.

Authorities have said the bank lost more than $82 million in a “massive fraud” scheme led by bank president, CEO and major shareholder John Gembara, who was found dead, seated in a chair with a rope around his neck, inside the master bedroom of bank customer Marek Matczuk on Dec. 3, 2017. The bank was shut down 12 days later.

Robert Kowalski — a lawyer and developer who was a friend of Gembara — worked with bank officials to embezzle at least $29 million, according to a federal indictment. Kowalski has said he didn’t steal anything and that he was a victim of Gembara’s scheme.

DaVinci’s opened in early March 2020, as the Illinois Gaming Board was still considering Rosemary Kowalski’s application for a video gaming license. The bar closed because of the coronavirus pandemic but resumed selling liquor last summer, according to its Facebook page.

DaVinci’s drew the attention of Robert Kowalski’s ex-wife Martha Padilla, a former candidate for alderman in Chicago’s 25th Ward. Padilla got a Cook County judge to appoint an attorney, Neal Levin, last summer to determine whether her ex had any hidden assets that she could recover as part of their ongoing divorce case, which began seven years ago.

Levin got a court order and took temporary control of the bar and its contents, including boxes of documents stored in a backroom Jan Kowalski used as her law office. She has, at times, represented her brother in his divorce and bankruptcy cases.

Federal investigators obtained those boxes of records under a subpoena from the grand jury investigating the bank’s collapse. Prosecutors recently said in court they are copying the files in those “eight or nine boxes” and will then return them.

Robert Kowalski – who says he has no financial interest in his mother’s bar — has said that Levin shouldn’t have provided those records to investigators, saying they contained legal files that are protected by attorney-client privilege. He also argues the seized records include the computer thumb drive given to him by federal investigators who are legally required to share their evidence in the investigation of Washington Federal.

Brian Ernst / Sun-Times

Meanwhile, the legal troubles continue for some of those currently and previously involved with the bar continue.

Patel is suing to evict Rosemary Kowalski and Nosy Rosie’s “because they haven’t paid me rent for several months.” In a lawsuit filed last Oct. 23, Patel said he was owed $23,925 in rent — a figure he now says is up to nearly $40,000.

And Terry Ferguson faces the possibility of 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced after pleading guilty March 12 in the ATF sting case, admitting he distributed 1.5 kilograms of cocaine in 2016 and 2018 and that he illegally possessed firearms that the federal agent bought from his food truck.

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Sunny day, sweepin’ the clouds away

On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street…

Sorry, but if I have to hear the “Sesame Street” theme in my head as I write this review, it’s only fair you join me — and don’t even pretend you’re not hearing it at this very moment.

That’s the thing about “Sesame Street.” It’s in our heads and in our hearts and in our memories forever, and we’re all the better for it. So yes, the documentary “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street” is an unabashed love letter to the first 20 years of the most influential, most beloved and most enduring children’s program in television history, and why not? Nobody wants to see an expose ripping the lid off Oscar the Grouch’s trash can to tell the real story about the longstanding feud between Bert and Ernie and the ugly truths about Big Bird’s prima donna behavior, and I’m just kidding, none of that ever happened! By all accounts, Big Bird was a real sweetheart to work with, and Bert and Ernie got along just fine off set.

Told in sober, straightforward, no-frills fashion — a bit of a letdown, given the groundbreaking creativity of the subject matter — “Street Gang” takes us back to the late 1960s, when Children’s Television Workshop co-founder Joan Ganz Cooney (now 91 and a participant in the doc) and the late writer-producer-director Jon Stone co-created a revolutionary children’s show aimed at educating and entertaining kids, particularly minorities in the inner cities. We see fascinating archival footage and still photos of pitch meetings (pure “Mad Men” stuff) and test videos and the building of the remarkable set, which looked like a real street in a real city.

As for the Muppets: Jim Henson’s fantastically funny puppets were already popular on late-night talk shows and variety programs, but they achieved true icon status when the idea was hatched to have Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch et al., interacting with the humans right there on the block, no explanations provided or questions asked. That’s just the way it was on Sesame Street. You were accepted whether you were white or Black or Latino or a giant yellow talking bird. Genius!

“Sesame Street” was an instant sensation — though there was some resistance from television programming to its integrated setting, as we see in news footage in which a Mississippi public television station representative tries to justify not airing the program. (When Mississippi’s commercial TV stations started carrying the show, the public TV station changed its tune.)

We learn of the evolution of Caroll Spinney’s Big Bird, as the decision was made to basically make him a 4-year-old, so he’d reflect the mindset of the young “Sesame Street” viewer. (This was never more evident than in the 1982 episode that addressed the death of actor Will Lee by having Big Bird process — with the help of his human friends — the death of Lee’s character, the shopkeeper Mr. Hooper.) And we’re reminded of Sesame Street’s long and admirable history of addressing social issues when we see a clip of Jesse Jackson on the show in 1972, leading a group of children in a chant of “I Am Somebody.”

Sesame Workshop

Director Marilyn Agrelo does a remarkable job of following multiple storylines; it really did take a village to build “Sesame Street.” We follow the journeys of Ganz and her Children’s Television Workshop partner Lloyd Morrisett; legendary music composer Joe Raposo (who spoke to the outcast in all of us when he wrote “Being Green”); actors such as Sonia “Maria” Manzano and Emilio “Luis” Delgado, and, of course, Jim Henson. In cases where the subjects are no longer with us, we often hear fond memories from their grown children. We also feel the pain of Matt Robinson, who was the original Gordon on the show and created a Black Muppet named Roosevelt Franklin — a character that was phased out after criticism from Black parents that Roosevelt perpetuated stereotypes.

“Street Gang” draws the curtain on the “Sesame Street” timeline with the death of Jim Henson in 1990, at the age of 53. Mr. Henson left behind a body of work that continues to endure today, but a great deal of his legacy remains on Sesame Street, and this film tells us exactly how he and everyone else got there.

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Moon Alert

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

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Batten down the hatches because your home and family life will be unsettled in the next seven weeks because of increased activity and chaos. This could be because of renovations, residential moves or visiting hoards from the hinterland.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You’re PowerPoint on steroids in the next seven weeks. Not only are the sun, Mercury and Venus lined up in your sign, but fiery Mars has now moved into your House of Communications. Look out world! You’ll be vocal and proactive!

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You will work hard to earn money in the next seven weeks because Mars is in your Money House. The last time this happened was in 2017. Not only does this mean you will work hard for your money, it also means you’ll spend it!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

For the first time since 2017, fiery Mars is in your sign to stay for seven weeks. This signals increased activity! You will work hard and make it clear to others what you want. You will fight for your own rights and be physically vigorous!

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Life might be a bit tricky in the month ahead because you might not get credit for what you do. And if there was ever a sign that likes applause, it’s you. This could make you vaguely irritable. You might give the wrong impression and undermine yourself. Be careful.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

You will want to define goals and actively pursue them because you have a strong ego drive in the next seven weeks. You’ll enjoy physical activities with friends, especially competitive activities. You might be bossy with groups. (Focus on cooperation.)

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Your ambition will be aroused in the next seven weeks. (The last time this happened was 2017.) You will identify with whatever you’re doing and work hard to make it a success. Ideally, you should be on your own boss because conflict with coworkers could arise. Oh yeah, you’ll call the shots.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Some of you might encounter legal difficulties in the next month. Many of you will want to do more creative, intellectual work. You want to put out energy into expanding your mind and learning new things. Admittedly, you might be so excited about something, you end up defending your beliefs.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Disputes about shared property, inheritances, taxes and insurance matters are likely for many of you in the next several weeks. Partners might argue about jointly held resources. Meanwhile, your sex drive will be over the top!

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Mars will be opposite your sign for the next seven weeks. (The last time this happened was in 2017.) When this occurs, it’s very easy to feel annoyed with those who are closest to you — dear friends and partners. Your best recourse is to demonstrate grace under pressure. Patience.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

You will accomplish a lot in the next seven weeks. However, the downside is you might work hard and not get credit for what you do. Argh. You might have to work for the benefit of someone else. (Because you feel independent, this is not the time to be a team player.)

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Expect an interesting, fun-loving month ahead because Mars will encourage you to be yourself and express yourself honestly to others. You will be more playful and prankish. You will enjoy amusing diversions as well as sports, athletic activities and fun times with kids. Romance will be energetic! (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.)

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actor, former White House staff member Kal Penn (1977) shares your birthday. You are an optimist who is steady, reliable and honest. You are insightful and creative. You also have an appreciation of history. You are independent and like to do your own thing; nevertheless, you have strong family values. An interesting year awaits you because it will be a year that will bring about a major change in your world.

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