Category: Chicagoland

Neil Hayes Takes Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane to Task

Posted on by TL

It didn’t take long for the Sun-Times’ Neil Hayes to put Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane in his place.  At 20-years-old, Kane is facing a felony charge allegedly over a $0.20 dispute with a 62-year-old Buffalo cab driver.  According to police, the driver claims he was roughed up enough to have had his glasses broken.

I’ll let Hayes speak first:

Now one of the franchise’s poster boys, one of the ‘‘core’’ players the team is determined to build around, is arrested for roughing up a cabbie who couldn’t produce exact change after Kane gave him $15 for a $13.80 fare. That’s right, Hawks fans, your millionaire, high-scoring forward — who is due a lucrative contract after next season — is accused of becoming unhinged when a cab driver couldn’t find two dimes to rub together.

Let’s hope there are facts in this story that have yet to surface and will cast Kane in a less humiliating light. Otherwise, this could be the most worrisome offseason development of all for the Hawks. If true, how can anyone defend such idiotic behavior from someone so prominent in the organization?

Only two things can prevent Kane, Jonathan Toews, Kris Versteeg and other young players from becoming cornerstones: injuries or their inability to mature on and off the ice. That Kane would be accused of something so asinine does not mean that this will be the first of many such incidents. Kane has been a model citizen to this point, as far as anyone knows, and probably deserves the benefit of the doubt for that reason. The Hawks declined to comment publicly until more facts are known. Kane’s mother, when contacted by the Sun-Times, did the same, which is probably wise. But this is not a good sign.

No, it’s not a good sign.  The Blackhawks need to comment.  The ‘Hawks need to tell us that this type of alleged behavior is not fitting for a member of their organization.  The ‘Hawks need to send a message loud and clear to other young people — and adults — that this is not the way to handle a petty dispute.

“No comment” isn’t enough.

Hayes again:

The bottom line is, good as he is, Kane has to improve markedly for he and the Hawks to be the player and team they aspire to be. There are better ways to build strength, toughness and refine his all-around game than playing enforcer with cab drivers three times his age at 4 a.m. after a night on the town.

Kane reportedly has entered a plea of not guilty. If this case goes to trial, those who believe he is less star than product of NHL rule changes meant to encourage more speed and scoring might suggest he show the jury his career highlights to prove he is incapable of causing bodily harm. Then again, he could’ve avoided the whole ugly episode had he uttered three simple words that every millionaire athlete should use in such situations: Keep the change.

Absolutely.

Look, young people act stupidly sometimes.  So do adults.  But a millionaire allegedly roughing up a cab driver over $0.20 takes entitlement to a whole new level.

Step up, kid.  You’re not the man yet.

Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane Faces Felony Robbery Charge Allegedly Over $0.20

Posted on by TL

Chicago Blackhawks’ star winger Patrick Kane faces felony robbery and other charges over an alleged dispute with a cab driver over $0.20.

That is not a misprint.  The dispute was allegedly over $0.20 US currency.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Blackhawks star winger Patrick Kane was arrested early this morning in his hometown of Buffalo and faces robbery and other charges after allegedly assaulting a cab driver and failing to pay the fare, according to a report in the Buffalo News.

Kane, 20, and a relative, James M. Kane, 21, believed to be his cousin, are alleged to have punched the cab driver and taken back money they had given him after the driver told them he didn’t have 20 cents in coins to give them change, according to the report.

The police told the newspaper the fare was $13.80 and the two Kanes had paid the driver $15. The newspaper is reporting the cab driver told police he was punched in the face, grabbed by his throat and had his glasses broken in the altercation.

An attorney for both entered a plea of not guilty.

I wonder how much that cab ride will end up costing him now.

Anyone know his salary?

Craig Williams, 23, Charged With Stabbing Death of Grandfather, 88

Posted on by TL

Two lives lost in south Chicagoland’s Richton Park.

One, and 88-year-old man.  The other, his 23-year-old grandson who allegedly stabbed him to death.  Prosecutors are already tossing around the words, “death penalty.”

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The stabbing occurred after a family party at the home of 88-year-old Sim Williams in the 22600 block of Amy Drive in Richton Park, according to a release from Richton Park police.

Williams was found dead on the floor of his upstairs bedroom about 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Williams died from multiple stab wounds and ruled his death a homicide.

Williams’ grandson, Craig Williams, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and armed robbery, police said.

A statement from the office of State’s Atty. Anita Alvarez on Wednesday afternoon said: “Based on the evidence gathered during the investigation this is a potential capital case.”

The victim:

A retired construction worker, Sim Williams lived in his Richton Park home since 2000 with his family, including his wife Ethel, who died in January 2008.

Sim Williams’ family described him as an easygoing man who loved his family. He had six children, 15 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

One of the comments under the story reads, “After reading this madness, I had to go hug my grandmother!”

No kidding.  Hug your grandmother.  Hug your grandfather.  Hug mom and dad.  Give them all a kiss.

And pray, pray for this family.

Chris Lake’s Photo Spread on Southside Chicago Gun Violence

Posted on by TL

Woman holding girl

Chris Lake is a photographer from Park Forest, IL. We had the chance to chat briefly recently and exchanged emails. He invited me to stop by his Web site and take a look at his work.

Very stirring.

What caught my eye most is the fact that hope for change is fading on the south side of Chicago.

From Unforseen Developments:

I was recently commissioned to shoot a story about gun violence on the south side of Chicago. Working with a reporter from UK’s The Guardian, I heard many tragic stories about how gun violence has been destroying lives in that part of the city in epidemic proportions. These people are understandably upset and angry and it shows in their eyes. The problem is getting worse and worse and no one seems able to figure out what to do about it. Hopes that President Obama, himself a southsider, would do something once he took office have faded and residents feel increasingly abandoned and desperate.

I’m looking forward to reading this story in the The Guardian.

Chris says he is looking to collaborate with designers to use some of the photography from the gun violence.  Contact him on is blog if you are interested.

Stop by and take a look at his blog. The photographs, well, speak volumes.

http://chrislake.wordpress.com

Brian Dugan Killed Jeanine Nicarico

Posted on by TL

Two men were once on Death Row for the murder of Jeanine Nicarico.  Brian Dugan has been trying to confess to this horrible crime for years.

Tuesday, he finally got his chance.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Some in the audience wiped away tears as State’s Atty. Joseph Birkett solemnly described the fingernail scratches 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico left on the wall that showed how she tried to fight off a would-be burglar.

How Brian Dugan promised to take the girl home but instead killed her.

The murder “went as perfectly as the others, but something was wrong,” Brian Dugan told an Illinois State Police psychologist, Birkett recounted. “I felt like I was going to get caught.”

And he did. Dugan, already serving life sentences for two other murders, formally admitted in court Tuesday that he and he alone kidnapped, raped and killed the girl on Feb. 25, 1983. 

His admission, first made in 1985, had long been rejected by DuPage officials. But on Tuesday Birkett said Dugan has been telling the truth.

Birkett’s 55-minute recitation of the facts was a dramatic turn in a case with 26 years’ worth of twists, including the false convictions and Death Row sentences of two other men and the acquittals of seven DuPage County law-enforcement officials on malfeasance charges. The drama will kick into high gear again in September, when Birkett pursues his long-stated goal of having Dugan sentenced to death.

The details:

Birkett’s description of Nicarico’s final hours were brutal and difficult to listen to, as were his descriptions of the autopsy results. Some in the audience wiped away tears as they heard how Dugan brutalized the girl on a sleeping bag in the woods, leaving her bloody and disoriented, then promised to wash her up and take her home, but instead crushed her skull with either a baseball bat or a tire iron.

Birkett also described in detail the 1985 rape and murder of 7-year-old Melissa Ackerman of Somonauk, one of two murders for which Dugan already is serving concurrent life sentences. Bakalis has previously approved allowing the details of the Ackerman case at a trial, ruling that the similarities with the Nicarico murder showed a legal pattern of behavior.

Dugan sat quietly during Birkett’s grim reading of a 14-page statement. Melissa’s father stonily stared off into space.

When it was over, the judge denied Dugan’s request to read aloud a letter that he carried with him, a letter his attorneys contended was an apology.

This was not the only child this monster murdered.  We should be grateful the judge did not permit him to read his letter, address the families.  They don’t need that.

Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for the same crime.  Birkett said Dugan’s confession completely exonerates them.

Two on Death Row for a crime they didn’t commit.  Some would argue that the system worked, eventually.  Except these two lost years of their lives because of Dugan’s crime.  The two were set free in 1995, twelve years after Jeanine’s death, when DNA tests and recanted testimony damaged the prosecution, the Tribune says.

The temptation is great for us to kill this man.  If anyone deserves to die…

Dolling out death takes us down a slippery slope, though.  We don’t do that well.  We make mistakes.  We can be incredibly stupid animals, Vonnegut said.  We suffer under the illusion that “The System” is somehow divine, that there is this separate entity apart from humanity called “The System,” and that “The System” will protect us in spite of ourselves.

Except it won’t.  The system is us.  We are the system. That system is us at our best and our absolute worst.

Put this monster away forever.  And mourn Jeanine Nicarico and Melissa Ackerman once more.

Mark Buehrle’s Magic Arm

Posted on by TL

Just the other day, Mark Buehrle pitched the 18th perfect game in the history of baseball.  The man faced 27 batters, and 27 batters went down.  No walks.  No batters hit.  No runners on the entire game.

He almost did it again.  Tonight, it wasn’t a perfect game, but Buehrle did set a major league record.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Chicago White Sox ace Mark Buehrle set a major league record by retiring 45 straight batters.

Coming off a perfect game in his last start against Tampa Bay, Buehrle retired the first 17 Minnesota Twins batters on Tuesday night to surpass the record of 41 straight set by and San Francisco’s Jim Barr in 1972 and tied by teammate Bobby Jenks, a reliever, in 2007.

Buehrle retired 27 in a row against the Rays in his last start, the 18th perfect game in baseball history, then breezed through the first five innings against the Twins to break the record.

His bid for a second consecutive perfect game — no pitcher in baseball history has ever achieved the feat — ended with a walk to Alexi Casilla on a close call with two outs in the sixth. The Metrodome crowd stood and cheered after the walk, trying to rattle Buehrle. Then Denard Span followed with a single to break up the no-hitter.

The Sox lost this one, but Buehrle’s in the books twice now.

Congratulations, Mark.

Park Forest Colts are Section Champs

Posted on by TL
Park Forest Colts 2009 Sectional Champs

Park Forest Colts are Section Champs.

Mary Kay Joens wrote a really great article at eNews Park Forest congratulating the Park Forest Colts on winning the sectional title in the Pony National Tournament.

From ENEWSPF:

For only the second time in PF Baseball history, the Colt team has won the sectional title in the Pony National Tournament. On Sunday, July 19th, Rich East was the site of the championship game in the sectional tournament of the Pony National Tournament, which was hosted by PF Baseball. The Colt team is made up of 15 and 16 year olds and this year’s team is managed by Steve Gifford and coached by Dennis Pieper and Reggie Coleman. All three gentlemen are also on the PF Baseball Board of Directors.

The PF team began their march on Thursday, July 16th, when they played against St. Joe (Joliet Area) and won 4-2. The pitchers of record were Mike Milkovic and Josh Pieper, with Milkovic picking up the win. The offensive power was provided by Phil Werner, Josh Pieper, and Tirone Rogers, who each picked up a run-batted-in. However, PF was not only competing against St. Joe but also against Mother Nature. In the bottom of the fourth inning the game was suspended due to lightning and then the ominous black clouds quickly rolled in. The game was suspended until Friday, July 17th, and the field was barely tarped when the torrential rains came. But thanks to the hard-working field maintenance crew, headed by Coach Dennis Pieper, the field was worked back into shape and play resumed on Friday. The final few innings were played with no runs being scored.

And the article goes on from there.

With all the bad news we are forced to read, this is just an exciting event for a group of young men of diverse backgrounds. Hats off to the Park Forest Colts, the lads from Homewood who gave it their all, and all young people who get involved, and make a difference.

And congratulations to the Park Forest Colts!

Read the article here.

Two Shot in Park Forest; Police: Shooting Not Random

Posted on by TL

It must be terrifying to learn that a shooting occurred in your town, let alone on your street.

Residents of Nassau Street in Park Forest must have been a bit nervous, to say the least.

The Park Forest Police Department went door-to-door Saturday to reassure residents that the shooting was not random, according to the Chicago Tribune:

A woman who lives two homes down from where the police marked off the crime scene said she heard at least two gunshots while inside her home.

The woman, B.J. Wyatt, said one of the shooting victims was a neighbor who moved in recently, but she didn’t know how serious the neighbor’s condition was. She also had no information about any other victims.

“The police came around and let us know it [the shooting] wasn’t random,” Wyatt said in a telephone interview this evening. She said police have assured her that a gunman wasn’t “prowling the neighborhood” and that they know who the shooter is.

It’s reassuring when police personally alert residents after a tragedy.  A shooting in your town is always disturbing.

Police are searching for a suspect.

From eNews Park Forest:

The suspect is identified as Timothy J. Lucas, a black male, born on September 26, 1978, according to police.

Pulling the trigger changes everything.  I’m not going to pontificate on guns or gun control.

But I will ask, why can we not control ourselves?  Why can Canadians own guns, and not shoot other Canadians?

Why do we shoot each other?

Simeon Sanders Served US in Iraq; Shot Dead in Harvey

Posted on by TL

simeon-sanders

His mother didn’t want him to join the Army.  She was worried about him fighting overseas.  But it was one of us in this country who shot Simeon Sanders dead in Harvey.

One of us. An American.

From the Sun-Times:

Sanders, 21, of Harvey, was shot and killed Thursday evening at 154th and Center Avenue in the south suburb while walking with his cousin. Sanders had been home on furlough to visit his family.

The cousins had just gotten french fries at a restaurant and heard men arguing — some on the sidewalk and some in a car, family members said. Wanting to avoid trouble, the cousins tried to cross the street, and got caught in the crossfire.

“They happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Simeon’s mother, Shannon Sanders, said Saturday while sitting in a room filled with pictures of their large, close-knit family.

Charges are pending against one man.  Police are seeking a second suspect.

I don’t want to talk about gun control.  Instead, I want to know why we can’t control ourselves.  Why do we use guns so freely?

In my classroom, I often tell my students that the United States is the most dangerous country on the face of the earth outside of a war zone.

Look at that young man staring back at you from eternity and ask yourself, “Why?”  Let’s just have a conversation about why this happened.  Twenty-one years old.  Shot in the back.

Roland Burris Sees the Writing on the Wall

Posted on by TL

I’m not going to bash Sen. Roland Burris over his decision to not seek election to the United States Senate. I actually have come to believe that he just wanted to be a senator, but arrived in office entirely the wrong way. Did he permit ambition to blind his judgement? You bet.  We know he has an ego.  Many pols do.  However, having an ego is not a crime.

From Michael Sneed at the Sun-Times:

Sneed has learned that U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has decided not to seek election to a seat he fought the government to keep.

•      •      To wit: Burris, whose decision to vie for Barack Obama’s seat landed him in the midst of a federal pay-to-play corruption probe of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, decided to end his 20-year political career at the end of his term — “because he was primarily concerned about his legacy,” a source close to Burris told Sneed.

•      •      Translation: “After 20 years in government service, Burris didn’t want the last four months in office to be that legacy,” the source said.

Finances also contributed to Burris’ decision, according to Sneed.  No doubt.  I would wager there were a few behind-closed-doors conversations with Democratic congressional leaders.  Like it or not, Burris is tainted because of Blagojevich.  Illinois needs a fresh start.

Who will claim the powerful seat?

My money is on Alexi Giannoulias.  Time will tell.