Chicago Tribune - 11.10.2026 — 2026-10-11

Chicago Tribune

MIKE DITKA 1939-2026

\$5.75 | SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2026 | CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM

SPORTING ICON OF CHICAGO

Ditka's larger-than-life persona defined the Bears — and is forever etched in stone

Brad Biggs

Mike Ditka imagined there was a life plan for him, a vision or a calling that he was meant to do one thing.

“I believe that everyone has a destiny in life, and mine is with the Chicago Bears,” he said when he was hired as the 10th head

coach in franchise history Jan. 20, 1982. “I’m going to give Chicago a winning football team, an interesting football team and a football team that everybody is going to be proud of.”

Ditka proved to be prophetic. He quickly restored glory to the organization. The Super Bowl XX champions — 40 years later — remain the measuring stick for everything the club does. A record-setting and Hall of Fame tight end drafted with the No. 5 pick in 1961, Ditka died Friday in Chicago, the city that adopted a guy from Western Pennsylvania as its own because of his unyielding toughness, intense determination and ability to connect with the Grabowskis. He was 86.

The Bears won the NFC Central six times during

Ditka's run as head coach between 1982 and 1992, compiling a 106-62 record in the regular season and 6-6 in the postseason, including the magnificent march to a title in January 1986.

The Bears retired his No. 89 in December 2013, the 14th and final number the team retired, according to Chairman George McCaskey. A star for the 1963 NFL championship team, Ditka was a pitch man for every product and service you can imagine.

Michael Jordan may be the greatest cultural sports icon across the globe, but Ditka — decades removed from his coaching career and more than a half-century since he was a player — remained the sporting icon of Chicago, the largest personality from a team that was full of swash-buckling, sometimes-rogue characters. In a very big way, that's perhaps one reason it all worked — because Ditka showed how to walk the walk.

"There's been a lot of big-time names and big-time celebrities, but nobody has surpassed Mike's status," Hall of Fame defensive lineman Dan Hampton said. "Jordan

See DITKA on Page A12

ELECTION 2026

U.S. SENATE

From fiery primary to low-key campaign

Stratton's supporters say she has diplomatic skills built as a mediator

By Olivia Olander

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton may be best known among voters for the F-bomb-filled ads she ran to show she had the fight to take on President Donald Trump on her way to winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Duckworth and others say in the February ads, as Stratton contends: "They said it, not me."

“F--- Trump,” U.S. Sen. Tammy

Above: Bears coach Mike Ditka on Dec. 7, 1986. BOB LANGER/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

It was a striking message from the favorite to become the next U.S. sena-

Stratton

tor from Illinois, and one that presciently summed up the Democratic base's desire for a bit more dynamism in its leaders' opposition to the Trump administration.

But underrated in Stratton's story, supporters and friends say, are the more diplomatic skills she built over more than 20 years as a mediator, qualities they see in her approach to government and politics.

And the candidate who rose to the top of the March primary with fiery ads and policy proposals that caught the eye of even the state's staunchest progressives — a

See STRATTON on Page A4

INSIDE

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White Sox's season ends with 2-0 loss

The White Sox couldn't find sustained success at the plate all night as their improbable season ended with a 2-0 loss to the Guardians. Coverage at chicagotribune.com

INSIDE: Bob Odenkirk, the actor and Naperville native, on how Mike Ditka made “Superfans” of us all. Chicagoland, Page A13 Bears fans reminisced on Ditka’s legacy while tailgating outside recent home games. Chicagoland, Page A14 Chicago mourns the Pennsylvania kid who became the ultimate symbol of our city. Paul Sullivan in Sports

Closing cold case, CPD says cop killed child

Isaias peeled off hotel and condominium rooftops and facades along Florida's panhandle before charging north Saturday. Nation & World, Page B5

8-year-old girl brutally

murdered in 1960

By Sam Charles

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Eight-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz's school and church were less than a half-mile from her back door in West Englewood.

On Nov. 12, 1960, a Saturday, her mother Esther was up early to get her dressed. Gloria had received her First Holy Communion recently, and a nun at St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church had urged the third grader and her classmates to receive the sacrament every day for two weeks to impress the ritual into their memories.

That Saturday was the last day. But her father needed the family car, so Gloria would have to make the 3 1/2-block trip on foot.

For her daughter, the older of two kids, Esther picked out a pink-and-brown checkered dress and a blue leotard. Esther kissed her goodbye and watched from the family's porch as Gloria walked north on Damen Avenue before turning east onto Marquette Road, past a gas station and out of sight.

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Officials tie at least 4 deaths to Isaias

Gloria never made it to the church. Her body would be found just a few hours later in a secluded

See CASE on Page A5

Right: Girls from Gloria Kowalewicz's First Communion class walk beside her casket as it is wheeled out of St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church in Chicago on Nov. 16, 1960, following her funeral Mass. Gloria's parents, Edward and Esther Kowalewicz, follow close behind. Editor's note: This historic print shows some hand painting in the background. CHICAGO TRIBUNE HISTORICAL PHOTO

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Johnson vetoes debt issuance ordinance backed by aldermen

By Jake Sheridan

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a City Club of Chicago event at Maggiano's Banquets on Sept. 30. EILEEN T. MESLAR/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a veto late Friday to an ordinance passed by aldermen to require more City Council support before City Hall issues debt.

Johnson blasted the measure passed last week as a roadblock to improving infrastructure in Chicago's least wealthy neighborhoods as he announced the veto Friday afternoon.

The veto, his fourth, tees up yet another fight between the mayor and the council, with a final vote on the measure likely to occur Wednesday. Johnson's opponents need a 34-vote supermajority to overrule the mayor.

“Neighborhoods with the greatest infrastructure needs should not face additional barriers to securing essential public investment,” Johnson wrote in a letter to aldermen. “Delaying infrastructure projects can increase construction costs, worsen deterioration, and ultimately cost taxpayers more.”

The debt-issue measure increased to a 30-member majority of aldermen the number needed to issue bonds and take on other debt, up from the 26-vote threshold that had been the standard. Sponsor Marty Quinn, 13th, argued it would give the council a stronger say over Chicago's long-term financial health and place City Hall in line with rules governing debt issuances for the Illinois General Assembly.

But after aldermen voted 32-15 to advance the ordinance last week, Johnson quickly signaled he might veto it. He derided the ordinance as a “three-fifths compromise” and said he would “make a (veto) decision that benefits the very people who need this type of investment to work.”

“And those are the families who live on the West and South sides of our city,” Johnson said at the time.

Asked Wednesday by the Tribune if he would issue a veto, Johnson pledged to “do whatever is necessary to protect working people.”

"There's not a single administration that has invested more on the West and South Side of Chicago in three years, and so I'm going to do whatever is necessary to protect those investments," he said.

For his part, Quinn criticized Johnson's decision and said Friday evening he is "full steam ahead" in an attempt to override Johnson's veto. He argued the ordinance is only a "moderate change" that builds City Council independence in all future mayoral administrations.

"Our debt level is extreme and having more eyes on the city's finances is a good thing," Quinn said.

Backers of the higher threshold will need to convince two more aldermen to vote with them. The 32-15 vote last week largely split along lines of Johnson opponents and allies, but three aldermen — Daniel La Spata, 1st, Chris Taliaferro, 29th, and Andre Vasquez, 40th — left the room when the debate started and did not vote on the measure.

Taliaferro said Friday evening he had not decided how he will vote. La Spata said he will vote in Johnson's favor to sustain the veto, arguing the city typically uses bonds in appropriate ways for needed infrastructure work.

“I think the aim of the ordinance, I would say, misleads the public on what bonds are in Chicago and why they are important,” he said. “The council already this term has eyed (bond proposals) with far too much suspicion ... This only moves us further in that direction.”

Vasquez previously said he did not vote so that he could pressure the Johnson administration to support his own ordinance aimed at adding more transparency to bond proposals. He said Friday evening that he met earlier in the day with Johnson's team to discuss the measure and will continue “to see if an agreement can be found.”

"If there isn't one to be found, I will not vote to sustain the veto," he said.

If backers of the threshold convince just two of the three to back the vetoed ordinance, the council will override Johnson's veto and make the measure law.

Johnson has used his veto power far more than recent mayors. He previously vetoed a measure to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products and another ordinance giving the Police Department broader curfew powers.

In April, he vetoed an ordinance phasing out his “One Fair Wage” plan to eliminate the city’s subminimum wage. In each case, aldermen failed to override Johnson’s veto.

Some aldermen have previously tried and failed to put other limits on Johnson's ability to borrow, including attempts to water down his signature \$1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development bond in 2024 and stalling a round of infrastructure borrowing in February 2025.

Critics said they worried about the backloaded debt repayment schedule and a lack of transparency about how the debt would be used.

The increased threshold also comes weeks before Johnson introduces his 2027 budget amid major turnover in the city's top financial staff and a downslide in Chicago's standing with ratings agencies. The city suffered a pair of downgrades from credit ratings agencies earlier this year, driving up borrowing costs.

And with an election looming for Johnson and all 50 aldermen, fiscal issues are a bright political dividing line.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias posted a video Wednesday in support of Quinn's measure and said, "If the mayor vetoes it, that's just more proof that he isn't looking out for taxpayers." He and most challengers to Johnson have tried to attack him as fixated on passing new taxes or borrowing more rather than cutting government bloat.

Johnson and his progressive allies have hit back that he inherited Chicago's fiscal problems from predecessors who either made far more reckless decisions or were given a boon in federal COVID-19 stimulus funds.

Chicago's long-term debt service payments — a continued drag on the overall budget — will jump from \$2.16 billion to nearly \$2.5 billion in 2027, his finance team told reporters last month.

Chicago Tribune's Alice Yin and A.D. Quig contributed.

Railroad agency investigating dispatch incidents

By Talia Soglin

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating three incidents over the summer involving problems with dispatching systems used to direct trains in the Chicago area.

In one incident, dispatching software issued a signal that could have allowed a train to travel on tracks where maintenance workers had been cleared to work, according to the union that reported the incident to the feds.

None of the incidents resulted in injuries or accidents, but the union, the American Train Dispatchers Association, said the issues could lead to serious consequences if not addressed.

In an email, FRA spokesperson Alex Murglin said the federal agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is investigating the incidents.

“Once these investigations are complete, FRA will determine appropriate next steps,” Murglin said.

A spokesperson for Wabtec, the company that makes the dispatching technology, said its systems had “undergone extensive testing” and “have a strong track record in revenue service.”

The ATDA made formal complaints to the FRA about the incidents, which occurred on several midwestern railroads.

Ed Dowell, the president of the ATDA, thinks the feds should have broader authority to regulate the development and usage of dispatching software.

"In our view, the primary problem is there's no federal government oversight," Dowell told the Tribune.

"The train dispatchers are continually having to

U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, 4th, speaks to reporters Nov. 9, 2025, in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year would require federal oversight of dispatching software. García is a sponsor. BRIAN CASSELLA/TRIBUNE

find errors in the system and protect the trains and workers and general public when they shouldn't have to do that," he said.

Representatives for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters, which represents track maintenance and construction workers, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, which represents rail workers that deal with signal systems, also said they had concerns about the use of automated dispatching technology.

"These are not minor mistakes," said Clark Ballew, communications director for the BMWED.

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year would require federal oversight of dispatching software. The FRA didn't comment on the proposed legislation.

U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, a Chicago Democrat who is one of the sponsors of the bill, said in a statement that he has “been very concerned about the software problems that train dispatchers have been facing.”

García said the bill he cosponsored would give the FRA “authority to conduct oversight of rail dispatching systems and to hold vendors accountable for their products’ safety and reliability.”

In a formal complaint about one of the dispatching incidents this summer, Dowell said he wanted the FRA to “take immediate action and investigate this critical safety issue that could have been tragic and fatal.”

In that incident, which occurred in August on the Belt Railway of Chicago, dispatching software issued a signal that could have allowed a train to travel onto an area of track where maintenance workers had been given a green light to work. “Fortunately, the train dispatcher noticed the erroneous signal right away and took down the signal,” Dowell wrote to the FRA.

A representative for the Belt did not comment.

In a separate incident this summer, the ATDA said, a Chicago-area train dispatcher for the Canadian National railroad tried to issue one type of order but the software system generated a different one instead, the union said in its complaint to the FRA.

The issue occurred at a rail crossing in Wisconsin, according to the union. "This failure could result in inadequate protection at a malfunctioning grade crossing," the union said in its complaint to the FRA.

CN spokesperson Ashley Michnowski said the railroad was aware of the incident and said a worker had “identified a discrepancy in a crossing-protection instruction.”

"The grade crossing remained protected and affected train movements were halted until the discrepancy was resolved, in accordance with our multilayer safety and security protocols," Michnowski said. "CN immediately addressed the discrepancy with Wabtec and is continuing its review of this matter."

And in a third incident, the union said Metra dispatch screens went dark, causing brief periods in which dispatchers could not see trains or equipment on the track.

Metra said it was only aware of one incident on that day this summer, but said that it was not caused by a software issue, but rather by a surge protector overheating and shutting down.

Power was “quickly” restored, said spokesperson Michael Gillis, who added there “was no safety risk” while screens were dark.

"There is a failsafe that turns all signals to ‘stop’ if a dispatcher workstation goes dark. No trains were impacted because no trains approached a signal during the brief interruption," Gillis said.

The ATDA said it is “difficult to pinpoint the root cause of these failures” without evaluation by a third-party IT specialist and added that the Metra incident is “consistent” with past issues involving Wabtec software.

Wabtec spokesperson Tim Bader added the company works “with customers and regulators.”

Wabtec technology is “implemented within a customer’s broader operating framework that include human expertise and oversight, operating procedures, safety requirements and regulatory obligations,” Bader said, adding that humans and technology “work together to support safe and efficient operations.”

Plastic surgeon seeks court injunction

Dr. Ayoub Sayeg arrives for a court hearing at the Daley Center in Chicago's Loop on Aug. 19, 2025. EILEEN T. MESLAR/TRIBUNE

Sayeg asking judge

to lift his Illinois

license suspension

By Christy Gutowski and Gregory Royal Pratt

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

An embattled plastic surgeon whose license has been suspended in three states in recent months is seeking a court injunction in Illinois that would allow him to continue treating patients at his Chicago clinic.

Lawyers for Dr. Ayoub Sayeg allege in a civil complaint filed Wednesday that state regulators committed errors in their handling of the temporary suspension, which came shortly after a Tribune investigation found eight Sayeg patients died following tummy tuck procedures over a seven-year period in Chicago.

The law allows the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to take action against a physician's license without an administrative hearing if it has evidence that the doctor's continued practice presents "an immediate danger" to the public. The surgeon's lawyers allege that, three months after the July 7 suspension, regulators have yet to disclose what evidence they relied on to take the "extraordinary" action.

"The temporary suspension order expressly relies on a petition (by the chief of medical prosecutions) that had not been served on (Sayeg), disclosed in the hearing materials, or introduced into the administrative record," the complaint states. "... The Department has not identified a specific patient injury, adverse event, medication error, surgical complication, or other clinical occurrence demonstrating an immediate threat."

The complaint, filed in Sangamon County, asks a judge to impose an injunction against the state, thus lifting the temporary suspension. The civil filing names as defendants the state department and the director of its division of professional regulation. Sayeg is seeking an expedited court hearing in Springfield. As of Friday, it had not been scheduled.

"The (suspension) has deprived Dr. Sayeg of the ability to practice medicine and to financially support himself and his family, and continues to cause professional, financial and reputational harm," said the lawsuit, filed by the Goldberg Law Group of Chicago.

A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation declined to comment Friday other than to say: "We look forward to the matter being addressed through the trial process, where the facts can be presented and considered in the appropriate forum." The Illinois attorney general's office, which will represent the department in court, also declined, citing the pend-

ing litigation.

Sayeg, 58, who lives in Michigan and became licensed there in late 2001, runs a clinic called Your New Looks in West Bloomfield. In 2013 he opened 63 Laser & Skin Clinic in Illinois. Sayeg has long traveled between the states to perform tummy tucks, liposuction, breast augmentations, face-lifts and other procedures.

Regulators inspected his Chicago clinic less than two weeks after the Tribune reported on June 7 that the state had not disciplined the longtime surgeon despite multiple patient deaths in Illinois. The patients, all women, died shortly after surgeries Sayeg had performed at his clinic, located at 3918 W. 63rd St. in a predominantly Latino neighborhood.

Six died from complications of plastic surgery, according to public records, and the other two overdosed on pain medication at home. Each surgery involved a tummy tuck and at least one other procedure, typically liposuction.

Illinois officials began investigating Sayeg after receiving a complaint in October 2020 regarding the death of Idalia Corcoles, a 39-year-old Chicago mother of four who died the previous year. Her family sued Sayeg and his anesthesiologist in 2021, and jurors delivered a \$56 million verdict in 2024.

Three more of Sayeg's patients died of complications from surgery as the state licensing investigation was pending. It wasn't until September 2025, nearly five years after the state began investigating Sayeg, that the department filed an official complaint alleging the doctor's conduct violated the Illinois Medical Practice Act, state records show.

Sayeg's new complaint alleges that the department's chief medical coordinator initiated the process to inspect the surgeon's Chicago clinic on June 9, two days after the Tribune published its findings. On June 17, the Illinois Medical Board found "probable cause" existed to conduct the inspection.

The next day, the department's chief of investigations and another investigator conducted the inspection. The department subpoenaed Sayeg on June 23, seeking various required documentation. On July 7, Illinois temporarily suspended Sayeg's license, alleging he had failed to provide proof of continuing medical education regarding anesthesia services as well as a certified registered nurse anesthetist's advanced cardiac life support certification.

According to Sayeg's complaint, he complied with the subpoena for materials before the temporary suspension went into effect, but the state has argued in its administrative proceedings that more investigation is merited.

The surgeon's complaint also alleges other procedural errors, including that the state affidavit in support of the requested inspection is dated June 18, not June 9.

"The citizens of Illinois including its health care professionals are entitled to know that its government agencies are following Illinois law," attorney Michael Goldberg said Friday in an emailed statement to the Tribune. "This case highlights how we are all vulnerable when administrative bodies don't function properly."

Besides seeking the court injunction, Sayeg has been fighting Illinois' temporary suspension through the department's administrative hearing process. A pretrial hearing in that matter is scheduled to begin Oct. 16.

Illinois officials also still are pursuing their 2020 complaint against Sayeg regarding Corcoles' death. The department amended it this year to include allegations involving another patient, Crystal Walker Keating, 47, of Iowa, who died in late 2018.

Illinois officials have pledged to pursue the maximum penalty against Sayeg to bar him permanently from practicing in the state. They also said they are performing an internal review of how the department handled Sayeg's case and they plan to pursue changes to state laws to help accelerate the disciplinary process in similar cases.

Sayeg also is licensed in Virginia, Michigan and California. Citing the Illinois suspension, Virginia issued a mandatory suspension order Aug. 4. Michigan regulatory authorities meted out a summary suspension late last month based on the Virginia suspension and complaints from two Michigan women who allege Sayeg botched their 2024 surgeries.

'BROADVIEW SIX' CASE

Judge requests US attorney's office communications, including Boutros email

Attorney Christopher Parente, from left, "Broadview Six" defendant Brian Straw and his wife, Shannon Craig Straw, leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 1.

TERRENCE ANTONIO JAMES/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

By Jason Meisner

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The federal judge considering potential sanctions in the controversial “Broadview Six” case made her first formal discovery requests to the U.S. attorney’s office on Friday, demanding any written communications with anyone outside the office regarding “investigatory or charging decisions” as well as an email sent to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros attaching an expedited transcript of grand jury proceedings.

If the communications were oral rather than written, U.S. District Judge April Perry said in her order, the government must provide the people present for such communication, the date, time and length of the conversation, a certification that there was no recording or transcription made of the discussion.

"If the communication was later summarized in writing or notes were taken, they should be produced," Perry wrote. "Testimony from witnesses may be requested at a later time, after the Court has reviewed the relevant documents."

Perry ordered the materials produced by Oct. 30.

The discovery request comes a week after Perry said she'd initiate a “fact finding” process to determine whether the U.S. attorney's office intentionally misled her in the “Broadview Six” case, a rare step that could lead to sanctions or even the appointment of a special prosecutor to bring criminal contempt charges.

While Perry has made no finding at this point that there was intentional misconduct in the Broadview case, the judge said at the Oct. 1 hearing it was clear that “several aspects of this prosecution were very flawed” and that certain representations made to her by Boutros’ office were not accurate. She also said whether a cover-up occurred to hide illegal conduct — or maybe simply something that was “embarrassing” — does not matter.

Perry made clear last week that any response from the U.S. attorney's office will be “under oath, under penalty of perjury,” whether or not that response includes live testimony from witnesses. She also said her inquiry would not be focused on any misconduct before the grand jury, which is no longer on the table because the charges have been dismissed.

"My sole focus at this point is on the lack of candor, concealment of material facts, or other misconduct that occurred before me,"

Perry said.

The judge's requests Friday appear to be in line with that thinking, focusing on whether prosecutors were being truthful with the court when they said there were no communications with anyone in the U.S. Justice Department that influenced the decision to charge the case.

Perry also wants to drill down on Boutros' insistence in court that he knew nothing of the alleged misconduct before the grand jury in the Oct. 9, 2025, session – which ended in a rare “no bill” vote refusing to return an indictment – until shortly before the case fell apart in May.

The now-retired assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case, Sheri Mecklenburg, has said Boutros personally requested the transcript. In a court filing in August, however, Boutros, who was emailed the transcript on Oct.

14, said he was “quite certain” he never read it.

In her order, Perry requested not only the email to Boutros but any “replies to or forwards of that email” as well.

"If an email is part of an email chain, all versions of that chain must be produced, along with their attachments," the judge wrote. "Electronic records must be produced with all associated metadata (for both emails and attachments) including read receipts, delivery status, and message tracking logs."

One controversial aspect of the case was not mentioned in Perry's discovery requests: who in Boutros' office made the decision to redact large portions of the grand jury transcripts that were later given to her for inspection on the insistence of the Broadview Six defense team.

Longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan, who took over the high-profile case after Mecklenburg left the office for another assignment in Washington, has taken responsibility for the redactions, which his office has said could have been handled differently but were not evidence of any defiance of a court order.

The inquiry by Perry has put Chicago's premier federal law enforcement office in largely uncharted waters and adds fuel to a scandal that erupted four months ago, when Boutros dismissed all charges against the six Operation Midway Blitz protesters amid allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

In announcing the move last week, Perry illustrated her thinking with a quote from Spider-Man — “with great power comes great responsibility” — and by invoking the old adage that the cover-up is often worse than the crime. She said given the massive power wielded by federal prosecutors, they have a duty to be truthful and that any attempt to willfully deceive the court could and should be punished.

“It is clear to me that the mistakes and inaccuracies were material,” Perry said. “They affected the trajectory of the case and how long those defendants were subject to criminal prosecution. It affected not only their pocketbooks, but their lives.”

Attorneys for the Broadview Six have said they believe the decision to indict the group of local Democratic activists for allegedly impeding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent's vehicle during a Sept. 26, 2025, protest was politically motivated amid pressure from President Donald Trump's administration to make an example of them.

Boutros, who was first appointed in March 2025 by then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, has publicly denied bringing any cases for political reasons.

Back in March, prosecutors blasted the defense for seeking discovery on the issue, calling it “reckless” and “the product of fevered paranoia and delusional speculation.”

In a filing explaining their position in August, however, prosecutors revealed for the first time that there was a broad discussion about the Broadview incident in a video meeting between prosecutors and DOJ officials on the day after it happened that included playing one of the available videos.

Meanwhile, virtually every twist in the case has been controversial, even seemingly routine matters. Shortly after Perry posted her discovery requests Friday, she ordered the court clerk to unseal a filing that prosecutors had tried to keep under wraps, including redacting one of the attorneys representing the government from the signature block.

It turned out that the redactions were unnecessary since the motion merely revealed that the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility was conducting an ongoing investigation into the conduct of the prosecutors "and other Department employees" involved in the Broadview case and needed access to the complete record before the grand jury, including exhibits.

The attorney who had been redacted from the filing was Suzanne Drouet, a deputy in OPR.

jmeisner@chicago

tribune.com

STRATTON

from Page A1

\$25 federal minimum wage, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, endorsing “Medicare for All” — has since shifted into a vastly more low-key general election campaign, turning down some opportunities to appear alongside her opponent.

“She’s really already won over the voters that she needs to win the general election,” said Joanna Klonsky, a Democratic communications strategist who was not affiliated with Stratton’s campaign or any of her competitors. “She has to demonstrate that she’s not taking anything for granted, but at the same time, she can take it for granted.”

As the presumptive successor to Dick Durbin, the state's senior senator, who is retiring in January, Stratton, 61, has spent time this summer and fall in Washington meeting with Senate Democrats who could become her colleagues, as well as with members of the party base.

Her election would also further consolidate Gov. JB Pritzker's influence. The billionaire governor, who picked Stratton as his running mate when she had served less than one term in the Illinois General Assembly, spent \$10 million supporting her in the primary, mostly through an outside committee. Stratton's own campaign fund was far outspent by one of her opponents, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a prodigious fundraiser.

Of course, Stratton says she's still working to earn the support of general election voters. She noted she took part in multiple debates during the highly competitive primary, in which she defeated Krishnamoorthi, who ran closer to the political center, and longtime U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who at the time had the endorsement of groups including the Congressional Black Caucus' political arm. That group has since endorsed Stratton for November.

"I'm not taking anything for granted," Stratton said after speaking to canvassers at an event in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. "My positions are my positions. We've been out there."

Because Illinois held its primary early in the year, Stratton largely avoided the national narratives lionizing or demonizing prominent progressives who competed in later primaries, such as Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

Her Republican opponent, Don Tracy, has used the emergence of progressive candidates like El-Sayed to try to paint Stratton as a supporter of socialism. Stratton, though she backs progressive policies, does not identify as a democratic socialist.

"I am not as much into the categorization as I am in — what kind of lives do I want people to live?" Stratton said. "It's not like having access to healthcare or making a livable wage is a Democrat or Republican issue. It's not a progressive issue versus a moderate (one)."

Asked specifically whether she disagreed with democratic socialists on any policy issues, Stratton didn't name any. Instead, she noted her support for abolishing ICE.

"It wasn't because I was like — because this is a position that fits into a particular label or category. It was because I'm looking outside and I'm seeing my neighbors," she said. "I don't even know if I'd be able to say, 'Here's all the things that I'm not.'"

Before tackling progressive policy ideas, Democrats need to stop the figurative bleeding from the Trump administration, Stratton said.

"Flipping the House, taking back the Senate is really about being a check on this president and his administration, and the real damage that they're doing," Stratton said, citing her opposition to Republicans' cutoff of Affordable Care Act subsidies as an example.

She has also aligned herself with many of her potential Democratic colleagues in opposing the war in Iran and Republican-led restrictions on food benefits.

And she's looking ahead to how she could make her mark in the Senate. Stratton said a couple of committees have piqued her interest: Environment and Public Works, because of her interest in environmental justice and protecting the Great Lakes, and Judiciary, where Durbin is the top Democrat.

On Supreme Court reform, an issue that could come before the Judiciary Committee, Stratton said she'd be open to term limits and even expanding the court.

Asked about data centers, a key issue in midterm races across the country, Stratton stopped short of calling for a moratorium on building the energy-hungry facilities, as some candidates elsewhere have. Instead, like Pritzker, she said the centers shouldn't raise energy costs and that communities should have a say in where they're built.

Despite Tracy's efforts to tie her to socialism, Stratton's campaign has won the fundraising fight so far. Through June, Stratton's main campaign fund spent more than \$4.7 million, compared with Tracy's less than \$950,000, and Stratton's campaign said it raised \$1.53 million across multiple campaign funds this summer, though it had not yet filed all its reports. Tracy, who previously lent his campaign \$2 million, said early this month he had lent it another \$1 million-plus, without sharing exactly how much he had raised over the same period.

---

'AMBITIOUS' MEDIATOR ENTERS POLITICS

Stratton grew up on the South Side, primarily in the Pill Hill neighborhood, and now lives in Bronzeville. She earned a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from DePaul University.

She briefly worked as an associate at a law firm, then as a mediator, according to her campaign and her resume included in a county personnel file. She facilitated hundreds of discussions over workplace conflicts and elsewhere, and did mediation and hearing work for local, state and federal government agencies.

She often dealt with employment discrimination cases, including some in which one side alleged racial discrimination. What struck

Stratton most about the work, she said, was that even people who came in feeling there was no path forward could eventually compromise.

“Politics can be very divisive,” said Felicia Davis Blakley, a longtime friend who met Stratton through work and is now CEO of the nonprofit Primo Center, “but underneath all of that, there’s some portion of every person who wants the same thing, and I think she uses that kind of kernel as a grounding principle in her work.”

In 2011, Stratton became executive director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, charged with implementing community-based approaches to criminal justice reform within the office of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

"There's a sincerity to her," said former Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who worked under Preckwinkle around the same time. "I don't equate ambition with, necessarily, disregard for the people you serve. I think she's been ambitious, and wanted to use her position to help others."

After leaving the county, Stratton became director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she promoted restorative justice principles and cooperation between police and community leaders, according to Michael Pagano, the former dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs who worked with her. She continued working there part time even after winning a seat in the General Assembly, he said.

Stratton's political origin story dates to around the same time, 2015, when she was caring for her mother, who had Alzheimer's disease, during the last three years of her life. Her mother died in 2016.

As she has told audiences throughout her Senate campaign, Stratton saw her Democratic state representative, Ken Dunkin, on the news siding with then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, on cuts to funding for childcare and senior services.

She said she wasn't seeing any solutions to the struggles she was having at home with her mother — and increasingly, she felt someone other than Dunkin needed to repre-

sent her.

"At some point, I just said, 'And why wouldn't it be me?" she said.

Stratton won a \$6 million legislative primary in 2016, buoyed by an unusual local endorsement from then-President Barack Obama, a former Illinois state senator, and a tide of frustration among the House's Democratic majority and labor groups with Dunkin, a 13-year incumbent, over stances he'd taken against them and for Rauner.

Years before her election as a state representative, Stratton had attended a leadership training program for women interested in political office, thinking she might run for judge. But at that time she didn't see a path from the state House to lieutenant governor to U.S. Senate nominee, she recalled in a recent interview in her campaign office.

During the first Trump administration, her thoughts about her political life grew. She got the tattoo on her wrist that occasionally flashes into view when she speaks with her hands at campaign stops: the word “persist.”

It invokes then-Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's dig at Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren nearly a decade ago, which has since become something of a feminist rallying cry: "Nevertheless, she persisted."

"I just remember thinking this is going to be a time that we're going to have to push through some really hard moments," said Stratton, who got Warren's endorsement in the Senate primary.

---

THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S PORTFOLIO

Stratton came into the state House willing to “really get into the grind of the policy,” said state Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, a Democrat from Maywood who worked with her on an initiative — eventually signed into law — to limit expulsions of preschoolers.

But Stratton wasn't there long: Pritzker announced she was his pick for lieutenant governor just a year and a half after she took office.

The position has a reputation among insiders as a “lite gov” with few statutory responsibilities, but after

Pritzker and Stratton won, supporters said, she took the role in stride.

“She was chosen for this time, and she seized it well,” Lightford said.

In a key policy push, Stratton has advocated for women's health, particularly for Black mothers, citing racial disparities in the state's maternal mortality rates. One of her top legislative priorities as lieutenant governor was a bill, now law, requiring private insurers to cover some services from doulas and midwives. The law also set a path for competitive Medicaid reimbursement for doulas, lactation consultants and other providers.

Another top item in her portfolio: fulfilling the promises of the Restore, Reinvest and Renew program, known as R3, which aimed to put tax dollars from cannabis sales into the communities most affected by the war on drugs.

Through R3, Illinois has awarded at least \$330 million to organizations in those communities, according to the state. In her interview with the Tribune, Stratton cited the program as her most significant accomplishment as lieutenant governor.

At the same time, recent state audits found Stratton's office failed to fill positions on the R3 board in a timely manner, which Stratton attributed in her interview to the time it took to find people with the qualifications and capacity to serve. Lightford, who served on the board, contended the original timeline was unrealistic given the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged shortly after the law creating the board was enacted.

Not every item in Stratton's portfolio has gone according to plan. In July 2020, she and Pritzker announced what was billed as a four-year “transformation” of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

That plan included removing youths from five large juvenile detention centers and repurposing the facilities, according to WTTW reporting at the time.

Today, those five facilities are still open, though one has been rebranded with additional programming and youths were moved out of another after a fire. The department also added a facility, meant to take a more therapeutic approach than the existing ones, but so far the center is a “promise not yet realized,” said Jennifer Vollen-Katz, executive director of the John Howard Association.

The most recent “quarterly update” posted on the department’s landing page is dated two years ago, though a spokesperson provided an internal document reflecting plans to continue renovating multiple youth detention centers and to relocate the one in Chicago.

Asked about the failure to meet the project's stated goals, Stratton cited additional community investments and new leadership at the department.

"The goal still remains that we want to keep working towards that end," Stratton said. "Will it be done by the time I'm — by January? I don't know if I see that as being the final goal, but I do feel like we've been making progress."

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton celebrates her win in the Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate on March 17 at CineCity Studios Chicago. BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton enters Gov. JB Pritzker's office before appearing at a news conference hours after the end of the spring legislative session at the Illinois Capitol building on June 1 in Springfield. JOHN J. KIM/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

In what may reflect a broader shift in progressive Democrats' style over the last five years, Stratton has stopped introducing herself with her pronouns, she/her, at government news conferences, where she often appears alongside Pritzker.

“I’m an ally, and I am and always have been,” Stratton said when asked about the change, adding that she would continue to protect “everyone, including everyone in our LGBTQ+ community, including trans children.”

"There was just a specific time that it felt like it was just really hard for people that I'm allied with, and none of that has changed," she said.

LOOKING FORWARD — AND TO WASHINGTON

Throughout the summer, Stratton held fundraisers and meet-and-greets with local Democratic groups. She also coordinated her campaign with the Democratic Party of Illinois, appearing on the bill or campaigning with candidates in other races.

Still, she hasn't hosted many of the large rallies associated with more competitive races around the country. And Tracy has complained that she has agreed to only one joint appearance, scheduled for late October on WTTW.

"I look forward to the debate, where I can show the contrast between someone who's going to fight to raise wages and expand access to healthcare versus someone who said that the rising costs due to the war in Iran are a quote-unquote ‘required sacrifice,’” she said, referring to comments Tracy made in August that were reported in the Peoria Journal Star.

Pritzker said he and Stratton can make their case to independent voters through their work.

“We’re in our jobs every single day, so we’ve been proving ourselves every day,” Pritzker said last month after remarks at the ribbon-cutting for a manufacturing facility in Monee. “I think people kind of know where we stand.”

Beyond bringing generational change to the Senate seat — she is more than two decades younger than the retiring Durbin — Stratton would carry vastly different life experience as a mother of four and a daughter of the city.

She's a marathoner who still likes to go out and dance, according to both the candidate and her friends. She has posted social media videos of herself dancing and described herself in one as a "house head," a term for fans of house music, techno's warmer-sounding, Chicago-born cousin.

And even if the “F---Trump” ads are no longer the centerpiece of her campaign, she’s kept that same zeal with her base of supporters.

A T-shirt (\$32) and a set of two campaign buttons (\$10) that repeat the profanity about Trump are available in her online campaign store.

CASE

Divers search the Cal-Sag Channel at Ridgeland Avenue just north of Highway 83 in Alsip on Nov. 19, 1960, for the gun used in the slaying of Gloria Kowalewicz.

WILLIAM VENDETTA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Edward Kowalewicz touches the body of his 9-year-old daughter Gloria after identifying her on Nov. 12, 1960, at 11900 S. 104th St., near a forest preserve in Palos Park. Gloria Kowalewicz had been beaten and shot to death. WILLIAM VENDETTE/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Adam Kowalewicz holds a photo of his slain sister, Gloria, as he displays family photos during an interview with the Chicago Tribune on Friday. ANTONIO PEREZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

from Page A1

spot in the suburbs. She had been shot twice in the head.

It was a crime that shocked the city and stayed a mystery for decades, but now police say they have solved the case using DNA technology. And the perpetrator, they say, was a young man who wore a Chicago Police Department star.

---

A BODY IS FOUND

Shortly before noon that day, a driver for a laundry company in McKinley Park stopped along 104th Avenue, about a mile south of Route 83, in a wooded area of Palos Park more than 15 miles southwest of Gloria's home.

While parked, the driver checked his afternoon route and ate his lunch. But a burst of color in a ravine about 20 feet west of the road caught his eye — Gloria's pink-and-brown checkered dress.

Finding no pulse when he walked over to what turned out to be the child's body, he drove to a nearby tavern and called the Cook County sheriff's office.

Gloria had been shot and had bruises on her neck. Given the amount of blood at the scene, investigators determined Gloria wasn't killed until she was brought to the woods.

Members of the sheriff's office, Illinois State Police and CPD pored over the area, scouring the dirt, shrubs and vegetation around Gloria's body. A team of divers searched nearby bodies of water. A bloody trail leading from the road was quickly found, and the Police Department took plaster prints of nearby tire tracks. Using a metal detector, police recovered a single spent bullet casing at the scene.

When Gloria was discovered, she was wearing her underwear, but her leotard was taken off and was under her body. Police believed she was not sexually assaulted.

Gloria's coat was found several miles away, and her shoes and purse were collected a few feet from her body. Police found fingerprints on the strap of Gloria's purse and on her Bible, but investigators did not yet know about traces of semen that would eventually be found on her coat.

Edward Kowalewicz identified his daughter's remains later that day, near where her body was found.

The next day, scores of officers canvassed every home in Gloria's neighborhood for witnesses and suspects. Local sex offenders were rounded up and pressed for their whereabouts when the girl went missing.

Hundreds of local firefighters, veterans of foreign wars and members of the Boys Scouts of America aided in the effort.

Authorities and community leaders implored the public to come forward with any information on Gloria's killer. For weeks, local news coverage of the crime was breathless. One Tribune headline trumpeted the Chicago Police Department's effort to find the "sex maniac" responsible for the killing.

Several witnesses later told Chicago police that a girl resembling Gloria was seen with a man about 25 to 40 years old shortly after she left her home.

---

POLICE OFFICER ALLEGEDLY TO BLAME

Now, more than 65 years after Gloria's death, CPD cold case detectives have determined who they believe killed her: Thomas Francis McInerney, a Chicago police officer who was 24 years old at the time – the son of a Cook County Jail corrections officer whose parents lived a few blocks away from Gloria's.

The conclusion was reached after a yearslong series of ballistics tests, fingerprint comparisons and DNA tests. The investigation regained momentum earlier this year after the FBI used DNA submitted to family tree websites for comparison, according to CPD.

Cold case investigators say McInerney and Gloria had no prior contact before her death, and McInerney is not suspected in any other crimes.

McInerney, a U.S. Army veteran, worked for CPD until 1987. Among his assignments during his career: homicide detective.

McInerney died in 2006 in Las Vegas, where he'd moved upon his retirement. Once there, he'd worked as an investigator for the federal public defender's office until 2004, according to his obituary.

McInerney's family could not be reached for comment.

Gloria

Kowalewicz

---

A FAMILY FINDS REST

Adam Kowalewicz was born just a few months before his sister was abducted and killed.

In an interview with the Tribune, he said the revelation that his sister's killer was a Chicago police officer came as a shock, but he praised the work by cold case detectives and investigators who ultimately cleared the case.

Their father, Edward Kowalewicz, was a World War II veteran who operated a gas station at 63rd and Hoyne. He died in his sleep in 1978. Adam Kowalewicz remained very close with

his mother until she passed away in 2000.

"Now I know my mom and dad's souls can rest," he said. "Gloria can rest."

But even with the case now closed, Adam Kowalewicz and his family are still

left to wonder why Gloria was targeted in the first place.

In an interview last week with the Tribune, CPD's chief of detectives, Kevin Bruno, praised the scores of investigators who, at one time or another, worked on the case.

McInerney

"When you look at the level of work that went into this investigation throughout these six-plus decades – from that initial group of detectives that did everything they could to move this forward, to different detectives picking this up and trying to move it forward, to, finally, this group here — putting in all this time and effort and taking advantage of technological advances to finally bring this case to closure, it just shows you that we don't forget, and

these guys never stopped," Bruno said.

"The fact that he was a police officer is deeply troubling to all of us that have made a career out of this most noble profession," Bruno added. "But at the same time, it's not something we're going to minimize or shy away from. And as far as we're concerned, he's a murderer who was acting as a police officer."

---

FUNERAL HELD AS A KILLER STAYS FREE

On Nov. 16, 1960, four days after she was killed, more than 1,000 people attended Gloria's funeral at St. Mary of Mount Carmel. The Chicago Police Department provided escort services, and six of Gloria's fellow third grade communicants served as her pallbearers.

Delivering tear-

ful remarks, the Rev.

Angelo Della Vecchia told those gathered: “Criminals such as this one are the product of our society. Those elected to public office have an obligation to protect the lives of citizens. If they want to, they can make Chicago a better place to live.”

Police interviewed more than 1,300 people in the investigation, but leads proved fruitless and the case faded from public view.

"The search bogged down, mired in a morass of tips, and futile investigations and arrests," read a Tribune story published six months after Gloria was killed. "The tangible clews have been sifted and submitted to microscopic examination, all to no avail. Somewhere, perhaps in the same neighborhood, the criminal still walks the streets."

Recovered evidence from the various crime scenes sat in storage, preserved. It wasn't until the 1980s that DNA collection first became a key part of homicide investigations.

Meanwhile, McInerney's police career continued. Hired the year before he killed Gloria, McInerney worked as a patrol officer on the West Side until 1964, when he was promoted to detective, according to CPD. He worked assignments all over the city: investigating burglary, vice and gangs on the South Side, homicide and sex crimes on the North Side and, finally, violent crimes on the West Side until his retirement in 1987.

Records from the U.S. Census Bureau show that, 10 years before Gloria's death, McInerney's parents lived at 6557 S. Laflin St., about three-fourths of a mile east of where the Kowalewicz family lived. His father worked as a guard at the Chicago House of Correction, where the Cook County Jail is now located.

---

THE FORENSIC TESTING

In July 2010, CPD used grant funding to send Gloria's dress to a DNA analysis laboratory. The fingerprints recovered on Gloria's purse strap and Bible were submitted for testing, as well.

Five months later, “the testing revealed a male DNA profile from semen on the dress,” Lt. Mark Kearns of CPD’s Area 1 detectives told the Tribune.

The DNA profile was submitted to the FBI's national database, CODIS, and several new suspects were developed, Kearns said. However, saliva tests later determined they were not responsible for the killing.

Another 14 years passed.

Then, in 2024, CPD used a sexual assault kit initiative grant to submit Gloria's coat to the FBI for "investigative genetic genealogy" — that is, to compare the DNA on the coat with other genetic samples submitted to family tree research websites.

The investigative technique was first used in 2018 and led to the arrest and prosecution of Joseph James DeAngelo, dubbed “The Golden State Killer,” a former California police officer who committed 13 murders and several rapes across the state from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

"In July of 2026, Thomas McInerney was positively identified as the donor of the semen recovered from the dress of Gloria Kowalewicz," Kearns said.

Detectives then pulled McInerney's 1959 CPD application, and the fingerprints he submitted to join CPD were a match with the fingerprint recovered on Gloria's purse strap. Further, McInerney owned three Colt revolvers, the same type of gun used to fire the bullet found at the scene of the murder.

killing is one of the oldest cases closed by CPD detectives in nearly a decade.

Police data show Gloria's

For Adam Kowalewicz, receiving a call from those detectives earlier this year was a weight off his shoulders. But still, he's distressed by how McInerney escaped any accountability for the killing.

"The one thing that does play in my mind (is), unfortunately, he lived a decent life and passed on," Adam Kowalewicz said of McInerney. "He never paid his dues. You hope he's going to pay his dues with the good lord."

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As monarch butterflies head south, they're getting an assist

Catherine O'Reilly, partner coordinator for Sustainable Landscapes at the Energy Resources Center at University of Illinois Chicago's College of Engineering, checks out a right-of-way area with Marianne Kozlowski, volunteer steward for the Eggers Grove Cook County Forest Preserve during an outing at the preserve. SUSAN DEGRANE/DAILY SOUTHOWN

A monarch butterfly climbs on verbena blooms Sept. 9, 2025, in Oak Park. Land managers of rights-of-way throughout the area are increasingly implementing monarch-friendly practices such as installing native plants and mowing less frequently. BRIAN CASSELLA/TRIBUNE

By Susan DeGrane

FOR THE DAILY

SOUTHTOWN

Tall transmission towers and high-voltage power lines span the sky over the Eggers Grove Cook County Forest Preserve on Chicago's Southeast Side, near 118th Street and the Illinois/Indiana border. On the ground, bike riders and hikers pass prairie plants and native grasses laden with early fall seed — little blue stem, yellow prairie grass, goldenrod, whorled milkweed, purple cone flower, common milkweed, coreopsis and others.

And through it all, monarch butterflies flit about, landing on flowers as they make their way through the area on their annual migration south.

The more-natural-than-mowed landscape is just one of 53 sites in northern Illinois where ComEd has adopted land management practices designed to help the monarchs.

Many of the butterflies already have left for central Mexico, but ComEd's effort signals a broader trend to transform right of way areas into supportive habitats.

“Whether you’re talking about a pocket garden in someone’s backyard or ROW, any space with a supportive pollinator habitat is important for species survival,” said Catherine O’Reilly, partner coordinator for the Sustainable Landscapes at the Energy Resources Center at University of Illinois Chicago’s College of Engineering.

Six years ago, about 40 energy and transportation organizations came together to develop the Nationwide Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances for Monarch Butterfly on Energy and Transportation Lands, or “Monarch CCAA.”

Valid through 2045, the agreement encourages right-of-way landowners and land managers to implement conservation efforts that support the monarch.

"This effort has gotten a lot of buy-in," said O'Reilly, who also facilitates efforts of the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group which developed the Monarch CCAA. “Total enrolled lands include 9.3 million acres. Of those, more than 1.3 million acres are adopted as habitat.”

In Illinois, which claims the Monarch as the state insect, right of way commitments from Illinois energy utilities and transportation agencies have brought about a resurgence of milkweed, the monarch's host plant.

From 2014 through 2024, stem counts for milkweed increased by 108 million, according to a UIC Sustainable Landscapes report submitted in April to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. And half of those gains occurred in right-of-way areas.

“Utility and transportation rights-of-way tend to support pollinator and prairie habitats anyway because they require management of tree growth,” O'Reilly said.

The Monarch CCAA builds on that advantage and requires specific practices, such as reducing mowing, planting native plant species, controlling invasive plants with targeted herbicides, removing brush and trees and controlled burning and grazing.

A CCAA agreement supporting native bumble bee habitats also includes nest avoidance, O'Reilly said.

In pledged areas, ComEd does all of these things, including controlled burning, which involves hiring trained professionals and obtaining special permitting. "CCAAs are legally binding and suggest measures that go beyond compliance (for maintaining right-of-way areas)," said Sara Race, ComEd's senior manager of Environmental Management.

Besides helping pollinators, the agreements can help utilities carry out their work. "When we sign an agreement, it helps us to help the monarchs, but it also allows us to continue with our operations if a species becomes endangered," Race said.

ComEd's commitment to carry out the Monarch CCAA also seems to encourage goodwill and community

engagement.

Eggers Grove volunteer site steward Marianne Kozlowski regularly leads teams of volunteers clearing away invasive plants and gathering seeds for replanting throughout the Forest Preserve. With ComEd's OK, she said, this year volunteers were able to clear trash from ComEd's right-of-way in a show of solidarity with a Friends of the Chicago River cleanup effort going on elsewhere.

Over the years, Kozlowski also has observed ComEd's efforts to manage woody invasives. "They cut a lot of buckthorn and honeysuckle," she said. "They're a good partner."

In LaSalle and DuPage counties, through a stewardship-based environment education program called Mighty Acorns, ComEd also encourages third and fourth graders to plant milkweed and remove invasive plants in designated ComEd right-of-way areas.

In 2020, the Illinois Department of Transportation pledged 401,000 acres of rights-of-way throughout the state to help support the monarch. In those areas, IDOT mows less often, applies targeted herbicides to invasive plants, and in some instances sows milkweed seed and other native plants.

Just south of Champaign along I-57, IDOT removed invasive autumn olive shrubs and planted purple cone-flower, bee balm and milk-weed. Besides benefitting the monarchs, the patches of pink are easy on the eyes of north-bound motorists.

"Our number one priority is safe travel for motorists, so we have to maintain visual lines of sight," said James Schackmann, IDOT's roadside maintenance resource specialist. "Because of that, we can't give up mowing and cutting entirely."

Even so, IDOT leaves some species-sensitive areas undisturbed and claims 5,300 acres of native roadside prairie, both remnant and restored, Schackmann said.

But IDOT's effort to encourage native plant species and discourage non-native plants does not just help the monarchs. It also helps Illinois roadways and motorists.

“Non-native plants can be very destructive,” Schackmann said. “Phragmites can clog drains and cause other problems.”

Though Schackmann didn't provide cost savings figures on gas or labor, there are less quantifiable benefits, he said.

“Mowing less reduces safety risks and associated costs,” Schackmann said. Those risks can include operating heavy mowing equipment and having to navigate roadside ditches.

“We’re not going to get things back to what many of us would like, but we’re still helping maintain a modern prairie that carries out important functions,” Schackmann said.

Working for IDOT and the monarchs, those modern prairie spaces absorb roadside run-off, sequester carbon and please the human eye, he said.

Susan DeGrane is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

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The Early Voting program allows any eligible DuPage County voter to vote before Election Day. All sites are 100% compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Visit the DuPage County Election Division website for a complete list of Early Voting locations for the upcoming Election:

El programa de Votación Temprana le permite a los electores en el Condado de DuPage, que reúnan los requisitos necesarios, votar antes del día de la elección. Todos los centros cumplen al 100% con los requerimientos de la Ley para Americanos con Discapacidades. Visite el sitio web de la División Electoral del Condado de DuPage para obtener una lista completa de los lugares de votación anticipada para las próximas elección:

www.dupagecounty.gov/elected\_officials/election\_and\_voter\_information/

TEMPORARY LOCATIONS / CENTROS TEMPORALES

September 24 – October 17, 2026 (24 de Septiembre – 17 de Octubre de 2026)

Monday - Friday (Lunes - Viernes): 8:00 am - 4:30 pm / Saturday (Sábado): 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Addison Township Office: 401 N Addison Rd, Addison, IL 60101 - (Becomes a Permanent Location starting October 19)

Bartlett Community Center: 700 S Bartlett Rd, Bartlett, IL 60103 - (Becomes a Permanent Location starting October 19)

Downers Grove Village Hall: 850 Curtiss St, Downers Grove, IL 60515 - (Becomes a Permanent Location starting October 19)

DuPage County Fairgrounds: 2015 Manchester Rd, Wheaton, IL 60187 - (Becomes a Permanent Location starting October 19)

Naperville Municipal Center: 400 S Eagle St, Naperville, IL 60540 - (Becomes a Permanent Location starting October 19)

PERMANENT LOCATIONS / CENTROS PERMANENTES

Monday - Friday (Lunes - Viernes): 8:00 am - 7:00 pm / Saturday - Sunday (Sál

Athletic Rec Center (ARC): 8201 Janes Ave, Woodridge, IL 60517

Bensenville Police Department: 345 E Green St, Bensenville, IL 60106

Darien Community Center: 7301 Fairview Ave, Darien, IL 60561

Downers Grove Rec Center: 4500 Belmont Rd, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Elmhurst City Hall: 209 N York Rd, Elmhurst, IL 60126

Fox Valley Mall: 195 Fox Valley Center Dr, Aurora, IL 60504

Glen Ellyn Civic Center: 535 Duane St, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

Glendale Heights Sports Hub: 250 Civic Center Plz, Glendale Heights, IL 60139

Hinsdale Village Hall: 19 E Chicago Ave, Hinsdale, IL 60521

Itasca Water Park: 100 N Catalpa St, Itasca, IL 60143

Lisle Police Department: 5040 Lincoln Ave, Lisle, IL 60532

Oak Brook Village Hall: 1200 Oak Brook Rd, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Roselle Public Library: 40 S Park St, Roselle, IL 60172

Villa Park Public Library: 305 S Ardmore Ave, Villa Park, IL 60181

Warrenville Park District: 3S260 Warren Ave, Warrenville, IL 60555

West Chicago Voting Center: 157 W Washington St, West Chicago, IL 60185

Westmont Public Library: 428 N Cass Ave, Westmont, IL 60559

Wheaton Park District Blanchard Building: 1753 S Blanchard Rd, Wheaton, IL 60189

Yorktown Center: 350 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, IL 60148

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Pilsen residents call for more air quality testing at scrap metal facility

Arianna Telles, center, of Chicago, holds a mock coffin reading “Sims Kills” as she protests during a rally and march from the Pink Line to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office on Oct. 3. The protesters are calling on Pritzker to halt Sims Metal’s air permit until outstanding concerns about pollution, testing and monitoring are addressed. JOHN KONSTANTARAS/FOR THE TRIBUNE

By Jerry Wu

Sims Metal's facility, located along the South Branch Chicago River, is shown Dec. 9, 2024. E. JASON WAMBSGANS/TRIBUNE

FOR THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Sims Metal finished installing pollution control equipment last year at its scrap metal facility in Pilsen to address concerns about emissions, but residents say more still needs to be done to protect the community.

For years, members of the Lower West Side community have battled the metal recycling company over the regulation of its operation at 2500 S. Paulina St.

"It's not something that you want to live in Pilsen and have your windows wide open," said Adriana Gutierrez-Diaz, 58, who lives two blocks from the site. "It just seems to me that there's a lot going on that we don't even know, but we're feeling it and seeing it."

Pilsen residents are demanding that Gov. JB Pritzker's office stop the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency from moving forward on an operating permit for the facility until more testing has been done.

On a recent brisk Saturday, a crowd gathered outside the governor's office in downtown Chicago, many wearing white hazmat suits and gas masks.

Half of them carried posters with red stop signs that read “SIMS MUST GO.” Their chanting cut through the quiet early morning.

Although the facility has seen improvement since installing the new equipment required by the state, many residents are wary of any promises made by Sims.

“We have seen them being a bad actor continuously. There is not enough oversight, we want to see stricter testing,” said Zitlalli Paez, a Pilsen resident who is the board president of the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization.

Sims Metal, meanwhile, says the facility no longer poses health risks, arguing that it has taken the appropriate compliance measures.

"Our environmental protections are now going even further with a fully enclosed shredder along with advanced capture and control technology that significantly reduces potential emissions and strengthens long-term air quality protections," Michael Trupin, director of air and environmental permitting and compliance programs at Sims Metal, told the Tribune in a statement.

A LONG HISTORY

The history of the Pilsen facility, which has operated since the 1990s, has been defined by heavy neighborhood resistance and environmental violations.

In 2021, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office sued Sims Metal, saying it wasn't limiting air pollution at the Pilsen site, and the company was required to install pollution control equipment. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency had previously fined the facility for \$225,000 in 2018 over air pollution violations.

After some delay, the facility finished installing the equipment in April last year. Sims Metal also was required to conduct stack testing to show that it met its emissions standards and submit the results to the IEPA for its operating permit application.

IEPA spokesperson Lori Harlan told the Tribune that the agency is still reviewing Sims' application.

From looking at the testing results, Paez pointed out that the upgraded facility still emits heavy metals, including arsenic, chromium and manganese.

Residents also say testing needs to be done at the facility under a wider array of operating conditions.

Brian McKeon, a member of Southwest Environmental Alliance, said the stack testing only examined when the facility processed a mix of about half end-of-life vehicles and half light metals. He said the testing also should examine when the facility is processing different scrap mixes and volumes, which could happen during normal operations.

“We want to make sure that the testing that is done is robust and complete, and leaves no kind of unanswered question,” McKeon said.

According to the Sims spokesperson, federal officials have said the site does not present short- or long-term health risks to the surrounding community, and state and local officials have previously issued the required operating permits.

The facility processes and recycles scrap metals year-round into raw materials for manufacturing uses. It's located less than a mile from several local schools.

Chris Bednash, who has lived in Pilsen for 13 years, is eight blocks from the facility. He stays involved in his neighborhood's community gardens, where he has learned from other residents about the pollution in the soil and air around the area.

“Sometimes it can be a little bit imperceptible because it’s just there, and there’s so much of the built environment that we’re used to being around that we never even really ask ourselves what it is. Are they still polluting?” Bednash said.

---

PERMIT COMPLICATIONS

Residents were disappointed when Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration renewed the facility's overdue city operating permit in 2024, drawing backlash from residents who complained that it wasn't strict enough.

At the time, the Chicago Department of Public Health said its decision to renew the permit heavily relied on data from five air monitors the company had to install after a previous federal lawsuit. Those monitors consistently showed “typical” emissions levels that would not cause short- or long-term health impacts on nearby residents.

Pilsen residents hope the draft permit from the state will contain tighter regulations.

“Once we feel comfortable that the permit is strict enough, that’s what we want: A strong permit process and a strong permit actually being applied and enforced,” Paez said.

The IEPA said once a draft is released, a public hearing will be held to gather input before the permit's final approval. Harlan did not specify a date for the draft's release.

Michelle Dieschbourg, 38, who works in advertising technology, also joined her neighbors protesting outside Pritzker's office. She has lived in Pilsen for the past six years with her 4-year-old son.

After moving to the neighborhood, she uses raised beds to plant vegetables on her home's roof because she doesn't trust the soil. Dieschbourg also has installed an air monitor on her building and discovered the air quality is worse than much of the rest of the city.

How the state permit is resolved matters deeply to her family, she said.

“I think it’s really disappointing to see that they’ve failed inspections and failed to meet certain criteria for a long time, and they haven’t been held accountable,” Dieschbourg said. “I think it’s important that we hold people accountable, hold businesses accountable in the community. It shouldn’t be just after the fact that the pollution has already escaped.”

Jerry Wu is a freelancer.

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Report: Cannabis customers bought more at lower prices; sales revenue, taxes fell

By Robert McCoppin

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Illinois consumers continued setting records for buying cannabis products and enjoyed lower prices due to increased competition, but sellers' revenue shrank, a new state report shows.

Total reported retail sales dropped to about \$1.5 billion in fiscal year 2026, down from nearly \$2 billion the year before, according to the state's annual cannabis report.

Perhaps a truer barometer of the market may be total state cannabis retail tax revenue, which also declined, but not nearly as much, to \$423 million, a reduction of 3.6%.

Part of the big drop in sales revenue may be due to a change in the state's inventory tracking system. The state's previous BioTrack system counted prediscount prices, while its new Metrc system includes those discounts, which creates an “apples to oranges comparison,” according to Kimber Beckler, spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Despite the change, officials said cannabis sales tax was calculated consistently from year to year.

In an encouraging sign for retailers, sales totals for July and August, the first months to compare under the new Metrc system for both years, showed increases of about 10% and 6.6%. Statewide, consumers are seeing more choices since the state added 29 new dispensaries, increasing the number of stores by 10%.

And under a wide-ranging new law, Illinois this year also began allowing all stores to sell medical marijuana, began allowing drive-thru windows and curbside pickup, and doubled the amount of cannabis that buyers can keep.

Ever since the state legalized sales of recreational-use cannabis starting in 2020, consumer demand has continued to grow. The number of “adult use” or recreational items sold has climbed steadily, to more than 5 million in July, while the number of medical cannabis items has continued to fall, to about half a million.

"There are more locations, and the product is more accessible, so the number of items sold is still going up; however, because of a growing supply of legal cannabis in the market, prices are dropping with dispensaries offering frequent sales and promos," Beckler told the Tribune. "This is beneficial to the consumer."

But what's good for the consumer may be challenging for businesses, warned Scott Redman, founder of the Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association.

“Overall, you’re seeing price compression,” he said. “That’s always been expected, and it’s going to continue. More dispensaries, unless they’re in locations that are underserved. It just divides the pie into more pieces.”

That trend could be accelerated by a new proposed rule that would allow growers to cultivate cannabis outdoors in greenhouses or other fenced-off areas, for use in edibles and infused products. Outdoor growing uses much less energy and is much cheaper, which Redman said could further lower retail prices.

The highly regulated licensed stores have lost customers to competition from unlicensed intoxicating hemp products, which are sold with very little regulation in gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops. Those products are scheduled to be banned by law in November in Illinois, and in December nationwide, which licensed dealers had wanted.

Illinois, which traditionally has had some of the highest weed prices in the nation due to limits on the number of growers and stores, also has lost market share to licensed shops in neighboring states like Michigan and Missouri. Those states have lower prices due to lower taxes and the greater number of growers and stores.

As a result, Illinois sales to out-of-state residents had dwindled significantly, though that trend has reversed since Michigan imposed a new 24% wholesale tax on recreational marijuana starting this year, in addition to its 10% retail tax.

The state reported it had 177 social equity licenses, defined as those with owners or employees with past low-level marijuana convictions, or coming from areas with high rates of poverty or that have had high rates of arrests and imprisonment for cannabis.

Among dispensaries, 38 were majority-owned by women, 103 majority-owned by people of color, but zero majority-owned by people with disabilities.

The 29 retail store licenses issued in the fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30, was a significant drop from the 93 issued the previous year and 82 in the year before that, as financing has dried up. But the number of licenses transferred increased each year, from 21 to 36 to 50, reflecting continued consolidation in the industry as large multi-state organizations gobble up smaller, independent operators who often are struggling to survive.

The identities of owners in the business remain largely hidden by state laws that still keep license applications secret, six years after legalization. But regulators say they will be taking unspecified steps this year to increase ownership transparency.

Among employees, 23% identified as people of color, 46% as women or nonbinary, and 9% as people with disabilities.

Despite legalization, illicit cannabis trafficking remains prevalent throughout the state, with legal and illegal markets competing on price, potency, and availability, Illinois State Police reported. In the past two fiscal years, patrol troopers seized more than 47,000 pounds of illegal weed.

Chicago is the primary distribution point for illicit cannabis in the Midwest, police said, often via narcotics dealers, fed primarily by oversupply from Michigan, California and Oregon.

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Marmion Academy tackles new year, its 1st as a coed school

Harper Dempsey, left, and Emma Jorgenson head to Mass at Marmion Academy on Pajama Day during Homecoming Week at the Aurora school on Sept. 23. STACEY WESCOTT/CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTOS

By Molly Morrow

AURORA BEACON-NEWS

Aaliyah Wiley, from left, Lilly Swain, Vivian Von Drasek and Cecelia Boatner stand in front of a mural in the cafeteria at Marmion Academy in Aurora on Sept. 23. They are four of 41 female students recently admitted to the school.

A few weeks ago, Hugo Saltijeral saw his daughter participate in her first After-School Formation at Marmion Academy in Aurora.

A tradition at Marmion, the event is akin to a parade for students involved in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or JROTC, program, Saltijeral explained.

At the event, the father of three saw his daughter, Peyton, walk in her uniform for the first time alongside her fellow Cadets — just like he and his two sons had when they attended the high school.

“It was a little overwhelming,” Saltijeral, 47, said.

It was also something he and Peyton never thought would happen — until recently.

Marmion Academy in Aurora, formerly an all-boys school, welcomed girls into its student body for the first time ever at the start of this school year.

It was the culmination of considerable discussion and more than a year of preparation, which included changes to school facilities, the addition of a number of sports teams for girls and more.

Now, several weeks into the new school year, Marmi-on's students and school leadership alike have gotten to work. But much has changed.

The Catholic high school has a long history in Aurora, just shy of a century.

And that history is one accustomed to things changing, says the Rev. Joel Rippinger, abbot of Marmion Abbey.

Starting out as a boarding school, Marmion in the 1930s was designated a military academy by the U.S. War Department, with all students enrolled in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, according to the school's website. It became known as Marmion Military Academy.

The school then weathered location changes, with resident students in 1959 moving to the current facility out on Butterfield Road, while day students remained on its old campus on the corner of North Lake Street and West Illinois Avenue in Aurora. In 1971, all students came to the Butterfield location, per the school.

Then, in 1994, students were given the choice to pick between JROTC and a new Leadership Education and Development, or LEAD, program, which prompted the school to return to its original name: Marmion Academy. The school eventually closed its residential program in 2003 because of low enrollment, and it has operated solely as a day school since.

"In retrospect, all those decisions were done with thoughtfulness, a sense of what would be best for the future," Rippinger told The Beacon-News. "As I look back, I think they were the right decisions."

Then came the next change.

In late 2024, the school announced it would be transitioning to a co-educational model, and welcoming girls starting in the 2026-27 school year.

"We ... saw that probably the best thing for maintain-"

ing the academic integrity of the school and being able to ... sustain our programs, and also our buildings and everything else, was to go co-ed," said Rippinger, who has worked at the school in various capacities for about 50 years. He was elected Marmion Abbey's abbot in 2023.

The decision wasn't solely enrollment-based, Rippinger said, pointing to other nearby schools that have gone a similar way.

But the school has seen somewhat of a drop-off in its enrollment in recent years, according to Michael McGrath, spokesperson for Marmion.

The school's “sweet spot” in terms of enrollment is approximately 525, McGrath said, which was around where the school was at before the COVID-19 pandemic. But enrollment has declined in recent years, with this year's total sitting at 415 — up from 410 last year.

Of its total enrollment this year, 41 are female students, according to numbers provided by the school, including both new freshmen and sophomore transfers.

The freshman class sits at 102, down from 103 the year prior, per the school's numbers. This year, however, 27 of those students are girls.

In discussing the transition, Rippinger noted the school has had female teachers for many years now, which he called a “wonderful change” that led to a “better culture.”

"I think the same thing can be said for the student body," Rippinger said.

Some of those involved in the decision would have personally preferred to stay single-sex, according to Rippinger, but he said there was consensus more or less from the beginning about this transition. And, through the planning process, he said the school saw some alumni who were not entirely on board at first come around to the idea.

The decision prompted a number of changes, like updating the school's facilities and ensuring there were athletic opportunities for Marmion's new students.

The school had to create new training rooms, new and updated locker rooms and additional bathrooms, for example. They had to figure out new uniforms for female students, too.

The school also made plans to offer a number of sports for its new female students — swimming, volleyball and cross-country in the fall; basketball and wrestling in the winter; and soccer and track and field in the spring — with plans to offer additional sports down the line.

Then, in August, after much preparation, several dozen female Marmion students entered the building for the first time. The students participated in the annual “Clap-In,” during which students are welcomed into the building at the start of the school year.

But the girls were ready to just jump in, according to Rippinger.

“They didn’t want to make a big noise or anything,” he said.

Still, he thinks the student body recognized the significance of the moment.

“I think they ... saw, ‘OK, this is the new normal. And we’re going to be part of it,’” Rippinger said.

Not everything is fully co-ed, however.

Freshman and sophomore students are taking core classes in single-sex classrooms, but things like JROTC, dual credit courses, language classes and extracurriculars are co-ed. Once there are upperclassmen girls, the plan would be for classes to be mixed-sex generally, per the school. Retreats and some other things are set to be kept single-sex, Rippinger explained.

About 80% of the new female students are playing a sport, according to McGrath.

According to Rippinger, the transition went over well, particularly given the school's emphasis on leadership and hospitality. The school has an upperclassmen mentor program for new students, for example, and that was a part of the transition process.

It also didn't hurt that many of the incoming girls were leaders themselves, according to Rippinger.

“They had a lot of gifts,” he said. “They were not wallflowers at all.”

Marmion's transition also means changes for Rosary College Prep, the nearby Catholic all-girls school in Aurora, which now will be the only single-sex school in the area.

Rosary traditionally participated in things like Homecoming festivities at Marmion

— complete with a football game and dance at the school.

This year, Rosary is hosting its own Homecoming week for the first time in October, Head of School Amy McMahon told The Beacon-News in August. The week's festivities are set to include a community Mass, powderpuff football game and a dance.

Rosary and Marmion also had some crossover in terms of band, theater productions and some upper-level classes, which McGrath indicated will continue, for now at least, for all grades except freshmen.

“We respect very much their single-sex effort,” Rippinger said of Marmion’s relationship with Rosary, “and I think they’ve respected the fact that this is where we were going to go.”

Peyton Saltijeral, 14, recalls hearing the news of Marmion's planned transition from her father after she got out of volleyball practice and immediately wanting to go.

“I was like, ‘I think this is a sign,’” she recalled.

She'd grown up hearing all about the school, after all.

Her father explained that not only had he attended, but had Peyton's two older brothers do so, whom she described as having always been role models for her.

“I really get to understand ... what it means to be a Cadet, why they love this school,” she told The Beacon-News.

Hugo Saltijeral said he's not a very organized person, but he put "every important date" for his daughter applying to Marmion on his calendar. With his sons, he'd more or less insisted they attend, he explained.

That's despite the fact Saltijeral's time at Marmion wasn't always smooth sailing.

Saltijeral, who said he's a 1997 graduate, described how, after his first day at the school as part of the military program, he came home and cried, saying he didn't want to go back.

His older brother, however, gave him a talking to, pointing out it was an important opportunity he had in front of him.

So, he returned and eventually adjusted. Saltijeral currently works as the executive director of Valley Sheltered Workshop in Batavia, which provides job services for adults with disabilities.

And he himself has continued his education, going back to school at Waubonsee Community College at 35.

Saltijeral says Peyton is one of more than a dozen in their extended family to now attend the school.

Not everything has changed since he attended, however. He says Peyton has told him the work is difficult, and the work began on the first day.

"I'm honest with her," he laughed. "I'm like, 'Oh, it gets harder.'"

But the transition itself has been easy so far, says Peyton, a freshman. The girls there are sticking together, she said, and she was already used to attending a small school.

Most of her classes are single-sex, she explained, saying it has been nice to have moments with just girls.

She already has joined the volleyball team, and she hopes to play basketball and soccer in the future.

She's also part of JROTC, something she thinks means a lot to her dad.

“I’m really happy to do it,” she said. “Just to see him ... proud.”

She said she appreciates the program not just so she can try to best her brothers in terms of how many medals she earns, but also for the chance to challenge herself and work toward different goals.

“Every day, it’s a new opportunity,” she said.

And she's thinking about the rest of her high school career at Marmion and how, soon, she and her current classmates will be the ones showing new students the ropes.

“Because I experienced it first, I’ll be able to now help them navigate,” she said.

Looking forward, the school plans to do surveys and other efforts to gauge the effectiveness of the model they've set up, according to Rippinger.

But he described a change that's bigger than just allowing females to attend.

“We’ve been reenergized, and we see that this is a good way to start up again,” Rippinger said.

Like with the school's facilities.

Rippinger explained that, while Marmion already had to make some changes in preparation for welcoming young women into the building full time, more work needs to be done. A lot of the school's buildings are older, he said, and in need of being “brought up to standard.”

Another change is the school now has two “formation frameworks” for spiritual development and mentorship: The St. Benedict Brotherhood and St. Scholastica Sisterhood.

And this moment of transition, Rippinger thinks, similarly provides an opportunity to revitalize the school's Benedictine tradition.

And, while the school retains its identity, Rippinger thinks changes like these come with the territory if Marmion is to be successful for the long haul.

"For Benedictines, we've been at this for 1,500 years, and we are still doing it because we, we do recognize the need for adaptation and change," Rippinger said. "You can't stay around ... by just doing the same old, same old."

The Daily Herald's Dave Oberhelman contributed.

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MIKE DITKA 1939-2026

Coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan are carried around the field after the Bears defeated the New England Patriots 46-10 to win Super Bowl XX on Jan. 26, 1986, in New Orleans. ED WAGNER/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

DITKA from Page A1

was a great player for the Bulls, but Ditka was kind of like the city's pope in a way where everybody deferred to him that he was the great leader. The Bears won one in '63, but it was before the Super Bowl. Once the Super Bowl started, pro football took on a new persona, and for 20 years, the Bears were lost in the wilderness.

“Mike Ditka came and led us out to the promised land. He was the Moses of Chicago. No longer were we the Second City. Now, the Bulls started winning and then the White Sox, the Blackhawks and the Cubs. The point being is Ditka was an iconic leader that took on the Moses persona to lead us out of the wilderness. You can’t make that up and you can’t duplicate that today because everything is different. At that time and place, he was the guy with the lamp leading us to victory.”

“... Ditka was an iconic leader that took on the Moses persona to lead us out of the wilderness. You can’t make that up and you can’t duplicate that today because everything is different. At that time and place, he was the guy with the lamp leading us to victory.”

DAN HAMPTON, Hall of Fame defensive lineman

Gary Fencik didn't know what to expect when George Halas made the decision to hire Ditka, at the time a special teams coach for the Dallas Cowboys. It was Fencik, a safety, who wrote a letter to Halas imploring him to keep defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. "Covering my butt," he said, asking the rest of the defensive players to sign it.

"We were a young, inexperienced group that really needed discipline, and I think Mike pretty much set it up from Day 1," Fencik said. "Here's the goals of the organization. Here's what I expect. So it's, 'OK, we'll see how this plays out. We'll see if he really lives up to what he says.' And we found out that, yes, he did exactly what he said he was going to do."

As Fencik recalled, Ditka laid out the goals for the organization at the first meeting.

"I am paraphrasing, but he said our goal is to win the

NFC Central and get to and win the Super Bowl," Fencik said. "Every coach will say that. Well, you know what, he stated it and he said, 'But I am looking at you guys and half of you won't be here when we get there.' It was kind of chilling. I look at that Super Bowl roster, only half of those people that heard the speech made it to the Super Bowl. He was very open about what his measurement was going to be and what his standard was going to be. It never wavered."

After an initial 3-6 record in the strike-shortened 1982 season and an 8-8 mark the following year, the Bears went 10-6 in 1984 before bowing out to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.

"I remember how emotional all of us were losing at San Francisco, and the next meeting we had in the spring, Mike said we had a good season last year but second-best isn't good enough," Fencik said. "I think that locked everybody in. It's a simple phrase, but it's how everyone felt."

The Bears chased perfection the following season, recorded the “Super Bowl Shuffle” and mowed through the NFL en route to a 15-1 season and championship as Ditka found ways to co-exist with Ryan. Along the way, the team captured the imagination of fans across the country.

Here is how legendary Tribune sports writer Don Pierson encapsulated the pièce de résistance, the triumph in Super Bowl XX:

“This is as good as it gets,” Pierson wrote. “The Bears won the Super Bowl 46-10 in an awesome display of football encompassing all the joy and fury of an awesome season. Their destruction of the Patriots was so complete it went beyond Super Bowl proportions and recalled only their record 73-0 victory by the Bears in the 1940 NFL championship game. The Bears have a tradition that transcends Super Bowls and Sunday they ended years of frustration for their city and themselves and showed a nation they play better than they talk or sing.”

Said Hampton: “Everybody asks, ‘What did Ditka mean to the ‘85 Bears?’ I just shake my head and say, ‘It would have never happened without him.’ Despite the fact we were in the process of Jim Finks building an amazing team, a collection of talent where there was a lightning strike, it’s hard to say, ‘Well, this is going to happen.’

"It wouldn't have happened without Ditka. He was our general, our leader. As much as we loved Buddy and as much as Buddy meant to the team

See DITKA on Page A13

Mike Ditka fans cheer for the Bears against the Saints at Mercedes Benz Superdome on Oct. 29, 2017, in New Orleans. NUCCIO DINUZZO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Bears coach Mike Ditka argues a face mask call during a game on Dec. 7, 1992. JIM PRISCHING/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Left: Bears tight end Mike Ditka, circa 1963. CHICAGO TRIBUNE ARCHIVE

Right: Beras coach Mike Ditka, left, and starting quarterback Jim McMahon have a lot on their minds as they look to a game with the Lions in 1982. ED WAGNER JR./CHICAGO TRIBUNE

DITKA

from Page A12

and the defense, Ditka was the one laying the master plan. Even Finks deferred to him in so many ways when we were making that run. He did so much for us and he fought (then-team Chairman) Mike McCaskey about everything."

Ditka became so immensely popular that had he waded into politics, "Ditka for Mayor" would have been much more than a joke.

“Women loved Mike Ditka,” Fencik said. “For all the things you hear about Mike being brusque, he would be so nice to everybody. I thought he was kind of a harsh, cigar-chomping guy, and he was just so nice to all of the fans. There was some connection to his pride of being a Chicago Bear that I think it really kind of polished the image and the reputation of the Bears when you had Mike who personified what it was about.

"He was really open about having pride in being a Chicago Bear. He raised the bar. I am not sure how I would define the bar, but whatever it was, he surpassed it and made so many fans take pride in being a Bears fan again."

Former players visited Ditka regularly in the last year-plus, popping in to offer support, pay respect but also to reminisce about some of the greatest times of their lives. It was a pilgrimage for some, including wide receiver Ken Margerum, who avoids airline travel if at all possible.

Fencik convinced Margerum to make a trip from California in September 2025 for alumni weekend. Margerum was hanging out with Jim McMahon when the former quarterback suggested they drop in on Ditka. Poof, in an instant they were out the door from an alumni gathering and at Ditka's.

Margerum walked in and the first thing he said was, "Coach, Aliquippa, Pa., you remember my mom, Agnes Mihalik?"

A big smile spread across Ditka's face — he had gone to high school with Margerum's mother. The former players visited with their coach for a couple of hours, recounting tales of gridiron exploits. Margerum and McMahon tried to coax Ditka into attending the Monday night game against the Minnesota Vikings, hatching a plan to drive him out onto the field at halftime on a golf cart.

"We gave it our best shot," Margerum said. "It was close. For the last half-hour, 'Come on, Coach.' He almost, almost committed. We had such a great time.

“He was the main reason we won the Super Bowl. He allowed us to be the personalities we were and didn’t try to change anyone. He put everyone in a big basket and said, ‘You guys have what it takes.’”

Former wide receiver Tom Waddle credits Ditka for cracking a door to the NFL open for him.

“Oh, my God, I don’t have a career without him,” Waddle said. “I would have been launched. I was just a fringe guy and I think he appreciated how hard I worked. He inspired me to do everything I could to become a better athlete. Now there was a ceiling on that, but he appreciated how I played the game. I just got lucky.

“Mike Ditka demanded two things — honesty and loyalty. If you gave it, you got it in return.”

For more than a decade, Waddle was a host of a weekly show with Ditka on WMVP-AM 1000 during the season that took place at one of Ditka's restaurants. Through thick and thin, everyone wanted to hear Ditka's thoughts on the team.

“Those shows were packed,” Waddle said. “You couldn’t get a table. It was pure theater. He’d give you kind of a gruff response and if it was during golf season, he’d be a little itchy and scratchy and want to get out of there. But once he got going, he loved it. He was great. We had so much interaction with him. The fans loved him, and he was

George Wendt, left, and Robert Smigel are interviewed Aug. 19, 2019, outside Soldier Field while filming a segment of "Bill Swerski's Superfans," the "Saturday Night Live" sketch in which they play Bears fans. ERIN HOOLEY/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

How Ditka made ‘Superfans’ of us all

The “Bill Swerski’s Superfans” sketch that ran on “Saturday Night Live” in 1991 featured, from right to left, Joe Mantegna, Mike Meyers, Chris Farley and Robert Smigel. YOUTUBE

By Andrew Carter

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The men in the old “Saturday Night Live” skit would not have believed the news Friday. They would have continued to guzzle beer and eat meat with their bare hands, and they would have dismissed the reports the way they dismissed so many heart attacks. No, it can’t be true, Bill Swerski’s Superfans would’ve said. Mike Ditka can’t be gone.

It can't be true, because Ditka was invincible. Capable of defeating NFL teams by himself, or God, or a hurricane — unless perhaps it was Hurricane Ditka. It can't be true, because nobody was tougher or more of a winner or more the physical embodiment of Chicago. The city of broad shoulders distilled into human form, never a more perfect match between a place and a person.

In the hypothetical of Ditka vs. mortality, Swerski and his friends would've taken Ditka every time. No debate. You can hear them rejecting the question over their mugs full of beer, sitting around a table in their aviator sunglasses and their mustaches and their sweaters, all in homage to the man they idolized more than any other: Ditka vs. Anything, including time?

Ditka, they'd say, between gulps and chest poundings to ward off cardiac arrest. Ditka. Dit-ka

Dit-ka.

But now he is gone, at 86. Now he is gone and Chicago mourns.

“We talked about him. We laughed about him. We celebrated him,” said actor Bob Odenkirk, the Naperville native who played a leading role in the creation of the Superfans skit during his days as an “SNL” writer in the early 1990s. The sketch was as much of a genuflection at the altar of Ditka as it was anything else. For Odenkirk, personally, it also was something of a tribute to his father, and his Bears fandom.

In the years after his time at “Saturday Night Live,” Odenkirk went on to star in movies and in prominent television roles. His portrayal of Saul Goodman in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” earned critical acclaim. But nothing he has ever done, Odenkirk said, would have impressed his father as much as when Odenkirk met Ditka in the years after he helped create the “SNL” skit.

“Everybody wanted to meet him,” Odenkirk said in an interview during the final months of Ditka’s life. “Everybody of a certain age who grew up in Chicago, or

lived there."

Jarrett Payton first shared the news Friday morning in a post on social media. It felt fitting because here was Payton, the son of Chicago's most beloved football player, announcing the death of Chicago's most beloved football coach. In the second sentence of Payton's post, before references to the Hall of Fame and the Super Bowl and the '85 Bears — for which his father, Walter, played the starring role — he described Ditka in two words:

“Da Coach.”

Need anyone say more?

Along with the mustache and the aviators and the sweater, along with the plain-spoken gruffness and the gum-smacking and assurance that Ditka was always the toughest person in any room, or on any field or sideline, those two words became a part of his identity. They forever connected him to his city and his team. One couldn't exist without the other.

Da Coach. Da Bears.

“We thank Ditka and God for all they have provided,” Bob Swerski said during one of those old “SNL” skits, around Thanksgiving 1991.

Notice how Ditka came before God.

Swerski, played by George Wendt, was meant to be a caricature. He and his friends, known as the “Superfans,” were supposed to be a parody of overzealous Chicago sports fans who never came down from the high of 1985, and who believed, indeed, that Ditka was some kind of mythical deity.

But it was always closer to truth than fiction.

How many thousands of Swerskis were there, and are there? How many like Todd O'Connor, played by Chris Farley, or Carl Wollarski, played by Robert Smigel?

During the 1980s and early '90s and especially throughout 1985, how many Chicagoans worshipped Ditka and Da Bears the way the Superfans worshipped them in those skits, between the meat platters and the heart problems?

Wendt, who died last year at 76, is best remembered for playing Norm Peterson on “Cheers.” His work as Bob Swerski is not far behind, despite the relatively limited run. The Superfans skit debuted on “SNL” in 1991 and continued regularly into 1992. Wendt appeared eight times as Swerski, the ringleader of a group that often pondered some of the most important questions of the time.

Like:

Could the Bears win a game if all of their players were 14 inches tall? And what about if Ditka were also a miniature version of himself? And “another scenario,” Bill Swerski — Bob’s brother, and the sufferer of repeated heart attacks — says in the skit’s 1991 debut. “The Bears, they don’t make it. Their plane is delayed, and the only one who shows up is Ditka.

“Ditka versus the Giants.”

“I gotta say, Ditka 17, Giants 14,” one of the Superfans says. “He just barely gets by.”

For Wendt, the role of Bob Swerski was never much of an acting stretch. He honed his craft at Chicago's Second City, and came of age in a time when Bears mania — and Ditka mania — gripped the city.

"He did not have to search for a commitment to the team by any means, nor to Mike Ditka, really" said Chicago native Bernadette Birkett, who was married to Wendt for almost 47 years until his death. "I mean, it was genuinely felt."

She and Wendt met in the mid-1970s while they worked at Second City and the Bears became ingrained into their relationship. For years, Birkett said, she and Wendt would have a “full house” whenever the Bears played, and “our relocated Second City buddies and everyone would be gathered with George, hoisting a toast to their wins.”

Those made for good memories. The scenes were not unlike the ones beamed to a national audience on Saturday nights in the early 1990s, or in the years after, when at times Wendt reprised the Swerski character in appearances in commercials or television shows. As much as any "SNL" skit, Superfans became transcendent and entrenched into popular culture.

Go to a Bears game now, and there's bound to be a number of spectators at Soldier Field dressed up as Ditka — or are they dressed as the Superfans who dressed up as Ditka? "Da Bears" is still very much a part of the American sporting lexicon. And Ditka himself became even more of a luminary because of the endearing absurdity of the scenarios the Superfans pondered.

Was he mighty enough to defeat a natural disaster? Could he win an NFL game by himself?

Too easy. But what if he were a mini-Ditka?

The skit gained prominence in an NBC studio in New York City, but its roots remained in Chicago, through and through. There was Wendt, the lead, who rose through Second City. But the original vision behind Superfans came from Odenkirk, who worked alongside Smigel, the credited creator of the bit.

Odenkirk was born in Berwyn, raised in Naperville and grew up the son of a father who loved few things as much as he loved the Bears.

The first Bears game Odenkirk ever saw was at Wrigley Field. And once, he said, his father came home with a story of how his work led him into the office of Abe Gibron, the Bears coach in the early 1970s.

“And he sat in Gibron’s chair,” Odenkirk said in a recent interview, “and Gibron was this huge, massive man, and he had a chair with an extra leg on it” to support his weight. Odenkirk’s father was proud to have met Gibron and to have sat in his chair and the memory left an imprint on Odenkirk, about the connection between Chicago fans and the head coach of the Bears.

It played a role, years later, in inspiring the creation of the Superfans. They could not have come into existence without Ditka, and yet they also propelled Ditka to an even loftier place. To Odenkirk, Ditka's "persona felt like a Chicago archetype, even though he was from Pennsylvania."

"There's a lot of similarities between people from these different areas of America," Odenkirk said. "Pennsylvania, the working blue-collar areas there, and the blue-collar areas of Chicago. So he sure looked like a Chicagoan. He sounded like a Chicagoan. And he had this harsh, uber-masculine presence that Chicagoans, at least of the time, recognized and really appreciated."

Odenkirk, who also rose through Second City, came to understand as well as anyone the maniacal connection between Chicago fans and the Bears of the 1980s and early 90s. Other coaches might have led those Bears teams to similar success, but nobody would've become as synonymous with the city as Ditka.

And when Odenkirk met Ditka years ago he told him about his father.

"I told him, there's not a thing in my life that would impress my father as much as the fact that I got to meet you," Odenkirk said. "And that's true. And you could say that's kind of sad. But not writing for 'Saturday Night Live,' not being in the movies or on TV ...

"But Dad had passed years before."

Odenkirk, now 63, was 23 when he lost his father. A few years later he helped create a comedy skit about an obsessive group of Chicago sports enthusiasts. “Da Bears” and “Dit-ka” became part of the city’s vocabulary, and spread throughout the country.

A team and its gruff, gritty coach made Superfans of us all.

good to them.

"He identified with the city. He wanted to be part of the fabric of the city because I think people don't realize how much ... everyone saw Mike as this boisterous guy with a healthy ego, but from my perspective he wanted so badly to just be part of the community because he loved it so much."

"I never saw him kind of turn away and disregard a fan. Not when we were doing shows. Whenever he had a chance, he was still trying to raise money for important causes in the city and in the area.”

Ditka's standing in the NFL — as a player and coach — remains with the greats. It took 63 years for the Las Vegas Raiders' Brock Bowers to break Ditka's record for receiving yards by a tight end. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Ditka averaged 19.2 yards per catch in 1961, a figure topped only once — by Jackie Smith (21.5) in 1967 for the St. Louis Cardinals. No one has come close since.

The 1985 championship team, with the collection of stars, stories and bravado that has stood the test of time, remains one of the greatest champions in not just the NFL but all of professional sports.

“That’s part of the reason, I don’t want to say everyone is sick of the ‘85 Bears, but we’re still talking about them,” Hampton said. “It’s the last Super Bowl winner, it changed the sporting landscape of the city of Chicago and gave us that championship demeanor that we had not had.

“Ditka was the guy that was responsible for it. Like he used to say, to the victor goes the spoils. Justifiably so, he got a lot of spoils."

When Ditka was fired in January 1993, he went out with class.

“Scripture tells you that all things shall pass,” he said. “This, too, shall pass.”

His perch atop the city's sporting landscape, however, has not been over-taken.

MIKE DITKA 1939-2026

‘We’ll never forget him, ever’

Tom Godowski, of Itasca, tailgates while dressed as Mike Ditka before the Bears and Jets played on Oct. 4 at Soldier Field in Chicago. BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

By Finnegan Belleau

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

As a child growing up in Poland during the ‘80s, Tom Godowski watched Bears football games on tapes sent from his father, who lived in Chicago.

When a teenage Godowski moved to the city, there was never a question of what team to root for.

That connection was further amplified after Godowski's girlfriend bought him a team sweater a few years ago, and they noticed a striking resemblance to long-time player and head coach Mike Ditka.

To showcase his love for the team, he and a few friends began work eight months ago on a van. Quotes from Bears icons throughout history cover the exterior, turf obscures the floorboards and the names of the vehicle's owners are stylized to look like jerseys on the backs of seats.

Godowski, now a 52-year-old Itasca resident, parks the van at Bears tailgates while rocking a mustache, cigar and sleeveless sweater, all famously associated with the coach he used to watch on his father's tapes decades ago.

“Mike Ditka, for us working-class people, he was always about the hard work, elevating yourself, doing the s—you got to do,” he said.

Ditka, the coach who led the Chicago Bears to their only Super Bowl victory, died at 86 years old, according to a statement released by his family.

Before his death, fans reminisced on Ditka's career while tailgating outside recent Bears home games.

attempting to catch the attention of anyone at the tailgate.

Football fans reflected on a tough coach whose spirit became synonymous with Chicago.

PASSING THE TORCH

"I grew up in that period, '85 Bears, watching him come in and coach," Dave Moisa of Antioch said. "He changed just the total outlook of the Chicago Bears from a personality perspective. I think really how he changed the city and how they viewed the Bears, that, you know, we became a city that backed them no matter what."

Bears and Eagles fans, ahead of a September game against Philadelphia, squeezed between plastic tables as a marching band beat away at drums. Families tossed footballs while waiting for sausages cooking on grills. And political canvassers walked from tent to tent,

When Moisa, 55, was born, his dad told his mom that the baby would be a fan of the Chicago Bears and linebacker Dick Butkus. Moisa's father got team jerseys for the family, he said, and loved the Bears until the day he died.

If his dad was still around, Moisa, 55, said, he'd tell you Chicago's best football players were Butkus and Ditka, who played tight end.

Moisa also instilled Bears fandom in the next generation, as his son, Jacob, sat with him at the tailgate.

"I came out the womb. That's how it worked," said Jacob Moisa, 22.

DeKalb County, 49, and Liam, 14, checked out different tailgates before the game against the Eagles. For Christopher Fioretto, Ditka and his era represent more than just sports entertainment. He thought back to watching the Bears with his grandparents as a young child.

Another father-son duo, Christopher Fioretto of

“Them hoisting Ditka up on their shoulders after they won the Super Bowl against the Patriots, it just was an experience,” Christopher Fioretto said. “And to be able to experience that with my grandfather because he’s somebody that I always looked up to, and I followed in his footsteps as a fireman.”

Ditka is the third member of the 1985 Bears to die in the past two years. Fullback Matt Suhey died Sept. 6, and defensive tackle Steve McMichael's death in April 2025 especially affected Fioretto.

"To see what happened to (McMichael) and all these Monsters of the Midway and how they passed away ... you can't take life for granted, and you really have to cherish every moment," he said.

'WE'LL HAVE 1985 FOREVER'

Ditka played for the Bears starting in 1961, went to the

Philadelphia Eagles for two years, and then played for the Dallas Cowboys until 1973, when he switched to coaching.

Leaving Dallas, Ditka was hired as the Bears head coach for the 1982 season. He guided the team to a Super Bowl victory in the 1985 season and held the head coach role until being fired in 1993 after losing eight of his nine final games. Ditka later coached for the New Orleans Saints until 2000.

"He went to Dallas and all this other stuff, but he was a Bear, and he came back here and coached, and he was successful, and he gave us something that we'll have forever — not just generational, we'll have 1985 forever," said Kelly Keaschall, who drove from Whiteside County to tailgate at Soldier Field.

Ditka had one way of coaching: his way, said Keaschall, 68, adding his hardcore style probably wouldn't fly in 2026.

Rich Huss, who lives in Florida, sat next to Ditka on a plane ride to San Francisco in 2008. Huss, a former Palatine resident, was able to get Ditka's original seatmate to switch places.

During the flight, they went back and forth about former head coach Lovie Smith, who led the 2006 Bears to the Super Bowl but lost to the Indianapolis Colts. Ditka was defending Smith, while Huss, 72, said he criticized Smith's discipline.

The former coach was traveling to San Francisco for ESPN to interview Mike Singletary, the star linebacker when Ditka coached the Bears, who had recently been hired as the 49ers' coach, Huss said. Ditka was complaining about going, Huss said, as he was an analyst and not an interviewer.

"When I sat next to him to talk to him, he was just the same as when he was interviewing and talking to people," Huss said. "He was very funny."

While Huss liked Ditka's sense of humor and straightforwardness, he said he was an eccentric coach who made poor draft choices.

---

FANS FROM CHICAGO AND ELSEWHERE

touchdown? Only a very crazy coach would allow that."

Most people at recent Soldier Field tailgates tossed out accolades.

Carlos Uviedo, 51, of Norridge met the coach at one of Ditka's restaurants about a decade ago, calling him a "Chicago legend." Shaun Finn, a North Center resident who drove a motor-bike around tailgates carrying a life-size replica of the Abominable Snowman from the "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" movie, said, "You can't think of the Bears and not think of Ditka."

The coach also made an impression on fans from other cities.

Gwendolyn Vance traveled from Philadelphia to see the Eagles play at Soldier Field. She said the former coach and the 1985 Bears team were “perfection,” and many in Philadelphia love their spirit.

Ditka occasionally put the nearly 400-pound player on offense, culminating when Perry crashed through the Patriots' defensive line to score a 1-yard rushing touchdown during the Bears' winning Super Bowl game.

"They're like us, dirty, you know?" said Vance, 63. "Refrigerator (William) Perry, really, I mean who would give him the ball to make that

Before the Oct. 6 game against the New York Jets, Sal Antonelli, a 68-year-old Jets fan visiting from New Jersey, said Ditka “revolutionized the position of being a tight end.”

Ditka in his first season as a player totaled 56 receptions for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns — all NFL records for rookie tight ends at the time. The touchdowns still stand as the most for a rookie tight end.

KEEPING THE FAITH

This year, fans have high hopes that head coach Ben Johnson and the Bears can return the franchise to glory. The team plays its rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The Bears are absolutely capable of winning another Super Bowl this season, Godowski said. He has faith in Johnson, complimenting how the coach brings players together.

"I love what he's about; I love that he's taking accountability for people, that he's very direct," Godowski said. "You know, in a way, you cannot be like Ditka anymore, right? You cannot be just tough."

For the season opener, Godowski traveled to North Carolina and wore his Ditka getup. He plans to attend every Bears home game this season.

At the Jets match, Godowski wasn't the only one cosplaying the coach. Throughout the crowds, men walked around sporting the signature slicked hair, mustache and sweater.

“Guys like me, there’s plenty of us dressed up as Ditka,” Godowski said. “We’ll never forget him ever, because he meant so much to the city, to us, to people.”

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DAVID E. COLLINS 1934-2026 Chairman of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Products during Tylenol murders

firm's response to the crisis.

By Bob Goldsborough

FOR THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

David E. Collins was the chairman of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Products unit, the makers of Tylenol, during the still-unsolved Chicago-area poisoning deaths in 1982 that were caused by drug tampering.

Collins became his company's public face during the crisis, and he worked to stave off an outright ban on Tylenol — as had been proposed at that time by Chicago's then-Mayor Jane Byrne — and led the firm as it rebounded from the murders, regaining its market share from before the poisonings and becoming a textbook example of how to handle a corporate crisis.

Later, in retirement, Collins focused on giving back through teaching, serving on corporate and nonprofit boards, and philanthropy.

Collins, 92, died of complications from leukemia on September 22 at his home in Palm Desert, California, said his son, Pat. Collins also had a home in Reno, Nevada, and he previously had lived in New York City; Incline Village, Nevada; and Mendham, New Jersey.

Born in 1934 in Oak Park, Collins grew up in the western suburb and graduated from Fenwick High School. After earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1956, Collins earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1959.

Collins first worked for a New York City law firm, Shearman & Sterling, from 1959 until 1962, when he left to join Johnson & Johnson's legal department. Over the next 16 years, he served as corporate secretary, general counsel and on the board of directors.

"He was a natural leader," recalled retired Johnson & Johnson general counsel and executive committee member Roger Fine, whom Collins hired. "Of course he was very smart, and he was a very warm, friendly, kind of gregarious guy. But also he was not the kind of leader who told you what to do. He was a leader more than a manager — there's a difference."

In 1978, Collins was promoted to a general management role as president of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Products unit. He increasingly took on other roles as well, including overseeing several Latin American subsidiaries before leading all of Latin America, and he soon had oversight for all Johnson & Johnson's consumer products as chairman of McNeil.

Fine recalled Collins' decision for Johnson & Johnson to seek approval to make its own codeine. At that time, there were three firms making codeine, and Fine said no one believed that federal officials would allow Johnson & Johnson to do so.

“We had a vigorous trial in front of an administrative law judge, and it was vigorously opposed by the other three companies, and lo and behold — we got a license from the DEA to manufacture codeine," Fine said. "It was a great example of his leadership and his non-linear thinking. And it was a coup for the company."

David Collins, former chairman of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Products. PAT COLLINS

Collins' management acumen was seriously tested in the fall of 1982, when a still-unknown person or persons tampered with Extra-Strength Tylenol-branded capsules, lacing them with cyanide. The poisonings killed at least seven people and led to one of the largest pharmaceutical recalls ever, along with more stringent over-the-counter drug packaging.

For his part, Collins became the public face of Tylenol during the crisis, expressing empathy for the victims and their families while also communicating his firm's commitment to improve safeguards around drug packaging.

Collins also relocated to Chicago to be at the early epicenter of the crisis, which was at the Cook County morgue on the West Side.

"It was pretty clear to me that I had to go to Chicago, that this thing was so important we couldn't rely on secondhand reports," Collins told the Tribune in 2022. "But obviously we needed to begin right away and establish some kind of communication with the key people on the West Side of Chicago."

Collins also sought to build partnerships with local law enforcement and to act in a forthcoming manner to help officials with their investigation. That included voluntarily supplying law enforcement with lists of disgruntled current and former employees, and of the names of dissatisfied customers.

"We were polite, but one of the points we made was, guys, look, you know squat about this business," Collins told the Tribune in 2022. "You have no idea where to look. You have no idea the questions to ask. We're the only ones who do. And if you don't allow us to work with you on this, you're cutting off your nose to spite your face. And that really made sense to them."

In an October 1982 television interview on NBC's "Today" show, Collins sought also to reassure Johnson & Johnson employees and shareholders regarding the

"The confidence of the American consumer built this product," he said in the interview. "Nothing has changed. What has changed is that we have an insane individual or individuals out there who have elected to contaminate this product ... and we hope to reemphasize and reestablish consumers' confidence in this product."

Collins and other company leaders developed tamper-proof packaging for Tylenol and refused to rebrand the best-selling product with a new name. In December 1982, Collins began appearing in one-minute TV commercials that aired in the Chicago area, asking consumers to restore their trust in Tylenol, which was becoming available in new tamper-resistant packaging. By April 1983, sales had almost returned to where they had been prior to the murders.

"The Chicago market is virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the country," Collins said at a news conference in April 1983, referring to local sales of Tylenol. And by the fall of 1983, Tylenol's market share had hit $30\%$ , more than $300\%$ greater than its nadir after the poisonings.

"One of the greatest tragedies of my career happened to be one of the greatest triumphs," Collins told the Tribune in 2022. "To this day, I believe that."

In 1986, Johnson & Johnson named Collins vice chairman of public affairs and planning, a role in which he oversaw public, corporate and trade relations, along with advertising and the corporate secretary's office.

Collins retired from Johnson & Johnson in 1988. The following year, Schering-Plough Healthcare hired Collins to be president of a new division in which he consolidated and reorganized all of that firm's consumer products into one division. He retired from that role in 1994.

Collins later taught business and corporate social responsibility at the University of California, Davis, the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business and at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business. He also was active in the Aspen Institute, served on Align Technology's board of directors from 2003 until 2014 and served for 21 years on the Notre Dame Law School Advisory Council.

“We had so much fun” on Align’s board, said former Align President and CEO Thomas Prescott. “He was so valuable through periods of early growth and (intellectual property) litigation. He was a delight.”

In addition to his son, Collins is survived by his wife of 65 years, Judy; another son, Paul; a daughter, Ann Cazalot; six grandchildren, brothers Chas and Eddie; and a sister, Penny.

Services will be private.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

Chicago Daily Tribune

ON OCT. 11 ...

In 1776, the first naval battle of Lake Champlain was fought during the American Revolution. Gen. Benedict Arnold commanded American forces, which suffered heavy losses but stalled the English.

In 1779 Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski was killed at the Battle of Savannah while fighting for American independence.

In 1868 Thomas A. Edison filed papers for his first invention, an electrical voice recorder to speed the tabulation of votes in Congress.(Congress would reject it.)

In 1932 the Democratic National Committee sponsored a television program from New York. It was the nation's first political telecast.

In 1967 Bolivian officials said the body of slain Cuban guerrilla leader Che Guevara had been buried in a secret and remote grave. (It was not until the summer of 1997 that the body was found, dug up and ceremoniously reburied in Cuba.)

In 1968 Apollo 7, the first manned mission of the Apollo series, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham.

In 1975 “Saturday Night Live” premiered on NBC with comic George Carlin as guest host.

In 1976 reports from China said Mao Zedong's widow, Jiang Qing, and three others had been arrested. (They would be denounced as the Gang of Four.)

In 1984 space shuttle astronaut Kathy Sullivan became the first American woman to perform a space walk.

In 1987 thousands of gay-rights activists marched through Washington to demand protection from discrimination and urge more funding for AIDS research and treatment.

In 1998 Pope John Paul II decreed the first Jewish born saint of the modern era: Edith Stein, a nun who had died in a gas chamber at the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp.

In 2002 former President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2005 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it had finished pumping out the New Orleans metropolitan area, which was flooded by Hurricane Katrina six weeks earlier and then was swamped again by Hurricane Rita.

In 2016 the Chicago Cubs came from behind in the ninth inning to close out a 6-5 victory over the Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco to win the best-of-five National League Division Series in four games.

ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO

CATHOLIC CEMETERIES

OUTDOOR ROSARY & PRAYER SERVICE

We invite you to join us on Cemetery Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 pm.

This will be an outdoor service.

You are welcome to bring your own chairs.

Seating will not be provided.

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Participating Cemetery Locations:

ALL SAINTS

Des Plaines

847.298.0450

ASCENSION

Libertyville

847.362.1247

ASSUMPTION

Glenwood

708.758.4772

GOOD

SHEPHERD

Orland Park

708.226.9951

HOLY CROSS

Calumet City

708.862.5398

CALVARY

Evanston

847.864.3050

HOLY

SEPULCHRE

Alsip

708.422.3020

MARYHILL

Niles

847.823.0982

MT. OLIVET

Chicago

773.239.4422

QUEEN OF

HEAVEN

Hillside

708.449.8300

RESURRECTION

Justice

708.458.4770

ST. ADALBERT

Niles

847.647.9845

ST. BENEDICT

Crestwood

773.239.4422

ST. CASIMIR

Chicago

773.239.4422

ST. JOSEPH

River Grove

708.453.0184

ST. MARY

Evergreen Park

708.422.8720

ST. MICHAEL

Palatine

847.397.3284

To learn more, please call or visit our website:

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Chicago Tribune Death Notices

Chicago Tribune extends our condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have passed.

Death Notices

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Alinsky, Lee David

Lee David Alinsky, graduate of University of Chicago Lab School class of 1962. Died October 7 at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Funeral at Temple Emanuel in Newton, MA on Monday Oct 12. Burial and graveside service for all family and friends on Tuesday, October 13, 2pm at Zion Gardens 3600 N Narragansett Ave, Chicago. Tamid Funerals 847-504-7336.

NerTamid

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Andersen, Virginia

Virginia "Ginny" Cecilia (Johansen) Andersen, 94, died peacefully on October 1, 2026, at Lake Forest Place. A longtime Lake Bluff resident, devoted mother, teacher, and beloved wife of the late John Allan Andersen, she is survived by her four children, eleven grandchildren, fourteen great grandchildren.

brother Elmer "Larry" Johansen, and sister-in-law Anne (Lackie) Andersen.

A private burial will be held. A joint memorial celebration honoring Ginny and John will take place November 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Lake Forest Place, 1100 Pembridge Drive, Lake Forest, Illinois.

Memorial donations may be made to the Union Church of Lake Bluff, the Geneva Foundation of Presbyterian Homes, or Greenleaf Communities. Full obituary can be found at Wenbanfh.com

WENBAN

FUNERAL HOME

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Aylward, John J. "Jack"

John "Jack" Aylward, born 11/10/29, beloved husband of Dorothy Walsh Aylward, passed away on October 7, 2026 at the age of 96. Jack was the youngest son of the independent and entrepreneurial Irish Aylward clan, mother Anastatia and father, Richard. He served in the Air Force through the

Korean and Cold War and like many Americans of his age, experienced the tumultuous times of the 1920's Depression, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam War and numerous financial recessions. He credits his strong Catholic faith for providing him with the resiliency to face so many life challenges including the deaths of his parents, all his Aylward siblings, Tom, Ann, Richard, Jim, Bill, cousin Kitty Doyle, as well as his beloved wife Dorothy.

Jack became the patriarch of the Aylward family to all his nieces and nephews after the death of his siblings. He inspired them to "stay together vs nurturing grievances," "go to church and receive communion," and above all be responsible citizens in their local communities. John's life was emblematic as "he walked his talk." For many years, both he and Dorothy stayed in touch by visiting his nieces and nephews' families, to show he cared. Every Christmas and Memorial Day he visited the graves of Dorothy and his deceased relatives, always leaving a wreath and American Flag. He exemplified the values of integrity, loyalty, "turn the other cheek," stay intellectually curious, "don't sweat the small stuff," and "go to Mass and confession."

Jack had a successful corporate sales career in electronics before owning and operating his own manufacturing representative firm, WG Controls. Also, given his young experience and the Aylward clan success with Aylward's Round Up restaurant in Chicago, Dorothy and Jack opened the Tally-Ho restaurant in the western suburbs. Jack loved the interaction with the customers, especially walking through the dining room with a coffee pot, refilling the cups and engaging in conversation!

Summers in Saugatuck Michigan were a special time for Jack and Dorothy on their cabin cruiser Anastatia. Here they welcomed family and friends on Lake Michigan, where everyone gathered for boating, home-cooked meals, and time together. These summer gatherings became cherished family traditions and remain some of our fondest memories

In 1995, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Winfield, IL, recognized Jack for his 35 years of pastoral service, with a retirement luncheon. He helped grow the church through his roles of volunteer financial advisor, business manager, parish trustee and Eucharistic Minister.

Jack had many dear friends through the years whom he valued greatly and new ones from his years at Wyndemere Senior Living. He will be remembered for his devotion to Dorothy, his Catholic faith, his generosity to dozens of charities and the many wonderful memories he shared with family and friends.

Please join Jack's friends and family as we celebrate his life. Visitation: Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 4-8 PM, Williams-Kampp Funeral home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton, IL. Thursday, October 15th, Funeral prayers at the Funeral Home, 9:45 AM with funeral Mass following at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 233 Church St, Winfield, IL, 60190. Entombment at Assumption Cemetery Wheaton, IL. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Anti Cruelty, 510 N. LaSalle Drive, Chicago/Donate or any faith based organization.

chicagotribune.com/deathnotice

Death Notices

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Bauser, Rudolph "Rudy"

Rudolph "Rudy" Bauser, 96 of Gig Harbor, WA passed away Peacefully on September 20, 2026. He was born on February 24, 1930 in Chicago IL to the late Eugene and Anna Bauser.

Rudy attended DePaul University, where he earned his Bachelors degree in business in 1955. He played basketball

1955. He played basketball for DePaul's coach Ray Meyer for two years and ended his college career as coach Meyer's secretary. He was also part of the team that won the City of Chicago part of the team that won the City of Chicago High School Basketball Championships in 1948. Rudy had a successful career in publishing for over 40 years before retiring in 1999. He served as publisher of Vision and La Revista Latino Americana. He served as past President of the Mid-America Chapter of the International Advertising Association.

Rudy proudly served his country in the Korean War, attaining the rank of Sargent. He was honorably discharged in 1953 at Fort Sheridan. In Recognition of his service he was awarded the ROK Ambassador for Peace Medal.

Throughout his life, Rudy called several places home. He lived in Chicago until the age of 26, followed by 12 years in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut, before settling in Barrington, Illinois, where he lived for 33 years. In later years he made his home in Gig Harbor, Washington, where he attended St. Nicholas Catholic Church, and was an active member of the FR. John A. Walsh Council of the Knights of Columbus at St. Monica Parish in Mercer Island, Washington.

Rudy was married for 56 years to Marilyn until her passing on December 22, 2016. Rudy will be deeply missed by his children Kathryn "Katie" Hoffman, Amy (Mark) Tarlton, John (Mechelle) Bauser; grandsons Owen Day, Alex Tarlton, Jack Tarlton, Toby Bauser and Antonio Schiaffino and his sister Beverly (James) Callahan.

Visitation will be held on Friday, October 16, 2026 from 9:30 AM until the funeral mass at 10:30 AM at Saint Anne Catholic Church, 120 Ela St., Barrington, IL 60010. Burial with military honors will follow at Evergreen Cemetery, Barrington.

For information, please contact Davenport Family Funeral Home, Barrington, 847-381-3411. For online condolences please visit, www.davenportfamily.com.

FAMILY FUNERAL HOME

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Brininger, Patricia Rose Trish Martin

Patricia Brininger, passed away on October 7, 2026, in Tacoma, Washington, at age 79. Raised in Chicago, Patricia worked as an ELL teacher for 14 years. Charismatic and hardworking, she was the life of the party and brought warmth and joy to those who knew her. She loved any adventure as well as cooking, reading.

tennis, biking, and traveling.

She is survived by her two daughters, Margie Aoki and Katie Brown, and six grandchildren: Clifton, Rose, Odom, Eli, Hazel, and Emma. She was preceded in death by her son, Craig Brininger, and her former husband, Thomas Brininger. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

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Churchill, Lillian B. "Lill"

Lillian B. Churchill, 89, passed away October 5, 2026 at home in Manteno. She was born July 17, 1937 in Chicago, to Stanley and Stephanie (Podossek) Churchill.

Lill had been a chemist at UOP, and was a parishioner of St. Constance Catholic Church, Chicago, and St. Joseph, Manteno. Surviving are two

nephews, Paul (Susan) Childers and Don Childers, niece Cathy (Scott) Day, sister-in-law Carol Churchill, several great nieces and nephews, and even a great great niece.

Lill is preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Barbara Steel: her brother, Joseph Churchill; and a nephew, Bill Childers.

Visitation will be 4-8pm on October 16, 2026 and 9-10am October 17 at Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Manteno. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30am on October 17, 2026 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Manteno.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to:

The Passionists: https://thepassionists.givecloud.co/donate

Unbound: https://www.unbound.org/donate/general-donation

Please visit her guestbook at www.clancygernon.com.

Death Notices

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Cole, Franklin Alan

Franklin A. Cole, a Chicago business executive, civic leader, and philanthropist who helped shape the city's financial and institutional landscape over several decades, died August 2, 2026, at his home in Palm City, Florida. He was 100.

Franklin Alan Cole was born on May 20, 1926, in Park Falls, Wisconsin and he was the son of Abraham David and Bessie Cole. The family later lived in Owatonna, Minnesota, before moving to Chicago in 1940. Mr. Cole graduated from Senn High School, the University of Illinois, and Northwestern University School of Law.

He began his legal career as an associate with Lederer, Livingston, Kahn & Adsit and from 1955 to 1963 was a partner in Cole, Wishner, Epstein & Manilow. In 1963, he joined Walter E. Heller & Company, one of his firm's clients, and ultimately became CEO and Chairman. With the merger of Heller with American National Bank, he ultimately served as chairman of the combined company, Heller International. In 1985, he founded Croesus Corporation, a private investment firm.

With his expertise widely known, he served on the boards of AON Corporation, GATX Corporation, Peoples Energy Corporation, American National Bank & Trust, Illinois Bell Telephone Co., Combined International Corp., CNA Income Shares, Inc., Duff & Phelps Utilities Income, Inc., and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).

His civic and philanthropic commitments were extensive. At Northwestern University, he served as vice chairman of the Board of Trustees, chaired the Investments Committee for eight years, and led a Northwestern University School of Law campaign that raised more than \$27 million. He was past president and director of the Chicago Central Area Committee, where he played a leading role in efforts to secure a downtown stadium for the Chicago Bears.

Mr. Cole was chairman of Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center and worked with University of Chicago President Hannah Gray on efforts to merge the two hospital systems. As a director of The Chicago Community Trust, he co-chaired the Chicago Human Relations Task Force, focused on reducing racial, religious, and ethnic tensions. In 1983, he served as general chairman of the record-breaking fundraiser for the Chicago United Way/Crusade of Mercy campaign.

All the while, he was deeply committed to his family and their well-being. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Jane Gottlieb Cole; his second wife, Joan Lauter Cole; his partner, Judith Nightingale; and his brother, Robert H. Cole.

He is survived by his son, Robert Cole; his daughter, Ellen Cole; his stepdaughter, Mary Straus Batsford (Gerald); and his stepsons, Peter Straus (Anne), Andrew Straus, Todd Straus, 14 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

The family suggests memorial contributions may be made to organizations reflecting his commitment to education, health care, urban development, human services, and improved human relations.

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Donovan III, Robert Francis

Robert Francis Donovan III, Bob to his friends and family, passed peacefully on the 9th of October 2026 in the presence of his wife and children at home following an illness. He was 84. Family and him often in his final days.

friends accompanied him often in his final days, and he was fortunate to retain command of his senses to the end. He especially enjoyed time spent with his grandchildren Kira, Frank, Kitrina, and Michelle. He was pleased by the early season performance of his beloved Chicago Bears. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Marilyn Donovan (Teagan), his four children Robert Francis IV (Sara Elizabeth Rakita), Patrick Michael, Sara Lynn (Miguel Ricardo Gonzalez), and Christine Marie, as well as four grandchildren, Kira Natalie, Robert Francis V known as Frank, Kitrina Robinson, and Michelle Angel Gonzalez. Reconnecting in recent years with his cousin Freddy Johnson brought him much joy. Born in Chicago on February 1, 1942, he attended Lakeview High School where he played football, and DePaul University, earning a bachelor's and law degree, and earning admission to the Illinois Bar. After a short time in private practice, he dedicated his life to public service as an attorney, union steward and stalwart activist with the 47th Ward Regular Democratic Organization. Along with his name, he passed on that dedication to service of others to all four of his children. He is predeceased by his father, Robert Francis Jr., Bob to his friends and family, of St. Louis, Mo and his mother Bernice Donovan (DuPré), of Canton Valais, Suisse. His memory will be a blessing, and he will be missed by all who knew him. Especially the cats. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in his honor to The Parkinson's Foundation https://www.parkinson.org/. Visitation Friday, October 16 from 10:00am until time of mass at 11:00am at Queen of Angels Church, 2330 West Sunnyside Ave, Chicago, IL 60625. Gravside service will follow at Arlington Cemetery, Elmhurst, IL. Arrangements by Inclusive Funeral Care, 773-318-1305 or www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.

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INCLUSIVE

FUNERAL CARE

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Feil, Christopher William

FEIL, Christopher William, 99, of Grayslake, IL, passed away peacefully on October 2, 2026. Born May 17, 1927, in Chicago, he proudly served as an Aviation Machinist's Mate in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Wasp during World War II (44-46). He later worked as a sales / service engineer with M.H. Detrick Company. Chris

enjoyed travel, aviation, automobiles, and making friends wherever he went. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean, and sisters Kathy and Claire. Survived by daughter Karen (Bob) Scharlau; son Kevin (Christine) Feil; grandsons Mark (Sarah) and Pat (Rianna); and great-grandson Graham. He will be dearly missed.

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Gallagher, Robert J.

Every life story deserves to be told.

Death Notices

Share your loved one's story at placeanad.chicagotribune.com

Chicago Tribune

Robert J. Gallagher, age 95, died on August 19, 2026. He was a long time resident of Long Beach and Michigan City, Indiana. Robert was born in Chicago to Patrick and Sarah (nee Roycroft) Gallagher on March 6, 1931 as the youngest of five sons. Services will be held at Mary Mother of Mercy Catholic Parish - Notre

Dame Campus, 1010 Moore Road, Michigan City, Indiana on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Visitation will be

October 17, 2026. Visitation will be held at the church from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Chicago time) prior to the service at 11:00 a.m. (Chicago time). Survived by his beloved wife of sixty-three years Beverly V. Gallagher (nee Golata) and children Sean, Jennifer (Sean) Briody and Rose (Patrick) Gallagher and loving grandfather of Seamus, Brendan, Aidan, Ian, Cara, Maeve and Fiona. Proceeded in death by his parents Patrick and Sarah, brothers Charles, John, James and Gerald and daughter-in-law Sara Risk. Robert worked as a teacher and principal in Chicago Public Schools for forty years where he collaborated with many talented and dedicated educators. His impact on colleagues and students is immeasurable. Robert served proudly in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict era. In retirement, Robert actively supported numerous local charities and government. He was an avid tennis player who transitioned to table tennis in his later years and continued to play until his 95th birthday with his friends at the Long Beach Community Center. Robert was a loyal, supportive and kind friend to many. Since Robert earned six college degrees, his favorite musical selection was "Pomp and Circumstance". Contributions may be made to the Share Foundation at www.sharefoundation.org or P.O. Box 400, Rolling Prairie, Indiana 46371 or charity of choice. To sign a guestbook and leave condolences online, please visit www.otthaverstock.com. For questions, please contact Ott Haverstock at 219-872-7291.

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Gasperini, Robert

Robert Gasperini, age 81, of Naperville, passed away October 6, 2026. Memorial visitation Thursday, October 15, 4:00-8:00 PM at the Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville. Family and friends will meet for the Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, October 16, 10:00 AM at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1215 Modaff Rd., Naperville. A private family inurnment will be at Risen Lord Cemetery, Oswego. For info call 630/355-0213 or visit www.friedrich-jones.com for a complete obituary.

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Goetz. Bernice M.

Bernice M. "Cookie" Goetz nee Chesney; daughter of the late August and the late Emily Chesney; dear cousin and friend of many. Visitation Tuesday, October 13, 2026 from 9:00 am until time of service 11:00 am. at COLONIAL-WOJCIECHOWSKI FUNERAL HOME 6250 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Interment will follow at St. Adalbert Cemetery, Niles. Info 773-774-0366

Chicago Tribune

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Hammar, Russell W.

Russell W. Hammar, of Park Ridge, passed away October 5, 2026 at the age of 84. Beloved husband of Jane M. Hammar, née Lovely. Loving father of Andy (Tina) Hammar and Tom (Cassy) Hammar. Proud grandfather of Morgan, Heathrow, and Callum Hammar. Devoted son of the late William and Nina Hammar. Enjoyed the company of their four-legged Friend Maggie. Visitation Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. until time of Funeral Service, 11:00 a.m. at Edison Park Lutheran Church, 6626 N Oliphant Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60631. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to a charity of your choice in Russell's name would be appreciated. For more information please visit ryan-parke.com or call (847) 823-1171.

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Ryan-Parke

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Hines, John L.

John L. Hines, age 97, died peacefully on September 27, 2026.

Every life story deserves to be told.

Mr. Hines was preceded in death by his wife and life partner of 57 years, Marjorie B. Hines, whom he loved dearly and who passed away in 2023. Mr. Hines was also preceded in death by his parents, Babette (Schnadig) Hines and Harold H. Hines, and

Share your loved one's story at placeanad.chicagotribune.com his two older brothers Harold H. Hines, Jr. and James H. Hines. He is survived by his children, Mary (Richard) Bendix and John L. (Lauren) Hines, Jr.; grandchildren, Sarah Bendix, Emily Shirley, Samuel (Julie) Bendix, Lily Hines, and Woody (Alexandra Memmi) Hines; and stepchildren, Neil S. (Rochele) Coleman and Susan (William) Oberndorf.

Born in 1929, Mr. Hines lived and worked in the Chicago area his whole life. After graduating from Francis W. Parker School and then Stanford University in 1951, Mr. Hines worked for Commercial Discount Company, a Chicago based commercial finance company founded by his then father-in-law, Sidney Feuchtwanger, who mentored Mr. Hines in his early years and whom Mr. Hines credited, up to the end of his life, as being the best businessman he ever knew.

After joining Continental Bank as a lending officer in 1964, Mr. Hines soon became one of the nation's leading lenders to computer leasing companies by the late 1960s when he convinced bank leadership to diversify into the then fledgling private equity industry. From 1970 to his retirement in 1989, Mr. Hines served as president of Continental Illinois Venture Corporation and Continental Illinois Equity Corporation. A pioneer in the venture capital industry in the Midwest, Mr. Hines led over 120 investments, most notably a highly profitable 1978 investment in Apple Computer, two years prior to its IPO. In 2009, the Illinois Venture Capital Association awarded Mr. Hines the annual Stanley C. Golder Award for "profound and lasting contributions to the private equity industry in Illinois." Leaders in the industry who trained under Mr. Hines, with his exacting and unforgiving standards, give him much credit for their success.

Mr. Hines's father, Harold Hines, was a talented draftsman with a keen appreciation of art and art history. Mr. Hines himself derived great enjoyment in the design, craftsmanship, and elegance of everyday objects, particularly with respect to jewelry, knives, watches, cars, pipes and cigar accoutrements. Earlier in his life he built meticulously detailed ship replicas, which in some instances he began by carving from a single block of wood. He loved his car and loved to drive, and for 35 years he would drive alone across country to Palm Springs, California, where he would rendezvous with his wife and together they would enjoy the winter months.

Later in life, Mr. Hines especially enjoyed his weekend buddies at Lake Shore Country Club and spending time with Daniela Cantu and his other caretakers on their various excursions to steakhouses, hamburger joints, oyster bars, parks, watch and cigar stores, and even on the increasingly challenging road journeys to and from Palm Springs. (Picture above is of Mr. Hines passing his driver's license test at 96 years old.) In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Art Institute of Chicago at //sales.artic.edu/ donate.

chicagotribune.com/deathnotice

Death Notices

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Jacobs, Lois Marie

Death Notices

(December 30, 1936 – September 25, 2026), passed away peacefully after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Born in New York City and raised on the Upper West Side, Lois grew up taking horseback riding lessons in Central Park. She enjoyed fashion from a

young age, inspired by her father, Harold, who was a furrier. She attended the Birch Wathen School before moving to the Midwest for college. She met her beloved husband, Walter Dean Jacobs, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was honored as one of the Badger Beauties of 1956.

After having two daughters, Lois and Walter moved to the Chicago area, eventually settling in Lake Forest, Illinois. There, she raised four children and worked as a librarian at the local library, combining her professional life with her love for reading. Later in life, Lois and Walter spent half of each year at their home in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, enjoying the sun, long walks on the beach, and time with friends.

Lois is survived by her daughters, Tara Khoury, Meleta Ward, and Tracy Reusche; her son, Kurt Jacobs; nine grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. She was an extraordinary mother and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association.

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Jenz, James Edward Jim

James Edward "Jim" Jenz, 88, of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, passed away September 27, 2026.

Born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to Margaret and Edward Jenz, Jim graduated from West Point in 1961, served in the United States Army, earned his law degree from Harvard, and practiced corporate law at Chapman and Cutler in Chicago.

Jim played collegiate golf at Wisconsin and West Point and remained a lifelong golfer. He also loved music, theater, and Green Lake, Wisconsin. Above all, he loved his family and took great pride in his children and in the grandchildren who knew him as "Pappy."

Jim is survived by his wife, LaVerne (née Anderson) Jenz; his children, Jonathan (Laura) Jenz, Jodie (Thomas) Sloan, and Julie (Jeremy) Jenz; his grandchildren, Luke, Maggie, Sam, Josie, Eli, Molly, Tommy, Timmy, Maddy, Riley, Ariana, and Reese; LaVerne's sons, Alan Scimeca (Shelly Price) and Richard (Kris) Scimeca; LaVerne's grandchildren, Valerie (Eliot) Gorman, Renee (Ray) Calabrese, Ryan Scimeca, and Jonathan Scimeca; LaVerne's great-grandson, Oliver Gorman; and his brother, Tom Jenz.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Diane (née Denten) Jenz; his parents; and his sister, Judith Houlihan.

A Celebration of Life will be held Friday, October 23, 2026, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Hawthorn Woods Country Club, 1 Tournament Drive North, Hawthorn Woods.

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Jummati, Michael P. "Buddy"

Michael P. "Buddy" Jummati, 92, loving husband of the late Donna J. nee Edwards; proud father of Jeanette Jummati, Larry "Michael" (Kim Jarosz) Jummati, Julianna Jummati, and Christina (Kevin) Kohl; and dear grandfather of Anthony (Katey) Pope, Yared and Amanuel Kohl. A lifelong Chicago Bears

A lifelong Chicago Bears fan, Mike was thrilled to witness the Bears' Super Bowl XX victory in New Orleans. Other cherished memories include family road trips across America and an unforgettable southern Africa adventure.

Visitation will be held Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at St. Eugene's Catholic Church, 7958 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, IL 60656. Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30 a.m., with interment to follow at Mt. Emblem Cemetery, Elmhurst, IL. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Gary Sinise Foundation or HHH Ranch in Mike's memory. Full obituary at

www.nelsonfunerals.com

Every life story

deserves to be told.

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Chicago Tribune

Death Notices

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Kaefer, Annette

Annette Kaefer, age 96, a longtime resident of Lake Forest and previously of Lake Bluff, died on September 10, 2026. She was born in Chicago to the late Anthony and Anne Weyrich on April 6, 1930. She is

preceded in death by her husband Louis Kaefer and her sisters Rosemary, Carol and Doris. She is survived by her children Roberta (James) Johnson and the late Robert Tekampe, Gary (Jane) Kaefer, Kurt Kaefer, Gregory (Christine) Kaefer, Eric (Modesta) Kaefer, 16 grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren.

Annette moved from Chicago to Lake Bluff in 1959, raising her family in a community she truly enjoyed. She began a successful real estate career in the mid 1960's, never straying too far from the North Shore. Annette was an active parishioner at the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest. She also donated her time to the Society of St. Vincent DePaul and Lake Forest Library.

Family meals were noteworthy, as she was an outstanding cook and baker. Leftovers were not an option. Sewing and gardening were some of her hobbies. She also found time to maintain a family resort in northern Wisconsin.

With a large family spread around the country, Annette decided one way to stay acquainted, especially for the grandchildren, was to sponsor family cruises. From the Caribbean to Alaska, many memorable trips were put together.

She maintained long term friendships, particularly with her high school classmates. She also enjoyed social ballroom dancing, especially in her senior years.

In her senior years.

Annette moved to Lake Forest in 2002 and spent the last months of her life at Sunrise Senior Living in Highland Park.

Visitation will be held on October 17, 2026, beginning at 9:00 am at the Church of St. Mary, 175 East Illinois Road, Lake Forest, followed by the Funeral Mass starting at 10:00 am. A private interment will be held at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles at a later date.

Info: www.WenbanFH.com or (847)234-0022.

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WENBAN FUNERAL HOME

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Kellar, Lori Catherine

Beloved daughter, sister, wife, and friend, Lori Catherine, 62, joined her late wife, Marie Romero, on her next journey. Raised in Riverside, IL, she attended St. Mary School (Riverside, IL), La Lumiere School (La Porte, IN), and Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH), later moving to Kent, WA. She is survived by father Lee D. (Barbara) Kellar; mother Carol (Terry) Shipman; brother Lee D. (Kathy Restivo) Kellar Jr.; sisters Whitney Kellar and Samantha Kellar; stepmother Denise M. Kellar; aunt Helen Marty; cousin Angela Nelson and children Drake Nelson, Torren Nelson, and Annalezah Nelson; wife Cheryl Mathis; and dear friend Jim Otremsky. Lori's spirit lives on through her generosity as an organ donor.

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Kelsh, Thomas J. "Tom"

Thomas J. "Tom" Kelsh, age 93, Korean War U.S. Army veteran, a 26-year resident of Carillon in Plainfield, IL, formerly of Mason City, IA, Bettendorf, IA, Savage/Burnsville, MN and Naperville, IL, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at his home, surrounded by the love of his family. He was born November 11, 1932 in Dougherty, IA. Arrangements by Overman-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 15219 S. Joliet Rd. (corner of Routes 30 & 59), Plainfield, IL 60544. For service times and a complete obituary, please visit www.overman-jones.com or call (815)436-9221 for more information.

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Kreer, Irene Overman

In Loving Memory of Irene Overman Kreer, a longtime resident of Glenview, Illinois, beloved community advocate, art educator, and devoted family member, passed away peacefully October 3rd, 2026.

Born on November 11, 1926, in McGrawsville, Indiana, to Ralph and

Laura Edith (Sharp) Overman, Irene spent her life dedicated to education, the arts, and civic leadership. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology from Northwestern University in 1948 and began her career helping young students in Chicago public schools.

In 1946, Irene married her beloved husband, Henry Blackstone Kreer. Together, they built a vibrant life centered around family, intellectual curiosity, and community involvement. Irene later founded and served as president of Irene Overman Kreer & Associates, Inc., an association and meeting management firm in Chicago.

A passionate believer in the enriching power of art and culture, Irene served for decades as a staff assistant and lecturer for The Art Institute of Chicago. She brought art and archaeology to life through public lectures and television appearances on behalf of the Art Institute's educational programs. Her involvement extended to numerous cultural and civic organizations, including the Field Museum, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Association Alumnae of Northwestern University.

Within her home community of Glenview, Irene's legacy is deeply woven into the local public library. A longtime board member and champion for literacy, she envisioned and established the library's used bookstore in the early 2000s to support local literacy initiatives and library programs. In recognition of her decades of service, the space was officially named the Irene Overman Kreer Used Book Store, and she was honored as Glenview's Citizen of the Year. She was also a faithful, active member of the Glenview Community Church.

Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Henry Blackstone Kreer; her daughter, Laurene Kreer; and her daughter, Linda Kreer Witt. She is survived by her loving family, including her granddaughter, Laura Witt, and grandson Thomas Witt, great grandchildren Lillian and Thomas, as well as extended family members, colleagues, and countless friends across the Chicagoland community.

Memorial visitation Saturday, November 14, 2026, 9am until time of funeral service at 10am at the Glenview Community Church 1000 Elm St. Glenview, IL. Followed by a lunch at Glen View Club.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Irene's memory to the Friends of the Glenview Public Library (to support the Irene Overman Kreer Used Book Store) or The Art Institute of Chicago. Info 847-901-4012 or www.smithcorcoran.com

Smith-Corcoran

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Mandahl, Ruth K.

Ruth K. Mandahl, 96 years old, of Lake Forest, Illinois, died peacefully in her sleep. A lifelong Illinois resident, Ruth was born in 1930 to Edward and Mildred C. Kasik. In 1948, she married the late Richard J. Mandahl. They were happily married for 69 years, raised two children, and traveled extensively. Mother of "Rick" Richard A. Mandahl (Franci), and "Kathy" Kathryn J. Mandahl; grandmother of Christian J. (Jessica) Mandahl and Michael R. Mandahl (Melodie), and great-grandmother of "Lilly" Lillian Mandahl. Ruth was a wonderful, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Ruth graduated from Austin High School, Chicago, and attended DePaul University, Chicago. She met her husband while working at Continental Bank. Later in an era where management positions for women were rare, Ruth built a career in credit management. Upon retiring as credit manager from Hills McCanna, she served as area representative for the Chicago Midwest Credit Management Association.

Deeply patriotic and highly energetic, Ruth was an active community volunteer well into her 80's. Over the years, she served as a Cub Scout den mother, Girl Scout troop leader, and was the past president of several organizations, including: the Algonquin Township Republican Women's Club; the Frank H. Nagel Jr, Unit 119, American Legion Auxiliary; and the Women's Republican Club of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff. She was a member of Czechoslovakian Society of America, (CSA) for 95 years, the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest for 69 years, a past member of Saint Mary's bridge marathon, and the Lake Forest American Legion Auxiliary. In lieu of flowers, please remember the Lake Forest American Legion, which does so much for the community. Contributions can be made to "McKinlock Post Foundation," and mailed to American Legion, Post 264, 801 N. McKinley Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045. Services will be held on Thursday, October 15, at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, 700 N. Sheridan Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045. Visitation 10:00-11:00am, with Funeral Service at 11:00am.

Info: www.WenbanFH.com or (847)234-0022.

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Ostroff, Lynn Rapport

Lynn Ostroff nee Rapport is survived by her three daughters, Erin Robertson, Marcia (Bob) Grisanzio, and Julie (Kerry) Brown; six grandchildren, Amanda (Samantha) Liesse, Emma Grisanzio, Sam Harmann, Danny

Grisanzio, Miles Harmann, and Aidan Robertson; and two great-grandchildren, Owen Liesse and Elliot Liesse. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Stanley Ostroff; her brother, Boris Rapport; her sister-in-law, Shirley Rapport; and her parents, Joseph and Leah (Shlopack) Rapport. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at the Westlawn Cemetery Mausoleum Chapel, 7801 W. Montrose Ave., Norridge, Illinois. If you wish to honor Lynn's memory, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association would be appreciated. Arrangement entrusted to Ner Tamid Funerals. www.NTFunerals.com or 847-504-7336.

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Pivato, Sybille Zimmer

Sybille Pivato (nee Zimmer) passed away peacefully on October 3, 2026 at the age of 78. She was born in Backnang, Germany, immigrating to the US at 8 years old. She grew up in the western suburbs of Cleveland, OH, attending Cleveland State University where she met and married her husband. They were married for 53 years. In 1991, she moved to Schaumburg, IL, where she lived for 30 years until relocating to San Jose, CA in 2022 to be near her only daughter. She enjoyed cooking, crossword puzzles, and creating a loving home for her family.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Johann and Lore (Zimmer). She is survived by her husband David, daughter Nicole (Aaron), and grandsons Max and Bryce.

Arrangements made by Honor Cremations 408-645-5140. In lieu of flowers, one may make a donation to an organization of their choice.

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Death Notices

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Polark, James Francis

James Francis Polark, passed away on Monday, October 5, 2026, surrounded by the love of family and friends. He was 76. An extraordinary husband, father, grandfather (papa) and friend, Jim brought warmth and joy to the lives of those around him and will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved

him.

Jim was born on February 10, in Oelwein, Iowa, to the late Kenneth and Lucille (Johns) Polark, and was one of four children. He attended Sacred Heart, Oelwein Community High School and Northern Iowa University.

Jim leaves behind his beloved wife, Mary Jo; his children, Brian, Elizabeth and Michael (Amy); and his cherished grandchildren, Collins, Louise, Francis, Cora James and Theodore James. He is also survived by his brother Roger (Bobbi Jo) and sister Pamela; and many brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his brother Dennis.

Jim proudly served his country in the United States Navy from 1969 to 1972. Following his service, he built a distinguished career with Price Waterhouse, Sara Lee, Superior Coffee & Foods, Stericycle and Serta Mattress, as an accountant and later as a Chief Financial Officer.

Jim delighted in sharing his love of sports with his children, coaching many of their teams and creating memories they would carry with them throughout their lives. During their high school years, Jim and Mary Jo were often in the stands, proudly cheering them and their teammates on to victory!

Travel became a treasured part of the empty-nest years, filling their lives with wonderful experiences and lasting memories. Jim was an avid golfer and he played in several social golf groups. In his eyes there was never a bad day on the course.

A man of deep Catholic faith and a generous spirit, Jim freely shared his professional expertise at St Raymond de Penafort Parish, St. Viator High School and the Clearbrook Center. His kindness, steady presence and devotion to those he loved will remain a lasting part of his legacy.

A Visitation will be held Monday, October 12th from 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Friedrichs Funeral Home, 320 W. Central Road, in Mt. Prospect. Visitation will continue Tuesday, October 13th from 10:00 AM until Funeral Mass 11:00 AM at St. Raymond de Penafort, Elmhurst Rd. (Rt. 83) at Lincoln St., in Mount Prospect. Interment All Saints Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Raymond Parish.

Information call 847-255-7800 or www.friedrichsfh.com

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Ryan, Thomas J. Tom

Thomas (Tom) J. Ryan

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Thomas (Tom) J. Ryan on Tuesday,

September 1, 2026. We are heartbroken to lose one of the kindest and most

generous, empathetic and gifted souls we have ever known.

Tom grew up in the south and west suburbs of Chicago with parents, the late Marie and Richard Ryan, his brothers, John and Pat, and his sisters, Mary Ellen, Kathy, and Eileen. He attended Bremen High School and was a proud alumnus of the University of Illinois. Tom also attended photography school at Ray-Vogue College of Design, where his passion and remarkable talent for photography first took root.

Over the course of his incredible 40+ year career, Tom became a renowned and award-winning Tabletop Director and Director of Photography. A multifaceted creative who was masterful in both creative direction and technical cinematography, Tom had a profound talent for blending captivating storytelling with compelling visual artistry. He was highly sought after for his extraordinary ability to make food look so vibrant and beautiful that it would seem to come alive on screen. His impressive body of work included commercial shoots for TGIFridays, Publix, McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Doritos, Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A and many other brands he helped build. Tom was also a proud member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

It was during a commercial shoot in Chicago that Tom met a certain ad agency producer -and his future wife - Jeanne Dooley. The two married in 1999 and often described each other as the "love of my life." Their lives together were filled with love, laughter, adventure, and countless shared memories. Tom was an avid golfer with a beautiful backswing and shared a love for travel, cooking, and discovering new cultures with Jeanne. Together, they ventured far and wide, enjoying experiences that they treasured throughout their marriage.

Tom will also be deeply missed by his longtime friends in Dallas and his best friend, Sam, who all brought friendship, laughter, and companionship to his life. Tom is survived by his beloved wife, Jeanne; his son, Richard Ryan, granddaughter Kaylee, his siblings, John, Patrick, (Julie) Mary Ellen (John) Wolaver, Kathleen (George) Ansier, and Eileen Steed; nephews Michael Wolaver, Joel Ansier, Drake Steed and the late Brendan Ansier; nieces Joanna (Wolaver) Johnson, Erin (Wolaver) Castaneda, Samantha (Ryan) Johnson, Sara Ryan and many great-

nieces and great-nephews. In addition, he will be dearly missed by his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

Tom legacy of love, creativity and kindness will be forever etched in the hearts of all who knew him. As he would often say, "Life is no dress rehearsal. Let's go make memories." Tom certainly set an example for us all by living his life to the fullest. And our memories of him will never be forgotten and always cherished. In lieu of flowers or cards, the family gratefully suggests donations to the Parkinson's Foundation (parkinson.org) or the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBD.org).

A celebration of life is being planned in both Dallas and Chicago. Arrangements handled by Gibbons Funeral Home, Elmhurst IL. 630-832-0018 or www.gibbonsfuneralhome.com

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Chicago Tribune Death Notices

Chicago Tribune extends our condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have passed.

chicagotribune.com/deathnotice

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Death Notices

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Schiave, Scott E.

Scott Edward Schiave, age 75, passed away on October 6, 2026. Loving Husband of Anne Hamblin Schiave. Dearest Father of Eva (Jeffrey) Small, Cherished Grandfather of Arabella and Julian. Beloved Brother of Thomas (Kathy) Schiave. Preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Dolores Schiave. Scott was a fond uncle and a dear friend of many. A Memorial Celebration of Life will be held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 306 S. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge, at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2026. Arrangements entrusted to Green Burials of Love, Ltd., Marion Friel – Funeral Director. Info at (847) 721-0322 or www.colonialfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers donations to the Greater Chicago food depository -chicagosfoodbank.org or Mercy Home for Boys and Girls

Home for Boys and https://donate.mercyhome.org

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Sents, Bruce Roger "Bud"

Bruce "Bud" Roger Sents died peacefully at his home in Glenview, Illinois, on Friday, September 25, 2026 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was 81. Bud was born June 14, 1945 in Blue Island, Illinois. He attended Chicago Christian College before transferring to the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting with honors in 1968. He also earned his Illinois CPA that same year. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1969, he served two years in Washington D.C. at the Pentagon. After discharge, he met his wife, Margaret Emmons, in 1971 at Friar Tuck's on Broadway in Chicago. They married on September 24, 1972 and spent 54 wonderful years together. They first made their home in Chicago before moving to Evanston in 1973, where they bought a home and later began to raise their family. He began his professional career with the accounting firm Touche Ross & Co., where he worked as a senior accountant and auditor. In 1975, he joined G.D.Searle & Co as manager of accounting research. Over the next two decades he held increasingly senior positions. Following Monsanto's acquisition of Searle, Bud served in senior leadership roles at Monsanto in St. Louis, including senior vice president of finance and business development and corporate controller. He later returned to Searle as president of its Asia Pacific World Area where he led operations during a period of significant economic turmoil in the region. He oversaw acquisitions in Argentina and Brazil, changes to the Canadian product line and reorganizations of operations in Japan, Australia, China, Korea and Taiwan. He finished his career as Chief Financial Officer at Searle and retired in June 1999. Although Bud was highly successful in business, his interests and sense of purpose extended far beyond the corporate world. After retiring, he spent 15 years working as a volunteer project director for the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, helping parishes navigate restructuring and difficult decisions, including the closing and reorganization of schools and churches. He managed a major renovation project at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Evanston where he was an active parishioner. He also devoted his time to organizations involved in both local and international service, including Solidarity Bridge, Catholic Relief Services, Resurrection Project and the Evanston YMCA. He was on the board of the School of Hope in Kenya. Bud and Margaret were also actively involved in the Iraqi Student Project, an organization that assisted displaced Iraqi students to find housing and scholarship opportunities at American universities after the war in Iraq in 2003. For years, Bud and Margaret welcomed talented Iraqis to stay in their home while they were attending classes at universities in the Chicago area. Many of those students now work in medicine, finance, technology, education and the arts. Bud was also deeply connected to the arts. He began making pottery while serving in the Army,, where a fellow soldier with an MFA in ceramics from Stanford inspired him. After moving to Evanston, he became involved with the Evanston Art Center, working in its clay studio in the basement of the Clarke Mansion on Sheridan Road. When his career brought him to work for Monsanto in St. Louis, he volunteered with Craft Alliance, a local nonprofit art center there. When Bud returned to Illinois, he became actively involved in the arts community in Glenview, including the Glenview Art League, where he helped organize exhibits that gave local artists opportunities to display their work. In addition to organizing exhibits, Bud was a frequent exhibitor at local art shows. His bowls, platters, mugs and other ceramic art work - influenced by his travels and by artists like the Gees Bend quilt makers - were loved by many. He was actively involved in ceramics at Oakton Community College, where he was among the founding members of Empty Bowls, a pottery based fundraiser that continues to raise money to help local food pantries. Bud had many passions besides pottery. Music, fishing and the Chicago White Sox were among his favorites. He loved fly fishing and pursued challenging species like bone fish and muskies...always catch and release. Bud took great joy from passing on the fishing bug to his children and grandchildren. A south side Chicago kid, Bud was a lifelong White Sox fan, passing that on to his family as well. He approached music with the same curiosity and enthusiasm that characterized so much of his life.

Bud is survived by his beloved wife, Margaret, their children, John Sents and wife Patricia Ocampo Sents, Dan Sents and wife Daniella Salerno Sents and Mary Jean Sents, grandchildren David Sents, Gerardo Jarta Ocampo, Atlas Sents and William Sents, his sisters, Judith (Sents) Jansma and Carole (Sents) Philpott and many nieces, nephews and extended family members. Bud will be remembered for his curiosity, generosity, creativity, service to others, love of family, appreciation for art and music and his unmistakable sense of humor. He leaves behind a life that was much bigger than his career. It was a life filled with a genuine desire to make the world a little better for those around him. The family kindly asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the School of Hope Foundation for Kenya. Donations may be made at http://schoolofhopekenya.org/donate. A memorial service will be held at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, 806 Ridge Ave., Evanston, Illinois on Monday, November 2nd. Friends and family are invited to gather for visitation starting at 10 am. Mass begins at 11 am. A reception with lunch will be held afterwards at Maggiano's in Skokie.

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Spiro, Elaine Ravel Hoke

Elaine Ravel Spiro passed away in her sleep on the night of October 1, 2026. She was a lovely woman who was passionate about the things she cared for most in her life. She was 102yo.

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Storen, Laura

Laura "Laurie" Storen passed away on August 27, 2026. Please see shalomfuneral.com for full obituary.

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Harvey is survived by his wife, Judy, his sister, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

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Death Notices

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Sullivan, Dennis Kelly

Dennis Kelly Sullivan, 84, of Elmhurst, IL and Surprise, AZ died on October 4, 2026. Kelly was born on September 24, 1942 in Evanston, IL to his late parents James J. Sullivan and Charlotte Elizabeth Sullivan (nee Rauen). Raised in Evanston, the family belonged to St. Margaret Mary Parish in Chicago. He graduated from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL in 1960.

Kelly earned his BS of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Detroit in 1965 and his JD in 1969 at DePaul University. He was an engineer at International Harvester, and then returned as a patent attorney after two years at IIT Research and Institute. He went with International Truck & Engine when it became Navistar International, retiring decades later as the Senior Counsel for Patent and Trademark Law. Kelly was an avid duplicate bridge player.

Kelly is survived by his wife of 50 years, Loretta (nee Jachim), his daughter Patricia Sullivan, and his sons Paul (Catherine) Sullivan, Mark Sullivan, Robert (Jennifer) Sullivan and Thomas "TJ" Sullivan. Kelly is also survived by his grandkids James, Brian and Rhett; and by his siblings James (Maureen) Sullivan, Gina (Jeff) Schmitt and Kevin (Ysraelia) Sullivan.

Visitation will be held on Monday, October 12, 2026 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Ahlgrim Funeral Home in Elmhurst, IL. The funeral mass will be on Tuesday, October 13 at 10 a.m. at Visitation Catholic Church in Elmhurst. Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, IL. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls or to Lurie Children's Hospital (both in Chicago, IL). For more info, (630) 834-3515 or www.Ahlgrim.com.

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Van Dam, Harvey

Harvey was born May 12, 1935, in Grand Rapids, MI. He was the founder and president of Metropolitan Title Company in Grand Rapids. He served on various civic and church boards. He enjoyed photography and bicycling. Harvey and his wife Judy moved to Chicago in 2002. They also traveled extensively.

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Wojtaszek, Leo J.

Leo J. Wojtaszek Jr., Age 80. Veteran of U.S. Navy. Active 1965-1969 and Reservist from 1972-1989. Beloved husband for 42 years to the late Paulette E. (nee Gorka). Loving father of Andrew and Matthew Wojtaszek. Proud grandfather of Evalynne Wojtaszek. Leo was a 28 year employee of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, and a member of the Bremen VFW Post #2791 and Lakeshore Model Railroad Club. A Visitation will be held on Monday, October 19, 2026, from the hours of 4:00pm until 8:00pm, at Brady-Gill Funeral Home (16600 S. Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park). Funeral Mass to be held on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 10:30am, at St. Julie Billiard Catholic Church in Tinley Park. Interment to be held at Resurrection Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Parkinson's Disease Foundation c/o Midwest Office, 833 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL, 60607 or American Diabetes Assoc., 55 E Monroe St., Suite 3420, Chicago, IL, 60603 appreciated. To sign the digital register book or leave condolences, please visit www.bradygill.com or call 708-614-9900.

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Zarno, James J.

James J. Zarno, retired Chicago Police Department Detective Sergeant, of Barrington, passed away at the age of 100.

Beloved husband of Lillian (nee Furtak) for 73 years. Son of Sophia and foster son of Hipolit (Paul). Beloved nephew of Marie Macaluso. Devoted father of James (Corrine) Zarno and Christine Downes; grandfather of 8, Michael (Dr. Stephanie) Downes, James B. Zarno, Daniel (Breanna) Downes, Kimberly Lind, Dr. Heather Downes, Amy (Michael) Fell, Sarah (Andrew) Hilton, and Amanda (Warren) Fountaine; great-grandfather of 15, Morgan and Rachel Lind, Lily, Sarah and Kaitlin Fell, Louisa and Fergus Downes, Evan and Brennan Downes, Austin and Landon Downes, Ryder and Piper Hilton, and Davis and Beau Fountaine.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 18, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 149 W. Main St. (Lake-Cook Rd.), Barrington. Lying in state on Monday, October 19, from 9:30 a.m. until the time of Mass at 10:30 a.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church, corner of Franklin and Ela Streets in Barrington. Entombment will follow at St. Michael the Archangel Mausoleum in Palatine.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905.

For information, 847-381-3411 or www.davenportfamily.com.

Zilliox, Jon

Jon Zilliox passed away on September 23, 2026, at the age of 63. Born on July 25, 1963, Jon was a long time Chicago resident, who spent much of his life in Logan Square, a neighborhood he loved and helped make more beautiful.

A lifelong artist and painter, Jon worked in hospitality before retiring. In retirement, he devoted his time to the things that brought him joy: gardening, painting, and caring for the people and creatures around him. He had a special gift for seeing beauty in his surroundings and for creating it wherever he could.

Jon will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, and gentle nature. He was the kind of person who would help any person, animal, or plant in need. His care for his home and neighborhood reflected the care he showed to the people in his life.

Jon is survived by his sister, Maureen Zilliox Normann; his brother, Larry Zilliox; and his beloved Chihuahua, Bo.

A memorial service for Jon will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 11 a.m. at St. Hyacinth Basilica, 3635 W. George St., Chicago, IL 60618.

Jon will be deeply missed by his family, friends, neighbors, and all those whose lives he touched.

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EDITORIALS

Endorsements for Illinois House Districts 2, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42

Today, the editorial board turns its attention to contested races in the Illinois House of Representatives. This is our first batch of endorsements; we are endorsing statewide.

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2ND DISTRICT

This race is a rematch from 2024, when Republican Laura Hruska, 63, challenged incum-

Hruska

bent Democrat, state Rep. Lisa Hernandez, 65, who won by a 72-28 margin.

That gap makes clear what an uphill battle a Republican challenger faces in this Illinois House district, which covers parts of the southwest suburbs, including portions of Stickney, Cicero, Brookfield, Riverside and Berwyn, as well as a slice of Chicago's South Lawndale neighborhood. Yet it is a fight worth taking on, as Hruska has again chosen to do.

Hruska told us her top issue is property taxes. "We are being pushed out of our own homes by high taxes and costs," she said.

Hernandez's economic positions are to the left of the board, including her past support of minimum wage hikes for tipped workers, something we've opposed in Springfield and Chicago alike. We endorsed Hruska in 2024, and still believe she has the right ideas.

Laura Hruska is endorsed.

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12TH DISTRICT

Democrat Paul Kendrick, 43, and Republican Justin Kumar, 46, are vying to replace state

Kendrick

Rep. Margaret Croke, who is running for Illinois comptroller. This North Side district is reliably liberal, and covers affluent parts of the city including Lincoln Park and

Old Town.

Like Croke, Kendrick strikes us as a pragmatic Democrat. He worked in the U.S. Department of Education under President Barack Obama and on Gov. JB Pritzker's 2018 campaign. We endorsed Kendrick in the primary, noting his recognition that Illinois needs to be competitive economically. Though he supports a graduated income tax and wealth tax, he told us he would not seek major new revenue without a pension deal that puts Illinois on a sustainable financial path.

Kumar, CEO of Frontload Group, opposes a millionaire surtax and the tax and fee increases in the state's transportation package. But he offered few specifics on pension reform or spending reductions.

Paul Kendrick is endorsed.

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13TH DISTRICT

When state Rep. Hoan Huynh decided to run for Congress, he also opted to vacate his current North Side Illinois House seat. Running to replace him are Democrat Demi Palecek and Republican Terry Nguyen Le, 27.

Huynh is an energetic progressive, and so, too, is Palecek. She supports rent control, higher taxes and using state power to “decommodify housing.” We disagree strongly with that approach.

Le, born in Chicago to Vietnamese refugee parents who built small businesses, advocates lower taxes, free markets and government transparency. We endorsed Huynh over Le in 2024, partly because Le favored restoring cash bail. This time, he emphasized tighter electronic-monitoring rules, greater independence for the legislative inspector general and constitutional pension reform.

Le described himself to us as “an independent thinker who will not rubber-stamp party orthodoxy.” He is untested, but his ideas offer a different direc-

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tion for Springfield.

Terry Nguyen Le is endorsed.

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17TH DISTRICT

In a repeat of 2024, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, 57, the Democrat incumbent, will

face Republican Jim Geldermann in the race to represent this north suburban district, which includes Glenview, Wilmette, Evanston, Skokie and Northbrook. Gong-Ger-

Gong-

Gershowitz

showitz is a very practical Democrat who sees clearly the state's fiscal challenges. "Our job is to deliver the most good within our means," she told us, signaling openness to rightsizing spending.

We also admire her for calling on former House Speaker Mike Madigan to step down in 2020. And while she supports public education, she is willing to stand up to those, including the Chicago Teachers Union, who make unreasonable requests. "The \$1.1 billion ask from CTU ignores both the realities of the state budget and how evidence-based funding (EBF) works," she said.

Geldermann's campaign seems like one born of grievance rather than solution-seeking. Gong-Gershowitz has proven a competent state representative.

Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz is endorsed.

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18TH DISTRICT

State Rep. Robyn Gabel, 73, is reliably progressive in her fiscal positions, and we have tended to endorse her much more fiscally conservative opponents in general elections in this affluent North Shore district, which includes Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Northbrook and Northfield.

In Pete Donaghue, she again faces a Republican opponent who is far more fiscally restrained. Gabel has long advocated higher taxes, including a graduated income tax. She voted for the temporary income tax increase in 2011 and subsequently co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to allow graduated income tax rates. She has consistently argued that Illinois needs more revenue to meet its obligations and adequately fund public services.

Donaghue, 65, is a former trader who has also worked in real estate. He told us he opposes a proposed millionaire surtax and supports pension reform that protects benefits already earned while reducing future obligations. Donaghue's positions were less convincing on public safety. He would eliminate electronic monitoring altogether, without adequately explaining how courts should handle defendants awaiting trial who do not require detention. His ideas on property taxes also need more detail. While not an ideal candidate, he at least pulls in the right direction on fiscal issues, something desperately needed in Springfield.

Pete Donaghue is endorsed.

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19TH DISTRICT

Republican John "JZ" Zimmers, 63, is making another run against Democratic state

Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, 44, in the 19th District on Chicago's North-west Side and nearby suburbs. We endorsed LaPointe in 2024, impressed by her

LaPointe

willingness to tackle government ethics, transit reform and state spending. Zimmers, a real estate broker, is passionate about Illinois' affordability crisis, particularly the property taxes driving longtime homeowners and seniors out of their homes. But the positions he shared with us were long on indignation and short on workable solutions. He calls for repealing the SAFE-T Act altogether and incorrectly asserts that Illinois has no corruption laws.

LaPointe, by contrast, impressed us with her command of the issues and willingness to challenge her own party. "It's the Democrats in Springfield who are responsible for a lack of progress on meaningful ethics reform," she told us. She supports giving the Legislative Inspector General independent subpoena power and adding members of the public to the Legislative Ethics Commission. She also criticized the way legislative leaders control which ethics bills get hearings, arguing that the practice "hampers debate and stifles actual policy change."

We disagree with her support for a graduated income tax and a millionaire surtax, and wish she were more willing to confront Illinois' unsustainable pension obligations. But we appreciate her insistence on scrutinizing the budget for duplication, opportunities for consolidation and inappropriate spending.

Lindsey LaPointe is endorsed.

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21ST DISTRICT

Democratic state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, 37, of Justice won his seat in 2022, defeating incumbent Michael J. Zalewski. We welcomed Rashid's commitment to ethics reform, and he has followed through by push-

Su

ing legislation to strengthen the legislative inspector general's independence. But we oppose his support for a graduated income tax. We also did not endorse him in 2024 over concerns about his focus on Middle Eastern affairs rather than state issues.

Republican Eric Su, 50, of North Riverside, is a personal trainer and small business owner who emphasizes affordability, government accountability and pension reform. He opposes a millionaire surtax, supports a constitutional amendment permitting changes to future pension benefits and favors stronger protections for whistleblowers. “We cannot tax our way into affordability,” he told us. Indeed.

Su's positions offer voters a clear alternative on taxes, pensions and government accountability.

Eric Su is endorsed.

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25TH DISTRICT

Democrat Curtis Tarver II has served in the Illinois House since 2019, representing the 25th

Tarver

District, which includes Hyde Park and portions of Chicago's South Side. He serves as assistant majority leader and chairs the House Revenue and Finance

Committee. What strikes us about Tarver is how well-liked he is by both his Democratic and Republican colleagues. We've spoken with Republicans who describe him as a good collaborator and someone who serves as a solid filter for bad tax-and-spend ideas. That speaks volumes.

We've praised his willingness to buck his party, particularly his criticism of Gov. JB Pritzker's temporary election-year tax relief measures.

Tarver faces Republican Antoinette Jewel Simmons in November. We have little information about Simmons' campaign on which to make a meaningful comparison. Tarver, meanwhile, has an established legislative record and a reputation among colleagues across the aisle for taking their concerns

seriously.

Curtis Tarver II is endorsed.

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35TH DISTRICT

State Rep. Mary Gill, 47, a former teacher, is a moderate Democrat who has represented this south suburban district since 2023, when she was appointed to replace retiring Rep. Frances Ann Hurley.

Gill

She strikes us as a common-sense legislator,

though we dislike her support of progressive income taxation and disagree that Tier 2 reforms will be enough to stabilize Illinois' pension crisis. Gill deserves credit for taking public safety seriously, however. She has pushed for greater transparency in the state's electronic monitoring system and argues that such monitoring "should only be available to nonviolent offenders." That's a sensible position at a time when Illinois needs to restore public confidence in its criminal justice system.

We did not endorse Gill's opponent, Republican David Dewar, 59, in the March primary. Dewar describes his campaign "as a TRUMP KIRK MAGA RED INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT (his capitalization) within the Republican Party."

Mary Gill is endorsed.

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36TH DISTRICT

Democratic state Rep. Rick Ryan, 60, was first elected to represent this Southwest Side

and south suburban district in 2024. The moderate Democrat is now seeking his second term, squaring off against Republican David Sheppard.

Sheppard

Sheppard, 56, grew up in public housing on Chicago's South Side, raised by a single mother. He went on to spend 28 years in law enforcement, eventually becoming chief of the Robbins Police Department. We were impressed by many of Sheppard's positions.

He opposes new taxes and is rightly concerned about electronic monitoring, telling us that “electronic monitoring should not become a substitute for detention when a defendant presents a serious threat to the community, and violations of monitoring conditions must bring swift and meaningful consequences.” We’ve argued much the same before.

Incumbent Ryan shares that concern, telling us that “allowing those on electronic monitoring to have two days of non-home confinement is outrageous.” He also opposes a millionaire’s tax, saying it would drive away business.

There's a lot to like about both candidates. We've endorsed Ryan in the past and believe him to be a good representative. But Sheppard brings much valuable experience to the table, and Springfield is in need of political balance. Adding a solid Republican representative in this district would help along those lines.

David Sheppard is endorsed.

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39TH DISTRICT

Democratic state Rep. Will Guzzardi, 39, has represented the 39th District on Chicago's

Northwest Side since 2015 and now serves as an assistant majority leader. He is an experienced legislator whose influence in Springfield has grown, but his

Guzzardi

fiscal priorities remain firmly progressive. Guzzardi continues to advocate replacing Illinois'

flat income tax with graduated rates. He also supports allowing municipalities to enact rent control.

Republican Cesar Guillen is challenging Guzzardi in November. We have not heard much from him, making it difficult to compare his approach to the incumbent's established record. Nevertheless, the contest presents voters with an opportunity to scrutinize Guzzardi's positions on taxation, spending and the state's long-term financial obligations.

Will Guzzardi is endorsed.

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41ST DISTRICT

Democratic state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, 45, of Naperville faces a challenge from Republi-

can Ajay Gupta, 61, a tax attorney and adjunct law professor with an impressive academic résumé. Both candidates bring considerable financial exper-

Gupta

tise to a district encompassing portions of Naperville, Warrenville and Bolingbrook. But they have different ideas about how Illinois should confront its enormous pension obligations and punishing tax burden.

Yang Rohr, who works in investment research at Morningstar, chairs the House Personnel and Pensions Committee. She argues that Illinois has made progress on its pension obligations through additional contributions and voluntary buyouts, and she opposes reducing benefits public employees have already earned. On a proposed 3% millionaire surtax, she told us she would support putting the question to voters only if the proposal also repealed Illinois' estate tax.

Gupta takes a different approach that will appeal to fiscal conservatives. He opposes a millionaire tax, and proposes a constitutional amendment that would protect pension benefits already earned while permitting changes to future accruals, retirement ages and cost-of-living adjustments. He also favors a spending cap tied to inflation and population.

Ajay Gupta is endorsed.

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42ND DISTRICT

Republican Stephanie Trussell, 61, was Darren Bailey's running mate in his unsuccessful 2022 gubernatorial campaign. The Lisle small-business owner who grew up on Chicago's South Side now faces Democratic state Rep. Margaret DeLaRosa, 65,

Trussell

who was appointed to replace Terra Costa Howard to represent this west suburban district.

We endorsed DeLaRosa in the March Democratic primary as someone with deep roots in this district and a stellar local reputation among the party faithful there. DeLaRosa acknowledges budget trade-offs but offers no specific spending cuts, declines to take a clear position on the millionaire surtax or what to do about Illinois' pension crisis.

Trussell identifies property taxes as the district's most pressing problem. She opposes a millionaire surtax, supports moving new public employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans and questions CPS spending amid underutilized schools. But her proposals lack detail, particularly on pension funding and legislative ethics. She is an enthusiastic conservative with some positions to the right of this board, and she may rub some voters the wrong way. But her instincts on fiscal policy are much needed in the statehouse.

Stephanie Trussell is endorsed.

OPINION

Altering the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry's entrances will destroy its essence

By Tim Samuelson

SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry on Sept. 8, 2025. ANTONIO PEREZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Construction barricades are now in place at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry's lagoon-facing south entrance – all in preparation for plans promoted as improving entrance visibility and museum accessibility. The state and local agencies empowered to protect important landmark structures have been in lockstep to approve the proposed work.

From the 50-plus years I've been involved in historic preservation work in the public and private sectors, I can state without reservation that the proposed work to the museum's campus is the most seriously damaging I have ever witnessed. The only exception of something worse was when entire historic buildings were approved for demolition.

With the approved alterations to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, the building will essentially remain standing. But the changes will destroy the essence of what makes the building rare and special. It's all about an elusive quality known as perfection.

When originally constructed as the Palace of Fine Arts for Chicago's 1893 World's Fair, the building was repeatedly singled out for being as near to perfection as could be humanly achievable in its architectural composition and the relationship to its site. Creating quality classical design is one of the most challenging in architecture. It's all about a perfect relationship of proportions, details and site. All parts must harmoniously relate to the whole.

At the time of the 1893 World's Fair, the respected sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens said of the building: "I am just bowled over; there is no breath in me. As for that art gallery, it is the greatest thing since Athens."

Prior to construction, New York architect Charles F. McKim — a stickler for classical accuracy

— looked over designer Charles B. Atwood's plans for errors. He ultimately exclaimed, "Confound him, he is right every time," and later praised the building as "the greatest thing that has been done in the present century in any country."

Because of its architectural accolades, the Palace of the Fine Arts was one of the only major building of the World's Fair to be preserved, becoming the first home of what is now the Field Museum. When vacated by the Field Museum in 1921, the building fell into ruin, with its plaster skin peeling off the sturdy brick core. That set in motion a cry for its preservation from a national architectural constituency, as well as from influential Chicago city leaders.

Rescue came in the 1930s when philanthropist Julius Rosenwald seeded funding for transforming the building into a museum showcasing achievement in the fields of science and industry, establishing the revered institution we know today. Special care was taken to preserve the perfect proportions and details as originally designed by Atwood. Drawings for the new carved limestone elements replacing the building's original plaster cladding made clear that all pieces should be reproduced exactly.

Over the next several decades, the Museum of Science and Industry was a diligent caretaker of the building's original architectural integrity. Even with contemporary needs for better public accessibility and removal of an obtrusive grade-level parking lot, new facilities were creatively placed underground in the 1990s, providing an accessible museum entry from small free-standing pavilions respectfully held away from the main building. The former parking lot on the north side became a grassy park that showcased the building's "perfect" classical proportions for passing motorists and museum patrons alike.

But for all the museum's previous diligence and respect for its building and campus, all seems to have been forgotten in the current proposals to modify the north and south entryways. The signature classical wide exterior staircases on both sides are to be punctured, creating a gap-toothed large hole at the center that will diminish the power of the remaining original elements. The boldly columned porticos that provide a transitional sense of entry are to be glassed in. No matter how transparent, the original effect is lost.

And lost forever will be the majestic views of the building melding into the historic landscape of Jackson Park, a landmark itself shaped in design by the great Frederick Law Olmsted. No longer will the front steps of the south side dreamily extend into the adjoining lagoon. And with new construction of entryways and berms on the building's north side, the majestic classical gift of the building rising from the ground atop a sturdy base will be lost.

I'm at a total loss to explain how these damaging alterations could be allowed — or even proposed in the first place. Have people forgotten that a masterpiece of classical architecture is dependent on all parts relating to the whole? Is there no longer respect for established guidelines at federal and local level for historically, culturally and architecturally significant structures?

“Perfection” is hard to achieve and rare to come by. Naturally, total perfection is not possible — but here’s an instance where it has come remarkably close in the opinion of many distinguished experts. Is it all going to be thrown away for superficial and inappropriate changes?

In the past, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry consistently displayed great inventiveness and ingenuity for adapting its historic campus to meet changing needs without compromising the near perfection of its building. It has obviously lost its touch with the current alterations.

Tim Samuelson is an emeritus cultural historian for the city of Chicago.

America is safer 25 years after launching war on terror, but what about Middle East?

By Storer H. Rowley

SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

A puppet with the face of Donald Trump is paraded and beaten during celebrations in the streets during the anniversary of the Taliban's return to power in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 15. The Taliban claim that Afghanistan is no longer a sanctuary for terrorist groups. But 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, al-Qaida and others are still present, reviving old fears. TOMAS MUNITA/THE NEW YORK TIMES

The global war on terror beat back organized terrorism significantly in the 25 years since American forces invaded Afghanistan, but by most measures, that 20-year war and subsequent U.S. war in Iraq were costly failures in ways that left the region and its people worse off.

Clearly, the United States is safer from attack than it was on Sept. 11, 2001, when members of al-Qa-ida who trained in Afghanistan carried out the horrific suicide terrorist attacks that slaughtered 2,977 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Credit goes to successive Republican and Democratic administrations.

But the conduct of America's longest war and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2021 let the Taliban return to power and revive its repressive Islamic regime, bringing an uneasy peace but also a heavily armed extremist government, economic hardship, a loss of freedom and a deplorable ban on girls over 12 getting an education. The recent U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, another endless war, left the region more perilous and empowered Iran to claim success there.

"I think the threat to the U.S. from Afghanistan is much lower than it was in 2001," said Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington, D.C. "Is it zero? No, but we can't be everywhere at once."

"We didn't have another 9/11, and there was a lot of work that was done quietly to prevent more terrorist attacks," Weinstein, a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, said in an interview. "But I don't think it's necessary for Americans to be deployed all over the world to prevent terrorism."

Former President George W. Bush launched the war on Oct. 7, 2001 that ousted the Taliban from power. Almost 10 years later, then-President Barack Obama dispatched Navy SEALs to storm a compound in northern Pakistan on May 2, 2011, and they killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Joe Biden as president authorized a CIA drone strike in Kabul a year after the U.S. pullout that killed bin Laden's successor, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, co-conspirator in conceiving the 9/11 attacks and global terrorist plans.

Al-Qaida has “declining relevance as a global movement,” according to one United Nations monitoring group, but U.S. and Western intelligence officials assess it still has training camps and safe houses in Afghanistan under Taliban protection. Thankfully, for now, it is said to be focused more on regional activities than planning grand, far-away attacks on the U.S. and its allies.

At the end of last month, American troops withdrew from Iraq following the deadliest war of the 21st century for U.S. forces. That war, launched in 2003 as part of the war on terror, is widely considered a disastrous strategic mistake, because Iraq had no significant links to al-Qaida and no terrorist weapons of mass destruction. Most experts agree the U.S. mishandled post-invasion planning.

The courageous work of U.S. and allied ground troops from 37 countries toppled Sunni Muslim Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and installed a Shiite-led government to help fight an insurgency until the first phase ended in 2009. American forces later returned to Iraq from 2014 to 2017 to put down Sunni Islamic State militants, but the Iraq war severely damaged America's reputation and emboldened U.S. enemies in the region.

While the terrorist threat to the U.S. is much lower now and over-the-horizon anti-terrorism strategies have been effective, the overall lessons of the war on terror are that military force alone cannot guarantee the success of U.S. policies or the safety of Americans. It must be combined with engagement, economic power and diplomatic leverage. President Donald Trump has learned that the hard way with his ill-conceived war of choice in Iran.

Sadly, bin Laden got some of what he wanted when his monstrous terrorist plot forced the U.S. to dispatch American forces to the region, and thousands were lost in battles. According to one study by Brown University in 2021, the cost of the U.S.-led global war on terror was an estimated \$8 trillion and some 900,000 deaths of military and civilian casualties on all sides. Of that total, estimated cost of operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan was \$2.3 trillion, and another \$2.1 trillion was committed for Iraq and Syria.

More than 7,000 U.S. service members lost their lives in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, and more than 53,000 were wounded. And \$2.2 trillion of the total cost is designated for future medical care and disability payments over the coming decades. The war on terror and counterterror operations continue in more than 80 countries today, the Brown study said.

Terrorism remains a significant global threat, according to the Global Terrorism Index compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace, headquartered in Sydney, but there are some positive trends. This year, the GTI reported that the largest declines in terrorist activity by percentage since 2007 have been in Iraq (99%) and Afghanistan (95%). In fact, deaths from terrorism have fluctuated significantly since 2007, when records started for the GTI, peaking at 10,882 in 2015 and reaching a low of 5,582 last year. Most global terrorism incidents have shifted from the Middle East and South Asia to Africa, according to the U.N. committee charged with monitoring the sanctions regime for terrorism.

Yes, things are calm from Kabul to Kandahar, but al-Qaida and other terrorist groups still operate in Afghanistan. The U.S. needs to shift its strategy to reengage there in more meaningful ways than hostage negotiations. The real policy disaster was less the chaotic pullout of American forces in August 2021 but rather the polices that led to it with the fall of the Taliban in December 2001, when the U.S. started pursuing a war without end that America could not win.

The Trump administration and its successors should focus now on cleaning up the mess America left behind and making small gains where possible through targeted diplomacy, not nation building, for now, as the Quincy Institute's Weinstein advocates.

That means engaging with the Taliban's de facto government and using humanitarian aid and economic leverage to make progress — picking up where military victory proved impossible. America still needs a regional, over-the-horizon counterterrorism strategy to protect the homeland. That might be difficult, sure, but it's a must.

Storer H. Rowley is a former national editor and foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. He teaches journalism and communication at Northwestern University.

Communalism and religion were driving forces in the early Chicago political machine

By Dominic A. Pacyga and Bob Dolgan

SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

The Irish-born John Powers, along with John “Bathhouse John” Coughlin and Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna, were among the so-called gray wolves of Chicago’s early 20th century City Council. Though Powers has mostly been forgotten, he represents the hallmarks of the early political machine, the one that gave rise to mayors Anton Cermak, Ed Kelly and Richard J. Daley. It’s a system that’s gone now, but one that may resonate as we experience a mayoral race today.

Powers and the wolves didn't just provide favors or jobs — though they did do both. They knew the neighborhood and voters intimately, from the tavern keepers to the priests, rabbis and ministers.

Powers signified a type of communalism, often bound by the church, that carried over from agricultural life in Europe. He was an owner of a saloon and a

Ald. John Powers, circa May 21, 1930. CHICAGO TRIBUNE HISTORICAL PHOTO

gambling house who was known for his fancy clothes and diamond ring. Though he was corrupt, his constituents looked up to him. His constituents wanted to be him someday. Powers was a protector of immigrant communities in an unfamiliar world of steel mills, stockyards and slaughterhouses. It was said he went to wakes nightly, carrying a rosary and a yarmulke in his pocket at all times.

He was known for giving a turkey or a goose at Christmas to anyone in need. It was generosity but also realpolitik — the idea was that he would receive votes in return.

Catholic education and tenets of loyalty and hierarchy often were at the center of the communal structure — beliefs the machine was based on. At the head was the pope, then there were the cardinal, the bishops and the priests. In the city, there's the head of the Democratic Party, the mayor, the committeemen, the aldermen and a legion of precinct captains. It's perhaps no wonder that five Chicago mayors were educated at De La Salle Institute on the South Side. The word "patron," after all, comes from the idea of a patron saint. Just as St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and last resort, so, too, were the benevolent aldermen who were the natural leaders of their wards. In Judaism, there was the web of communalism and the sharing of aid that came from the shtetls of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine.

The communal response was one that arose out of the peas-antry. Ethnic groups in Europe had to work together in order to survive serfdom, prejudice and poverty. The Bohemian-born Cermak — Chicago's only immigrant mayor — labored in coal mines before settling in Pilsen and becoming Democratic ward committeeman in 1908. Cermak, a child of the patronage system, knew how to play the game. He united Czechs, Poles, Jews and the South Side Irish behind the anti-Prohibition United Societies for Local Self-Government. Cermak was first elected citywide as bailiff and then to mayor in 1931. Daley was a young precinct captain at the time.

Another South Side Irishman, Kelly, took over after Cermak's assassination. It was the beginning of a power structure that would be in place for decades.

The mayoral power base began to change in the 1960s and '70s as ethnic communities dispersed to the suburbs and the Shakman Decrees remade political hiring. Vatican II reforms did away with Latin and depleted the ranks of priests and nuns, and the power of the church waned as parishes closed. The major pillars of the communal system were starting to dissolve. By the time of Richard M. Daley, the old system was fading: The number of patronage jobs had dropped from around 35,000 to 5,000.

Nowadays, while we may see aldermen at block parties and business openings, many of us haven't seen a precinct captain in more than 20 years. New centers of power such as the labor movement have emerged in the 21st century. And though the Cubs and White Sox made the playoffs, and the Bears are on the rise, politics remain Chicago's favorite sport.

Author and historian Dominic A. Pacyga received the 2026 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award for “Clout City: The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Political Machine” and is now writing a memoir about growing up in Back of the Yards and working in the Union Stock Yards. Bob Dolgan is the director of communications for the Newberry Library.

SCOTT STANTIS

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Voice of the People

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Living near rail property

In William Gillard's letter on Oct. 6 regarding the O'Hare Flyer's potential service through River Forest ("Flyer's potential ill effects"), he writes that transportation noise can lead to "fragmented sleep, elevated stress, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and impaired learning in children." Really? I have lived most of my life near the Purple Line "L," the last 40 years just two blocks away. I had no idea I had any of Gillard's suggested symptoms living near a rapid transit line built in the 19th and 20th centuries and running about 20 hours per day. So far, my medical reports have not shown any of the above symptoms, but I'll get checked out again.

Whenever anyone buys or rents a home near an airport or rail line, the owner of the airport or rail property has a right to use it as needed for commerce. Just ask residents in Bennington County, Vermont, and in western Connecticut: Years ago, old rusty rail lines were upgraded and used for new transportation purposes.

For homeowners, it truly is buyer beware.

Payson Wild, Evanston

Destruction

of public education

As an elderly Caucasian lifelong Chicagoan, it always staggers and stuns me the way the wealthy play the working class to serve their ends. Private charter school profiteers haven't been this excited since Rahm Emanuel was doing their bidding and closing public schools. The destruction of public education has been a long-term goal of the wealthy. "CTU Derangement Syndrome" is the driving force behind all their efforts. Its standard neoliberal scam is to privatize the profit and socialize the cost. A union run predominantly by Black people and women fills the elite white power class with abject fear.

Edward David Juillard, Chicago

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It's costly to park in Chicago

I grew up in Chicago in the 1950s and '60s. Street parking was free. There was no thought made to planning parking, no matter where one went in the city.

Today, I live in southwest Michigan, just over two hours away. I now carefully plan trips to Chicago. I park at family and friend's homes. Because of the high costs, I avoid visiting Chicago as much as possible.

— Gail M. Muliett, Richland, Michigan

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Time to reflect and repent

I have been praying for Christa Pike since 1995. And for Colleen

Slemmer, the girl she killed that year. And for the parents and loved ones of both of these young people.

Pike became a mission for me from the time I learned about the horrible thing she did. Why? Because I want her soul to be saved. Can I help save her soul through prayer? I don't know, but I've spent many years trying.

I do not believe in capital punishment. To purposely take a life, supposedly to avenge a murder, just doesn't seem like something God would want. I think God wants the killer to live out his or her life, however short or long that may be, hopefully leading to a day when the accused finally says the words, "I'm sorry, forgive me."

Has Pike ever said these words? I don't know, but if not, she now has more time.

Kathleen Melia, Niles

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Inciting needless anger?

I read with dismay the op-ed about belugas by Bob Kustra and Jenny Kustra-Quinn (“The time for keeping beluga whales captive for our entertainment has passed,” Oct. 5). The recent death of the four belugas at the Shedd Aquarium was of course tragic and sad. But I admire the Shedd and the Spanish aquarium that tried to save the lives of these crea-

tures. If they had not, the belugas would have been euthanized at the closed Marineland in Niagara Falls, Canada. Do the authors think that would have been better than at least trying to save them, presumably at great expense and surely at emotional cost to the aquarium and its staff?

It is important to note that zoos and aquariums in the U.S. accredited through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums no longer take animals from the wild, except in unusual circumstances. Association guidelines prohibit that.

I agree with the spirit of this op-ed but fear it may be inciting people to get upset about something that seldom happens anymore. Accredited zoos and aquariums are well versed in animal husbandry and welfare.

— Nancy McDaniel, Chicago

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Use paper napkins sparingly

Recently, my 27-year-old niece came from Kolkata, India, to visit me for a week. I took her to several nice places and restaurants to enjoy and show her this great America, where I'm very proud to be a citizen. Before she left, I asked her how she liked this place.

She commented, "Nice place, but I didn't like the way the people here waste the paper. Everybody at the restaurant takes so many napkins and uses only one, and then they put the others in the garbage, or they take too many to wipe their faces. Don't they know where paper comes from?"

I said paper napkins are free at the restaurant. She said, "But paper comes from trees. Trees are very important for the Earth."

Ever since then, I am very careful about wasting paper napkins. I hope other readers will be too.

— Bani Bhatta Schaumburg

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Note to readers

With Halloween coming, we'd like you to share your most memorable experience related to the holiday, either as a child or as an adult. A costume that you've never forgotten? A trip to a haunted house that scared you silly? Neighbors who went above and beyond to make things fun for the kids? Send a letter, of no more than 400 words, by Friday, Oct. 23 to letters@chicagotribune.com. Be sure to include your full name and your city/town.

For online-exclusive letters, go to www.chicagotribune.com/letters. Email your letter submissions, 400 words or less, to letters@chicago tribune.com. Include your full name, address and phone number.

VINTAGE CHICAGO TRIBUNE BREAKING HISTORY SINCE 1847

A ‘vicious cycle’ of gang violence claims another top gangster

The casket bearing Earl "Hymie" Weiss is surrounded by a crowd at his funeral at Sbarbaro & Co. at 708 N. Wells St. in Chicago on Oct. 15, 1926. CHICAGO TRIBUNE HISTORICAL PHOTO

The fatal shooting of Earl “Hymie” Weiss and Patrick Murray took place near Schofield’s flower shop, center right, and Holy Name Cathedral, left, in October 1926. The gunfire came from a window at 740 N. State St., also on the right. Three others were injured. CHICAGO TRIBUNE HISTORICAL PHOTO

Police show the apartment at 740 N. State St. in Chicago where gunmen took aim and shot Earl “Hymie” Weiss on Oct. 11, 1926. “Thirty-five empty .45-caliber shells were piled near the window,” the Tribune reported. CHICAGO TRIBUNE HISTORICAL PHOTO

Bootlegger Earl 'Hymie' Weiss gunned down 100 years ago near Holy Name

By Paul Durica

FOR THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

A century ago, a man fell down on State Street, with Holy Name Cathedral on one side and his intended destination, a flower shop, on the other. He'd been fatally shot.

The man had been christened Henryk Wojciechowski, but when his family immigrated to the United States they changed their name to Weiss, and, in his case, Henryk became Earl.

Those who feared him as one of Chicago's top mobsters called him "Hymie."

Hymie Weiss started getting into trouble while he was a teenager. Vandalism, assault, robbery — all these acts distinguished him as a hoodlum, much to his Catholic mother's dismay. In June 1920, the Tribune referred to him as a "safe blower." He was in the paper for having shot his brother, Fred, in what was claimed to be an accident.

In his early 20s, Weiss had fallen in with other young hoodlums, including Dean O'Banion, also destined for gangland notoriety. The two were part of a group of burglars who once were caught in the act of robbing the Chicago Typographical Union after blowing the door off a safe in June 1921.

It turned out that was their second burglary of the night. "Money found in their possession, slightly burned and ragged about the edges," led police to believe they'd been responsible for blowing up a safe at a feedstore as well, according to the Tribune.

The Tribune's reporting noted that O'Banion already had been "implicated in several safe robberies and booze deals" before getting caught red-handed.

Weiss and O'Banion might have remained mere hoodlums had the United States Congress and 36 state legislatures not changed the course of their lives. On Jan. 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution went into effect, prohibiting the manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating beverages. Congress passed the Volstead Act to enforce this prohibition. And, almost immediately, a black market sprang up to meet the desires of Americans who still wanted to drink.

Men like O'Banion and Weiss realized that trafficking in beer, wine and spirits during Prohibition would yield far greater riches than any number of burglaries. They shifted their focus to the illegal booze trade. Once a hoodlum, Weiss became a bootlegger and a gangster.

By the time he died Oct. 11, 1926, having been “struck in the head and body by ten or twelve bullets,” Weiss was the leader of the group of criminals O’Banion had formed called the North Side Gang.

North Side gangster Earl "Hymie" Weiss, circa 1925. CHICAGO HERALD AND EXAMINER

Weiss was not alone the day he was shot. Also struck down was Patrick Murray, a lower-ranking bootlegger. Criminal lawyer W.W. O'Brien, his investigator Benjamin Jacobs and another gangster, Sam Pellar, were wounded. They managed to escape the line of fire and had found nearby doctors who tended to their injuries.

Eyewitness accounts varied in some details, but all agreed that a rapid succession of shots had been fired from a second-floor window of a boarding house across from the cathedral and next to the flower shop.

After the police arrived, Deputy Chief of Detectives John Stege searched the room where the gunfire had originated. The Tribune described the scene in detail:

“Thirty-five empty .45 caliber shells were in a pile near the window — just as they had been ejected from a Thompson machine gun. Three exploded shells also lay there. A hundred or more cigaret butts were on the floor, indicating a long period of watchful waiting.” Police also recovered a shotgun.

A week later, a second gun “nest” was discovered around the corner in a rented flat on Superior “because a radiator was leaking and the janitor forced an entrance into the room.” He discovered a loaded shotgun in a golf bag. This backup location proved how “efficient in murder were the slayers of

Hymie Weiss," the Tribune wrote.

The woman who'd rented the flat under an assumed name never was identified, nor the young man who'd rented the room from which the fatal shots were fired. According to witnesses, the man was not there the day of the killings; instead there were two other men, one of whom "was described as of Sicilian cast."

After the shooting, the killers fled out the back entrance, tossing the murder weapon over a fence before it landed on a doghouse. They were last seen heading south on Dearborn, a block over from where Murray died and Weiss was bleeding out.

Weiss was still alive when a fire truck and ambulance arrived, but died soon after at Henrotin Hospital on Oak Street. When police searched the pockets of his coat, they found a list of jurors in the ongoing criminal trial of a fellow bootlegger, Joe Saltis, and a considerable amount of cash.

The police found more evidence related to the trial when they opened the safe of the flower shop. The shop, co-owned by onetime aldermanic candidate William Schofield, was a legitimate business, supplying floral arrangements for weddings and funerals across Chicago.

But Schofield also had been in business with Weiss' old friend O'Banion, who used the shop as a front for his bootlegging. Weiss took over the gang after O'Banion was shot to death by rival gangsters in 1924 and continued to operate out of Schofield's.

The lawyer who was shot on State Street near Weiss, O'Brien, told police he'd just stepped off a streetcar en route to meeting his wife. In other words, he was an innocent bystander who just happened to be Saltis' defense attorney.

That didn't explain why his investigator happened to be on the same stretch of the street, near the gangsters Weiss, Murray and Pellar, when the machine-gun fire rained down upon them all.

Though Weiss' assassination exposed an attempt to corrupt the case against Saltis, police believed the trial did not factor into the killing. Ultimately, Saltis would be acquitted in a second trial with a new jury.

Chief of Police Morgan Collins had a different theory about the reason for the shooting: An ongoing gangland war.

"We knew it was coming sooner or later," Collins told the Tribune. "And it isn't over. I fully expect that there will be a reprisal, then a counter-reprisal and so on. These beer feuds go in an eternal vicious cycle."

The North Side Gang had one great rival, the South Side Gang, originally led by John Torrio. He'd come from New York City to Chicago to assist James "Big Jim" Colosimo in running his prostitution and gambling operations in the years leading up to Prohibition.

Torrio had an executive's mind and saw the potential of illegal booze to generate an income previously unimaginable. Colosimo was conveniently murdered by an unknown assailant, and Torrio shifted the focus of the enterprise to bootlegging. He also sought to divide up Chicago among the other gangs coming into power, believing there was enough money to go around and that conflict cut into profits.

The individual who posed the greatest threat to this peace among criminals was O'Banion. When his provocations proved too great for Torrio, O'Banion was gunned down in his flower shop in November 1924. The North Side Gang, now led by Weiss, responded by shooting Torrio multiple times, nearly killing him, in front of his home in January 1925.

Thus began the “eternal vicious cycle” described by Collins.

More shootings followed, including one directed at the man who'd taken over the South Side Gang and moved its operations to Cicero after Torrio's forced retirement. This man, known as Al Brown, had come over with Torrio from New York. He'd managed the notorious brothel and dive Four Deuces but presented himself as a secondhand furniture dealer. Collins thought he was behind the slaying of Weiss.

"I'm sorry Weiss was killed," Brown told the Tribune when he consented to an interview. "But I didn't have anything to do with it."

Weiss had dropped his Polish last name before Prohibition. The Tribune noted that Brown, too, had “abandoned his family name.” He was actually Al Capone.

No one was charged in Weiss' and Murray's murders. Today, their story is told on gangster and ghost tours, with a special emphasis placed on the cornerstone of Holy Name Cathedral, said to have been strafed by machine-gun bullets.

“I don’t want to encourage the business,” Collins said at the time of the Weiss killing. “But if somebody has to be killed, it’s a good thing the gangsters are murdering themselves off.”

The “vicious cycle” of gang violence reached its bloody culmination in a cartage company garage on Feb. 14, 1929: The shooting known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Paul Durica works for the Chicago History Museum and runs historical talks, walks and reenactments at pocketguidetohell.com. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Marianne Mather at mmather@chicagotribune.com.

Officials tie at least 4 deaths to Isaias

People retrieve belongings from a collapsed boat house Saturday in Destin, Florida. GERALD HERBERT/AP

Cleanup underway as power still out in swaths of Southeast

By Emilie Megnien, Gerald Herbert and Michael Casey

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Isaias peeled off hotel and condominium rooftops and facades along the Florida Panhandle before charging north Saturday, dishing out torrential rains and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes across the Southeast.

At least four deaths were linked to the storm, including two people killed when trees fell onto homes in Florida and Alabama.

Forecasters warned that flooding could stretch into the Appalachians.

Isaias came ashore as a strong Category 2 hurricane Friday near Destin, Florida, a vacation spot filled with high-rises and tourist shops. The storm weakened but remained dangerous.

Despite warnings of storm surges ahead of the storm, several major routes along the coast were open by daybreak Saturday.

The damage was bad, but nowhere near as catastrophic as many people had feared.

Coastal flooding was less intense than had been predicted.

“We got away with murder,” said David Gates, 60, who was out walking in Fort Walton Beach near Destin.

Within the first hours after landfall, nearly 900,000 customers were without power, mostly in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. About 200,000 had it restored later Saturday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Hurricane-force winds in the Florida Panhandle blew the roof off a Pensacola hotel, and the city's mayor said the airport "took some damage."

The storm flattened a boat house in Destin and ripped away part of the facade of a high-rise in Panama City Beach.

A worker in a condominium parking lot swept piles of the building's insulation while others put back beach chairs that had been tossed about.

In Florida's Escambia County, Sheriff Chip Simmons said a woman was killed when a tree fell on her home and a man died of carbon monoxide fumes from a generator running in his garage. Four of the man's family members, ranging in age from 4 to 72, were treated but expected to survive, the sheriff said.

Nearby in Gulf Breeze, Jayme Mitich wiped tears away Saturday as she surveyed the damage to her apartment. Her living room was soaked and covered in insulation.

She and her 13-year-old daughter, Jeweliana Jackson, hid beneath a mattress before the storm tore off part of their roof.

"The noise got so loud, and I just kept hearing things break and crash into everything," Mitich said.

The rest of their apartment complex was littered with roof shingles and broken beams from a wooden fence.

The winds uprooted trees and flipped a truck on its side.

"It's going to be OK," Mitich said. "No matter what, we're going to make it."

Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, roared farther into Alabama with tropical-force winds.

One person died when a tree fell on a house in Birmingham, said Cory Moon, the city's fire chief.

A second storm-related death in Alabama was attributed to a motor vehicle crash involving a downed tree in Barbour County, said Josh Johnson of the state's emergency management agency.

Along Alabama's Gulf Coast, authorities in Mobile reported numerous downed trees and power lines.

Maranie Adams, who rode out the storm with her family and their chickens in Gulf Shores, Alabama, said the winds rocked their home, but it was nothing like Hurricane Sally in 2020, which left water under their elevated house.

“I feel very much more relieved today,” she said.

President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Georgia after earlier doing the same for Florida and Alabama, allowing for federal aid.

The U.S. Energy Department authorized emergency exchanges of crude oil from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve to address disruptions in supply because of the storm.

The Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet this year, and Isaias was the first hurricane to hit the eastern U.S. since 2024.

The National Weather Service in Miami advised that parts of Georgia and the Carolinas could see heavy rains capable of causing flash floods. The storm was expected to move into the Tennessee Valley and then the mid-Atlantic on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Simon has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it barrels toward Mexico's coast. The hurricane center said that Simon's maximum sustained winds increased to $150\mathrm{mph}$ .

The center said it expected Simon “to be near or just inland” of Mexico’s west-central coast Sunday. The hurricane could bring as much as 10 to 20 inches of rain over parts of southwestern Mexico, with some areas in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches.

"This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," the center warned in a bulletin.

Canadian tourist Ed Currie, who along with his wife still has five more days to enjoy Puerto Vallarta, said the hurricane had not yet affected his plans.

"Just stay in the hotel and look out the window hopefully," he said of what the couple would do. "I just don't know what to expect."

Tropical Storm Rachel was also expected to bring heavy winds and rain to northern Mexico and Southern California over the weekend.

The New York Times contributed.

Trump says it's time for a new leader in Ukraine

President blames

Zelenskyy for high

diesel prices in US

By Matthew Daly, Susie Blann and Elise Morton

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday that it was time for Ukraine to get a new president, suggesting Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end his country's war with Russia and blaming him for high diesel prices in the U.S.

"I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does," Trump said.

The president, who on Friday struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia in an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, has been urging Zelenskyy for weeks to stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.

He has also sought to blame record U.S. diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran, which has elevated world energy prices.

"He wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel," Trump said, before departing for Tennessee where he was set to rally Republican voters.

Ukrainian and European officials Saturday reacted to Trump's diesel deal with dismay, saying it will help pay for Russia's war efforts. Diesel prices have skyrocketed due to a collision of events, including the difficulty of getting oil out of the Middle East since the start of the Iran war, which has raised the price of all oil products.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last month and published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran, and blame him for higher prices.

Trump also suggested that if he had been president in 2022, “that war would have never started. There was no reason that war with Ukraine and Russia started. It started due to incompetence.”

Rescue workers carry a body Saturday after pulling it from the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. KATERYNA KLOCHKO/AP

Zelenskyy has “lost 30% of your country and you’ve had over a million people go between the two of them, over 2 million people killed. That’s a war that should have never started. And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump said.

Independent estimates are that about 20% of Ukraine's territory is under Russian control. British defense officials recently estimated about a half-million Russian soldiers have been killed in the war; there are no reliable recent estimates about how many Ukrainians have died.

Trump's extraordinary intervention came after Russian strikes killed at least 20 people in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.

Three children were among those killed when Russian aerial bombs hit residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Saturday. At least 18 people were wounded.

Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than $4 \frac{1}{2}$ years since Moscow's full-scale invasion. Ukraine is struggling to counter escalating Russian bombardments that have killed more than 60 people over the past four days.

“Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskyy wrote Saturday on X.

He said every additional billion dollars Russia earns from exports would help pay for weapons components, drone upgrades, missile production and the recruitment of mercenaries, and that Moscow would only be ready to stop when its ability to fight diminished.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was coordinating steps to counter the extra revenue Russia will receive, and that he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about shoring up air defenses, warning of an increased risk of further missile strikes in the coming days.

Trump announced Friday that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.”

Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.

In Kyiv, people gathered at a memorial to fallen soldiers on Independence Square greeted the deal with a mix of anger and resignation.

“Trump has once again shown his true face,” said Oleksandr Petrenko, 26. “He didn’t care about the situation, the shelling or the destruction of our homes. All he’s interested in is oil or the fuel prices and how much Americans have to pay.”

For Oksana Yakunina, a financial adviser from the central city of Kropyvnytskyi, the announcement “didn’t really come as a surprise.”

“Trump has been working with Putin for a long time,” she said.

US weighs striking Houthi rebels after Saudi airport hit again

Smoke and flames rise from a fire Friday at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. UGC

By Samy Magdy and Cara Anna

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAIRO — The international airport in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, was attacked again Saturday as the kingdom faces an extraordinary series of assaults in the new front in the Iran war. President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.

The Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot.

On Saturday, a missile struck complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, killing 12 and injuring more than 300, civil aviation authorities said. A Saudi statement said a U.S. citizen was among the dead. The others killed were from Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Sudan.

“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump said of intervening. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

The surge in attacks, including against other Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure, has come in the week since a Saudi-led coalition launched a military offensive against the Houthis. There was no immediate statement from the rebels, who earlier accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.

Saudi civil aviation authorities said airport operations were suspended. The airport had a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex were dimmed.

At least 291 flights at the Riyadh airport had been canceled over the past 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site Flight-Aware. Flights diverted elsewhere.

Countries, including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and Germany, warned citizens to avoid the airport.

The attacks on airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, have rattled markets and the region. And yet the Saudi energy ministry hours after the latest attack was still promoting a major international energy conference set to begin Sunday in Riyadh.

Medicaid cuts hit legal immigrants

Pediatrician Irving Phillips examines a toddler June 26 at a community clinic in Davis, Calif. GODOFREDO A. VÁSQUEZ/AP

Critics fear many will delay medical care or crowd ERs

By Mikella Schuettler and Fatima Hussein

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New restrictions have stripped Medicaid coverage from certain legal immigrants, including refugees and victims of human trafficking, as part of broader federal changes to the health insurance program that are expected to force millions off their coverage.

The change, which went into effect Oct. 1, cut from Medicaid what is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of people who legally immigrated to the United States, many of whom work and pay taxes, in the latest Trump administration policy to target foreigners.

The move is part of sweeping changes to Medicaid under President Donald Trump's 2025 tax cut and policy law, with many set to take effect early next year. The Medicaid changes are projected to result in 7.5 million fewer people with health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office's 2025 estimate.

Advocates say that without Medicaid, people will not be able to afford private insurance and will either delay care or end up in emergency rooms, adding pressure to a strained health system.

For immigrants, the cuts could be felt more acutely, compounding the effects of other administration efforts to restrict their access to public assistance as part of a broader immigration crackdown.

"This is about telling every immigrant in the United States that they are not welcome here and that they should leave," said Ben D'Avanzo, a senior strategist at the National Immigration Law Center, which has pursued litigation against the Republican administration over its immigration agenda.

Refugees, asylum seekers, victims of human trafficking and domestic violence are among those who have lost coverage. Green card holders were not impacted.

Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said “immigrants must be able to support themselves without taking from overburdened benefits programs paid for by hard-working American taxpayers.”

D'Avanzo said many people who have lost coverage will likely only realize when they need medical care. But for some, the change has been felt immediately.

In Tucson, Arizona, María Chacon has been caring for her son Jesus for almost five years since a car accident at 17 left him unable to breathe on his own. He requires a ventilator, a feeding tube and daily medication, and must be turned once every two hours to stop sores from forming.

The family is originally from Mexico and entered the U.S. on a T visa, offered to victims of human trafficking, in 2018.

Chacon said Medicaid has helped cover almost \$25,000 per month of care for her son, which includes a small stipend for her and her husband as compensation for being long-term caregivers. She said doctors have explained that even if they both worked 24 hours a day, they would not be able to cover the cost of his care.

“Since that day, I haven’t been able to sleep. We haven’t been able to eat or anything. We’re wondering what we’re going to do?” Chacon said.

Jesus takes medication that Chacon estimates costs \$7,000 a month. The supply runs out in mid-October. Without coverage, she does not know how her son is going to survive.

Chacon found out just days before the cuts that she was losing care. She called the state's Medicaid offices to appeal. Although she is in the process of obtaining a green card, Medicaid coverage would only kick in five years after she is approved.

Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a right-leaning think tank that seeks less immigration, said the administration “is trying to nibble around the edges” with the Oct. 1 cuts, finding piecemeal ways to curb immigration into the country.

Camarota believes the government should screen legal immigrants for income potential and education.

“You need immigrants who are unlikely to need welfare,” he said, or those with high educational attainment.

The administration recently revived a federal rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and others.

Chacon said her son is in no condition to travel.

“I know that’s what he’s doing, but, as my son is, I couldn’t go to Mexico,” Chacon said.

Medicaid, jointly funded by states and the federal government, has become a political focal point during Trump's second term.

In July, the administration deferred over \$1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota, claiming there was suspected fraud; critics argued the move targeted Democratic-led states.

As more people are cut from Medicaid, the federal government is predicted to reduce program spending by \$911 billion, according to healthcare research nonprofit KFF.

Overall, more than 281,000 immigrants from nine states and the District of Columbia are estimated to lose Medicaid coverage, according to KFF.

Without coverage, people will turn to emergency rooms for care.

"At the end of the day, it does raise the cost for the states because once you get these people in for something that could have been prevented, they could not go to the doctor because they were uninsured; they most likely will end up at a hospital in an emergency room," said Carmen Feliciano, the vice president of policy and advocacy at UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights organization.

NEWS BRIEFING

Hospital releases Tenn. prisoner after botched execution, lawyers say

death sentences.

FROM NEWS SERVICES

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Pike, who survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her by lethal injection, has been moved back to prison, her attorneys said Saturday.

Pike, 50, was discharged from the hospital and is back at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, the women's prison where she was housed for 30 years, her attorneys said in a written statement.

“She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery,” the statement said.

Pike had been hospitalized since surviving two doses of pentobarbital as the state attempted to execute her Sept. 30 for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. At one point, she was on a ventilator and her attorneys did not expect her to survive. However, they said Pike woke up and began talking and walking with assistance.

The Death Penalty Information Center said Pike is the first person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution.

The Tennessee Department of Correction has not said what went wrong in the execution.

Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on whether a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in her tissue instead of entering her bloodstream. Pike's attorneys wrote in a court filing that “apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed.”

Youth protest in India: Police officers detain a demonstrator Saturday in Mumbai during a protest demanding the resignation of the country's election chief, Gyanesh Kumar. Authorities deployed a sweeping security crackdown as India's youth "Cockroach" movement sought to intensify a nationwide campaign against a voter list revision. RAFIQ MAQBOOL/AP

The failed execution brought renewed scrutiny to how Tennessee carries out

Gov. Bill Lee has since postponed the state's only other scheduled execution this year and ordered a review of what went wrong. The state's prison chief resigned in the wake of the failed execution.

As the process got underway, Pike was asked if she had a final statement and she spoke of being at peace. About five minutes later, she raised her head and said her arm hurt. Later, she appeared to lose consciousness but could be heard breathing heavily until media witnesses were escorted from the witness room nearly 90 minutes into the execution. An ambulance took her to a hospital.

Pennsylvania shooting: A shooting in a residential area of Erie left nine dead, including two children, a pregnant woman and the suspected shooter, authorities said.

Erie police Chief Rick Lorah said the 45-year-old male gunman was related to seven of the victims in Friday's shooting, while the eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman.

Video and audio evidence recovered by investigators showed two “distressed” women arriving at the home shortly before 5 p.m. and pounding on the door, he said.

The gunman then came out and shot them before returning inside.

Police arrived to find the two women dead outside. Inside they found the bodies of a 5-year-old boy, a 1-year-old girl, two more women, two young men and the shooter.

Lorah declined to discuss motive but said investigators would talk to other relatives and examine the cellphones of the women who were killed outside the home.

Officers are said to have arrived within minutes of receiving an alert via ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that relies on artificial intelligence and a network of microphones to identify gunshots. The city said in a statement that no additional shots were fired after that.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he offered his administration's "full support" to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin.

Erie is about 120 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Anthropic false tip: An Anthropic artificial intelligence model submitted a false tip to a Philadelphia police website about an unsolved homicide case, authorities and Anthropic said.

It's the latest example of AI models acting in unintended ways and manipulating government and other websites during tests. In a report Friday, Anthropic also disclosed a separate incident when its AI model submitted forms to an undisclosed government website instead of stopping before submission. The incident in Philadelphia occurred July 18 when the AI model Claude Haiku 4.5 was tasked with performing example tasks on randomly selected webpages, Anthropic said.

There are rising concerns about AI companies' unchecked AI agents meddling with everything from U.S. government websites to healthcare data. Critics have been calling for more regulation.

Pope on capital punishment: Pope Leo XIV on Saturday declared capital punishment "inadmissible" as he marked the World Day Against the Death Penalty and his native United States announced plans to livestream an execution by firing squad.

In a post on X, the U.S. pope quoted the revised Catholic teaching on capital punishment ushered in by Pope Francis that the death penalty attacks the inherent dignity of a human being.

The post ended with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty.

The U.S. Defense Department announced Thursday that the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of a 2009 shooting at the Fort Hood military base, will be livestreamed. Hasan, scheduled to be executed Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he would be making a decision ultimately on whether the execution would be livestreamed.

Palestinian election: President Mahmoud Abbas postponed what would have been the first Palestinian elections in nearly 20 years, issuing a decree on Friday to further delay voting for the Palestinian Legislative Council almost another year.

Rather than take place as scheduled next month, the decree pushes the elections back to Sept. 11, 2027, according to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency.

Presidential elections, which have not taken place for more than two decades, are scheduled for the same day.

The postponement leaves entrenched Palestinian leaders unchallenged and threatens to further erode the Palestinian Authority's credibility among ordinary Palestinians and donor countries who fund it.

Borneo wildfires: Wildfires sweeping across parts of Indonesia's Borneo island have left endangered orangutans struggling to survive, prompting rescuers to evacuate animals found injured, stranded and surrounded by thick haze.

Forest and land fires in Indonesia have worsened this year as El Niño intensifies a prolonged dry season, not only in the Indonesian part of Borneo but also in some regions on Sumatra island.

Water shortages in the areas have hampered firefighting, while Japan has provided firefighting assistance to the island.

It said more than 270 wild animals in Kalimantan had been rescued, rehabilitated or guided to safer habitats as of Saturday.

Red undertow makes waves in GOP

Jim Pasek, left, and Jeff Gilbert exchange political views Oct. 1 in Gobles, Mich. JAMIE KELTER DAVIS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

More party voters

tuning out Trump

ahead of midterms

By Sabrina Tavernise THE NEW YORK TIMES

If Democrats make big gains in the midterm elections next month, it may not only be because their most loyal voters come out in force, or because their candidates have converted Republican voters to their cause.

Instead, the Democrats' dream blue wave could come from Republicans who sour on President Donald Trump and stay home. It already has a name: the red undertow.

Across the country, signs are emerging of an enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans, even among those who consider themselves likely to vote.

A stretch of rural south-west Michigan — long a GOP stronghold — illustrates the point, with more signs for blueberries and eggs than for political candidates. Volunteers are not showing up to door-knock. And many voters say they are tuning out the election.

“People are just more focused on everyday life,” said Lindsay Kronemeyer, 35, a conservative Christian mother of two who works in the construction industry. “I don’t hear the chatter on the Republican side of ‘Trump this, Trump that’ He’s just not there in my head anymore.”

Jim Pasek, a retired pharmaceutical plant maintenance worker who lives in the tiny town of Gobles, Michigan, was baffled by a president he has voted for twice.

“He’s not making sense,” Pasek, 80, said. “It confuses me, and then I just get disgusted and tune out.”

The idea of the red undertow was introduced last month by political analyst Charlie Cook, who argued that the Democratic brand was still underwater, but that this election was not about a rising Democratic tide. It was about a drowning Trump

brand.

In its wake, Cook wrote, an undertow will “pull many Republicans under.”

In nearly three dozen interviews in western Michigan, a sense of fatigue was constant, and that feeling goes beyond that region.

“President Trump has been saying, ‘Vote as if I was on the ballot,’ and that’s exactly what I’m going to do

— not vote," said Brandon Tremaine, 24, a graduate student in Texas who voted for Trump in 2020. "You do not campaign on being the ticket of peace and start a war of choice that is directly hurting Americans here at home and gotten Americans killed overseas."

Polls can be unreliable, and moods may be fleeting. Trump loyalists are known for not taking the calls of polling outfits, and that may be overstating Democratic strengths. Disaffected Trump voters may yet rally to vote as the possibility of a Democratic victory nears, and many

Americans still love Trump.

Americans still love Trump. "I'll go the length with Trump," said Jeff Gilbert, 67, a friend of Pasek in Gobles.

A New York Times/Siena University national poll from last month found that Democrats were more likely to say they were absolutely certain to vote than Republicans, 61% to 56%. While Democrats led Republicans nationally by 7 percentage points among registered voters, that advantage rose to 9 points among likely voters.

But in close races, a small gap could prove meaningful.

“People are tired,” Al Pscholka, a Republican and a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives, said of Trump. “The whole divider-in-chief thing, it’s gotten to the point where it’s just exhausting.”

The concern is showing in unlikely places.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, a western Michigan Republican whose four House victories were all by comfortable margins, is in “the fight of his life" against a well-funded centrist Democrat from Kalamazoo named Sean McCann, said Rob Pocock, a retired Republican political consultant who has worked on campaigns in the region.

Nancy DeBoer, the local GOP state representative, also faces a serious fight against Joseph McClusky, a graduate of Hope College, a conservative Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan, who is gay.

"I would be shocked if Joseph wins, but I can't believe he's done as well as he has," said Pocock, who teaches at Hope and had McClusky as a student. He said in Ottawa County, he was seeing Democratic yard signs in numbers he'd never seen before.

Western Michigan may be seeing the ebb tide of the president's MAGA movement, which had surged in this region, once known for a sober, Christian-inflected conservatism.

In Ottawa County, Trump supporters secured eight of the 11 seats on the county commission after COVID-19. Pro-Trump forces won control of the state party, too. Today, the MAGA wing is down to three seats in Ottawa County. They have also lost posts in Berrien and Kent counties.

“I think there’s a shift in the party back toward, we need a little bit of the establishment folks,” Kronemeyer said. “They exist for a reason.”

If anybody should be enthusiastic about the election, it is Kronemeyer. She ran for a statehouse seat in 2022. She door-knocked for Trump in 2016 and 2020. But she said that when a friend asked her recently about the races in her area, she had to admit she hadn't been following them closely. She lives in deep-red Allegan County, where “traditionally in election years, yard signs would be peppered everywhere,” she said.

But the only signs she'd seen this year were for a judge, she said.

Ten years have passed since Trump took the country by storm, bringing a message of economic populism that appealed to millions of working-class Americans.

"He was a ball of energy," Pasek said, sitting at breakfast in Gobles with his friend, Gilbert. "You could feel it. You could see it."

Now, Pasek said, Trump seems to have lost his way. He started a war when he said he wouldn't. And he seems to talk more about ballrooms and arches than he does about how he will bring prices back down.

"He's losing touch with the American people," Pasek said.

Gilbert said that he had stopped following the news closely, choosing to spend more time outside with his dog, Mabel. But he voted for Trump in 2024, and he said he stands by that choice. He said he believed Trump had a plan for Iran.

Pasek countered, “He says he has a plan, but then he doesn’t tell us what it is.”

Pasek cited gas prices: "He says it's chump change. No, it's not! It's killing the people."

He has noticed someone living in a car in a parking lot when he drives into town, he said. He worried about his granddaughter, 28, a college graduate from Michigan State University, who is working three jobs — one full-time and two part-time

— but can't find a house she can afford.

Those misgivings are being felt at the local party level.

Doug Koopman, a member of the Kent County Republican Party's executive committee, said it had been a struggle to get the foot soldiers of the midterm elections — volunteer door-knockers and canvassers — to pick up brochures to distribute door to door, leaving bags of them sitting around the party headquarters.

"There's very low energy on the Republican side," he said.

A man rides a bicycle past a collapsed house and a car buried under debris Saturday in Chitre, about 155 miles southwest of Panama City. DANIEL DE CARTERET/GETTY-AFP

Panama officials declare state of emergency following quakes

By Aris Mariota, Juan Zamorano, Megan Janetsky and Alma Solís

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LA VILLA DE LOS SANTOS, Panama — The government of Panama declared a state of emergency Saturday as the aftershocks of two powerful earthquakes that roiled the country shook communities for hours.

Officials reported damages in all 10 of Panama's provinces and two Indigenous territories.

The 7.7- and 6.6-magnitude earthquakes Friday toppled buildings near the epicenter and prompted evacuations across the Central American country.

Seismologists recorded more than 100 aftershocks.

The earlier quake, also felt in neighboring Colombia, was centered 6 miles southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, in the central province of Herrera, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Presidential Minister Juan Carlos Orillac announced the emergency during a news conference in the capital, Panama City. He said homes, schools, healthcare facilities, roads and hotels were among the damaged facilities.

Malitzie Rivera, deputy director of the National Civil Protection System, said the state had reports of 27 people with injuries, ranging from minor to moderate. Most of the damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, Cocle and Los Santos.

The Civil Protection agency tallied 420 homes and about the same number of public schools damaged. It also reported that seven hotels, at least 13 churches and nine bridges were affected by the earthquakes.

The U.S. State Department on Saturday said it mobilized a disaster response team to help local authorities with search and rescue expertise as well as aerial and on-the-ground assessments. The U.S. government also pledged \$5 million for humanitarian assistance.

U.S. Southern Command also said two helicopters supported by the State Department's drug-control bureau had delivered 2,000 pounds of food to Panamanian communities affected by the earthquakes.

In La Villa de Los Santos, a colonial-era community about 40 miles northeast of the epicenter, homes and a historical Catholic church collapsed. People who spent the night on the streets were waiting for the government's guidance on what to do next.

“We’ve been here since 1 p.m. yesterday; we haven’t moved,” Tony Jiménez, whose home partially collapsed, said while sitting with relatives under a tent.

The collapsed Church of San Atanasio was declared a National Historic Heritage Site in 1938. Images of crumbling buildings and deep fissures slicing through roads added to fears across a Latin American region battered by a series of devastating earthquakes in recent months.

Two back-to-back earthquakes roiled Venezuela's La Guaira state in June, killing more than 6,500 people and leaving 17,000 homeless. In August, an earthquake in Colombia killed 289 people.

The lower toll in nearby Panama may have been due to the country's strict building codes, especially governing construction of skyscrapers in the capital, said Carlos Valdés, head of the Seismology Department at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Panama lies along the "Ring of Fire," a 25,000-mile arc of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Basin, where most of the world's quakes occur.

Woman wounds 3 as 3rd school attack in 4 days shocks Poland

By Claudia Ciobanu

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The entrance to the private school is seen Saturday in the Praga district of Warsaw in Poland. CLAUDIA CIOBANU/AP

WARSAW, Poland — A woman wounded three people inside an educational institution in Poland's capital, Warsaw, on Saturday, police say, in the third attack at a school in less than a week.

Bloodstains were visible Saturday afternoon on a patch of grass near the entrance to the private post-secondary school in the Praga district of Warsaw. The school was open Saturday and the victims were submitting papers at the school office when they were attacked, police said.

The attack came after police Saturday said they detained 76 people across Poland and checked nearly 50,000 schools nationwide as part of efforts to prevent further violence following two school attacks earlier in the week.

The suspect Saturday used a “dangerous object” to attack a 17-year-old girl and also wounded two other people, aged 17 and 24, said Jakub Filipiak, a spokesman for Warsaw police. None of the wounds were life-threatening. The suspect was in custody.

On Wednesday, a 19-year-old student at a vocational school in the Mazovian province in central Poland attacked fellow students, teachers and passersby with a sharp object, wounding nine people. He was arrested nearby.

The following day, a 15-year-old killed a school custodian and wounded two others in a knife attack at his former school in the same province.

The assaults, both carried out by Polish nationals, shocked a country where school violence is a new phenomenon.

The government said it had found no evidence that an internet challenge promoting school attacks was ongoing. There was no official confirmation that the attacks were linked.

The attacks “happen one after the other and there is geographic proximity, so you are left wondering if they are not connected,” said Kacper Rekawek, senior researcher at the International Center for Counterterrorism in The Hague.

"This is essentially a copy-cat scenario, something of a long trail of attackers going back to at least 2019, if not decades earlier," he said, referring to Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist who shot and killed 51 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

Rekawek said that one of the suspects in the latest attacks used the same imagery and aesthetics as Tarrant, which means the Polish incidents should be “placed within the confines of essentially terrorist behavior.”

Rumors that the attacks were coordinated and that there would be more on “bloody Friday” had been shared Thursday night in parents’ online groups and by mainstream media. It led to 59 schools preemptively suspending classes Friday across Poland, the majority in Mazovian province.

In other schools, principals sent messages announcing stepped-up security measures including extra staff at entrances and back-

pack checks.

"There will be no compromise here. The safety of the youth is the most important thing," Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said.

Parents are now having to catch up fast on how to speak to their kids about school violence. Authorities say extra security measures at schools will continue and crisis training will be organized.

The liberal government also promised to renew efforts to pass a bill blocking harmful online content.

"If that juvenile attacker had streamed the crime online today, we would have been unable to block that content because we have not been given that legal tool," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

After allegedly killing the school custodian and wounding two adults in Thursday's attack, the 15-year-old, who wore a camera to record his actions, was eventually overpowered by school principal Krzysztof Ochmanński.

Ochmański later told reporters there was a moment when the boy seemed to realize the enormity of his actions and said he did not want to do this anymore.

“Once I had established contact, he asked me for help,” Ochmański recounted. “It got to the point where he wanted a hug.”

US rule to affect drugs from Canada

The flags of Canada and the United States fly Sept. 12 in Ottawa. A U.S. rule affecting medications takes effect Oct. 22. ADRIAN WYLD/CANADIAN PRESS

Opposition mounts as access to cheap medications to end

By Fatima Hussein

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans who buy cheap drugs from Canada could soon lose access when a customs rule goes into effect later this month, a change that has sparked opposition from Democrats and some Republicans with the cost of living a top issue for voters ahead of midterm elections.

The rule applies to a swath of goods beyond drugs and is intended to collect tariffs and prevent illegal drugs from coming into the country.

It comes as President Donald Trump has made lowering drug prices a top target in addressing soaring healthcare costs, and critics say the rule will hurt patients seeking affordable medicine.

"The issue is a matter of life and death for me," said Susan Hooper, 75, a Toledo, Ohio, resident who has been on oxygen for 14 years and takes two daily medications purchased through a Canadian pharmacy that are not available in the United States.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection rule targets the de minimis exemption, which previously allowed shipments valued under \$800 to pass through customs more easily.

As of Oct. 22, that exemption will be indefinitely suspended, and medications mailed from outside the U.S. will require additional data and a bond guarantee.

Many medications have already increased in price since customs rules went into effect in August 2025. However, the Oct. 22 compliance date includes importation rules that could eliminate the ability to import personal prescriptions.

The rule puts added fees and registration requirements on low-value shipments that previously entered the U.S. duty-free — on everything from textiles to toys — but the people who could see the most significant impacts are those who buy their cheap drugs from across the border.

And while the rule doesn't specifically target Canadian drugs – it applies to international mail generally – the practical consequence could be delays, refusals or substantially more difficulty getting their medications delivered.

Roughly 2.3 million Americans buy their drugs abroad, according to a 2020 study by JAMA Network.

The Trump administration has made lowering drug prices a priority in its bid to show Americans that it is tackling soaring costs.

Trump has struck multiple most-favored-nation drug deals with pharmaceutical firms and has launched the discounted-drug website TrumpRx, among other steps.

Federal data from this summer showed that U.S. prescription drug prices were down 3.1% from a year ago, the steepest year-over-year drop since 1963.

Trump has sought to take credit for the steep decline, but the real picture is more complicated, and experts say factors beyond the president's policies likely contributed more to the drop.

Advocates say the rule will hurt patients seeking affordable medicine.

Ken Hunter, executive director of the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation, which advocates on behalf of Americans who access the Canadian drugs, said those who have enjoyed the lower drug prices from across the northern border may not benefit from Trump's drug pricing moves.

"There has been a lot of talk of lowering drug prices, but in many cases it doesn't cover all drugs for all people for all conditions," he said.

Hunter warned that costs will explode for some medications after his organization conducted a study in August looking at 10 of the most commonly prescribed medications imported from Canada. He cited Eliquis, a prescription blood thinner used to prevent and treat dangerous blood clots.

A three-month supply of 180 5-mg pills would cost \$565 from a mail order Canadian pharmacy.

The same medication would cost roughly \$1,017 from Amazon's pharmacy arm or \$1,029 from GoodRx.

"I've had so many of our members calling me and telling me, 'I don't know what I'm going to do,' Hunter said. "We really need someone to step forward and say, 'We really need this to stop.'"

Allison Schuster, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that Trump “remains dedicated to lowering the cost of prescription drugs,” citing the most-favored-nation deals.

The Trump administration could drop the rule, alter it or decide not to enforce it. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have demanded answers to how the administration will protect access to affordable care for people who get their drugs from over the border.

Three Florida Republican members of Congress wrote to the administration last month expressing concern about how the rule would impact their constituents, who, unlike residents of border states, are unable to easily travel to Canada to buy the drugs.

Florida has separately crafted a Canadian prescription drug importation program with authorization from the federal government, but that initiative has stalled.

Customs and Border Protection and the Food and Drug Administration "must ensure that Floridians simply seeking relief from high drug prices will not be inadvertently impacted by the rule," said the letter signed by Florida Reps. Aaron Bean, Gus Bilirakis and C. Scott Franklin.

A group of more than 70 Democrats recently sent a letter to health and immigration enforcement officials, asking them to pause the new rule unless they could provide assurances that prescription medicines meant for personal use would be able to enter the U.S.

“Americans should not lose access to affordable medicines simply because the government has better information about packages entering the country,” the letter said. Representatives from CBP did not respond to requests for comment.

Noise fights turning into war of roosters

Squabble in Vermont farming town mirrors divide across country

By Rukmini Callimachi THE NEW YORK TIMES

Even the rooster's owner agreed that he had an attitude. The bird was named Nixon, after the former president, "basically because he was a jerk," said his owner, Bill Leimgruber.

For years, Nixon lived in the backyard that Leimgruber shared with his wife, Carolynn Stockwell. And as far as can be pieced together from the unusually voluminous public record generated by this one bird, he bothered almost no one — not even the family next door, whose windows faced his run.

The complaint that would consume the tiny town of Pittsfield, Vermont, forcing its elected officials to legislate what country living is supposed to sound like, came from an improbable distance: a household across the highway, past a river, down a side street and beyond a stand of trees.

It began as furious banging early one summer morning in 2021.

On their doorstep stood a woman in a nightgown, yelling. “And then I realized, ‘Oh, it’s the rooster,’” Stockwell, 61, recalled.

Pittsfield, population 504, is easy to pass through without realizing you have entered or left. It has no traffic signal, no school and no pharmacy. Residents buy their groceries at a general store adorned with a picture of a rooster.

Yet it is in places just like this that a rooster's right to exist is being debated.

Last fall in Merrimack, New Hampshire, a former town councilor infuriated by one bird spent months pressing for an ordinance with fines that climbed to \$500, prompting one 40-year resident to ask: "We're an agricultural town. If people moved here and now, all of a sudden, don't want to listen to the noises of the deer, and the roosters, and the raccoons and the loons, why did they move here?"

In April, Portland, Indiana, voted 4-3 to ban roosters. That same month, the ranching community of Weiser, Idaho, banned them too.

The list goes on, from Weatherly, Pennsylvania, where the mayor told residents in July that he had spent four months in a showdown with a bunch of roosters, to Warren County, Virginia, where a contentious zoning battle unfolded this year over whether roosters should be allowed in residential neighborhoods. Just this month, Lake Stevens, Washington, a community of towering Douglas firs and private docks, updated its code to ban the bird.

It all stems from a collision: more people adopting chicks and more people moving within earshot of them.

The first wave came with the pandemic lockdowns of 2020, inspiring a generation of backyard homesteaders.

"People are panic-buying chickens like they did toilet paper," Tom Watkins, the vice president of a mail-order hatchery in Iowa, said at the time.

Chickens roam around a homeowner's yard Aug. 18 in Pittsfield, Vermont, a farming town of 504 residents. The ruckus in Pittsfield started in 2021. SOPHIE PARK/THE NEW YORK TIMES

A second wave began in late 2022 when a dozen Grade A eggs began costing as much as a modest lunch.

By 2025, some 8.5 million American households owned backyard chickens, according to Cori Stoutenberg, a representative for the American Pet Products Association, a trade group — a nearly 50% increase from the 5.8 million reported in 2018.

Nobody had warned the new buyers about the fine print. A chick is a fluffy question mark, and even the professionals tasked with determining the sex of chicks sometimes get it wrong. As a result, a meaningful share of “hens” carried home during the great chick rush grew up, found their voice and started using it at 4:30 in the morning.

Owners hoping to save their birds have become rogue acoustic engineers, lining coops with foam and re-engineering ventilation shafts.

It was a branch of this emerging science that Nixon's owners pursued after their neighbor pounded on their door.

"I said, 'I can hear you're really upset, I'm really sorry, I don't know what I'm going to do about it, but I'll research it, and we'll figure something out,'” Stockwell, a school counselor, remembers telling the woman.

She spent the day reading up on rooster biology before stuffing Nixon in a cat carrier and locking him overnight in an unlit garage — the rooster equivalent of a sensory deprivation chamber.

For about a week, it worked. Then Stockwell left town, her husband failed to lock him away and the predawn pounding resumed, she said.

Leimgruber, 59, a contractor who concedes that he is not subtle with his words, told the woman to get off his property.

Rebuffed at the property line, the woman, Rebecca Steward, took the issue to town hall, where a private spat became a fight over the town's character.

Steward, then 40, arrived armed with Vermont's breach-of-the-peace statute. When the town's Select Board appeared unmoved, she rendered the noise onomatopoeically: "It's just crow, crow, crow, crow, crow, crow, crow," she said. At another meeting, she made a real estate-based argument, saying that the rooster was negatively affecting property values.

“We don’t live in farm country,” Steward said at one meeting. To which a board member replied: “We do.”

Some towns have found a way out: Morgan City, among the bayous of Louisiana, had its own rooster boom. “Around here we eat a lot of eggs,” Mayor Lee Dragna said. When eggs hit “\$10, \$12 a dozen,” he said, people started raising their own and his phone began ringing nonstop with noise complaints.

His planning and zoning director, whom Dragna describes as “a really brainstorming type guy,” pointed out that roosters live only three or four years. He proposed banding them, just as ducks are. “And I’m like, ‘Great. There you go. Get us

20 of them, 50 of them, whatever," Dragna said.

This year, the city passed an ordinance giving owners until the end of June to register each rooster and fit it with a leg band. Owners could keep their birds until they died, but they could not replace them.

About 20 roosters were banded. Time alone has cut that to around 10, he said. The calls have stopped. Nobody had to bury a pet.

Back in Vermont, Nixon never got a band.

Years after the feud, Steward explained how it had upset her: "It was actually affecting every aspect of my life. I'd have to wake up at 3 a.m., and then listen to it all my days off until 3 p.m.," she said.

After four meetings, the board didn't pass an ordinance, citing the town's rural character and a desire to not "throw more government at the issue," as one board member put it. Instead, board members began turning up unannounced on Leimgruber's porch. "They said, Billy, what can you do?" he remembers them asking.

By then, Nixon's household was also unraveling. The rooster didn't cause the couple's divorce, "but it certainly didn't help," Leimgruber said. Stockwell moved out, leaving Nixon behind.

Asked what happened to the rooster, Leimgruber tried to make a joke: He took the bird to the woodshed, and not figuratively, he said. One evening, he cornered Nixon and used a shotgun to put him down.

"I'll be honest, I consider myself a guy's guy," he said, "but the sound it made will never leave my head."

A Jobs & Work tribune publishing recruitment services Chicago Tribune

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2026

Chicago Tribune

Dreamstime

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Avoid meeting fatigue

It's become almost a cliché that nobody likes meetings. Yet, we still keep having them.

As anyone who has scheduled a meeting can tell you, the reason is simple: Yes, there may be too many meetings, but this one is important. Meetings are a necessary part of work for most people, but the growing frustration of meeting fatigue is a real problem.

According to a survey by consultants Wiley Workplace, 60 percent of those spending 15 hours or more per week in meetings reported “severe stress levels.”

“That could be for multiple reasons, ranging from simple attention fatigue and burnout, to feeling a lack of control over their own schedule, or not having enough time to accomplish their work,” according to the survey authors. “Perhaps it’s counterintuitive as busyness is often seen as a sign of productivity, but the more meetings one has, the less productive they may feel, and that can take a toll on mental health as well.”

With more people working remotely, Zoom meetings add another layer to the problem. Online meetings add an extra layer of stress for most people. Several studies have found that Zoom meetings are associated with physical exhaustion caused by constant eye contact, a lack of movement and the self-consciousness from seeing yourself on camera, among other factors.

While meetings may be necessary, companies can do a better job of limiting the time employees spend in meetings and encouraging more in-person interaction. Employees can also take steps to reduce meeting fatigue. Here are some suggestions for those who find meetings take up too many hours of the day and cause unwanted stress.

Does this need to be a meeting? According to the Wiley survey, two-thirds of employees experience fatigue because of unproductive meetings. Employees often feel reluctant to tell their employers that meetings are unproductive — they want to be team players. Yet employers need this kind of feedback. If you’re part of regular meetings that you feel aren’t worth your time, let a manager know. Suggest other alternatives that would be a better way to achieve the meeting’s goals. If you feel this way, others in the meeting probably do too.

Take breaks between meetings: Don't schedule back-to-back meetings whenever possible. Give yourself time to get out of “meeting mode” to recharge for the next one. Some companies have implemented a system where meetings are 50 minutes by default, giving everyone at least 10 minutes to take a break before the next one begins. For individuals, make a better effort to stagger meetings throughout the day. You might think you're being efficient to get all of your meetings out of the way at once, but there is a cost to you.

Get everyone involved: Being a passive participant in a meeting is particularly draining. If you're organizing a meeting, break it into smaller blocks and give everyone involved plenty of opportunities to participate.

Meet in person when possible: Remote work has made Zoom meetings the default option for many people. But try to meet in person whenever possible, as it provides a much more engaging experience for all participants. If your office is on a hybrid schedule, plan meetings for when people are in the office and build a culture where attendance is expected, and Zoom is the exception.

Understand the purpose: Meetings are often a good way to share information with a group. But too often they happen out of habit, and much of the time is spent ad-libbing or going off-topic. There’s nothing wrong with some social element to a meeting, but make sure you

understand the meeting's purpose in advance and do the work in advance to be efficient. Consider the 40/20/40 rule for meetings: put 40 percent of your effort into preparation, 20 percent into the meeting itself, and 40 percent into follow-up. Hitting those exact percentages isn't as important as understanding that what happens during the meeting is only a part of making it a success.

Have an agenda: Always give people a written agenda outlining what will happen at the meeting. It helps them prepare in advance and understand their role. It also keeps you on task and organized. If you have trouble coming up with an agenda, ask yourself whether the meeting is necessary — a question you should ask before every meeting.

Hide yourself from view: One thing that adds to stress for many people is seeing their own image on screen. It's easy to get hung up on how you are presenting yourself, which can cause you to lose focus. Try hiding that view from your screen so you can see others larger and avoid that distraction.

\- Jeff Banowetz

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ENGINEERING >>

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Global Field Application Engineer Chicago, IL Apply by Mail

SENSIRION, INC. Guide customers with sensor applications and successful integration. Support sensor testing and sensor integration, develop new medical focused applications, and be the technical customer interface during the development process. Collaborate with a global Team of FAEs and Stakeholders. Act as central point of contact for specialized medical topics for the whole global sales organization. Travel to Switzerland 2 times per year. \$106,891 to \$110,000 per year. Benefits summary at https://partners.sensirion.com/share/

cC611wHHyxZtVTDxnHiY/assets/61738. Resumes to Sensirion, Inc., 11 E. Adams Street, Ste 220, Chicago, IL 60603.

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Lead Engineer, Solutions Engineering Naperville, IL Apply Online

RXO MANAGED TRANSPORT, LLC seeks Lead Engineer, Solutions Engineering in Naperville, IL. Telecommuting permitted. Requires 10% travel to customer sites throughout the U.S. \$89,358 - \$134,036/ year. To apply and see benefits summary visit: jobpostingtoday.com Job ID# 34712.

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Senior Design Engineer Lisle, IL Apply by Email

MOLEX LLC Design and develop new products and components for the industrial connector industry. International travel required up to 10%. Telecommuting permitted for 1 day per week. \$126,942.00 per year. For a full list of benefits available, please visit [https://www.kochbenefits.com/index.html]. To apply, email resume to mlxjobs@kochind.com. Please include job number 195330 in the subject line.

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Sr. Advanced Firmware Engineer Aurora, IL Apply by Email

RESIDEO USA LLC has the following positions avail. in Aurora, IL: Sr. Advanced Firmware Engineer Job# EN\_FIR\_PR08\_SRA. Salary range: \$165,693/yr. to \$214,851/yr. Payoffered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, incl. market location, job-related knowledge, skills, & exp. Total comp package may also include other elements dependent on position offered. Details of participation in benefit plans will be provided if offer received. Description of benefits: https://www.resideo.com/us/en/

corporate/about/careers#wholeperson.E-mail resume with Job# to job.applications@resideo.com. EOE

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ENGINEERING >>

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Sr. Control & Protection Application Engineer – Controls Engineering Oakbrook Terrace, IL Apply Onlin

GE GRID SOLUTIONS LLC has the following positions avail. in Oakbrook Terrace, IL: Sr. Control & Protection Application Engineer – Controls Engineering. Position allows for a hybrid work arrangement. Candidate may work remotely 2 days p/wk, while reporting to Oakbrook Terrace, IL worksite. U.S. based positions only, pay range is \$156,229-\$207,700 p/yr. Specific salary offered to candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including the candidate's exp, education, & work location. Position is eligible for 10% variable incentive comp. Avail. health & welfare benefits include healthcare, prescription drug, dental, & vision coverage; savings account options (such as a Health Care FSA, Health Reimbursement Account, Limited Purpose FSA, and Dependent Care FSA); & an employee assistance program. Add'l benefits include a defined contribution 401(k) plan, employee life insurance, optional dependent life insurance, employee accidental death or dismemberment insurance coverage, short-term disability, optional long-term disability, pre-tax transportation/commuter program, paid holidays, PTO, parental leave, layoff plan for salaried employees, tuition refund program, use of CariLoop, adoption assistance, optional identity theft prevention insurance, optional personal legal assistance, & optional personal excess liability insurance. Apply at https://careers.gevernova.com/jobs & search Job R5053809 for this position. GE will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable). EOE

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Wireless Systems Engineers III Chicago, IL Apply Online

GOGO BUSINESS AVIATION, LLC seeks Wireless Systems Engineers III in Chicago, Illinois to Assist in the deployment of our nationwide 4G & 5G network. \$120,182-177,000. Stndr cmpny bnfts. Apply jobpostingtoday (www.jobpostingtoday.com) Ref# 53163

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Senior Software Engineer Chicago, IL Apply by Email

WILLIAM BLAIR & COMPANY, LLC (Chicago, IL) seeks Senior Software Engineer to Design, modify, develop, test, maintain & deploy scalable sftwr apps. REQS: Bach dgree or frgn eqvint in Comp Sci, Sftwr Engnrgng, Info Tech or rltd fld + 5 yrs exp as a Sftwr Dvlpr, Systems Anlyst or rltd occptn. 100% telecommuting permitted. \$165,693/yr. Benefits: this role is eligible for either a discretionary annual bonus (based on company, business unit and individual performance) and/or commission-based incentives. Our featured benefit offerings include medical, dental and vision coverage, employer paid short & long-term disability and life insurance, 401(k), profit sharing, paid time off, Maven family & fertility benefit, parental leave (including adoption, surrogacy, and foster placement), as well as other voluntary benefits. To apply email resume to HRimmigration@williamblair.com

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FINANCE >>

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Assurance Advisor (Financial Services Office) (Manager) (Multiple Positions) (1748444) Chicago, IL Apply Online

ERNST & YOUNG U.S. LLP Assurance Advisor (Financial Services Office) (Manager) (Multiple Positions) (1748444), Ernst & Young U.S. LLP, Chicago, IL. Provide audit services, demonstrating to clients that there is real value in the audit process, above and beyond the regulatory mandate. Requires domestic travel up to 25% in order to serve client needs. Employer will accept any suitable combination of education, training, or experience. \$103,005.00 per year. For complete job description, list of requirements, and to apply online, go to: ey.com/en\_us/careers and click on "Careers - Job Search", "See All", then "Experienced Professionals" (Job Number - 1748444).

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Actuarial Product Analyst Chicago, IL Apply by Mail

TAOS GLOBAL GROUP INC. Actuarial Product Analyst. Offered wage: \$105,414/yr. Req.: masters in actuarial science, mathematics, statistics, economics, or rel. fld. Apply: Taos Global Group Inc. 2167B S. China PI, Chicago, IL60616

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FINANCE >>

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Associate (Sr) Chicago, IL

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Apply by Email

KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP Associate (Sr) w/ Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Chicago, IL). Work w/in the M&A/Private Equity practice grp to advise corporate & private equity clients in complex corporate transactions. Reqs JD or LLM degree, or foreign equiv., & admission to IL bar. Reqs 4 yrs exp. as an Associate or related w/ an int'l law firm focusing on complex corporate transactions. Must have exp. w/ the following: Supporting private equity firms, funds, & portfolio companies in sophisticated corporate transactions incl. leveraged buyouts, public & private M&A, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures, & strategic investments; Coordinating the due diligence process, incl. reviewing & analyzing corporate governance docs, regulatory filings, & material commercial agreements to identify legal risks & provide actionable recommendations. Drafting, reviewing, & negotiating a broad range of transaction docs, incl. merger agreements, asset transfer agreements, share exchange agreements, disclosure letters, limited guarantees, equity commitment letters & capital contribution agreements; Collaborating w/ cross-functional teams, incl. finance, legal, tax, and operations, as well as external counsel & counterparties, to facilitate efficient execution of transactions; Coordinating & managing workflows for due diligence processes & deal closings, incl. organizing, reviewing, & synthesizing large volumes of documentation. Salary: \$310,000 / yr. Send resumes to KEResumes@Kirkland.com, use job ref. code # 10290715.

Chicago, IL Apply online or by email

JUMP OPERATIONS, LLC Quantitative Researcher sought by Jump Operations, LLC in Chicago, IL to be involved in research projects associated with latency prediction & algorithmic improvement based on requirements provided by our internal trading teams. No telecommuting allowed. Salary: \$250k-\$300k /year. Submit resume online at: https://www.jumptrading.com/careers or via email to HRApply@jumptrading.com. Must specify Ad Code KJNM.

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Creating a system for success

us can learn. That skill is systems."

If you're struggling in life or business, it might just be that you don't have the right systems in place.

That's the provocative theory of Ben Meer, whose newest book, "How to Be Good at Life: Simple Systems to Achieve More and Stress Less," was released last week. In it, he uses the system-building tools he learned in business school and through his own entrepreneurship to help people automate and simplify the most stressful and difficult parts of their lives. As he describes it, this is a user's manual for life that people were never given.

That includes him.

He opens the book with stories of a failed date, in which a painfully honest woman accurately lists his shortcomings, and the collapse of his first business, which he had considered his dream job.

After losing his company, he attended Cornell's MBA program, where he first heard about the idea of systems. "I hadn't failed because I wasn't enough," he writes. "I was using a broken approach and just needed the right systems." He quickly became a convert to the idea.

“Once you see systems, you can’t unsee them,” he writes. “It’s like spotting the code behind everything. The coworker who crushes it and still leaves at 5 p.m.? The parent who always seems on top of everything? The friend who never misses a workout? They’ve just learned a skill most of us were never taught but any of

The book isn't just about teaching strategies to be more productive. It focuses more on putting systems in place that help you avoid thinking about the things that cause stress in all parts of your life. Meer wants to give people time to build relationships and pursue what interests them. More than just a productivity hack, these systems help you build a life with more calm and time for human connection.

You'll find lots of anecdotes from successful people (like Jerry Seinfeld, Hans Zimmer and Beyoncé) about how basic systems help them stay incredibly productive. Perhaps his best insight is simply taking time each week — for him, it was System Sunday — to review the systems you've put in place and see what's working and what's not. It takes relatively little time, but consistently examining the systems you put in place helps you figure out what works. It also helps you develop habits that require less thought and stress.

The book also offers advice for automating tasks and using constraints to help keep you from getting in your own way. Being good at life may not be intuitive for everyone, but Meer's step-by-step approach is easy to follow, and it could be just what you need to achieve your goals.

\- Jeff Banowetz

Dreamstime

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FINANCE >>

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Business Consulting - Finance – Global Business Services (GBS) – Manager (Multiple Positions) (1749436) Chicago II Apply Online

ERNST & YOUNG U.S. LLP Business Consulting - Finance – Global Business Services (GBS) – Manager (Multiple Positions) (1749436), Ernst & Young U.S. LLP, Chicago, IL. Help clients design and implement next generation operating models that integrate digital capabilities, strengthen cross functional collaboration, and drive sustainable performance. Requires travel up to 80%, of which 20% may be international to serve client needs. Employer will accept any suitable combination of education, training or experience. Employer will accept any suitable combination of education, training, or experience. \$207,360.00 per year. For complete job description, list of requirements, and to apply online, go to: ey.com/en\_us/careers and click on "Careers - Job Search", "See All", then "Experienced Professionals" (Job Number - 1749436).

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GENERAL >>

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Product Owner - Infrastructure Systems Lisle, IL Apply by Email

MOLEX LLC Manage, architect, and optimize the Alertus application and hardware, along with Everbridge (Risk Intelligence). International travel required up to 5%; Domestic travel required up to 20%. \$125,986.00 per year. For a full list of benefits available, please visit [https://www.kochbenefits.com/index.html]. To apply, email resume to mlxjobs@kochind.com. Please include job number 194819 in the subject line.

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HOSPITAL >>

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CATERING & BANQUET SUPERVISOR Glencoe, IL Apply by mail or email

SKOKIE COUNTRY CLUB Supvse banquet & catering svc team (srvrs, set-up crew & event bartndrs) at club & member fctns from s/u through brkdown; asgn stations & cond pre-shft mtgs; train, sched & coach svc staff; rslv member/guest concerns during events; create & distr Banquet Event Orders (BEOs), floor plans & seating diag using catering/event sftwr; direct event setup; coord w/ kitchen & outsd vndrs; ovrsee event billg through club POS system. Req: Hi schl diploma/GED or for equiv.; 12 mos. exp. in a lead or supvry role in food & beverage svc at a country club, golf course or sim place of employment. Exp. must be in a pvt club, country club or comp fine-dining/banquet setting. Must have demo ability to build & exec BEOs, floor plans & seating diag in catering/event sftwr, & exp. maint member prvcy, confid & discr & formal svc etiquette & fine-dining/banquet standards. Must be avail to work evngs, wknds & hols per club event calendar. Pay: \$31.00-\$33.00/hr. Bens: hlth ins; retire plan; PTO; other bens. Send res to Veronica Kagan, HR Director, Skokie Country Club, 500 Washington Ave., Glencoe, IL 60022, or VKagan@skokiecc.com.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY >>

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Customer Success Manager, Enterprise Chicago, IL Apply Online

STRIPE, LLC Support post-sales engagements focused on the optimization, retention, and growth of Stripe's enterprise customers. Req. Bach's deg or frgn equiv in Engg, Comp Sci, Bus Admnstrtn, Mgmt, or rel fld + 4 yrs of exp in entprs cstmr sccess or strtgc acct mgmt. 50% Telecommuting Permitted. Salary: \$113,672 - \$144,750/yr. Mult. Pos. aval. Add'l benefits may incl. equity, co. bonus or sales comm./bonuses; 401(k); med., dent., & vis. benefits; wellness stipends. IL60. Please apply online at https://stripe.com/careers/listing/

8208521?gh\_jid=8208521 and click "Apply for this role" to submit your application.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY >>

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Lead Product Designers, Complex Industries Chicago, IL. Apply Online

SAGEPATH REPLY, LLC Lead design of complex enterprise digital products & platforms & end-to-end product design lifecycle. Bachelor's (or foreign equiv) + 5 yrs exp as lead product designer in high-complexity industries. UX Cert required. Crim background check. WFH 90% WFO 10% w/i Chicago, IL. MSA: \$120,665 - \$140,000 Medical dental vision HSA FSA Life AD&D. Multiple positions. Full JD & apply https://www-reply.com/en/about/careers/us

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Network Engineer Chicago, IL Apply online or by email

JUMP OPERATIONS, LLC Network Engineer sought by Jump Operations, LLC in Chicago, IL to design, configure & support our global network infrastructure, collaborating across multiple teams to optimize for proprietary low latency trading applications. No telecommuting allowed. Salary: \$250k-\$300k /year. Submit resume online at: https://www.jumptrading.com/careers or via email to HRApply@jumptrading.com. Must specify Ad Code CCNM.

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Network Systems Engineer Oak Brook, IL Apply by Email

OAK BROOK, IL Apply by Email

REDSAIL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC in Oak Brook, IL seeks a Network Systems Engineer responsible for a wide range of duties including computer network design, programming, testing, implementing, system administration, and support. Requires certification in Azure Solutions Architect. \$120,702 - \$125,000/year. Offers: PTO, 401k (5% match), Bonus Opportunities, Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance, Work-life Balance, Fitness Bonus, Professional Development, FORTE awards. To apply, send resume to Landon Hornacek at: resumes@pioneerrx.com. Please reference job title and location.

Chicago, IL Apply online or by email

JUMP OPERATIONS, LLC Performance Engineer sought by Jump Operations, LLC in Chicago, IL to research, design, & develop computer & network software utility programs. No telecommuting allowed. Salary: \$250k-\$300k/year. Submit resume online at: https://www.jumptrading.com/careers or via email to HRApply@jumptrading.com. Must specify Ad Code MINM.

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Professional Services II - Multiple Positions Chicago, IL Apply Online

AMAZON WEB SERVICES, INC. seeks candidates for the following (multiple positions available) in Chicago, IL. Apply at: https://www.amazon.jobs/en/, referencing job ID AMZ27300.3:

Professional Services II (Job ID: AMZ27300.3). Design and implement complex, scalable, and secure AWS solutions tailored to customer needs, ensuring adherence to best practices, optimizing performance, and managing risks throughout the project. Collaborate with teams that include Amazonians, partners, and customers to gather requirements, assess information systems and technology, and propose effective risk mitigation strategies. Domestic travel up to 20% and up to 5% international travel are required to perform role responsibilities. The pay range for this position in Chicago, IL is \$131300 - \$177600 (yr); however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A sign-on bonus and restricted stock units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. This information is provided by Illinois Equal Pay Act. Base pay information is based on market location. Applicants should apply via Amazon's internal or external careers site.

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Quantitative Researcher Chicago, IL Apply online or by email

JUMP OPERATIONS, LLC Quantitative Researcher sought by Jump Operations, LLC in Chicago, IL to manage team of 5 quantitative researchers & serve as part of larger team coordinating & working with leadership team to drive day-to-day projects. No telecommuting permitted. Salary: \$250k-\$300k /year. Submit resume online at: https://www.jumptrading.com/careers or via email to HRApply@jumptrading.com. Must specify Ad Code ALNM.

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Senior Data Engineer - Clinical Informatics Chicago, IL App

Apply Online

TEMPUS AI seeks Senior Data Engineer - Clinical Informatics in Chicago, IL to develop and maintain scalable data pipelines to ingest health care data sets from diverse sources like EHRs (Epic, Cerner) and lab systems. Telecommuting permitted. \$150,000 - \$170,000 per year. Apply @ www.jobpostingtoday.com/ Ref #38672.

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Senior Manager Software Engineering Schaumburg, IL Apply by Email

OPTUM SERVICES, INC. Lead multiple global software engineering teams. Interact with stakeholders to understand their requirements and expectations. Supervises reports. Position allows for partial telecommuting out of the Schaumburg, Illinois office. Wage Range: \$166,650.00-\$244,440.00/per year. Please email your resume to GlobalRecruitment@uhg.com and reference job #2373645.

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Sr Engineers & Applications Engineers Westmont, IL. Apply Online

GAMMA TECHNOLOGIES, LLC seeks Sr Engineers, Applications Engineers for Westmont, IL to assist customers in their use of our sw design & simulate electric motors, incl electromagnetic design, mech structural analysis, thermal analysis & Noise Vibration & Harshness (NVH) analysis. Master's in Mechanical Eng-related field +3yrs exp req'd. Req'd skills: automotive OEMs w/intermittent involvement in electric motor design & analysis; CAE simulation tools, incl: Component-level design & analysis: (ANSYS SpaceClaim, MotorCAD, ANSYS Maxwell, ANSYS Mechanical), System-level simulation: (Simulink, Siemens AMESim); scientific programming languages: MATLAB, Python; Knowledge of basic motor types (PMSM, IPM, SPM, IM); motor & drive systems of Electric or Hybrid Electric Vehicle; electric motor cooling architectures & thermal simulation for both steady-state & transient analysis; linear & non-linear structural analysis, incl fatigue assessment; NVH analysis of electric powertrains; modeling or analysis tools of electrical motors & drives; reading & interpreting 2D drawings, creating 2D DXF & 3D CAD models of motor components, w/knowledge of tolerancing & GD&T; component manufacturing tech & assembly process of different E-Motor topologies. Less than 5% travel to attend industry conferences & company sponsored trade shows required. Some telecommuting permitted. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States & not require current or future employment visa sponsorship. \$109,387/yr-\$117,900/yr + Benefits: https://www.gtisoft.com/job-listing/. Apply online: https://www.gtisoft.com/about-gt/careys/, REQ ID: 254424

Get better at small talk

Do you dread having to make small talk with new coworkers, clients, vendors, or other people you meet as part of your job? For many people, these short interactions cause stress. That can make it harder to build relationships and grow your network. You often have very little time to make a good first impression, and improving your small-talk game can do wonders for building a relationship instead of just getting through the interaction. Here are some tips to consider before attending your next trade show or company event.

1. Get the ball rolling with details: You're often asked simple questions to start an interaction, like "How's your day going?" It's easy to respond with a "fine" or similar comment, which can kill the conversation. Respond to these types of open-ended questions with some personal information about yourself that introduces a topic that can be expanded upon. You don't have to go too deep in the weeds with a story or personal information, just enough to give someone an opening if they want to pursue the topic further.

2. Ask follow-up questions: Be an active listener and ask questions that allow your counterpart to give you more details about the topic of conversation. You don't need to go too deep in the weeds — this isn't an interview — and keep the questions broad to find areas where you might have something in common. Ask open-ended questions (not yes or no) to give people the opportunity to expand on a topic.

3. Be friendly: This may sound obvious, but many people start a conversation with a new acquaintance as if it's work. Be optimistic, look people in the eye and listen. Put away the phones and try to get to know the person.

4. Have some conversation starters ready: These can vary by the type of event you're attending. At a trade show, "Where are you from?" is an easy one to get started. At a company event, "What department do you work for?" or something along those lines might be a good way to break the ice. "What's your favorite place to eat around here?" is often a good way to find out more about a person.

5. Follow cues: Don't push it if you can tell a person is busy or wants to move on. Make a graceful exit when it's time to end the conversation: "I'm sure you've got lots of people to talk to, so I'll let you go." Don't overstay your welcome if the conversation is dragging. Move on to the next person.

\- Jeff Banowetz

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY >>

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Software Developers Chicago, IL Apply by Email

SYNECTICS, INC seeks Software Developers in Chicago, IL & various unanticipated locations throughout U.S. Must possess Bachelor's degree or equiv. in Electronics Eng. or related field. & 12 months exp. in Objective-C, Oracle SQL, PL/SQL, Unix, Python, Java, HTML, CSS. Salary \$120k. Benefits include medical/health/dental/ vision insurance & 10 days PTO per yr. Position may require domestic travel to work at end-client locations at least once or twice a year based on client's needs. Must be willing to relocate. Send resumes to jane.smith@synectics.us.

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MANAGEMENT >>

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Ads Account Manager II – Multiple Positions Chicago, IL Apply Online

AMAZON ADVERTISING LLC – Chicago, IL. Ads Account Manager II – AMZ006436. Plan and deliver high-quality advertiser engagements to educate advertisers on Amazon policies and creative best practices to positively impact campaign performance. Salary Range: \$68,400 to \$119,700 / year. AMZ006436. Multiple Positions Available. Standard company benefits available. Apply online: www.amazon.jobs – searching by AMZ006436. EOE.

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Top universities for entrepreneurs

Start-up culture remains alive and well in Silicon Valley, at least according to the latest ranking of undergraduate alums who went on to start a venture-backed company. But the leader may not be the school you think.

Each year, the financial and market data company PitchBook ranks the colleges that produce the most founders of companies that receive venture capital since Jan. 1, 2015. This year, for the fourth year in a row, the University of California, Berkeley tops the list. It remains first among all universities with 2,155 venture-backed startups founded by undergraduate alumni in the last 11 years. It also has the most female company founders, with 345. Second is Stanford University, just across the bay, with 1,787 companies founded by undergrads in this period. Rounding out the top five are Harverd, Cornell and MIT.

Pitchbook lists the top 100 universities for minting entrepreneurs (see the whole list at pitchbook.com), and this year more universities from outside the United States appeared on the list. Foreign universities now make up about a third of the undergraduate list, including eight from India and the University of Waterloo in Canada, which broke into the top 10 for the first time.

When it comes to graduate schools, the list doesn't differ much from the undergraduate list:

1. Stanford

2. Harvard

3. MIT

4. University of California, Berkeley

5. Columbia University.

For MBA programs, the top five are: 1. Harvard

2. Stanford

3. University of Pennsylvania

4. INSEAD (located in France) and

5. Columbia.

Dreamstime

\- Jeff Banowetz

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MANAGEMENT >>

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Cargo Operations Manager Franklin Park, IL Apply by Email

TOLEAD LOGISTICS ORD, INC. seeks Cargo Operations Mgr. in Franklin Park, IL. Analyze op./cost data; prepare strategic repts.; maintain compliance/audit recs.; support SMS Safety Assurance; assess cargo sys., integrations & cost-reduction opportunities. Req. MBA in Business Analytics + 12 mos. exp. in-job or as Operations Analyst. \$69,326/yr + health insurance, retirement, vacation/PTO & paid sick leave. Apply: toleadord915@gmail.com.

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Sr. Project Managers Chicago, IL. Apply Online

WM REPLY, INC. DBA VALOREM MODERN WORK Lead cross-functional teams; manage project & delivery across multiple offices & workstreams. Bachelor (or foreign equiv) in CS; info systems; higher ed or related field + 5 yrs exp in PM. Exp w/ M365 projects & technologies. Cert SAFE 5 Scrum Master. Crim background check. WFH 90% WFO 10% w/i Chicago, IL MSA. \$133,475 - \$140,000 Medical dental vision HSA FSA Life A&D. Multiple positions. Full JD & apply https://www-reply.com/en/about/careers/us

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MANAGEMENT >>

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National Sales Manager Elk Grove Village, IL

MILSPED FREIGHT LLC Maintain and develop sales opportunities in ground transportation and freight forwarding service. Email resume to djordje.boskovic@milsped.com

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Regulatory Affairs Sr Mgr – R-248046 Deerfield, IL Apply by Email

HORIZON THERAPEUTICS USA, INC. Formulate and present CMC regulatory strategies, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives, in conjunction with Technical Operations, R&D, Commercial and other internal stakeholders, as needed, across investigational and marketed products. May telecommute. Interested candidates email resume to Talent-Acquisition@amgen.com. Must reference Job # R'248046. The annual salary for this position in the U.S. is \$185,619 per year. Also, this position offers stock, retirement, medical, life and disability insurance and eligibility for an annual bonus or for sales roles, other incentive compensation. For more details visit https://careers.amgen.com/life-at-amgen/benefits/.

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Announcements

Former R&G Services Employees Please contact Derek Warnke if you worked at R&G Services located near Chicago, IL between 1971-1975. 314-437-0767

Former WMS Industrie Employees

Please contact Derek Warnke if you worked at WMS Industries Inc. located in Chicago, IL between 1975-1981. 314-437-0767

Industrial Coating Employees Please contact Derek Warnke if you worked at Industrial Coatings Group Inc. located in Chicago, IL between 1982-1997 314-437-0767

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Miscellaneous Merchandise

Buying Vintage Toys Wanted Vintage Toys Action Figures Hot Wheels Redlines Turbotoyzcollectibles.com (224) 377-8185

Farms and Ranches For Sale

Mazon \$899,900 60444-6257

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10 acre horse property in Grundy County.

Full listing in For Sale By Owner. 815-592-

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Oct 25 | 61° | 67° | 75° | 78° | 78° | 72° | 72° | Nov 1

CHICAGO ACCUWEATHER

AccuWeather

TEAM

Meteorologists Larry Mowry, Cheryl Scott, Jaisol Martinez, Tracy Butler and Greg Dutra

AccuWeather Outlook: Warm with clouds giving way to sun. Clear tonight. | Sunday | | | | Night62° | Warm with clouds giving way to sun | Winds: S 4-8 mphPOP: 5% |

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Chicago forecast

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Sunday Conditions

8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 8 p.m. | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ---

Sunday Activities

AccuWeather.com UV Index™

8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 8 p.m. | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | Fishing Index | 9 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 | The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. 0-2 Low, 3-5 Moderate, 6-7 High, 8-10 Very High, 11+ Extreme. The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature is an exclusive index of effective temperature based on eight weather factors. Golf and Fishing Indexes: 0-2: Poor; 3-4: Fair; 5-6: Good; 7-8: Very Good; 9-10: Excellent.

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Chicago almanac

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Saturday temperatures

Local temperatures | Average | Record | Saturday high: 80° | 65° | 86° (1962) | Saturday low: 62° | 48° | 27° (1964) | through 6 p.m. Saturday | Average | Location | High | Low | High | Low | Aurora | 81° | 54° | 66° | 43° | Gary | 81° | 61° | 67° | 47° | Kankakee | 80° | 53° | 68° | 45° | Lansing | 78° | 57° | 66° | 46° | Midway | 80° | 63° | 66° | 49° | Romeoville | 81° | 57° | 67° | 46° | Valparaiso | 77° | 50° | 68° | 46° | Waukegan | 79° | 58° | 63° | 45° | Saturday Precipitation | 2026 | 2025 | Normal | Saturday* | 0.00" | 0.01" | 0.11" | Month to date | 1.41" | 1.36" | 1.12" | Year to date | 36.08" | 24.27" | 31.02" | \*24-hour period ending 4 p.m. Saturday

Pollen as of 10/8 | Trees | Grass | Weeds | Mold | Absent | Absent | Low | Very High | Source: Loyola Medicine via NAB | ---

Air Quality Index | Saturday's Reading | Moderate | Sunday's forecast | Good | Primary pollutant | Particulates | Source: AirNow.gov | Source: AirNow.gov

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Cosmos

Sun and moon | Sun. | Mon. | Sunrise | 6:58 a.m. | 6:59 a.m. | Sunset | 6:16 p.m. | 6:14 p.m. | Moonrise | 8:06 a.m. | 9:14 a.m. | Moonset | 6:24 p.m. | 6:52 p.m. | Nov 9

Oct 18 | First | Full | Last | New | | | | | Oct 18 | Oct 25 | Nov 1 | Nov 9 | Sunday's Planet Watch | Rise | Set | Mercury | 9:16 a.m. | 7:03 p.m. | Venus | 8:54 a.m. | 6:20 p.m. | Mars | 12:54 a.m. | 3:29 p.m. | Jupiter | 2:07 a.m. | 4:05 p.m. | Saturn | 6:05 p.m. | 6:24 a.m. | Best viewing times today: Venus: not visible Mars: 6:30 a.m. Jupiter: 6:30 a.m. Saturn: 6:45 p.m. Mercury: 6:45 p.m.

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National cities

Shown is Sunday's weather. Temperatures are Sunday's highs and Sunday night's lows with high and low RealFeel Temperatures shown below.

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AccuWeather

Visit AccuWeather.com

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Lake Michigan

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Sunday

Wind from the east-southeast at 4-8 knots. Seas 2 feet or less. Visibility generally clear. Water temperature: 60.

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day. | 8 a.m. | 10 a.m. | Noon | 2 p.m. | 4 p.m. | 6 p.m. | 8 p.m. | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 6 | ---

Monday

Boating Index: 0-2: Poor; 3-4: Fair; 5-6: Good; 7-8: Very Good; 9-10: Excellent.

Wind from the southwest at 7-14 knots. Seas 1-3 feet. Visibility generally unrestricted. Water temperature: 63.

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National forecast

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Weather history | Sun. | Mon. | City | Hi/Lo/W | Hi/Lo/W | Fairbanks | 40/33/r | 43/28/c | Fargo | 61/47/c | 54/44/r | Flagstaff | 55/44/t | 54/41/t | Fort Myers | 87/75/t | 90/68/t | Fort Smith | 93/65/s | 92/69/s | Fresno | 77/57/pc | 71/53/pc | Grand Junction | 74/56/t | 68/55/r | Great Falls | 33/28/sn | 38/28/pc | Harrisburg | 64/60/r | 72/54/pc | Hartford | 60/52/r | 72/52/pc | Helena, MT | 35/29/sn | 40/27/pc | Honolulu | 87/72/s | 87/75/s | Houston | 92/71/s | 91/76/t | Int'l Falls | 63/44/sh | 47/40/r | Jackson, MS | 92/61/s | 93/60/s | Jacksonville | 86/62/t | 87/62/pc | Juneau | 45/42/r | 50/40/sh | Kansas City | 88/69/s | 89/67/s | Las Vegas | 72/62/t | 73/57/t | Lexington | 66/55/r | 82/63/pc | Lincoln | 87/67/s | 89/54/s | Little Rock | 93/65/s | 92/66/s | Los Angeles | 72/60/r | 68/56/sh | Louisville | 69/56/r | 86/65/s | Macon | 78/57/c | 89/55/pc | Memphis | 88/66/s | 93/69/s | Miami | 92/79/t | 91/76/t | Minneapolis | 87/65/s | 78/53/sh | Mobile | 87/60/s | 91/61/s | Montgomery | 82/57/pc | 88/56/pc | Nashville | 73/56/r | 89/62/s | New Orleans | 88/65/s | 88/67/s | New York City | 63/57/r | 70/58/pc | Norfolk | 78/66/t | 73/62/pc | Oklahoma City | 90/68/s | 90/72/s | Omaha | 88/67/s | 91/55/s | Orlando | 87/69/t | 88/68/pc | World cities

On Oct. 11, 1984, 25-foot waves off Vancouver Island, B.C., capsized eight fishing boats, killing five people. Monitoring programs using satellites and automated buoys can often detect these waves before they become killers.

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Weather Trivia™

Q: Mistake Island, Maine, is appropriately named. Why?

On average, it is fogy there 1,580 hours each year

A

Do you have a weather question for the ABC 7 team? Submit them at abc7chicago.com/weather or send them to: | Sun. | Mon. | City | Hi/Lo/W | Hi/Lo/W | Abilene | 91/69/s | 90/73/pc | Albany, NY | 59/52/r | 68/53/pc | Albuquerque | 80/56/t | 77/56/pc | Amarillo | 85/63/s | 88/65/s | Anchorage | 49/38/sh | 47/36/c | Asheville | 70/60/t | 77/52/pc | Aspen | 68/42/t | 64/44/r | Atlanta | 72/60/c | 87/62/s | Atlantic City | 67/61/r | 70/57/sh | Austin | 93/71/s | 90/76/pc | Baltimore | 68/62/r | 75/56/sh | Billings | 41/33/sn | 42/33/sn | Birmingham | 79/57/pc | 88/59/s | Bismarck | 52/41/r | 45/40/r | Boise | 57/39/sh | 56/39/sh | Boston | 62/55/r | 68/53/r | Brownsville | 92/78/s | 92/79/t | Buffalo | 61/55/r | 66/62/pc | Burlington, VT | 65/52/c | 65/50/pc | Charleston, SC | 83/63/t | 84/64/s | Charleston, WV | 75/61/r | 73/58/pc | Charlotte | 75/60/t | 82/56/pc | Chattanooga | 70/54/t | 87/58/pc | Cheyenne | 73/49/c | 73/42/s | Cincinnati | 67/56/r | 82/63/pc | Cleveland | 65/59/r | 78/64/pc | Colorado Spgs | 79/53/pc | 80/47/s | Columbia, MO | 91/66/s | 92/69/s | Columbia, SC | 77/61/t | 86/56/pc | Columbus, OH | 66/58/r | 78/62/pc | Concord | 62/49/c | 69/48/r | Corpus Christi | 91/77/s | 92/78/t | Dallas | 90/70/s | 89/76/s | Daytona Beach | 86/65/t | 86/65/pc | Denver | 81/56/c | 79/47/s | Duluth | 78/49/sh | 53/45/sh | El Paso | 89/66/s | 85/66/c | Ask ABC 7 Weather Team

190 N. State Street

Chicago, IL 60601 | Sun. | Mon. | City | Hi/Lo/W | Hi/Lo/W | Palm Beach | 91/77/t | 91/73/t | Palm Springs | 76/61/r | 75/58/sh | Philadelphia | 67/61/r | 73/59/sh | Phoenix | 87/70/t | 82/66/t | Pittsburgh | 64/59/r | 70/61/pc | Portland, ME | 62/49/pc | 68/47/r | Portland, OR | 66/42/s | 67/44/s | Providence | 62/56/r | 69/53/r | Raleigh | 79/63/t | 82/60/pc | Rapid City | 62/44/c | 61/38/r | Reno | 59/42/sh | 57/36/sh | Richmond | 76/64/t | 75/58/pc | Rochester | 60/54/r | 67/57/pc | Sacramento | 75/50/s | 73/49/c | St. Louis | 87/69/s | 94/72/s | Salem, OR | 66/36/s | 67/38/s | Salt Lake City | 69/54/t | 64/47/t | San Antonio | 91/73/s | 90/77/pc | San Diego | 72/65/r | 71/60/sh | San Francisco | 68/53/pc | 71/53/pc | San Juan | 90/78/r | 90/79/c | Santa Fe | 75/50/t | 74/49/pc | Savannah | 81/64/t | 85/63/s | Seattle | 62/41/s | 63/43/s | Shreveport | 92/62/s | 94/72/s | Sioux Falls | 85/56/c | 74/47/s | Spokane | 49/34/s | 54/31/s | Syracuse | 60/53/r | 65/57/pc | Tallahassee | 85/59/pc | 90/59/pc | Tampa | 86/71/t | 89/70/pc | Topeka | 90/69/s | 91/67/s | Tucson | 81/65/t | 81/64/t | Tulsa | 91/71/s | 91/74/s | Washington, DC | 70/63/r | 72/58/pc | Wichita | 90/69/s | 91/68/s | Wilkes-Barre | 60/53/r | 70/55/pc | Yuma | 84/69/t | 83/63/t | Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. POP: Probability of Precipitation.

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Regional cities | Sun. | Mon. | City | Hi/Lo/W | Hi/Lo/W | Illinois | Carbondale | 85/60/s | 92/65/s | Champaign | 81/58/pc | 91/64/s | Decatur | 82/60/s | 91/67/s | Moline | 82/65/s | 85/66/s | Peoria | 81/63/s | 87/69/s | Quincy | 86/67/s | 90/68/s | Rockford | 79/62/s | 85/65/pc | Springfield | 84/64/pc | 91/68/s | Sterling | 81/61/s | 85/65/pc | Indiana | Bloomington | 73/54/r | 86/63/s | Evansville | 78/57/r | 88/62/s | Fort Wayne | 68/53/r | 84/62/pc | Indianapolis | 73/55/r | 85/66/pc | Lafayette | 76/56/r | 87/66/s | South Bend | 73/55/pc | 82/64/s | Wisconsin | Green Bay | 79/58/s | 79/55/sh | Kenosha | 75/58/pc | 83/66/pc | La Crosse | 82/65/s | 83/57/sh | Madison | 79/62/s | 82/60/sh | Milwaukee | 73/60/pc | 80/62/sh | Wausau | 80/60/s | 77/53/sh | Michigan | Detroit | 65/55/r | 81/63/pc | Grand Rapids | 71/55/pc | 79/61/pc | Marquette | 76/52/s | 57/47/sh | Sault Ste. Marie | 74/53/pc | 58/46/r | Traverse City | 77/57/pc | 75/59/sh | Iowa | Ames | 86/63/s | 86/57/s | Cedar Rapids | 82/65/s | 84/61/s | Des Moines | 85/68/s | 87/59/s | Dubuque | 79/64/s | 81/60/sh | Sun. | Mon. | City | Hi/Lo/W | Hi/Lo/W | Acapulco | 88/77/pc | 89/77/t | Algiers | 82/59/s | 81/60/sh | Amsterdam | 58/44/sh | 62/54/c | Ankara | 78/49/s | 75/50/t | Athens | 77/64/t | 77/62/sh | Auckland | 69/60/r | 67/58/sh | Baghdad | 100/80/pc | 96/79/sh | Bangkok | 88/78/t | 93/79/r | Barbados | 87/80/t | 87/79/t | Barcelona | 74/61/pc | 75/63/pc | Beijing | 80/56/pc | 77/52/pc | Beirut | 84/73/pc | 82/72/t | Berlin | 56/44/sh | 57/37/s | Bermuda | 82/76/c | 84/78/sh | Bogota | 68/50/r | 63/51/r | Brussels | 59/44/pc | 64/54/c | Bucharest | 84/60/pc | 63/52/r | Budapest | 64/45/c | 62/40/s | Buenos Aires | 61/54/pc | 61/56/r | Cairo | 84/67/pc | 85/67/pc | Cancun | 89/77/r | 91/76/sh | Caracas | 91/78/r | 91/76/r | Casablanca | 78/61/c | 80/62/pc | Copenhagen | 54/46/pc | 55/40/s | Dublin | 59/56/pc | 66/53/c | Edmonton | 38/26/c | 45/30/s | Frankfurt | 59/39/pc | 62/39/pc | Geneva | 61/42/pc | 64/42/s | Guadalajara | 70/58/r | 81/59/c | Havana | 92/74/s | 90/74/pc | Helsinki | 47/43/c | 47/38/r | Hong Kong | 90/80/s | 90/77/s | Istanbul | 76/64/pc | 77/61/pc | Jerusalem | 79/66/t | 77/62/pc | Johannesburg | 80/56/t | 82/56/s | Kabul | 71/51/pc | 72/53/pc | Kingston | 91/80/sh | 91/80/sh | Forecasts and graphics, except for the WLS-TV/ABC7 Chicago content, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026 | Sun. | Mon. | City | Hi/Lo/W | Hi/Lo/W | Kyiv | 73/53/sh | 56/49/r | Lima | 81/72/s | 80/72/pc | Lisbon | 76/59/pc | 76/60/s | London | 61/52/pc | 66/62/c | Madrid | 76/51/pc | 80/52/pc | Manila | 91/79/t | 92/79/t | Mexico City | 75/58/r | 76/56/sh | Monterrey | 82/69/sh | 86/71/sh | Montreal | 67/51/pc | 62/43/pc | Moscow | 57/51/c | 60/50/sh | Munich | 57/41/c | 58/35/s | Nairobi | 79/59/t | 82/57/r | Nassau | 92/79/sh | 90/76/sh | New Delhi | 91/73/pc | 93/73/s | Oslo | 43/36/r | 50/37/pc | Ottawa | 66/51/c | 62/43/pc | Panama City | 89/76/r | 87/75/r | Paris | 63/45/c | 67/58/pc | Prague | 55/40/sh | 56/36/pc | Rio de Janeiro | 85/72/t | 80/73/t | Riyadh | 101/77/pc | 100/73/pc | Rome | 76/59/pc | 77/55/c | Santiago | 69/51/r | 61/47/r | Seoul | 83/64/s | 81/65/sh | Singapore | 90/80/t | 92/79/sh | Sofia | 70/51/c | 60/46/c | Stockholm | 44/41/r | 48/36/c | Sydney | 78/63/pc | 92/66/pc | Taipei | 87/69/t | 88/66/pc | Tehran | 78/62/pc | 79/66/pc | Tokyo | 80/66/s | 78/66/s | Toronto | 62/55/r | 72/61/pc | Trinidad | 88/78/r | 89/78/sh | Vancouver | 59/40/s | 57/45/s | Vienna | 65/45/s | 62/41/pc | Warsaw | 59/42/pc | 53/42/sh | Winnipeg | 49/41/r | 46/38/r |

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TRIBUNE

PUBLISHING

R

PUZZLES & GAMES

BUBBLE

SHOOTER

PRO

PlayJumble.com

APPRECIATION

Mike Ditka speaks about the smoking ban in restaurants during an interview at Ditka's on Chicago's Near North Side in 2005. ALEX GARCIA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Windy City legend

Chicago mourns Mike Ditka, the Pennsylvania kid who became the ultimate symbol of our town

MORE COVERAGE

By Paul Sullivan

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

To pigeonhole Mike Ditka as one of the great sports figures in Chicago history would be an injustice to his legacy.

To many he was the living, breathing image of Chicago, as much a part of our storied history as Mrs. O'Leary, Al Capone, the Water Tower, Muddy Waters, Mayor Richard J. Daley, Michael Jordan and Tom Skilling.

Ditka was everything we like to think we are as Chicagoans — tough, funny, mischievous, outspoken, hardworking and fun-loving. And he was sometimes everything we don't often admit to being — stubborn, loud-mouthed, off-color, oversensitive and occasionally rude.

He wasn't perfect, but he was perfectly imperfect, and Chicago loved him because he was Da Coach, and that is all that really mattered.

The eulogies will be spoken and the clips will be played as Chicago mourns the death of a beloved icon. All the great quotes, the NFL films highlights, the

Mike Ditka speaks during a halftime ceremony to retire his number at a game between the Bears and the Cowboys at Soldier Field in 2013. CHRIS SWEDA/ CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Mike Ditka's larger-than-life persona defined the Bears — and is forever etched in stone. Page A1

Super Fans skits.

In 1992 he got the rare opportunity to be a witness to his own “wake” when Bears fans mourned his firing as coach like we’d lost a member of our own family.

Ditka will go down as one of the best coaches in Chicago Bears history and remains the only one to win a Super Bowl. Truth be told, he was a very good coach, not a great one. Ditka was the right guy in the right place at the right time — the last big decision by “Papa Bear” George Halas — and was fortunate enough to inherit the most graceful running back in history in Walter Payton and the core of a defensive unit that would be revered forever for one special season.

That 1985 Super Bowl season was,

See DITKA on Page C4

ALDS GAME 5

WHITE SOX

AT GUARDIANS

Nothing left to say for Sox in must-win

White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami, right, high-fives teammates while taking fielding practice ahead of Game 5 of the ALDS in Cleveland on Saturday. CHRIS SWEDA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Paul Sullivan

IN THE WAKE OF THE NEWS

CLEVELAND — It was legendary Chicago philosopher Joakim Noah who once rejected the notion that a trip to Cleveland was a worthwhile venture.

“You like it?” Noah asked reporter David Haugh during the Bulls’ 2010 playoff series against the Cavaliers. “You think Cleveland’s cool? I mean, I never heard anybody say, ‘I’m going to Cleveland on vacation.’”

Suffice to say the White Sox weren't enthused about a return trip to Cleveland after taking the first two games of the American League Division Series last week. But they wasted a golden opportunity to clinch at Rate Field, and with their dream season on the line, the Sox returned to Progressive Field on Saturday for a win-or-go-home Game 5.

After all the talk about their resiliency and the underdog mentality and divine intervention, there was really nothing more to say before the opening

See SULLIVAN on Page C2

AL DIVISION SERIES

truTV and HBO Max

Game 1: White Sox 3, Guardians 0

Game 2: White Sox 4, Guardians 3

Game 3: Guardians 9, White Sox 3

Game 4: Guardians 9, White Sox 5

Game 5: Late

■ For the result and coverage of Game 5, go to chicagotribune.com/sports

■ More coverage, Page C2 ALCS GAME1

Sox-Guardians winner at Rays

7 p.m. Monday, TBS, truTV

After 4 games, physical identity is emerging

UP NEXT

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Brad Biggs ON THE BEARS

The symmetry of a 16-game season has been gone for a while, but in the NFL they still talk about the “first quarter” of the season as a period for self-discovery.

Bears coach Ben Johnson said in training camp — and again last month — that it would take four games to determine the identity of this team, even as it attempted to do many of the same things that worked well in 2025 with a lot of the same personnel.

It sounds like pigskin cliche, but you'll hear it from every team in the league and it's more nuanced than you might imagine. Teams break camp with an idea of how things will shake out, but they never really know.

"It's the old quarter-pole of the season, if you will," a general manager for another team said. "And it's a combination of a lot of

Bears at Packers

Noon Sunday,

Fox-32

MORE COVERAGE

Bears will wait at least one more week to activate CB Kyler Gordon. Page C3

Is the Bears' resurgent no-name defense for real? Page C5

Bears-Packers predictions, Page C5

things. You are starting the season and you haven't played a full game and some of your starters have barely played in preseason. You don't have the feedback in camp to self-correct.

"I don't know if people talked as much about this 20 years ago or longer, when they were doing full two-a-days in pads. So maybe the rules we've been under for a long time now have exacerbated things a little bit."

The GM then went into the weeds a little and talked about how changing out one player — such as a starting wide receiver — can introduce a handful of questions

See BIGGS on Page C4 | Team | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | | BEARS | @GB | noon | Fox-32 | WHITE SOX | Next game | TBD | BULLS | @DEN (exh.)8 p.m. | CHSN, ESPN | @MIL (exh.) | 7 p.m. | CHSN | BLACKHAWKS | PIT | 7 p.m. | CHSN | WPG | 7 p.m. | CHSN | FIRE | PHI | 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV | STARS | Next game | Oct. 18 vs. SEA | ALDS NOTES

Sox resiliency put to test again in Game 5

By LaMond Pope

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The White Sox stand for the national anthem ahead of Game 5 of the ALDS against the Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Saturday. CHRIS SWEDA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

CLEVELAND — Resiliency has been part of the White Sox identity all year long.

Before Saturday's win-or-go-home Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, manager Will Venable said that trait was built by the players.

"It's the kind of guys that we have," Venable said at Progressive Field. "We have guys that I think the underdog mentality suits us. I think that there's a lot of guys and personalities that feed into that. I think the perception of us and this organization has enhanced that for us, in which we're even more motivated to prove everyone wrong and to change the perception of what the White Sox are.

"We have a bunch of guys that are committed to that, that have gone out and done that on a daily basis. And throughout the year, we've seen that be challenged at a lot of points. You come out and you have this great belief that this year is going to be a good year and you get kicked in the teeth pretty good there early on in (the season-opening series at) Milwaukee. And even through the first 15, 20 games of the season, it wasn't good. And there's been rough stretches, as there are in every major-league season."

Venable continued: “So these guys have just continued to answer the bell. They’ve continued to shake off what happens yesterday, whether it’s good or bad, and come to the ballpark ready to play, and we expect that to be the same thing here.”

With a trip to the AL Championship Series on the line, here's what to know before Game 5.

---

RARE OCCURRENCE

Saturday marked just the second winner-take-all postseason game in franchise history for the Sox. The other occurred in 2020, when they lost Game 3 of the AL wild-card series at Oakland.

"They know what's at stake, and I think that there is more time spent on a day like today on individual messaging and adjustments that we need to make (rather than broad messaging), knowing that this is another game, Game 5 of a series, game (18) we've played these guys this year," Venable said. "So we're focused on those things.

"As far as the broader message, I'm not sure that if I sat these guys down and had some amazing motivational speech, that it's going to stick or help. That's not really my style anyway. So I think that we're really confident that this group is well positioned and understand what it takes to win a game here, understand that it's a Game 5 and the stakes are as high as they get, but these guys are ready for the moment."

---

GOING THE DISTANCE

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt ran into Venable in the hallway at Rate Field after Game 4.

“(We) kind of shared like, of course, we're going to play five games," Vogt said before Saturday's game.

Vogt said on Saturday that he has "so much respect for Will."

“I’ve played against him, now managing teams in the same division,” he said. “What a good human being. He’s fun to talk to. We’ve had great conversations off the field, on the field.

"I have so much respect for what he and that group have done over there. And we've just laughed all year because we play one-run games. The whole series was defined by one run. Now here we are in Game 5."

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LINEUP CHANGE

Brenton Doyle will start in center field for the Sox, with Tristan Peters shifting to right field for Game 5.

"Just excited about the defense that he brings, and as we've evaluated him in this environment, the at-bat quality that he's given us has been really good," Venable said of Doyle. "So I feel really good about where he's at.

"I also expect there to be a lot of twists and turns in this one. And so having him there and kind of locking him in at the bottom of the order there in center field felt like the right thing to do."

Doyle made a nice leaping catch in left-center to wrap up Game 2.

Right fielder Braden Montgomery was not in Saturday's starting lineup. He was 1-for-15 (.067) through the first four games of the ALDS with nine strikeouts, one walk and two RBIs. The hit was a big one, a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning of Game 2 at Progressive Field.

"As I mentioned, (we) expect there to be a lot of twists and turns to this one and certainly going to use our bench," Venable said. "And having Braden's flexibility off the bench as a switch hitter, that's a plus as well. It is exciting. We're evaluating the whole thing, not knowing exactly what's going to happen with how far (Cleveland starter) Gavin (Williams) is going to go or what's behind it, I felt really strongly about Brenton."

Here's the Sox lineup, with Se Burke getting the start.

■ Sam Antonacci, LF

■ Kyle Teel C

■ Miguel Vargas 3B

■ Munetaka Murakami 1B

■ Andrew Benintendi DH

■ Tristan Peters RF

■ Chase Meidroth 2B

■ Colson Montgomery SS

■ Brenton Doyle CF

SULLIVAN

from Page C1

pitch.

"I'm not sure that if I sat these guys down and had some amazing motivational speech, that it's going to stick or help," manager Will Venable said. "That's not really my style anyway."

Venable has two modes — excited and super-excited — and on Saturday he was excited for an opportunity to move on to the American League Championship Series, which begins Monday in Florida against the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays.

Venable opted to go old-school for Game 5, sending Sean Burke to start against the Guardians, whom he dominated in Game 2.

No openers. No bulk guys. No nonsense.

Burke was their one-man rotation, even though he had only one postseason start under his belt. He was the only Sox pitcher who had thrown more than five innings in a game this postseason — his brilliant, one-hit bulk appearance in the Game 2 win in Cleveland.

Guardians third baseman José Ramírez hits a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the White Sox in Game 5 of the ALDS in Cleveland on Saturday. CHRIS SWEDA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Venable had been MacGyvering his way through the playoffs, using relievers as openers, starters as relievers and closer Grant Taylor on a 24/7 basis. Sean Newcomb and Taylor were targeted as the primary leverage duo heading into the game, but it was all hands on deck as usual for any elimination game.

It's not aesthetically pleasing to some, but Venable' strategy worked for a while. And then, suddenly, it didn't. The bullpen arms looked tired in games at Rate Field, and Taylor turned in his worst performance of the season after being the designated savior since the wild-card series in Houston.

"My belief in Grant is as high as it's ever been," Venable said. "He has been our guy the entire year. He's the guy every single game in which we are in a tough spot that we put in when he's available. And when he's not available, we wish he was. And so that's not going to change today just because of one outing."

Anxiety levels were high among Sox fans, and it wasn't just the usual, garden-variety anxiety passed down from generation to generation of Sox fans. This was based on objective reality — the Sox hitters were striking out at

an unprecedented rate, leaving runners stranded like arriving passengers at O'Hare waiting on the tarmac for a gate to open.

The Chicago media contingent was small, thanks no doubt to the Bears-Packers game on Sunday in Green Bay. The death of Bears coach Mike Ditka also took some of the focus off the Sox, much like news of Michael Jordan's shocking retirement from the Bulls did to the crowd at new Comiskey Park 33 years ago during Game 1 of the ALCS between the Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

No matter. The Sox were back to their old, familiar role as underdogs, reverting to default mode

once again.

Perhaps that would be a good thing?

The pressure was squarely on Burke's shoulders, and if there was anyone Sox fans believed in, it was Burke. He stepped up in the postseason, striking out 14 with one walk and one walk in $9 \frac{1}{2}$ innings in his two appearances.

In a conversation at his locker the other day at the Rate, I told Burke that in all my decades covering playoff baseball, I'd never seen any pitching strategy quite like the one the Sox were using. Naturally, I'd seen starters used in relief in do-or-die situations, including Cubs left-hander Jon Lester in the decisive Game 7 of the 2016 World Series in this very same ballpark.

But the '26 Sox broke the mold, with no one knowing exactly when or how they'd be used.

“It’s been fun,” Burke said. “I think it’s been a little crazy at times, but it’s cool, like an all-hands-on-deck approach to it. So it keeps you engaged in all of these games because you never know when your name is going to be called.”

That obviously was going to be the case for Game 5, with everyone available, including Game 4 bulk guy Erick Fedde, a new cult hero on the South Side.

As the Guardians fans poured into the park while the Sox took batting practice, a group in the right-field stands began chanting "F--- you, White Sox," proving Noah's axiom about Cleveland as a welcoming place.

No matter how Game 5 turned out, it was safe to say that the Sox's season has been one of the most memorable and unexpected in franchise history. It reminded me of the 1972 season, when Dick

Allen brought the franchise back from the dead, and of 1990, when a brash Jack McDowell and closer Bobby Thigpen helped them challenge the mighty A's team into September, finishing with 94 wins.

Neither of those teams made it to October, but with only one championship in their lifetimes, most Sox fans have had to make do with memories of fun seasons that ultimately ended in disappointment.

As time goes on, you cherish those seasons even more.

When they look back on 2026, it will no doubt evoke fond memories of a team of likeable over-achievers who fooled everyone, including their own management.

Back in February at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., I asked general manager Chris Getz what he thought about his players “talking playoffs” after three straight 100-plus loss seasons.

“Well, I love high expectations from our players,” Getz replied. “We focus on winning today. You can call it cliche, but that’s how Will (Venable) operates. That’s why we wanted Will, to put together a pathway to win a game that particular day, and to repeat that approach on a daily basis and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Getz said then he didn't feel any pressure from Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, and just wanted to "stay the course" on the rebuild.

“You measure where we were last year to where we are now,” he said. “We just want to take another step forward.”

The Sox took quite a few steps forward in '26. The season is already a stunning success.

But on a perfectly cool Saturday night in Cleveland, they were looking to make a huge leap.

Notre Dame's Boubacar Traore intercepts a pass during the second quarter against Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday in South Bend, Ind. JUSTIN CASTERLINE/GETTY

NOTRE DAME 58, STANFORD 7

Irish ease by Cardinal as season's 2nd half awaits

By Colleen Kane

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — One second into Stanford's first snap at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Irish defensive end Boubacar Traore screamed across the line of scrimmage unblocked and ripped quarterback Davis Warren down from behind.

The football popped into the air, and Notre Dame linebacker Jaiden Ausberry fell on it at the Stanford 18-yard line. Four plays later, Nolan James Jr. charged through a hole for a 2-yard touchdown run and an early Notre Dame lead.

Not everything was that easy Saturday for the Irish, but it was pretty close. No. 3 Notre Dame led by 37 points at halftime on the way to a 58-7 victory. Notre Dame improved to 26-14 in the rivalry's battle for the Legends Trophy, including 4-1 under coach Marcus Freeman.

There were other jaw-droppingly easy plays.

On the first play of the second quarter, freshman running back Jonaz Walton slipped through a hole at the 5-yard line and cruised to a 97-yard touchdown for a 20-0 Notre Dame lead.

Three plays after that, Traore leaped in front of a Warren pass for an interception and returned it 18 yards. The Irish added another three points with a Spencer Porath 33-yard field goal.

Later in the second quarter, Aneyas Williams easily beat linebacker Jahsiah Galvan off the line of scrimmage and hauled in a pass from quarterback CJ Carr for a 70-yard touchdown.

The thoroughness of the win wasn't surprising. Stanford had lost by 28 points or more in its three losses this season, including a 54-point loss to Wake Forest last week.

Notre Dame (6-0) was supposed to roll over the 2-4 Cardinal, just like they were supposed to ease by Wisconsin, Rice, Michigan State, Purdue and North Carolina before them with relatively few complications. The Irish were challenged at times in a few of those games but still won comfortably.

The entire first half of the season has felt like a six-week warm-up. Now, it's time to bring on the real competition, the games that will truly build the Irish case for a College Football Playoff berth.

Three times over the next six weeks, Notre Dame will play a team that is currently ranked in the Associated Press poll.

The Irish head to BYU on Oct. 17 for their first marquee matchup of the season. The No. 8 Cougars will enter the game 5-0 after beating Iowa State 24-10 behind 329 passing yards and 109 rushing yards from quarterback Bear Bachmeier.

Three weeks later on Nov. 7, Notre Dame hosts No. 4 Miami (currently 5-0) in a rematch of the 2025 opening-weekend battle that the Hurricanes won by three. And then in the final push for a CFP berth, the Irish host No. 24 SMU (4-1) on Nov. 21.

It's unclear whether a blow-out like Saturday's win provides a proper gauge for what the Irish can do in the weeks ahead against tougher opponents. But coach Marcus Freeman has preached respecting all their opponents, and that showed against Stanford.

Carr completed 14 of 20 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns. He also had five carries for

41 yards, though perhaps the Irish didn't need him to take all of those hits in a blowout.

A focal point over the first half of the season has been who steps up in the running game to fill the void of departed stars Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. All three of the Irish running backs came through with big plays. Along with the Walton and Williams touchdowns, James scored on the aforementioned 2-yarder and a 31-yard carry in the second quarter.

Walton, who had a breakout game against North Carolina a week earlier, finished with 13 carries for 181 yards and two touchdowns. The 97-yarder was his first career touchdown. He followed that up with a 40-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. James had 10 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Williams had seven carries for 28 yards and the long receiving touchdown.

Wide receivers Jaden Great-house and Elijah Burress had touchdown catches, also a first for Burress.

The Notre Dame defense wasn't at full strength for the matchup but still didn't allow a touchdown until Stanford scored on a 3-yard Warren touchdown pass late in the third quarter.

Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was declared out with a thumb injury earlier in the week, and cornerback Leonard Moore was ruled out pregame with a concussion. The Irish also have been without safety Brauntae Johnson since he suffered a left foot injury against Wisconsin.

The Irish fared fine without them. But it will be worth watching who will be able to return against a tougher BYU opponent.

NORTHWESTERN 45, BALL STATE 14

Chiles throws for 3 TDs, runs for another

Eligon II with a 16-yard pass to set up the TD.

Matt Carlson

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Aidan Chiles passed for three touchdowns for the second time this season and ran in another as Northwestern routed Ball State 45-14 in a nonconference matchup on Saturday in Evanston.

Chiles threw for 272 yards on a 17-for-23 afternoon in Northwestern's second game at its swanky new Ryan Field. The 6-foot-4 senior transfer from Michigan State upped his season totals to nine passing TD's and six on the ground.

Griffin Wilde pulled in a touchdown, his third, and finished with 144 receiving yards. Drew Wagner and Alex Honig also caught passes for scores.

Caleb Komolafe rushed for a TD and Robert Fitzgerald returned an interception for a 15-yard score as the Wildcats (4-1) raced ahead early, stumbled briefly in the second quarter, then took charge in the second half.

Jackson Kleather added a 52-yard field goal.

Ball State's Keldric Luster passed for 209 yards (27 for 41) and a 2-yard touchdown to Jamarion McDougle as time ran out in the first half. TJ Horton punched in a TD from the 1 midway through the second quarter for the Cardinals' (1-5) first score.

Northwestern scored on its first four drives, then added a touchdown off Fitzgerald's pick to build a 31-14 lead at the half.

Northwestern jumped ahead 7 on the opening drive when Chiles dashed in on a keeper after Ball State foiled three straight Wildcat rushing tries from within the 2.

Northwestern upped it to 14-0 on its second possession, capped by Chiles' 17-yard TD pass to Wilde.

Komolafe scored on a 14-yard rush up the middle 4:08 into the second, upping it to 21-0. Chiles narrowly dodged a sack on a third-and-8 at the Ball State 30, but hit Hayden

Horton punched into the end zone at 8:20 to cut it to 21-7 after Luster led a 75-yard drive. Jackson Kleather's field goal narrowly cleared the crossbar and made it 24-7 with 4:47 left in the half.

Pinned back on his own 12 on a third down, Luster's pass intended for Jabari Smith was picked by Fitzgerald, who ran it in for a TD and a 31-7 NU lead.

Luster atoned, tossing to McDougle in the end zone from the 2 on fourth down as time ran out in the half

Northwestern stopped Ball State's punt formation sneak from its 36 5:29 into the third quarter. Two plays later, Chiles tossed a 12-yard TD to Wagner, and Northwestern led 38-14.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ball State and Luster showed signs of making a game of it in their second meeting with a Big Ten opponent this season. The Cardinals were pounded 56-3 in a season-opening loss at Ohio State

For Northwestern, Chiles athleticism was on display. He pounced on opportunities and got the Wildcats out of a bit of trouble.

Wagner's apparent 92-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter was nullified by a series of penalties. A final infraction, sideline interference against Northwestern, put the Wildcats back in their 1 to start a drive with 4:34 left in the third.

Chiles engineered a 10-play, 99-yard drive after the odd call that culminated in a 32-yard TD pass to Honig and a 45-14 Northwestern lead.

UP NEXT

■ Ball State plays at Mid-American Conference rival Bowling Green on Oct. 17.

■ Northwestern returns to Big Ten play at Michigan State on Oct. 17.

Illinois wide receiver Hudson Clement scores a touchdown against Michigan State in overtime Saturday in East Lansing, Mich. LON HORWEDEL/AP

ILLINOIS 38, MICHIGAN STATE 37 OT

Illini hold on after stop on 2-point conversion

Larry Lage

ASSOCIATED PRESS

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michael Clayton threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Clement on the first play of overtime and Illinois made a stop on a 2-point conversion attempt to hold on for a 38-37 win over Michigan State on Saturday.

The Fighting Illini (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) scored on their first five drives to take a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter and coach Bret Bielema made a decision late in the game that helped Spartans (2-4, 0-3) come back.

Bielema chose to go for it on a fourth-and-1 at his 33 and Clayton was stuffed on a sneak, giving Michigan State the ball with 3:27 left.

Jaziun Patterson's 2-yard touchdown run with an extra point made it 31-all with 1:17 left.

Patterson scored a third touchdown in overtime and coach Pat Fitzgerald went for 2 points and the win. The Spartans lined up in a wildcat formation and tossed the ball to quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, whose pass short of the end zone fell incomplete.

Illinois quarterback Katin Houser, who threw for a touchdown pass and ran for a score against one of his former teams, was injured while making a tackle on an interception return in the third quarter.

Clayton threw passes for the first time in his career, including a 14-yard throw to Collin Dixon early in the fourth quarter for his ninth receiving touchdown this season, and a 2-point conversion created a 14-point lead.

THE TAKEAWAY

For Illinois, Houser hurt his left hand and didn't return. He was 20 of 29 for 194 yards with a touchdown pass, interception and rushing score. Houser began his college career with the Mel Tucker-led Spartans in 2022 and spent the last two seasons at East Carolina.

For Michigan State, after averaging fewer than nine points over the previous three games and being held to seven points in the first half, the offense suddenly showed signs of life with 24 points in the second half in a potentially positive sign.

UP NEXT

■ Illinois has a bye, then hosts No. 13 Oregon on Oct. 24.

■ Michigan State will host Northwestern, Fitzgerald's former team, on Saturday.

BEARS

Team will wait at least 1 more week to activate Gordon

By Brad Biggs

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The return of Kyler Gordon is at least one more week away.

The Bears nickel cornerback was not activated from the physically unable to perform list Saturday. Instead, the team moved linebacker Noah Sewell from the PUP list to the 53-man roster, making him an option as a backup and special teams contributor for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Gordon, who missed nearly the entire offseason program as well as all of training camp, has been practicing since the Bears started his 21-day return to practice window. Sewell, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Week 17 last season, has been practicing a week longer than Gordon.

"I think he's working hard," defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said Thursday when asked about Gordon, who is going to miss his 19th regular-season game since the start of last season. "I think he's competing out there on the practice field and that's good to see.

"I'm excited about all these guys that are coming off the PUP list and how I think they can help and what I think they can bring to the table. When Kyler's ready to go, there'll be a role for him and we'll play that out as we see fit."

Because Gordon has missed so much practice time with soft-tissue injuries, it stands to reason the Bears want to see how he holds up. That involves getting him going in as many rigorous practices as possible, and the team is limited to a maximum of one practice in full pads per week. He has to build some equity with the coaching staff, and the team is pleased with how rookie Malik Muhammad II is playing as the nickel cornerback.

Sewell could figure into plans on special teams immediately. He takes the roster spot that was held by left tackle Braxton Jones, who is on IR with a right knee injury. The Bears are expected to move defensive end Shemar Turner (torn ACL last season) to the 53-man roster next week and can wait to see if any injuries come out of Sunday's game that necessitate an IR move. The team has until the Week 7 game against the New England Patriots at Soldier Field to elevate Gordon to the roster.

In advance of facing the Packers, the Bears used a practice squad elevation for running back Zavier Scott with Kyle Monanagai (toe) ruled out. Scott had 32 carries with the Minnesota Vikings last season but was a regular on special teams.

D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson are expected to get the bulk of the work at running back.

---

BEARS

Mike Ditka looks at the clock during the second quarter of a game on Nov. 11, 1991, in Minneapolis. NANCY STONE/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

DITKA

from Page C1

of course, the greatest of all time. It's an indisputable fact, like saying water is wet. And it most assuredly never would have happened without Ditka as the ringleader, creating his brand and letting his players' personalities shine without exception. He could never replicate it with most of the same players, arguably getting outcoached by Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh in playoff losses the following seasons.

But few blamed Ditka, because he was Da Coach, and that is all that really mattered.

Ditka was from Aliquippa, Pa., a steel mill town where my own father and grandfather were born and everyone worked until the job was done right. There are no shortcuts taken in a steel mill town, and those lessons served Ditka well. He was cut from his high school team for being too small, then grew into one of the most imposing tight ends in history, a Hall of Famer who rolled over the Pittsburgh Steelers defense on a 63-yard romp on one remarkable afternoon in November 1963, looking like a steamroller covering potholes.

"One of the greatest individual efforts I've seen in my 40 years of football," Halas said afterward. "They had him stopped a half-dozen times, but his feet never stopped churning." It was the quintessential highlight reel of his playing career, epitomizing one man's refusal to go down. Little did anyone know that would be his life's calling card, from special teams coach in Dallas to head coach of the Bears.

Ditka was a master motivator in many people's minds, a “take no quarter” coach who threw clipboards and punched lockers, once breaking his hand after a 1983 loss in Baltimore. He insisted he wasn't mad. “I get excited about a number of things,” he said. “It’s my nature. I would like to stand out there like (coaches Bud) Grant and (Tom) Landry. But I can’t.”

Ditka was also the one who in 1986 brought in diminutive quarterback Doug Flutie to play over hometown kid Mike Tomczak and Steve Fuller when the beloved Jim McMahon was out injured, causing dissension for no real reason. "Ditka talks about being loyal to ballplayers who go through training camp." McMahon said. "Tell me where the loyalty is?" Ditka's response was a figurative middle finger. "I frankly don't give a damn," he said. "Wasn't that a line in a movie?" He also tried to legitimize the "Spare Bears," the scab team that pretended to be pros in 1987, spoiling the illusion of being a "player's coach" and temporarily soiling his blue-collar image.

He also wanted to fight defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan at halftime of the famous game against the Miami Dolphins in 1985, when the Bears were still unbeaten and Ryan's popularity in Chicago was just a notch below Ditka's. The jealousy was unbecoming of a man of Ditka's stature, and even after Ryan left for the Philadelphia Eagles job, their bitter feud lasted for years. But it eventually led to a reconciliation at the 25th anniversary of the Super Bowl season in 2010. "It took me a long time to get smarter and understand things," Ditka told ESPN's Melissa Isaacson. "You're headstrong when you're young ... (but) I certainly have grown to understand and appreciate what these guys meant and what this coach meant, because his players related to him on defense like I've never seen before or since."

Smarter and more forgiving, Ditka never stopped evolving.

The Ditka myth grew over the years, and “Saturday Night Live” added to the legend by supersizing Ditka’s reputation as an indomitable winner, making him into a cartoonish character with the Super Fans skits. He made dozens of commercials that typically played on his tough guy veneer, cashing in on anything and everything. He expertly played himself in the movie “Kicking & Screaming” and tried to capitalize on “The Super Bowl Shuffle” success with his own dance video, “The Grabowski Shuffle.” It was a cash grab that didn’t pan out, but so what?

We loved him anyway because he was Da Coach, and that is all that really mattered.

He was the star of eponymous “Mike Ditka Show” on Sunday mornings, which

Brian Moyer, of Durham, North Carolina, poses with a 7-foot tall Bears Mike Ditka bobblehead at Millennium Park in Chicago in 2019. JOSE M. OSORIO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

were taped on Thursday nights, often after the coach had a cocktail or two. Feisty Ditka was must-see TV before every Bears game, frequently beating the political talks shows in ratings, as were his postgame shows with ex-Bears teammate and sports anchor Johnny Morris. The shows were never scripted and always entertaining, especially if the Bears lost. Ben Johnson can only dream of being a TV star of Ditka's magnitude.

Ditka was probably the man most responsible for Bears fans' antipathy toward the McCaskeys and ultimately was fired in 1992 by the blue-blooded Mike McCaskey, who was as loathed in Chicago as Ditka was admired. McCaskey said the Bears needed "fresh ideas," another way of calling him a football dinosaur. In his final TV appearance on WBBM-Ch. 2 before his firing, Ditka said: "The main reason Mr. Halas hired me was not to win football games. It was to restore pride."

In the end, he did both, winning six NFL Central titles and 106 games in his 11 years on the clock. McCaskey later was replaced by his brother George, whose “fresh ideas” include a possible domed stadium in Indiana.

Oh, the irony.

Ditka basically invented the career of William “The Refrigerator” Perry, the jumbo-sized tackle who was put in the backfield one day in 1985 against the San Francisco 49ers because Ditka never forgot a slight from the previous year’s NFC title game. The Fridge became a household name, and even Mayor Harold Washington created a soulful cheerleading group named “The Refrigerettes.” But when Ditka gave the Fridge the opportunity to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl at the expense of Payton, it was a slight that lingered for years. “Sweetness” deserved his TD.

But we loved him anyway because he was Da Coach, and that is all that really mattered.

Ditka loved to spar with the media and was not adverse to giving fans the finger or throwing a wad of his already chewed gum at someone, as he once did at Candlestick Park. As a player he once shoved a fan who ran onto the field during a Bears-Rams game. These moments of sporadic rage made Chicago admire Ditka even more. Who hadn't reacted the same way after being cut off by a clueless driver on the Kennedy?

In his post-football life, Ditka was a Republican-supporting citizen in a deep-blue city. The GOP asked him to run for Illinois senator in the Republican primary in 2004 to replace disgraced candidate Jack Ryan. Fortunately he opted not to run, saying: "I don't know how I'd do on the Senate floor if I got into a confrontation with someone I didn't appreciate, or maybe he didn't appreciate me." It was a wise choice, and he likely would've lost in a landslide to a young state senator named Barack Obama.

Ditka was different things to different people. Not everyone was on board with his shtick, but it was hard for anyone to ignore him. As Chicago celebrates the life of a man who made us smile for decades, it's safe to say Ditka always did things his way, like it or not.

Because he was Da Coach, and that is all that really mattered.

BIGGS

from Page C1

even when most of the offensive personnel remains in place.

“You add one player to the mix and there is a domino effect,” he said. “Who is the third-down target now? Do they need to get the ball in his hands and get him going early? When are we going to take our shots? How is the defense going to roll coverage in the secondary? How are teams going to treat us?”

"It's a little bit of knowing who you are and what you can be. And also what others think of you in a sense of: How are they treating you? What are they scared of? What's the scouting report on us every week?"

The GM shifted the conversation to the Bears, noting that the trade of DJ Moore created certain unknowns for the coaching staff that couldn't be figured out until games that count were played.

"Are defenses vising (tight end Colston) Loveland now in the red zone?" he said. "Are they funneling it to him? There is always a cause and effect, and defenses are going to focus on taking something away, usually your biggest threat, and then go from there.

“What are they focusing on and what does that open up? When you have 11-on-11 and all of the variables, there is such a trickle-down effect. One player can change the dynamic, and it’s an evolution a little bit and it’s an exploration of finding who you are and what you do well. That is the minutiae behind it.”

So now that we're at "the old quarter-pole," what's the identity of this Bears team, which takes a 3-1 record into Lambeau Field on Sunday to face the Green Bay Packers?

Unlike last year, when the running game didn't get sorted out until after a Week 5 bye, this team is a wagon running the football. The Bears are averaging 196.3 rushing yards per game, easily tops in the league. They've been successful with both D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, and now we'll see how they fare without Monangai, who is out for Week 5 with a toe injury.

The running game is the foundation of Johnson's offense. It travels and it works with Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum at quarterback, especially the last two because it takes pressure off of them to make a lot of plays.

It also allows the Bears to control and dominate tempo. They dictated everything about last week's 23-12 victory over the New York Jets with their running game. They ran the ball 54 times. That's a statistic you usually see associated only with a service academy offense. You don't see that very often in an NFL game.

It's the way the Bears did it, too, behind their impressive offensive line. There were five runs of more than 10 yards by running backs, but none went for more than 19. It was just, "We're going to wear you out and run the ball downhill." That allows the quarterback to throw off play action, and Bagent was 11 of 16 on play-action throws because they mirror the running game.

Some of their offensive identity still has to be sorted out with Williams set to miss his third game because of a hamstring injury. When he returns, Johnson and his staff can dial in on that.

The tough part when you're analyzing the passing game is the Bears have so many options, obviously a good problem to have. In the first couple of weeks, Kalif Raymond was the go-to target, which no one in the world predicted. Loveland was a ghost.

Last Sunday, Loveland and wide receiver Rome Odunze got going, with Johnson likely making a concerted effort to have them as the primary reads for passing downs early in the game. That's important because even though the Bears can win games without those two, over the course of the season they cannot achieve their best without them. So the ball has to be force-fed to certain players on occasion, and that's all part of creating what you want to be on offense.

On defense, coordinator Dennis Allen's unit has been super stingy since a rocky start in the 59-37 road win against the Carolina Panthers. The Bears have allowed only two touchdowns and a total of 28 points over the last three games. The last time they allowed 28 points or fewer over three consecutive games was Weeks 4-7 (a bye week was mixed in) in 2012.

The Bears have been outstanding on third down, ranking No. 2 in the league at 23.7%, and they rank third in total defense (282.3 yards per game), in part because the offense has run 298 plays to only 192 for the opponents. That's a huge difference.

The defensive line has been steady with tackle Grady Jarrett, who wasn't healthy last year, being disruptive in the middle. Ends Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo and Austin Booker have taken turns making plays.

Objectively the defense has thrived the last three weeks against lower-level competition. So it's still to be determined what this defense is and what Allen wants it to be. In the first couple of weeks, he was very man-coverage heavy. The last two weeks were much more balanced between zone and man. He has been very calculated when he has called pressures.

The Bears also have tackled very well since Week 1, and amid the abyss of statistics and analytics, that's overlooked way too often. Good tackling wins games. Just look at the mess the Dallas Cowboys have on defense right now and their abysmal performance Thursday night in a loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We're a physical unit, fast unit, disruptive, and as long as we control what we can, I think we can play with anybody," Jarrett said. "We've got to get out of our own way on some of the mistakes that we make, whether it's misfitting in the run game sometimes or allowing a big play here or there. But we're only going to be better and everyone on the defense is hungry for that."

How it looks in the second half of the season will be telling. The Panthers game didn't go well, but the Bears recovered from that mess immediately.

“Defense has really executed the last three games,” said a pro scout who has watched the Bears. “I still think it’s too early because you’ve got to see them play the Lions, someone like that that can press them a little bit.”

Even with some stuff to unravel, such as the passing game when Williams returns and how the defense fares against better offenses, the results have been positive. Johnson talks almost weekly about how the team's physicality shows up on tape. It shows up in other ways too. The Jets, in a bid to buy more recovery time, held a walk-through Wednesday, three days after they were whipped at Soldier Field.

That's the kind of thing Johnson wants to hang his hat on when establishing an identity.

---

SCOUTING REPORT

Matthew Golden, Packers wide receiver Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts.

Matthew Golden, 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, is in his second season after the Packers drafted him in the first round with the 23rd selection in 2025. He caught only 29 passes for 361 yards as a rookie but is close to eclipsing those figures already with 18 catches for 274 yards (a 15.2-yard average) and two touchdowns through four games.

Golden ran the 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL scouting combine in 4.29 seconds, the second-fastest time of any player that year. The Bears have noted how the Packers have an abundance of speed on the outside, something that hurt them in last season's meetings.

"This is the player they wanted when they drafted him out of Texas, and this is what he looked like on his college tape," the scout said. "Three-level separator and three-level route runner. Very sudden at the route stem to create space to get open. Obviously he's got the vertical speed to get deep, and he's showing he's willing to work the middle of the field when it gets a little dirty and also he can win one-on-ones inside tight quarters. His touchdowns this year have been on short throws to the end zone.

“Those are positives for the Packers, and they need him because they cannot the run football. They lack any sort of difference maker in the backfield, and Jordan Love is throwing the ball almost 40 times a game — way too much. For Green Bay to win, they have to be explosive on offense, and that means Golden and Christian Watson. Those are the matchups to take. I don’t know that Jaylon Johnson has played at a high level this year, and Tyrique Stevenson can get run by in a hurry.”

Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden makes a catch over Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon during the fourth quarter of a NFC wild-card game at Soldier Field Jan. 10. ARMANDO L. SANCHEZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

@CAR

Win,

59-37

WEEK 3 Sept.28

MIN

Loss,

9-3

PHI

Win,

27-7

NYJ

Win,

23-12 @GB

Noon

Fox-32

WEEK 6

Oct. 18

@ATL

Noon

Fox-32

NE

7:15 p.m.

Prime @SEA

7:15 p.m.

ESPN

TB

7:20 p.m.

NBC-5

NO

Noon

Fox-32 @DET

Noon

CBS-2

JAX

Noon

Fox-32

@MIA

Noon

CBS-2 @BUF

7:20 p.m.

CBS-2

DET

3:25 p.m.

Fox-32

Is resurgent ‘no-name defense’ for real?

@MIN

TBD

TBD

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson celebrates after safety Dillon Thieneman intercepted a pass against the Eagles on Sept. 28 at Soldier Field. EILEEN T. MESLAR/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

By Sean Hammond

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Bears safety Dillon Thieneman makes an interception in front of Eagles wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks during the second quarter Sept. 28 at Soldier Field. ARMANDO L. SANCHEZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson had cornerback Jaylon Johnson in his office at Halas Hall for a one-on-one meeting before the start of the regular season.

Over the course of that conversation, Ben Johnson said two words that Jaylon Johnson couldn't recall ever really hearing from his past coaches: "Super Bowl."

"I've never had a talk of a coach saying we got a chance to win the Super Bowl," Jaylon Johnson said in the days leading up to a Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

Every coach who has been hired by an NFL team wants to win a championship, and many of them say as much during their introductory news conferences. But it's one thing to say it in front of the cameras and it's another to say as much in private meetings — and to have the players believe those words.

"When he said that it put some things in perspective for me, and we have the opportunity to do something special," Jaylon Johnson said. "So I think for me it just sparked a different level of my competitive nature that I haven't had since I've been here."

When Ben Johnson says it, the players believe it.

Jaylon Johnson is one of the longest-tenured members of the Bears, drafted in 2020 just seven picks behind tight end Cole Kmet. He has experienced plenty of lows in his time with the Bears, as well as the highs that last season's play-off run brought. He doesn't take this moment for granted.

A few days later, the Bears went out and scored 59 points in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers. Obviously the offense received plenty of credit for the scoring outburst. Despite the victory, it was a frustrating effort for the defense, which gave up 37 points and 478 total yards.

It was not the start the unit anticipated.

“We’ve got to find a way to bury them,” Jaylon Johnson said after that game. “I think that was an opportunity for us to put that identity out there early, and we didn’t do it.”

Since then, though, the Bears have strung together three solid defensive efforts, holding their opponent to 12 points or fewer in wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets and a 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The team has weathered the storm with starting quarterback Caleb Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury, and the defensive effort has been a big part of that.

Over these last three games, the Bears defense has held opponents to 5-for-29 on third-down attempts. The Jets went 0-for-7 on third down and punted on five of their eight possessions in last week's game.

The Bears defense ranks fourth in points allowed at 16.3 per game, third in total yards at 282.3 per game and third in passing yards at 179.8 per game. Their sack rate at $8.6\%$ of dropbacks ranks third in the league, per NFL Pro.

Six players have at least one sack, with Dayo Odeyingbo's three leading the way. It has been a steady diet of good, solid defensive football.

"You can almost call them the no-name defense here at this point," Ben Johnson said after the Jets win. "I don't know if anybody's super flashy all over the place. But they're playing really good football as a collective 11 on the field. We talked about the unselfish nature of our team last week, and I think that certainly applies to that side of the ball as well. All of those guys, they just want to be sound."

Those three wins, however, came against offenses that rank 25th or worse in total yards. Only the Vikings are averaging better than 20 points per game. They were playing with backup quarterback Carson Wentz, the Eagles offense is off to a terrible start and the Jets are, well, still the struggling Jets.

It raises the question: Is this sustainable?

“We’re early in the season,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “We know we still have a lot of work to do, and that’s where our focus is.”

'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?'

The “no-name” Bears defense has gotten contributions from everywhere. Their big free-agent addition, safety Coby Bryant, injured his knee in training camp and is expected to miss most of the season.

It was a major blow for a player with Super Bowl-winning experience who was expected to be an integral part of the defense. The Bears had to pivot.

On the same day Bryant had surgery, the Bears signed veteran safety Xavier Woods, who has started more than 100 games in his NFL career. Woods and veteran Cam Lewis have filled in at safety since Bryant went down.

Woods recalled the conversations before the opener. Johnson impressed upon his players that whatever the outcome, they would get better.

"We all said that'll be the worst that we play for the season — and that was before the game," Woods said. "We knew that. We understood that. All that means is that we're going to excel from here on out. Just keep getting better week by week."

There were no surprises in the film room Monday morning after giving up 37 points in Carolina.

Allen, the two-time head coach who now leads the defense, has done this a million times. He doesn't sugarcoat things. He simply looks for solutions.

"The one thing about (Allen) is he holds us to a high standard," defensive tackle Neville Gallimore said. "He's going to tell us when it's right and he's going to tell us when it's wrong."

Johnson talked about wanting to get through the first quarter of the season at 3-1, and that's what the Bears did — despite the injury at quarterback.

The first month of the NFL season is all about figuring out who you are as a team. The best coaches then take what they've learned and adjust.

Odeyingbo, a defensive end who missed half of last season with a torn Achilles, said this week that this string of success won't matter if the Bears defense comes out and has a poor showing Sunday against the Packers in Green Bay.

"This league is like, 'What have you done for me lately?' " Odeyingbo said.

But he also said he can feel his teammates building trust in each other. That, to Allen, is the key to the whole operation.

"When you begin to see some success and guys playing within the scheme the way it's designed to be played, and they understand that they can trust their teammates to do their job, that's how it works," Allen said.

When that trust isn't there, that's when problems arise.

Nowhere is that more glaring than in the secondary. One mistake, one blown coverage, can lead to an explosive play. With the exception of a 58-yard touchdown pass from Jets quarterback Geno Smith late in the game last week, the Bears have given up few of those since Week 1.

That's a testament to Lewis and Woods, as well as rookies such as Dillon Thieneman and Malik Muhammad II, who have stepped into major roles.

"Everybody that's in our building is preparing to play," Allen said. "You never know when that opportunity is going to come up, and you want to make sure you're prepared to take advantage of that opportunity. It speaks to the work ethic of all of our players on our roster, practice squad included, and it speaks to the amount of time our assistant coaches spend with each and every player."

'HOW YOU GET TO THOSE X'S AND O'S CAN BE TOTALLY DIFFERENT'

Linebacker T.J. Edwards leaned in at the line of scrimmage and listened as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts made an adjustment at the line of scrimmage in Week 3. It was a key fourth down in the second half, and Hurts threw the ball right to Edwards for an interception.

The play went viral that night because it looked as if Edwards was listening to the play call. The veteran linebacker, who used to play for the Eagles, later said he couldn't understand any of the jargon Hurts was using.

What didn't go viral — but was perhaps just as notable — was the way the Bears defenders rallied around Edwards and ran with him to the end zone for a celebration. To defensive tackle James Lynch, moments like that are what stand out.

"If you watch just the way we play as the Bears, the way we celebrate, the way people are excited whether they're playing or they're not playing, the way coaches are fired up, it just shows you this is a culture that we've built of loving the game and loving to see your brother do well, not just yourself,"

Lynch said.

The Bears had three takeaways in that game, so they had plenty to celebrate. But that play was also a perfect call by Allen.

Allen's defense is predicated on confusing the quarterback, especially on third- and fourth-down opportunities. Edwards began the play at the line of scrimmage showing blitz before dropping into coverage. Hurts never even saw him.

That has been the calling card of Allen's defense since he arrived in Chicago last year.

The Bears have the NFL's fifth-highest blitz rate at 39.7%, according to NFL Pro. Allen's defenses in New Orleans, his last stop before coming to Chicago, generally were not blitz-heavy teams.

But Allen has done a tremendous job manufacturing opportunities. Consider this: The Bears are third in sack rate at 8.6% despite being only 19th in quarterback pressure rate at 34.5%. They are taking advantage of their opportunities as well as any team out there.

With Allen's defense, the opponent might suspect a blitz, but figuring out which player is blitzing is the major challenge.

"The coverages and the disguises that we've run and what (Allen's) calling, (it's) getting the quarterback different looks — it's not the same looks," Woods said. "It could or could not be the same coverage, but the looks are different. Football is all about X's and O's, but how you get to those X's and O's can be totally different."

Lynch, who doesn't have a sack but did have seven tackles against the Vikings, is another example of an unheralded addition who has carved out a role for himself.

Lynch signed with the Bears in March and was largely overlooked throughout training camp. But the coaching staff gave him the start in Weeks 2 and 3, and he has shown the versatility to play both inside at tackle and outside on the edge. He played more than half the defensive snaps in Week 2.

How has this “no-name defense” bought in?

“We just want to win,” Lynch said. “You’ve got to keep it that simple.”

The longer they can keep this up — especially with a rivalry game against the Packers this week — the more likely these “no-name” defenders start making a name for themselves.

Defensive tackle Kentavius Street might have said it best: “I think we are all stars in our own roles.”

PREDICTIONS

BRAD BIGGS (2-2)

I'm curious to see if Ben Johnson can get solid play out of a backup quarterback for the third straight week, but there's no reason to doubt Tyson Bagent, who was

efficient against the Jets. The Packers have speed on the outside that will test the Bears secondary, but they haven't been balanced offensively because the running game is such a mess. The Bears should be able to run the ball well, which is always a good blueprint for success on the road. Bears 27, Packers 17

SEAN HAMMOND (2-2)

The Packers have really struggled to run the ball without Josh Jacobs, and I don't think there's going to be an overnight fix. It's hard to win when your offense is one-dimensional. I think the Bears defense will put together its fourth consecutive good performance. On the other side, the Bears should have little trouble continuing their dominance in the running game against a defense that ranks near the bottom of the league in stopping the run. I think D'Andre Swift will bounce back in a big way. Bears 27, Packers 16

PHIL THOMPSON (2-2)

D'Andre Swift had a rough Week 4 against the New York Jets, coughing up a costly fumble and ceding the rest of the carries to Kyle Monangai. Regardless of

whether Monangai can suit up — he missed two practices — Swift will be highly motivated to show he's still top dog. The Packers have trouble stopping the run and running on teams, so it's the perfect formula for another clock-hogging, grind-it-out game on offense. Bears 28, Packers 20

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SCOREBOARD

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NHL

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

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ATLANTIC DIVISION | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Ottawa | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 11 | Tampa Bay | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 12 | Boston | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 13 | Toronto | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 20 | 18 | Florida | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 12 | Buffalo | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 19 | Montreal | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 19 | Detroit | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 15 | METROPOLITAN DIVISION | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Carolina | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 16 | N.Y. Rangers | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 11 | Pittsburgh | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 17 | Washington | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 9 | Columbus | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 14 | N.Y. Islanders | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 13 | New Jersey | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14 | Philadelphia | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 24 | ---

WESTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIVISION | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Utah | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 22 | 15 | Minnesota | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 9 | Winnipeg | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 15 | Colorado | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 17 | Nashville | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 14 | Dallas | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 8 | St. Louis | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 16 | Chicago | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 26 | PACIFIC DIVISION | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Edmonton | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 25 | 17 | Vegas | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 13 | Anaheim | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 11 | San Jose | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 17 | Seattle | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 14 | Vancouver | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 29 | Los Angeles | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 15 | Calgary | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 23 | Note: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

Boston 5, Philadelphia 1

New Jersey 4, Vancouver 1

Edmonton 3, San Jose 1

Minnesota 4, Florida 1

Utah 4, Buffalo 1

Carolina 5, Chicago 2

St. Louis 5, Columbus 3

Toronto 6, Colorado 3

Pittsburgh 2, Dallas 1 (SO)

Ottawa 3, Nashville 2 (SO)

Montreal 1, Detroit 0 (SO)

Tampa Bay 5, N.Y. Islanders 3

Anaheim at Calgary, late

Los Angeles at Vegas, late

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