As reported in the Chicago Daily News, sister publication of the Chicago Sun-Times:

After his assassination on April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln came home to Illinois where a tomb was built for him in Springfield. For 11 years, Lincoln rested peacefully in Oak Ridge Cemetery, located about two miles outside of Springfield, until one night in 1876.

On Nov. 7, 1876, several thieves attempted to break in and steal Lincoln’s body, according to the U.S. Secret Service. When a gunshot startled the thieves inside the tomb, they ran off and escaped.

Eleven days after the attempted theft, the Chicago Daily News published an update.

“Jack Hughes and Torrence Mullen, two notorious characters, were arrested last night for attempted robbery, on the night of the 7th inst., of the tomb of Abraham Lincoln,” the paper reported. “Hughes is under indictment for counterfeiting in connection with the notorious Boyd, and was out on bail.”

“Mullen is a Chicago thief and counterfeiter,” the paper continued. “It is established beyond doubt that the attempt to remove Lincoln’s body was made for the purpose of securing the ransom of Boyd, the incarcerated counterfeiter.”

The paper did not publish a longer article detailing what happened, but here’s what historians know now.

Earlier that year, Chicago law enforcement locked up currency plates counterfeiter Benjamin Boyd, who worked for small-time crime boss James “Big Jim” Kennally, according to Thomas J. Craughwell, author of “Stealing Lincoln’s Body,” writing for U.S. News and World Report. Disappointed with losing one of his best counterfeiters, Kennally persuaded two associates, Hughes and Mullen, to steal Lincoln’s body and hold it for ransom to secure Boyd’s release plus $200,000.

Neither Hughes nor Mullen had grave robbing experience, so they tapped Lewis Swegles — who happened to be a Secret Service informant, Craughwell said. Swegles reported the tip to Patrick D. Tyrrell, chief of the Chicago district office of the Secret Service, and together with surviving son Robert T. Lincoln and local law enforcement, they hatched a plan.

On the night of the theft, the lawmen surrounded the tomb and waited for Swegles and the thieves to appear, which they did about two hours later, Craughwell said. As the counterfeiters attempted to remove Lincoln’s body, a shot rang out from a detective’s pistol. The shot alerted the robbers, who ran for it, and confused the lawmen, who thought the thieves had fired on them.

It took 10 days, but authorities finally apprehended the thieves in Chicago.

Back in Springfield, John Carroll Power, the custodian of the tomb, feared what would happen if real grave robbers ever targeted Lincoln’s body, Craughwell said. To protect it, Power and five friends reburied the body one night in a “shallow, unmarked grave in the tomb’s basement.”

The body remained there until 1901 when Robert T. Lincoln gave permission to exhume the body and rebury it once more in a steel cage resting in a 10-foot-deep vault and covered with concrete, Craughwell said. Lincoln’s body remains there today.

Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Thursday announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against nearly three dozen people and companies as it moved to hold the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year’s presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies.

The actions, foreshadowed for weeks by the administration, represent the first retaliatory measures announced against the Kremlin for the hack, familiarly known as the SolarWinds breach. In that intrusion, Russian hackers are believed to have infected widely used software with malicious code, enabling them to access the networks of at least nine agencies in what U.S. officials believe was an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at mining government secrets.

Besides that hack, U.S. officials last month alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in his unsuccessful bid for reelection as president, though there’s no evidence Russia or anyone else changed votes or manipulated the outcome.

The measures announced Thursday include sanctions on six Russian companies that support the country’s cyber activities, in addition to sanctions on 32 individuals and entities accused of attempting to interfere in last year’s presidential election, including by spreading disinformation.

The 10 diplomats being expelled include representatives of Russian intelligence services, the White House said.

The White House also said Biden was using diplomatic, military and intelligence channels to respond to reports that Russia encouraged the Taliban to attack U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan based on the “best assessments” of the intelligence community.

Reports of alleged “bounties” surfaced last year, with the Trump administration coming under fire for not raising the issue directly with Russia. The White House did not publicly confirm the reports. “The safety and well-being of U.S. military personnel, and that of our allies and partners, is an absolute priority of the United States,” the White House said Thursday.

It was not immediately clear what, if any, other actions might be planned against Russia. Officials had previously said they expected to take actions both seen and unseen.

The sanctions, presumably intended to send a clear retributive message to Russia and to deter similar acts in the future, are certain to exacerbate an already tense relationship between the U.S. and Russia.

President Joe Biden told Putin this week in their second call to “de-escalate tensions” following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border, and said the U.S. would “act firmly in defense of its national interests” regarding Russian intrusions and election interference.

In a television interview last month, Biden replied “I do” when asked if he thought Putin was a “killer.” He said the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Putin were done. Putin later recalled his ambassador to the U.S. and pointed at the U.S. history of slavery and slaughtering Native Americans and the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II.

It remained unclear whether the U.S. actions would actually result in changed behavior, especially since past measures by the U.S. have failed to bring an end to Russian hacking. The Obama administration expelled diplomats from the U.S. in 2016 in response to interference in that year’s presidential election. And though Trump was often reluctant to criticize Putin, his administration also expelled diplomats in 2018 for Russia’s alleged poisoning of an ex-intelligence officer in Britain.

U.S. officials are still grappling with the aftereffects of the SolarWinds intrusion, which affected agencies including the Treasury, Justice, Energy and Homeland Security departments, and are still assessing what information may have been stolen. The breach exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chain as well as weaknesses in the federal government’s own cyber defenses.

The actions would represent the second major round of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration against Russia. Last month, the U.S. sanctioned seven mid-level and senior Russian officials, along with more than a dozen government entities, over a nearly fatal nerve-agent attack on opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his subsequent jailing.

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller and AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Kabul contributed.

Read More

Read More

Read More

Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev clearly had no idea where the puck had gone.

He thought he saw an open lane to clear the zone after grabbing a loose puck and wheeling behind his own net March 4 against the Blackhawks.

But unbeknownst to Sergachev, Alex DeBrincat had wheeled directly behind him, pickpocketed the puck off his stick and — all in one motion — spun a dangerous low backhand shot on Andrei Vasilevskiy.

DeBrincat had executed that move several times already, and he has done it several times since, too. It has become a regular addition to his repertoire.

His quick hands and expert stickhandling have been offensive threats for four years in the NHL. Why not also use them for defensive purposes?

But only toward the end of last season, when DeBrincat’s scoring drought forced him to search for other ways to make himself useful, and throughout this season has he discovered that.

“That’s been a big part of my game this year,” DeBrincat said recently. “When we do that and when we have back pressure, it creates so much offense, too. That’s what we have to stick to: Be good in our zone or on the backcheck, and we’re going to get a lot of chances and odd-man rushes.”

The NHL’s takeaways counter is untrustworthy, but even it reflects DeBrincat’s improvement in this regard. His takeaways-per-game rate has risen from 0.51 over his first two seasons to 0.59 last season and 0.67 this season. He’s tied for the Hawks’ lead in takeaways.

That inherently translates to more possession time, more scoring chances and — when he forces a turnover in the neutral or defensive zone — sometimes odd-man rushes for the Hawks.

It has certainly contributed to DeBrincat’s 21 goals, tied for sixth in the NHL, and 40 points. It also has contributed to DeBrincat’s many transition chances — he ranks fourth in the NHL in shots off the rush, according to hockey analyst Corey Szjnader’s data.

“He’s just working so hard to get the puck back — it’s pretty obvious,” Dylan Strome said. “When he’s out there, he finds a way to pick a pocket from a guy from behind or win a battle in the corner and create some zone time for linemates.

“When you can extend a shift in the O-zone by winning a 50-50 puck or stripping a guy from behind, it’s going to give you better chances to score and more offense. It’s probably something our team could do a better job of, and he’s doing a great job of it.”

And the examples keep coming. On Saturday against the Blue Jackets, DeBrincat demonstrated his swift stick reflexes to break up a pass from Michael del Zotto to Seth Jones along Columbus’ offensive blue line and nearly gave himself a breakaway.

Last week against the Stars, DeBrincat swooped in to snatch a puck Justin Dowling thought he had time to gather along the boards. He skated to the slot and ripped a top-shelf goal.

Even during this season, DeBrincat said he got away temporarily from the pickpocketing and defensive engagement. But then he “sat down and realized I wasn’t doing it as much,” prompting a renewed commitment to “get back on that and create a lot of turnovers.”

That brief lull wasn’t enough to change coach Jeremy Colliton’s mind about DeBrincat’s growth away from the puck, though.

“He has steadily improved,” Colliton said. “He’s a terrific skater but has that relentless compete [level] we talk about being a big part of the identity of our team. When he’s playing that way, our group feeds off it. It’s a big piece of what makes him really valuable.”

Read More

The Chicago Bulls Defense: A breakdown of mishaps and fixes by Ryan Taylor

Next1 of 7Prev post

Use your (arrows) to browse

Chicago Bears (Photo by Kena Krutsinger/Getty Images)

There is a very specific, odd dynamic when it comes to how Chicago Bears fans feel about general manager Ryan Pace.

First of all, let’s establish the one clear commonality with all sports fans: they want to see their team succeed. That’s an easy common ground to agree on.

But, with Pace and the Bears, you have this peculiar feeling that they would be better off with a new general manager and leadership team going forward. Yet, in order to see that happen, the Bears would likely have to fall on their faces in 2021 — and that could happen.

Still, as fans, it wouldn’t be easy to see that happen to the Bears. There’s still a part of us all that would be crushed to see the Bears finish the 2021 season as a laughing stock, even if it meant new direction in 2022.

Should Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears give 2021 one last major swing?

The 2021 NFL Draft has been dominated by these top five quarterbacks which we could see all go within the top 10 picks, or even sooner. That would leave the Bears on the outside looking in at the position, assuming Pace doesn’t make a drastic move to slide up.

Will the Bears be fine with Andy Dalton under center this season? Sure, they would. The Bears may finish between 7-10 and 9-8 (remember, a 17th game was added) and miss the playoffs, while fetching another mid-first rounder in next year’s draft.

Chicago won’t be terrible by any means, but that doesn’t mean they can compete for anything serious. If Pace wanted to give it one last shot to secure his job going forward and attempt to fix the quarterback position, he should think about a big trade.

In our latest mock draft, Pace doesn’t just make one move, though. He goes absolutely nuclear. This is not a mock draft for the faint of heart.

Next: Round 1 Trade

Next1 of 7Prev post

Use your (arrows) to browse

Read More

Chicago multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Vivian McCall helped turn Andrew Smith’s bedroom project, Jungle Green, into a bona fide six-piece band when she joined in 2017. Since they all began playing together, she’s engineered sessions for projects by the band’s other members, and she’s also stepped out on her own with her self-titled solo debut as Pansy.…Read More

“The focus is not as much on the bands as it is on communal life and the weird things you get up to when you’re making minimum wage and you’re bored.”

Annie Saunders, 46, grew up in the Chicago area, and as a teenager she moved into a punk house and began putting on shows.…Read More

Two men were fatally shot as they sat in a parked vehicle in the 7300 block of South Stewart Avenue.

Six people were shot, two fatally Wednesday in Chicago, including two men who were shot and killed as they sat in a parked vehicle in Englewood on the South Side.

The men were in the 7300 block of South Stewart Avenue when someone fired into their vehicle and fled in a red SUV about 2:30 a.m., Chicago police said. The two tried to drive off and struck several parked cars. A 31-year-old man was shot in the armpit and the other man, age unknown, was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. The 31-year-old was brought to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet identified the men.

In non-fatal shootings, a 69-year-old man was seriously hurt in a shooting in Gresham on the South Side. The man was standing in the sidewalk about 10:05 p.m. in the 8100 block of South Justine Street when a male approached him and fired shots, police said. He was struck in the eye and leg and was taken in serious condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

A man was shot in South Chicago. Someone shot the 23-year-old about 7:50 p.m. as he stood outside in the 8200 block of South South Shore Drive, police said. The man showed up at Jackson Park Hospital with gunshot wounds to his leg and elbow, and was listed in good condition.

A 37-year-old man was critically hurt in a shooting in Morgan Park on the Far South Side. The man was on the street about 6:15 p.m. in the 11800 block of South Michigan Avenue when he heard shots and felt pain, police said. He was shot in the hand and groin and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition.

In the day’s first reported shooting, a man was accidentally shot by his friend in West Englewood on the South Side. The man’s friend accidentally shot him in the leg about 4:30 p.m. while playing with a gun in the backyard of a home in the 1700 block of West 71st Street, police said. The man, 24, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition.

Thirteen people were shot, two fatally, Tuesday citywide.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

Read More

Moon Alert

After 1:45 a.m. Chicago time, there are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Gemini.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

You’re eager to communicate to others, especially friends and groups because you have something to say! In turn, people want to hear what you have to say. You have decided to tell it like it is without sugar coating anything. “Just the facts, ma’am.”

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You are especially charming because your ruler Venus is in your sign. This boosts your diplomatic skills. Meanwhile, your ability to research and work behind the scenes is excellent. This means if you discover something, you’ll be able to share this information in a convincing way.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Today the moon is in your sign, which makes you more emotional than usual; however, it also boosts your good luck a tiny bit. Mars is also in your sign boosting your energy. Small wonder that your ability to relate to others, especially younger people, is so winning and charismatic!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

With the sun at the top of your chart, you look good to others, especially bosses. Today in particular, you hold sway over people and can persuade them to agree with your ideas. Remember Spider-man: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

You have a strong urge to travel, explore adventure or do something different! You want to learn and study new things, and meet fascinating people. Meanwhile, Venus at the top of your chart promotes cozy relations with bosses. (You might get your wish.)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Your ambition is strong and today you would love to travel. Look for ways to enjoy art and beautiful places because your appreciation of beauty is heightened. Meanwhile, this is a good financial day for you because you will benefit from financial decisions. (You’ll come out smelling like a rose!)

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

You are the most social sign in the zodiac, and today is a friendly day. (In fact, someone might give you money or do a favor for you.) Romantic relationships will sizzle! Meanwhile, your dealings with those who are closest to you are positive and uplifting. It’s a rewarding day.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Today something related to your work will be rewarding, and others will help you. This is why working with groups is a good idea. Work-related travel is also likely. In fact, you might do something to expand your knowledge or sphere of activity. You can also improve your health.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

You feel confident and happy today, which is why you will enjoy the arts, the entertainment world, good times with family plus romantic adventures! It’s a great day for a vacation as well as sports events. The bottom line is you want to have fun!

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Family discussions will help you to improve your home, your family relationships or your real estate. For example, right now many of you are tackling home repairs. Meanwhile, Venus will promote social outings, fun times with kids and romance! It’s a great day.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

You are blessed today because you are gifted with the power of positive thinking, which is invaluable. When you are in a positive frame of mind, the world is your oyster. Nothing can hold you back. Enjoy warm family get-togethers and competitive sports.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Because you have money-making ideas, this is a beneficial day for you in terms of financial wheeling and dealing. However, you also have a genuine appreciation for your daily world and the people in your world, which makes you feel fortunate.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actress Emma Watson (1990) shares your birthday. You are friendly and adventurous. You have high goals, and, personally, you have high ethics. You are well-balanced, adaptable and tolerant of others, all qualities that make your own life easier. You’re entering a more social year, which will involve being of service to others and helping where it is meaningful. (True generosity is giving what is needed).

Read More