Led Zeppelin and Loyola: It’s time to ramble onon March 26, 2021 at 3:49 pm

Where Are We Going So Fast?

Led Zeppelin and Loyola: It’s time to ramble on

Led Zeppelin and Loyola: It’s time to ramble onon March 26, 2021 at 3:49 pm Read More »

8 shot, 1 fatally, at overnight party on South Sideon March 26, 2021 at 2:10 pm

A man was killed and at least seven others wounded after gunfire broke out at a “pop-up party” early Friday in the Wrightwood neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

It was the second mass shooting at an impromptu party this month. On March 15, a shooting wounded 15 people, 2 fatally, at a party in Park Manor.

In Friday’s shooting, at least two men opened fire shortly after midnight at a “pop-up party” in the 2500 block of West 79th Street, police spokeswoman Karie James said.

At least six of the victims were men in their 20s and 30s, police said. One victim was a woman.

Several handguns were found at the scene of the shooting — a line of storefronts that include a daycare, salon and storefront church. St. Rita of Cascia High School is located across the street. No arrest had been announced.

Police said the victims were:

A 26-year-old man shot in his head was pronounced dead at the scene. His name hasn’t been released.
Another man, 27, was shot in his head and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition.
A man, 22, was shot in the left knee and a man, 28, was struck in the left leg, police said. Both were taken to the same hospital in fair condition.
Another man, 28, and a woman, 41, both suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen, and were listed in serious condition.
A man, 32, went to the Little Mary of Company Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back.
An eighth person brought themselves to Roseland Hospital with a gunshot wound to the body.

The shooting happened at a storefront at 2515 W. 79th St., according to the Chicago Fire Department. City records don’t show a business registered at that address.

About two weeks ago, 15 people were gun downed at a Park Manor business where a party was being held. Two people were killed and at least five others seriously wounded.

That shooting was the most violent attack in terms of the number of victims since last July when 15 people were shot outside a Gresham funeral home.

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

8 shot, 1 fatally, at overnight party on South Sideon March 26, 2021 at 2:10 pm Read More »

Charges filed in fatal shooting at Bridgeview Secretary of State facilityon March 26, 2021 at 2:29 pm

A pair has been charged in connection to a deadly shooting at a Bridgeview Secretary of State Drivers Services Facility that sparked a chase into the south suburbs.

Matthew Givens, 23, and Cortez Hudson, 24, face a count each of murder and attempted vehicular highjacking, according to a statement from Bridgeview spokesman Ray Hanania.

Givens, of Lansing, and Hudson, of Oak Park, were expected to appear for a court appearance at the Bridgeview Courthouse later Friday.

Jawaun Davis, 21, was killed in the attack, which unfolded about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of the facility, at 7358 W. 87th St., authorities said.

He was standing in line outside of the facility when a person approached him and fired shots, Secretary of State spokesman Dave Druker said.

The gunman and a driver were chased by police into suburban Palos Hills, police said.

After abandoning their vehicle near at 99th Street and Roberts Road, the pair tried to carjacking a Tesla driver, Hanania said in an email Friday. The driver gave up his car and the pair entered it, but couldn’t figure out how to start the vehicle, Hanania said.

That allowed police to catch up and arrest them, Hanania said.

In a statement, Bridgeview Police Chief Ricardo Mancha over a dozen other police agencies that helped in the investigation.

“As always, it is due to the hard work extreme cooperation of all police agencies that consistently back each other up and tirelessly help one another,” Mancha said.

Charges filed in fatal shooting at Bridgeview Secretary of State facilityon March 26, 2021 at 2:29 pm Read More »

Five Transit-Friendly Suburban Condos For Saleon March 26, 2021 at 2:00 pm

One of the cool new things in urbanism is making your suburb more like a city, or at least a town, with a robust, walkable downtown and urban amenities. This could be even more important in post-pandemic life, if employers stick with a flexible part-time work-from-home schedule. If so, you could live in a suburb and not sweat the downtown commute as much, while having nice places to work and shop in on the days when you’re remote. (A potential uptick in coffee-shop videoconferencing is a concern.)

So I was curious: what can you get in the Chicago suburbs near public transit? A lot of suburban transit-oriented development is… not architecturally distinguished, if perfectly fine housing. But you can also find some interesting, not terribly expensive homes as well, especially on the North Shore, which established itself as a home to commuter suburbs when trains were the best way to get around.

For instance: you can live in Winnetka for less than $200,000 (HOA dues are a respectable $317 a month, which keep the complex so Tudoriffic). It’s a small one-bed, shower-only one-bath unit, but it’s well-lit and adorable. It’s also two-tenths of a mile to the Indian Hill Metra stop, which is a 40-minute train ride to the Ogden station downtown, and just less than a mile to Lake Michigan.

For the same look with a lot more space, this Skokie condo is 1,850 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and not that much more expensive, with $450/mo HOA dues. The galley kitchen is not as nicely dated as the gothic built-ins, but gives you a lot of counter space. It’s just one-third of a mile to the El on—wait for it—the Skokie Swift. The excellent Skokie Public Library, a 1960s SOM design, is a mile down Oakton, the Skokie Water Playground is practically next door, and the Emily Oaks Nature Center is close by as well.

At the other end of the architectural and cost spectrum is a three-bed, four-bath, 3,363 square-foot penthouse in a 2006 downtown Naperville building right on the DuPage River. That puts it about a third of a mile to the extensive Naperville Riverwalk, and just over a mile to the Naperville Metra station past North Central College. It’s over an hour to Chicago Union Station, so if you’re a downtown worker you’ll want a good WFH schedule, but why would you want to leave your two-story living room?

Closer to Chicago, and more traditional in its interior despite being built in 2008, is this Park Ridge penthouse. Its extensive bay windows look out over the Park Ridge Public Library right across the street, and the Pickwick Theatre right across the street from that. The Park Ridge Metra station is just two-tenths of a mile away, and it’s also a short walk to the Park Ridge Farmer’s Market, Trader Joe’s, and a Whole Foods. Or should I say a short skateboard trip away, since the Hinkley Park Skatepark is nearby. No? That’s ok too.

The Willow Springs Metra station is at the crossroads of some of the southwest suburbs’ best outdoor spots: the John Husar I&M Canal Bicycle Trail, the Centennial Trail, and Willow Springs Woods. That, in turn, connects to a massive Forest Preserves complex that includes Pulaski Woods, Red Gate Woods, Cranberry Slough, Maple Lake, Bullfrog Lake, Saganashkee Slough, and the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center. This pleasant family-sized townhouse—three beds, three baths, 1,890 square feet—is right in the midst of all of it. And it’s just a 20-minute bike ride to the buried remains of the world’s first nuclear reactor!

Five Transit-Friendly Suburban Condos For Saleon March 26, 2021 at 2:00 pm Read More »

Release Radar 3/26/21- The Kooks vs Amy Winehouseon March 26, 2021 at 1:38 pm

Cut Out Kid

Release Radar 3/26/21- The Kooks vs Amy Winehouse

Release Radar 3/26/21- The Kooks vs Amy Winehouseon March 26, 2021 at 1:38 pm Read More »

8 shot, 1 fatally, at overnight party on South Sideon March 26, 2021 at 1:42 pm

A man was killed and at least seven others injured after gunfire broke out at a “pop-up party” early Friday in the Wrightwood neighborhood on the South Side.

It was the second mass shooting at a “pop-up party” this month. On March 15, a shooting wounded 15 people, 2 fatally, at a party in the Park Manor neighborhood.

In Friday’s shooting, at least two men opened fire shortly after midnight at a gathering in the 2500 block of West 79th Street, Chicago police said in a statement.

At least six of the victims were men in their 20s and 30s, police said. One victim was a woman. Several handguns were found at the scene of the shooting, police said. No one was in custody.

The shooting happened at a building where several people were throwing a “pop-up party,” police spokeswoman Karie James said. The event was reportedly a birthday party, WGN-TV reported.

A 26-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. His name hasn’t been released.

Another man, 27, suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, police said.

A man, 22, was shot in the left knee and a man, 28, was struck in the left leg, police said. Both were taken to the same hospital in fair condition.

Another man, 28, and a woman, 41, both suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen, and were listed in serious condition, police said.

A man, 32, went to the Little Mary of Company Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back, police, said. An eighth person brought themselves to Roseland Hospital with a gunshot wound to the body.

Both adults were later transferred to Christ Medical Center, police said.

About two weeks ago, 15 people were gun downed at a Park Manor business where a party was being held. Two people were killed and at least five others seriously wounded, police said.

That shooting was the most violent attack in terms of the number of victims since last July when 15 people were shot outside a Gresham funeral home.

8 shot, 1 fatally, at overnight party on South Sideon March 26, 2021 at 1:42 pm Read More »

The Chicago Bears aren’t cheap, they’re incompetenton March 26, 2021 at 12:00 pm

Chicago Bears (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bears, as an organization, deserve a tremendous amount of criticism. For decades, they have been a middling franchise that has leaned heavily on its status as a “charter franchise” to dodge the harshest of criticism.

You can call the Bears many things — incompetent, rudderless, disorganized, antiquated, clueless, etc. However, you can’t call them cheap, and a recent statistic underscores this.

On Thursday, Nick Wright was discussing the amount of resources the Bears have invested into the quarterback position since the end of the Jay Cutler era, and it is staggering.

The Chicago Bears are incompetent, not cheap.

In total, the team has wasted (and let’s call it what it is — a waste) $120 million and the number 3, 67, 70, and 111 overall picks. Yes, some of that total included in the money spent on backups Chase Daniel and Mark Sanchez, but it’s fair to ask what the value was to pay Daniel $10 million over two years to essentially babysit their No. 2 overall draft pick.

What’s more egregious, though, is the $45 million wasted on Mike Glennon, the $29 million and picks wasted on Mitchell Trubisky, and more recently the combined $34 million spent on Nick Foles and Andy Dalton.

It’s a shame, and really a confluence of events that has put the Bears in this situation. Unfortunately, they have a very naive, trusting ownership group who values relationships over results. Much like Clark W. Griswold once remarked about Cousin Eddie, George McCaskey’s “heart is bigger than his brain.”

That wouldn’t be such a fatal flaw if it wasn’t for the fact that the group he’s entrusting to make football decisions are equally incompetent in that regard.

The biggest concern I have, frankly is that the organization will tighten the purse strings, feeling burnt by the series of bad quarterback decisions from Ryan Pace and company.

And who wouldn’t be? Think of it this way — you may trust your financial advisor implicitly, but if he or she continues to make bad investments, you’re going to reconsider how much you give them to manage.

Next: Bears take a chance on Davis Mills?

Recently, on 67o The Score, Brad Biggs intimated that while George may ok a large trade to acquire an established veteran like Russell Wilson, he may be reluctant to allow Pace to make a similar big move in the draft. In that regard, it appears Pace’s failures are already influencing their decisions. Look, I’m not a fan of Ryan Pace, but if you don’t trust your general manager to make a big move in the draft to get a franchise quarterback, then why is he in that seat?

The Chicago Bears aren’t cheap, they’re incompetenton March 26, 2021 at 12:00 pm Read More »