A man was charged with fatally shooting a woman Sept. 6, 2020 in Englewood. | Adobe Stock Images
Kobayashi Wylie-Hill, 36, was killed in her Englewood apartment on Sept. 6. Jerry Yarbor was ordered held without bail for her murder.
A 49-year-old man killed an Englewood woman because he believed she was responsible for his brother’s deadly overdose, Cook County prosecutors said Friday.
Jerry Yarbor’s younger brother had been found unresponsive in a vehicle on Sept. 5.
Shortly after 1 a.m. on Sept. 6, Yarbor went to Wylie-Hill’s apartment, in the 6100 block of South Carpenter Street, and allegedly confronted her while she was in the bathroom.
Wylie-Hill, 36, said she had nothing to do with Yarbor’s brother’s death. Still, Yarbor fired multiple times into the bathroom door before leaving the apartment, prosecutors said.
Several witnesses who were also in the apartment either saw the shooting or saw Yarbor walking out of the unit with a gun, prosecutors said.
Wylie-Hill was able to leave her building after she was shot, but collapsed outside and later died, prosecutors said.
Yarbor’s brother’s death was eventually determined to be an overdose, prosecutors said.
A witness who did not know Yarbor’s real name, told investigators his nickname was “Red Rum” and pointed them to his Facebook page, prosecutors said. Yarbor has a tattoo that reads “Red Rum” and friends refer to him as “Red” on his social media account, prosecutors said.
Yarbor was taken into custody Wednesday in Roseland and charged with first-degree murder.
When asked about Wylie-Hill after he was taken into custody, Yarbor allegedly said “May she rest in piss” but denied killing her.
Any of Yarbor’s relatives could have had the same motive for killing Wylie-Hill, an assistant public defender argued Friday.
There was also no physical evidence connecting Yarbor to the shooting, the defense attorney added.
Yarbor was ordered held without bail. He is expected back in court on April 1.
Jimenez makes a sliding catch last season. | Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
One of the most likable athletes in Chicago, Jimenez is delighted to be here, there, anywhere. But being seen as a less-than-complete player is never fun.
Nobody makes an entrance like White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez.
Not into a room. Not into a Zoom.
His loud, happy hellos and wide, beaming smiles are merely signs of all the other charming things that come with the 6-4, 235-pound 24-year-old. This is a guy who’s delighted to be here, there, anywhere.
Especially when he homers off a scoreboard during the same game in which he hits a rare stand-up triple, which was the case for Jimenez on Thursday.
“I liked both!” he cracked a day later after asking reporters which hit they thought he enjoyed more.
But one of the most likable athletes in Chicago turned almost sullen and slipped into a monotone when asked about his defense in left field and the reality that the picture many have of the 2020 Silver Slugger winner continues to be that of a less-than-complete player.
“I don’t want to come out in the seventh inning,” he said. “That’s why I work hard every single day and try to do my best at being a complete player. That’s why I take so much pride to do everything I can to go out and play hard for my team.”
We should point out that Jimenez’s “sullen” didn’t last long. It never does. But there is no doubting at all that this — his subpar defense — is his least favorite baseball subject. There’s also no doubting that, as the stakes get higher for a Sox team expected to contend for a division title and more, the subject isn’t going to go away.
“I try not to hear that,” he said at the start of the spring.
But he really doesn’t have any choice. Especially not if he produces more gaffes such as falling into the protective netting while a batter circles the bases for an inside-the-part home run. Or merely falling into the netting without consequence, which also happened last season. Or — as all shaky outfielders do sometimes — taking poor routes to the baseball and turning outs into hits.
Or even — yes — having center fielder Luis Robert run all the way over and catch a ball that Jimenez is perfectly well positioned to field routinely. That has happened, too. It’s not on Jimenez when it does, but such a spectacle only perpetuates the image of a defensive weak link.
“I’ll keep working hard and try to change their minds with my work,” he said.
Jimenez keeps at it with Sox coach Daryl Boston and remains driven in large part by his preference not to be forced into a designated-hitter role. This isn’t a new story. But just like Cubs fans saw Kyle Schwarber go from awful to perhaps almost average as a left fielder, Sox fans can at least hope to witness something similar.
“I think he’s tremendous,” teammate Adam Eaton said. “I think it speaks for himself [that] the willingness to learn is huge.”
Jimenez has said he wants to win an MVP award, and soon. He’s openly gunning for 40-plus home runs this season. Manager Tony La Russa sees Jimenez these days as being further along than most Sox hitters in preparation for Opening Day. He could be in line for a monster 2021 at the plate.
But that doesn’t give him any extra rope in left.
As general manager Rick Hahn said last month: “He doesn’t like being defensively replaced. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. … The short answer is, yes, he’s the left fielder. The longer answer is it’s not inconceivable that Tony deploys him from time to time as the DH.”
As likable as Jimenez is, the sight of him lying helplessly in the netting is definitely more alarming than charming.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo says his deadline will be Opening Day. Hopes to focus on the season after that.
Anthony Rizzo isn’t worried about his contract status and after expressing his desire to try to work out a contract extension this spring, the Cubs’ first baseman is still hopeful the two sides can get something done prior to Opening Day.
President Jed Hoyer has spoken this spring about how the team would still like to talk to some of their impending free agents about staying in Chicago long term. Rizzo, Javy Baez and Kris Bryant are all set to hit the market at the end of the season.
“I’m very optimistic,” Rizzo said “We got a couple more weeks until opening day. Everything between now and then is exciting stuff. Either good or bad, whatever happens is exciting and for the future. Once Opening Day comes, this team is going to be focused on just playing baseball.
“For everything that I’ve expressed about wanting to be here and we’ve had really good conversations top to bottom. Just for me and everything I put into my teammates, they deserve all the I have this year, and I’ll give that to them and our fans, and once April 1 comes, it’s all about baseball. It’s not about money. It’s not about contract extension or future. It’s about April 1 and winning that game and getting the best out of everyone on the team.”
Rizzo’s sentiment about being in Chicago long term is one shared by his fellow teammates who are set to hit the market. The value of comfort and the environment created over the last eight years can’t be understated. Those things have helped lure players like left fielder Joc Pederson in free agency and were a reason right-hander Jake Arrieta returned this offseason.
“I think it’s a testament to ownership and the front office and the coaching staff and all the staff that guys want to be here,” Hoyer said last month. “They enjoy the environment. Obviously, we got the ballpark and the fan base and the city, but people want to be here. And that’s a great thing. … I think that’s great that they feel that way about this place. And, you know, it’d be disappointing after this much time with these players if they felt otherwise.”
It appeared the Cubs would be heading toward a rebuild this offseason after the trade of Yu Darvish, the non-tender of Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora Jr., but the fact that they were able to find the means to make additions late in the offseason didn’t go unnoticed by the Cubs’ vocal leader.
While being in Chicago is Rizzo’s top priority, being in a winning environment is just as important for the 31-year-old first baseman.
“It’s big. [Winning] is big,” Rizzo said. “My goal is bringing the next championship here in Chicago. It’s coming, it’s coming soon. It’s coming to the city and that’s my focus. It’s how are we going to win? We feel really good. It’s March. Everyone feels good, right? But we got to go and build and believe and gain momentum.
“But as far as potentially rebuilding and all that stuff they’ve been, [people] have been trading guys and blowing up this team for the last three years. So it’s all part of the business, what comes with it and just staying focused on the task at hand.”
In this Feb. 22, 2021 file photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at a COVID-19 vaccination site in the Brooklyn borough of New York. | AP
“I’m not going to resign,” Andrew Cuomo told reporters. “I did not do what has been alleged. Period.” He also said, “People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth.”
ALBANY, N.Y. — Facing unprecedented political isolation, a defiant New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisted on Friday that he would not step down in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and condemned the expansive coalition of Democrats calling for his resignation as “reckless and dangerous.”
By day’s end, the three-term Democratic governor had lost the support of almost his state’s entire congressional delegation. None of the defections hurt more than those of New York’s two U.S. senators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
“Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York,” the Democratic senators wrote in a joint statement. “Governor Cuomo should resign.”
Hours before the statement, Cuomo, a leading critic of former President Donald Trump’s coronavirus pandemic response, evoked the Republican in defending himself against “cancel culture.”
“I’m not going to resign,” Cuomo said during an afternoon phone call with reporters. “I did not do what has been alleged. Period.”
He added: “People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth.”
The embattled governor’s comments came on the day his party in New York and beyond turned sharply against him following allegations of harassment as well as sweeping criticism of Cuomo for keeping secret how many nursing home residents died of COVID-19 for months.
Cuomo’s growing list of detractors now covers virtually every region in the state and the political power centers of New York City and Washington. A majority of Democrats in the state legislature and all but a handful of the state’s 29-member congressional delegation have called on him to step down.
The escalating political crisis jeopardizes Cuomo’s 2022 reelection in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, and threatens to cast a cloud over President Joe Biden’s early days in office. Republicans across the country have seized on the scandal to try to distract from Biden’s success with the pandemic and challenge his party’s well-established advantage with female voters.
The senators’ statement, which cited the pandemic as a reason for needing “sure and steady leadership,” came shortly after Schumer stood alongside Biden in a Rose Garden ceremony celebrating the passage of the Democrat-backed $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday declined to say whether Biden believes Cuomo should resign. She said every woman who has come forth about harassment by the New York governor “deserves to have her voice heard, should be treated with respect and should be able to tell her story.”
Dozens of Democrats had already called on Cuomo to resign this week, but the coalition of critics expanded geographically and politically on Friday to include the likes of New York City progressive U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; the leader of the House Democratic campaign arm, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney; Buffalo-based U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins; and a group of Long Island-based state lawmakers who had been Cuomo loyalists.
Never before has the brash, 63-year-old Democratic governor — the son of a New York governor himself — been more politically alone.
“The victims of sexual assault concern me more than politics or other narrow considerations, and I believe Governor Cuomo must step aside,” Maloney said.
Ocasio-Cortez said she believes the women who accused Cuomo of wrongdoing.
“After two accounts of sexual assault, four accounts of harassment, the Attorney General’s investigation finding the Governor’s admin hid nursing home data from the legislature and public, we agree with the 55+ members of the New York State legislature that the Governor must resign,” she tweeted.
Cuomo on Friday insisted that he never touched anyone inappropriately, and said again that he’s sorry if he ever made anyone uncomfortable. He declined to answer a direct question about whether he’s had a consensual romantic relationship with any of the women.
“I have not had a sexual relationship that was inappropriate, period,” he said.
The governor in recent days has been calling lawmakers and supporters asking them to refrain from calling for his resignation, and instead support the ongoing investigations. His strategy does not appear to be working.
The state Assembly allowed an impeachment investigation into Cuomo on Thursday as lawmakers investigate whether there are grounds for his forcible removal from office.
The firestorm around the governor grew after the Times Union of Albany reported Wednesday that an unidentified aide had claimed Cuomo reached under her shirt and fondled her at his official residence late last year.
The woman hasn’t filed a criminal complaint, but a lawyer for the governor said Thursday that the state reported the allegation to the Albany Police Department after the woman involved declined to do so herself.
Additionally, Cuomo is facing multiple allegations of sexually suggestive remarks and behavior toward women, including female aides. One aide said he asked her if she would ever have sex with an older man. And another aide claimed the governor once kissed her without consent, and said governor’s aides publicly smeared her after she accused him of sexual harassment.
Rarely in the modern era has a leading elected official survived such a political backlash from his own party, but there is precedent.
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, refused to resign in 2009 after a scandal involving an extramarital affair. He would go on to serve in Congress. And in 2019, Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam resisted sweeping calls for his resignation after a photo emerged of him in a racist costume. Northam is still in office.
Cuomo on Friday vowed that he’d still be able to govern despite a growing list of New York elected officials who say they’ve lost faith in his ability to govern.
He didn’t address the reality of an increasingly untenable position: Cuomo is seeking a fourth term next year, managing the state’s pandemic response and negotiating a state budget with state lawmakers who’ve lost confidence in his leadership.
He again raised questions about the motives of women accusing him of inappropriate behavior.
“A lot of people allege a lot of things for a lot of reasons,” he said Friday. “I won’t speculate about people’s possible motives. But I can tell you as a former attorney general who has gone through this situation many times, there are often many motivations for making an allegation. And that is why you need to know the facts before you make a decision.”
“Serious allegations should be weighed seriously, right?” he said. “That’s why they are called serious.”
But dozens of Democrats have already determined the allegations are serious enough to warrant his immediate removal. Other Republicans in New York’s congressional delegation previously called for Cuomo’s resignation, including Nicole Malliotakis, Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney and Lee Zeldin.
Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, who chairs the powerhouse U.S. House Judiciary Committee, said Cuomo has lost the confidence of New Yorkers.
“The repeated accusations against the governor, and the manner in which he has responded to them, have made it impossible for him to continue to govern at this point,” Nadler said.
___
Peoples reported from New York City. AP writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed.
Looking for something to do a little closer to home? Or are you a Chicagoan looking to get out of the city for a bit? Luckily, the Loop isn’t the only place where you can find great shopping, dining, and recreation— just check out these 9 great spots in the western suburb of Aurora!
Feeling lucky? Check out the poker room, slots, and table games at the 53,000-square-foot Aurora casino. Don’t forget to put on your poker face, along with your mask.
Sometimes a little retail therapy is just what the doctor ordered. Stroll around the outdoor shopping center as the weather warms up, and keep an eye out for some killer deals at Kate Spade, J. Crew, Coach, and more.
The Aurora Regional Fire Museum, housed in the former Central Fire Station, traces the history of Aurora’s Fire Department. Take a look at exhibits featuring the tools of firefighting, information on fire safety and prevention, and more.
Pick up some farm-fresh fruits and vegetables on Saturdays right in the heart of downtown. Don’t forget to snag some treats from Dick’s Mini Donuts as well!
If you’re feeling a bit fancy, stop in for tea or lunch at Calla Lily Tea Room. To plan an extra-relaxing day, check out the options at the salon and spa.
Exploring the historic architecture of the downtown area is a great way to be outside and learn more about these impressive buildings. Don’t forget your map (which includes descriptions of each site)!
Boasting 18 holes, “West Chicagoland’s Finest Course” is open for booking. Spend the day outside, perfecting your swing and enjoying the Golf Digest Magazine-dubbed 4 ½ star course.
The Growing Place— which celebrates its 85th year in 2021— is a haven for those looking to shop for plants, buy gifts, or simply explore the gardens. Having been closed for the winter, The Growing Place reopens to the public on March 27.
Colleges and universities rushing to invest in the booming arena of varsity esports are overwhelmingly committing opportunities and scholarships to male players, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
Male gamers held 90.4% of roster spots and received 88.5% of scholarship funds in a sample of 27 public American schools surveyed by the AP during this school year. The glaring gender disparity exists even though 41% of U.S. gamers are female, according to the Entertainment Software Association, and in a realm where — unlike traditional sports — there are no physical barriers separating male and female competitors.
“It’s tremendously sad and tremendously not surprising,” said Grace Collins, an expert on gaming, education and gender.
The AP requested roster and scholarship data from 56 public U.S. schools identified among the 192 participants in the National Association of Collegiate Esports, relying largely on public records requests.
Several schools responded that although their programs compete at the varsity level, they had not been sanctioned varsity status by the school. Their roster data was often incomplete, and those programs were held out of the sample. A handful of other schools either denied the AP’s request or did not respond to repeated messages.
The AP’s data set covers only a small sample of the landscape. But the overwhelming results confirm what esports coaches, players and experts have identified on their own as a problem since the first varsity program launched in 2014:
As esports are carving out their place on college campuses — and doing so without a central governing body, such as the NCAA — little is being done to ensure resources are spread equally along gender lines.
“The way that these programs have been built out, the games that they select to play, the esports models that they’re looking at, the people that they are staffing, all are replicating an unequal system,” said Collins, CEO of Liminal Esports and a former liaison at the U.S. Department of Education focused on educational technology.
“So often it seems like to me, they’re trying to make another football for universities, and taking with it all of the baggage that is completely unnecessary to pull along with esports.”
Esports’ impact on campuses remains relatively small. The average roster in the AP’s sample included 30 players, but programs ranged from six to 83 gamers. Roughly a quarter of those players received scholarships, and the average payout was around $1,910.
Participation is sure to rise, though, especially after interest in gaming accelerated globally during the coronavirus pandemic. As people spent unprecedented amounts of time at home, the total esports audience swelled to 495 million last year, according to market research company Newzoo — a nearly 12% bump. That helped the competitive gaming industry surpass $1 billion in revenue for the first time.
While plenty of women play video games, they remain woefully underrepresented in many esports. There are several reasons for that, including a culture of toxicity and harassment perpetuated by some male gamers who favor the most popular games, like “League of Legends.”
In traditional sports, Title IX has helped ensure athletic departments devote roughly equal resources to male and female students. The law mandates equitable opportunities to participate in sports for men and women, and it requires that scholarships be offered proportionally to participation. It also states that facilities, equipment and other provisions be roughly equal.
Many schools, intentionally or not, have sidestepped those restrictions by housing their esports program outside of the athletic department. Many of the esports scholarships reported to the AP were academic or merit-based funds.
Still, Title IX — which broadly prohibits gender discrimination in any educational program that receives federal funding — could be a tool for addressing esports’ inequity issue, according to Neena Chaudry, general counsel and senior advisor at the National Women’s Law Center.
“If schools are going to be adding esports — and this is true regardless of whether it’s in the athletic program or not — then they need to address barriers such as harassment and other forms of discrimination that women may be facing in esports,” Chaudry said. “Just as they would in any other sport or in the education program in general.”
Collins — who launched the first all-girls varsity esports high school team at a private girls school near Cleveland in 2018 — believes one way to boost female participation would be to expand the selection of games. They compare it to a movie club that only watches “Die Hard” movies and then wonders why only boys or men show up.
“That’s not to say that girls on your campus don’t like to watch movies,” Collins said. “It’s just saying they don’t like to watch ‘Die Hard.'”
“League of Legends” is a staple of collegiate esports programs, as are male-dominated “Madden” and “Call of Duty.” ” Overwatch ” — a game whose cover character is a gay woman — has a slightly better ratio of women to men and is also popular. Collins would like to see schools try games like “Just Dance,” “Mario Kart” or something from the fighting genre. Girls and women are also more likely to play mobile games.
Boise State was among the more equal schools in the AP’s survey, with 16 male players, five female players and three who identified as nonbinary. Esports coach Doc Haskell has been intentional about diversity — “These teams need to look like us, like our campus community,” he said — and among the pivotal steps he’s taken has been a focus on the way players communicate.
While scouting potential recruits, Haskell believes he places a higher priority relative to other programs on intangible qualities — teamwork in particular — than a player’s current ratings. Once players are in the program, he closely monitors the language they use in practice and competition, looking for teachable moments that foster inclusion.
“There are things that would be, in previous generations, considered ‘locker room talk,'” Haskell said. “The grand truth is that we can hope to avoid these things. We can teach around these things.”
The only school in the AP’s sample with a 50-50 ratio of men and women was at the University of South Carolina-Sumter, which has eight male and eight female players. The program was the first in the state when it launched six years ago and initially had an all-male roster, but it picked up a couple of women gamers when it added “Overwatch” in its second year. That little bit of representation slowly built on itself.
“I didn’t do anything special, like, ‘Oh, I need to make sure I meet this quota or anything specific,'” coach Kris Weissman said. “But I made sure that we had an open and appealing program to everyone and anyone.”
Giona Mack, a freshman on the USC-Sumter team, had an avid interest in gaming during high school but was hesitant about collegiate esports because she didn’t want to be the token woman. Weissman arranged a campus visit for her, and the vibe of the co-ed team helped her believe she could reach her potential there as a gamer.
“I got more nervous when it came to males because I found them more competitive,” Mack said. “That was my online experience of games. I thought if I went into an esports team and it was mostly male-dominated, I would just feel overwhelmingly nervous, and the way I performed would reflected that.
“I really wanted to do something like this during college,” she added. “Knowing that there were females, just mentally for me was big.”
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