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[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Pioneer Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:20 | null | 2016-06-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fvernon-hills%2Fcrime%2Fct-vhr-facebook-sexual-assault-tl-0707-20160630-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-5775b4a2/turbine/ct-vhr-facebook-sexual-assault-tl-0707-20160630 | en | null | Vernon Hills man charged with sexually assaulting teen he met on Facebook | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A Vernon Hills man has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenager he met on Facebook, according to police.
Blake A. Kraiman, 21, of the 200 block of Thorne Grove Drive, Vernon Hills, was charged Thursday with aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse.
Officers were on patrol in the early morning hours of June 29 when they saw two individuals near a parking lot at the corner of Butterfield and Townline roads, according to a news release.
One of them was a 17-year-old girl who was crying and distraught, police said.
Investigators learned the girl met Kraiman on Facebook and they arranged to meet on the evening of June 28, according to the release. Kraiman picked her up and took her to his home where they drank liquor, police said.
Police say it was there that the assault allegedly took place. The girl went into to a bathroom and texted a friend to pick her up, police said.
Officers worked closely with officials from the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center while investigating the case.
"Regardless of anyone's age, this incident underscores the serious dangers of corresponding with strangers via social media," Police Chief Mark Fleischhauer said in a statement. "We strongly encourage all parents to discuss this topic with their children and monitor their children's on-line activity as much as possible."
Bail was set at $750,000 and Kraiman is scheduled to appear in court July 14. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/vernon-hills/crime/ct-vhr-facebook-sexual-assault-tl-0707-20160630-story.html | en | 2016-06-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5ffa07e029fd06bdfbe8e097a895aa53787fc8d01311ba382cee0609622ccce5.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Steve Mills",
"Todd Lighty"
] | 2016-08-26T22:47:57 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-judge-lawyer-substitute-investigation-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0c02c/turbine/ct-judge-lawyer-substitute-investigation-20160826 | en | null | Criminal probe launched in case of lawyer who allegedly posed as judge | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Cook County state's attorney's office said on Friday that it had begun a criminal investigation into an incident earlier this month in which a municipal court judge at the south suburban Markham courthouse allegedly allowed a law clerk to wear a robe and hear traffic cases.
When news broke that a nonjudge had reportedly handled cases, the office of State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said that it would "review" the matter.
"It has moved from a review — which was based upon our office initially learning about the matter — to an investigation," Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the office, said in an email to the Tribune Friday. "Investigation is ongoing. We won't speculate on possible charges."
Daly would not say if the judge, Valarie Turner, or the law clerk, Rhonda Crawford, was the target of the investigation. But moving from a review to an investigation suggests prosecutors have determined there is enough evidence of wrongdoing to determine whether charges are warranted.
Turner, a graduate of the University of Chicago law school, was first elected to the bench in 2002. She makes about $190,000 a year.
Crawford has been a law clerk/staff attorney in the office of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans since 2011. In March, she defeated two opponents in the Democratic primary for the 1st Judicial Subcircuit, which includes parts of the South Side and some of the south suburbs.
She is unopposed in the November general election.
Evans temporarily removed Turner from the bench and assigned her to handle administrative tasks such as conducting weddings and reviewing requests for fee waivers in civil cases. He suspended Crawford without pay from her $57,000-a-year job.
Turner and Crawford could not be reached for comment Friday.
The incident occurred on Aug. 11, when officials say Crawford put on a robe and, with Turner standing nearby, presided over at least two traffic cases. Both involved South Side residents driving in Dolton; one was ticketed for driving with no proof of insurance, the other for driving on the median.
Documents show one case was continued, while the other was dismissed when the officer failed to appear in court.
Both cases will be reheard by a real judge.
Experts in legal and judicial ethics were left slack-jawed by the incident. They said that it likely violates several rules for lawyers and judges and might even have been illegal for Crawford to pretend to be a judge. The Judicial Inquiry Board, which oversees judges in the state, and the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, which licenses and disciplines lawyers, likely will investigate the incident as well.
smmills@chicagotribune.com
tlighty@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @smmills1960
Twitter @tlighty | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-judge-lawyer-substitute-investigation-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e31ea8384bc1c6f4cb92c6f9847b64b9b351e784242fb0866173cd3da89ab2cd.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-28T22:48:18 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fct-juan-gabriel-dies-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c36711/turbine/ct-juan-gabriel-dies-20160828 | en | null | Juan Gabriel, Mexican superstar singer, dead at 66 | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The press office for Mexican superstar Juan Gabriel says the singer has died at age 66. The statement says he died Sunday, but does not say where.
Juan Gabriel was Mexico's leading singer-songwriter and top-selling artist, with sales of more than 100 million albums.
His ballads about love and heartbreak and bouncy mariachi tunes became hymns throughout Latin America and Spain and with Spanish speakers in the United States. He brought many adoring fans to tears as they sang along when he crooned his songs about love and heartbreak
A flamboyant performer, Juan Gabriel liked to wear jackets covered in sequins or dress in shiny silk outfits in hot pink, turquoise blue or canary yellow, and he was known for tossing his head before dancing or jumping around the stage.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-juan-gabriel-dies-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/1aff0023f43506a55efd782b4efd91281202d9f39bb4364ce40d32c22c2d80e7.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Kim Janssen"
] | 2016-08-29T14:48:33 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fchicagoinc%2Fct-julian-sergi-katten-war-dogs-0827-chicago-inc-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c44292/turbine/ct-julian-sergi-katten-war-dogs-0827-chicago-inc-20160829 | en | null | Clout no use to Julian Sergi, son of Mayor Daley's boss | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | When your dad is former Mayor Richard Daley's boss, you might expect a little suction with the Northwestern University admissions board.
But even that kind of clout wasn't enough for comic actor and writer Julian Sergi, whose father, Vince Sergi, is chairman emeritus of Katten, the powerhouse law firm where Daley has worked since 2011.
"I applied to Northwestern a few years ago and my dad, who went to law school there, put in a good word for me, but they wrote back and said, 'This is really hard for us to say, due to your family ties, but 'no,'" the younger Sergi said.
He isn't complaining. At age 24, his Hollywood career is taking off, with a supporting role in the Jonah Hill comedy "War Dogs" and a development deal to produce a pilot for Comedy Central with his buddy Zack Pearlman.
"My dad probably wanted me to follow him into the law, but he knew I was pretty stupid from an early age," said Sergi, who started performing with Second City when he was a 15-year-old at Oak Park and River Forest High School. "Once I started having some success with this, he's been very supportive."
Sergi's proud father ("Julian was always a cutup," he says) and Daley share a best pal in Katten bigwig Terry Newman, meaning the younger Sergi would often see the mayor while he was growing up.
"He was always the guy I was terrified of!" Sergi acknowledged of Daley.
Still, Sergi isn't afraid to take risks. The pilot he is writing with Pearlman is about a pair of brothers who grew up in the Ku Klux Klan but move to South Central Los Angeles in an attempt to rid themselves of their racist past.
"Some people will probably be upset by it," he said. "It might not be the favorite show of old white men who live in the South."
Sergi added that his experience at the racially integrated Oak Park and River Forest has helped inform his worldview, though he said he rarely ventured into Chicago's West Side as a teenager except "to buy weed at a place we called the 'dro spot.'"
But he said he was left stumped at the premier for "War Dogs" — based on a true story about a pair of young friends who scored a $300 million Pentagon contract to supply arms to U.S. troops in Afghanistan — when he was asked on the red carpet what was the most dangerous thing he had ever done for money.
"I was like, 'Er, my dad's a lawyer, I had it pretty great growing up,'" he said. "Maybe running a lemonade stand when I was 7?"
kjanssen@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kimjnews | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chicagoinc/ct-julian-sergi-katten-war-dogs-0827-chicago-inc-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/89675349afe383f2cc326a84b2837a140a98e478c56dae27d264ee69a98294ed.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:45 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flibertyville%2Fnews%2Fct-lbr-copeland-manor-new-wing-tl-0825-20160822-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bc6ea8/turbine/ct-lbr-copeland-manor-new-wing-tl-0825-20160822 | en | null | New classrooms at Libertyville's Copeland Manor ready for first day of school | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | On the first day of school, students walking into Copeland Manor Elementary School in Libertyville will be greeted with a brand new library.
Last year the library was located in a trailer behind the school, the site of what is now a new four-classroom wing that was built over the summer as part of a $5.7 million project that also involves internal renovations and a new 5,734-square-foot gymnasium.
"Everything was done so beautifully and consistently," said Guy Schumacher, superintendent of Libertyville School District 70. "You can't tell where the new wing starts. And in the cases where we looked at moving a brick wall to make a room bigger, you would never know the difference. It's flawless."
Copeland Manor Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press A new library gets finishing touches before school starts at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville. A new library gets finishing touches before school starts at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)
The gymnasium is still under construction, but Schumacher said the work will not affect classes and his goal is to be using the new space by winter break.
"The bigger work is all done and we're now focusing on the details," Schumacher said. "We're picking curtain colors and bleacher colors and where to put the mascot on the floor."
All four classrooms in the new wing were finished on time, Schumacher said. Three of them are fifth grade classes and one is a fourth grade class.
A new roof was installed over the summer as well, according to a district announcement.
The Board of Education approved issuing $6 million in bonds to cover the project, with the willingness to cover overages with reserve money, Schumacher said. Any remaining money will go toward planning for upcoming work at Rockland School. So far, Schumacher said the project is not expected to go over budget.
Copeland Manor Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press A newly constructed wing features new fifth grade classrooms at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville. A newly constructed wing features new fifth grade classrooms at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)
He said the Board of Education gets monthly updates on the research into Rockland School.
"Right now, Rockland involves a little bit of wants and needs. With Copeland it was some significant needs," Schumacher said. "We're probably looking at a couple of classrooms and maneuvering of existing space to see how we can get some of those rooms and a gym, too."
Meanwhile, Schumacher said cameras were installed at all the schools this summer. He said they're now mounted outside the buildings and along interior entrance wings.
New intercom systems are also being installed at each school. According to a district memo, the new system will allow discussions between individual classrooms and the office instead of broadcasting school-wide.
Traci Flader Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press Fifth grade teacher Traci Flader gets ready for the school year in her new classroom on Aug. 22 at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville. Fifth grade teacher Traci Flader gets ready for the school year in her new classroom on Aug. 22 at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press) (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/libertyville/news/ct-lbr-copeland-manor-new-wing-tl-0825-20160822-story.html | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ddc85ea5c42e16a1b046f8352972c620767ac0cdfc6d86cc21d5386b5328a53a.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:32 | null | 2016-07-01T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fvernon-hills%2Fnews%2Fct-vhr-sports-authorty-impact-replace-tl-0707-20160701-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-5776a341/turbine/ct-vhr-sports-authorty-impact-replace-tl-0707-20160701 | en | null | Vernon Hills officials not worried about Sports Authority closure | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | While the Sports Authority along Townline Road in Vernon Hills continues its liquidation efforts, village officials say they're not worried about the imminent vacancy or the health of retail stores in the village.
Colorado-based Sports Authority filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March with an intention to restructure, but the company was unable to reach an agreement with creditors and lenders and was instead sold to a group of liquidation companies.The Vernon Hills store is one of more than 450 showrooms throughout the country set to close.
"The person who owns the property said he's not worried about getting a new tenant," Village Manager John Kalmar said. "It's a great location and the building is in great shape."
Kalmar said numerous companies have already expressed interest in the space.
"It's been multiple iterations of a sports store," Kalmar said, noting that it was once Sportmart until it merged with Sports Authority.
News reports indicate that Sports Authority officials cited online shopping as a major factor in their downfall.
Vernon Hills does not charge a property tax because of the large amount of sales tax revenue the village collects. Officials in the past, namely Trustee James Schultz, have expressed anxiety over the emerging online retail trend.
"We're always looking at the Marketplace Fairness Act, but until the federal government, and Congress specifically, move that forward on a multi-state level, I'm not sure when we're see any significant revenues from the internet," Kalmar said.
Vernon Hills saw major vacancies and faced a substantial loss in revenue after the 2008 economic downturn, but Kalmar said sales tax revenue has returned.
"We're slightly above where we were," Kalmar said. "We monitor it every month, and it's slowly continuing to increase, which is a good thing."
The fiscal year 2016-17 budget includes about $12.5 million in anticipated sales tax revenue.
"We're conscious of (online shopping), and it is something we have to be aware of going forward in the future," Kalmar said. "But in the same respect, the successful retailers right now appear to have both a brick and mortar presence and an online presence. That seems to be working at this point for a lot of retailers in town."
Vernon Hills has a 6 percent commercial vacancy rate, Kalmar said during a May 24 presentation to the GLMV Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, he said the retail footprint will grow when Whole Foods anchors a new development that will be built at the northeast corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Townline Road.
One of the few vacancies in town is the former Tiger Direct store along Milwaukee Avenue just south of Townline Road. Kalmar said Ashley Furniture is considering relocating from a few blocks away into the empty Tiger Direct building.
When Tiger Direct closed in May 2015, corporate officials said brick-and-mortar stores were not meeting sales expectations, while online business-to-business sales were growing.
Tribune News Service contributed.
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/vernon-hills/news/ct-vhr-sports-authorty-impact-replace-tl-0707-20160701-story.html | en | 2016-07-01T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/db634a2093d3bab3755cb24cf71ceded6454b1dfa5b7d1b96ae5b3234b9ea33f.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mark Gonzales"
] | 2016-08-27T04:48:07 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2Fcubs%2Fct-cubs-joe-maddon-tim-tebow-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c1080e/turbine/ct-cubs-joe-maddon-tim-tebow-20160826 | en | null | Cubs manager Joe Maddon supports Tim Tebow's baseball bid | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Cubs manager Joe Maddon admitted Friday night he has seen video of former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow taking batting practice in preparation for his workout next week in Southern California.
And Maddon was somewhat impressed.
“It’s a decent hack,” said Maddon, a former minor league hitting instructor with the Angels.
It’s uncertain whether the Cubs will send scouts to watch Tebow’s workout in Southern California, but Maddon supports Tebow’s bid after a short-lived quarterback career in the NFL after winning the Heisman Trophy in 2007.
“Being 29 years old, it’s not easy to pull off,” Maddon said. “But good for him. If he wants to give it a run, go for it.” | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-joe-maddon-tim-tebow-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/6b0d0c368b3b08a200035d3f33aa027f5471944a581e3beeb6e04614a8a26138.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Clark"
] | 2016-08-27T06:47:58 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fhighschool%2Fct-spt-0827-prep-fb-montini-maine-south-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c12c07/turbine/ct-spt-0827-prep-fb-montini-maine-south-20160826 | en | null | Maine South hands No. 10 Montini rare blowout loss | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Nick Leongas isn't as well known as some of his predecessors as Maine South's quarterback.
But Hawks coach Dave Inserra has known about Leongas for a long time, and now others are finding out about him too.
After fumbling away his first carry of the season — a turnover that produced a Montini touchdown — Leongas bounced back in a big way.
The senior passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as Maine South upset No. 10 Montini 44-13 on Friday in Park Ridge. The loss was the defending Class 6A champion Broncos' worst since a 47-3 loss to Sacred Heart-Griffin in 2004.
Fotis Kokosioulis provided a strong complement to Leongas' running and throwing, rushing for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
But the breakout star was Leongas, who was set to be third-year starter Brian Collis' backup last season before being sidelined by a Week 2 injury.
That made him something of an unknown quantity, except to his coach.
"Since he was back in third grade, fourth grade, playing flag football in Park Ridge, we saw what he could do way back then," Inserra said.
Leongas is more of a dual threat than Collis, who got most of his yards through the air. Leongas was 15-for-24 passing for 196 yards and ran 13 times for 85 yards.
On his first carry, he was hit, the ball popped loose, and Montini's Brendan Rauen ran it back 51 yards for a touchdown. Other than Will Smith Jr.'s 69-yard scoring run in the second quarter, Montini had little else to celebrate.
Not so for Maine South, which went ahead for good at 13-7 on Leongas' second TD pass with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. Kokosioulis ran for two second-quarter TDs to make it 27-13 at halftime.
Leongas threw and ran for scores in the third quarter to push the lead to 41-13. By then, that early miscue was a distant memory.
"I just got it out of my head," Leongas said.
"Nick, he's a great player," Kokosioulis said. "He had a little hiccup in the beginning. Short memory; he got over it and stepped up big-time."
Montini played without Western Michigan recruit running back Prince Walker, who was bothered by a quadriceps injury according to coach Chris Andriano.
mclark@tribpub.com
Twitter @mikeclarkpreps
Player of the game: Fotis Kokosioulis, 22 carries, 212 yards, 2 TDs.
Key performers: Maine South — Nick Leongas, 15-for-24 passing, 196 yards, 3 TDs; 13 carries, 85 yards, TD. Montini — Will Smith Jr., 16 carries, 180 yards, TD; Brendan Rauen, fumble return TD. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/ct-spt-0827-prep-fb-montini-maine-south-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/c7eed13170d7099feab3fb3026b73f6a3805f8688f430d8be11d63e7bbb97fa4.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Javonte Anderson"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:10 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fnews%2Fct-ptb-battle-of-bands-st-0825-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf68e9/turbine/ct-ptb-battle-of-bands-st-0825-20160825 | en | null | College bands prepare for Gary showcase | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The rhythmic cadence of snare drums. The melodic sound of brass instruments. A salvo of dance moves.
A Battle of the Bands showcase will kickoff at 10 a.m. Saturday when three historically black college and universities — Alabama State University, Grambling State University and Mississippi Valley State University — perform at the U.S. Steel Yard in Gary.
James Oliver, Alabama State University band director, said that the historically black college bands traditionally perform with more panache and flare than other collegiate bands.
"HBCU bands are show bands," Oliver said. "We entertain a little bit more than some of the regular bands and some of the Big Ten bands because we're going to do more dance movements and different formations that are really going to get people involved in what we're doing."
Oliver said his students are excited about coming to Gary and are prepared to "put on a show."
"It's really exciting for myself and for the students to come to Gary, a city with so much history," he said. "It's great exposure for our university and a good opportunity to recruit kids from the area as well."
Sharon Chambers, the organizer of the event, said she takes pride in having unique events like the Battle of the Bands take place in Gary.
"We don't want people to have to leave the community to attend events or go all the way to Indianapolis to see something like this," Chambers said. "We want to put on events right here in our city so people can start supporting our city. Battle of the Bands is an experience a lot people have not experienced."
Oliver said he has planned some special performances to acknowledge the history of Gary.
"We put some things together from the Jackson family," he said. "We can do a little '2300 Jackson Street' or 'Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough," he said, referring to two songs by the Jackson Family and Michael Jackson, respectively.
"We're going to put on a halftime show."
Chambers said this event is a great opportunity to learn about the culture of historically black colleges and hopes the showcase encourages people to support them in the future.
The bands will take part in a parade beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday when the bands will march from the Genesis Center to the U. S. Steel Yard.
Tickets can be purchased for $20 at three Gary locations: Billco's Barbershop, 2448 Broadway; Big Daddy's BBQ, 4213 Cleveland St., or State Farm Insurance, 5275 Broadway.
jaanderson@tribpub.com
Twitter @JavonteA | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-battle-of-bands-st-0825-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/953e492bbef74bbd5fb82f8f26dbc28992fb3c2c68f9329fe0fa39b9db9b86dd.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-27T16:48:08 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-merrick-garland-harvard-law-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c1a334/turbine/ct-merrick-garland-harvard-law-20160827 | en | null | Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland tells Harvard law students careers can be unpredictable | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland told entering Harvard Law School students on Friday that they shouldn't expect a predictable career path because life can take surprising turns.
Garland recounted his own varied career, which saw him leave private practice to become a federal prosecutor. He later became a federal appeals court judge before he was picked to fill a vacancy on the nation's high court.
"You never have any idea of what's going to come," he said.
It was a rare public appearance for Garland, whose nomination has been pending for more than five months. Senate Republicans have vowed not to hold a hearing or a vote on a high court nominee until a new president takes office.
Garland took questions from the school's dean during an orientation event for new students. He offered no comment about his nomination or the heated presidential race in which the Supreme Court has emerged as a key issue.
A 1977 graduate of the law school, Garland spent much of his talk discussing his role overseeing investigations into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the case of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. He choked up as he recalled seeing the massive crater where the front of the federal building in Oklahoma had been blown off.
"We made a promise that we would find the people who did this," he said.
Garland has mostly avoided speaking in public since he was picked to fill the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia's death. He gave the commencement address at his Skokie high school in May and spoke at a graduation ceremony for fifth-graders in June at a Washington, D.C., elementary school where he has been tutoring students for years.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has suggested he will use procedural maneuvers to try and force a vote on Garland when the Senate returns next month from a seven-week break. Democrats accuse Senate Republicans of obstruction for refusing to even hold a hearing on Garland's nomination.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-merrick-garland-harvard-law-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/243f566bfae48129528b14f0128ec7e9551be89efea908c8a969121d09e5f3d8.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:49 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flibertyville%2Fcrime%2Fct-lbr-gun-shop-robbery-footage-tl-0901-20160824-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57be1c96/turbine/ct-lbr-gun-shop-robbery-footage-tl-0901-20160824 | en | null | Libertyville, Des Plaines both hit by gun store crash-and-grabs | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Libertyville police say the pickup truck that drove into a gun shop on Peterson Road Tuesday morning matches the description of a truck that tried driving into a Des Plaines gun shop an hour earlier.
Investigators from both departments are now working together, according to Libertyville police Lt. Bill Kinast. Footage from the Libertyville incident was released by police Wednesday in the hopes of generating tips from the community.
The Libertyville break-in occurred at about 4:30 a.m. at Just Target Guns, police said. A case of ammunition was stolen after an individual captured on video could not locate the guns, which were in a steel vault further away from the front door, police said.
A truck also attempted to drive through the loading dock door at Maxon Shooters Supply and Indoor Range, 75 Bradrock Drive, Des Plaines, at around 3:30 a.m., according to Des Plaines Cmdr. Chris Mierzwa.
Just Target Guns Rick Kambic / Pioneer Press Employees and contractors sort through the rubble Tuesday morning after a pickup truck drove through the front window of Just Target Guns in Libertyville. Employees and contractors sort through the rubble Tuesday morning after a pickup truck drove through the front window of Just Target Guns in Libertyville. (Rick Kambic / Pioneer Press)
"Nothing was taken. They never got in," Mierzwa said. "That place is a fortress. Nobody is getting in there."
Like the Des Plaines shop, the Libertyville store also keeps its guns in a difficult to breach location.
"Security in here is pretty tight. Between the steel, all the cameras and the alarms, you'd have to be an idiot to try this," said Connie Shanahan, one of the Libertyville store's managers.
Mierzwa said the attempted entries were the same, the trucks are similar, and Interstate 294 provides an easy route from between the two shops within the one-hour time difference.
Libertyville police say the truck drove in reverse and should have fresh damage to the rear of the vehicle, the undercarriage and the rear driver's side quarter panel.
One individual is better visible in the Libertyville footage, and police described the person as a man between 18 and 25 years old wearing a dark colored sweatshirt with black shorts and black high-top gym shoes.
Police are encouraging anyone with information to call (847) 362-8310.
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/libertyville/crime/ct-lbr-gun-shop-robbery-footage-tl-0901-20160824-story.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/92a8040db36a05f654d22797a6dfaa8ff07f8f53f7aca526b2fdd14612d93884.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Colleen Kane"
] | 2016-08-31T10:48:54 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2Fwhitesox%2Fct-todd-frazier-white-sox-future-spt-0831-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c645d4/turbine/ct-todd-frazier-white-sox-future-spt-0831-20160830 | en | null | As Todd Frazier nears end of 'different' year, he holds out hope for future | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Todd Frazier read the quotes from White Sox general manager Rick Hahn last week about the team's direction for 2017 being revealed in the first couple of offseason moves.
The Sox third baseman said he has "no inklings" about whether that means a rebuild or an infusion of major-league talent and called it a "wait-and-see game." But Frazier, who has one more year before he hits free agency, knows what he would prefer.
"I would rather they build around this, to be honest with you," Frazier said. "I like it in Chicago. I like the atmosphere. I like the people there. I think they're all genuine. … When Rick comes and talks to me about things, I haven't had any bad (feelings) about it. He goes about his business the right way. He says, 'We're going to do this,' and eventually it happens. You can be happy with that. Good, bad or ugly, he tells the truth."
Just after the Sox acquired Frazier from the Reds in December, Frazier talked about how it was hard to play the second half of last season for a Reds team that finished 64-98.
Before he homered in the Sox's 8-4 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday night at Comerica Park, he said he feels differently about the second half of the Sox season.
Call it blind optimism or the remnants of positive thinking from a 23-10 start to the year, but Frazier said there's at least a feeling the Sox could rip off one more run as they continue on a stretch of 21 straight games within the American League Central.
"I still think we have a shot, whether it's an outside shot or not," Frazier said.
They didn't start it Tuesday night, despite a 3-0 lead through four innings after Frazier's 33rd homer of the year against Tigers lefty Daniel Norris. Adam Eaton's RBI groundout followed Frazier's two-run shot to left field in the second, but the Sox only added one more run, on Melky Cabrera's groundout in the seventh.
Photos from the game on Aug. 30, 2016, at Comerica Park.
Cabrera came out after his at-bat with dehydration following an illness over the weekend.
But Sox right-hander Anthony Ranaudo gave up a two-run homer to Ian Kinsler in the fifth, and the Tigers racked up four runs in the sixth against Ranaudo, Matt Albers and Jacob Turner to pull away. The Tigers' JaCoby Jones had his first two major-league hits and RBIs in the sixth and seventh innings, and J.D. Martinez added a homer off Turner in the seventh.
"They have a way of opening it up," Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "A guy on third with less than two outs, they're able to get it in. That has been an Achilles' heel for us."
Frazier has had what he calls a "different" year. He is on pace to break his career high of 35 homers, set last year. But he is hitting just .214 with 14 doubles, a .747 OPS and a .165 batting average with runners in scoring position. Last year, he had 43 doubles and a .806 OPS.
"Sometimes when you struggle you get away from that plan," Frazier said. "You have to go back to what you know. For me going up there, grip it and rip it has always been my style, and I kind of got away from it. I think the power's there. The RBIs are there. There are just other things I need to work on. We take this last month … and hopefully I can build off that for next year."
He will have to "wait and see" what next year brings him.
ckane@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChiTribKane | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/ct-todd-frazier-white-sox-future-spt-0831-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4d12cbbdad2c404abf853c13ff8431b7c9fd6df36dd9ec1b570cd94a50b12ac8.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune"
] | 2016-08-30T22:52:14 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fcrime%2Fct-ptb-lakeescape-charge-st-0831-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Gary man returned to jail; faces escape charge | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | After spending approximately seven months with an ankle monitor, a Gary man found himself back in the Lake County Jail Tuesday after the device was discovered to have been removed Sunday, the day before a judge said it could be removed.
On Monday, in court, Brian Michael Andrews asked Judge Diane Ross Boswell about the monitor.
"When can I get this monitor off?" he asked Ross Boswell, who told him it would be removed Monday.
Boswell said Tuesday she learned through a violations report from ICU Court Monitoring, the firm that maintains the ankle monitors, that Andrews had already removed it himself on Sunday.
Andrews, 20, of Gary, was returned to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $10,000 surety, or $1,000 cash bond, on a new charge of escape, fleeing from lawful detention, a Level 5 felony punishable by one to six years.
Ross Boswell has added the case to her court call for Wednesday
Earlier Monday, Andrews admitted in court that he slapped, pushed, punched and choked a woman on Oct. 26 in Gary. His plea agreement outlined the sentence, minus the 212 days in custody that defense attorney T. Edward Page calculated that his client had already served, with good-time credit factored in.
Andrews, who faced an 18-month sentence for battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, has the opportunity to get his felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor. He had faced one to six years on a charge of criminal confinement, which was dismissed along with two other felony charges, | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/crime/ct-ptb-lakeescape-charge-st-0831-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/466918b88eaf0dcb75070b39ff9276f9f123c648adc413afa715ba631f07edee.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune Staff With News Services"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:52 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-italy-earthquake-roads-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c06e7e/turbine/ct-italy-earthquake-roads-20160826 | en | null | Quake damaged roads threaten access to Italy town | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Strong aftershocks damaged two key access roads into quake-struck Amatrice on Friday, threatening to isolate the tiny hilltop town as hopes dimmed that firefighters would find any more survivors from the earthquake that killed at least 267 people.
Some crumbled buildings in Amatrice cracked even further after the biggest aftershock of Friday morning struck at 6:28 a.m., one of more than 1,000 that have hit the area since Wednesday's quake. The U.S. Geological Service said it had a magnitude of 4.7, while the Italian geophysics institute measured it at 4.8.
The shaking ground also damaged a key access bridge to Amatrice, forcing emergency crews to close it. Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said he was working with authorities to find an alternative bypass also to another damaged bridge.
"We hope to God it works because otherwise with the damaged stretch of road, we are without any connection" to the main roads.
"With the aftershocks yesterday but especially this morning the situation has worsened considerably, so in terms of the emergency we have to make sure Amatrice does not become isolated, or risk further help being unable to get through," he said.
Even before the roads were shut down, traffic into and out of Amatrice was horribly congested with emergency vehicles bringing hundreds of rescue crews up to Amatrice each day and dump trucks carrying tons of concrete, rocks and metal down the single-lane roads.
Multiple ambulances were also bringing the dead to an airport hangar in the provincial capital of Rieti, where four big white refrigerated trucks created a makeshift morgue to which relatives came in a steady stream Friday.
A deadly earthquake rocked central Italy early on Aug. 24, collapsing homes on top of residents as they slept.
Premier Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency and authorized 50 million euros ($56 million) for immediate quake relief. The Italian government also declared Saturday a day of national mourning and scheduled a state funeral to be attended by President Sergio Mattarella.
The first private funeral took place in Rome on Friday for the son of a provincial police chief who was honored at one of Rome's most important basilicas. Later Friday, one of Pope Francis' top advisers is to celebrate a funeral Mass for seven other victims south of Rome.
Rescue efforts continued Friday, but nearly two days had passed since the last person was extracted alive from the rubble. While Renzi hailed the fact that more than 215 people had been rescued after the quake, authorities reported a steadily rising death toll that had hit 267 by Friday.
Civil protection operations chief Immacolata Postiglione still insisted Friday that the rescue effort hadn't yet switched to a recovery mission. Rescue workers have noted that a person was pulled out alive 72 hours (three days) after the 2009 earthquake in the Italian town of L'Aquila.
Caption Italy earthquake: Evening drone footage shows devastation in Amatrice Italy earthquake: Evening drone footage shows Amatrice devastated from an earthquake that hit the town. Aug. 25, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade) Italy earthquake: Evening drone footage shows Amatrice devastated from an earthquake that hit the town. Aug. 25, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade) Caption Italy earthquake: Evening drone footage shows devastation in Amatrice Italy earthquake: Evening drone footage shows Amatrice devastated from an earthquake that hit the town. Aug. 25, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade) Italy earthquake: Evening drone footage shows Amatrice devastated from an earthquake that hit the town. Aug. 25, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade) Caption Italy earthquake: Fire crews working in the city of Pescara Del Tronto Italy earthquake: Fire crews working in the city of Pescara Del Tronto. Aug. 25, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade) Italy earthquake: Fire crews working in the city of Pescara Del Tronto. Aug. 25, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade) Caption Italy earthquake: Drone footage depicts devastation in Amatrice Aerial drone footage shows the town of Amatrice devastated after a powerful earthquake struck Italy at 3:36 a.m. Aug. 24, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade) Aerial drone footage shows the town of Amatrice devastated after a powerful earthquake struck Italy at 3:36 a.m. Aug. 24, 2016. (Italian Fire Brigade)
"I confirm, once again as we have from the start, that the units that are doing the searches and rescues, including with dogs looking for other people trapped in the rubble, are absolutely fully active," she said Friday.
On the ground, crews still hoped to find all those unaccounted for, though the number is still uncertain given the large number of visitors for summer holidays and an annual food festival.
"There is still hope to find survivors under the rubble, even in these hours," Walter Milan, a mountain rescue worker, said Friday. But he conceded: "Certainly, it will be very unlikely."
The vast majority of the dead were found in leveled Amatrice, the medieval hilltop town famous for its bacon and tomato pasta sauce.
The other dead hailed from nearby Accumoli and Arcquarta del Tronto.
Flags will fly at half-staff Saturday on all public offices and a state funeral will be celebrated by a bishop in a gym in Ascoli Piceno for the victims of nearby Arquata del Tronto. To date, 49 of the dead have come from the tiny town and its hamlet Pescara del Tronto.
Across the area, thousands have been forced to abandon their homes, either because they were destroyed or they were determined to be too unsafe. Overnight some 2,100 slept in tent camps, nearly 1,000 more than the first night after Wednesday's quake, in a sign that a significant number had found nowhere else to go.
"I have no idea what I'm going to do now, because I had renovated the house two years ago," survivor Umberto Palaferri said, showing a photo of his collapsed home on his phone. "It was all new and now I don't know what to do. I'm 76 and don't know if I can rebuild it."
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-italy-earthquake-roads-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/45c7275fbf592d1642ed8dacc3abca604efbd5dfb2d661c18eab0006c26cd08a.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Ryan Haskell"
] | 2016-08-30T02:51:57 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fsports%2Fct-ptb-girls-volleyball-notes-st-0830-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4e7b6/turbine/ct-ptb-girls-volleyball-notes-st-0830-20160829 | en | null | Girls volleyball notes: Bishop Noll's Brittany Anderson a two-sport threat | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Bishop Noll senior Brittany Anderson's first love has always been softball.
She was so good Anderson committed to Division I James Madison in her freshman year. But Anderson had a change of heart between her junior and senior years.
"I grew up playing volleyball and softball," said Anderson, who has earned eight varsity letters at Noll. "Softball was always my first priority, and sooner or a later I knew I was going to have to choose one. Softball was the choice that fit for me my freshman year.
"But then I started to think about the 12 to 13 hours I would be away from my family. I have a younger sister and I didn't want to miss four years of her life. So when I started playing club volleyball and the college coaches started talking to me, I thought, maybe this is a sign."
Whether it was a sign or not, scholarship opportunities starting come across her table. Valparaiso gave her the opportunity of a lifetime, being close to home and letting her play two sports at a Division I school.
Now that the college thing is behind her, she can focus on her senior season.
Anderson has high expectations. She was named tournament MVP at last weekend's Chicago Christian Invitational, totaling 24 kills, 33 digs and 109 assists.
After playing for a state championship and making three semistate appearances with the Warriors, Anderson wants more.
"The reason I went and played club was because I wanted to train for my senior season," she said. "I've been disappointed the last two years losing at semistate.
"At the same time, we can't take winning sectionals and regionals for granted. I told the team, 'At this point everybody is gunning for us. And they are training just as hard as we are right now with the same goals in mind.' We're going to take it one game at a time."
Noll coach Dave Rodriguez has a ton of confidence in his senior setter, who's in her second year as a captain.
"She is more focused than I've ever seen her," he said. "She took losing to Wapahani (in semistate) really hard and she's dedicated a lot of time in the offseason. She's hungry and we've got a deep team. She's a heck of a leader."
And one he hopes takes the Warriors back to the state championship match for a second time in four years.
Sister power: Crown Point coach Alison Duncan toughened up her schedule to prepare for another state run in October. One of the teams she added was powerhouse Indianapolis Cathedral, which the Bulldogs beat Saturday in five games. Morgan Chacon led with 21 kills, while her sister Alaina followed with 10. The Chacons combined for eight blocks.
Howling Wolves: Michigan City first-year coach TR Harlan has watched his team win seven of their first nine matches. The Wolves took Valparaiso to the limit, losing 15-10 in Game 5. Michigan City could be a sleeper in the Duneland Athletic Conference this season.
Ryan Haskell is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
Top 10
With last week's rankings in parentheses
1. Crown Point (1)
2. Valparaiso (2)
3. Munster (3)
4. Lake Central (4)
5. Bishop Noll (5)
6. Andrean (6)
7. Lowell (NR)
8. Michigan City (NR)
9. LaPorte (7)
10. Chesterton (8)
Player of the Week: Crown Point's Morgan Chacon, a senior outside hitter and Florida State commit, had 21 kills and 11 digs Saturday against Indianapolis Cathedral as the Bulldogs improved to 5-2 heading into a big Duneland Athletic Conference match Tuesday against Lake Central. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-girls-volleyball-notes-st-0830-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5caba986e9a72624af4b05a999db9f4222c1342e93f0b5998d81c7420e711d31.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-29T22:52:03 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-darchei-noam-tl-0901-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4a465/turbine/ct-nbs-darchei-noam-tl-0901-20160829 | en | null | Synagogue proceeds joyously to new Northbrook home | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Northbrook's newest synagogue celebrated its new home Sunday morning with a procession from its rented space on the edge of the village's Sky Harbor business park to its recently finished building in a residential neighborhood to the south.
In a traditional celebration of a synagogue move, members carried the Torah scrolls, the prize possessions of any congregation, at the head of a parade to their new home.
Darchei Noam of Glenbrook has been a faith home-building years in the making. The modern orthodox congregation is a split-off, according to members, from Adas Yehuda V'Shoshana/Northbrook Community Synagogue, a 22-year-old group which now also includes members of Northbrook Congregation Ezra Habonim and Maine Township Jewish Congregation of Des Plaines. That temple completed its new home on Jasper court, just northeast of Willow and Lander roads, in 2000.
After being formed, about eight years later, the new Darchei Noam congregation, with members in Northbrook and Glenview, started renting space at the Lubavitch Chabad of Northbrook's home at 2095 Landwehr Road, about six blocks away. In 2012, with the donation of a house lot in a unincorporated territory just outside Northbrook, Darchei Noam began planning a synagogue in earnest, and got the land annexed to Northbrook.
Some neighbors said they resented the construction of a temple relatively close to houses, and controversy ensued, starting in the fall of 2013, and continuing until the following spring, when the congregation acceded to a string of demands from neighbors.
They included limiting the occupancy of the building to 240 and a promise not to build a sidewalk leading through the property to the next street south, to discourage overflow parking there. Parking lot lights are to be turned off within an hour of an evening's use at night, instead of being lit all night.
The temple is now ready for services for more than 60 families, temple President David Dobkin said.
Sunday, a rented fire truck carried a band playing for the marching members, who carried a chuppah, a canopy usually used in a marriage ceremony. Just as a chuppah represents a new home to be built by a couple after their wedding, for Darchei Noam, it represented a new home for an entire faith community.
"Our congregation has grown, and it's nice to have our own space," Dobkin said. "It's a very diverse and committed group of people that attend our functions, and we're glad to have a place, our own home."
ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-darchei-noam-tl-0901-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2998f8208abdf90c903e69e5e0f5ba12bcc24b197bdf79657aacfa4c9dbfdc4a.json |
[
"Arne Delfs",
"Rainer Buergin",
"C"
] | 2016-08-29T08:48:18 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fsns-wp-blm-germany-merkel-c552022e-6d94-11e6-993f-73c693a89820-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Merkel hones pitch to voters to counter threat of election slump | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Chancellor Angela Merkel made a pitch to win back voters dismayed by the influx of refugees and Germany's deepening involvement in international crises, hinting at tax cuts and attempting to broaden her party base with an appeal to citizens of Turkish descent.
Just over a year before the next federal election, Merkel fielded questions in a television interview on eastern Europe's reluctance to accept Muslim refugees, relations with Turkey, sanctions against Russia and the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union. Each time, she gave little ground and sought to present herself as in control and her policies as the only way to maintain stability.
Confronted with a populist challenge from the Alternative for Germany party and polls suggesting half of Germans don't want her to run again, Merkel heads back to campaigning on Monday in Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, her political homeland and one of two states holding elections next month. She resumes European diplomacy later in the week with separate trips to meet French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi as EU leaders prepare for their first summit without the U.K. in Bratislava on Sept. 16.
"We all agree that Britain's exit is a deep watershed," Merkel said in the nationally televised Sunday interview with broadcaster ARD. "Before jumping into some kind of hectic activity, maybe we should first think calmly about what we can do better."
With election season upon her after Europe's summer break, Merkel received support from Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in pushing back against the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which polls suggest will take about 20 percent of the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday.
At a public event in Berlin, which holds state elections two weeks later, Schaeuble urged German voters to shun "radical demagogues" on the right and left. During an open-house day at the chancellery, Merkel hosted Jerome Boateng, Germany's soccer player of the year, who told her that he had problems as a child because of his skin color. Berlin-born Boateng, whose father is Ghanaian, got caught up in politics in May when a leading AfD politician suggested people wouldn't want "someone like" him as a neighbor.
Merkel honed her election pitch in the interview with an opening to tax cuts after the next election. Schaeuble and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who heads Merkel's Social Democratic coalition partner, urged tax relief in comments on Sunday, signaling growing pressure to distribute the fruits of Germany's balanced budgets.
Lawmakers from Merkel's Christian Democrat-led bloc plan to gather Thursday for a two-day retreat to plot electoral strategy, with refugees, Europe and the economy on the agenda. While Merkel's poll ratings and support for the Christian Democratic Union have slumped amid the refugee crisis, her bloc still leads the Social Democrats by as many as 13 percentage points in national polls.
Merkel said she welcomes the debate on taxes and signaled she'll take a stand next spring when the 2016 budget data are in. "I'd be happy for us to take a look at that time," she said. "I'll feel encouraged if the budget shows a healthy cushion next spring. Now let's first balance the budget."
Schaeuble gave his most explicit backing for tax cuts in the next legislative period, saying that a call by a party colleague to lower taxes by 15 billion euros ($17 billion) each year is "the right thing and has been agreed with me."
Amid fraught relations with Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown in the wake of a failed military coup, Merkel defended the EU's refugee accord with Turkey and reached out to voters with Turkish roots. "I'm also their chancellor," she told ARD, urging them to participate in Germany's future.
Asked to declare whether she'll seek a fourth term next year, Merkel remained noncommittal. "I will report to you on that at the appropriate time," she said.
--With assistance from Brian Parkin | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-germany-merkel-c552022e-6d94-11e6-993f-73c693a89820-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2ed17b35d05aefad1a78453e267e46333731434f6276f649163fc2a75d0bbc3e.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Karie Angell Luc"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:27 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-zurich%2Fnews%2Fct-lzc-taste-of-towns-tl-0825-20160822-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bb37ba/turbine/ct-lzc-taste-of-towns-tl-0825-20160822 | en | null | Thousands turn out for Taste of the Towns in Lake Zurich | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Taste of the Towns hosted by the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce attracted an estimated 4,000 people to Paulus Park in Lake Zurich on Aug. 21, organizers said.
In its 10th year, the four-hour event featured 20 restaurants, said Dale Perrin, executive director of the chamber.
"Look at the crowd," Perrin said. "It's very much a family thing."
The Taste of the Towns used to be organized as an Oktoberfest-type event, he said. Organizers shifted focus about a decade ago because some people were concerned that the event was becoming more about booze, Perrin said.
"It's not just about the partying of it," Perrin said. "It's about family and sampling of food."
The Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce serves member businesses located in the village, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Deer Park, Long Grove and North Barrington, according to the chamber.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance photographer and reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-zurich/news/ct-lzc-taste-of-towns-tl-0825-20160822-story.html | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/935f8217d6bb30efe534e6ed507f05d1407675d69ec02e1c4918901202b28853.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Jeremy Gorner",
"Peter Nickeas"
] | 2016-08-29T18:49:08 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-august-most-violent-shootings-chicago-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c47a48/turbine/ct-august-most-violent-shootings-chicago-20160829 | en | null | August most violent month in Chicago in 20 years | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | August is going down as the most violent month in Chicago in 20 years, as weekend shootings raised the number of homicides this year to just a few shy of all of last year.
A total of 67 people were shot over the weekend and 11 of them died. It was one of the deadliest weekends this year and pushed the number of homicides for the month to 84 with three more days to go, according to data collected by the Tribune.
The city hasn't seen a month with 80 or more homicides since October of 1996, which logged 85. August of that year also saw 85 homicides and June of that year saw 90.
Chicago has a lower homicide rate than many other U.S. cities that are smaller in population. But this year, the city has recorded more homicides and shooting victims than New York City and Los Angeles combined, even though the two cities are larger than Chicago's population of roughly 2.6 million.
Chicago has recorded 487 homicides and more than 2,800 people shot so far this year, compared to 491 homicides all of last year and 2,988 people shot, according to Tribune and CPD data.
New York, with more than three times the population of Chicago, has recorded 222 homicides and 760 shooting victims, according to NYPD crime statistics through Aug. 21. In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million, 176 people have been slain and 729 people shot, according to LAPD crime data through Aug. 20.
The gun violence in Chicago has been concentrated on the South and West sides that have lost population over the years as other areas have grown.
West Hastings Street shooting Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune A Chicago police officer looks at evidence at the scene of a fatal shooting at a large gathering in the 1300 block of West Hastings Street on Aug. 6, 2016, in the University Village neighborhood. A Chicago police officer looks at evidence at the scene of a fatal shooting at a large gathering in the 1300 block of West Hastings Street on Aug. 6, 2016, in the University Village neighborhood. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The Harrison District on the West Side, for example, has had almost 400 people shot this year after logging 350 all of last year. Englewood saw 330 people shot all of last year and has tallied close to 300 this year.
The deadliest night of this past weekend was Friday into early Saturday, when four people were killed, including Nykea Aldridge, 32, the cousin of Chicago Bull Dwyane Wade. She was pushing her baby in a stroller in the 6300 block of South Calumet Avenue when two men approached and began shooting at man walking near her.
At least 26 more people were shot, three of them fatally, between Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning. Three more people were killed and at least 18 others were wounded in shootings from 10 a.m. Sunday until early Monday morning.
Chicago police officials have cited the constant flow of illegal firearms through dangerous neighborhoods and an intractable gang problem – with some disputes beginning on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter – as strong contributors to the city's violence.
In recent months, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has been pushing lawmakers in Springfield to pass legislation requiring harsher sentences for criminals arrested repeatedly for carrying illegal guns.
Earlier this month, Johnson met with several police chiefs from across the country to discuss the nation's gun violence problem, noting that Chicago is among about 40 U.S. cities that have experienced spikes in violence.
Cities like Milwaukee and Washington, D.C – both much smaller than Chicago in population – have seen homicide spikes that they haven’t experienced in more than two decades. Milwaukee police Chief Edward Flynn told reporters earlier this month how the city enjoyed six straight years of record low homicide totals, only to see 2015 end with its highest total in 25 years.
In Washington, D.C., homicides rose in 2015 for the first time in a decade, according to that city's police chief, Cathy Lanier.
The surge in violence comes at a tumultuous time for the Chicago Police Department. It is still dealing with the aftermath of the court-ordered release of video showing Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times, killing the teen as he walked away from police with a knife in his hand.
The public furor from the video’s release last November led Mayor Rahm Emanuel to fire Garry McCarthy as the superintendent. Murder charges were filed against Van Dyke and the head of the police oversight agency resigned as the U.S. Department of Justice began a wide-ranging civil rights investigation into the department.
Earlier this year, the Tribune reported a precipitous drop in morale among Chicago police officers, based on interviews with officers.
Alexandra Chachkevitch contributed | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-august-most-violent-shootings-chicago-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e3693c86ca2c9b9fd55e2c05ffe2a964a73cd37f298b41c223a7a335ead20c4d.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Phil Rockrohr"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:06 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-zurich%2Fnews%2Fct-lzc-d95-superintendent-tl-0825-20160822-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bb4df6/turbine/ct-lzc-d95-superintendent-tl-0825-20160822 | en | null | New Lake Zurich School District 95 superintendent acclimating to community | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | It did not take long for Kaine Osburn to launch his primary initiative as the new superintendent of Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95.
Just 45 days into his new role, Osburn sent parents an email Aug. 15 announcing Forward95, a months-long strategic planning process in which District 95 intends to use community input to create a plan that can shape district goals for the next three to five years.
The process will involve teachers, parents, staff, students, community leaders and non-parent community members, Osburn said. He has already met with village officials and representatives of the chamber of commerce, nonprofit service agencies and various religious communities, he said.
"All of them have investment in schools because they have investment in kids," Osburn said. "Whether it's a YMCA, church, church school or service agency of some kind, they all have some connection to our kids and are important to our families. That means it's important to me to understand their perspective because we should be working together over time to achieve our goals in terms of student learning and growth."
Connecting with the local community has been Osburn's primary mission since he started as the new District 95 superintendent, replacing former superintendent Mike Egan, who retired.
Osburn also can start introducing himself to students in greater detail on Thursday, the first full day of the new school year at District 95 schools.
"Most important, from the moment I was hired, is community engagement both in (informal meetings) and in the formal process, where we can provide opportunities for our parents, business leaders and other community leaders to understand the current state of the district and what the potential state of the district looks like and get feedback," Osburn said.
So far, Osburn's top assistants are impressed with how he has tackled his new role.
His breadth of experience across all grades will benefit District 95, said Vicky Cullinan, assistant superintendent for business and operations.
"Dr. Osburn is fitting in great," Cullinan said. "(Working with him) has been very enjoyable. Dr. Osburn brings a lot of energy and purpose to our work together for the families of District 95."
Osburn is spending time getting to know each administrator personally and professionally, said Jodi Wirt, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
"As an administrator, I feel it is easy to collaborate with Dr. Osburn because he has shared his goals, so I know how I can contribute to achieving those goals," Wirt said. "Dr. Osburn believes it is important for everyone in the organization to understand how they contribute to the district's capacity to grow and improve."
In particular, Osburn's Forward95 idea clearly articulates his plan for gathering information about the opportunities the district should consider for continuous improvement, she said.
"It has been a pleasure getting to know Dr. Osburn," Wirt said. "He is personable, has a sense of humor and, most importantly, he is committed to providing our students with high quality learning experiences that prepare them for the world in which they will live and work."
Osburn described his first days as smooth sailing.
"It's been fantastic," he said. "It's going really well. I'm loving every minute of it."
No particular challenge has daunted him so far, Osburn said.
Lake Zurich is an easier community to navigate because it is smaller than Naperville, where he served as deputy superintendent of Community Unit School District 203 for three years, Osburn said.
"What's really been great is the opportunities to get connected to people in the community," he said. "Coming from Naperville, which is very large, here I've been able to connect with people more quickly. I look forward to doing that more and more often as the school year starts."
Other than community engagement and strategic planning, the district faces no other major issues, Osburn said.
"Egan and his team, with the board's guidance, have left the district in very, very good shape," he said. "We have strong performing schools, well-cared-for facilities that are safe for our kids and, most importantly, our teachers are of the highest quality."
Osburn's experience in Naperville, as principal of Niles West High School in Skokie for six years, and as an English teacher at Niles West and Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream for eight years, provide him with a wide range of experiences, he said.
"I have worked in very different types of communities," Osburn said. "Niles is quite different from Naperville, while Naperville and Lake Zurich have some things in common. I very much come in with an open mind. I have seen different things done in different communities. That means I'm open to different ideas and have new ideas to bring."
Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-zurich/news/ct-lzc-d95-superintendent-tl-0825-20160822-story.html | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/aba34004af168f0e844a64be90df4e9fc3cc1252b3a42d357a966e19fb54b2c3.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Megan Crepeau"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:48 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-heckling-and-gunfire-as-police-investigate-shooting-we-re-just-playing-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c076b3/turbine/ct-heckling-and-gunfire-as-police-investigate-shooting-we-re-just-playing-20160826 | en | null | Heckling and gunfire as police investigate shooting: 'We’re just playing' | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Three gunshots cracked the air close to where police were investigating a West Englewood shooting.
“Run, b----, run!” a young shirtless man shouted as officers sprinted down an alley to check out the gunfire. Then, with mock concern, he added: “Hey, there’s somebody dead in the alley!”
There was no one dead in the alley. Police suspected the shots were a prank by a group of young men who had been heckling them for about an hour at the scene of a shooting that wounded a 22-year-old man in the 7100 block of South Paulina Street after midnight Friday.
Standing in a line not far from the crime tape, they had been alternately threatening and teasing the officers.
“You a traitor! You a traitor! You bogus as hell!” one of them said early on, focusing on the only black officer nearby.
ct-August-24-Overnight-photo-2 Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune A young man confronts an officer at the scene of a shooting in the 7100 block of South Paulina Street Friday. A young man confronts an officer at the scene of a shooting in the 7100 block of South Paulina Street Friday. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Some of the officers returned the taunts, telling them to get jobs and calling out to the block that the men were snitches. “You’ve been talking to me for a year, don’t play in front of your boys!” a sergeant teased.
One officer grabbed his phone and held it out to face the crowd. “Hey, say it again,” he said. “This is going on YouTube.”
They answered him with a chorus of “F--- the police!”
One young man darted under the rows of police tape that blocked off the intersection. An officer followed him onto 72nd Street with a Taser in hand. Several others followed. They caught him and held him against the wall of a brick house at the corner.
“What you think the tape is for?” an officer asked him.
They cuffed him and put him in the back of a police car to cool down.
His friends crowded the tape. “What’s the charge?”
They again focused on the lone black officer. “Black lives matter,” one of young men said. “You a b----.”
ct-August-24-Overnight-photo-2 Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune Police detain a man at the scene of a shooting in the 7100 block of South Paulina Street Friday. Police detain a man at the scene of a shooting in the 7100 block of South Paulina Street Friday. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Police later released the young man. The group wandered around, backing away from the tape and then forward again, seeming to egg each other on.
“I’m finna beat your ass,” the shirtless man told one of the officers. More police approached, Tasers drawn. The red sights of the Tasers showed on the man’s bare chest.
“Tase me! I’ll embarrass your ass!” he said. “Tase me! I’ll sue your ass!”
Things cooled off for a moment, then the taunting continued:
“Get the f--- off my block!”
“Put y’all little-ass guns back in the holster.”
“Your momma a b----!”
The shirtless man smiled. “Y’all taking this seriously. We’re just playing.”
The shots were fired shortly afterward. Police said they were probably just a prank, an attempt to get officers to leave the corner or to mess with their heads. No one was reported injured. Many of the young men, who had left the scene before the gunfire, wandered back.
The shirtless man tested the tape and dared the officers again to use their Tasers. Red dots again appeared on his chest and he put his hands up.
The group continued to yell taunts:
“I’m gonna slap the glasses off your ass.”
“You’re African-American, boy. You act like you’re white. You must not know you black.”
“I’ll assault a P.O. F--- a P.O.”
One young man dropped a pink cupcake across the police tape. “Eat it,” he dared the officers. He got on the ground, reached across the tape and picked it back up.
He stood up and dropped it across the tape again. “Eat it,” he demanded.
Slowly, the young men began to scatter and walk away from the police tape. A stray cat wandered into the crime scene and began to eat the cupcake. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-heckling-and-gunfire-as-police-investigate-shooting-we-re-just-playing-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/be1f1774a3f6d65949290cc7dbea7aae88d815c6c8840b645e86634f8eb9cf6b.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Isaacs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:49 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fcrime%2Fct-skr-burglary-suspects-charged-tl-0825-20160822-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bb54b5/turbine/ct-skr-burglary-suspects-charged-tl-0825-20160822 | en | null | Charges filed in connection to Skokie vehicle burglaries | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Four suspects, including two teenagers, were charged in connection with burglaries to vehicles in Skokie resulting in a foot chase just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Skokie Police Department.
Police said they saw the four suspects pulling on the door handles of parked vehicles on the 4900 block of Howard Street and tried to apprehend them.
"Upon seeing one of the subjects make entry into a parked vehicle in the 4800 block of Howard Street, Skokie police officers attempted to take the subjects into custody," police said in a released statement. "All four subjects refused to stop initially, three being taken into custody several blocks east of the incident location."
Police said a fourth suspect ran from the scene and was later apprehended on the 7700 block of Skokie Boulevard.
According to police, an officer was treated and released from Skokie Hospital for a leg injury suffered during the foot chase. The officer is expected to make a full recovery, police said. In investigating the incident, police said four burglaries to motor vehicles and at least three attempted burglaries to motor vehicles had occurred in the area.
One of the suspects had a set of Dodge Stratus car keys, police said. The vehicle was located on the 4900 block of Brummel Street and responded to the key fob, police said.
According to police, a registration check of the vehicle showed it was stolen from Clinton, Iowa, on Aug. 20. The vehicle was recovered and taken to the Skokie Police Department for evidentiary processing, police said.
Police said all four suspects were taken into custody.
Stacey King, 26, of Chicago, was charged with one felony count of burglary and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Shaterri Scott, 21, of Chicago, was charged with one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Two others, 16 and 15, both from Clinton, Iowa, were charged with burglary and referred to court through the Illinois juvenile justice system.
Police said that three of the four vehicles that were burglarized in Skokie had unlocked doors. In its released statement, police advised the public to remove all valuables from sight or from the vehicle and to be sure vehicles are locked when not in use.
misaacs@pioneerlocal.com
@SKReview_Mike | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/crime/ct-skr-burglary-suspects-charged-tl-0825-20160822-story.html | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/f00883f6aa2d9bccdf1649ef7abda63cab78e1db788880e4eed8557d4b635ccf.json |
[
"Washington Post",
"Lisa Bonos"
] | 2016-08-26T20:48:02 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fmovies%2Fct-richard-tanne-southside-with-you-director-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c08a24/turbine/ct-richard-tanne-southside-with-you-director-20160826 | en | null | 'Southside With You' director Richard Tanne, on breaking the rules on a first date | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | "Southside With You," a movie telling the story of Barack and Michelle Obama's first date, opens this week. Most of the movie was true to the couple's actual first date in 1989: A young Barack (played by Parker Sawyers) and Michelle (Tika Sumpter) spend a day looking at art, going to see "Do the Right Thing" and getting ice cream. In the film, they also go to a community meeting, something that happened early on in their courtship but not on the couple's actual first date.
We sat down with Richard Tanne, writer and director of the film, to discuss how a young Barack might have won over Michelle in the course of a single day - and how Tanne's own love story inspired the film.
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Lisa Bonos: There are many ways to tell the story of a relationship. Why focus on the Obamas' first date?
Richard Tanne: There will be many biographies about Barack Obama and his presidency. But I've always been taken by the way that they show affection in public. The way that they look at each other and the way that they flirt, because it's always felt authentic. It's always felt a little sexy. It's rare to see that in life, and it's even rarer to see it in public figures. . . . When I read about their first date . . . I thought: "This is where it began." This moment of: She was not interested at first, and he had one day to win her over.
Q: Michelle was Barack's adviser at the law firm where they both worked, and tells him very clearly that she doesn't want to date him, that it wouldn't look good for her professionally. In almost any romantic comedy, there's often this sense: If this happened in real life, it would be creepy. How did you thread that needle between romance and the fact that Barack had to convince Michelle to date him?
A: I probably drew a lot from personal experience. . . . I was certainly persistent with my girlfriend. . . . Our first date was really our second date because on our first date, we didn't really know what it was. Then there was a year in between where I sort of dropped the ball and had to pick the ball back up and persuade. It's less persuade and more show someone who you are. I think that's the difference.
Q: Tell me about that first date.
A: [My girlfriend and I] actually grew up in the same town [Livingston, N.J.]. We went to the same high school and the same Jewish synagogue, and didn't really know each other. I knew of her, I'd see her around; she's a few years younger. She moved out to Los Angeles, and we were reintroduced. I was kind of one-foot-in, one-foot-out of something when we met, and I thought it was just as friends. She maybe didn't know that and so . . . I handled the whole thing very awkwardly, and I thought I blew it after that.
Trailer: 'Southside with You' Watch the trailer for "Southside with You," a depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama's first date in Chicago. Watch the trailer for "Southside with You," a depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama's first date in Chicago. See more videos
Q: How did you recover?
A: For a year, I thought she hated me. She did. . . . I kept thinking about her and what a stupid opportunity I blew. [About a year later] I texted her, and I said: "Are you still out in Los Angeles?" And she said "yeah." I said: "I wanted to apologize for dropping the ball. Could we go out for drinks or something?" . . . She made me explain myself more over the phone. After hearing where I was coming from . . . we went and had dinner and had a real date. And we've been together ever since.
Q: That's great. If you got material for the movie from things that you'd read, did you reach out to the Obamas to have them be involved?
A: I didn't. . . . I wrote this [screenplay] completely on spec. . . . I was and am a nobody, so there was no other way to do it. I read as much as I could and tried to extrapolate from there, who they might've been back then, what they might've talked about.
Q: So the conversations they have - when Michelle asks Barack: Have you dated white women? Do we know if she asked him that question?
A: We don't know. I would imagine that, at some point, she probably asked him that question.
Q: A lot of conversation between Barack and Michelle in "Southside" made me think about the ways people judge each other on a first date. One person might make a statement about the other person - such as Michelle telling Barack he needs to forgive his father - and then there's a little back-and-forth, where daters are essentially saying to each other, "You're not seeing me correctly." Your versions of Barack and Michelle had a lot of that.
A: A lot of the things they did on the first date - the community meeting notwithstanding, because that was creative license - all the other stuff, they actually did. That's a long first date. They also knew each other prior to that date, so I felt I could get away with them going deeper. All the dialogue is imagined, but it's also extrapolated from established facts about them, for the most part. But on top of it, when you do have an amazing first date . . . there's a pattern of: It was kind of an unexpectedly deep experience, a marathon experience. You talked about things you're never "supposed" to talk about.
Q: They challenge each other quite a bit. What were you going for there?
A: I had the idea to do this film back in 2008, but I didn't start writing it until 2013. It wasn't until I fell in love that I was able to really sit down and work on it. . . . What I learned was that: When you meet someone really special, it's not just that kind of mushy, gushy storybook romance, it's the person that can hold up a mirror to you and show you how you can be better. I look at them now, and I feel that they make each other better. And so, I thought [that on] the first date . . . they'd have to show each other one another's blind spots, or flaws. . . . Michelle Obama is a woman of high standards. . . . She's not going to let some good-looking, smooth-talking guy come in and do a number. . . . He wasn't going to just get away with charm; there had to be more. . . . He's into her from the start, but he falls deeper and deeper over the course of the day because she is able to point out things that other people in his life probably don't.
Q: While watching "Southside," I thought about the effortless way Michelle and Barack are telegraphing to each other: "I'm intellectual and worldly," without saying it directly. For example, when they're at the art exhibit, Michelle drops a French phrase into the conversation. Or when Barack casually mentions something that happened in Indonesia, prompting Michelle to probe further. On a first date, you might not ask someone - "How many languages do you speak?" or "Have you lived abroad?" - but daters find ways to drop clues about themselves. The language of the first date is kind of elliptical. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-richard-tanne-southside-with-you-director-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/b96070fe838d197a11b982c544dc6676892771bafad450d7deeb41c51745be1d.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Alexandra Chachkevitch"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:14 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fthebeat%2Fct-keeping-the-peace-at-a-crime-scene-hey-guys-c-mon-why-you-fighting-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5da15/turbine/ct-keeping-the-peace-at-a-crime-scene-hey-guys-c-mon-why-you-fighting-20160830 | en | null | Keeping the peace at the scene of a crime: 'Hey guys, c'mon. Why you fighting?' | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Beat 1522, 10:10 p.m. Aug. 29
Police were wrapping up their investigation of a double shooting in Austin, two boys 15 and 16, one of them hit in the back and the other in the head.
Officers had strung up yellow crime tape and had laid out at least 24 yellow markers where shell casings and other evidence had been found near the corner of Quincy Street and Lotus Avenue on Monday evening.
Two men and two women approached and asked if they could pass through.
“It’s a crime scene,” an officer guarding the scene told them. “You gotta walk around.”
The group turned and started to walk away. But a man in a white T-shirt and a pregnant woman in glasses stayed behind, arguing with each other.
The man demanded that the woman give him money. Their argument seemed almost playful.
“I got guns,” the man said.
“Your ass needs to be locked up,” the woman replied, laughing.
082316-homicide-1 Alexandra Chachkevitch / Chicago Tribune Police investigate a shooting in the 5500 block of West Quincy Street that wounded two boys, 15 and 16. Police investigate a shooting in the 5500 block of West Quincy Street that wounded two boys, 15 and 16. (Alexandra Chachkevitch / Chicago Tribune) (Alexandra Chachkevitch / Chicago Tribune)
But their voices grew louder, their argument more intense.
A sergeant stepped up. “Hey guys, c'mon. Why you fighting near the crime scene? We don’t want another crime scene here.”
But the woman and the man didn’t seem to notice.
“Give me money before I beat you,” the man threatened.
“I don’t have your money,” the woman replied.
The man reached out toward the woman, but she moved away.
“Sir,” an officer said, stepping in between the two. “Sir, sir.”
“He got PCP in his pocket,” the woman said.
The two kept yelling at each other, and an officer called for backup. A minute later, two police SUVs rolled up on Lotus from Jackson Boulevard.
082916-austin-shooting-3 Alexandra Chachkevitch / Chicago Tribune Police investigate a shooting in the 5500 block of West Quincy Street that wounded two boys, 15 and 16. Police investigate a shooting in the 5500 block of West Quincy Street that wounded two boys, 15 and 16. (Alexandra Chachkevitch / Chicago Tribune) (Alexandra Chachkevitch / Chicago Tribune)
Detectives investigating the crime scene walked up to see what was happening. Someone on the third floor of a building teased the officers from his window.
“Officers,” the man said. “I see you.”
The sergeant’s patience ran out.
“Go that way,” the sergeant yelled at the man. “We’re done here.”
Two other officers escorted the woman onto the other side of the crime scene, away from the man.
“What the (expletive)?” the man said.
A squadrol rolled up and officers placed the man inside. It drove away, and police returned to the crime scene in silence. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/thebeat/ct-keeping-the-peace-at-a-crime-scene-hey-guys-c-mon-why-you-fighting-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/b14301a355455b4e556e42276f689c91d5f0b6fc1e4f83bbfd5a41e24ab17d15.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Paul Skrbina"
] | 2016-08-28T02:48:26 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2Fwhitesox%2Fct-tim-anderson-bits-white-sox-spt-0828-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c239a2/turbine/ct-tim-anderson-bits-white-sox-spt-0828-20160827 | en | null | Tim Anderson adjusting to family life, without his family | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Lately, life off the field has been all games and not a lot of fun for Tim Anderson.
The White Sox's rookie shortstop said he has plenty of learning to do now that his fiancee, Bria Evans, left Chicago for her job teaching high school English in Charlotte, N.C. — like how to occupy his time.
Anderson and Evans haven't had that problem during the first eight months of a whirlwind year. They had their daughter, Peyton, in March during spring training. Three months later, Anderson was called up from Triple-A Charlotte. At least his family came back to town to visit during this weekend's series against the Mariners before school starts Monday.
"I've been kind of bored before I come to the field or after the game (since they left)," Anderson said. "I don't know what to do.
"We talk throughout the day and FaceTime. Other than that, I have a video game. I'm going to start playing video games."
Anderson has been having fun with the game he's paid to play too.
His bat has been a big reason for that. Going into Saturday's game against the Mariners, the 23-year-old had two or more hits 23 times in 65 career games.
The other numbers don't lie either.
Anderson was batting .283 with seven home runs, 16 doubles, two triples, 21 RBIs and a .737 OPS. He has batted everywhere but third, fourth and fifth in the lineup but has settled in lately hitting second.
After tripling in his first at-bat Saturday, he has at least one hit in 17 of his last 19 games. He said the transition from the minors to the majors has been smooth so far.
Here's the pitch: Chris Sale has thrown a season-high 120 pitches in each of his last two starts, including Friday's complete game, when he became the second pitcher ever to record 14 strikeouts and no walks in a loss at least twice in his career (Randy Johnson did it three times), according to Elias.
Sox manager Robin Ventura pointed to the extra day of rest and the way Sale was throwing as justification for leaving him out there for the 3-1 loss.
"(Friday) night he was as smooth and as easygoing as he has been in a while," Ventura said. "At that point, whether we were up, down or tied, he was going back out there." | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/ct-tim-anderson-bits-white-sox-spt-0828-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/423d96c067af4ea74d3699f46f235d0a7621777b95fb0fa23025b17ab8d35cea.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Ted Slowik"
] | 2016-08-28T00:51:41 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fdaily-southtown%2Fopinion%2Fct-sta-slowik-trust-st-0828-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0f3b3/turbine/ct-sta-slowik-trust-st-0828-20160826 | en | null | Lincoln-Way faces challenges to regain public trust | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Public trust is a delicate bond. Citizen confidence that elected officials are acting in the public's best interests and serving as noble stewards of tax dollars is earned over time.
When public trust in government is broken, it can take years to regain. The more serious the breach, the more work is required to regain public trust.
Many residents in New Lenox-based Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 believe the district has seriously breached the public trust. I'm not sure how well the district's leadership has heard that message, or grasped what the district should do to regain public confidence.
The start of the school year provided the most recent opportunity to consider Lincoln-Way's trust issues. On Wednesday, I wrote about how the Frankfort fire marshal investigated a parent's complaint about possible overcrowding at Lincoln-Way East High School.
I wrote how the fire marshal visited the school, conducted a fire drill, and deemed the situation safe. I cited information provided by the school district about enrollment at each of the district's three high schools and the capacity for each building.
A couple people wrote me, asking me to challenge the capacity figures provided by the district. They essentially said they couldn't trust anything the district said because Lincoln-Way misrepresented the true state of the district's finances for several years.
I visited Lincoln-Way East and Central high schools to observe hallway conditions first-hand during passing periods. I also visited Lockport East High School, which dealt with overcrowding in the past, to see conditions in another district.
Lincoln-Way faces challenges to regain public trust Ted Slowik / Daily Southtown "K" hallway at Lockport East High School was notoriously congested for years before it was widened. Now Lincoln-Way High School District officials are addressing concerns about overcrowding. "K" hallway at Lockport East High School was notoriously congested for years before it was widened. Now Lincoln-Way High School District officials are addressing concerns about overcrowding. (Ted Slowik / Daily Southtown)
I observed busy but orderly movement of students through hallways. Nothing I witnessed raised any concerns about safety. Hallways emptied out with about two minutes remaining in the six-minute passing periods.
I reached the personal conclusion that overcrowding concerns were unfounded. But the notes about challenging capacity figures nagged at me.
Lincoln-Way parents and taxpayers have every right to be upset. Their trust was violated after they agreed to pay higher property taxes by approving a $225 million referendum to build two new high schools in 2006.
The first public inkling of Lincoln-Way's troubles came in May 2015, when the state placed the district on its financial watch list. In August 2015, the school board decided to close Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort to trim a $5 million annual budget deficit.
The decision shocked and angered the community. A group sued to prevent the closing, which triggered a wave a revelations about questionable decisions by former Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie, who retired in 2013.
Lincoln-Way Superintendent Scott Tingley Daily Southtown / Allen Cunningham Lincoln-Way Superintendent Scott Tingley listens as district residents express their frustration with the administration and the school board, May 26, 2016 Lincoln-Way Superintendent Scott Tingley listens as district residents express their frustration with the administration and the school board, May 26, 2016 (Daily Southtown / Allen Cunningham)
A federal grand jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission are conducting ongoing investigations into the district's finances. Among the revelations so far was a report in April that the district had improperly used bond funds to cover operating costs.
"The superintendent at the time, without the board's knowledge or approval, directed the bookkeeping department to record fund journal entries reclassifying the original expenditures as capital expenditures," a consultant hired by district reported.
The district then issued a statement accepting responsibility for the wrongdoing.
"It is apparent that a proper system of checks and balances was not in place, and that the previous superintendent took unauthorized action; for this, we take responsibility," the statement said. "This board was presented with annual audits giving the district a financial 'clean bill of health' for years. While there were findings of recommended corrective actions, the true financial condition of our district was masked by improper accounting."
Four Lincoln-Way school board members — Kathleen Casey,Kevin Malloy, Christopher McFadden and Arvid Johnson — have resigned this year amid the controversy.
While board members appeared to accept responsibility, their statement also seemed to blame a past actor for the district's financial problems. The public isn't so quick to absolve current players for their roles in having to close a nearly $100 million school just eight years after it opened.
Through the Freedom of Information Act, Daily Southtown reporter Gregory Pratt uncovered documents that indicate Scott Tingley — who succeeded Wyllie as superintendent in 2013 — conveyed different messages to board members and the public.
In September 2014, the school board approved Tingley's recommendation for a 2015 budget that showed an operating surplus.
But 11 days later, Tingley privately told board members in an email he expected the district would actually have a $6 million deficit that year.
Amid such revelations, it's no wonder Lincoln-Way parents and taxpayers question the district's honesty and transparency. Maybe the district is guilty of costly incompetence, like the administrative oversight that caused the district to refund hundreds of thousands of dollars in driver education fees that parents were overcharged.
Or, some people wonder, are district leaders deliberately trying to mislead the public for some reason?
Three Lincoln-Way board members who have served since Wyllie was superintendent—Dee Molinare, Christopher Kosel and Christine Glatz — need to realize it's impossible to restore public trust in Lincoln-Way while they remain on the board.
I wonder if they realize how fragile the public trust is, that once shattered it's not easily repaired or swept under the rug. They'll continue to face criticism about whether they should have questioned the administration more about the district's finances through the years.
At the very least, they've been unsuccessful at fulfilling their duties as elected officials. It happened on their watch, and I think voters will let them know that if they seek re-election. It would be better for the community if they stepped aside now.
I wonder if they appreciate how much closing a high school impacted the community. It forced a couple thousand students to change schools and disrupted families — many of the same people who supported the referendum a decade ago.
Lockport High School District tried unsuccessfully to persuade voters seven times to approve a referendum. The district resorted to drastic measures, including mobile classrooms, staggered schedules and other measures to handle overcrowding. The district ultimately resolved its overcrowding by building an addition at Lockport East in 2011 for $2.4 million.
Lockport's leadership appreciates the delicacy of the public trust. I don't think the leadership in Lincoln-Way gets it.
tslowik@tribpub.com
Twitter @tedslowik | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/opinion/ct-sta-slowik-trust-st-0828-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/90556334607fdcf7c912308cd1efb77f423b835bd774148ae213dd5a8c484b5f.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:43 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fmidwest%2Fct-indiana-ohio-tornadoes-pence-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf861e/turbine/ct-indiana-ohio-tornadoes-pence-20160825 | en | null | Several tornadoes likely hit Indiana, Ohio; Pence breaks from campaign to survey damage | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | In a central Indiana city where trees were sheared off at their stumps by one of several tornadoes in the region, residents began the hard work Thursday of cleaning up destroyed or damaged homes and businesses.
The EF3 tornado that swept through the south side of Kokomo, Indiana, on Wednesday afternoon packing winds as high as 152 mph toppled a Starbucks coffee shop and tore apart numerous homes. One of them belonged to 45-year-old Mark Martinez, who was out picking up his daughter from school and returned to find everything but the bedrooms on one side of his house destroyed.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence hugged and chatted with residents in a neighborhood where the damage seemed to skip some homes altogether. Pence credited quick thinking and early warnings of the approaching storm for the lack of serious injuries; Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers said only 10 to 15 residents in the city 40 miles north of Indianapolis had minor injuries.
"It's a miracle and it's a testament to good common sense," Pence said.
Cheryl Swyers said she huddled in a hallway closet with her 2-year-old granddaughter as the tornado struck.
Severe weather Indiana Pence Darron Cummings / AP Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence talks with representatives as they stand outside of a Starbucks, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Kokomo, Ind. The restaurant was hit by a tornado that pass through the area Wednesday afternoon. Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence talks with representatives as they stand outside of a Starbucks, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Kokomo, Ind. The restaurant was hit by a tornado that pass through the area Wednesday afternoon. (Darron Cummings / AP) (Darron Cummings / AP)
"It sounded like it lasted forever, but I'm sure it wasn't," Swyers said. "The house shook. You could hear things flying around outside."
Her house was spared from major damage. But the tornado demolished most of the home across the street belonging to Martinez, who left to pick up his daughter from school minutes before the tornado tore through.
When they returned, his daughter was distraught because their dog was still inside the rubble of the home. After some digging, Martinez found the dog alive.
Martinez said he hadn't mentally processed the events.
"It's crazy," was all he could muster.
The Kokomo tornado was one of several that swept through central and northern Indiana and northwest Ohio on Wednesday.
In Ohio, damage was reported in four counties, including Van Wert County, where officials said at least two tornadoes touched down about 2 miles apart, tearing roofs off homes and flattening barns. A tornado warning also briefly stopped a KISS concert Wednesday night in Toledo, Ohio, though no twisters touched down in that city.
As of Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service had confirmed that at least seven tornadoes hit Indiana during Wednesday's outbreak, five of them in central Indiana and two others in northeastern Indiana. But surveys were continuing and the storm tally was expected to rise, said Mike Ryan, a weather service meteorologist in Indianapolis.
Some houses and farm buildings were damaged by storms in rural areas near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the Montgomery County community of Mace, about 35 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
About 220 people stayed overnight in a temporary shelter in Kokomo, Mayor Greg Goodnight said Thursday. Police were restricting access to storm-damaged neighborhoods, saying residents must show identification to gain access.
Utility companies reported about 25,000 homes and businesses in the Kokomo area lost electricity from the storm, though power was restored to more than half by Thursday afternoon.
Heidi Otiker lives on a block that was hit Wednesday, as well as by a tornado in November 2013.
"It could have been far worse. God has a master plan. I believe this all happens for a reason. It sucks at the moment. Our houses and our material things can be replaced," she said. "But this time, no fatalities, no injuries, and we are all still here."
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/ct-indiana-ohio-tornadoes-pence-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/f12063525caee83ef3d432f06442335dfaded85006575b30224507aef1e1343d.json |
[
"Washington Post",
"Nick Miroff"
] | 2016-08-28T02:48:22 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-colombia-rebels-peace-talks-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c244dd/turbine/ct-colombia-rebels-peace-talks-20160827 | en | null | Colombian peace deal could mark a rare victory for U.S. diplomacy | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | In an era of frustrating, if not failed, U.S. policy interventions abroad, the Colombian peace deal announced last week offers the possibility of a rare victory for American diplomacy.
It would be a validation of Plan Colombia, the U.S. counternarcotics and security-aid package that has sent roughly $10 billion to Bogota since 2000, tipping the government's fight against the Marxist FARC insurgents. The accord finalized Wednesday would convert the rebels from one of the world's most powerful drug-trafficking groups to a legal political party with a sworn commitment to ending both the 52-year war and its narcotics trade.
More broadly, the deal would be a bookend to the long, bloody history of armed insurgency in Latin America, affirming democracy as the only viable political system in the region. The agreement was forged in Cuba, of all places, the site of Fidel Castro's leftist revolution, which was imitated by so many others.
"This is a transformational moment for our hemisphere," Bernard Aronson, the U.S. envoy to the peace talks, said in an interview. "It is a final repudiation of political violence as a means of changing governments."
Or at least that is the way it's supposed to go.
The fate of the deal rests with Colombian voters, who will go to the polls Oct. 2 to approve or reject it. The accords are unquestionably more popular abroad - backed by Pope Francis, President Barack Obama and seemingly every leader in Latin America - than they are in Colombia, where opinion surveys are mixed.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos's single-minded, six-year pursuit of a deal with the FARC - or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - has left him politically exhausted and weak in the polls. His archrival, popular former president Álvaro Uribe, is leading a "no" campaign under the banner "Paz sí, pero no así," (Peace yes, but not like this).
Santos has told Colombians that the deal is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. Its failure would be such a thorough repudiation of Santos that few can imagine how he might recover before his term expires in 2018.
His final push will be big, and his peace deal seems to have the weight of history behind it, coming in the afterglow of Obama's historic Cuba trip in March to "bury" the Cold War once and for all in the hemisphere.
On Wednesday, a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is scheduled to touch down in Santa Clara, the Cuban city where the remains of revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara rest in a mausoleum. It will be the first commercial route between the United States and the communist island in more than 50 years.
Radical leftism is fading across Latin America. In Colombia's neighbor Venezuela, the petroleum-backed "Bolivarian" revolution led by late president Hugo Chávez has broken down since his 2013 death and the crash of global oil prices. Today, U.S. diplomats worry more about Venezuela's descent into chaos than the regional spread of its socialist, "anti-imperialist" message. A pro-American technocrat, Mauricio Macri, recently won the presidency in Argentina, replacing a leftist leader. Peru's presidential election in June was won by a former World Bank economist.
Now comes the test of whether Colombians are ready to accept former guerrilla "terrorists" as a political movement with representatives in Congress.
Humberto de la Calle, Ivan Marquez, Bruno Rodriguez Ramon Espinosa / AP Humberto de La Calle, right, head of Colombia's government peace negotiation team, shakes hands with Ivan Marquez, chief negotiator of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, left, while Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, center, applauds after signing an agreement in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, August 24, 2016. Colombia's government and the country's biggest rebel group reached a deal for ending a half-century of hostilities in what has been one of the world's longest-running armed conflicts. Humberto de La Calle, right, head of Colombia's government peace negotiation team, shakes hands with Ivan Marquez, chief negotiator of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, left, while Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, center, applauds after signing an agreement in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, August 24, 2016. Colombia's government and the country's biggest rebel group reached a deal for ending a half-century of hostilities in what has been one of the world's longest-running armed conflicts. (Ramon Espinosa / AP) (Ramon Espinosa / AP)
A rejection of the peace accord by voters also would be a failure for the Obama administration, which has given Santos vociferous support and ample aid. The cornerstone of the relationship, Plan Colombia, is widely credited with helping the government turn the tide against the FARC.
When Plan Colombia was launched in the late 1990s, the country had one of the world's highest homicide rates and the FARC's guerrilla armies had grown to nearly 20,000 troops, controlling as much as a third of Colombian territory. With U.S. military hardware, training and other assistance, the Colombian government reduced the rebels' ranks by more than half, driving them into the country's most remote corners, particularly during Uribe's 2002-2010 presidency.
The U.S. government has encouraged the peace negotiations, and Washington quietly backed off efforts to extradite FARC commanders facing criminal charges in the United States in the interest of helping the talks succeed.
Under the terms of the accords, FARC commanders whose long rap sheets include murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and other charges can avoid prison if they confess to their crimes through a truth-and-reconciliation process and make amends to victims. The Colombian government has agreed not to extradite them.
But that would not absolve them of pending indictments in U.S. federal courts for drug trafficking, kidnapping and other crimes. In effect, this means that FARC commanders with Interpol warrants may not be able to leave Colombia without fear of arrest, even after fulfilling the terms of the peace accords, said a senior U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the issue remains sensitive.
The official also categorically ruled out the possibility of a pardon for high-ranking FARC leader Ricardo Palmera, known as Simón Trinidad, who is serving a 60-year term at a maximum-security federal prison in Colorado for his role in the kidnapping of three U.S. government contractors in 2003. "It's not going to happen," the official said, while conceding that Palerma could be eligible for improved conditions as a result of his "model behavior" as a prisoner.
Colombia Peace Accord Fernando Vergara / AP People celebrate as they follow a broadcast from Havana, Cuba that delegates of Colombia's government and leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia reached a peace accord. People celebrate as they follow a broadcast from Havana, Cuba that delegates of Colombia's government and leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia reached a peace accord. (Fernando Vergara / AP) (Fernando Vergara / AP)
The Obama administration also has muted its concern about booming coca production in areas under rebel control.
Colombia's coca crop has doubled in size over the past two years, and the country now harvests more than Peru and Bolivia - the second- and third-largest producers - combined.
The surge amounts to a major setback to U.S. counternarcotics policy, but American diplomats insist it is a blip. Colombia's illegal coca crop will shrink again if the peace deal sticks, they say.
The U.S. ambassador to Colombia, Kevin Whitaker, said there are multiple "complex" reasons narcotics production has gone up, but the FARC remains the biggest factor.
"The FARC says they're going to fix this and they're going to get out of the business. Even if that happens as some percentage of the whole, there is going to be a better situation with respect to narcotics trafficking," he said.
The history of peace-deal promises in Latin America is a muddy one. El Salvador is the cautionary tale. A generation after its leftist guerrillas agreed to a peace agreement, the battle-scarred Central American nation is one of the world's most violent, with turf battles raging between gangs. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-colombia-rebels-peace-talks-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/80a05a8bda62950dea51d1be978c1fea7f4ce4ccf1bede463506f8f5e60b49cf.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Pat Lenhoff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:25 | null | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fvernon-hills%2Fnews%2Fct-vhr-lenhoff-column-tl-0818-20160815-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57b1f449/turbine/ct-vhr-lenhoff-column-tl-0818-20160815 | en | null | Lenhoff: Thinking about police officers and crying mothers | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The incongruity of the issue is striking.
On an early August evening, communities across our region, including Mundelein and Vernon Hills, celebrated the annual "National Night Out" event. With police departments interacting, communicating and engaging in playful behavior with community members, it was a welcome and heart-warming exhibition of how important it is to foster positive relationships between the police and the public they are commissioned to serve and protect.
On the other side are the troubling images that just won't quit, like the recent Chicago police body camera video that shows officers shooting multiple rounds at a stolen car driven by a young black man, who was arrested while wounded and later died.
I remember watching the news as the family's attorney strongly stated that the sentence for stealing a car is most certainly not the death penalty. Who could disagree with that?
But it's in those troublesome shades of gray where we seem to be hitting the wall as we try to respect police and also respect individual rights, even the rights of those who have broken the law. Admittedly, it would appear safe to say that in many suburban towns, including our own here in the greater Libertyville, Mundelein and Vernon Hills area, there is a good rapport between our law enforcement and citizens.
In contrast, the relationship is much more troubled and volatile in some of the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago and certain suburbs. Race and ethnicity is without doubt a contributing factor in both those equations.
Is it simply a conflict of white versus black? Police versus angry citizens who rally shouts of brutality and prejudice? A city problem versus a suburban one?
There is probably a little truth to all of those influencing factors, but even with that limited answer to the problem, we still can't get to where we need to be on this issue. Because in all likelihood, the agent for change lies much deeper and is tied to economic opportunity, the quality of schools, and programs that encourage and inspire success and hopefulness rather than a foreboding outlook that hints at a short life.
I'm so tired of watching the news at night and seeing another mother in tears because her child has been shot, victim of a stray bullet or bad shot. I'm as emotional watching video of police officers shooting round after round at a speeding car driving away from them as I am watching the murdered police officers' funerals in Dallas.
I love the comfort and safety of my suburban neighborhood, but I mourn for all those mothers and families who simply want the same. Days and weeks and months go by and things just keep getting worse.
We all need to put our thinking caps on, people… even those of us who aren't in the midst of the trouble.
Pat Lenhoff is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.
viewfromvh@yahoo.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/vernon-hills/news/ct-vhr-lenhoff-column-tl-0818-20160815-story.html | en | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5b629337a495880f3ba8a1c4e27650a3ce24ae16f8cb059e9bd03609ce4a7232.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Paul Sullivan"
] | 2016-08-27T04:48:04 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2Fcubs%2Fct-sullivan-cubs-dodgers-spt-0827-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c103f7/turbine/ct-sullivan-cubs-dodgers-spt-0827-20160826 | en | null | Hardly a Hard Day's Night for the Cubs on Beatles Night at Dodger Stadium | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Joe Maddon and David Ross visited Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully in his TV booth before Friday's game to wish him well and give him some going away gifts.
Among the presents was the numbers 6 and 7 from the Wrigley Field scoreboard, and a variety of T-shirts from the vintage Maddon collection, including the ubiquitous "Try Not To Suck" T.
Was Maddon hoping the legendary Scully would say "try not to suck" on the air for perhaps the first time in his career?
"It would definitely put a spike in the sales," Maddon said.
After thinking about it for a second, Maddon decided such language was "not in (Scully's) bailiwick."
No matter.
It was Beatles Night at Dodger Stadium, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the famous group's concert here, and good vibes were here, there and everywhere before the game.
The Cubs were living large in Southern California, coming off a three-game sweep of the Padres and enjoying a 14-game lead in the National League Central.
The magical mystery tour to the West Coast was a perfectly fine way to chill, and the Cubs looked very relaxed indeed.
"We like playing out here," shortstop Addison Russell said. "It suits our personality, how laid-back we are."
Kris Bryant Jayne Kamin-Oncea / AFP/Getty Images Kris Bryant is greeted in the dugout after scoring in the first inning against the Dodgers on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in Los Angeles. Kris Bryant is greeted in the dugout after scoring in the first inning against the Dodgers on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / AFP/Getty Images) (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / AFP/Getty Images)
First baseman Anthony Rizzo concurred. The Cubs, he believes, have come together, right now.
"This is a good road trip for us," Rizzo said. "Three good cities, and most of have our families or girlfriends with us. Baseball-wise these are good stadiums to play in. We usually don't do well out West, so these last three games have been good."
Rizzo was reminded that Jake Arrieta threw a no-hitter the last time they were in town, which wasn't too shabby.
"Yeah, but we were 2-4 on that trip," he said. "I remember my first year (with the Cubs). I don't think we won a game on the West Coast. Get a couple here and hopefully finish strong."
The Cubs went 0-6 on that brutal trip to San Diego and L.A. in August of 2012, but that was yesterday, which now seems so far away.
Now the Cubs are looking at the Dodgers as a possible postseason opponent, either in the first-round if the Dodgers win the wild-card game or the NL Championship Series if both make it that far.
The Dodgers had a two-game lead in the NL West going into Friday's game, but were fixing a hole in their rotation that Clayton Kershaw's back injury created.
The Cubs knew they may see them again.
"No doubt," Rizzo said. "Especially knowing they have guys injured who will be setting (up) to come back and give them a boost."
Maddon has a feeling that regular season and postseason have nothing in common, based on prior experience.
"Last year we beat up the Mets during the season and in the (NLCS) we can't even touch those guys," he said. "It's such a different animal. People get hot, or people get cold. The weather gets cold and everything changes.
"Honestly I know what we're talking about, but things change. Trends can be so trendy, to quote Yogi (Berra). Don't get too far ahead, because things can change very quickly."
Yes, those trends can be trendy. Despite that, Maddon said he was taking mental notes on the Dodgers.
"I'm always doing that," he said. "This is kind of their A-lineup, a veteran lineup, no question about that. Yeah I'll be watching. I'm always watching.
"I want to see what it feels like out there, how our guys react to them. But you come out here to play three games, and the Beatles played here 50 years ago tonight. It's all cool."
Will this be a playoff preview, or was this just another perfect day in L.A.?
Tomorrow never knows.
psullivan@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @PWSullivan | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-sullivan-cubs-dodgers-spt-0827-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/40d24831761e4e09ecc34d3f1bab0c1ecb93c7a90c7fe77a8dd85aa5d7ac3164.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rich Campbell"
] | 2016-08-31T02:49:16 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Fbears%2Fct-what-we-learned-bears-spt-0831-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c61f39/turbine/ct-what-we-learned-bears-spt-0831-20160830 | en | null | What We Learned: Kyle Long to return to practice field next week | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Bears on Tuesday had their second and final full practice of the short week leading up to Thursday's exhibition finale against the Browns in Cleveland.
Here are four things we learned at Halas Hall:
1. Injured right guard Kyle Long will return to action next week.
This isn't a big surprise. Knowing Long, he will do whatever it takes to play the season opener against the Texans on Sept. 11 despite the labrum injury he suffered in one of his shoulders on Aug. 18.
The big question is how effective he will be, given how a labrum injury can affect arm strength and range of motion. Although specifics of Long's injury are not public knowledge, labrum injuries can jeopardize the structural integrity of the joint and be very painful.
Tuesday's practice was the eighth Long has missed, including a walk-through last Friday. When asked if Long actually would practice, coach John Fox said the Bears have yet to determine that but "are anticipating him at least being back out there."
The starting offensive line's struggles in Saturday's 23-7 exhibition loss to the Chiefs reinforced Long's value. With him out, they plugged third-string center Cornelius Edison in and had versatile veteran Ted Larsen move from center to right guard. The Chiefs powerful defensive line disrupted the Bears' passing and running attacks with enough consistency to shut the Bears out in six series.
Hue Jackson Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson will play his starters against the Bears on Thursday in the final preseason game of the year. Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson will play his starters against the Bears on Thursday in the final preseason game of the year. (Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP) (Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP)
2. The Browns' decision to play starters Thursday won't affect the Bears' playing time allotment.
Browns coach Hue Jackson said Tuesday he believes his first-stringers need work. After all, they're one of the NFL's four 0-3 teams in the preseason, along with the Bears.
Fox, meanwhile, will try to ensure his starters' health for the Texans and prepare them in controlled situations in practice. Fox kept the starters out of the exhibition finale last year, and that's the expectation again Thursday.
3. The Bears cut their roster to 75 players to meet the league's 3 p.m. deadline.
They waived linebacker Lamin Barrow (foot), with an injured designation, former Notre Dame linebacker Jarrett Grace and undrafted rookie cornerback Kevin Peterson. Undrafted rookie outside linebacker Roy Robertson-Harris was put on the reserve list with a non-football
illness. The Bears also placed center Hroniss Grasu (torn ACL, right knee) and quarterback Connor Shaw (broken left leg) on injured reserve.
They claimed former Browns cornerback K'Waun Williams off waivers. The slot cornerback was cut after a dispute this month in which Williams refused to play the exhibition opener because of pain in one of his ankles. Since then, two doctors have told him he needs surgery to remove bone spurs. The Browns suspended him for two weeks. Williams has played 26 games in two seasons and does not have an interception. He was credited with eight pass breakups in 2015.
The Bears must cut down to 53 players by 3 p.m. Saturday.
rcampbell@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Rich_Campbell | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-what-we-learned-bears-spt-0831-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e57c2b0b2250b0cdc3c6187770b4db98cf0027bfbe1c1ae73ab16e832b715df7.json |
[
"Los Angeles Times",
"Richard Winton",
"Brittny Mejia"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:08 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fla-me-ln-chris-brown-gun-20160830-snap-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5f01e/turbine/la-me-ln-chris-brown-gun-20160830-snap | en | null | LAPD begins searching home of singer Chris Brown | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Following a bizarre, hours-long standoff, LAPD officers began searching the Tarzana home of singer Chris Brown on Tuesday as they hunted for a weapon the performer is said to have used to threaten a woman.
Shortly before 1 p.m., officers entered Brown’s sprawling home after taking much of the morning to obtain a search warrant. Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos, was on the scene as LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division detectives searched the property.
At least half a dozen people exited the home, a few of them holding their hands behind their heads as police patted them down.
“We’re getting the cooperation of everyone that came out,” Lt. Chris Ramirez said, after informing reporters that officers had served a search warrant.
Once all of the occupants are removed from the residence, they will be interviewed to determined what occurred, Ramirez said. No arrests have been made in the matter.
Geragos told The Times he was inside the home with Brown, who denies any wrongdoing. The warrant was served shortly after Geragos arrived.
Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Bob Green had described the standoff between Brown and officers as “long and protracted.”
The search was sparked by a call for help from a woman who said she had been threatened by the performer, police sources said, with officers first arriving at Brown’s home in the 5000 block of Corbin Avenue about 3 a.m. Tuesday.
The woman said Brown, who has had several previous run-ins with the law, pointed a gun at her during a violent rage before she ran outside to call police, according to the police sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Officers attempted to enter the home and were told to get a search warrant, the police sources said. Detectives then waited for a warrant to search Brown's home for the weapon.
Meanwhile, Brown took to his Instagram account Tuesday morning, sharing videos in which he railed against police and media and said he was being unfairly portrayed as a villain.
In the videos, he said he woke up to helicopters overhead and officers at his gate, and maintained that he was not guilty of the accusations.
“Good luck. When you get the warrant or whatever you need to do, you’re going to walk right up in here and you’re going to see nothing, you idiots,” he said in one video. “I’m tired of ... dealing with y’all.”
An aerial view of Chris Brown’s Tarzana home. KTLA An aerial view of Chris Brown’s Tarzana home. An aerial view of Chris Brown’s Tarzana home. (KTLA)
Because of the high-profile nature of the case, the investigation is being handled by the Robbery-Homicide Division.
Prior incidents at the residence include a home-invasion robbery and multiple complaints about Brown and his friends riding all-terrain vehicles loudly up and down the street.
Brown spent six years on probation after pleading guilty to attacking his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. His probation was lifted in March 2015.
The Grammy Award-winning singer completed about 1,000 hours of community service. He was also ordered to attend anti-domestic-violence classes.
Brown also faced charges in connection with driving without a license and accusations of a hit-and-run. In May 2014, he admitted to violating his probation after committing an assault outside a Washington hotel.
More recently, in June, Brown’s former manager, Michael Guirguis, known as “Mike G,” filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging he was attacked by the singer.
Brown punched Guirguis four times in the face and neck in an incident on May 10, according to the complaint.
“The assault was unprovoked and, regrettably, just another attack in Brown’s long history of violent and abusive behavior,” the complaint states.
“Clearly, thus far, such extreme consequences, such as the loss of his career, court-mandated rehabilitation, and even jail time, have not deterred Brown’s conduct,” the complaint states. “Perhaps, this time, the imposition of punitive damages for his despicable and unforgivable conduct will.”
Caption 90 seconds: 4 stories you can't miss Huma Abedin leaves her husband, Anthony Weiner, Apple owes Ireland big, Brock Turner is released, and the 4 Aurora movie massacre survivors owe Cinemark lawyer fees. Huma Abedin leaves her husband, Anthony Weiner, Apple owes Ireland big, Brock Turner is released, and the 4 Aurora movie massacre survivors owe Cinemark lawyer fees. Caption Kim Jong Un executes using anti-aircraft gun South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Kim Jong Un had two North Korean officials executed with an anti-aircraft gun in early August. South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Kim Jong Un had two North Korean officials executed with an anti-aircraft gun in early August.
For more California news, follow @brittny_mejia
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UPDATES:
1:25 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional details about police searching people at Brown’s home.
1:13 p.m.: This article has been updated with police entering Brown’s home.
12:20 p.m.: This article has been updated with information about the search warrant and additional background.
11:20 a.m.: This article has been updated with additional details.
10:05 a.m.: This article has been updated with Brown’s social media posts.
9:15 a.m.: This article has been updated with additional developments.
8:39 a.m.: This article has been updated with additional details.
This article was originally published at 8:10 a.m. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/la-me-ln-chris-brown-gun-20160830-snap-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/33a0c1ed97cc72177b55758309027220ab34e2fdc4f8cebe63a28340139d468e.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T08:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fsns-wp-blm-china-seas-2f296230-6e96-11e6-993f-73c693a89820-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Island standoff clouds China-Japan ties in run-up to G-20 | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | With tensions high in the disputed South China Sea, it would seem an odd moment for Beijing to pick another territorial fight with a neighbor.
Still, China chose to send more ships near Japanese-administered islets in the East China Sea in recent months, triggering a flurry of protests from Tokyo. That's even as President Xi Jinping prepares to host global leaders including Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Hangzhou this weekend.
The strains come amid other frictions in North Asia, including Chinese criticism of South Korean President Park Geun-hye's plan to deploy a U.S. missile shield in her country. That points to a potentially chilly Group of 20 summit and clouds the prospects for any Xi-Abe or Xi-Park sit down.
One of the reasons China may be escalating its activity in the East China Sea is to warn Japan against getting involved in the South China Sea spat. While not a claimant in those waters, Japan has drawn China's ire for supporting Southeast Asian nations, through means such as providing patrol boats to the Philippines.
"China is certainly ratcheting up tensions over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands," said Chris Hughes, professor of international politics and Japanese studies at the University of Warwick in the U.K., using the Japanese and Chinese names for the East China Sea islets.
"There clearly is a domestic political need in China to demonstrate strength on territorial issues, especially after the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling in July, and this applies equally to Japan in the East China Sea as well as to the South China Sea," he said.
The arbitration court in the Hague invalidated most of China's claims in the South China Sea in its decision last month. Japan has repeatedly urged all parties to abide by the ruling.
On August 23, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Japan had "taken a series of negative moves" in terms of its relationship with China, "especially when it keeps hyping up the South China Sea issue."
There is a "possibility" that Japan may raise the territorial issues at the G-20 "to stir trouble," according to a commentary published Tuesday in China's state-run Global Times. It urged Japan to "act in tune with the theme of the summit instead of causing trouble."
The latest tensions have not dented Chinese tourism to Japan -- the 731,400 visitors in July were a monthly record -- or impacted trade. But they further complicate ties just as Asia's two biggest economies face headwinds, as well as adding to the risk of a physical clash.
Sino-Japanese ties hit a particularly icy patch in 2012 when Japan nationalized three of the East China Sea islands, and China announced an air defense identification zone over the waters in late 2013. The first time Abe and Xi met formally, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing in late 2014, it proved a brief and frosty affair.
Since then, however, tensions over the area had receded somewhat as China focused on asserting its claims in the South China Sea, through which some of the world's busiest shipping lanes run.
China's actions also represent a fresh effort to gain the advantage in the East China Sea, according to Jia Qingguo, a member of the foreign affairs standing committee of China's top political advisory body.
"Previously, the pattern was they took action and we made a response; they threw a problem at us and we had a crack at it," said Jia, who is also a professor at Peking University. "Now China is seeking to take the initiative and seize the upper hand. We make an opening gambit and they try to respond," he said.
"They haven't got used to the new situation yet, but there is not much they can do but gradually adapt to it."
After a meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts last Wednesday in Tokyo, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is considering Japan's request for a summit on the G-20 sidelines, but warned the countries needed a "good atmosphere" for that to occur. China values Abe's "positive attitude" and the Japanese government's "support" for the Hangzhou G-20, Wang said.
Japan repeatedly protested the almost daily incursions by Chinese vessels into what it considers its territorial waters. Its Coast Guard released video footage showing more than 200 Chinese fishing boats were accompanied by 28 government ships in the area during the August 5-9 period -- the largest group since September 2012.
On August 18, six Chinese naval ships conducted live-fire drills in the Sea of Japan. The countries have yet to put into force a maritime and aerial communications system to prevent unintended clashes, although it has been under discussion for some time.
"At every step they take in the elevation ladder, Japanese frustration and anxiety grows," said Alessio Patalano, a senior lecturer in war studies at King's College London. "It is undeniable that mutual perceptions are deteriorating and the risk of unintended consequences continues to mount."
As it faces off against China, Japan plans to develop a longer range land-based anti-ship missile that could reach the edge of the disputed islands, with the Defense Ministry seeking funding in a budget request to be submitted soon, according to the Yomiuri newspaper.
While Abe has appeared keen to meet again with Xi, there is a limit to what he can tolerate, given the need to avoid appearing weak at home. He is riding high in opinion polls after an appearance dressed as Super Mario at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony, but a poll this week showed a majority of the public want a stronger stance on China.
While the foreign ministers were talking in Tokyo, Shotaro Yachi, Japan's National Security Council chief and an aide to Abe, was in Beijing, suggesting the door to a summit is open. Yachi handed Premier Li Keqiang a letter from Abe expressing a desire to stabilize ties, according to China's foreign ministry, while Li urged Japan to use the coming year -- the 45th anniversary of the normalization of ties -- to improve relations.
Though Chinese activity in the East China Sea has leveled off in recent days, Xi has reason to continue to want to appear strong at home: Next year will see a mid-term power transition where the majority of the ruling Politburo and its supreme Standing Committee are set to be replaced. Xi's term runs for a further five years.
The current situation is "a combination of Japan's less apologetic approach and the sensitive political situation during the Chinese leadership transition," said Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation.
"It won't be easy to create a reconciliatory atmosphere until the Chinese leadership is consolidated after summer 2017." | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-china-seas-2f296230-6e96-11e6-993f-73c693a89820-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/f20b6ec34c52a71b7610db719f2de7ef9bc9b632afa7a6f4ed3413b9d1e86993.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune"
] | 2016-08-27T06:48:04 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2Fcubs%2Fct-cubs-at-dodgers-20160826-photogallery.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c12d86/turbine/ct-cubs-at-dodgers-20160826 | en | null | Cubs 6, Dodgers 4 (10 innings) | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Cubs 6, Dodgers 4 (10 innings)
Mark J. Terrill / AP
Kris Bryant, right, gets water thrown in his face as he celebrates in the dugout with teammates after hitting a two-run home run during the 10th inning Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in Los Angeles. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-at-dodgers-20160826-photogallery.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/91e98781f8948ca5af8b3b34904704fef920fcce7ade7af76ba9c344ebd72b1a.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Karen Caffarini"
] | 2016-08-26T16:50:30 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fnews%2Fct-ptb-hobart-duct-tape-regatta-st-0827-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c069d9/turbine/ct-ptb-hobart-duct-tape-regatta-st-0827-20160826 | en | null | Couple sinks defending champs in cardboard regatta | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Having won the most creative category last year with their Flintstones boat, three men with Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church were going for speed in this year's duct tape cardboard boat regatta on Lake George in Hobart.
Their Viking ship with the dragon head, with dry ice giving the illusion of smoke coming out of its nostrils, was more streamlined than the Flintstones model and for a few tense, adrenaline-filled moments they were neck-in-neck with defending champions The Corngetters.
But from nowhere, on the far other end of the race, came the Twisted Teasers, a bright yellow boat adorned with Twisted Tea cans and helmed by newly engaged couple Kim Swanson and Joe Myers, who made it to the shores of Lake George just before the Corngetters.
The Viking Ship took third place in the race, but again won most creative.
"Coordination. That was one thing we didn't have," the Rev. Richard Boshoven said of himself and fellow boat mates Doug Wainwright and Carl Bailey.
"We didn't practice rowing together," he said.
Boshoven said they worked about 40 hours total on the boat, which according to the rules, needed to be built with duct tape, cardboard and glue. He said when the race was postponed from its original day due to rain, it gave them a needed few extra days for the glue to set.
Myer said the couple chose the Twisted Tea theme in hopes of getting their photo on the company's bottles and cans.
"It took a lot of duct tape and a lot of muscle. We spent $80 on Gorilla tape," Myer said of the first-time racers' win.
"We'll be back next year. We'll be the defending champions," Swanson said.
There were about a dozen lake-worthy crafts entered in the race this year, ranging from a simple raft to the elaborate, including another Viking type ship and an alligator-themed boat.
Dan Silich and his son Adam brought back the same corn-themed boat they used last year, when they won for the second year in a row.
"We had it and we gave it up," he said of this year's race. "I didn't see of the other boat coming round."
No boat sank this year, but the three people manning the second Viking-type boat, the Marauders, fell out. They received the third award -- The Titanic -- for the best sink.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-hobart-duct-tape-regatta-st-0827-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5cb3ea2046e7bdde429c502edc35e0d810a85a5a72a80a72c7eed88bb8d0dfad.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Teddy Greenstein"
] | 2016-08-30T02:48:50 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fcolumnists%2Fct-wisconsin-lsu-lambeau-field-greenstein-spt-0830-20160829-column.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4d676/turbine/ct-wisconsin-lsu-lambeau-field-greenstein-spt-0830-20160829 | en | null | One request for Wisconsin-LSU game at Lambeau Field: Let them Leap | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | C'mon, NCAA, make an exception. Live a little.
You penalize taunting because standing over a tackled player and yapping at him is crummy sportsmanship. Keep that flag.
But Saturday's LSU-Wisconsin game will be the first major-college football game in the history of Lambeau Field, which opened in 1957 as City Stadium.
The occasion calls for something radical: Green-light the Lambeau Leap. The No Fun League does not consider it excessive celebration, nor should you.
LSU cornerback Tre'Davious White is ready to vault the wall and visit the people.
"I'm just looking forward to returning a punt and trying a Lambeau Leap," he was quoted on LSU.sportsnet.
It's Badgers tradition to "Jump Around" to the House of Pain song between the third and fourth quarters at Camp Randall Stadium. We love that — and we want more Saturday in Green Bay.
Hey, unusual circumstances call for unusual measures. When Northwestern and Illinois clashed at cramped Wrigley Field in 2010, both offenses headed toward the west end zone.
Wisconsin cornerback Sojourn Shelton would not bite on the topic Monday during post-practice interviews. He said he would not consider leaping.
"It's a penalty, so why do it? Why put your team in that situation?" he said.
OK, but how about if you win?
"After you win, that's a totally different story," he said. "But I'm not concerned about leaping. I'm trying to get a win."
Coach Paul Chryst, whose quotes are the equivalent of three yards and a cloud of dust, said much the same.
Rather than pondering leaps, he said, "I've been focused on making sure that ball can somehow cross that (goal) line for the Badgers."
That view is understandable considering the circumstances. Wisconsin is a 10-point underdog to an LSU team that has as much talent as any in the nation.
The Badgers are young, with just five senior starters. And one of them is quarterback Bart Houston, a career backup whose only significant work came last year because of an injury.
Houston completed 22 of 33 passes in Wisconsin's 24-13 victory over Illinois and impressed Illini guard Teddy Karras, who said: "You almost wish Joel Stave would have played the whole game. I don't know who that backup was, but he was slinging the rock."
Houston has a big frame (6-foot-4, 235 pounds) and NFL-quality arm but neglected to study the playbook in his younger days and threw two picks last year in Champaign. After rolling to his right and making an ill-advised fourth-quarter chuck, Houston ended up next to Chryst on the sideline. The coach gave him an earful, asking, "Why?!"
"I remember it was a play we'd like to have back and learn from," Chryst said Monday.
The second-year Badgers coach took his team to Lambeau during spring practice. His goal was to get some extra bonding time and to "remind them what's at stake, what we're working for."
Linebacker Vince Biegel said of the trip: "It was a two-hour bus ride. We made all the twists and turns and went through the heart of Wisconsin. It was special for the players. A lot of guys are from the South, different parts of the country, and to be able to go up to the heart of Wisconsin, to see who we're playing for and who we're affecting, it was definitely important.
"I think it gave us an edge to get the jitters, feel-goods, the vibes out of the way, so when it comes to Sept. 3, it's all business."
Biegel is a Wisconsin Rapids native and huge Packers fan whose pronunciation of "Wis-KAHN-sin" should be enough to get him elected governor someday.
He chuckled when asked about his ticket allotment for the 2:30 p.m. game.
"It's been a big scratch-and-claw in the locker room for tickets," he said. "Each guy gets four, and believe me, the in-state guys have been pulling at the out-of-state kids for tickets."
tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-wisconsin-lsu-lambeau-field-greenstein-spt-0830-20160829-column.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/6dbf583fa685e0c95395c0ee0f823718288973ebf9f16355c6c068c16b66e3f4.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Leonor Vivanco"
] | 2016-08-30T16:49:04 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fct-university-of-illinois-top-party-schools-met-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5a7f6/turbine/ct-university-of-illinois-top-party-schools-met-20160830 | en | null | U. of I. dethroned as top party school | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | In the Big Ten Conference, where college rivalries are huge, the University of Illinois just lost a title.
U. of I. was dethroned as the top party school in the Princeton Review's annual list of college rankings. The new winner in that category is the University of Wisconsin at Madison, according to the college guide released Monday. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign claims third place among party schools. Rounding out the top five are: West Virginia University (No. 2), Lehigh University in Pennsylvania (No. 4) and Bucknell University in Pennsylvania (No. 5).
The rankings are based on a survey of 143,000 students at 381 top colleges and published in the 2017 edition of the "Best Colleges" guidebook, on sale Tuesday. Students rate their schools on a number of topics ranging from financial aid and best campus food to level of happiness and most beautiful campus. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.
The Princeton Review included feedback from unnamed students, who commented on the social scene at the University of Illinois, which has nearly 33,000 undergraduates enrolled. It quoted one student as saying, "The bars in downtown Champaign are great and super relaxed, plus there is an awesome music scene that most people don't expect from a college town."
Students surveyed pointed out the "19-year-old bar age" and the large Greek system, but also said the large variety of social opportunities means "there's also tons to do beyond the bars," according to the guidebook.
The third-place ranking riled U. of I. officials, as the No. 1 spot did last year.
"Whatever ranking they attach to us is insulting to our students, who are some of the brightest, most hardworking scholars anywhere," said Robin Kaler, a university spokeswoman. "This pseudo ranking is nothing more than a promotion for Princeton Review."
Princeton Review names the University of Illinois the top party school in the U.S.
On the other side of the spectrum is the "stone-cold sober school," a title that belongs to Brigham Young University in Utah.
lvivanco@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @lvivanco | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-university-of-illinois-top-party-schools-met-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4182bbc0df078d4b49ff3752bb98cdea469abfb58720d20d187dc0c5114e844c.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Steve Schering"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:05 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Foak-park%2Fnews%2Fct-oak-elijah-sims-tl-0901-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5e74d/turbine/ct-oak-elijah-sims-tl-0901-20160830 | en | null | Vigil planned to honor Oak Park and River Forest student who died in Austin shooting | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Oak Park and River Forest High School community is in mourning after losing one of its own students to Chicago's wave of gun violence.
Elijah Sims, who was just two days from his 17th birthday, was shot in the head at around 10:10 p.m. Monday night in the 5500 block of West Quincy Street in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. Sims and a 15-year-old boy, who was shot in the back, were among 11 people shot in Chicago over 12 hours Monday.
Both boys were taken to Stroger Hospital. The younger boy's condition was stabilized, but family members said Sims died overnight.
"He passed away," Sharita Galloway said early Tuesday. She said her son suffered injuries to his brain, and doctors were not optimistic when he arrived at the hospital.
A candlelight vigil to honor Sims is to be held in Oak Park at 7 p.m. Aug. 31 in Scoville Park.
Sims was pronounced dead at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at Stroger Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Galloway said she talked to her son moments before he was shot. "I reminded him to be back home by curfew and he was like, 'OK,' " Galloway told WGN-TV outside Stroger Hospital.
She said her son grew up in the Austin neighborhood and would visit friends there. He would have entered his senior year at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Citing privacy issues, OPRF officials would not use Sims' name, but school Principal Nathaniel L. Rouse released a letter to parents confirming a student had been involved in a fatal shooting.
"It is with a heavy heart that I write this message to you today," Rouse wrote. "We have been made aware of a shooting that took place last evening involving one of our students. We have now confirmed that the student involved in the shooting has passed away."
Rouse said the school's crisis team was in place Tuesday, and had met with a number of students.
Store officials at Pete's Fresh Market in Oak Park confirmed the teen had recently began working there, and they were also mourning his death.
"He was only here for three months," store general manager Sergio Zetda said. "He was a nice young man. He was respectful. We're very sorry about his loss."
Tribune reports Elvia Malagon, Peter Nickeas and Alexandra Chachkevitch contributed to this story.
sschering@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @steveschering | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/news/ct-oak-elijah-sims-tl-0901-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/bda0375cb3883139a0d9a56126d42b39548e405561941026dd71733f3a9e7225.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rich Mayor"
] | 2016-08-27T06:48:02 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Felmhurst%2Fsports%2Fct-oak-fenwick-phillips-football-tl-0826-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c125f3/turbine/ct-oak-fenwick-phillips-football-tl-0826-20160827 | en | null | Fenwick storms past Phillips for grand debut at new home field | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Fenwick welcomed itself home in grand fashion Friday night.
The Friars, who will play the next 10 years of home contests at Triton College, made a statement from the outset.
In their first game under their lights, the first game since the passing of Heisman Trophy winner and Friars legend Johnny Lattner, a game they trailed by 20 points just two minutes into the second quarter, a game without a seat to be had in the home bleachers, the Friars roared back to beat Phillips 34-26 in River Grove.
Fifth-year Fenwick coach Gene Nudo, coming off a three-win season, was unsurprised by the result. For Phillips, last year's Class 4A champion, it was its second loss in its past 27 games.
"We expected to beat them," Nudo said. "We have a lot of starters coming back from last year, we feel like we're pretty good, but you don't know until you go out and prove it. Down 20-0 in the second quarter, you start wondering, you know, maybe I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. But we came back."
Phillips, ranked No. 1 in 4A by the AP entering the season, went 80 yards on seven plays to open the game, scoring on a 42-yard touchdown strike from quarterback J'Bore Gibbs to wide receiver Joe Thompson. Phillips senior running back Kamari Mosby scored from 63 yards out to put the Friars in a 12-0 hole.
Fenwick chipped away, scoring twice before halftime and then came out "blazing," as senior quarterback Jacob Keller put it, in the second half.
Keller (21-for-39, 327 passing yards, four touchdowns) hit on his first seven throws after halftime. Two of those passes were touchdowns: one to senior running back Conner Lillig, the other to wide receiver Mike O'Laughlin.
"A win like this says that you can't count us out," Keller said. "We're going to come out every week and give it our all. If we can play with Phillips and beat Phillips, we can play with anybody."
The Wildcats were playing their first game since winning the Public League's first-ever football state title, a season during which they allowed a mere 6.7 points per game. Four second-half turnovers swung the momentum in Fenwick's favor.
"In the second half, it just felt like every time (Fenwick) had the ball they had great field possession," Phillips coach Troy McAllister said. "Credit to them, for sure. It wasn't rocket science what they were doing. Their quarterback, a very good athlete, was dropping back and just chucking it. ... They came out and they just beat us, they were clearly the better team."
O'Laughlin, a junior, had seven catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns for the Friars. He added a 20-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Nudo said he believed this performance was a building block for his group. Montini and Loyola lurk in the coming weeks, and the Friars will host both defending state champions at their new home field.
"We know who we're playing," Nudo said, "and hopefully as we continue to progress, people will know who they're playing."
Rich Mayor is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @CityHall03 | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elmhurst/sports/ct-oak-fenwick-phillips-football-tl-0826-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/66c9313359fc6d90dcd7ead5b70b15fe87ecb5f02a96accc9a2ad49092890607.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic",
"Steve Sadin"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:06 | null | 2016-07-18T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fmundelein%2Fnews%2Fct-mun-parcc-test-reaction-tl-0721-20160718-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-578d2999/turbine/ct-mun-parcc-test-reaction-tl-0721-20160718 | en | null | Area high school officials pleased with decision to end PARCC test | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Officials at Mundelein, Vernon Hills and Libertyville high schools say they're pleased with the State Board of Education's decision to ditch the PARCC test for high school students and instead collect data from the College Board's SAT exam.
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) was only issued to high school students twice — spring 2015 and spring 2016 — before the board made its July 11 decision to call it quits.
At the elementary and middle school level, the state will continue to administer the PARCC exams, which were developed by a consortium of 14 states and the District of Columbia to measure students against Common Core Standards.
Kevin Myers, superintendent of Mundelein High School District 120, praised state officials for listening to school experts, and said using the SAT is a much better tool.
"(PARCC) wasn't giving us the data we needed," Myers said. "It was just us pulling kids out of class for one more test. Our kids value the SAT, just like they did the ACT, because it's a doorway to college. This way, they have something to gain from doing their best."
Mundelein High School's block schedule did not work well with administering the PARCC, Myers said. Because the condensed classes eligible for testing are offered multiple times per year, Myers said the school had to set aside four days for testing twice per year.
"Nobody can cram all that testing into one day, but we also wouldn't get everyone if we only tested once a year," Myers said. "This decision is going to keep our kids in the classroom a lot more and give them more opportunities to learn."
The PARCC test's structure was awkward from the beginning, Myers said.
"In math the assessment was for algebra. Your more advanced students would have taken an algebra class freshman year so they would not be taking that test," Myers said. "At the elementary schools, every student in the same grade level is typically in the same area."
Myers said Mundelein High School will offer students pre-SAT tests in freshman and sophomore years. The plan helps students adjust and prepare themselves for something that's important to them, while also producing long-term measurements, Myers said.
Furthermore, the PARCC test still had some unresolved issues that Myers said won't be a factor with the SAT.
In December, after the 2015 results were released, Myers said students had struggled with questions being unnecessarily wordy. He also said only 60 percent of students who took the test were being graded because those who did not complete every single question were disqualified, as were entire tests that had one erroneous pencil mark.
"The SAT is pretty streamlined and well established; I don't anticipate having those problems," Myers said.
During the December interview, Myers said PARCC started with 26 states but its support had fallen to just six states and the District of Columbia. At the time, he suggested Illinois figure out why others were backing out and then make sure PARCC was still the right choice.
"I don't think anyone was anticipating (a change) happening this year, so I applaud the state for that," Myers said.
The response was also positive in District 128, which is comprised of Vernon Hills and Libertyville high schools.
"With the move to the SAT we'll have a test that aligns with Illinois learning standards rather than having two state assessments at the high school level," said District 128 Superintendent Prentiss Lea. "Taking the SAT and PARCC are redundant."
Lea echoed the sentiment that adding to the number of tests students were required to take in the spring was not the ideal approach.
"You have to look at the life of a high school junior in the spring," Lea said. "They took the ACT and PARCC in the same week and came back a few weeks later to take advanced placement testing."
Eliminating PARCC and utilizing the SAT streamlines the college entrance exam process, said Rita Fischer, District 128 assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
"It holds much more weight with the students," Fischer said. "Every student receives exam prep unique to the SAT. It helps them do well."
Rick Kambic is a Pioneer Press reporter. Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter.
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/mundelein/news/ct-mun-parcc-test-reaction-tl-0721-20160718-story.html | en | 2016-07-18T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/882e7db15a24618e1a7bee10983b9a253333024b045c6b0f76f343dd53736ddd.json |
[
"Brooke Sutherland"
] | 2016-08-30T16:49:07 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fct-abbott-deals-problems-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5a8e9/turbine/ct-abbott-deals-problems-20160830 | en | null | Abbott's headaches stem from some of CEO's biggest deals | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | For Abbott Laboratories it's been one piece of bad news after another. But as they say, luck — whether good or bad — is often the residue of design.
Just last week, St. Jude Medical — which Abbott is buying for $30 billion-plus, including debt — faced accusations from a short-seller that some of its heart-monitoring equipment is vulnerable to being hacked. This came to light as Abbott was already dealing with hassles surrounding its planned $8.4 billion acquisition of medical-test maker Alere, whose business has come under a cloud amid accounting questions and government probes. (On Friday, Alere said it filed suit to force Abbott to complete the merger.)
Abbott's shares fell last week as CEO Miles White's three biggest deals since the spinoff of AbbVie created headaches for the company.
Targets Under Fire Bloomberg Targets Under Fire: Abbott's shares fell last week as CEO Miles White's three biggest deals since the spinoff of AbbVie created headaches for the medical-device maker. Targets Under Fire: Abbott's shares fell last week as CEO Miles White's three biggest deals since the spinoff of AbbVie created headaches for the medical-device maker. (Bloomberg)
If that weren't enough, Abbott saw the value of its stake in Mylan (which it acquired in 2015 in exchange for part of its generic drugs business) eroded as the company came under fire for aggressively jacking up the price of its EpiPen allergy shot.
None of these things are particularly Abbott's fault, but the $64 billion medical-device maker also didn't wind up in these situations by accident. You can question the levels of disclosure and whether Abbott had all the facts, but at a certain point, it was Abbott's — and specifically White's — decisions that led the company to where it is now.
Take Mylan for example. Even before the controversy over EpiPen, the stock had come under pressure following its failed pursuit of drugmaker Perrigo and perhaps overly aggressive resistance of a takeover approach from Teva. While White has repeatedly asserted that Abbott's stake in Mylan isn't a long-term holding, he hasn't been in a hurry to sell, despite the fact that at least some investors wanted him to do so much earlier. (On Monday, Mylan announced plans to start selling a lower-priced generic version of EpiPen.)
Miles White's biggest hits Bloomberg Abbott's CEO has been an active dealmaker. Abbott's CEO has been an active dealmaker. (Bloomberg)
As far as Alere goes, much of the company's problems came to light after the deal with Abbott was inked back in February. But Abbott was aware of at least one government investigation — and perhaps that should have set off more alarm bells. In the months since, Alere has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department regarding two investigations, is taking a charge of as much as $90 million this year related to an FDA-requested recall and admitted there were "material weaknesses" in its internal controls over revenue recognition and income taxes. If not the government investigations and accounting questions, perhaps Alere's lack of revenue growth should have given White more pause.
The issues raised last week regarding the cybersecurity threat to St. Jude's devices don't seem like the kind of thing that should waylay Abbott's purchase. St. Jude has staunchly refuted the claims, arguing that much of the analysis put forth by short seller Muddy Waters and MedSec Holdings was based on older versions of its Merlin@home pacemaker-monitoring equipment that hadn't received security updates. Even if there are issues, the FDA is already aware of hacking risks in medical devices and has been working with companies to remedy vulnerabilities. A devastating recall is unlikely, says Joshua Jennings, an analyst at Cowen.
That said, this unpleasant development is giving new reason to be skeptical about an acquisition that investors already had doubts about in the first place. St. Jude was an expensive bet that a broader, more integrated medical-device portfolio will help Abbott capture additional market share from hospitals. If it works, that's great. If it doesn't, the decision to double down on medical devices and marginalize Abbott's nutritional business could wind up creating a slower-growth, lower-valued company.
As CEO of Abbott, White has built up an impressive M&A track record over 17-plus years. He has almost $80 billion in publicly announced acquisitions to his name, not to mention the successful spinoff of AbbVie in 2013.
As for his most recent forays, it's too soon to weigh in with a definitive verdict. Who knows — they could all end up paying off. But if he's going to be willing to take credit for the success, he must also be willing to answer for these current headaches.
Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Gadfly columnist. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-abbott-deals-problems-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/f747416344b0117dbf9939f26c8863699deebf9d28d2d3246571ad011e645d99.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Hutton"
] | 2016-08-27T04:51:13 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fsports%2Fct-ptb-football-penn-merrillville-st-0827-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c10108/turbine/ct-ptb-football-penn-merrillville-st-0827-20160826 | en | null | Pair of Penn interceptions for touchdowns prove costly for Merrillville | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Can't make mistakes against Penn and expect to win.
Sophomore quarterback Cameron Wright and Merrillville learned that the hard way Friday in a 35-2 loss to the Kingsmen. Wright threw two interceptions, both of which turned into touchdowns.
Paul Moala had both interception TDs for Penn. His first one came on a 63-yard runback with 5:10 left in the first quarter. His second was a 55-yard score off a tipped pass. That came in the fourth quarter.
It was one of those days for Wright, who finished 9-for-22 for 99 yards passing for the Pirates (1-1). He also was sacked six times.
Aside from their first drive, which ended in Moala's first interception, there was never a moment that the Pirates looked comfortable on offense.
Kejuan Thomas, who caught eight passes for 78 yards, said the Pirates just have to move on.
"We beat ourselves," he said. "We have to learn from our mistakes. We are going to meet them again."
Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said breakdowns in just about every aspect of the game hurt the Pirates.
"We had too many mental mistakes offensively, " he said. "We had mistakes in alignment. We had mistakes with our responsibilities. We turned the ball over. We didn't play as well as we needed to in the middle."
The Pirates also had field position problems in the first half, getting pinned inside their own 10 twice.
Seiss said it's just the kind of game the team can't dwell on too my much.
"We were just backed up the whole game," he said. "We have to learn from this, recheck ourselves and get ready to play some good DAC (Duneland Athletic Conference) football against Crown Point."
Penn scored twice in the second quarter — once on a 25-yard pass from James Iapalucci to Matt Kominkiewicz and another time on a 17-yard pass reception by John Ohlson.
That pretty much put the game away for the Kingsmen.
The Pirate defense played relatively well, giving up 155 yards rushing and 101 yards passing.
Merrillville defensive lineman Anthony Sams said the team will improve.
"We made a couple of mistakes on defense," he said. "We owned up to our mistakes. We have to forget about our mistakes and move on. That's all we can do."
mhutton@post-trib.com
Twitter @MikeHuttonPT
FOOTBALL RESULTS
Boone Grove 21. River Forest 14
Griffith 48, Wheeler 14
Hanover Central 55, Calumet 2
Knox 47, West Central 0
Lake Station 35, Clark 14
LaPorte 27, Hobart 10
Michigan City 37, Northridge 0
Mishawaka 10, Crown Point 6
North Judson 17, Caston 6
Penn 35, Merrillville 2
Rensselaer 21, North Newton 7
South Central 26, Culver 12
Valparaiso 49, West Side 0
Whiting 36, Gavit 26
Late scores
Bishop Noll at Andrean
Bowman at Indianapolis Northwest
Chesterton at Munster
East Chicago Central at Lafayette Jefferson
Hammond at Highland
Kankakee Valley at Morton
Lincoln-Way Central (Ill.) at Lake Central
Portage at Lowell | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-football-penn-merrillville-st-0827-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/0a5b366e0b4ca075e42e4e7243b6cc33048db135866ce6d3effab070eeb2cf1f.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Pioneer Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:39 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-post-labor-day-patrols-tl-0901-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf7527/turbine/ct-skr-post-labor-day-patrols-tl-0901-20160825 | en | null | Police to heighten enforcement against impaired driving in Skokie | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Skokie Police announced they will be beefing up patrols and cracking down on impaired drivers the weekend after Labor Day.
According to Skokie Police, several driving under the influence safety checkpoints and "saturation patrols" will occur in the late night and early morning hours the weekend of Sept. 9 to 11.
Police said checkpoints will be set up from 11:15 p.m. to 3:15 a.m. Sept. 9 and 10 at 8700 Skokie Blvd., and from 11:15 p.m. to 3:15 a.m. Sept. 10 and 11 at 8700 McCormick Blvd.
Police also released the following recommendations for late-night weekend driving:
• Plan ahead by designating a sober driver before going out.
• Give that person the keys to the vehicle.
• For those impaired, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member.
• Promptly report impaired drivers seen on the roadways to law enforcement.
• Wear a seat belt and make sure all passengers are safely buckled up.
The Skokie Police Department's law enforcement crackdown is funded by federal traffic safety funds through the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Transportation Safety, police said. It runs concurrently with a media campaign that reminds motorists, "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over," they said. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-post-labor-day-patrols-tl-0901-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/7c06cbe24e0ed438f53e3ef6687afb817f617a170f692d4ab6dd1f47799cba08.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Natalie Hayes"
] | 2016-08-26T20:50:57 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flincolnwood%2Fnews%2Fct-lwr-overpass-bike-tl-0901-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Lincolnwood wraps up design of $4.5 million bike overpass | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Lincolnwood Village Board recently approved several finishing touches to a $4.5 million bridge that will connect the almost-finished Valley Line Trail bike path between the north and south sides of Touhy Avenue.
Trustees on Aug. 16 finalized the design of the steel bridge, unanimously accepting a July recommendation from the Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation Board to add 24-inch "Village of Lincolnwood" lettering and a village logo visible to motorists traveling east and west along Touhy.
Scheduled to open in spring 2018, the overpass will connect the one-mile stretch of bike trail joining Lincolnwood to Chicago and Skokie. The bridge has been envisioned by Lincolnwood officials as the centerpiece of the bike path, which will lead from the Chicago-Lincolnwood border at Devon Avenue to the Lincolnwood-Skokie border at Lincoln and Jarvis avenues.
The 12-foot-wide asphalt Valley Line bike path is under construction on land that was once occupied by railroad tracks, according to the village, which is leasing the parcel from ComEd. The $1 million path is expected to be open in September, according to Andrew Letson, assistant to the public works director.
Another $950,000 path, known as the Union Pacific Bicycle Path Project, is under construction on the east side of the village and is expected to open in November.
The final spoke in the overall bike path plan is the 10-foot-tall steel bridge, which has been in the works since 2011 when Lincolnwood was awarded a state grant for $1.4 million to cover 80 percent of the project costs.
But by the time engineers began designing the bridge in 2013, estimated construction costs jumped to $3.7 million, prompting the village to seek additional funding from the same type of state program — the Congestion and Air Quality grant.
The request was approved, bringing the state's coverage of the bridge project to nearly $3.6 million. The village was responsible for the remaining $893,000, according to the Lincolnwood Public Works Department.
The final designs that village board members approved show reddish-colored steel bars stretching across Touhy and connecting to tan-colored brick pillars on either side of the street. White-colored LED lighting illuminates the pillars from the ground up, with landscaping surrounding both ends of the bridge.
Lincolnwood Mayor Jerry Turry stressed the importance of the visibility of the "Village of Lincolnwood" lettering that will span the length of the bridge. Touhy Avenue is one of the village's busiest thoroughfares with around 40,000 vehicles passing by each day, according to the village.
Board members chose 24-inch letters, instead of an 18-inch version presented by bridge engineers Stanley Consultants.
"I made a mistake a long time ago when I was a trustee and had to choose the street signs," Turry said. "They looked fine (when they were approved) but we found out we couldn't see them in the dark. I'm not going through that again."
In the past, the proposal for the overpass bridge was met with opposition by some residents from nearby condo building Barclay Place. Condo residents there cited concerns with privacy, safety, construction noise and aesthetics during a series of public hearings since 2014.
Opposition to the bridge seems to have dwindled since. No one from the public spoke on the matter at the Aug. 16 village board meeting.
Construction crews are expected to start building the bridge in fall 2017, the public works officials said.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lincolnwood/news/ct-lwr-overpass-bike-tl-0901-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/3e3ced1c0d61b3ebe560821146178b34648b85981cdaff69fef5763996eb728e.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-31T14:49:04 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fpolitics%2Fct-hillary-clinton-ohio-20160831-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c6d006/turbine/ct-hillary-clinton-ohio-20160831 | en | null | Hillary Clinton to stress American exceptionalism in Ohio, tout another GOP backer | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Hillary Clinton plans to stress her support for American exceptionalism during a speech in the battleground state of Ohio, while arguing that Donald Trump has rejected the concept.
Clinton's midday address at the American Legion's annual convention in Cincinnati Wednesday comes as Trump plans a last-minute trip to Mexico in advance of a long-awaited speech on immigration. A Clinton campaign official said the Democratic nominee plans to use her first public event in days to portray her Republican opponent as a questionable leader who would "walk away from our allies, undermine our values, insult our military — and has explicitly rejected the idea of American exceptionalism."
In contrast, the official said Clinton "will make the case for American exceptionalism and call for maintaining America's military and diplomatic leadership in the world."
American exceptionalism refers to the country's elevated standing and leadership in the world. Donald Trump has pledged to "Make America Great Again" and restore the country to a time when, in his view, the U.S. was more prosperous and full of opportunity than now. Democrats, including President Barack Obama, insist America is already great, or "exceptional."
To bolster her argument, Clinton will talk about her experience, including serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee and as secretary of state. She will also emphasize the growing list of Republicans who have backed her campaign.
A campaign official said that in advance of her Wednesday speech, another leading Republican would back the campaign. James Clad, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush, will announce his support for Clinton, following a slew of GOP endorsements. In a statement, Clad will say that "giving an incoherent amateur the keys to the White House this November will doom us to second or third-class status."
Clinton's remarks come on the same day her Republican opponent is set to deliver a long-awaited speech on immigration where he is expected to provide more clarity on his primary pledge to deport all of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. While Trump had said during the primary that he intended to accomplish that goal with the help of a "deportation force," in recent weeks he has suggested in closed-door meetings with Hispanic activists that he might be open to re-considering. He and his aides have spent the last week-and-a-half offering mixed signals.
Trump is scheduled to speak in Arizona in the evening. Trump's campaign said Tuesday night that he will make a surprise trip to Mexico on Wednesday to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The Washington Post first reported the planned trip.
Responding to Trump's Mexico plans, Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said in a statement that "what ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions."
Clinton's campaign says she has also been invited by Nieto to make a visit and that the two will talk again at "the appropriate time."
Clinton's speech in Ohio comes after several days of big-ticket private fundraisers in the Hamptons, a wealthy community on New York's Long Island, where she collected millions at waterfront mansions in preparation for the fall campaign. The fundraising swing concluded in style Tuesday night, with an event featuring performances from Jimmy Buffett, Jon Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney.
Though many national and state polls show Clinton with an edge, she has been stressing that the campaign must not take anything for granted. At a fundraiser on Monday she told supporters she was "running against someone who will say or do anything. And who knows what that might be."
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-hillary-clinton-ohio-20160831-story.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/56a6338854d3084bf4a4f0336faea04757f9abb0fd7ed2d1a8cb3d23a2af2b32.json |
[
"Los Angeles Times",
"W.J. Hennigan",
"Brian Bennett"
] | 2016-08-27T12:48:08 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-us-intel-weakened-islamic-state-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c179ab/turbine/ct-us-intel-weakened-islamic-state-20160827 | en | null | U.S. intelligence says Islamic State is weakening after series of defeats | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies now view Islamic State as a shrinking and increasingly demoralized military force, a sharp shift from the seemingly invincible extremist army that declared an Islamist caliphate two years ago.
The revised assessment comes after surprisingly swift and relatively bloodless victories this summer near Syria’s border with Turkey and in the Sunni heartland of Iraq, two areas where Islamic State had appeared entrenched.
The rapid recapture this week of Jarabulus, the militants’ last garrison by the Turkish border, helped close off a boundary region that was crucial for movement of recruits, supplies and money in and out of the group’s quasi-state.
It also was the latest fight to suggest the Sunni militants no longer are willing to fight to hold territory against a sustained assault. Only one fighter was reported killed in the assault led by Turkish tanks. Several hundred others apparently fled.
Partly as a result, U.S. officials have hinted that the long-delayed assault on Mosul, Islamic State’s self-declared capital in Iraq, may be launched this fall. The city of 1 million has been increasingly cut off by advancing Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces.
Michael Knights, Iraq fellow at the nonpartisan Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said taking back Mosul. along with the Syrian towns of Deir ez Zour and Raqqah, will mark the end of the caliphate.
“After the fall of those cities, [Islamic State] will be just another terror group,” he said. “They might be able to throw a couple car bombs in city centers and mount small arms attacks, but they will no longer engage in heavy fighting on a daily basis. In other words, we’ll be back to where we were in 2013.”
But most experts, including U.S. intelligence officials, warn that Islamic State’s ability to inspire or organize terrorist attacks abroad is unimpaired — and may be even pose a greater threat as foreign sympathizers are unable to reach the cut-off caliphate.
“Despite the progress, it is our judgment that [the group’s] ability to carry out terrorist attacks… has not to date been significantly diminished,” Nicholas Rasmussen, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, told the House Homeland Security Committee recently.
Militants still detonate car bombs or launch suicide attacks each night in Baghdad. They could devolve into the kind of sectarian insurgency that turned Iraq into a slaughterhouse after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, or morph into a stateless global terrorist network like Al Qaeda became after 2001.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get rid of their ability to inspire attacks abroad just because they lose territory,” cautioned a U.S. defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. “They will continue to operate in the shadows and cause problems.”
As in other insurgencies, militants may be running away from battles now to survive and fight again — at a time and place of their choosing, experts warn. They could be sent to other battles or used as suicide bombers.
Moreover, Islamic State still has vast sway. It controls half the area it seized in Iraq in 2014 and 70% of its territory in Syria, according to U.S. estimates, and continues to haul in millions of dollars from taxes, fees and extortion.
Current U.S. intelligence estimates say the group now fields as few as 16,000 fighters — half its army of a year or so ago, but still a potent force.
But U.S. officials point to undeniable progress two years and more than 14,000 airstrikes after President Obama first ordered a bombing campaign against Islamic State targets.
“The number of fighters on the front line has diminished,” Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of U.S. forces against Islamic State until this week, said in a teleconference from Baghdad. “They've diminished not only in quantity, but also in quality.”
He added, “All I know is when we go someplace, it's easier to go there now than it was a year ago. And the enemy doesn't put up as much of a fight.”
As an example, he said that after U.S.-backed Iraqi forces recaptured Fallouja, key to the Sunni heartland west of Baghdad, in late June, militants fled their former stronghold in a large convoy that coalition aircraft quickly spotted and destroyed.
“They kind of made themselves easy targets for us,” MacFarland said. “I don't think they would have made that mistake a year or two ago.”
Each defeat has added pressure on the militants by cutting off routes used to move arms, supplies and reinforcements. That affects command, unit cohesion and efficiency.
“Now they have to go get somebody and bring them all the way across the desert to reconstitute somebody who gets killed fighting near Ramadi or Haditha or someplace like that,” he said. ”And there's a good chance we'll spot them long before they get there.”
In addition to losing the border towns of Jarabulus and Manbij in northern Syria, the militants have been routed this month in Khalidiyah and Qayyarah in western Iraq. They previously were ousted from Hit, Al Hawl and Rutbah in Iraq.
Islamic State’s overseas operations also are under siege.
Fighting raged from mid-May until last week in Sirte, the group’s stronghold on the coast of Libya. U.S. airstrikes and British commando raids helped Libyan government forces finally retake the battered city.
Elsewhere, Boko Haram, the group’s affiliate in Nigeria, has lost territory to government troops. Islamic State branches in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and in eastern Afghanistan, also have suffered sharp defeats.
“The evidence across the board is the decline of territorial control,” said Seth Jones, a former U.S. counter-terrorism official now with Rand Corp., a nonpartisan think tank based in Santa Monica.
The group “appears to be losing steam on a number of fronts,” he added. “It has impacted recruits, finance and the broader narrative that it is winning.”
But he warned that Islamic State could make a vicious resurgence, much as Al Qaeda did in Iraq, especially if the U.S.-led coalition eases pressure.
“I take this with a huge grain of salt,” he said.
william.hennigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @wjhenn | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-us-intel-weakened-islamic-state-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/a3253a885c16196bd15b34a31633619ab066e3e50b7fb70369e35f070b2645bb.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:43 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-northbrook-days-tl-0811-2-20160811-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57a37353/turbine/ct-nbs-northbrook-days-tl-0811-2-20160811 | en | null | Northbrook Days back with food, rides and music | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Northbrook Days festival started Wednesday with big crowds on a clear, hot night.
The fun at Village Green Park, Meadow and Shermer roads, continues through Sunday, with food, rides, music and other entertainment, all for charity. New this year is an obstacle course for charity, and as usual, there's bocce every day and a tournament at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Hours for the Northbrook Civic Foundation-sponsored festival are 6-10 p.m. on Thursday, 6 to 11 p.m. on Friday, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. The park is reserved for people with special needs from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Announcements will be made Saturday evening by Northbrook impressionist Ryan Goldsher. The grand prize raffle is at 8:45 p.m. Sunday.
Here's the schedule for the three stages:
Thursday: The entertainment kicks off with a Northbrook (Park District) Theater Performance, 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the Main Stage, where entertainment continues at 8 p.m. with rock and pop music of Modern Day Romeos.
On the Beer & Wine Stage, Divas, a pop music group, plays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. On the Food Stage, mariachi band Taco Thursday plays for 75 minutes starting at 6 p.m.
Friday: Hello Weekend plays current hits from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on the Main Stage. The Harry Peter Project plays blues, rock and soul between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the Beer and Wine Stage.
North Shore singer-songwriter Matt Feddermann plays from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on the Food Stage.
Saturday: A cadre from Northbrook's Chris Laughlin School of Music plays the Main Stage from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The next Main Stage act is Backdated, with classic rock and pop, playing 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by a Northbrook favorite, Mr. Blotto, playing "Americana Jam music" from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
On the Beer & Wine Stage, the Roberts Jazz Band plays cool jazz from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. John McHugh & Friends play blues, rock and soul from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
On the Food Stage, it's flamenco guitar music with Tom Kimball, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., followed by the A-Z DJs at 2:30 p.m., spinning hits for 90 minutes.
Sunday: Fortunate Sons, a Credence Clearwater Revival tribute band, plays the Main Stage from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Heartache Tonight does The Eagles from 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Northbrook rock band Skydeck plays the Beer and Wine Stage from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., followed by blues and rock from the Louis Zagoras Rollover, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Jutta & the Hi-Dukes play "world music" from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Food Stage, followed by the A-Z DJ's from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-northbrook-days-tl-0811-2-20160811-story.html | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ccb8885624bcc818454a68419ec0a1322d90444e26e5d938e581612214777268.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-28T12:48:14 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-united-pilots-arrested-scotland-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | 2 United pilots suspected of being drunk arrested at Glasgow Airport | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Police and airline officials say two United Airlines pilots have been arrested for suspected intoxication before they were to fly 141 passengers from Scotland to the United States.
United Airlines officials have confirmed Saturday's arrest of the pilots, aged 45 and 35, at Glasgow Airport. The Police Service of Scotland says both men are expected to be arraigned Monday at a court in Paisley, a Glasgow suburb, to face charges connected to Britain's transport safety laws.
United said Saturday's flight from Glasgow to the U.S. city of Newark, New Jersey, was delayed for 10 hours while the airline sought replacement pilots.
Saturday's arrests come barely a month after two Canadian pilots of an Air Transat plane were arrested at Glasgow Airport and charged with trying to fly while intoxicated.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-united-pilots-arrested-scotland-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/792573df3d7eaf0188bd8b22c6722761e6487de1a50451d29c1ae99333c952f9.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Steve Lord"
] | 2016-08-30T22:48:56 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Faurora-beacon-news%2Fnews%2Fct-abn-aurora-walmart-st-0831-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Walmart to close West Plaza store in Aurora | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Walmart will close its store in the West Plaza Shopping Center in Aurora by the end of October.
The company announced the closing publicly Tuesday, which is also when employees, the building landlord and city officials found out.
Delia Garcia, Walmart spokesman, said there were "many factors" involved in the decision to close the store at 2131 W. Galena Blvd., but one of the main ones was that the West Aurora store was a "discount center," an older Walmart model, instead of a supercenter.
"There are six supercenters within 10 miles of the Galena location," she said. "This is a discount store, and there was not a line of groceries. Many Aurora customers have already started shopping at these supercenters because of the one-stop shopping ability."
Walmart has supercenters on the far East Side of Aurora, at Kirk and Butterfield roads, and in Montgomery, Oswego, Naperville, Batavia and Plainfield.
The announcement said people can shop at the West Aurora store and pick up prescriptions there through Oct. 28.
"Our pharmacy staff will be working with customers to transfer their prescriptions to another convenient location," the announcement said. "The decision to close a store is never easy and we will be working with our store associates to identify suitable transfer opportunities to other area Walmart stores."
Garcia said closing discount centers also is a reaction to the growing number of customers who purchase goods from Walmart, as well as other stores, online.
"Our goal is to provide a seamless shopping experience," she said. "People can shop when they want, where they want, how they want."
Another factor was that Walmart does not own the property on West Galena, but leases it. That means the store will be empty after October, and city officials already have scheduled a meeting next week with West Plaza Shopping Center owners to discuss the situation.
David Hulseberg, chief executive officer of Invest Aurora, the city's economic development not-for-profit corporation, said Mayor Tom Weisner requested he get a meeting together between the city and West Plaza property owners. The center is unusual in that is has several different property owners, including the owner of the Walmart building.
"We want to get a game plan that has all the various property owners working together," Hulseberg said. "How do we move this in the right direction."
slord@tribpub.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-walmart-st-0831-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/dff426c9aeab2be3705c8c56acf5d266805c83aff27eea1e1153d8838ae2fe13.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-30T16:49:06 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-north-carolina-tropical-depressions-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c58fd2/turbine/ct-north-carolina-tropical-depressions-20160830 | en | null | North Carolina warily watching 2 tropical weather systems | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A tropical weather system off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks is expected to strengthen in the next day, bringing winds up to 45 mph and heavy rains that could flood low-lying areas, officials said.
By Tuesday morning, the tropical depression with winds of 35 mph was about 85 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras and was expected to become a tropical storm Tuesday afternoon but not grow any stronger.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for areas of the coast from Cape Lookout to the Oregon Inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks.
National Weather Service meteorologist Shane Kearns in eastern North Carolina said in an interview that "anything is possible, but we're not really seeing any kind of significant strengthening for the storm."
At the same time, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said that another tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico could hit northern Florida as a tropical storm later in the week and possibly head toward the Atlantic coast. They cautioned that the storm's exact path remained uncertain days in advance, but the storm was becoming better organized Monday night.
Beachgoers, boat captains and business owners waited warily for the storm to wash out one of the summer's last busy weeks.
Tourists in North Carolina sought to take the approaching storm in stride.
Visitor Katherine Vega, 45, of Springhill, Tennessee, said she could handle a day indoors during her vacation. By Monday afternoon, she had already fled the Atlantic's swelling waves and strengthening currents off Hatteras Island in Buxton.
"We were just knee-deep, and there were a few times where we had to run out because it kept sucking us in," she said, adding she'd watch movies with her husband until the storm blows through.
"We came from Tennessee," she said with a shrug. "There are tornado threats over there."
"I would advise everybody to take a look at the weather," Dare County emergency management director Drew Pearson said when asked whether visitors should keep their travel plans. "They need to make those decisions based on what they see in the weather forecast."
The second depression was about 305 miles west of Key West, Florida, with maximum winds of 35 mph. It was moving west, but forecasters expect it could curve back to the northeast in the coming days. Authorities at some locations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida were hauling out sandbags Monday to offer residents amid predictions of heavy rains.
On North Carolina's Outer Banks, business owner Jennifer Scarborough said her biggest concern was that the first storm could saturate the area before another blow by the second storm.
"The second storm is the one I'm more worried about," she said. "I'm definitely keeping an eye on it and planning accordingly. ... If we have a lot of rain in a short amount of time that could be a problem."
Roads along the thin barrier islands are prone to flooding and damage from erosion, including the two-lane N.C. Highway 12 that is the area's main north-south artery.
"N.C. 12, our lifeline on Hatteras Island, even in a winter storm has some challenges," Pearson said.
Scarborough, who manages Hatteras Harbor Marina and owns the Harbor Deli next door, said she's receiving concerned calls from customers and that some captains are canceling fishing trips for Tuesday and Wednesday. With Labor Day approaching, the week represents one of the last busy stretches of summer for the area.
"It's definitely making people think twice about coming here," she said.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-north-carolina-tropical-depressions-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/d5274d94e09c57619d4c176252d4e8457025fea5e31f58a6fdf0b535302f9198.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Phil Rosenthal"
] | 2016-08-30T22:48:59 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fcolumnists%2Fct-rosenthal-gene-wilder-willy-wonka-0831-biz-20160830-column.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5f643/turbine/ct-rosenthal-gene-wilder-willy-wonka-0831-biz-20160830 | en | null | How a Chicago company made Gene Wilder's most beloved movie role possible | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Mourning the death of Gene Wilder, it's worth remembering that perhaps his most beloved role owes a debt to a Chicago company.
Without Quaker Oats, there's no "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." True fact.
The oatmeal company — since 2001 part of PepsiCo but then on its own — didn't just pay to produce Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for the big screen.
Quaker insisted on getting the name of Wilder's eccentric candymaker character into the title to plug its new Willy Wonka Super Skrunch bar and Willy Wonka Peanut Butter Oompas.
This is more than a simple case of product placement. Quaker's long-contemplated entry into the candy market wasn't firmed up until plans for the movie were.
One reason this aspect of the 1971 film classic has been largely forgotten may be because the candy proved a loser for Quaker, which quickly bailed on the venture.
The film, which scored a modest profit in its initial release, would take on classic status years later through home video and repeated cable TV showings. Wilder's nuanced performance as Wonka is what holds the fantasy and realistic elements together.
A Tribune report the week after the film's release here noted Quaker's plans to "begin testing its two new candy products through limited distribution outlets" a few weeks later.
But the reporter observed the candy already was selling in Chicago theaters showing the film, and selling well.
It didn't last.
Before a food company hoping to sell some candy could sink its cash into the movie project, though, the film about children getting what they have coming was born of a little girl nagging her father.
Gene Wilder sings "Pure Imagination" Gene Wilder sings "Pure Imagination" from "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) Gene Wilder sings "Pure Imagination" from "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) See more videos
As director Mel Stuart recalled in a 2011 Los Angeles Times interview less than a year before his death, Dahl's book came onto his radar when his young daughter, Madeleine, went all Veruca Salt ("I want it now!") at dinner one night.
"She said, 'Daddy, I just read a book called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and you have to make a movie about it,'" Stuart said. "She was 11.
"I said, 'Sweetheart, I don't make movies about children's books. I make serious documentaries like "The Making of a President" or "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.'" She said, 'I don't care, Daddy, you have to make this into a movie.' She kept going at me about it, so I read the book."
Stuart was impressed enough that he mentioned it to producer David L. Wolper, for whom he had made some documentaries.
Wolper was working on something with Quaker Oats at the time and an ad executive mentioned the company was thinking of entering the candy business. Stuart said Wolper hadn't actually read Dahl's book yet but went into full pitch mode anyway.
At first Quaker Oats thought it would make a good TV special.
"And I said: 'Well, why don't you do a feature film?'" Wolper, who died in 2010, said in a 1998 interview for the Archive of American Television. "Get it out all over the theaters and the time you release the candy is the same time the movie comes out."
The partnership between Wolper, who had produced National Geographic and Jacques Cousteau TV specials, and Quaker Oats was announced in August 1969.
Besides the "Chocolate Factory" deal, which called for a split of merchandising rights to the film, the agreement included a variety of educational and entertainment TV programs.
Though Fred Astaire and Joel Grey were considered for the role of Wonka and Dahl wanted Spike Milligan or Ron Moody, Wilder's audition so wowed Stuart he told him he had the role immediately. This upset Wolper because it undermined his ability to negotiate pay.
Munich was chosen as the location to shoot the film, partly because Stuart felt its buildings and streets would look both anonymous and timeless. But it's the elaborate soundstage interiors of the factory most fans remember.
"The chairman of the board of Quaker Oats visited the set during the filming," Stuart noted in 2002's "Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," which he wrote with Josh Young. "He admired it so much that he wanted to move the Chocolate Room to Chicago when we were finished (only to be told) it would cheaper to rebuild it there."
Alas it wasn't. That would have been something.
Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka Warner Bros. Gene Wilder, left, with co-star Peter Ostrum, is known for playing the title role in 1971's “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” But the film would never have happened if not for Chicago's Quaker Oats. Gene Wilder, left, with co-star Peter Ostrum, is known for playing the title role in 1971's “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” But the film would never have happened if not for Chicago's Quaker Oats. (Warner Bros.)
There have been accounts of Quaker's Wonka candy venture that are either demonstrably wrong or cannot be confirmed through contemporary accounts.
What is certain is Quaker sold its interest in the brand it introduced in '71 to Sunline, the St. Louis-based company that manufactured the candies for it, by the end of 1972.
Today the Wonka candies are part of Nestle USA.
Despite the crass commercialism that begat "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," people do love the film and the enigmatic character at its center who gets his life, soul and power from Wilder.
The movie sold Willy Wonka better than it sold Willy Wonka Super Skrunch bars.
philrosenthal@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @phil_rosenthal | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-rosenthal-gene-wilder-willy-wonka-0831-biz-20160830-column.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/fe0cf89595dc363bf11ddc190ef8ff8dcb900259204282f4e71b6f1ca9011ec8.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Kate Thayer"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:20 | null | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-lincolnwood-gun-range-approved-met-20160805-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57a4c880/turbine/ct-lincolnwood-gun-range-approved-met-20160805 | en | null | Lincolnwood gun range cleared to open after decades-long fight for permit | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | After nearly three decades, several attempts, a court battle and opposition by some nearby residents, a Lincolnwood gun shop has been cleared to open a shooting range.
Under court order, Lincolnwood issued a building permit Wednesday to Shore Galleries, allowing the gun dealer to construct a 10-lane shooting range on the second floor of its shop at 3318 W. Devon Ave., just north of the Chicago border.
"Our hands are tied. We have to adhere to the court order," Village Manager Timothy Wiberg said.
Shop owners sued the village after it denied their most recent request to open the gun range. A Cook County Circuit Court judge sided with the village, which argued the range would violate local zoning code because it did not qualify as a recreational use.
But owners appealed and won, with a state appeals ruling two years ago that a gun range does qualify as a recreational use, noting that shooting is an Olympic sport. A lawyer for shop owner Mitchell Shore at the time called the ruling "a total vindication of our position."
After a few failed attempts in the late 1980s and 1990s, Shore applied for a permit in 2012 to relocate to a local manufacturing district and add the gun range there. But he withdrew his request after an outcry among some residents because of the site's proximity to schools. Shore then applied for the permit to expand at his current location, eventually leading to the lawsuit.
Throughout the process, residents have signed petitions against the range amid public safety and noise concerns.
The latest court ruling requires the village to apply its 2012 zoning code to the gun range because that's the ordinance that was in effect when Shore applied for the permit.
Since then, Lincolnwood has revised its zoning code to specify where shooting ranges can be built. Wiberg noted that, under the current zoning code, a shooting range would not be allowed at the Devon Avenue location.
Village President Gerald Turry said his main concern is the noise the shooting range could bring to the area, which backs up to homes. But he said the village will closely monitor sound levels and strictly enforce its 65-decibel maximum.
If there's a violation, "we'll make him correct it, and we probably won't let him continue to operate if he doesn't," Turry said.
The village leader added that "most of the people who come to Shore are policemen, or retired military."
"These days, you don't know anymore, but hopefully it will be law-abiding citizens interested in recreational shooting or honing their skills," he said.
Turry also noted the Shore family has been a local business owner for 60 years.
"The Shore family has been a wonderful family in Lincolnwood so I'm hoping this all works out," he said.
Shore Galleries website states the range will be completed by the end of 2016. It also specifies safety, ventilation and sound abatement features. A man who answered the phone at the shop Thursday declined to comment.
In Chicago, a ban on gun ranges was overturned by a federal appeals court in 2011.
kthayer@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @knthayer | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-lincolnwood-gun-range-approved-met-20160805-story.html | en | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/691b91afb0628923f44433fc839e117bcf282925629ce06f20d8755c8e2e9f36.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Natalie Hayes"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:59 | null | 2016-07-21T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flincolnwood%2Fnews%2Fct-lwr-culvers-lincolnwood-tl-0728-20160721-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57916321/turbine/ct-lwr-culvers-lincolnwood-tl-0728-20160721 | en | null | Lincolnwood's drive-thru ban lifted as Culver's plans move forward | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Lincolnwood Village Board members backed a zoning change Tuesday, lifting a longtime provision prohibiting fast food drive-thrus along Touhy Avenue and overriding concerns raised by some neighbors that a Culver's with a drive-thru lane planned for the area would bring unwanted traffic and noise.
Trustees were divided Tuesday night on the proposal to group Touhy Avenue's B-3 zoning district in with other commercial areas in the village, all of which permit drive-thru lanes as a special use. Up until now, fast food restaurants with drive-thru lanes were banned from a stretch of Touhy Avenue near Lincoln.
The conversation of whether to lift the ban was prompted by a proposal brought to the board in April to open a 4,000 square-foot Culver's with a drive-thru lane and an outdoor patio on the 4400 block of Touhy Avenue, on a vacant sliver of land at the southeast corner of West Touhy and North Kilbourn avenues.
Residents of Barclay Place, a condo building adjacent to the parcel of land where Culver's would open, came out in throngs to the Village Board meeting to oppose the proposal to allow drive-thrus in what many residents claimed should be preserved as a residential area.
Although the Wisconsin-based fast food chain known for its "ButterBurgers" sparked the discussion on drive-thrus, Lincolnwood's community development director Steve McNellis said "a handful of developers have discussed with staff the concept of a drive-thru in the B-3 area, with one drafting a site plan for preliminary internal discussion.
Because no formal development applications from any of those retailers have been submitted, McNellis declined to name any of the potential developers.
Attorney Zave Gussin acted as the spokesperson for the 70 or so residents of Barclay Place who packed Village Hall to oppose drive-thrus coming to the neighborhood.
"It is very difficult to squeeze Culver's onto that site without adversely affecting many residents in that area," Gussin said.
Despite the opposition, Lincolnwood mayor Jerry Turry voted to support the measure to allow drive-thrus as a special use, breaking a tie vote that divided Trustees Barry Bass, Ron Cope and Larry Elster—who voted against lifting the ban—with Trustees Craig Klatzco, Jesal and Jennifer Spino—who supported it.
"At some point in time, the board passed an ordinance that said 'no fast food (drive-thrus) in this area,'" Trustee Larry Elster said. "And I don't see any compelling reason to change it."
The amended ordinance, which will be on the consent agenda at the August 16 Village Board meeting, paves the way for Culver's to apply for permits to eventually open the burger joint on the site, but Turry said it wasn't an open pass for Culver's to enter the village.
The franchiser would still have to go through the public hearing process as village officials consider traffic, safety and other implications of the new constriction.
"I've heard a number of times from you folks that you live in a residential area, but you live on the busiest avenue in the village and maybe in the state of Illinois, and that's anything but residential," Turry said of the Lincoln-Touhy avenue intersection near Barclay Place. "This is a difficult issue that affects your entire community, and the village as a whole has to consider our entire population and what this would mean going forward."
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lincolnwood/news/ct-lwr-culvers-lincolnwood-tl-0728-20160721-story.html | en | 2016-07-21T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4499773f0a5300ebfaafa2473bc73d9c8fb2b858a7149b22985c38196e6b838b.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Bob Seidenberg"
] | 2016-08-31T00:48:59 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fevanston%2Fnews%2Fct-evr-northwestern-dorm-change-tl-0901-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c61756/turbine/ct-evr-northwestern-dorm-change-tl-0901-20160830 | en | null | Northwestern eyes dorm changes to fit housing plan | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Northwestern University officials are looking at substantially renovating or replacing a current residence hall at 1835 Hinman Ave., with a much larger structure, in line with a new housing plan that will require students to reside on campus longer.
University officials floated the plan, still in preliminary stages, at a Northwestern University/City Committee last month.
Alan Anderson, executive director of neighborhood and community relations for the university, told members of the committee that the project is in line with a new requirement for students beginning in fall of 2017, requiring them to live on campus their first two years.
Roughly 4,000, or about half of Northwestern's undergraduates, live in residence halls, Anderson said. By requiring students to reside longer on campus, the university hopes to create a greater sense of community, he said.
As a result of the decision, the university is taking active steps renovating existing housing and building new housing "to accommodate that vision," he said.
One of the projects is already underway – construction of a new residence hall on Evanston's north end, at 560 Lincoln St., a 140,000-square-foot building with 422 beds.
The residence hall on Hinman is located closer to residences on the university's south end, and sits across Sheridan Road from the university's new parking garage.
The proposal could result in a tear-down of the current structure with a new seven-story dorm built in three sections.
Under the zoning for the area, the university would have to get special use permission to build beyond the maximum 45 feet in height.
Ald. Judy Fiske, 1st, who led the Northwestern University/City Committee last month, had forewarned officials that "building a seven-story dorm here is not going to fly very well with residents of our ward."
Other committee members, with an exception, delivered a similar message.
Jeanne Lindwall, a longtime resident and onetime city planner, noted that one result of city zoning changes in the early 1990s was to encourage the university "to provide additional height" for buildings on campus "to take the pressure off surrounding neighborhoods."
"I think really my message to you is you really need to respect what's allowed under the zoning ordinance," she told Anderson, "because you can build 85 feet (high) by right."
Committee member Thomas Gemmell, a member of the committee, asked Anderson if other locations were considered for the new dorm project, including the main campus or at the north end.
Anderson said balancing out locations is a need.
David Schoenfeld, another committee member, said the university's new emphasis on campus could have a benefit for residents who have complained about off campus activities. He said he has advocated for a long time for the university to "take more responsibility housing students."
University officials are scheduled to present the proposal at the First Ward meeting scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 6, at the main public library, 1703 Orrington Ave.
bseidenberg@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @evanstonscribe | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/evanston/news/ct-evr-northwestern-dorm-change-tl-0901-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4372f28b179a4399bf10811eddd213664a487b4b20ea1e48e95b58ba2b781057.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Tony Briscoe"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:55 | null | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-water-polo-sex-assault-interview-met-20160720-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57901744/turbine/ct-water-polo-sex-assault-interview-met-20160720 | en | null | Water polo player who said she was assaulted in pool: 'I have to step up' | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Being one of the only girls on McHenry High School's boys water polo team presented its share of challenges over the years to Rebecca Dabrowski.
She said she endured name-calling and sometimes felt targeted with especially aggressive play. At away games, when there was no locker room for her to use, she would sometimes have to change in an office, and twice, she said, coaches walked in on her. Her parents had to push for her right to compete in state playoff games.
But none of this shook her perseverance to stay in the sport until a game in May 2015, during which Dabrowski says she was groped by an opposing player from Libertyville High School. The player reached inside her bathing suit and touched her genitals and buttocks while guarding her, according to a police report.
More than a year after that game, Dabrowski came forward publicly with the allegation — first sharing her story in an interview with ESPN that aired last weekend — in part, she said, because she felt like before "no one was listening."
"No one really cares what it feels like," she said in an interview with the Tribune at her parents' McHenry home on Wednesday. "I have to be that change. I have to step up. I have to be all these women's voices."
Rebecca Dabrowski Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune Former McHenry High School water polo player Rebecca Dabrowski, right, and her parents, Gretchen and Bill Dabrowski, discuss her sexual assault allegations Wednesday at their McHenry home. Former McHenry High School water polo player Rebecca Dabrowski, right, and her parents, Gretchen and Bill Dabrowski, discuss her sexual assault allegations Wednesday at their McHenry home. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)
Since sharing her story, Dabrowski, now 19 and in college, said she received an outpouring of responses, mostly positive, some from foreign countries.
"I've had over 20 girls message me on Facebook and say, 'This has happened to me. Thanks so much for stepping up,'" she said.
According to a police report and Dabrowski's own account, she complained about the alleged conduct right away, and the opposing player in question was benched for the rest of the game. Two days later, she and her parents filed a police report in Buffalo Grove, where the game took place. Authorities there spent weeks investigating but closed the case without filing any charges after being unable to determine if the opposing player's actions were intentional.
According to a police report released Tuesday, the accused player repeatedly denied to police that he touched Dabrowski inappropriately and said that if such contact did take place, it was an accident. A man who identified himself as the player's father on Tuesday called Dabrowski's claims frivolous.
But Dabrowski and her family said they were dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation, prompting them to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. That agency confirmed it is investigating an allegation of sexual violence and looking at whether either school district involved, or the Illinois High School Association, which governs prep sports, violated Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools.
"I need everyone to realize this is a real-life thing," Dabrowski said Wednesday.
Although coaches apparently talked to Dabrowski right away when they could see she was upset during a break in play, her father, Bill Dabrowski, said Wednesday he was disappointed that no referee or trainer came to his daughter's aid after she left the pool in tears.
"I wanted to jump off of the balcony and say, 'That's my daughter out there,'" he said. "I feel like every step of the system had failed her."
Because her team won the game, Rebecca Dabrowski was faced with having to compete in the next playoff game the following day. She nearly dropped out of the match.
"I knew that if I didn't get back in, he won, in a way," she said. "I couldn't have him take that away from me ... the sport I love."
Dabrowski said she still feels traumatized by what she said happened to her and still sometimes thinks, "I need to put my shield up again."
She credits one-on-one counseling with helping her cope. Without that, she said, "I don't know where I would be."
She also plays for the women's team at downstate Monmouth College, where she said she's studying psychology and women's studies. She said she'd like to become a therapist herself and help victims of sexual assault.
She hoped the player she accused would also receive counseling. But she said her appearance on national TV and her decision to speak out is not because of a personal vendetta.
"It's not about him and not about me," Dabrowski said. "It's about sexual assault and how often this happens. This is why I'm doing this. People sometimes can't stand up for themselves, and that's not their fault."
tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_tonybriscoe | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-water-polo-sex-assault-interview-met-20160720-story.html | en | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4cb1c71c5505940dded510a836c5112a9da96f35ce14a28a09b744a33ab2cdb1.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:28 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-rock-n-mall-tl-0901-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf5ab9/turbine/ct-nbs-rock-n-mall-tl-0901-20160825 | en | null | Rock and roll comes to Northbrook Court | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Is Northbrook Court ready for rock and roll?
Something called Experience Rock N' Roll opened Wednesday in the upscale, gleaming North Shore shopping center, right between Janie and Jack and the H & M store. It's a place where people are encouraged to pick up the sticks on a drum kit, play bass or guitar, sing in a karaoke booth and learn about the nuts and bolts of rock and roll in dioramas and hands-on exhibits.
"This can appeal to a 10-year-old, a 40-year-old or an 80-year-old," said impresario Bryan Reinblatt, 41.
On his first, free night in business in Northbrook, there were very few 10-year-olds on the premises.
Most of the attendees seemed to have heard about the place when operator Reinblatt visited their chambers of commerce meetings, so there were bankers and lawyers and other business people. Visitors wearing T-shirts celebrating Twenty One Pilots, Marina and the Diamonds or any other bands, for that matter, were not much in evidence.
Among the mostly well-dressed people who flowed in and out of the 15,000-square-foot space, there wasn't a pierced nose or cheek in the bunch. But the people who came seemed to love what they found.
"I want to play the drums like Phil Collins," said Shaunese Teamer, who had no experience on the drums other than sneaking a few minutes now and then on her older brother's skins decades earlier. While her 24-year-old son looked on, she did a credible job of evoking Collins' famous drum break at the end of "I Can Hear it in the Air Tonight." The recording was released 35 years ago.
Lawyer Alan Pearlman was another fan of the new business, who stopped to shake hands with Reinblatt on the way out. He wore a polo shirt that listed the different kinds of law he practices; divorce, DUI, traffic, etc., in embroidery. Pearlman left the venue to talk, away from the amplified sound of the band hired for the night, "Live Band Karaoke."
Twenty feet from the door of the former Sports Authority space, the mall's acoustics defeated the band, and the lilt of quiet instrumental shopping music took over.
Pearlman said he left his hearing aids behind, though he has significant hearing loss. The deficits are not so much because of his age, he said, but because he had played the drums for years onstage, often with an eardrum within inches of Maynard Ferguson's horn.
The Highland Park man said he liked the exhibits, which include a primer on grunge, as well as a decades-old guitar with an amplifier screwed into its case, and an interactive display on Thomas Edison's recording cylinders.
"It shows how the songs are played. Kids need to know how the music works," Pearlman said. "It's not enough just to hear it sung."
No one can say that, at least for one night, it was Not Your Daddy's Rock and Roll.
A recording in a soundproof karaoke booth comes free with the $14.95 adult admission, but everything was free opening night. As Dan and Marla Gelfond of Riverwoods emerged from one of the little rooms, Marla Gelfond said, "That was very fun. This is a great place to have a party."
She hoped the business would make it.
"I don't know if Northbrook Court has the traffic for something like this," she said.
But several visitors said they were considering booking the spot for a party, including three members of the Northbrook Rotary Club, who said that they were close to making a deal to hold their big annual Rotary 800 event there instead of at a local restaurant.
"This place is great," said James Karagianis, a Northbrook trustee who also serves as the Rotary Club's service chair.
Reinblatt said that he has a deal to stay at the mall through the end of 2016, and hopes to make it longer. He said that he has for 11 years operated "anything that people want to buy a ticket for." He said Experience Rock N' Roll had been staged in four other cities, under leases, but this was the first time he ever stayed around to run it himself.
"I sold my place in Toronto, and I'm looking for a place here," he said.
Pearlman said it has a good chance of attracting kids as well as adults, with one condition.
"They should be careful of their hearing," he said.
ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-rock-n-mall-tl-0901-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4202df2d7136c4bbfec003a14457a9802820559a98e1d2a45bd2d85f69711f40.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Brian L. Cox"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:28 | null | 2016-07-18T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-district-219-superintendent-tl-0721-20160718-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-578d1697/turbine/ct-skr-district-219-superintendent-tl-0721-20160718 | en | null | District 219 to focus on student achievement, experience, new superintendent says | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | With the first day of the new school year a little more than a month away, incoming Niles Township High School District 219 superintendent, Steven Isoye, said he plans to focus on student achievement and the experiences they have at the district's schools.
Isoye was hired by the district in May and gave his first "superintendent's report" to the School Board during its July 12 meeting.
"It feels great," Isoye said in an interview. "Everybody has been very welcoming. Now that I'm here in a permanent setting so I can begin to listen and learn about the district."
"I think it was very helpful to have that first board meeting as soon as I did because I was able to interact with the board early on in an official way and was able to bring to them the various topics and looks at how we go about preparing and providing information to the board," he added. "It gave me a nice overview."
He also said that although he has only been officially on the job for less than two weeks he is already setting priorities.
"The number one priority is looking at the student experience," he said. "It's important for me to learn about the culture of the district and to understand what are the common themes that are coming up, to help prioritize what direction any work needs to go in."
"Certainly one of the things I'm going to be interested in talking about is how our students are doing," he said. "Looking at what we're doing? How we serve students. What the achievement is like also in regards to our entire student experience which includes student behavior those types of things, clubs and activities extracurricular and how students are connected to the district."
Isoye served as superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 since 2010, was principal of Maine East High School in Park Ridge from 2007 to 2010 and was named 2010-2011 Illinois High School Principal of the Year by the Horace Mann/Illinois Principals Association. Since 1998, he has served on the Board of Trustees for the Illinois Math and Science Academy, according to district 219 officials.
Isoye takes over the reins of the north suburban school district following a difficult year in which the last superintendent and another top district official resigned following an internal investigation. Isoye said he is aware of the fact that some on the community may be watching the district more closely due to the events of the past year.
"There's that possibility, yes," he said. "There's that possibility that they may. I'm not really at a point where I'm going to comment much about that because I'm so new here."
Isoye also said that even as he continues unpacking boxes in his new office he is thinking about and looking forward to the new school year ahead.
"I'm going to have to learn more about what the needs are of the community," he said. "I'm looking (forward to) when the students (and) faculty and staff are back in school so we can really get going."
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-district-219-superintendent-tl-0721-20160718-story.html | en | 2016-07-18T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4207d5eb8fb76df648377dad49ad286313c375ac4e935aa5937c68b0e33bace5.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Jennifer Johnson"
] | 2016-08-30T18:48:54 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpark-ridge%2Fnews%2Fct-prh-republican-event-tl-0901-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5c490/turbine/ct-prh-republican-event-tl-0901-20160830 | en | null | Joe Walsh and Illinois director of Trump campaign to speak at GOP event in Park Ridge | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Illinois director of Donald Trump's presidential campaign and a former suburban congressman are the scheduled speakers for a "GOP Fall Kick-Off" event in Park Ridge.
Sponsored by the Republicans of Maine Township and the Republican Women of Park Ridge, the event will take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 inside the Paula Hassell O'Connor Community Building at Prospect Park, 733 N. Prospect Ave.
Featured speakers are Stephanie Holderfield, Illinois state director of the Trump/Pence campaign, and Joe Walsh, a former congressman and current radio show host.
There is no cost to attend the event, according to the organizers.
jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/park-ridge/news/ct-prh-republican-event-tl-0901-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/cda1898123d4550dacdeacda94b8aa6112c8816f9a45f7befc4c5a11275be3a8.json |
[
"Henry Meyer",
"C"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:31 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fsns-wp-blm-russia-syria-1f899496-6ae8-11e6-91cb-ecb5418830e9-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Russia sees Syria war solution closer after thaw in ties with Turkey | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Russia says a solution to Syria's 5 1/2-year-long war may be getting closer after relations improved with Turkey, a major backer of rebel groups fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
"It's a very important moment," Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, said in an interview in Moscow Thursday. Turkey "is showing its interest in both the military and political sphere" in resolving the Syrian conflict and "when there's a constructive dialogue then of course it always helps the situation to develop in a positive way. It's a step in the right direction."
Russia welcomes contact between Turkey and Iran as a "constructive contribution" to resolving the Syrian crisis, Zakharova said. "If we communicate with Turkey and Iran, why shouldn't Turkey and Iran talk to each other? Many in Washington don't like it, but it's an important element" in diplomatic discussions, she said.
The thawing of relations between Russia and Turkey is taking place as the government in Ankara carries out its biggest military operation in Syria. Turkey is seeking to drive Islamic State militants away from its border and deter advances by Kurds allied with Turkish separatists. Jets pounded Islamic State positions and tanks crossed the border this week, allowing the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army to gain control of the strategic town of Jarablus, state-run Anadolu news service reported Wednesday.
A softening in Turkey's insistence on Assad's departure in any settlement of the war has narrowed differences with Russia, which has conducted air strikes in support of the Syrian leader since September.
Turkey has also reached out to Iran, Assad's other main supporter. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Ankara a few days after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg this month to repair relations that had been plunged into crisis when Turkey shot down a Russian military jet near the border with Syria in November.
Russia "sees potential for it and Turkey and Iran to reach a compromise," said Irina Zvagelskaya, a senior fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Oriental Studies. "For Turkey, the only red line is the Kurds."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will discuss efforts to coordinate actions against terrorists in Syria when they meet in Geneva on Friday, Zakharova said.
Russia and the U.S. have tried unsuccessfully so far to reach agreement on synchronizing air strikes against militants in Syria, a move that could revive efforts to end a war in which more than 280,000 people have been killed and millions more have fled to neighboring countries and Europe.
"If we consider the Syrian settlement to be important then this is key -- it's a cornerstone of what is happening there" because "we need to destroy the terrorists," Zakharova said before leaving with Lavrov for Geneva. The U.S. targets "terrorists where there are no opposition members shielding them. Where they are being shielded under Washington's direction we have a problem."
A "terrorist center remains" in these areas of Syria and "no one can deal with it because so-called moderate opposition groups are there," Zakharova said.
The Turkish offensive aims to push Islamic State deeper into Syria and create a buffer zone against the Syrian Kurds if they attempt to move northward toward the border. It has produced a rare degree of unity between the U.S., Russia and Turkey, with a Russian Foreign Ministry official calling the action "timely," while the U.S. extended its cooperation.
The U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds have been seeking to link enclaves they control by seizing major villages and towns from Islamic State along the border with Turkey. That alarmed Ankara, which fears the campaign will encourage restive Kurds in its east.
Russia may have agreed not to object to a limited Turkish incursion into Syria in return for Turkey being more cooperative on a political settlement with Assad, according to Dmitri Trenin, head of the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said last week that a transition with Assad still in power is possible and he called the confrontation over the downed Russian warplane an "unnecessary crisis." Yildirim on Wednesday said Turkey will increase cooperation with Iran on Syria and fighting Turkish separatist Kurds.
Demands for Assad to step down are unacceptable and "there can't be any preconditions in fighting against terrorism," Zakharova said. The presidency "is an important key to maintaining a strong fight against terrorists on the ground" in Syria, she said. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-russia-syria-1f899496-6ae8-11e6-91cb-ecb5418830e9-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e2cabb114297a7c1c7d7086637ddc83ebc8bccc4abfdcac8b496f0afc57a4819.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mark Gonzales"
] | 2016-08-27T14:48:03 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2Fcubs%2Fct-cubs-joe-maddon-jason-heyward-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c18a50/turbine/ct-cubs-joe-maddon-jason-heyward-20160827 | en | null | Cubs' Joe Maddon: Jason Heyward 'a winner' | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Jason Heyward was just looking for any way to get on base in the ninth inning.
And his leadoff double made life more miserable for Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and more promising for Cubs teammate Kris Bryant.
Manager Joe Maddon and Bryant recognized that Heyward’s double not only set up the tying run but paved the way for Bryant’s game-winning home run in the 10th inning that vaulted the Cubs to a 6-4 comeback win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“That’s him,” Maddon, a staunch defender, said of Heyward’s clutch hit in an otherwise miserable season. “He’s a winner. The guy is a winner. He plays to win.”
Heyward went on to score the tying run on two wild pitches by closer Kenley Jansen, but he knew the importance of just getting on base.
“It felt good to get a hit,” Heyward said. “I don’t care about squaring it up. Get on base, get to second right there.”
And Heyward knew that getting on base would take away Jansen’s comfort.
“It’s nice to be on base against a closer because they don’t like to hold runners, and I was able to do a little something,” Heyward said.
Heyward has said frequently this month that it’s too late to start looking at his numbers and is just trying to contribute in any manner. His performance Friday night was significant as the Cubs try to win the National League Central as soon as possible and tune up for the NL playoffs with home field advantage.
“It’s huge,” Bryant said of Heyward’s contributions. “We all know what he can do at the plate. And everyone knows what he can do on the field. He’s a huge asset to this team. If it wasn’t for him when he started (the ninth inning rally), we wouldn’t have won.
"He (performs) heads-up base running. It’s something you can’t teach, and he has it.” | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-joe-maddon-jason-heyward-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/f2cb324a52fec33f8c27b04da6119f5cb6355a681cea1ac896a0ffa8a7749d9b.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Brad Biggs"
] | 2016-08-28T14:48:28 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Fbears%2Fct-bears-chiefs-10-thoughts-biggs-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c2648f/turbine/ct-bears-chiefs-10-thoughts-biggs-20160828 | en | null | 10 thoughts on the Bears' 23-7 exhibition loss to the Chiefs | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | "It wasn't like I was coming in in April and so it was familiar faces and a great group of human beings here from upstairs to the locker room and everyone in between, been real friendly," he said. "So that definitely helps the learning process when you're not bogged down with trying to get to know everyone, trying to just fit in, it helps alleviate some of the pressures other than learning." Housler is probably a better receiver than he is a blocker but he’s not deficient in run blocking and looks like he's carved out a spot for himself. 5. The return game remains a major question for the Bears. Deonte Thompson has a left ankle injury and it's probably not as bad as it looked when he was carted off the field last week at New England. He was a good kickoff returner last season. Marc Mariani is steady catching punts and will make good decisions but he's not the Pro Bowl threat he once was in Tennessee. I think the Bears should be on the lookout for help. The Chiefs could wind up cutting a good returner. They drafted Tyreek Hill and he will likely be their kickoff returner. Wide receiver D'Anthony Thomas could be on the roster bubble in Kansas City. He had a 31-yard punt return in the game. Thomas has averaged 28.3 yards on kickoff returns and 10 yards on punt returns in his two-year career. At the minimum, the Bears need to be aware of what players come available. No reason to think they can't use a significant upgrade in the return game. 6. Good showing for Illinois State's Cameron Meredith against the Chiefs. He had four catches for 64 yards, including the 16-yard touchdown on Connor Shaw's pass. They were the first catches of preseason for Meredith, who had a four-catch game at Kansas City last Oct. 11 as a rookie. Meredith might be a better option for the final roster right now than seventh-round pick Daniel Braverman. He's got the size at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds to be a backup on the outside for Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White, especially with Marquess Wilson likely to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list. "I was trying to stay mentally prepared, mentally focused the whole game so when I did go out there I was ready," Meredith said. The roster battle for Meredith isn't just with wide receivers. When you're at the bottom of the depth chart, the battle for a spot on the 53 is with players at other positions too. Injuries can dictate how many players the team needs to keep at each position. "There is definitely a battle all the time," Meredith said. "Everyone is vying for a job and there are a lot of good receivers in the room. Every play counts." Cameron Meredith Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune Cameron Meredith grabs a touchdown pass as Chiefs safety Jeron Johnson tries to tackle him during the second half Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016, at Soldier Field. Cameron Meredith grabs a touchdown pass as Chiefs safety Jeron Johnson tries to tackle him during the second half Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016, at Soldier Field. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune) (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune) 7. Bad news for quarterback David Fales that he did not get into the game. The Bears reinserted Brian Hoyer after the gruesome and likely season-ending left leg injury for Connor Shaw. Fales should get plenty of time to play on Thursday at Cleveland. The immediate question is whether or not the Bears need to sign another quarterback for this week to face the Browns. Maybe they play Hoyer and Fales. Or perhaps Fales gets the start and they sign a quarterback and give him a crash course on the offense. Dalyn Williams, an undrafted rookie from Dartmouth, has had two brief stints with the team. Fales, of course, could still stick on the practice squad. Matt Blanchard remains on the street, as well, but he is not practice squad-eligible. 8. NFL teams must reduce their rosters to 75 by 3 p.m. Tuesday. Would not be a surprise if the Bears have the bulk of their cuts (if not all of them) done before practice on Monday. The players launched in the first wave of cuts are not always ones the teams are done with. On occasion, teams will cut players in the first wave with the hope of bringing them back to the practice squad. Why cut them early? The thinking is if they cut them early, maybe they will fly under the radar with other teams. No kidding. Cuts will be tricky for the Bears because they have to play the Browns, they have a slew of injuries and they will want to rest their starters. The math will get complicated. 9. The game was the first time the Bears have hosted a noon kickoff in preseason since an exhibition against the Dolphins in 1996. In an utterly unscientific Twitter poll, I asked if fans preferred noon starts or the traditional 7 p.m. kickoff. The NFL Network requested the game be played at noon for national broadcasting purposes. The Bears also looked at it as an opportunity to create a family atmosphere for a game that sometimes fans aren't as inclined to attend. The results? There were 1,764 votes cast and it was a 50/50 split. How about that? 10. Scouts from seven clubs were represented at the game. Buffalo, Green Bay, Houston (two), Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Diego were in attendance. The Eagles, Steelers and Texans have been at all three Bears preseason games. The Bears open at Houston and host the Eagles on Monday night in Week 2. The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL were also in attendance. 10a. The Bears close out preseason on Thursday at Cleveland. It will mark the 13th consecutive year they have faced each other in the fourth and final exhibition. 10b. Given the number of injuries, it will be interesting to see how many players get into the action at Cleveland. Last year, the Bears used 45 of the 75 players on the roster. The year before, they played an entire preseason game with only 35 players. 10c. Good observation by colleague Dan Wiederer via the Twitter Machine. Bears wide receiver Kevin White was targeted eight times in the first three preseason games. He has three catches for 12 yards. Growing pains, indeed, for a player that missed his rookie season. 10d. For those who believe preseason records don't matter, they didn't in 2010. Not for the Bears, anyway. They went 0-4 in preseason and wound up reaching the NFC Championship Game.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com Twitter @BradBiggs | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-bears-chiefs-10-thoughts-biggs-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/843e065d139c3727b25416f7479f3cc8aee5a7be4b05d1b75485b64700d081fe.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Matt Lindner"
] | 2016-08-29T18:48:58 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Flifestyles%2Fparenting%2Fsc-back-to-school-tech-family-0830-20160824-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57be1654/turbine/sc-back-to-school-tech-family-0830-20160824 | en | null | How to monitor your child's tech during the school year | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Pencils, notebooks, calculators, folders … tablets?
The modern school-supply list has evolved from when parents of today's schoolchildren were growing up. With mobile technology becoming more and more ubiquitous, the classroom is no exception as teaching methods continue to evolve.
"With the release of the (Apple) iPad in 2010 and the rise of more affordable laptop devices like (Google) Chromebooks, we have definitely seen an increase in most students' access to technology in the classroom," says Damian Bebell, an assistant research professor at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College who has studied the effects of technology on the learning process. "It's fairly common today for many students to be using technology as a productivity tool or to access resources to supplement the curriculum."
RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR
How common, exactly?
According to a survey of nearly 2,300 students in the U.S. in grades four through 12, conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of learning materials and technology provider Pearson, 58 percent of all students surveyed have used a tablet for schoolwork while 83 percent have used a device such as a laptop, notebook or Chromebook.
"In our research, we see that technology is increasingly used by teachers in their instruction (such as showing multimedia or finding examples online), as well as by students for note taking, finding resources and information online, keeping online calendars, and creating products like papers or multimedia," Bebell says.
Not only are students using these devices, but a number of school districts have themselves begun handing out Chromebooks and iPads to students, so that teachers are able to more effectively integrate the technology into their curriculum.
School districts such as Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 and Naperville Community School District 203 are issuing mobile devices to students so that they can have access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are having teachers incorporate the devices into their lesson plans. District 211 began issuing iPads to all 13,000 of its students several years ago, while District 203 began giving out Chromebooks to all 6,500 of its high school students last school year and will issue those same devices to all students from the junior high level on up this school year.
This, in and of itself, presents both educators and parents with challenges.
"The challenge for distraction can be large any time you put any type of digital device into a student's hands," says Scott Weidig, technology coordinator at Schaumburg High School in District 211.
To limit those distractions, school districts that issue mobile devices employ any number of safeguards, from filtering the kind of sites and contents students can view through the school's network to not allowing students to access social media such as Facebook and Twitter on their school-owned devices.
"If you think about driver's education, you don't just hand a student a car and say go," Weidig says. "We limited the devices where they weren't able to access social media. We modified the device itself to, in essence, have a kind of learner's permit. We implemented, across the district, an online digital citizenship course that our students need to move through to have some of those communication capabilities opened up to them."
"Whenever a student logs into this Chromebook, it only can connect to our network to get on to the internet," adds Roger Brunelle, chief information officer for District 203. "So (students) might be at home, and they would be on their parents' Wi-Fi, but as soon as they get on, it's going to come here to our district office and go through our internet connection. We have software that filters these devices when they're not in a school building."
Brunelle says Naperville uses a filtering tool called Securly, which allows parents to better keep track of their kids' usage of school-owned devices.
"They will have access to know what websites their students have gone to, and the tool also has the ability to scan for certain aspects of things like cyberbullying," Brunelle says. "The tools in the marketplace have reached the point of maturity that there are a lot of things that a school district can and should put in place to make sure that it's not all the onus on the parents to monitor on a school device."
Monitoring school-issued devices is one thing. Monitoring other ways that children access the internet, such as through personal tablets or smartphones, is another.
"This is a delicate balance where every parent has to decide how engaged and involved they're going to be," Brunelle says, "until you have some evidence that your students are becoming good digital citizens, a little more care and caution, and having a good conversation with them on what's expected of them in terms of good internet behavior."
Weidig says one of the biggest concerns he hears when talking to parents in his district is that students can't seem to untether themselves from their devices.
"The biggest concern they have is the screen time, that idea of I'd love for my child to use it until 10 o'clock at night, but starting at 11 o'clock, I'd really like them to not be on it because students might be responding at 2 o'clock in the morning or interacting with other people," he says.
To combat that, Weidig and Brunelle say, parents would be wise to educate themselves on the safeguards offered by their internet service providers.
"Most of the internet (service) providers themselves offer filtering and restrictions that you can set right at the router level," Brunelle, himself a father of college-aged children, says. "I have Comcast at home. I can go into my Comcast logon, and I can set warnings and usage limits by time of day, specific devices that can and cannot connect."
"Start learning features of your router and how the connectivity works in your home, and then you can set limitations in your home," Weidig adds.
But experts say the technology itself can only do so much, and if kids are going to get the most out of the devices they're using from an educational perspective, parents need to pay close attention, so that their kids know how to do so. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/parenting/sc-back-to-school-tech-family-0830-20160824-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/3b5f91d4a15fceafcd64a04ffabfaac3dbab74f6353713e9603400504cbedd6a.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rich Campbell"
] | 2016-08-30T16:48:54 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Fbears%2Fct-bears-trim-roster-75-players-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5b2d9/turbine/ct-bears-trim-roster-75-players-20160830 | en | null | Bears trim roster to 75 players | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Chicago Bears trimmed their roster to the league-mandated 75-man limit Tuesday morning by making five transactions.
They waived linebacker Lamin Barrow (foot) with an injury designation; waived former Notre Dame linebacker Jarrett Grace; and put undrafted rookie outside linebacker Roy Robertson-Harris on the reserve list with a non-football illness.
The Bears also put center Hroniss Grasu (torn ACL, right knee) and quarterback Connor Shaw (broken left leg) on injured reserve.
The Bears must get down to 53 players by 3 p.m. Saturday. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-bears-trim-roster-75-players-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/6373f1bcb78f114cb57c770bed60961a44c2fee97fde24f070942a79b82d3eca.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Brian L. Cox"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:54 | null | 2016-06-20T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-skokie-eye-surgeon-northwestern-tl-0616-20160620-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-576834a6/turbine/ct-skr-skokie-eye-surgeon-northwestern-tl-0616-20160620 | en | null | Northwestern students help lighten Skokie doctor's load | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | If long lines at airport security checkpoints are a headache for travelers imagine trying to get past TSA agents while carrying a 70-pound operating microscope.
Skokie ophthalmologist, Dr. Stuart Sondheimer, runs into that problem every time he travels to do pro bono cataract surgery on people who would not typically be able to afford it. He said his work as a volunteer eye surgeon with an organization called SEE International has taken him to many developing nations including Vietnam, El Salvador and Honduras.
According to its website, Santa Barbara-based SEE International "provides sustainable medical, surgical, and educational services through volunteer ophthalmic surgeons with the objectives of restoring sight and preventing blindness to disadvantaged individuals worldwide."
But Sondheimer said volunteering to help give people sight can be heavy work in more ways than one. He said the bulk and weight of some of the medical equipment he needs to do the surgery is a constant problem when traveling.
In order to tackle that predicament the Skokie eye surgeon teamed up with freshman engineering students at Northwestern University recently and they came up with solutions to help lighten the load of his charity work.
In March three teams of four engineering students were assigned as part of their coursework the task of reducing the weight of the microscope and the bulky cases it is transported in, said Northwestern University professor, Dr. Richard Freeman, adding that the challenge was part of a class called "Design, thinking and communications."
"It's a learning experience but it's also an opportunity for them to stretch their engineering skills," said Freeman.
On June 7 Sondheimer met with the students and was able to see what they had come up with.
"I thought the students came up with some really good ideas," he said.
The operating microscope magnifies and illuminates, allowing eye surgeons to see inside the eye, Sondheimer explained.
"If you can see it then you can fix it," he said. "That allows us to do good work even in very remote areas. We have to lug around a lot of equipment."
The microscope and the cases they are packed in weigh more than 70 pounds, which Sondheimer said can make a routine trip to the airport cumbersome.
"We often bring in entire operating rooms," he said. "In some airport you can't bring in packages as heavy as the microscope."
The students immediately dove into the project and after more than a month of hard work they were able to reduce the size and weight of the cases, switch out heavier parts of the microscope with lighter materials and also added a three gallon water balloon to counter the weight of the microscope's "swing arm," Freeman said.
"It's always satisfying when the students are able to learn something," he said. "It is great when they can learn a lot and have a success and delight their client."
Sondheimer said that at first he was a bit skeptical because his medical equipment suppliers had told that they had reduced the weight of his equipment by as much as possible.
"They were wrong," he said. "It could be done better and these kids came up with some good solutions."
Freeman said his students findings have been sent to, SEE International, and that he is also sending them the parts from the prototypes his students made.
"SEE International will go back to their equipment partners and have them look over what the students did and see if it's something they can manufacture," he said. "I can't tell you how pleased I am with the work they did. This was a tough project."
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-skokie-eye-surgeon-northwestern-tl-0616-20160620-story.html | en | 2016-06-20T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/32f4bccd286e0709533642202622d944d91c0c2a98156b81f0ded559181d896f.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Karie Angell Luc"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:58 | null | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-zurich%2Fnews%2Fct-lzc-hawthorn-pig-roast-tl-0818-20160815-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57b1f351/turbine/ct-lzc-hawthorn-pig-roast-tl-0818-20160815 | en | null | St. Matthew Lutheran Church pig roast a community tradition in Hawthorn Woods | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Just like a prayer being answered, blue skies appeared around noon Sunday with temperatures in the low 80s, providing nice weather for a Hawthorn Woods church feast that has become a community tradition.
"We know the main weather man," said Deb Kinne, of Mundelein, with a laugh.
Kinne was the event chair for St. Matthew Lutheran Church's 26th Anniversary Pig Roast, which happened Aug. 14 in Hawthorn Woods. She estimated that 1,500 people attended the five-hour roast with many adults paying $14 for a meal ticket. Most children were admitted for $5, while children under the age 4 were allowed in for free.
Proceeds from the roast assist mission programs with leftover dollars helping to fund new signage for the church.
"It's just a great day to come out, to enjoy great food, great friends," Kinne said. "It's like a church picnic plus."
Approximately 100 volunteers assisted with the 26th pig roast at the church.
Brian Elkins, a volunteer from Grayslake, estimated 23 bags of corn from Lincolnshire-based Didier Farms were roasted.
Beelow Farm in Mundelein prepared 13 pigs for the event on site.
"It's a baker's dozen," said farmer Karen Beelow with a smile.
One pig weighed more than 270 pounds. Many come out to the pig roast each year to be a part of the community, said farmer Duane Beelow.
What's the power of that pig gone to hog heaven?
"You get people together," he said. "The power of one pig is the 150 people it will feed."
But what's the power of an ear of buttered corn?
"I don't know. That's a good question," said Ted Ray, of Ingleside, a volunteer and church member. "Seeing smiles on people's faces."
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance photographer and reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-zurich/news/ct-lzc-hawthorn-pig-roast-tl-0818-20160815-story.html | en | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/808f6f7c0ff97b99544c9e313692442e368b0640300c28b5b9edd0456cc66090.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Christin Nance Lazerus"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:25 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fnews%2Fct-ptb-gary-schools-deficit-st-0825-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57be3621/turbine/ct-ptb-gary-schools-deficit-st-0825-20160825 | en | null | Gary considering options in call to cut $300K | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | On the list for possible closure just a few weeks ago, Gary Community School Corp.'s Williams Annex opened its doors for the school year on Monday with the district still facing a $300,000 deficit.
School Board President Antuwan Clemons said that the board will consider its options — including closing the district's maintenance facility — when it meets next week.
"We're going to have to cut another $300,000 to meet payroll," Clemons said.
State-appointed financial manager Jack Martin, who attended Tuesday's board meeting, said the school district currently has about three times the amount of classroom space that it requires for its student population.
"The district needs to demonstrate leadership to the state, but they have earn that funding that they want," Martin said.
Last year, Martin spoke of the district being "beyond bankruptcy," and the state auditors have questioned the district's future as a "going concern."
But the Williams Annex teachers, despite the warning that payroll might not be met, spoke in support of the move to keep it open. They said that student population is down this year, in part due to uncertainty about the school's future.
A perfect storm of factors — declining enrollment, less revenue under state-mandated property tax caps, changes in the school funding formula and low property tax collections in Gary — have combined to place the district in an untenable position of dealing with a $75 million budget deficit.
The district is trying to raise more money for its general fund through a referendum that will go before the voters this fall, and they have requested additional funding from the state.
School board member Rosie Washington said Gary students are not receiving a fair shake when it comes to state funding.
"We are here to try and work as best as we can for as many as we can and as long as we can with as little as we can," Washington said. "We have a right to demand our piece of the pie."
cnance@post-trib.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-gary-schools-deficit-st-0825-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/d1b42cbaf5eb50e77842df39d96b18c7e8e8f88851b0c132ebebf2bffe93ebfd.json |
[
"Heesu Lee",
"Sohee Kim"
] | 2016-08-30T12:48:56 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-north-korea-anti-aircraft-gun-execution-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c57d2a/turbine/ct-north-korea-anti-aircraft-gun-execution-20160830 | en | null | Kim Jong Un has North Korean officials killed by anti-aircraft gun, paper says | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Two senior North Korean officials were executed with an anti-aircraft gun in early August on the orders of Kim Jong Un, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify.
Ri Yong Jin, a senior official in the education ministry -- possibly the minister -- was arrested for dozing off during a meeting with Kim and charged with corruption before being killed, the paper said. Former Agriculture Minister Hwang Min was purged over a proposed project seen as a direct challenge to Kim's leadership, it said.
If true, it would mark the first executions ordered by Kim from outside his party or the military, the paper said. A spokesman at South Korea's Unification Ministry said he couldn't immediately confirm the JoongAng report.
Kim has carried out a series of executions since taking power in 2011 after his father's death as he puts his mark on the leadership of the isolated nuclear-armed nation. The most high profile was the killing three years ago of his uncle and one-time deputy Jang Song Thaek. He had about 50 officials executed in 2014 on charges ranging from graft to watching South Korean soap operas.
"Kim is continuing to replace the old guard of his father's regime with loyalists," said Robert Kelly, a political science professor at South Korea's Pusan National University. "The charges are obviously trumped up, and this is how promotion or demotion often works in totalitarian states without legitimate venues for opposition."
Kim had his military chief Ri Yong Gil executed in February on charges including corruption, Yonhap News reported at the time. In January last year he executed General Pyon In Son, head of operations in the army, for disagreeing with him; and in May of that year he purged his defense minister Hyon Yong Chol for dozing off at a rally.
Still, reports of purges of senior North Korean officials are not uncommon and at times have proven to be unreliable.
Earlier this month, Seoul announced that a senior North Korean diplomat based in the U.K. had defected to South Korea. The man was among seven diplomats who have defected this year, according to JoongAng Ilbo.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Monday the defections signal a "serious fracture" within the North Korean regime and raise the prospects of fresh provocations as Kim seeks to maintain control. Her comments came as South Korea and the U.S. hold annual military drills that North Korea calls a prelude to an invasion.
Even so, Kelly at Pusan University said that the isolated state is probably more stable than many people think or want it to be.
"I don't think there has been a fracture," he said. "So long as China keeps the goodies flowing into Pyongyang, which is like a city-state in an ocean of deprivation, the elites won't turn on each other." | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-north-korea-anti-aircraft-gun-execution-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/0eb5469182b8388793f21291267e239a15a3f333f023817043e744f6ef9267c5.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Ruth Ann Krause"
] | 2016-08-26T18:51:15 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fcrime%2Fct-ptb-horde-plea-deal-st-0827-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Plea deal offered in attempted murder case | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Days before his attempted murder trial was scheduled to begin, a Gary man admitted Friday that he shot the victim.
As a result of his plea agreement, Davonta Davis Rufus Horde, 20, is facing a total of 13 years in the Indiana Department of Correction in two of his criminal cases, instead of 20 to 40 years on an attempted murder charge.
In court, Horde admitted he shot the victim multiple times at the man's home on Jan. 18 in the 1500 block of Hayes Street in Gary after Horde forced his way into the home.
In a separate case, Horde admitted that on the same day, while a man and his sister were at their home in the 800 block of 36th Place in Gary, Horde pulled up in front of their residence in a red pickup truck and fired about five shots.
The man pushed his sister to the floor as bullets came through the window near where she was sitting.
Horde's plea agreement, which was submitted to Lake Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray, outlines a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated battery and three years for criminal recklessness, served consecutively. If the judge accepts the plea agreement, charges that will be dismissed included attempted murder; aggravated battery, punishable by three to 16 years; battery, punishable by one to six years; numerous counts of criminal recklessness, punishable by one to six years; and a separate case in which Horde was charged stalking and criminal recklessness, also punishable by one to six years.
Murray scheduled an Oct. 4 sentencing hearing.
Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/crime/ct-ptb-horde-plea-deal-st-0827-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2cc647e0f1f87e56e37a455baf9090beaba4d3baa9046ac8ab1122c9969214ef.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Amanda Marrazzo"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:26 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-cop-dui-squad-car-crash-met-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf0fcb/turbine/ct-cop-dui-squad-car-crash-met-20160825 | en | null | Trial begins for Prairie Grove cop accused of on-duty DUI | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A police officer accused of being under the influence of alcohol when he crashed his squad car told another officer that "those glasses of eggnog must have been bigger than I thought," according to a prosecutor at the start of the man's trial Wednesday.
Oscar Baez, who resigned from the Prairie Grove Police Department the day after the Nov. 29 crash, is charged with felony official misconduct and misdemeanor DUI. He was also cited for allegedly running a stop sign before crashing his police SUV into a pole while on duty.
Police officers and McHenry County sheriff's deputies who arrived on the scene of the crash along Illinois Highway 31 after 10:30 p.m. testified to finding the Police Department vehicle's "heavily damaged" front end smashed up against a pole, which had nearly cracked in half from the impact.
Responding officers testified that Baez said his brakes had failed. They said Baez had slurred speech and glassy, bloodshot eyes; smelled of alcohol; and was swaying, pacing and eating breath mints. The witnesses said road conditions were dry and the weather was cold but clear. None said they saw skid marks on the road.
Baez was taken back to the police station for a field sobriety test. McHenry County sheriff's Sgt. Alan Sabol, who administered the test, said Baez didn't follow all instructions and, though he never lost his balance completely, he swayed during much of the test.
Former Prairie Grove police Sgt. Tony Colatorti said Baez refused to go to the hospital to give blood and urine samples. Colatorti said Baez said to him: "You know you're going to fire me, anyway."
Authorities described Baez's demeanor as "indifferent" and "lighthearted" following the crash, saying he did not act like they might expect for a police officer who was being accused of driving under the influence while on duty. Witnesses said Baez, who is 52 and lives in Bensenville, spoke of having had two glasses of eggnog about 11 a.m. that day, hours before the start of his shift, which was to last from 3 to 11 p.m.
"In my opinion, he consumed more than two glasses of eggnog beyond ... 11 a.m.," Sabol testified.
Baez's lawyer, James McCoy, chalked up Baez's attitude and his apparent unsteadiness to being in shock after just having an accident.
The trial is scheduled to resume Oct. 13.
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-cop-dui-squad-car-crash-met-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5b7fb968c9ac332d297026866e5827919239f3067fe97f70593ac7cad9d2f305.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Gail Marksjarvis"
] | 2016-08-27T02:48:11 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fcolumnists%2Fct-marksjarvis-column-social-security-inequality-0828-20160828-column.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0bfa5/turbine/ct-marksjarvis-column-social-security-inequality-0828-20160828 | en | null | Pushing back retirement age to 70 would be harder on low-income workers | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | It sounds like a simple fix to the nation's immense problem of funding Social Security and Medicare for an aging country — just get everyone to work to 70 and the math works out a lot better.
But this idea, despite being embraced by a number of politicians, has a long way to go. It's being challenged in academic circles as a new form of inequality. This one has been dubbed "longevity inequality."
The argument made against a retirement age of 70 is that it's not fair to people in the types of jobs that require brawn. Think of a 68-year-old climbing on top of a house to replace the roofing. Then compare that person with a 68-year-old tapping a computer keyboard.
In addition, people with college educations and desk jobs tend to live longer than those with low incomes. Here's where the money inequality issue gets fierce. If the professional lives a lot longer than the roofer, after retiring at 70 the person who had the desk job could keep getting monthly Social Security checks for years longer than the roofer. So the argument is that a lot more Social Security will go to the affluent people than to those who met their demise at a much earlier point in life.
During the last few years, the issue of pushing the retirement age to 70 gained ground as researchers noted that people are living much longer than they once did. In 1915, a 65-year-old man could expect to live until age 79.7 on average. In 2015, it was 86.1 years. That's 6.4 extra years of drawing Social Security benefits. For women, life expectancy has climbed from 83.7 years in 1915 to 88.7 in 2015.
But those are averages. Studies have shown life expectancy varies based on income, race, education and even the state or county where people reside. The General Accountability Office dug into the issue this spring with a report that showed great discrepancies in life expectancy between income groups.
Lower-income men approaching retirement live on average 3.6 to 12.7 fewer years than higher-income men, the GAO wrote in its report. And with those shorter life spans, the GAO noted, lower-income people would end up earning far less Social Security than the higher-income people because lower-income groups tend to live shorter than the national average for life expectancy.
Dying earlier ends up cutting a low-income person's lifetime benefits by as much as 11 to 14 percent, said the GAO. Based simply on longevity, higher-income workers now get $70,000 more over a lifetime than low-income retirees, the GAO said.
Low-income people also depend more on Social Security than the affluent. Currently, monthly Social Security benefits on average equal about half of what lower-income people were making while working. Workers with relatively high career earnings received monthly checks that equal about 30 percent of what they earned while working.
When people retire earlier than the full retirement age, their monthly check is reduced. Despite the reduction, the most common age to retire in 2014 was 62. Full retirement age is now 66. So a person who would have received $1,000 at age 66 would get only $750 at age 62.
Many people retire early because they have little choice. They become ill or encounter layoffs or other problems at work. About 36 percent of current retirees retired earlier than they planned, according to research by Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Groups that want 70 to be the age for full retirement benefits would allow people to retire earlier, but doing so would reduce their monthly check. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump have embraced the idea.
Currently the average person in the low-income group who was making $20,000 when working would get $156,000 over a lifetime in Social Security benefits after retiring at age 62 and living to 83, according to the GAO. A person in the high-income group who was making about $80,000 would get about $355,000 over a lifetime after retiring at 62 and living to 83.
But in the low-income group, living to 80 would be more likely. And that would mean receiving about $138,000 from Social Security after retiring at 62. The higher-income man would have a life expectancy of 86 and earn $411,000 from Social Security after retiring at 62.
The Center For Retirement Research at Boston College recently ranked the jobs that would be the most likely to require a person to retire prior to full retirement age: rock splitter in a quarry, floor sander, steelworker, commercial diver, truck driver and oil rigger.
White collar jobs where people tend to be the most able to continue working include: interior designer, lawyer, aerospace engineer, loan counselor and radio announcer.
Meanwhile, some professional jobs are also physically demanding and can become difficult with age, including surgeons and critical care nurses. To find where your job ranks, check the Boston College rankings here.
gmarksjarvis@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @gailmarksjarvis | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-marksjarvis-column-social-security-inequality-0828-20160828-column.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ada0cffae78a32e6f63db03987d5d2a06cfc962e6baf00821c1310231b9f7f49.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:11 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-obama-commutes-drug-sentences-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5e2ef/turbine/ct-obama-commutes-drug-sentences-20160830 | en | null | Obama cuts short the sentences of 111 federal inmates | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | President Barack Obama has cut short the sentences of 111 federal inmates in another round of commutations for those convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.
Obama has long called for phasing out strict sentences for drug offenses, arguing they lead to excessive punishment and incarceration rates unseen in other developed countries.
White House Counsel Neil Eggleston says the commutations underscore the president's commitment to using his clemency authority to give deserving individuals a second chance.
He says that Obama has granted a total of 673 commutations, more than the previous 10 presidents combined. More than a third of the recipients were serving life sentences.
Eggleston says he expects Obama to continue granting commutations through the end of his administration, but only legislation can ensure the federal sentencing system operates more fairly.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-obama-commutes-drug-sentences-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ca140d4e2359eba98e76c20fcf40fdc3b362d94fa420f6c87a4e9e62a91fd106.json |
[
"Associated Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:46 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fnews%2Fct-east-chicago-lead-contamination-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf4f46/turbine/ct-east-chicago-lead-contamination-20160825 | en | null | Indiana gives $200K to help East Chicago families amid lead contamination | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The state of Indiana is providing $200,000 to the city of East Chicago to help families living at a public housing complex where soil is tainted with elevated levels of lead and arsenic.
The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority says its board on Thursday approved the allocation of $100,000 to the East Chicago Housing Authority to help families immediately relocate from the West Calumet Housing Complex.
The State Department of Health says it will provide $100,000 to the city's health department to help fund a public health nurse and educator to assist with lead testing and local education efforts.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has told tenants they have until Nov. 30 to relocate.
The city of East Chicago is planning to demolish the low-income complex.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-east-chicago-lead-contamination-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/7d48450f284d83947796cfd2de59d84378e5e369782fad8bfdfc993e931c8419.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Pearson"
] | 2016-08-29T18:48:48 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fpolitics%2Fct-illinois-state-board-of-elections-hack-update-met-0830-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c47cbf/turbine/ct-illinois-state-board-of-elections-hack-update-met-0830-20160829 | en | null | Illinois election officials say hack yielded information on 200,000 voters | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Illinois State Board of Elections officials said Monday they believe personal information from fewer than 200,000 voters was hacked through a cyber attack of possible foreign origin that began in June and was halted a month later.
Ken Menzel, general counsel for the elections board, said no files of registered voters were erased or modified and that no voting history information or voter signature images were captured.
But he said it's possible that some voter personal information, including drivers' license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers, could have been accessed of voters who entered that information when they registered to vote online.
Voters who have been registered for a long time or those who registered to vote through a registrar do not have that personal information in the state voter files, he said.
"It looks to be fewer than 200,000" names, Menzel said of the hack. "We say that the system was compromised in this context, that it's been accessed. We're very confident nothing was added, deleted or altered."
The elections board, however, warned that "due to the ambiguous nature of the attack, we may never know the exact number of affected voters."
After the Illinois cyber attack and another attempt in Arizona, the FBI issued a "flash alert" this month to warn of malicious attempts to obtain access to states' election voter registration information. The actions by the FBI and related activity by the Department of Homeland Security were first reported by Yahoo News.
In Illinois, elections officials said the cyber attack began June 23 and board staff became aware of a security breach on July 12 and programmers used code changes to stop the malicious outside database queries.
The board also took offline outside access to its web site, including its on-line voter registration application process, to prevent further intrusions. Notifications were made to the Illinois attorney general's notice and the General Assembly under the state's Personal Information Protection Act, Menzel said.
The online voter registration portal was restored late last month and the board has added further encryption and taken other steps to enhance security of the system, officials said.
"We've been working with the people in governor's technology group (the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology) and they've been wonderfully helpful," he said. "There are also some interstate groups that have banded together for security issues, as well as the FBI and Homeland Security."
Menzel said there is a "reasonable suspicion" the cyber attack was foreign.
"We know foreign servers were used, but it's not conclusive that foreign actors were involved," Menzel said. He said the FBI has "their reasons for suspecting foreign involvement, other than just some foreign servers were used."
The stepped-up activity to protect states' voter election databases comes as the FBI investigates a hack of the Democratic National Committee that resulted in the unauthorized release of tens of thousands of emails. Security and intelligence experts have said they believe the DNC was hacked by interests linked to Russia.
rap30@aol.com
Twitter @rap30 | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-illinois-state-board-of-elections-hack-update-met-0830-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/d09c719c8f6d2ae35f1f960b26981213bcfa6925efefcc0ca6c2f46e13eb32f1.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"John Kass"
] | 2016-08-27T00:47:59 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fcolumnists%2Fkass%2Fct-hillary-clinton-emails-wall-john-kass-20160826-column.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0d874/turbine/ct-hillary-clinton-emails-wall-john-kass-20160826 | en | null | What Hillary really needs is a wall, from the north | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | If Hillary Clinton really wants to change the subject from those embarrassing emails and her family's sleazy international Chicago Way slush fund, here's an idea:
She can build a wall.
Not on our southern border, as Donald Trump already claimed that one.
I'm talking about our northern border, to stop drunken Americans from fleeing to Canada.
And not just any old wall either, but a gigantic electrified fence that would zap the horse feathers out of dangerous illegal inebriated immigrants.
Imagine the headline:
"Hillary to Build Canadian Wall to Avoid Questions about Huma."
Hillary might even hold a news conference.
Walling off Canada is a delicate business. They're a friendly nation. And they're sitting on the treasure of the future.
No, not gold.
Water.
They have all that fresh water in the Great Lakes, which Hillary will most likely divert to the arid American Southwest by royal decree once she is crowned queen.
So it's a delicate balance, yes, keeping the Canadians satisfied until we can steal their fresh water, and we don't need to complicate things by having American drunks wreaking havoc.
Canada already has enough drunks. They don't need our drunks too.
Recently, more than a thousand Americans (most of them likely besotted to the gills) made their way to the St. Clair River, where they hold something called the annual Port Huron Float Down (aka the Drunken American Flotilla).
The river borders Michigan and Ontario and the festival was full of all manner of bizarre flotation devices you'd find in a pool. Plopped on top of the ridiculous floats were drunken Americans, probably singing bawdy drinking songs and perhaps filthy limericks as they guzzled booze.
They floated over to the Canadian side and said the "wind" pushed them.
Happily, Canada is not Iran, so the Canadian government rescued them without ransom or humiliation and helped them to get home.
The drunken American news drove my 86-year-old mom crazy.
She was born in Guelph, Ontario, back in the day, she says, when ravenous wolf packs came down from the frozen North.
"Drunken American hooligans," said my mom.
She's an American now, having renounced her Canadian citizenship years ago, because ours is the kind of backward American family that believes you can only pledge allegiance to one nation at a time.
Still, when my brothers and I were little boys, she compelled us to sing "God Save the Queen" and "Men of Harlech."
Oddly, "God Save the Queen" was not a big hit on the South Side of Chicago. We'd sing it and some Irish kid would punch us in the stomach.
"When I was a girl, the drunken Americans would come up for the hunting season with their guns and all their new equipment and their bourbon and everyone would run to Toronto for fear of being killed," she said. "One farmer near Guelph painted his cow. He painted C-O-W on his cow."
She's quite feisty, but there's one thing about her story that bothers me:
The bourbon.
Canada is famous for rye whiskey. I've seen Scots at a Scottish wedding in Fergus, Ontario, consume copious amounts of rye, buckets and barrels of rye, and still play their pipes without incident.
So why would Americans bring bourbon up there when rye is plentiful?
As a halfie-Canadian myself, a wall would lock me away from family up there, but the good news is I wouldn't have to deal with the Canadian border patrol.
They shamed me once on a fishing trip in front of my bride.
This happened years ago, when Betty and I were dating. I'd just bought a new car. She picked up a loaf of bread and salami and after work, we drove straight to International Falls, stopping at a motel late at night to sleep until noon.
We woke, washed and vacuumed the new Trans Am, showered and changed our clothes, and tried to cross the border.
"The purpose of your visit?" one asked.
Fishing, I said.
I only had one rod and a tiny tackle box, but I told them I'd purchase more in Kenora.
"Fishing, eh? With one rod? Please exit the vehicle and step inside," he asked.
They tore up the car. They took out the carpets and seats. They had dogs. Finally they found something.
"This is speed," said another Canadian, pointing to a Tic Tac mint. "And this, shaped like a football, is a marijuana seed," he said, holding a sesame seed. "Where's the rest of it?"
There is no rest of it, I said. That's a breath mint. That's a sesame seed from the bread. We washed the car. We're going fishing. I'm half Canadian. Please sir, we're not drug dealers.
They subjected us to a strip search, and a rough matron with a ducktail haircut took Betty away.
"John?" Betty said. "John?"
Yet they found nothing but our pride.
Finally, after they admitted the mint was a mint and the sesame seed was indeed sesame, I asked them to call my Uncle George.
"He's a member of parliament from Ottawa," I said. "Call him and ask him if we're drug dealers."
They kept us another hour, but finally let us go.
If we're to remain friends with our brothers up north so we can steal their water, Hillary must build that wall.
Oh, Canada.
There's a new episode of The Chicago Way podcast with John Kass and Jeff Carlin, with guests Tribune editorial board member Kristen McQueary and former Illinois GOP chair Pat Brady. Listen here: http://wgnplus.com/category/thechicagoway
jskass@chicagotribune.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/kass/ct-hillary-clinton-emails-wall-john-kass-20160826-column.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/c52c6a3d56b54d6bab18ee1bd35c3e6fa417a4c96cb832cc97a3462f064a74f4.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Becky Jacobs"
] | 2016-08-30T14:52:08 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fnews%2Fct-ptb-michael-jackson-birthday-st-0830-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c58b6e/turbine/ct-ptb-michael-jackson-birthday-st-0830-20160829 | en | null | Fans celebrate Michael Jackson's 58th birthday | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A Michael Jackson impersonator strolled around with an umbrella as a woman played Jackson's music from her car. Meanwhile, Keita Sa'ad hung up a string of heart-shaped photos of the singer on the fence around Jackson's childhood home Monday.
Young students from a Cleveland, Ohio, charter school wrote messages on the backs of the photos for Sa'ad to bring to Gary on what would have been Jackson's 58th birthday Monday. Sa'ad introduced the children to his music in the before- and after-school program at the charter school, Sa'ad said. The children, ages 5-10, were excited for Sa'ad to bring their messages to the home at 2300 Jackson St., she said.
"I can't wait to take the pictures and let them see them," she said.
Sylvia Walker and Tenita Coleman have made the trip to Jackson's home before from Chicago, but this time they brought Coleman's daughter, 13-month-old Tabitha, who they say is becoming a young Jackson fan herself. Each visit, they like to take photos together by the home, they said.
Siren Van Tighem made the trip from Alberta, Canada, to visit Jackson's home Monday after wanting to visit since Jackson's death seven years ago.
"I've always loved his music and admired him, but after he passed away, I took a closer look at him as a human being and learned a lot about what he was really doing here on the planet," Tighem said.
Van Tighem appreciates Jackson's humanitarianism, she said, and his "beautiful way of living and caring about other people on the planet and being a demonstration for the beauty of the human spirit."
"It changed my life," Van Tighem said. "It made me want to be a better person."
Michael Jackson's childhood home Becky Jacobs / Post-Tribune Keita Sa'ad hangs up a string of heart-shaped photos of Michael Jackson on a fence Monday at Jackson's Gary childhood home on Jackson's birthday. Students from Citizens Academy, a charter school in Cleveland, Ohio, wrote messages on the backs of the photos for Sa'ad to bring to Indiana for the occasion. Keita Sa'ad hangs up a string of heart-shaped photos of Michael Jackson on a fence Monday at Jackson's Gary childhood home on Jackson's birthday. Students from Citizens Academy, a charter school in Cleveland, Ohio, wrote messages on the backs of the photos for Sa'ad to bring to Indiana for the occasion. (Becky Jacobs / Post-Tribune)
Fans came and went from the home Monday, dressed in shirts with pictures of the singer, placing cards on the fence and sharing stories about the singer.
rejacobs@post-tribune.com
Twitter @ruthyjacobs | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-michael-jackson-birthday-st-0830-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/fe9f546a94860794649370a7f265ce45073928c0bcd030b5a0abba05ea3d7d32.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Marwa Eltagouri"
] | 2016-08-31T10:48:56 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fct-lake-michigan-tourism-met-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c61e9d/turbine/ct-lake-michigan-tourism-met-20160830 | en | null | Officials: Without long-term erosion fix, North Shore towns may suffer | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | If a more permanent solution isn't found to address Lake Michigan's eroding shoreline and shrinking beaches, the leaders of coastal communities fear their economies and tourism may suffer — particularly in towns along the North Shore.
Cities in the region have traditionally relied on a piecemeal approach, from trucking in sand to building erosion prevention structures in the lake on a beach-by-beach basis. But experts say those methods have had mixed results, and that if suburbs are left to manage the lakefront on their own, they'll drain their finances or have to stop providing residents and visitors the sand-filled summers they have come to expect.
While Chicago has for decades armored its lakefront with artificial structures to minimize sand loss, some North Shore towns say they don't have the same financial resources.
"It may not have hit us now. However, if we continue to experience significant erosion it will 100 percent impact us," said Ron Salski, executive director of the Lake Bluff Park District. "If we keep spending $20,000 on sand a year, the impact is on other capital projects, which are not being completed."
The sand loss is mostly a result of man-made structures that jut into the lake, like breakwaters that trap sediment from moving along the coast. The structures have been built over two centuries and have been effective at safeguarding certain beaches. However, they have also disturbed the natural southward drift of sand — the geological phenomenon that created the Indiana Dunes — and have starved other beaches.
A similar pattern of erosion is mirrored on the east side of the lake, along the coast of some Michigan towns, where tourists flock for vacation, experts say.
Record-high lake levels compound the issue as they eat away at the shoreline, submerging beaches and blunting the effectiveness of breakwaters. In Evanston, the summer's high lake levels wiped out its dog beach and reduced other beaches, park officials said. Lake Michigan has risen about 4 feet since January 2013, when it hit a record low.
Of the five Great Lakes, Lake Michigan has the sandiest shores, and therefore draws the most visitors, experts say.
Tourists are at times startled to discover the dozens of miles of beaches along the coast. Germans Saskia Nembach and Ines Hoffmann, both 24, said their trip to Ohio Street Beach on a recent afternoon was spontaneous.
"The weather's beautiful, and our feet are hurting," Nembach said. The women's ankles were sunk deep into the warm sand, and a Chicago map was stretched across their laps. "It's beautiful. It's a nice place to calm down after walking so much and after sightseeing."
The Illinois coast is also home to some of the highest valued real estate in the Great Lakes region, so any loss of coastal land by erosion comes at a high cost. Illinois is one of the most intensely engineered coastlines across the Great Lakes, experts say.
After completing a $14.5 million renovation project in 2015, Highland Park's park district may no longer have to replenish sand at Rosewood Beach, said Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes. The park district in collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers implemented a five-year sand-monitoring program to detect future erosion and make necessary adjustments.
Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune The Lake Bluff’ Park District has spent $10,000 to $20,000 annually on sand replenishment in recent years, a park official said. The Lake Bluff’ Park District has spent $10,000 to $20,000 annually on sand replenishment in recent years, a park official said. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)
The ecological portion of the project helped restore the shoreline, bluffs and ravine and included the installation of breakwaters offshore to keep the sand in place, park district officials said. The park district was responsible for 35 percent of the cost of those improvements, or about $2.5 million.
"These are very expensive projects. They can help an individual place or individual community but are not designed as a system for the entire Lake Michigan shoreline," Brammeier said.
Over the past year and a half, public officials have joined together to develop a regional plan to manage the 32-mile stretch of lakefront from Evanston north to the Wisconsin state line, home to more than two dozen beaches. The initiative, called the Illinois North Shore Sand Management Strategy, formed through the Alliance for the Great Lakes and funded through a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, aims to use more cost-effective strategies to manage shorelines.
The northern beach at Illinois State Beach Park in Zion has lost more than 100 acres of coastal habitat over the past century and is expected to continue to erode by an acre each year, according to Army Corps reports. And in Waukegan, a breakwater offshore unintentionally created sand dunes at the local North Beach Park and starved the beaches to its south.
Through the sand-management initiative, one town's problem could be another town's solution. The buildup of sand in Waukegan's harbors that requires annual dredging, for example, could perhaps be cleaned, decontaminated and used for beach nourishment in other areas, Brammeier said.
"These are the kinds of conversations we're starting to have. Communities looking at their problem and thinking, 'Can my problem be someone else's solution?'" he said.
The group last met in July. Members planned to outline specific solutions to long-term erosion, but decided they needed to gather more data before they could draft concrete plans, and will readdress those issues this fall.
Members also hope that a master plan could protect natural areas, like Illinois Beach State Park, which are vulnerable.
"It's a tremendous resource, but if we don't restore the sand flow, we're going to lose it," he said. "It's really fundamental to whether all these beaches can be elevated in terms of tourism."
Studies show that the area's beaches are a powerful draw to out-of-town guests.
In a survey of more than 3,800 people who visited Cook and Lake counties in Illinois and Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties in Indiana in 2015, about 11 percent said they participated in beach or waterfront activities, according to data collected by D.K. Shifflet and Associates, a Virginia-based tourism research firm. It is not clear whether those activities occurred along Lake Michigan, however, as surveys did not ask respondents to specify the location of their activities.
In 2015, about 7.6 million travelers visited Michigan's beaches, accounting for 8.3 percent of the state's 91.2 million travelers yearly, according to data compiled by D.K. Shifflet and Associates and provided to the Tribune by Pure Michigan.
Lake Bluff's beach received 1,622 out-of-town visitors and 22,323 total visitors between this May and July, and Salski, the park district's executive director, said that was highest attendance in at least five years. He said the park district has spent between $10,000 and $20,000 in sand replenishment in each of the last three to five years. Part of those costs is offset by the beach's $10 fee for nonresidents. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-lake-michigan-tourism-met-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/748ca3e1dab4efb3ef35c91752bb506b11bcbb54d6a592ff03f56a71ecfe5a86.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune"
] | 2016-08-29T00:48:30 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fct-chicago-triathlon-transamerica-photos-20160828-photogallery.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c3475f/turbine/ct-chicago-triathlon-transamerica-photos-20160828 | en | null | Transamerica Chicago Triathlon | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Transamerica Chicago Triathlon took place on Aug. 28, 2016, starting with swimming at Monroe Harbor, then biking and finishing with running just north of Roosevelt Road. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-triathlon-transamerica-photos-20160828-photogallery.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/64112210f6d2a4c6397cc00433adc989825eb69224539e8b95e114df99c8e2d3.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Lauren Zumbach"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:19 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fct-south-loop-mall-construction-0831-biz-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5ddfe/turbine/ct-south-loop-mall-construction-0831-biz-20160830 | en | null | Construction expected this fall on South Loop mall | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Construction on a new South Loop mall is expected to start this fall, adding to the retail options off Roosevelt Street.
The five-story, 120,000-square-foot building recently got the go-ahead to start construction, but developer Jaytee is waiting to finalize a handful of key leases before breaking ground, said Jim Schutter, senior managing director at real estate firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and the principal agent on the project.
"We're working on getting a couple retailers over the line," said Schutter, who said the project has seen interest from tenants in furniture, home improvement, banking and restaurants.
The mall will be on the northeast corner of Jefferson and Taylor streets. In addition to the retail space, there will be three floors of parking, two below ground and one above, and high ceilings will mean the five-story building will be roughly 90 or more feet tall, Schutter said.
"It won't be overwhelming, but we're trying to create something unique and exciting for retailers," he said.
Once construction starts, Schutter said it should take about a year to complete the building.
Although an ongoing court case involving the owner of a 62-acre parcel of land connecting the South Loop and Chinatown could hinder plans to develop the area, other residential projects recently completed or under construction could bring new customers to retailers eyeing the South Loop.
Three new South Loop apartment buildings were expected to be completed between January and August 2016, including the 469-unit 1000 S. Clark St. site that is 60 percent leased, the 307-unit One333 building at 1333 S. Wabash Ave., and the 396-unit 1001 S. State St. building, real estate firm Appraisal Research Counselors said in a report on the downtown Chicago residential real estate market in the second quarter of 2016.
The South Loop also has 67 condos and town homes being marketed for sale, or 9 percent of open units on the downtown market. A 144-unit South Loop condo high-rise at 1345 S. Wabash that was the first developed downtown after the recession sold out in the second quarter of this year, according to the report.
Retailers' caution before signing a lease is a sign of a tough retail environment, not skepticism about the South Loop, Schutter said.
"It's an easy sell to get interest, but it's a difficult sell to get a deal finalized," he said. "They're more thoroughly vetting sites and the economics of deals than they were five or six years ago."
Roosevelt Street has always been the main retail corridor, but interest is picking up off-Roosevelt too, Schutter said.
"Especially with the Portillo's (at Canal Street and Taylor) doing phenomenally well, it's turning Taylor into a great commercial street," he said.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @laurenzumbach | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-south-loop-mall-construction-0831-biz-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/efaaaadab77cd4d788457c176d1c726ee9395267d5bbe0d556f3ce9aa4fdd7b3.json |
[
"Los Angeles Times"
] | 2016-08-29T04:48:28 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fla-et-ms-mtv-vma-live-updates-08282016-htmlstory.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57be3b70/turbine/la-et-ms-mtv-vma-live-updates-08282016 | en | null | MTV VMAs: Beyonce wins the VMAs, Rihanna and Drake melt our hearts, Britney Spears fizzles | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Rihanna performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City.
Rihanna turned the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards into her own personal showcase.
To accept the night’s biggest honor, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, the pop singer didn’t showcase her hits in a 15-minute retrospective the way previous winners Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé have.
Instead, Rihanna appeared throughout the show, dedicated five-minute segments to the many different personas that define her chameleon approach to pop hitmaking.
There was dance-pop Rihanna, opening the show with a set that focused on her biggest dance hits.
Clad in a bubblegum-colored cutout pants. a Hood by Air T-shirt, pink boots, rose-colored shades and her hair up in ponytail — she effortless channeled her most uptempo cuts in a dizzying, dance-heavy medley.
Club smash “Don’t Stop the Music” gave way to “Only Girl (In the World).” The dance-hall rhythms of her debut single “Pon De Replay” flourished before she tore through rave anthems “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been.”
The Barbadian singer paid tribute to her island roots with a set pulled from her infectious reggae and dance-hall-inspired jams.
She dusted off “Rude Boy” and the sultry “What’s My Name?” and ripped her smash “Work,” while flanked by dozens of dancers that grinded on her.
Next, she explored the woody trap records she’s cut on her most recent work. “Needed Me,” “Pour It Up” and “Bitch Better Have My Money,” all got tackled as the singer was dressed in a black leotard, knee-high boots, chain necklaces and even a purple boa flung across her shoulder.
For her finale — her fourth set of the night — Rihanna belted her biggest ballads in an elegant closer befitting pop’s reigning hitmaker.
Wearing a ruffled silver gown and backed by a full orchestra she sang “Stay,” her ethereal smash “Diamonds” and the doo-wop-inspired “Love on the Brain,” the latest single from her most recent album “Anti.”
“This is such an amazing moment in my career,” she told the audience after being presented with the award by collaborator Drake. “My success started as my dream. And now it's not my own, its my family’s, my fans, women, black women … so many people.” | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/la-et-ms-mtv-vma-live-updates-08282016-htmlstory.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/b53b925908862292e78a546d34711d138526bc95d336dd89dfbe641b9b6ed966.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Chris Kuc"
] | 2016-08-27T20:48:10 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Fbears%2Fct-chiefs-bears-7-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c1f5fc/turbine/ct-chiefs-bears-7-20160827 | en | null | Saturday's recap: Chiefs 23, Bears 7 | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | In the final true dress rehearsal for the 2016 season, the Bears needed a stand-in.
The Bears were throttled on both sides of the ball during a 23-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the third exhibition game of the season Saturday at Soldier Field.
The first half was a disaster for the Bears as the Chiefs outgained them 239-20, including 177 to minus-7 passing. At the intermission, the Bears had managed just two first downs to the Chiefs’ 16 and trailed 13-0.
Things didn’t get much better in the second half as both teams’ reserves saw plenty of action and the Bears dropped to 0-3 with a final exhibition game remaining Thursday in Cleveland. The Chiefs outgained the Bears 378 yards to 223.
Traditionally, the third preseason game is when teams most closely resemble the product they will field when games count. In that case, the Bears could be in trouble.
To make matters worse, the Bears lost starting cornerback Tracy Porter to a concussion late in the second quarter. The veteran was struck in the back of the head by teammate Harold Jones-Quartey’s knee while making a tackle. Porter was slow to get up and was escorted to the locker room and didn't return.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler played into the third quarter and finished 6-for-15 for 45 yards as the offensive line allowed the Chiefs sustained pressure. Jeremy Langford led the Bears in rushing with 17 yards on six carries.
The Chiefs got rushing TDs from Spencer Ware and Darrin Reaves and three field goals by Cairo Sanchez. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith took advantage of plenty of time to throw to finish 20-for-30 passing for 181 yards.
Late in the game, fourth-string quarterback Connor Shaw hooked up with Cameron Meredith for a 16-yard strike to give the Bears their first touchdown at Soldier Field this exhibition season.
Shaw later had to be carted off the field with a left ankle injury. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-chiefs-bears-7-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/6d228e27e86fd14ee472224e6426dc46d954e665e82b11899f8878ad12d22b8c.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Brian L. Cox"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:38 | null | 2016-07-01T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-niles-north-symbol-training-institute-tl-0707-20160701-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Niles North grads get scholarship for machinist program | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Recent Niles North High School graduate, Erik Olivares, said that when he left the school for the last time this June he was looking for an alternative to the often expensive tuition that comes with earning a college degree.
With the help of a scholarship from the Symbol Training Institute (STI) in Skokie, Olivares and two other recent high school grads are enrolled in a nine-month long machinist program they hope will allow them to avoid hefty tuition frees and college debt while also preparing them for something many college grads can only dream about: immediate placement in the job market.
"I want to be able to get a job," said Olivares, 18, who lives in Skokie. "I want to be able to support myself."
Olivares and another Niles North graduate are both enrolled in the machinist training program at STI thanks to a joint scholarship program offered by the STI, the HAAS Scholarship foundation and a group called Manufacturing Next, said STI executive director, Diana Peters.
"They are already in class," she said. "They're learning how to program, setup and operate computerized manufacturing machinery."
She said the $9,000 program is a good fit for graduating high school students who do not view college as something they want to spend their time or money on. She also said that the program prepares graduates for jobs in an industry that is rapidly losing workers.
"The manufacturing community is hurting," she said. "There are so many machinist right now that are in the baby boomer stages that are going to be retiring soon and there's nobody to take their place. We're trying to change that, to get some new blood in there."
Students are trained on computerized numerical control (CNC) machines including lathes and milling machines as well as other state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery, said Peters.
"Manufacturing companies from all different industries have these machines," she said. "Automotive, aerospace, food manufacturing, you name it. Any type of manufactured company would have these computerized advanced manufacturing machines."
Olivares said he may still go to college one day to study mechanical engineering, but added that he sees his training at STI as something that is preparing him for whatever comes next be it secondary education or the workplace.
"The learning curve is pretty easy," he said. "So far we've learned how to make washers. The parts really don't matter. What we're doing is learning how to use the tools. I wanted to get a job before getting onto college."
"It's pretty important to get a job," he added. "It's a practical thing. This way I can get a career I want."
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-niles-north-symbol-training-institute-tl-0707-20160701-story.html | en | 2016-07-01T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/20e6833105a250677c94ddd3572f6ceee8ccbd654c86ac9aa083a142f2c058f1.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Jim Newton"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:23 | null | 2016-07-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-county-news-sun%2Fcrime%2Fct-lns-mundelein-child-porn-plea-st-0728-20160727-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57990aef/turbine/ct-lns-mundelein-child-porn-plea-st-0728-20160727 | en | null | Mundelein man gets prison term for possession of child pornography | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A Mundelein man, who is already a registered sex offender from a previous sexual assault conviction in Wisconsin, has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and will spend four years in prison.
Nicholas Hermann, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography under a plea deal approved Monday by Lake County Circuit Judge James Booras.
He was sentenced to four years in prison for each count, with the sentences to be served consecutively. The time is served at 50 percent under state statute, resulting in total four-year term, according to Assistant State's Attorney Mary Stanton.
In exchange for the plea, several other counts of the same charge were dismissed.
Stanton said the charges against Hermann resulted from pictures found on his computers involving children under the age of 13.
According to Stanton, Hermann was already a registered sex offender at the time of his arrest from a 2003 conviction for sexual assault of a child in Winnebago County, Wis. He had completed probation for that conviction prior to his arrest.
Hermann had been free from custody following his arrest last summer after posting a $50,000 bond, which was 10 percent of the $500,000 bail set at his bond hearing.
If he had not accepted the plea deal, he faced a sentencing range upon conviction of four to 15 years in prison, and probation was not an option, Stanton said.
Hermann was arrested after a search warrant was executed on his Sky Crest Drive home in unincorporated Mundelein on June 23 of last year, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
Evidence seized from his residence included multiple electronic devices capable of storing electronic media, sheriff's officials said. A forensic examination of the media devices revealed "an extensive amount of images and videos, identified as child pornography, according to the sheriff's office.
The search warrant was executed as the result of a child pornography investigation conducted by the Lake County Sheriff's Cybercrimes Unit and the Lake County State's Attorney's Cybercrimes Unit.
jrnewton@tribpub.com
Twitter @jimnewton5 | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/crime/ct-lns-mundelein-child-porn-plea-st-0728-20160727-story.html | en | 2016-07-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/bdf09e6fa3165c0c648829c6a5d6c0ad3852e76c1783c987951d21af5e894a07.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Frank S. Abderholden"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:37 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-county-news-sun%2Fcrime%2Fct-lns-waukegan-drug-laboratory-arrests-st-0826-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf3b42/turbine/ct-lns-waukegan-drug-laboratory-arrests-st-0826-20160825 | en | null | Two suspects charged in Waukegan drug lab investigation | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Two suspects in a Waukegan drug laboratory investigation that forced an evacuation of an apartment building this week have been charged with multiple drug offenses.
Derek A. Ventresca, 28, and Vanessa Zavala, 20, both with a last known address in the 1000 block of Lakehurst Drive in Waukegan, were charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession with intent to deliver, Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said.
Ventresca was also charged with obstructing justice and is being held on $250,000 bail, Florip said. Zavala is being held on $200,000 bail. Both were scheduled to appear in court Friday, he said.
According to information released by police, officers went to the building in the 1000 block of Lakehurst at 11 a.m. Tuesday for an eviction and found various chemicals in the apartment. A special unit was called in from the Illinois State Police, and its investigators evacuated the building as a precaution, Florip said. The evacuation and cleanup lasted 12 hours.
Waukegan police discover DMT drug lab in apartment building Waukegan police arrested two suspects in connection to a rare DMT drug lab discovered in an apartment building. Aug. 24, 2016. (CBS Chicago) Waukegan police arrested two suspects in connection to a rare DMT drug lab discovered in an apartment building. Aug. 24, 2016. (CBS Chicago) See more videos
State investigators told Waukegan police that the lab and chemicals were commonly used to manufacture the hallucinogenic compound dimethyltryptamine, which is classified in Illinois as a controlled substance, Florip said.
"I don't think we have ever run into a DMT lab before," Florip said.
The Waukegan gang unit took the two suspects into custody later that day and filed charges Thursday.
fabderholden@tribpub.com
Twitter @abderholden | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/crime/ct-lns-waukegan-drug-laboratory-arrests-st-0826-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/7b2d5180184c44594ab6d9f4a6b7d47db1dcf5e23deb3482b6831b54287e6f13.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Angelica Lavito"
] | 2016-08-27T02:48:08 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-county-news-sun%2Fnews%2Fct-lns-chain-o-lakes-outreach-st-0824-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0e404/turbine/ct-lns-chain-o-lakes-outreach-st-0824-20160826 | en | null | Lack of funding, old equipment slow sediment removal from Chain O'Lakes, Fox River | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The Fox Waterway Agency needs to increase its sediment removal procedures to maintain the Fox River and Chain O'Lakes, officials said.
The agency, which partners with local governments and landowners to maintain the Fox River and Chain O'Lakes, wants to dredge more so waterfront residents can use their channels to access the lakes. Dredging more will prevent algae from growing rampantly, a problem that frustrates homeowners on Lake Catherine and residents in Elgin and Aurora, whose drinking water comes from the Fox River, said Joe Keller, Fox Waterway Agency executive director.
But the money isn't there, Keller said.
Like other state agencies, the Fox Waterway Agency's funding has trickled away as the state's finances have floundered. The agency has cut spending and tried to increase revenue to supplement the loss of state dollars, but it is not enough, Keller said.
The Fox Waterway Agency generates just enough money to remove the 100,000 cubic yards of sediment entering the system each year. It is estimated that between 6 million to 10 million cubic yards are already in Grass Lake alone. To get ahead of the problem and keep the waterways navigable, the agency needs to double or triple its current capabilities, Keller said.
"If 100,000 comes in and we're scheduled to take out 2,000 more, that frankly is extraordinary with where we've been last two years and frankly the lack of funding we're getting, but that's not good enough," Keller said. "What we really need to do is try and find a way to double the 100,000. If we can get to a point where we're taking out 200,000 a year, we're taking out 100,000 that comes in, and we're taking 100,000 that came in over many, many years, that is going to increase the health of the entire system, the people that rely on it for drinking water or for enjoyment purposes and just do so much from the standpoint of just the life, environment and nature around it and breeds of animals and species that rely on this waterway."
The Fox Waterway Agency expected to bring in about $2.6 million this year, according to the agency's budget. User fees, or boat stickers, accounted for half of that revenue. State funds of $300,000 accounted for 11 percent, or the second-largest contribution, of the agency's expected revenue.
Legislators eliminated the grant money in the stopgap budget passed at the end of June. The money never came last year, so the agency was hopeful it would receive the grant from last year and this year. It got neither, Keller said.
To help cover the loss of state money, the Fox Waterway Agency raised sticker fees for the first time in six years, Keller said. The increase varied depending on boat size, with a 17 percent average increase. The most common sticker, Class B, increased from $80 to $100.
Some boaters were outraged. They decried the move on the agency's Facebook page, and some went to the agency's office demanding answers.
But the agency felt like it had no choice, Keller said.
The agency lost its second-largest source of revenue, Keller said. And it doesn't receive a share of money generated through other taxes such as the motor fuel sales tax, property taxes, sales taxes or any taxes tied to the Fox River and Chain O'Lakes, he said.
"We have no other way to keep production up, do what we need to do to service everybody and still be able to pay our personnel and to do things," Rob Bowman, Fox Waterway Agency field superintendent, said. "We want to grow. We want to be able to do more."
Living within its means
Until the Fox Waterway Agency finds more money, it must live within its means, Bowman said.
"We're struggling to get by the best we can with what we got," Bowman said. "So, our equipment is older, we could use more personnel, we could use more equipment, we could use more trucks. You name it, we could use it."
The agency's oldest piece of equipment is 28 years old. The other pieces are not much younger. The agency cut its staff and has not raised salaries in four years. The agency's board of directors authorized it to purchase two trucks that should come later this month to cut the cost of contracting with trucking companies, Bowman said.
Since the agency does not have a processing site nearby, it must pay trucking companies to drive the material miles away. The agency bought its own trucks to keep more of its services in-house since it is substantially cheaper, Keller said.
Ideally, the agency would have its own processing sites nearby. Right now, that is not an option. The agency does not have the money to buy its own site, Keller said.
If money wasn't an issue, Bowman said, he'd like to build facilities in strategic locations that could dry and process the sludge into usable soil, all on the same property.
"So take the material out of the holding cell, process it right there and turn it into a salable material to recover some of our costs," Bowman said. "But we don't live in a perfect world right now."
Finding new funds
The Fox Waterway Agency hopes the state will restore its funding, but in the meantime, it's looking for alternative ways to cover its expenses, Keller said.
The Southeastern Wisconsin Fox River Commission, the agency responsible for the Wisconsin portion of the Fox River, worked with state lawmakers to expand its jurisdiction south to the Illinois border. Now that the two agencies tasked with helping the Fox River share a boundary, they can work together to apply for federal grants.
"We've worked with the Fox Waterway Agency in the past, and as the regime there has changed, we've kind of lost touch, but all of that seems to be coming around again," said Al Sikora, chairman of the Southeastern Wisconsin Fox River Commission. "And they're reaching out, and we're reaching out. All that should come together."
The Southeastern Wisconsin Fox River Commission works to prevent erosion to reduce the need to dredge. Sikora said more can be done, and flooding in 2008 was a major setback to the commission's efforts.
The Fox Waterway Agency and the Southeastern Wisconsin Fox River Commission are responsible for maintaining their waterways — but they are not alone in their efforts. Groups such as Friends of the Fox and the newly formed Friends of Channel and Catherine Lakes help do what the organizations cannot.
"To me, these little and bigger groups are essential throughout the entire system because each area of the system has its own issues," Keller said. "They might all share the sediment of the system as a bond, but some places might have more problems from algae, or, 'Hey, what happened to my island I used to play on when I was a little kid?' " | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/news/ct-lns-chain-o-lakes-outreach-st-0824-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/cf3ffc3f6ad30b65ba5d374ffa87c4129c1b21562af354cd3337ca820bd098b7.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Ronnie Wachter"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:28 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fburr-ridge%2Fnews%2Fct-bgc-vintage-days-tl-0825-20160822-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bc62ae/turbine/ct-bgc-vintage-days-tl-0825-20160822 | en | null | More than 6,000 came to Long Grove for first-ever Vintage Days | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A few restaurants may have run out of food, but the first Vintage Days weekend in Long Grove did not run out of visitors.
The Long Grove Business and Community Partners are testing out a series of new, smaller festivals meant to attract neighbors from surrounding suburbs. One of those new events was was Vintage Days, which LGBCP president Ryan Messner said drew more than 6,000 visitors through a rainy Saturday and gorgeous Sunday.
The theme was old-fashioned crafts and re-purposed furniture.
"The crowd and the sales that our businesses are reporting are comparable to a Chocolate Festival," Messner said Monday, referring to the long-running festival that his group organizes to attract visitors from Chicago and Milwaukee. "We're already planning its return for next year."
Despite the rain on Saturday, Messner said so many visitors wanted to take part in the tractor-powered, hay-rack rides that the partners decided to extend its hours both days. The showers cut some of the live music short, which may have led shoppers into nearby restaurants.
Messner said some of the establishments sold out a few items.
"We were concerned about the weather, but people still came out and had a great time," he said.
The next event in downtown Long Grove will be the Irish Festival, scheduled for Labor Day weekend.
rwachter@pioneerlocal.com
Vintage Days Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press Paul Schmidt, of Lindenhurst, lets 6-year-old Griffin Ribolzi, of Lake Barrington, try out his high wheel bike that dates from 1885 during the Vintage Days event in Long Grove, August 20, 2016. Paul Schmidt, of Lindenhurst, lets 6-year-old Griffin Ribolzi, of Lake Barrington, try out his high wheel bike that dates from 1885 during the Vintage Days event in Long Grove, August 20, 2016. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press)
Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/burr-ridge/news/ct-bgc-vintage-days-tl-0825-20160822-story.html | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5d9b3e195953c37610c822a231b364879d49541bb3ecee0a36778a0759abad17.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Clifford Ward"
] | 2016-08-29T22:48:59 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fct-woman-charged-in-crash-with-trooper-0830-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c49e1d/turbine/ct-woman-charged-in-crash-with-trooper-0830-20160829 | en | null | Officials allege woman was driving drunk when vehicle hit squad car on I-355 | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A Maywood woman has been charged with aggravated DUI after she allegedly struck a parked Illinois State Police vehicle early Sunday and injured the trooper who was inside, according to police and DuPage County officials.
Natasha Mister, 31, of the 1000 block of South 14th Avenue, was ordered held in lieu of $200,000 bond following the collision, which took place about 12:44 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 355, north of Army Trail Road in Addison.
According to authorities, the trooper was in his squad car, parked on the right shoulder and awaiting a tow truck called after an earlier traffic stop. Mister, who was southbound on I-355, allegedly ran into the officer's car, which had its emergency lights activated prior to the crash, authorities said.
The officer received non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. Mister recorded a .15 blood-alcohol level, almost double the legal limit of .08, police said. She was taken to the DuPage County jail, where bail was set Sunday by Judge Paul Marchese.
State's Attorney Robert Berlin called the accident "100 percent avoidable."
"While policing our roadways, our troopers have a hard enough job as it is and do not need to feel like they are sitting ducks as cars drive by at 55 miles per hour," Berlin said. "If you are traveling our roads and see flashing emergency lights ahead, slow down and move to the opposite side of the road if possible."
Mister's next court date is set for Sept. 26 in front of Judge John Kinsella, prosecutors said.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ct-woman-charged-in-crash-with-trooper-0830-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ef6f9bee9e0b672b22c9858fbdbbf17620f399417d69f8aa07bd6ffdc4adeccd.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Dahleen Glanton"
] | 2016-08-27T20:48:11 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fct-shooting-dwayne-wade-glanton-20160827-column.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c1ca78/turbine/ct-shooting-dwayne-wade-glanton-20160827 | en | null | After vowing to give back, Dwyane Wade loses cousin to gun violence | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Before Dwyane Wade has even played his first game as a Chicago Bull, he has been touched by the city's violence.
His cousin was shot in the head and killed Friday while pushing her baby in a stroller on the South Side. It was yet another of those senseless shootings that we have become so accustomed to in Chicago. And again, the violence has drained us of emotion.
Nykea Aldridge, 32, was not the intended victim. She and a man were walking down the street when two men walked up to them and began firing at her companion. Her baby was not injured.
Like many relatives of the people who have died on our streets, Wade had little to say when he heard the news, except for a post on Twitter.
"My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough," he tweeted.
But it was something Wade said weeks ago during a news conference where he was introduced as a new member of the Bulls that caught my attention.
Wade talked about the code that he lives by: "To whom much is given, much is required."
It is a variation of a Bible verse, one that most of us have heard at one time or another, perhaps without giving it much thought.
As someone who has received a lot, Wade said, he is required help the next generation. It is refreshing to hear those words coming from a basketball superstar.
There aren't many people Chicago's troubled young men will listen to. But there is a chance they would listen to him.
Of course, Wade isn't obligated to give his time or resources to the community where he grew up. No one would think less of him, or turn down a chance to see him play if he chose to do nothing. But wouldn't it be something if he did?
Nykea Aldridge Family photo Nykea Aldridge, 32, cousin of Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade, was shot and killed on Aug. 26, 2016, as she was pushing her baby in a stroller on the South Side. Nykea Aldridge, 32, cousin of Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade, was shot and killed on Aug. 26, 2016, as she was pushing her baby in a stroller on the South Side. (Family photo) (Family photo)
In our neighborhoods, basketball can be the bridge between life and death.
It encourages young men to put down their guns and challenge each other on the basketball court. It gives them another option for releasing the anger and frustration that so often lead to violence.
Next month, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church in the Gresham neighborhood, will host the annual Chicago Peace League Basketball Tournament.
For five years, this popular hoops tournament has brought rival gangs together as teammates. The premise seems simple enough: It's hard to look at a teammate as an enemy. Once you have supported each other on the basketball court, it hard to then point a gun in that man's face.
This year's tournament Sept. 17 at St. Sabina's gymnasium will draw a wide range of professional athletes. Isaiah Thomas, a Chicago native who played for the Detroit Pistons, will be there. So will former Chicago Bull Joakim Noah. Chicagoan Jabari Parker, a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, also is scheduled to appear along with other sports celebrities.
Right now, the tournament is held in only one neighborhood. Can you imagine the impact if it were to spread throughout the city?
Ending the city's violence problem isn't as easy as outsiders might think. It can't be solved in a week, regardless of what politicians might say. It will require a collaborative effort among residents, public officials, organizations and businesses stretched over the long term.
I don't know what Wade had in mind when he said that much is required of him. But in these desperate times, we will take whatever he has to give.
Dwyane Wade on Chicago's police, gun violence Newly minted Chicago Bull and Robbins, Ill., native Dwyane Wade participated in an ESPN town hall on athletes, social responsibility and gun violence held at a South Side YMCA on Aug. 25, 2016, a day before his 32-year-old cousin was shot and killed in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood, also on Chicago's South Side. Read more about the killing of Nykea Aldridge here. Newly minted Chicago Bull and Robbins, Ill., native Dwyane Wade participated in an ESPN town hall on athletes, social responsibility and gun violence held at a South Side YMCA on Aug. 25, 2016, a day before his 32-year-old cousin was shot and killed in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood, also on Chicago's South Side. Read more about the killing of Nykea Aldridge here. See more videos
But like police officers, basketball players can't solve Chicago's problems on their own. We can't just sit back and turn all of the responsibility over to them.
We have a stake in making sure that a mother can walk down the street pushing a baby stroller and make it safely to her destination.
Because for all of us who have been given much, much is required.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @dahleeng | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-shooting-dwayne-wade-glanton-20160827-column.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ef11b15579df895c5e65c419e567c14482b0c15ab688f267b69e4d46c1dd6e74.json |
[
"King Features Syndicate",
"Christopher Elliott"
] | 2016-08-28T10:48:11 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Flifestyles%2Ftravel%2Fsc-hotel-smoking-fee-trouble-travel-0830-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c050ff/turbine/sc-hotel-smoking-fee-trouble-travel-0830-20160828 | en | null | There's no smoke in hotel room, so what's this $250 charge? | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | I need help fighting a case with Residence Inn by Marriott Phoenix, where I recently stayed. When I checked out, I saw a $250 charge on my credit card in addition to the $89 for the room.
No one ever said anything about the charge. I called the front desk and was told it was a "smoking charge." But I don't smoke.
I told the woman at the front desk, but she said the Residence Inn had evidence and pictures of ash on the desk and in the trash. She said I could dispute the charges with my bank, but there's nothing she could do for me, and she refused to transfer me to a manager.
I left a message for the manager but never received a call back. I feel Residence Inn is trying to make some extra money from me. Can you help?
— Samantha Armstrong, Glendale, Ariz.
RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR
A: If you don't smoke, you shouldn't have to pay a cleaning fee. But hotels don't necessarily see it that way. As far as they're concerned, if anyone lit up in the room, and they see evidence of it, then the person who is responsible for the bill should pay the $250 fee. And that would have been you.
Is that fair? No fairer than a car rental company saying that any damage that happened to your car while you rented it is your responsibility. But it's not a perfect comparison. After all, a hotel is a more controlled environment. If you were the sole guest in the room for one night and you don't smoke, then maybe someone else smoked in your room.
Don't laugh. I remember bumping into a housekeeper at a hotel as I checked out. She was puffing away on a cigarette. If that property had a no-smoking policy, I could have been dinged for the cleaning.
I reviewed the correspondence between you and the hotel. In an email sent to you, the general manager correctly notes that it has a "strict" nonsmoking policy. "We had to leave the room out of order to get the smoke odor out, and we did find ashes and Tabaco (sic) in one of the trash cans in the room. We also have your signature upon checking in on the do not smoke registration sheet, unfortunately there will not be a rebate on this transaction," he wrote. But I didn't see any photos of the alleged evidence.
I happen to agree with Marriott's nonsmoking policy. Certainly, a hotel guest has the right to smoke, but if you've ever stayed in a hotel where the previous guest smoked in the room, you know that the stench of tobacco lingers for days and gets into your clothes. I would pay extra to breathe clean air, a fact Marriott probably knows.
I also agree that the $250 is fair. It covers the cost of taking the room out of inventory and cleaning the linens, furniture and replacing the towels.
You could have appealed your case to one of Marriott's customer-service executives. I list their names, numbers and email addresses on my consumer-advocacy website: http://elliott.org/company-contacts/marriott/.
It's true that Marriott gets more than its fair share of cleaning-fee complaints, but not enough for me to think it is using these fees to generate revenue in any systematic way. It's simply too risky. Still, I thought Marriott might want to review your case one more time.
I contacted the company, and it refunded the $250 cleaning fee.
Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of "How to Be the World's Smartest Traveler." You can read more travel tips on his blog, www.elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org.
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Caption Food tour of Detroit Take a tour through Detroit's food scene, from Slows Bar BQ to the Detroit Seafood Market. (Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau) Take a tour through Detroit's food scene, from Slows Bar BQ to the Detroit Seafood Market. (Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau) Caption Things to do in Milwaukee Take a look at the best that Milwaukee has to offer. (VISIT Milwaukee/Chicago Tribune) Take a look at the best that Milwaukee has to offer. (VISIT Milwaukee/Chicago Tribune)
Aug. 25 marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. In honor of the centennial, here's a sizzle reel of stories and photos celebrating some of the jewels in the NPS' portfolio. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/travel/sc-hotel-smoking-fee-trouble-travel-0830-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/16542c3720d9a892e1d923e4150987f836e45be2eee35f9a528a1445d5c353a4.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"George Houde"
] | 2016-08-26T20:48:01 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fschaumburg-hoffman-estates%2Fnews%2Fct-mother-killed-disabled-daughter-prison-release-met-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c094cb/turbine/ct-mother-killed-disabled-daughter-prison-release-met-20160826 | en | null | Schaumburg mom out on bond after serving 72 days for killing disabled daughter | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Bonnie Liltz walked out of a downstate prison Friday afternoon after serving just 72 days of a four-year sentence for delivering a fatal dose of medication to her disabled daughter.
The release of the Schaumburg woman was the latest in an extraordinary series of events since May 27, 2015, when she placed the overdose of prescription drugs into her daughter's feeding tube and then tried to take her own life.
Liltz was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 28-year-old adopted daughter, Courtney, who was severely disabled and needed constant care.
Suffering her own serious health problems, Liltz later said in court that she thought she was dying and was "scared and overwhelmed."
"I prayed to God, 'What's going to happen to Courtney?'" Liltz said. "I couldn't bear the thought of her in an institution for the rest of her life."
Liltz pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was widely expected to get probation, which even prosecutors supported. Some legal experts said they believed probation was a proper sentence in the case because of Liltz's serious health problems and because she was considered unlikely to re-offend.
Liltz's relatives, who have supported her throughout the legal proceedings, also begged for leniency, saying Liltz would likely die in custody if she was incarcerated. Liltz's father, Victor Liltz, called what she did "an act of love."
But Cook County Judge Joel Greenblatt felt otherwise.
"The choice you made that morning was not an act of love. It was a crime," Greenblatt told Liltz in May when he sentenced her to four years in prison. "Life is precious ... even a life that is profoundly disabled. Your daughter, Courtney, was innocent, vulnerable and fragile."
Yet in a rare move this week, the Illinois appeals court that is set to hear the appeal of Liltz's sentence agreed to set bond for her. The judges issued an order that granted Liltz a $5,000 cash bond, paving the way for her to be released from Logan Correctional Center. An Illinois Department of Corrections official confirmed Liltz left the facility just before 2 p.m. Friday. Her lawyer, Thomas Glasgow, said relatives headed to the downstate prison to meet her.
Glasgow said her family is relieved that Liltz will be able to pursue the medical care she requires.
Liltz, 56, was sentenced in May, but her transfer to prison was delayed to mid-June by a hospitalization for chronic intestinal problems that her advocates say she has suffered as a side effect to treatment for ovarian cancer decades ago. She was initially expected to serve half of her sentence, and her projected parole date was May 9, 2018.
She could have received up to 14 years in prison for the manslaughter conviction.
George Houde is a freelance reporter. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/schaumburg-hoffman-estates/news/ct-mother-killed-disabled-daughter-prison-release-met-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/03e6a4b9106b6d998e64c372757df93ed8989a7dd6f1abb4da983c4d7df5fce4.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Javonte Anderson"
] | 2016-08-26T18:51:13 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fnews%2Fct-ptb-churches-solar-panels-st-0826-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c077b6/turbine/ct-ptb-churches-solar-panels-st-0826-20160826 | en | null | NWI churches champion clean energy | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The 30 solar panels are angled toward the sun facing south on the rooftop of Progressive Community Church in Gary. To the casual eye, the solar panels are merely a way to produce renewable energy but for the church's pastor it's about fulfilling a spiritual obligation to respect God's creation.
"We are to be caretakers over God's property," Pastor Curtis Whitaker Sr., of Progressive Community Church, said. "We don't own it; God owns it. We're just stewards over what God's given us."
Progressive Community Church is only one of two churches in Northwest Indiana with solar systems.
Ten miles south, in Merrillville, a large solar system is perched atop New Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church. Both churches collaborated with the Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, a statewide organization that works with faith-based organizations to promote renewable energy and energy conservation and efficiency, to secure a grant from the Indiana Office of Energy Development.
New Ebenezer has a 20-kilowatt solar system with 80 solar panels. The church received a $25,000 grant and paid an additional $28,000 for its immense system.
Pastor T. Brian Hill of New Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church said he was wanted to join other churches across the nation in being more diligent in preserving the Earth's environment.
"We in the faith community believe that the Earth is the Lord's and the fullest thereof," Hill said. "We have been put on the Earth as stewards taking care of what God has created. Many congregations across the country are broadening their view of stewardship to include the environment and making sure we do as much as we can to protect the environment."
Pastor T. Brian Hill Javonte Anderson / Post-Tribune Pastor T. Brian Hill of New Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Merrillville. Pastor T. Brian Hill of New Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Merrillville. (Javonte Anderson / Post-Tribune)
In addition to producing clean energy, New Ebenezer has been able to save a significant amount of money since the installation of its solar system.
New Ebenezer electric bill has been cut in half over the last three months compared to 2015, saving the church more than $1,000.
Progressive Community Church has a 7.6-kilowatt system with 30 panels. The church received a $10,000 grant and paid an additional $10,000 for its system.
Whitaker said that Progressive Church has reduced their monthly electric bill by $80 after installing the system.
The solar panels absorb the sunlight and that energy is transferred over to converters, which in turn converts the energy from solar energy into usable kilowatt energy.
All of the energy generated through the solar system goes into the NIPSCO grid and the churches receive a credit toward their bills, Nick Meyer, NIPSCO's Director of Communications, said.
Hill and Whitaker said reducing their electric bills allows them to donate more money toward benevolent causes.
"If we have to pay less for energy that means we have more funds available for ministry," Hill said. "That becomes very important."
Whitaker said his church has been able to put more money into the community, including a backpack giveaway, where the church donated backpacks filled with school supplies to local students.
Mike Oles III, organizing director of Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, said he is very impressed with the efforts of both churches.
"Pastor Whitaker has a really great vision for what's possible in NW Indiana when it comes to alternative energy and renewable energy to create opportunity and create jobs and reduce energy for individuals," he said. "And New Ebenezer installed a pretty big unit way beyond what our grant provided."
Meyer said that there are a range of businesses, homes and schools using renewable energy, but Progressive Community Church and New Ebenezer are the only two churches in Northwest Indiana with solar systems.
"It's great what these two churches are doing," he said. "They are really providing education to the local community about efficiency and stewardship and we love to see that."
Being the only two churches in the region with solar systems, Whitaker and Hill said they hope leading by example will influence more churches in the region to use renewable energy.
"We may not be able to solve the world's problems but we can do the best we can with what we have," Hill said. "By us instituting this solar program here at the church we think that we are more responsible stewards by lowering our carbon footprint and by using God's resources the best way we possibly can."
jaanderson@tribpub.com
Twitter @JavonteA | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-churches-solar-panels-st-0826-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ed451b918d555686161adf801fea72105cd21d8e24904355522dd1a105a8be36.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Chicago Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T10:48:48 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fpolitics%2Fct-rahm-emanuel-bruce-rauner-diana-first-lady-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4c444/turbine/ct-rahm-emanuel-bruce-rauner-diana-first-lady-20160829 | en | null | Morning Spin: Emanuel saves Diana Rauner from governor relationship question | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.
Topspin
Who says chivalry is dead? Mayor Rahm Emanuel stepped in front of a speeding question aimed at Illinois first lady Diana Rauner.
The scene unfolded as both attended an announcement about early childhood education at a Northwest Side preschool. The two greeted each other warmly and shared a couple of laughs.
That prompted WLS-AM 890 reporter Bill Cameron to ask Diana Rauner if she has any advice for her husband, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, about how he could better get along with Emanuel after the two onetime vacation buddies spent the past couple of years publicly sparring about everything from school funding to labor reform.
Before Diana Rauner could answer, Emanuel -- who has a well-known record for declaring political spouses, including his wife, Amy Rule, off-limits to media prying -- stepped in to parry the question.
“Look, Diana’s here, obviously, the first lady, but more importantly her leadership of (early childhood learning organization) Ounce of Prevention,” Emanuel said. “And she has been a great partner to the city on our early childhood. I would no more let you do that to Amy than I’ll let you do that to Diana.”
Emanuel wasn’t above a little politicking to go with his chivalry, turning to Rauner and telling her to keep in mind he bailed her out.
“Don’t forget that, though,” he said as Rauner broke out laughing. (John Byrne)
What's on tap
*Mayor Emanuel will talk about the upcoming opening of a new CTA transit center at Union Station.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner has no public events.
*Former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who's been much more publicly visible in recent months, will hold a news conference to offer an idea on how to take the politics out of redistricting following the latest failed effort.
What we're writing
*John Bills, central figure in City Hall red light camera bribery scandal, gets 10 years.
*Aldermen to Emanuel: Not so fast on police reform vote (includes more details on the proposal).
*Emanuel: Trump interested in elections games, not Chicago crime.
*State Board of Elections says hack could have yielded personal information of 200,000 who registered online.
*August most violent month in Chicago in 20 years.
What we're reading
*Once an al-Qaida recruiter, now a voice against jihad.
*Human ancestor Lucy may have died in fall from tree.
*What is your favorite Gene Wilder movie? We're gonna go with "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" (tie).
From the notebook
*Duckworth looks Downstate with new TV ad: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth is out with a new ad that looks to be a way for her to gain more name recognition Downstate.
The 30-second spot features steelworkers laid off from Granite City Steel, a Metro East company that began shedding more than 2,000 workers just days after Christmas last year.
In the ad, Duckworth says her opponent, Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, “describes himself as an ardent free-trader, and that is a fundamental difference between us. I am a fair-trader.”
That’s followed by a laid-off steelworker named Anthony, who says, “He’s not supposed to work for China, he’s supposed to fight for our jobs.” (Rick Pearson) | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-bruce-rauner-diana-first-lady-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2579abcb0c55bc6d0bd45fe7ca49ba519afad81c57daed99a265379e7165e1c9.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Karie Angell Luc"
] | 2016-08-26T16:50:37 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-meal-packing-tl-0901-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c06a54/turbine/ct-nbs-meal-packing-tl-0901-20160826 | en | null | Northbrook volunteers pack 50,000 meals | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | More than 150 volunteers from 80 businesses gathered in Northbrook Thursdayto pack 50,000 meals.
"Every year, the Chamber's meal packing program grows in popularity with even more volunteers this year than ever before," said Tensley Garris, president of the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce.
Two shifts of volunteers assembled fortified macaroni and cheese dinners during the fifth annual event at the Hilton Chicago/Northbrook. For the first time, the Northbrook-based Hunger Resource Network collaborated.
"We're having an even bigger impact through our partnership with the Hunger Resource Network who helped us connect with Pacific Garden Mission which serves almost 2,000 meals a day to homeless and needy families," Garris said. "We're pleased to give them all of the meals today."
Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago is the oldest Gospel rescue mission in the United States, according to its website, and serves meals three times a day,365 days a year with 1,700 meals daily.
"It just goes to show how great the need is," said Henry Fetta of the Hunger Resource Network.
Each carton packed contained 36 packages of macaroni and cheese. Each sealed bag provides six meals enhanced with soy and vitamins.
"Who doesn't like macaroni and cheese?" said a smiling Kathy McKenna of Arlington Heights.
Separately, a check for $1,000, cost-shared by Sunset Foods and the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce, was presented to the Northfield Township Food Pantry in Glenview.
"This is a great donation," said Bruce Gonzalez, a lifelong Northbrook resident and manager of Sunset Foods of Northbrook. "It's a privilege to once again help in this initiative to gather food for those who are in need."
The Northfield Township Food Pantry has more than 700 households certified to receive groceries and assistance.
"We're at the all time highs," said Jill Brickman of Glenview, Northfield Township supervisor, making an observation about the number of those relying on the pantry in Glenview, Northbrook and Northfield.
"While a lot of people are going back into the workforce, they're underemployed," Brickman said. "That's why this is so important."
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-meal-packing-tl-0901-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/8e778db673dac30bc892aa78ec74a3501a965af7429ad72eef02da1ca0bd65fa.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Hannah Leone"
] | 2016-08-27T02:48:07 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Faurora-beacon-news%2Fnews%2Fct-abn-latin-american-club-license-st-0818-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0efb3/turbine/ct-abn-latin-american-club-license-st-0818-20160826 | en | null | Aurora reviewing liquor license for Latin American Club after fatal shooting | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The liquor license for the East Side Aurora social club where a man was fatally shot Aug. 1 expires this month, and whether the city will renew the license has not been decided, Aurora officials said.
Aurora's legal division is gathering facts pertaining to the recent slaying at the Latin American Club "and if there will be any bearing on the club's liquor license," spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in an email.
The club's license was last renewed Sept. 1, 2015, and expires this Aug. 31, Ferrelli said.
Martiniano Alvarez, 31, North Aurora, was fatally shot in the club's bar on Aug. 1. The following Wednesday, Alfredo Soto, of the 700 block of Iowa Avenue in Aurora, was charged with first-degree murder in connection to the shooting. Soto, who had previously been convicted of reckless discharge of a firearm, criminal damage to property, battery and drunken driving, remains in Kane County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail.
Police do not think the Aug. 1 shooting is related to a December robbery and fatal beating at the same club, Ferrelli said. In that attack, assailants beat two men in the club, and one, 79-year-old Felipe Garcia of Plano, died from complications tied to the injuries.
City and police records obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests highlight the club's history over the last decade.
Over the past 10 years, police have taken at least 40 reports in the club and its parking lot, according to records obtained by The Beacon-News. These include reports of several burglaries, fights, drug charges and stolen cars.
However, complete records were not available. A disposal certificate shows the city this spring deleted its liquor license applications and records from 1990 through 2012 and for 2014, so city officials could not provide documents to determine how many times the club has been cited for violations.
The Beacon-News has been unable to reach board members, former board members, other club representatives or patrons for comment by phone or by visiting the club.
Visitors to the private club must ring a doorbell to gain entry. Inside, there is a dance area and bar.
In May 2008, the club was cited for liquor law violations after a police officer caught a bartender serving alcohol while the club's license was already suspended, according to a police report. Liquor license records related to that suspension could not be located and could have been destroyed, Ferrelli said.
"They were unable to locate any further records but did discover a records disposal certificate as outlined in the State Records Act that would have likely included those additional records," Ferrelli said.
In December 2009, city inspectors observed violations at the club. A dumpster was not enclosed that needed to be, according to city correspondence and inspection records. After an April 2010 notice of intent to file suit or hold code hearings if the violation wasn't corrected, the dumpster was enclosed and the case OK'd to clear in May, according to inspection records.
In October 2011, several people were arrested after a large fight broke out at the club, according to police reports obtained by The Beacon-News. During the fight, which records state lasted at least 20 minutes and reportedly started with a dispute among a few patrons and grew to involve dozens of clubgoers, people punched, slapped, kicked and bit each other, reports said.
One woman was accused of hitting another with the heels of her boots, according to the police reports.
Apparently unrelated to the incident itself, a suspect in the fight told police he was upset because the club served alcohol to his 19-year-old son. The son, who smelled of alcohol and was singing while in custody, told police the bartenders were always giving him free shots and beers, according to police reports.
Later that October, police cited the club for liquor law violations for serving the teen alcohol.
In 2012, the deputy liquor control commissioner, Cheryl M. Vonhoff, held a continued hearing at city hall to determine whether the club's liquor license should be revoked or suspended in connection to the October 2011 incidents. Several people accused of taking part in the fight were subpoenaed to the hearing. The deputy liquor commissioner held the club liable for allowing mob activity to take place on the licensed premises and for serving alcohol to a person younger than 21. The commissioner imposed a fine of $750, plus administrative costs of $50, against the club, which paid the $800, records show.
In July 2014, a letter sent to the club from the city clerk warned the establishment it may be delinquent in its accounts owed to the city, and that the city's liquor ordinance provides that no liquor license application for renewal shall be accepted from a person indebted to the city or another government entity for payment past due more than 45 days. The city warned the club it would not be able to renew the license until the finance department advised the overdue amounts had been paid.
Because the most current tax forms available for the club online are for 2010, current information about the club's leadership is unclear. The organization is currently recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(7), regional IRS spokesman Joe Munoz said in an email.
That status was automatically revoked in November 2013 for the club's failure to file required tax forms, but was later retroactively reinstated to the same date, according to IRS public records.
Organizations listed as 501(c)(7) include social and recreational clubs. Through the city of Aurora, the Latin American Club has a Class B liquor license — the type for fraternal organizations and clubs — which is not affected by nonprofit status, Ferrelli said.
In forms filed with the IRS, the club states its purpose is "encouragement of the social commingling, general well-being and happiness of residents of Latin-American descent."
The club also has a 1A retail license with the state, which allows it to sell liquor year-round. In the past 10 years, the club has had one state violation — a signage issue in 2013 — that was resolved with the payment of a $200 fine, according to an email from Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation spokesman Terry Horstman.
A section of city code states that "no licensee shall allow its licensed establishment to become a nuisance," and prohibits liquor license holders from allowing instances of criminal activity to take place on licensed premises.
hleone@tribpub.com
Twitter @hannahmleone | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-latin-american-club-license-st-0818-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/a5a9b61a63bef83fbd998b47d416f4fcbd922fd620ed01a0b685743f1c29e9f7.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Lauren Zumbach"
] | 2016-08-31T00:49:01 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fct-united-kirby-compensation-0901-biz-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c61579/turbine/ct-united-kirby-compensation-0901-biz-20160830 | en | null | New United president sees multimillion-dollar payday | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | New United Airlines President Scott Kirby's move from competitor American Airlines didn't bring a change in title but did bring a large payday.
Chicago-based United will pay Kirby an annual base salary of $875,000, the airline said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. He is also eligible for incentive pay and received a sign-on award of stock options valued at $5 million, the airline said.
Kirby also left American Airlines with a severance package worth more than $13 million, including $3.85 million in cash and accelerated vesting of nearly 260 million restricted stock units, Texas-based American said in a regulatory filing Monday.
Kirby, 49, president of U.S. Airways before taking the same role at American after the airlines merged in 2013, will immediately step into the newly created president role at United, where he will be responsible for the airline's operations, marketing, sales, alliances, network planning and revenue management, United said.
United CEO Oscar Munoz said the new position will let Munoz focus on the airline's overall strategy, innovation and performance and, along with the appointment of a new chief financial officer and chief commercial officer earlier this month, is "the culmination of the formation of my senior leadership team."
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @laurenzumbach | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-united-kirby-compensation-0901-biz-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/35d2c494839e1d44c3ef4f0093ede68121784f39653e91e2eb718f9149bb861a.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-31T12:48:58 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-north-korea-execution-20160831-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c6ca90/turbine/ct-north-korea-execution-20160831 | en | null | North Korea executes top official in latest party purge, South Korea says | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | North Korea has executed a vice premier and banished two other top officials to rural areas for re-education, South Korean officials said Wednesday.
If confirmed, they would be the latest in a series of killings, purges and dismissals carried out since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011.
North Korea is a closed, authoritarian country with a state-controlled press that often makes it difficult for outsiders, and even North Korean citizens, to know what's happening in the government.
Rival South Korea, which runs several intelligence organizations mainly tasked with spying on North Korea, has a mixed record on reporting developments across the border. In May, a former North Korean military chief, who Seoul said had been executed, was found to be alive and holding several new senior-level posts.
Newspaper: Kim Jong Un executes using anti-aircraft gun South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper is reporting that Kim Jong Un had two North Korean officials executed with an anti-aircraft gun in early August. South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper is reporting that Kim Jong Un had two North Korean officials executed with an anti-aircraft gun in early August. See more videos
Jeong Joon Hee, a spokesman for Seoul's Unification Ministry, told reporters Wednesday that Kim Yong Jin, a vice premier on education affairs in North Korea's cabinet, had been executed. Jeong gave no further details, including why and when his ministry believes he was executed and how it obtained the information.
But a South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity citing office rules, said Kim was executed by firing squad in July for unspecified anti-revolutionary and factional acts. The official said Kim first faced an investigation because of the way he was seated during a June meeting attended by Kim Jong Un.
Little is known about Kim Yong Jin, who was last mentioned by North Korea's state news agency on June 15, when it reported he attended an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's taekwondo federation.
Kim Jong Un, believed to be his early 30s, is revered at the center of an intense cult of personality, with state TV occasionally showing aging senior officials kowtowing and kneeling down before him. Last year, South Korea's spy agency said Kim had his defense chief executed with an anti-aircraft gun for complaining about him and sleeping during a meeting he had presided over.
Jeong said Kim Yong Chol, a top ruling Workers' Party official in charge of anti-Seoul spy operations, had also been ordered to undertake "revolutionary re-education," in a reference to the banishment at a rural collective farm or a coal mine. Jeong said another senior party official dealing with propaganda affairs, Choe Hwi, was still on a similar "revolutionary re-education" program.
Seoul officials believe Kim Yong Chol, director of the party's United Front Department, orchestrated two attacks that killed 50 South Koreans in 2010, when he headed the North Korean army's intelligence agency. Kim disappeared from the public eye for about 50 days before the North's state media on Sunday mentioned his name in a list of officials who attended ceremonies marking the Youth Day.
Kim Yong Chol was banished at a rural farm for about one month between mid-July and mid-August because of alleged high-handed attitudes and attempts to expand his United Front Department's authority too much, according to the South Korean official who spoke about Kim Yong Jin's execution. The official said Kim Yong Chol was recently reinstated.
The rival Koreas have shared the world's most heavily fortified border since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and they bar ordinary citizens from exchanging phone calls, letters and emails without special permission.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-north-korea-execution-20160831-story.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/1eed5acc2f9d8e42b5c915b3266008027dede56caf4d0996843ddd3bc997830f.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Alicia Fabbre"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:32 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fjoliet-romeoville%2Fnews%2Fct-joliet-harrahs-standoff-0826-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf245c/turbine/ct-joliet-harrahs-standoff-0826-20160825 | en | null | Standoff in parking lot near Joliet casino ends peacefully, police say | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A despondent man who had a scoped rifle pointed at his head surrendered peacefully after a two-hour standoff with police Thursday morning in a parking lot across the street from Harrah's casino in Joliet, police said.
According to Joliet Deputy Police Chief Tab Jensen, the man was scheduled to be in court for divorce proceedings Thursday.
After police received a call from the man's wife about 8:49 a.m., they went to the top floor of the four-level deck at 151 N. Joliet Street and found the man sitting in his car with the rifle pointed at his head, police said. Officers asked him to get out of the car, but he ignored them, police said.
The standoff ended about 11 a.m. and the man was taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center for treatment, police said.
After the man surrendered, police recovered the scoped rifle and ammunition.
A spokesman for the Illinois State Police said the casino was place on lockdown during the incident. A soft lockdown was also in place at nearby businesses and schools, the spokesman said.
The Will County state's attorney's office is reviewing the incident to determine if criminal charges will be filed.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/joliet-romeoville/news/ct-joliet-harrahs-standoff-0826-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4578381b081cbc467379c00d5fd6fd688459e2d545d72489f41f699b27696b8b.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:46 | null | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-pokemon-walk-tl-0818-20160812-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57adfe0f/turbine/ct-nbs-pokemon-walk-tl-0818-20160812 | en | null | Northbrook police walk and talk Pokemon with 80 kids and parents | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | There was one moment, as Northbrook police officers led kids and parents on a two-hour Pokemon Go hunt Aug. 10 to teach them safety, that was probably worth all of the other moments, together.
It was a chance for some of the kids to learn early that adults driving cars can't always be trusted. Also, that some cops are very good at what they do.
The 80 or so people had been split up into two groups, and one group was waiting to walk out of a driveway emptying onto Shermer Road. A relatively slow-moving Shermer Road driver tried to drive in where they were going out, even though he was looking directly at a "do not enter" sign, not to mention a large number of children.
Officer Chris Lacina halted the driver, waved him away, and shook his head with a rueful grin, all in one graceful series of movements lasting no more than a few seconds.
"Did you see what officer Lacina did? Did you see that?" Northbrook animal control officer Gina Manski asked. "Don't think you're safe just because there's a sign."
Several little mouths hung open.
The walk was an opportunity to nip in the bud the less-than-safe practices of some players, including the one that police community service supervisor Dan Petka said he had seen "playing the game while riding a bicycle, peddling fast. I could not believe it."
The faster the player goes, the quicker he or she might encounter the augmented-reality Pokemon creatures to catch. There's a new warning included in the Pokemon Go update, released the day before the walk, that stops the game if it thinks the player is going too fast. But as soon as the player presses the button marked, "I'm a passenger," the chase is back on, full speed.
"This is the childhood version of texting while you're driving," said one of the parents, Michael Shmarak.
He said the walk might educate kids like his son Max, 9, and also may be an ideal, low-impact way of getting them used to being around police.
The walk was undertaken at the behest of Northbrook Village President Sandy Frum, who had heard about Elgin's version on the radio.
"If it's fun, and everybody learns something, it was my idea," Frum told the crowd before it took off. "If it doesn't work, it was the idea of the police."
It seemed to work best when the police gave advice that actually fit into the reality of the game. Manski told kids gathered on the north side of Walters Avenue that there was no reason to run across the street to catch a Pokemon there, since their range reached that far.
"You can just throw a ball over there," she said, referring to the phone-based two-dimensional game's Pokeballs, which encapsulate the wandering cartoon creatures.
She then advised the children that if they did cross the street to the St. Norbert Parish Church, it might be a good idea not to make too much of a racket. People might be praying there.
The walk was led by six police officers, Manski, two Community Emergency Response Team volunteers, some village interns, and a couple of Northbrook librarians who were interested in hyping their Pokemon tutorial, then eight days in the future.
The librarians seemed to be the most expert on Pokemon lore, but officer Roger Scott may have been close behind, after only a week of play.
Before the walk started, he ditched a conversation in the Village Board room after looking down at his phone.
"There's an Exeggcute out there," he said, and took off in pursuit.
An Exeggcute is a relatively rare Pokemon, a creature that appears as six cracked eggs, with faces, hanging out with each other. It evolves into Exeggutor, which is a tree with feet, bearing coconuts displaying eyes and teeth.
Those unmoved by the game may be young or old. Early in the walk, Quinn Dean, 4, peeled off to play in the Village Green Park playground where there was real reality, as opposed to the augmented kind.
"He has not yet crossed over to the dark side," mother Jennifer Dean said.
The kids got a lot of advice. Don't trespass. Don't annoy people eating al fresco. Don't wander off with strangers, or pinpoint your location on social media. Look both ways before you cross the street, and neither of those ways should be down.
The walk ended back at the Village Board room, with kids exchanging the cops' Pokemon-safety-tip cards and eating ice cream, while Petka took one last shot at teaching them something.
Suddenly, no one was listening. Heads were down. Dilly Bars melted on knees.
"Snorlax," muttered a dozen mouths at once. A Pokemon that was ready, without evolving or leveling-up, to fight and win, making his trainer a "gym leader," a conqueror of a fort-like gym at the nearby Northbrook water tower, or anywhere else.
"Did you get it?" asked an old man, who had just spent all his Pokeballs failing to capture the tall, fat, blue and white champion.
"I got it," said Chace Harrington, 7.
Rotten kid.
ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-pokemon-walk-tl-0818-20160812-story.html | en | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5770df2b877ba2c741447cadf5f5fefce2ebe698ce6d6e8fefb50cbc5a7d6030.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Tony Briscoe",
"Dawn Rhodes"
] | 2016-08-28T16:48:19 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fct-two-charged-shooting-dwayne-wade-cousin-met-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c30262/turbine/ct-two-charged-shooting-dwayne-wade-cousin-met-20160828 | en | null | Two brothers charged in shooting death of Dwyane Wade's cousin | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Two brothers have been arrested in the shooting death of a cousin of Chicago Bull Dwyane Wade, Chicago police announced Sunday morning.
Derren Sorrells, 22, and Darwin Sorrells Jr., 26, were charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with the homicide of Nykea Aldridge, according to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Darwin Sorrells was also charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass to land.
It was not immediately clear which of the brothers was the alleged shooter, but Guglielmi referred to the older Sorrells as the "co-conspirator."
Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Deputy Chief Jimmy Jones are scheduled to discuss the charges at an 11:30 a.m. news conference at police headquarters.
Aldridge, 32, was pushing a baby stroller in the 6300 block of South Calumet at 3:30 p.m. Friday when she was shot in the head and arm. She was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. Aldridge's baby wasn't hurt in the shooting.
Authorities have said they were looking into the possibility that the bullet that killed her was fired during a robbery attempt involving a driver for the ride-sharing company Uber.
Both brothers have lengthy criminal records and were on parole at the time of Aldridge's shooting.
Darwin Sorrells, of the 7500 block of South Wentworth Avenue, served three years in state prison for 2013 convictions of receiving, possessing or selling a stolen vehicle and for unlawful use or possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He was paroled in early February.
Nykea Aldridge Family photo Nykea Aldridge, 32, cousin of Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade, was shot and killed on Aug. 26, 2016, as she was pushing her baby in a stroller on the South Side. Nykea Aldridge, 32, cousin of Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade, was shot and killed on Aug. 26, 2016, as she was pushing her baby in a stroller on the South Side. (Family photo) (Family photo)
He also was convicted in 2011 of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to five years on that charge. He also has felony convictions from 2007 for aggravated battery in a public place and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
Derren Sorrells, of the 6000 block of South Indiana Avenue, served four years in state prison for 2012 convictions of possession of a stolen vehicle and violating the terms of his electronic monitoring. He was paroled Aug. 12, according to the IDOC website. He also is a documented member of the Gangster Disciples, according to Guglielmi.
Wade has only commented publicly about the tragedy through his Twitter account, posting on Saturday: "RIP Nykea Aldridge... #EnoughIsEnough" as well as "The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help & more hands on deck."
tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com
dhrhodes@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_tonybriscoe
Twitter @rhodes_dawn | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-two-charged-shooting-dwayne-wade-cousin-met-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5c458c68d2b064190395cd019adeb085b86b6a534945fbb657e0135f4f922466.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Ruth Ann Krause"
] | 2016-08-29T22:51:57 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fcrime%2Fct-ptb-darden-trial-lake-st-0831-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4bb5d/turbine/ct-ptb-darden-trial-lake-st-0831-20160829 | en | null | Trial scheduled for January in '14 shooting death | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Although the case against his co-defendant was dismissed, a Gary man's felony murder case filed in a 2014 homicide has been set for a jury trial.
Shermon Laon Darden, 21, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder in perpetration of a robbery in the shooting, is scheduled for trial starting Jan. 23 before Lake Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray.
Darden is charged with killing DeShelon Hicks Jr., 20, who was found face down in a pool of blood at his apartment in the 2200 block of East 19th Place in Gary in what court records describe as a robbery-homicide over marijuana. Court records state that Darden and another man had talked about robbing Hicks before the killing.
In May 2015, the judge ordered Darden released from Lake County Jail on an electronic monitor after prosecutors failed to bring the case to trial within 180 days, minus delays caused by the defense. After a year, Murray ordered Darden released from the monitor while his case is pending.
Meanwhile, a charge of assisting a criminal was dropped against Darrell Marsean Brown, 22, who had been identified in court records as the person who drove Darden and a co-defendant to Hicks' apartment.
Darden's former co-defendant, Devonte Dontrell Hodge, 21, was also charged with felony murder in Hicks' killing, but the case was dropped on Nov. 13 after the death of a key witness, Avery Flynn.
Flynn, who was wounded during the shooting incident in which Hicks was killed, was an uncharged participant who gave a statement to police that identified Hodge as the shooter and Darden as a participant in the robbery in which 2 ounces of marijuana and money were taken.
Flynn, 20, of East Chicago, was killed Nov. 21, 2014, in the 4300 block of Massachusetts Street in Gary.
The Hicks killing is the second murder case against Hodge that has been dismissed. A 2013 murder case filed against Hodge in the killing of Laroi Griffin, 32, of Gary, was dismissed when a witness changed his story and recanted his identification of Hodge as the alleged shooter.
Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/crime/ct-ptb-darden-trial-lake-st-0831-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5da8e8dc1629219cb9f56ac208200e5bdb16107c15c518266630284fefc71c9b.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Helfgot"
] | 2016-08-28T00:48:05 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fhighschool%2Fct-spt-0828-prep-fb-bits-20160827-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c20e9b/turbine/ct-spt-0828-prep-fb-bits-20160827 | en | null | Prep football bits: Fenwick gets huge win in first game at new home | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Scheduled visitors to Fenwick's new home include three defending state champions and a 2014 champ, which is preferable to playing Phillips, Montini, Loyola and Providence on the road.
Phillips' idea of housewarming gift was the 20-point deficit it handed Fenwick before the Friars turned the christening of their 10-year agreement to play home games at Triton College into a wild night.
A veteran team that could not stay with Phillips in the second half of last year's opener, Fenwick scored the final 28 points of the night to record a stunning 34-26 victory over the team that made history by winning all 14 games and becoming the Chicago Public League's first state champion in Class 4A last season.
Two other defending state champs, Montini (6A) and Bishop McNamara (3A), were defeated on opening Friday night, with 1A's Arcola going down Saturday.
Fenwick had been splitting its home games between Morton's west campus and Concordia College.
"It was an exciting night," Fenwick coach Gene Nudo said. "My wife, she said she parked two-and-a-half blocks away. Imagine looking up and seeing all those people in the stands, and you're losing 20-0.
"But our kids didn't start second-guessing themselves. They stayed the course and really just kept playing. It is hard for us to replicate the speed that team has, so it took us a while to get to game speed for our opponent."
Quarterback Jacob Keller, who has a football offer from Eastern Michigan and a couple of others in basketball, had a huge night, throwing for 327 yards and four touchdowns and connecting with 6-foot-5 receiver Mike O'Loughlin seven times for 176 yards and two scores.
Nudo also believes Fenwick will be able to run the ball effectively, particularly if defenses respond to what they'll see on film from Friday.
"We have the ability to let the game come to us this year," he said.
In addition to the three state champions, the Friars get Providence and De La Salle at Triton. Friday night's win should allay any concerns about the lack of wiggle room their tough schedule left to qualify for the playoffs.
Instead, with Montini licking the wounds of a 44-13 loss to Maine South on Friday night, the Catholic Green title seems like a more relevant conversation. The Friars will host Montini in Week 3.
"When we lost to (Phillips) last year I told our guys one game doesn't make a season," Nudo said, "and that is still the case. But it's sure great to be on the other end."
Pirates prove point: Any doubt about what to make of Palatine's surprise run in the Class 8A playoffs last season — the Pirates nearly picked off Loyola in the semifinals after upsetting Oak Park and Brother Rice — should be put to rest.
Palatine went on the road Friday night and knocked off Stevenson, the 2014 Class 8A champ and a perennial contender, 28-20.
The Pirates showed off a versatile offense with quarterback Zach Oles and running back Josh Turner, and an opportunistic defense that recorded three interceptions against Stevenson's high-powered passing attack.
The Mid-Suburban League's new agreement with the Central Suburban League will provide Palatine with another tough nonconference opponent, New Trier in Week 4, and should benefit the Pirates come playoff time.
IC's bold statement: A pair of losses to Bishop McNamara to begin and end the season bookended IC Catholic's 11-game winning streak last season.
With nine returning starters, including some Division I talent, McNamara may have entered the season as the presumptive favorite to repeat — the defending champs are ranked No. 1 in 3A by the Associated Press — but IC Catholic has to feel pretty good about itself heading into Week 2.
The Elmhurst school made one of the biggest opening-night statements in the area, a 34-0 victory over Bishop Mac. NIU recruit Jordan Rowell had his typical big game with more than 200 yards, and the defense shut out a team that scored 91 points against it last year.
Next week may present the biggest challenge on IC's schedule — at St. Laurence, which has a 1,597-495 enrollment advantage (IHSA multiplier included) and is coming off an impressive win of its own, 31-21 over Benet.
Win or lose, IC Catholic has established itself as the overwhelming favorite to repeat in the Metro Suburban Blue and as a serious threat in 3A.
Promising sign: Maine South's dominant 44-13 victory over Montini put some sizzle back in its week-two matchup with No. 1 Loyola.
Bitter playoff rivals earlier in the decade, a regular-season series was met with excitement before Loyola beat Maine South 49-8 in the first installment last season.
The result ultimately said more about Loyola than Maine South. The Ramblers went 14-0 and won the Class 8A title-game by the same 41-point margin, while Maine South recovered to win its next eight games and another in a long line of conference championships. This one should also be revealing.
Loyola opened its season with a 36-7 victory at Milwaukee Marquette.
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/ct-spt-0828-prep-fb-bits-20160827-story.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/aec1159725d6aab1cb468ec7a3598fbbc14f3a9dcad32d9b51baf2a9cbe2634b.json |
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