Horoscope for Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Moon Alert

After 4:30 a.m., there are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Pisces.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Because Mercury retrograde is creating transportation delays, give yourself extra time for travel or attending appointments. Be proactive about car repairs or anything that looks like it might cause you trouble. Be patient with goofy errors and mixed-up communications.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You are in the throes of Mercury retrograde, which is why checks in the mail are late along with other payments. Many financial issues will be stalled in the water. However, you might find something you lost. (Yay!) This is also an excellent time to finish old business.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Mercury is your ruler and this particular Mercury retrograde is taking place in Gemini! “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” This is why you will encounter ex-partners and friends from the past. It’s also why you might miss appointments, misplace items and suffer from confused communications. Courage!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Generally, Mercury retrograde creates delays, confusion and errors. However, each Mercury retrograde is different because it occurs in a different sign. This particular Mercury retrograde will help you do research and study the past. Bonus!

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Mercury retrograde will put you in touch with friends from the past. You might also hear from members of groups, clubs and organizations from the distant past. This could cause some of you to rethink some goals that you previously made.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Because Mercury retrograde is taking place at the top of your chart, you will likely hear from bosses, parents and people in authority you have not been in touch with for a while. This could be a good thing — or not. This is also your chance to pitch an old idea to a boss.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

You can use this current Mercury retrograde to finish important papers or manuscripts, plus study history or do research into the past. You might also be in touch with people in other countries or from other cultures whom you have not seen for a while. It’s an interesting time and potentially productive.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Although the current Mercury retrograde will create errors and delays for you, it will also help you to wrap up old business related to shared property, inheritances, taxes, debt and anything that you own jointly with others. If you want to finish something, this will be easy to do.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

This current Mercury retrograde is opposite your sign, which is almost a guarantee that you will be thinking about, dreaming about or encountering ex-partners and old friends from your past. Somehow, these people are back in your world or your mind stream.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Your efficiency will suffer with this current Mercury retrograde, which will last until June 22. Please note: The shadow period will last until July 8; so, if you are buying ground transportation, computers or cellphones, it will be smart to wait until after July 8.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Many of you are encountering old flames or talking about them, dreaming about them or remembering them. (It’s curious how some old flames are forgettable and some so memorable.) This Mercury retrograde will help you to deal with old issues related to your kids.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

This particular Mercury retrograde will attract relatives to your doorstep. (Stock the fridge.) However, it will also give you a wonderful chance to tackle home repairs you’ve been avoiding as well as sit down for family discussions to address certain issues, possibly about a parent.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actress Teri Polo (1969) shares your birthday. You are creative, witty and easygoing. You are casual, even restless, which is why you give much thought before committing to anything. You like the freedom to be spontaneous. This year you need to determine what you want that will promote your happiness. You might also be more in the spotlight. This is also an excellent year for relationships — personal, professional and romantic.

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‘He was sweet as gold,’ family says after man fatally shot on West Side

A vehicle with at least 13 bullet holes sits in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue, where a man was fatally shot on Memorial Day. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Hundreds of mourners gathered in the parking lot of Stroger Hospital after the man was shot multiple times in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue.

Debra Wilson said her stepson was spending Memorial Day barbecuing with neighbors on the West Side.

“Everybody loved him,” she said Monday night outside Stroger Hospital, where she and hundreds of other mourners gathered in the parking lot. “He was sweet as gold.”

Her stepson, 40-year-old Curtis Wilson, was shot multiple times about 7:10 p.m. while he was riding in a car in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue when someone opened fire from the sidewalk, according to family members and Chicago police.

He was taken to Stroger, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

At the corner of North Spaulding and West Chicago avenues, a silver-colored Nissan Altima could be seen crashed into a building while police investigated.

The car had at least 13 bullet holes in the passenger side windows. Dozens of evidence markers littered the block nearby.

“He was the type of person that threw good parties on the block. He had barbecues, treated the kids right, he was just a good person,” Debra Wilson said, noting that her stepson was sometimes called “Curty Man.”

She said she had seen her stepson only a few hours before the shooting, adding that he was about to start grilling meat for the party. But, she and Curtis Wilson’s father left the barbecue early, and that would be the last time she saw him.

“He just had a good heart, he was good to everybody,” she said.

Community activist Andrew Holmes implored the community to come together and share any information that could lead to the gunman’s arrest.

“This young man lost his life on Memorial Day. Memorial Day will never be the same for this family, so we pray for this family,” Holmes told the Sun-Times outside the hospital.

Holmes decried the violence that he says seems to go hand-in-hand with holidays in the city, depriving revelers a chance to enjoy time with their loved ones.

“The holiday weekends are not the same. The Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day. When you look at it, how can it be a holiday weekend when we have an increase in shootings?,” he said. “You can’t enjoy them.”

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Dozens of evidence markers sit in the roadway in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue, where a 40-year-old man was shot multiple times while he was riding in a car on the West Side on Memorial Day.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Hundreds of mourners gather in the parking lot of Stroger Hospital after a 40-year-old man was shot to death in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue on Memorial Day.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Chicago police investigate in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue, where a 40-year-old man was shot multiple times while he was riding in a car on the West Side on Memorial Day.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Hundreds of mourners gather in the parking lot of Stroger Hospital after a 40-year-old man was shot to death in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue on Memorial Day.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Mourners hug and cry as hundreds gather in the parking lot of Stroger Hospital after a 40-year-old man was shot to death on the West Side on Memorial Day.

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Canadiens complete comeback, top Maple Leafs in Game 7

Canadiens goalie Carey Price watches the puck about to be tipped by the Maple Leafs’ Zach Hyman on Monday night. | Claus Andersen/Getty Images

Carey Price made 30 saves, and the Canadiens advanced to the second round by beating the Maple Leafs 3-1.

TORONTO — Carey Price made 29 saves and the Montreal Canadiens advanced to the second round by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 7 on Monday night.

Brendan Gallagher, Corey Perry and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Canadiens, who stormed back from a 3-1 deficit for the third time in franchise history to win a series. Eric Staal had two assists for Montreal, which advanced to the second round for the first time since 2015.

The Canadiens will take on Winnipeg after the Jets swept Edmonton in the Canadian-based North Division’s other series. Game 1 is Wednesday at Winnipeg.

William Nylander had a late goal and Jack Campbell stopped 20 shots for Toronto, which hasn’t advanced in the postseason since 2004. The Maple Leafs appeared in control of this series while taking a 3-1 lead, but Montreal forced a deciding Game 7 by winning two in a row in overtime.

Montreal opened the scoring at 3:02 of the second on a sequence that started with a turnover by Mitch Marner at the offensive blue line. The Canadiens headed the other way and Gallagher scored his first goal since April 1 after missing six weeks with a broken thumb.

The Maple Leafs nearly tied it moments later when Price stopped Zach Hyman in tight before Auston Matthews ripped a shot off the post on a 2-on-1.

But the Canadiens went up by two at 15:25 when Nick Suzuki’s shot on a power play went off Perry in front for his second goal in as many games. It was Montreal’s third goal with the man advantage in two games after going 0 for 15 to start the series.

The Leafs, who finished 18 points ahead of the Canadiens in the regular season and haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, got a power play to start the third. But Price denied Hyman on a redirect at the side of the goal.

Toronto pulled Campbell with 3:35 left, but Toffoli scored into an empty net just over a minute later.

Nylander added team-high fifth of the series with 1:36 to end Price’s shutout bid.

INJURIES

Already without captain John Tavares (concussion, knee), the Maple Leafs also had to play without defenseman Jake Muzzin (suspected groin injury) after he left Saturday in the first period.

NOTES: Toronto lost a Game 7 on home ice for just the second time in their history — Wayne Gretzky’s 1993 Los Angeles Kings were the other club to pull off the feat — as Toronto fell to 11-2 all-time when leading a series 3-1. … The Canadiens, who hadn’t faced the Leafs in the playoffs since 1979, lost the only other Game 7 between the teams in 1964 when Dave Keon’s hat trick led Toronto to a 3-1 victory at the Montreal Forum. … The Leafs’ last series win — and the last Game 7 played between Canadian teams — was 17 years ago, 6,250 days to be exact, against Ottawa in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. … Toronto has lost seven straight postseason series and dropped eight straight games in which it could have eliminated an opponent.

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Illinois-record lake trout: Dr. Atul Mallik makes history on a family outing on the Massive Confusion

Dr. Atul Mallik caught the next Illinois-record lake trout Monday on the Massive Confusion. | Provided

Dr. Atul Mallik turned a family outing on the Massive Confusion Monday into a moment of history by catching the next Illinois-record lake trout; plus notes and the Stray Cast.

No one is sure how old Rabindra Mallik is because of lost records and a fire around the time of his birth in a village in India. But he was probably born around 1949.

That struck me while talking with Dr. Atul Mallik, Rabindra’s oldest son, who caught the soon-to-be Illinois-record lake trout Monday morning. Lake trout can live for decades and it will be interesting to hear speculations by biologists on the age of Mallik’s laker, a stocked fish indicated by the clipped fin. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the oldest laker at 70 years old.

“This is a fishing family,” Mallik’s wife Kirsten said as she was driving the family home Monday afternoon. “There were three generations on the boat.”

Mallik, a radiologist at Loyola, set up “a last-minute charter” for his family—his father, his two younger brothers, Ronak and Amit, Mallik’s wife and their daughter Nikita, 11, and son, Indra, 9—on the Massive Confusion out of Montrose Harbor.

“[Rabindra] took us all fishing as kids,” Mallik said.

Provided

Three generations of the Mallik family (L-R Indra, Kirsten, Nikita, Ronak, Rabindra, Atul, Amit) after a history-making charter on the Massive Confusion.

On the charter, fishing etiquette and tradition may have come into play. On charters, there is custom followed generally of taking turns on the rods.

“I let everybody else go first,” Mallik said.

His final spot proved fortunate. When he picked up the seventh rod, history was in the making.

“We realized how big it was when Gregg was bringing it in and was excitedly jumping up and down,” Mallik said.

First mate Gregg Peters has netted and handled a lot of big fish, but not an Illinois record until then.

Mallik compared the experience to watching a video of people deep-sea fishing.

He’s caught some nice bluefish off the Jersey Shore, but, Mallik said, “This is certainly the largest freshwater fish I have ever caught.”

The Massive Confusion was in 110 feet of water. Mallik’s laker came on an O chrome Dodger and a green-and-white Spin-n-Glo with a prismatic Howie fly.

Peters and Mallik brought, more accurately lugged, the laker to be weighed on the certified scale at Park Bait, where it came to 39.16 pounds. It was 45 1/2 inches long with a girth of 28 inches.

“It’s a beast,” proprietor Stacey Greene said.

A beast big enough to top the standing Illinois record for lake trout (38 pounds, 4 ounces) by nearly a pound. Ted Rullman caught that record on Aug. 22, 1999 from the Lake County waters of Lake Michigan.

“It was magical; everything was perfect, the weather was great and everybody got up in time,” Mallik said.

They had to be on the dock by 445 a.m., which Mallik noted, “For my family, that is an early start.”

Mallik filled out the paperwork at Park Bait. The fish was dropped off at Tom Wendel Wildlife Artist in Arlington Heights for the taxidermy work. A biologist from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will check the fish there. Then, once the paperwork is signed off on officially, the record will formally be Mallik’s.

Provided photo

Dr. Atul Mallik enjoys a moment of unbridled joy after catching the soon-to-be Illinois-record lake trout.

MULLADY

The Kankakee Valley Park District’s dedication for naming the Bird Park boat launch in Kankakee in honor of Ed Mullady is at 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 8. Mullady, the Hall-of-Fame advocate for the Kankakee River, died at 94 in December.

BIG BUCK

Don Higgins’ buck “Mel” was net scored at 197 3/8 inches on May 19 by scorers Tim Walmsley and Jim Barry. That makes it the second highest-scoring typical buck taken by bow in Illinois, behind Mel Johnson’s long-standing world-record typical (204 4/8), for which Higgins’ buck was named.

WILD THINGS

I beat the birds to my first-of-the-year semi-wild strawberries on Sunday.

STRAY CAST

Baseball in Chicago is beginning to resemble a summer trip to the Boundary Waters, complete with grueling portages and glorious rewards.

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Legislation requiring menstrual products in school bathrooms advances to governor’s desk

Monday was the last day of the legislative session in Springfield. | State Journal-Register, distributed by the Associated Press

An ethics reform proposal approved by the Illinois House and sent to the state Senate would ban constitutional officeholders from lobbying the state until six months after leaving office or for the rest of their term, whichever is sooner.

SPRINGFIELD — State lawmakers on Monday advanced legislation requiring menstrual products in school bathrooms, enhancing the powers of the legislative inspector general and creating a new judicial circuit.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker now can sign the menstrual products bill into law; the other two measures need Illinois Senate approval.

The ethics proposal passed by legislators in the House Monday night — their last day in session — would allow the legislative inspector general to initiate investigations without approval from the Legislative Ethics Commission, composed largely of lawmakers.

Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Highland Park, said the bill is “a real opportunity to make meaningful change” and takes the first steps in “addressing some of the most egregious scandals in our state’s history.”

The bill sets a revolving-door prohibition, barring constitutional officeholders from lobbying the state until six months after they leave office or for the remainder of their term, whichever is sooner.

It would also bar public officials in the state’s various units of government from lobbying their own unit of government. The city of Chicago, which has its own ethics rules, would not have to follow suit.

Asked why that “revolving door” ban isn’t longer than six months, Gillespie said the bill is a “first step” and the focus was on getting a bill legislators could agree on and pass.

“We didn’t get everything we wanted ... but we got a good solid bill that addresses many of the issues that we’ve seen over the last couple of years,” Gillespie said.

A separate one-year ban for state employees who’ve worked with contracts or regulatory licensing, or hold managerial positions, such as chief of staff, including deputies, also was expanded.

“I’m really disappointed with this piece of legislation ... we have seen time after time after time, members of this body — elected officials in Illinois — who have gone against the public’s trust and who, in some cases, have gone to trial for it,” said Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville.

“If we are going to show the public that they can have a renewed sense of trust in state government, we’ve got to do something a whole heck of a lot better than this watered-down, diluted — and I think, in some instances, really deceptive — ethics reform.”

Despite the division, the bill advanced out of the House, 113-to-5.

The menstrual hygiene products measure passed despite GOP complaints about the products being made available in male bathrooms.

House Bill 156 makes tampons and sanitary napkins available during school hours in “bathrooms of every school building that are open for student use” from 4th through 12th grades, according to a description of the bill.

Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Moline, said requiring schools to provide these products in male bathrooms was “dumb,” and legislators should “be talking about things like the budget, not talking about putting female hygiene products in a boy’s bathroom.”

Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, declared “men and boys don’t menstruate and we sure as heck don’t need tampons in our bathrooms.”

Bill sponsor Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, said transgender students may use the male bathroom but also menstruate.

She added that “41% of folks who are transgender have thought of or attempted suicide. ... I don’t want to keep speaking around the subjects that you all are wanting me to talk about because it wouldn’t be fair … to the kids that I’m standing here to help normalize life for. A student or child needs a product in the bathroom. They should be able to go in the bathroom and get the product. That’s it.”

The bill passed the Senate Friday in a partisan 39 to 17 vote.

The House also passed Senate Bill 2406 which, as amended, would make St. Clair County its own judicial circuit and create the state’s 24th judicial circuit, which would include Monroe, Randolph, Washington and Perry and expand the subcircuits in the 19th Circuit, in Lake County, from six to 10.

“A fact: St. Clair County has 262,000 people, 64% are white, 30% are African American, yet they only have one African American judge,” said sponsor Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea. “This is not acceptable. By changing the makeup of this circuit we will make sure that minorities have fair representation as circuit judges.”

Rep. Charles Meier, R-Highland, said there are larger counties that don’t have their own circuit and creating this would burden residents since the administrative costs of more workers likely would be passed to them.

The bill passed 71 to 45 and heads to the Senate.

House members also passed what’s been dubbed the Illinois Way Forward Act, or Senate Bill 667, sending it to the governor’s desk.

That bill prohibits law enforcement from participating in raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sharing information with ICE. It also bars them from inquiring about or investigating “the citizenship or immigration status or place of birth of any individual in the agency or official’s custody,” according to a description of the bill.

Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, shared the story of his cousin who was sexually abused by her stepfather, an Italian national and urged his colleagues to vote “no” so more work could be done on the bill with the hope of passing it during veto session later in the year.

“We should not rush in something so important, and I am empathetic and sympathetic with the issues that we have with ICE and our detention centers and the cooperation that’s occurred,” Keicher said. “But I implore you ... to not open this gate, because we will not be able to close it and there is a better way to do it, and I offered to be a co-sponsor on a tightened up version of this. But please, think about our children.”

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Illinois state lawmakers inch ahead on passing fiscal plan

Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, explains the proposed budget to the House Executive Committee on Monday. | Blue Room Stream

By about 9:40 p.m. Monday, neither chamber had passed the proposed budget, Senate Bill 2800.

SPRINGFIELD — Lawmakers inched closer to implementing a spending plan for Illinois’ next fiscal year, passing a budget implementation plan out of committee in the waning hours of the legislative session.

By 9:40 p.m. Monday night, neither chamber had passed the proposed budget, which House Majority Leader Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said had a total revenue estimate of $41.3 billion.

Earlier Monday, Harris told the House Executive Committee that Democrats’ proposed budget, Senate Bill 2800, has no tax increases and pays down $2 billion of the state’s $3.2 billion bill backlog.

“I will admit, and I own up to right away, that we were very fortunate,” Harris said, also praising President Joe Biden for his COVID-19 relief plans. “... Our revenues came in far, far higher than our very conservative estimates we made.”

Harris said the roughly $1.5 billion in federal funds used in the budget is “one-time money,” and the budget uses it only to “pay one-time expenses.”

“We realize … that money is a precious resource, and we want to use it wisely, we want to use it strategically. We realized this was a fund that would have to last for years, so we did not want to spend it all in the first year.”

Expenditures for money from the American Rescue Plan Act in the proposed budget include $578 million in economic recovery for businesses, $183 million for public health infrastructure and $104 million in affordable housing.

Harris said the budget is relying on closing “a small handful” of what Pritzker called “corporate tax loopholes” in his proposed budget.

These include reversing the repeal of the Corporate Franchise Tax, eliminating accelerated depreciation, and a “loophole that advantages foreign dividends over domestic dividends.”

The budget passed out of committee in a partisan 9-to-6 vote and will likely be taken up by lawmakers Monday night.

In February, Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year during a virtual “State of the State” address, proposing the closure of some “corporate tax loopholes” and reducing some state departments’ spending to help fill a nearly $3 billion budget gap.

Missing from that proposed spending plan are an increase in the state’s income tax rate or the “painful cuts” he warned of after his proposed move to a graduated income tax failed to pass in November.

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Fans gone wild: Spectator gets on floor at NBA game

Dwight Howard of the 76ers looks down at a fan who ran onto the court and was tackled by security in the third quarter Monday night at Capital One Arena in Washington. | Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

A fan was tackled on the court during the playoff game between the Wizards and 76ers on Monday night.

WASHINGTON — A fan was tackled on the court during an NBA playoff game between the Wizards and 76ers on Monday night, the latest example of unruly behavior as teams increase the number of spectators they’re allowing in the stands during the pandemic.

The players were heading toward Washington’s basket in the third quarter when the action was halted while a member of security held the person down near the baseline.

The fan then was escorted away from the court and play resumed after a brief interruption.

It’s worse than I thought.
Good gracious.

@Jeromice12

pic.twitter.com/tB9NXXuOK6

— Robert Flores (@RoFlo) June 1, 2021

After beginning this season with zero spectators allowed at its arena, Washington has steadily increased the capacity to the point where Monday’s contest — Game 4 against Philadelphia in their first-round series — had an announced attendance more than 10,000.

In Game 2 at Philadelphia, Washington guard Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him as he walked to the locker room after getting injured.

On Sunday in the Celtics-Nets series, Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving was nearly hit by a bottle thrown from the stands during a game in Boston.

Earlier, in New York, a spectator spit at Atlanta’s Trae Young as he prepared to inbound the ball during the Knicks-Hawks series.

Three fans were banned in Utah after Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said they “just went too far” with him or his family.

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White Sox ‘can’t get complacent’

Getty

Team goes 19-10 in May, capped by doubleheader split with Indians

CLEVELAND — There are wins the White Sox will put a star next to as they slog through the 162 games that take them to a postseason they fully intend to make.

Their 8-6 victory in eight innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader Monday against the Indians, perhaps their biggest worry in the AL Central, was one of those.

“Any team that gets to the World Series, you kind of look back at wins like this where you don’t really want to be denied,” said right fielder Adam Eaton, who returned after resting his sore legs for the last four games by launching a two-run homer in the eighth. “You kind of come to the park wanting to win, expecting to win and when you get in those one-run ballgames, you just know someone’s going to do it.”

There’s usually a good chance Jose Abreu will be that someone, and the reigning MVP collected his league leading 46th RBI with a line sacrifice fly to left field in the eighth, breaking a tie with free runner Billy Hamilton on third base. Facing righty James Karinchak, one of the toughest relievers in baseball in the first two months of the season — and in the 5 o’clock shadows at Progressive Field — Abreu delivered on an eight-pitch of an at-bat manager Tony La Russa raved about.

“That at-bat by Abreu, it would be tied for first for one of the greatest I’ve seen against a pitcher of that caliber in that kind of situation,” La Russa said. “I’ll never forget it. The fans will never forget it.

“The toughness and concentration and the ability to put it into play someplace. There are really good RBI guys and there are great RBI guys. Abreu is great.”

Eaton followed with a homer, and Aaron Bummer pitched the eighth for his first save before the Indians beat prospect Jimmy Lambert in a 3-1 victory in Game 2. The Sox were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position against starter Cal Quantrill and four relievers who pitched scoreless ball in the nightcap.

The Game 1 “that was a whole eight innings of character,” as La Russa described it, prevented the Sox from getting swept by a team they want to keep in their rearview mirror.

“So much happened in that game,” La Russa said, including Abreu starting a double play and running on a 3-2 pitch with Yermin Mercedes to keep the Sox out of a double play and more when second baseman Cesar Hernandez’s backhand flip bounced off his helmet, allowing a run to score in the fifth.

So much of the season is left, reminded Yoan Moncada, who endured losing seasons when he broke in with the team and is taking nothing for granted despite the Sox’ favored status in their division.

The loss in the nightcap, in which the Sox were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, was their second defeat in nine games since getting swept by the Yankees.

“We have a good team. But we can’t be too complacent,” said Moncada, who had three hits including a double in the doubleheader and is the team’s leader with 2.4 wins above replacement per Baseball Reference. “We have to keep working hard, keep doing our thing because it’s a long season and we want to win it all. It was good what happened last weekend [sweeping the Orioles in four games], but there’s still plenty of season in front of us. We have to keep grinding.”

The Sox are 33-21 and lead the Indians through the first two months of the season. They were 14-11 in April and 19-10 in May.

It’s on to June, with four months of the regular season left.

“It’s very early still,” said Eaton, who played on a World Series winner with the Nationals. “Anybody can do it for two months, you’ve to to do it for six-plus.”

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Man fatally shot on West Side

A vehicle with several bullet holes sits at the scene where a man was fatally shot May 31, 2021, on the West Side. | Ashlee Rezin García/Sun-Times.

He was riding in a vehicle in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue when someone opened fire, police said.

A man was killed in a shooting Monday on the West Side.

The 40-year-old was traveling in a vehicle about 7:10 p.m. in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue when someone fired shots at the vehicle from the sidewalk, Chicago police said.

The man was struck multiple times and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His identity has not been released.

Area Four detectives are investigating.

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A Nation Slowly Emerging From Pandemic Honors Memorial Day

A nation slowly emerging from social distancing measures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic honored generations of U.S. veterans killed in the line of duty on a Memorial Day observed without the severe pandemic restrictions that affected the day of tribute just a year ago.

Memorial Day parades and events were held in localities large and small across the country Monday, many resuming after being canceled last year as the pandemic hit with full force.

At Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, President Joe Biden delivered a solemn speech honoring the 1 million Americans killed in service of the nation — and challenged that nation to carry on that fight by defending its democracy.

“This nation was built on an idea,” Biden said. “We were built on an idea, the idea of liberty and opportunity for all. We’ve never fully realized that aspiration of our founders, but every generation has opened the door a little wider.”

“The struggle for democracy is taking place around the world — democracy and autocracy. The struggle for decency, dignity, just simple decency,” Biden declared.

This year’s remembrances were as painful, if less restrictive, as those held on Memorial Day 2020, when Americans settled for small processions and online tributes instead of parades. The pandemic last year forced communities to honor the nation’s military dead with modest, more subdued ceremonies that also remembered those lost to the coronavirus.

With restrictions lifting, Americans paid tribute in public gatherings this year — and like last year, they also remembered the thousands of veterans who died from COVID-19. Still, there were some vestiges: An early morning wreath laying ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona was shared virtually.

That wasn’t the case at a long-delayed veterans and airmen’s reunion in West Hills, California, a Los Angeles suburb where veterans gathered face to face for the first time Monday since their weekly reunions were shut down 14 months ago by the pandemic.

“This is a special group of veterans who are trying not to be homebound,” Ed Reynolds, a Vietnam War and Air Force veteran, told KTLA-TV. “It’s good to see these faces again. It’s sort of emotional,” he said, visibly emotional himself.

Reynolds said some 12 members of the group had died over the past year, though none of them from COVID-19.

For a select few, the Memorial Day weekend marked the final farewell, decades in the making, of the remains of fallen heroes from World War II. They included two Kentucky men — U.S. Navy Fireman 3rd Class Welborn L. Ashby, who was killed at 24, and U.S. Navy Seaman 2nd Class Howard Scott Magers, killed at 18 — who perished in the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Some 2,403 Americans died in the attack.

Magers’ remains arrived in Barren County on Saturday after they were identified by the federal Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He was laid to rest with full military honors, the Daily News reported.

A Memorial Day service was being held for Ashby in Beaver Dam, followed by burial at Centertown Cemetery with full military honors, including a “Missing Man” flyover by vintage planes.

In Tennessee, the body of U.S. Marine Capt. Glenn Walker, one of more than 1,100 Marines killed in the 1943 Pacific Battle of Tarawa, is coming home, his family told The Tennessean this weekend. The family plans a reunion and burial in July.

“I get emotional when I think of the life he could have had,” said Walker’s nephew Lane Martin. ”The good is that we’ve reached out to family all over the country and drawn us back together.”

In Florida, former President Donald Trump joined in remembering the country’s fallen heroes.

“The depth of their devotion, the steel of their resolve, and the purity of their patriotism has no equal in human history,” Trump said in a statement posted on his website. About 20 miles north of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach, Florida, flags bearing Trump’s name whipped in the breeze as dozens of boats held a Memorial Day parade along the waters of Jupiter.

In Denver, veterans and their families paid silent tribute among thousands of polished marble headstones, each meticulously adorned with an American flag, at Fort Logan National Cemetery — a scene marked at national cemeteries across the nation.

But in Southern California, authorities said a huge American flag and several smaller flags were stolen from Los Angeles National Cemetery over the weekend. The theft of the flag, which measures 25 feet by 200 feet (7.6 meters by 9.1 meters), “cannot detract in the slightest way from the honor and respect we pay on this Memorial Day to those service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,” said Les’ Melnyk, a spokesperson for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration.

Monday’s commemorations were held as new data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that new cases of COVID-19 are plunging and that more than 40% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated. With the declines, most states have been reducing or dropping most social distancing restrictions.

As of Saturday, the rolling seven-day average of new cases in the U.S. had dropped to 18,913, according to the CDC — the first time that average had dipped below 20,000 a day since March 2020.

---

Associated Press writers Calvin Woodward in Arlington, Virginia, Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, Bobby Caina Calvan in Tallahassee, Florida, Amy Taxin in Los Angeles and Cedar Attanasio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

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15-Year-Old Identified After 2 Killed When Car Strikes Deer, Is Rear-Ended on I-90

A Chicago teen was identified as one of two passengers killed when their car hit a deer and was rear-ended by an SUV on Memorial Day on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, officials said.

Carlos Fajardo, of Chicago, was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office Monday afternoon. A 51-year-old woman was also killed but her identity was not immediately released.

The two victims were in a white Pontiac just before 2 a.m. on Interstate 90 east of Sutton Road near Hoffman Estates and were traveling westbound when their car hit a deer and began to slow down, according to Illinois State Police.

While they tried to change lanes to merge to the right shoulder, the driver of a black Chevrolet Blazer tried to slow down but was unable to and struck the rear driver’s side door of the Pontiac.

Both passengers in the Pontiac were transported to area hospitals and ultimately pronounced dead, state police said. The drivers of both vehicles were each hospitalized with serious injuries, according to authorites.

No charges or citations have been filed.

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Hundreds Gather at Historic Tulsa Church's Prayer Wall

Hundreds gathered Monday for an interfaith service dedicating a prayer wall outside historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood on thecentennial of the first day of one of the deadliest racist massacres in the nation.

National civil rights leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber, joined multiple local faith leaders offering prayers and remarks outside the church that was under construction and largely destroyed when a white mob descended on the prosperous Black neighborhood in 1921, burning, killing, looting and leveling a 35-square-block area. Estimates of the death toll range from dozens to 300.

Barber, a civil and economic rights activist, said he was “humbled even to stand on this holy ground.”

“You can kill the people but you cannot kill the voice of the blood.”

Although the church was nearly destroyed in the massacre, parishioners continued to meet in the basement, and it was rebuilt several years later, becoming a symbol of the resilience of Tulsa’s Black community. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

As the ceremony came to an end, participants put their hands on the prayer wall along the side of the sanctuary while soloist Santita Jackson sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Traffic hummed on a nearby interstate that cuts through the Greenwood District, which was rebuilt after the massacre but slowly deteriorated 50 years later after homes were taken by eminent domain as part of urban renewal in the 1970s.

Among those who spoke at the outdoor ceremony were Democratic U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee of California, and Lisa Brunt Rochester and U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, both from Delaware. Rochester connected the efforts toward reparations in Tulsa with a wider effort: pending House legislation that would create a commission to study and propose reparations for African Americans.

“We’re here to remember, to mourn, to rebuild equitably,” Rochester said.

Through the course of a drizzly afternoon, visitors wearing rain gear walked along Greenwood Avenue, photographing historic sites and markers.

Many took time to read plaques on the sidewalk, naming numerous Black-owned buildings and businesses that were destroyed during the 1921 massacre, and indicating whether they had ever been rebuilt.

Monday’s slate of activities commemorating the massacre was supposed to culminate with a “Remember & Rise” headline event at nearby ONEOK Field, featuring Grammy-award-winning singer and songwriter John Legend and a keynote address from voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. But that event was scrapped late last week after an agreement couldn’t be reached over monetary payments to three survivors of the deadly attack, a situation that highlighted broader debates over reparations for racial injustice.

In a statement tweeted Sunday, Legend didn’t specifically address the cancellation of the event, but said: “The road to restorative justice is crooked and rough — and there is space for reasonable people to disagree about the best way to heal the collective trauma of white supremacy. But one thing that is not up for debate — one fact we must hold with conviction — is that the path to reconciliation runs through truth and accountability.”

On Monday night, the Centennial Commission planned to host a candlelight vigil downtown to honor the victims of the massacre, and President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Tulsa on Tuesday.

___

For more AP coverage of the Tulsa Race Massacre anniversary, go to https://ift.tt/3oOgfkE

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Senate Republicans irked over handling of appointments to Prisoner Review Board

Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, speaks at a news conference in Springfield on Monday. He was joined by Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, (left) and Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield. | Andrew Sullender/Chicago Sun-Times

Some Republican state senators are upset by some of the board’s decisions and have questioned the appointments of four of the board’s members, saying they haven’t been confirmed by the Illinois Senate as required by law.

SPRINGFIELD — Some Republican state senators are calling J.B. Pritzker “the most dangerous governor in America” after Senate Democrats refused to vote on 10 Illinois Prisoner Review Board appointees Monday.

Those Republicans say that maneuver will allow those appointees to continue serving without going through the constitutionally-required confirmation process.

The appointments were on the Senate Executive Appointments Committee’s agenda Monday, the last day of the legislative session.

But Chairwoman Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, allowed the hearing to end without calling the appointees to testify.

Just last week, four Republican state senators, upset by some prison review board decisions, questioned the appointments of four board members, pointing out they haven’t been confirmed by the Senate as required under law.

Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Vandalia, the leading Republican on the committee, said he was “extremely disappointed” by Murphy, and accusing her of doing Pritzker’s “bidding.”

Murphy called her actions “routine” and the Republicans’ rhetoric “dangerous.”

“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have chosen to politicize this process, but they are well aware the procedure is routine,” Murphy said in an emailed statement Monday. “The Prisoner Review Board is charged with making parole determinations independently, and to involve them in this shameless display of partisanship is inappropriate and dangerous.”

A Pritzker spokeswoman accused the Republican senators of “political grandstanding.”

The 15-member prisoner review board decides who gets paroled and sets conditions of parole for state prisoners. It also makes clemency recommendations to the governor.

Those 10 appointees were placed on the board in 2019 but have not gone before the Senate for approval since then.

The appointees are to be approved by the Senate within 60 days of a legislative session. But Pritzker withdrew the appointments in March and reappointed them days later; that started the 60-day countdown all over again.

Last week, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said it is “routine practice” for appointees to be withdrawn “so that the Senate has more time to consider the appointments.”

“For the Prisoner Review Board to be able to undertake its difficult and complex mission, members must be able to make parole determinations entirely independently,” she said. “Subjecting members to political grandstanding sets a new and dangerous precedent for this constitutional function.”

Plummer and State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, were not convinced,

“These appointees are unaccountable to the legislature and are releasing people on the streets of this state … some of whom are cop killers, sexual assault rapists, [and] child molesters,” Plummer said Monday. “And yet the people doing that won’t appear before the State Senate. The Democrat majority won’t call them and will not do their constitutional duty because apparently the governor’s checkbook is more important than the people living in their districts.”

Bryant pointed to the case of Ray Larsen, released by the prison review board last month after serving time for the 1972 killing of Chicago teenager Frank Casolari.

Bryant said she had “a week of sleepless nights” after learning Larsen broke parole and recently turned up in a Chicago-area hospital.

“Imagine the victims of those crimes and the sleeplessness that they had ... wondering where that guy was. It could have been in any one of our districts where that individual was loose,” Bryant said.

Pritzker did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

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A Pythagorean examination of Tony La Russa

For his career, White Sox manager Tony La Russa entered the season essentially right on his Pythagorean projection. | Steph Chambers/Getty Images

White Sox have three fewer wins than their runs for/against projection suggests, but it’s nothing abnormal.

A 32-20 record through Sunday, just a game behind the MLB-leading 34-20 records of the Padres and Rays, hasn’t halted critics of White Sox manager Tony LaRussa.

Controversies about unwritten rules aside, the Sox have won three fewer games than their runs scored and allowed suggest is average. Could the shortfall lie with La Russa?

You can’t prove that by the numbers. It’s normal to be a few games above or below the Pythagorean projection.

Baseball’s Pythagorean projection has been with us since the first mass-marketed Bill James Baseball Abstracts in the early 1980s. The formula is runs squared divided by (runs squared plus runs allowed squared) equals winning percentage.

Through Sunday, the Sox had scored 258 and allowed 178. Square 258 to get 66,564. Square 178 for 31,684. Divide 66,564 by (66,564 plus 31,684), and the expected winning percentage is .6775.

Multiply .6775 by 52 games played, and the average expected win total is 35.23. The Sox’ Pythagorean projection is a 35-17 record.

Unusual runs of clutch hitting, for better or worse, can move records away from projections. So can lockdown or leaky bullpens.

But differences between records and projections largely are put down to chance. At Baseball-Reference.com, the column displaying distance between a team’s record and projection is labeled “luck.”

Occasionally, a pennant can be won by a team with a record far better than its projection. The 2005 White Sox won 99 games when the formula suggested 99 wins.

But teams that finish far above or below Pythagorean tend to be closer to the projection the next season. The 2006 Sox, in winning 90 games, were only two games above their projected 88. There’s no proven ability to win more games than projected on any consistent basis.

Managers have years above and below projections, and that includes La Russa.

La Russa managed 5,014 games before returning to the Sox this season and had a .535 winning percentage vs. a .533 projection. He’d won just under 11 games more than projected. That’s about a third of a win per 162 games, so essentially right on Pythagorean.

There were ups and downs. His 96-win A’s of 1992 were about seven games above Pythagorean, but his 86-win Cardinals of 2010 were six wins below. Both showed a return to norms the next year, with the 1993 A’s and 2011 Cards one game above projection.

La Russa’s first 33 years of managing included 15 with fewer wins than projected.

Among longtime managers of recent vintage, Bobby Cox had a career .556 winning percentage in 4,505 games. Runs data projected to a .558 percentage, so Cox’s teams won just under 12 fewer games than projected. Entering 2021, Dusty Baker had a .532 winning percentage and .529 projection for a surplus of six victories.

Ups and downs balance, and no one with a long career varies from Pythagorean by as much as a single game per season.

That’s not to absolve La Russa of any blame. Fans can debate mistakes at will. There’s just nothing in the Pythagorean record that looks abnormal.

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Republicans just say no, but later will claim credit

A mob storms the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Senate Republicans have used the filibuster to block an official investigation of that day. | AP Photos

The scope of what they won’t do is breathtaking.

Just say no. That seems to sum up the position of Republicans in the Congress these days. For all the talk about bipartisan compromise or about the two parties working together, at the end of the day, the Republican position is simply to say no.

The scope of what they won’t do is breathtaking.

They say no to expanding support for day care, vital in an economy where both parents must work. They say no to investing in renewable energy and electric cars. They say no to renovating America’s decrepit and outmoded infrastructure, including clean and safe drinking water. They say no to democracy reforms and ending secret money in politics. They just say no.

It doesn’t matter how popular the issue is. Most Americans want sensible gun control laws. According to the Pew Research Center, 70% of Republicans support background checks for all sales of guns, including those at gun shows. When it comes to passing the reforms, Republicans in both Houses just say no.

It doesn’t matter if it is simply about basic fairness. Fifty-five of America’s biggest corporations paid no federal income taxes last year and the wealth of just 650 billionaires rose by 50%, all while millions of working Americans suffered. Two-thirds of Americans support raising taxes on those making more than $400,000 a year, as Joe Biden has proposed. Republicans in both Houses reject any tax increase on corporations or the wealthy, including the 82% benefit that went to the top 1% and 63% that went to the top one-tenth of 1% of Trump’s only major legislative accomplishment in 2017.

It doesn’t matter if the reform is about meeting a threat to our existence. Catastrophic climate change already takes lives and costs this country billions of dollars each year - and it gets worse annually. Scientists give us about 10 years to make the transition to renewable energy. Joe Biden has proposed a modest investment in renewable energy, electric cars and retrofitting homes. His proposal is far less than scientists say is needed, far less even from what he promised during his campaign. He’s already compromised in the face of expected Republican opposition. But Republicans just say no.

It doesn’t matter if the reform is essential to human life and to equal justice under the law. Most Americans support police reform, including a federal ban on chokeholds (71%), a prohibition of racial profiling (71%), and an end to “qualified immunity” for officers in legal cases (59%). For decades and currently Congress hasn’t been able to pass an anti-lynching law. Efforts to pass reforms meet with — no surprise now — almost universal Republican opposition.

It doesn’t even matter if the measure is a bipartisan bill to have an independent bipartisan commission investigate sacking the Capitol and the attempt to stop certification of the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6. Even though their lives and limbs were at risk, Senate Republicans lined up in support of a filibuster to just say no.

Republicans use efforts to find common ground to stall progress before lining up to say no. They make big gestures that turn out on inspection just to be jive. For example, the biggest “bipartisan” negotiations are over Joe Biden’s Americans Jobs Bill, which Republicans oppose. Biden called for $2.3 trillion over eight years to invest in rebuilding America, kickstarting the transition to sustainable energy, and ensuring quality affordable day care, essential if parents are to go back to work. In April, Republicans offered a laughable $568 billion over five years, stripping virtually everything but roads and bridges from their proposal (and most of that was already in the budget).

Biden compromised, cutting $552 billion out of his proposal. Republicans got headlines for going up to $953 billion — only that was a feint. As the analysis of the invaluable Congressional Progressive Caucus Action Fund showed, the second Republican offer was spread out over eight years. And they proposed to pay for most of that by taking funds previously appropriated to deal with the pandemic and its victims over the next years. In spending per year, the actual change in the second proposal over the first was just $2 billion a year. That isn’t a good faith negotiation; that’s a joke.

Republicans don’t want corporations or the wealthy to pay more in taxes. They don’t want to raise the minimum wage. They oppose reforms that would make it easier for workers to organize and bargain collectively. In 20 states, Republican governors are cutting off federal unemployment insurance, hoping to force people to take low-paying jobs. They don’t want to revive the Voting Rights Act; they want to further suppress the vote. They don’t want to limit the role of big money in elections or end gerrymandering of districts to their benefit. This list can go on.

Republicans celebrate the economy of 2018 under Donald Trump before the pandemic. Yet that was an economy in which 40% of Americans had negative net incomes, and were forced to borrow to pay for basic household needs. That was an economy that subsidized fossil fuels and ignored the threat posed by climate change. That was an economy that forced parents into debt to pay for day care, forced students into debt to pay for college, and forced Americans to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, even those that were created on the taxpayer’s dime.

Of course, when they run for re-election, Republicans will take credit for Biden’s American Rescue Plan that was passed without one Republican vote. No one should be fooled. At a time when America faces cascading crises, Republicans just say no. If we want even to begin to address the troubles we have, voters will have to say no to those who are standing in the way.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.

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Memorial Day weather lures crowds to Montrose Beach

People play catch and let their dogs loose at the dog-friendly area of Montrose Beach on Monday. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

With vaccinations continuing and coronavirus cases ebbing, a three-day weekend and temperatures near 70 drew many outdoors.

What a difference a year makes.

Last year, with the pandemic raging, a COVID-19 vaccine still months away and the lakefront officially closed, most people were staying home for the holiday.

Now, one can walk into many vaccination sites without an appointment, the number of new coronavirus cases in Illinois continues to decline and Chicago’s lakefront beaches are open again.

Temperatures hovered near 70 most of Monday afternoon, and crowds flocked to Montrose Beach in Uptown to take advantage — with some bringing their dogs along.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

The sand and water aren’t the only lure at Montrose Beach on Monday. Some preferred hanging out on the grass for a Memorial Day picnic.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

The water was still on the cold side, of course, but there was plenty else to do at Montrose Beach on Monday.

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Chicago Gun Violence: 2 Dead, 29 Wounded in Memorial Day Weekend Shootings

Two people are dead and at least 29 others have been wounded in shootings across the city of Chicago during the Memorial Day weekend.

The first fatal shooting of the weekend was reported at approximately 2:14 p.m. Saturday afternoon in the 3100 block of West Ogden Avenue.

According to Chicago police, a 26-year-old man was driving eastbound on the roadway when he was shot in the face and chest. The man’s vehicle then struck a light pole at the location.

The victim was transported to Mount Sinai, where he was pronounced dead.

No suspects are in custody, and Area Four detectives continue to investigate the shooting.

Just before 9 p.m. Saturday, another fatal shooting was reported in the 3700 block of West McLean. In that incident, a 29-year-old man was walking on a sidewalk when a person got out of a vehicle, pulled out a weapon and fired multiple shots.

The man was struck in the leg and armpit area, and was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries, according to police.

No suspects are in custody at this time.

The rest of the weekend’s shootings occurred as follows, according to Chicago police. Unless otherwise noted, no one is in custody in connection with the shooting as police continue to investigate.

Friday –

• Just before 7 p.m. in the 4000 block of South Wabash, a 42-year-old man was working as a rideshare driver when a man attempted to rob him at gunpoint. Police say the man got into the backseat of the car and pulled out a gun, telling the driver to get out. A struggle ensued, and the weapon ultimately fired, causing a graze wound to the driver. The driver was taken to an area hospital in good condition, and the suspect fled the scene.

Saturday –

• In the 3300 block of West 47^th Street at approximately 12:19 a.m., a 40-year-old man was standing outside when a person in a passing pickup truck fired shots at him, striking him twice in the back. The man was taken to an area hospital in good condition, according to authorities.
• A 12-year-old boy was standing outside of a home in the 7100 block of South Dobson at approximately 1:18 a.m. when a person in a passing Dodge Charger fired shots, causing a graze wound to the boy’s leg, according to police. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was listed in good condition.
• Police say a 22-year-old woman was standing on a sidewalk in the 2100 block of South Keeler at approximately 4:30 p.m. when she was shot in the face. The woman was taken to a local hospital, where she was listed in good condition.
• At approximately 5:29 p.m. in the 11800 block of South Prairie Avenue, a 33-year-old man was standing in a yard when he was shot in the left calf, police said. The man was taken to an area hospital by paramedics, and was listed in good condition.
• An 18-year-old woman was sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle in the 7100 block of South Francisco at approximately 6:52 p.m. when a person in a black Jeep fired shots, striking her in the knees. The woman was taken to an area hospital, where she was listed in good condition, according to police.
• In the 6700 block of South Aberdeen at approximately 8:30 p.m., a 20-year-old man was riding on a dirt bike when he was side-swiped by a Dodge sedan. A man got out of the vehicle and shot the victim in the ankle before fleeing the scene. The victim was taken to an area hospital, where his condition had stabilized.
• Police say a 17-year-old boy was standing in the 1000 block of West 14^th Street at approximately 9:55 p.m. when he heard shots. The boy was shot in the right side, and was taken to an area hospital in fair condition, according to authorities.
• At approximately 11:13 p.m. in the 5300 block of West Harrison, a 28-year-old man was inside a residence with a small group of people when a man robbed him. Police say the man then shot the victim in the arm and fled the scene. The victim was taken to an area hospital in fair condition.

Sunday –

• A 20-year-old man was driving southbound on Lake Shore Drive at approximately 12:14 a.m. when a person in another vehicle fired shots at him, striking him in the face. Police say the man was taken to an area hospital, where his condition had stabilized.
• In the 2400 block of East 78^th Street at approximately 1:50 a.m., two people were inside an apartment when they were both shot. Police say the individuals, a 20-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man were both shot in the leg, and were taken to area hospitals in fair condition. No account of what took place during the shooting has been reported to police, and an investigation continues.
• At approximately 2:25 p.m. in the 10500 block of South Yates, a 24-year-old man was shot while on the sidewalk, police stated. An unknown offender approached, produced a firearm and fired shots, striking the victim, authorities said. The victim, who was shot in the right leg, was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital and said to be in stable condition.
• A 28-year-old man was shot while on the sidewalk at approximately 7:18 p.m. in the 7300 block of North Rogers, authorities said. The victim was struck multiple times and transported to St. Francis Hospital in good condition.
• In the 7200 block of South Artesian at approximately 7:51 p.m., a 23-year-old man sustained a graze wound to the head after being shot by an unknown offender, according to Chicago police. The victim was transported to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition.
• Authorities said a 21-year-old man was shot at around 7:42 p.m. near the intersection of South Kildare Avenue and West Congress Parkway. Police, who initially reported the address as the 600 block of South Wabash before updating the location of the shooting, said the victim parked his car on the street and walked away. Shortly thereafter, officials said he saw a group of people breaking the windows on his car, at which point someone in the group pulled out a handgun and shot the man in the buttocks before fleeing the scene. The victim attempted to follow the group in his car but eventually drove to the area of Roosevelt Road and State Street, “disregarding officers’ attempts to stop him,” according to police, who said he then got out of his car and ran away. He was taken into custody and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said. Charges were pending, according to police.
• At around 9:01 p.m. in the 8300 block of South Vincennes, Chicago police said a 37-year-old man got into a physical altercation with a 30-year-old man while outside when the younger man showed a gun. The two “wrestled over the weapon and it went off, striking the older man in the hand, authorities said. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition, according to police. The other man was taken into custody at the scene and charges were pending, officials said.
• Four teenage boys were shot in the parking lot of a restaurant in the 6700 block of South Stony Island at around 9:43 p.m., according to police. The teens were standing in the parking lot when someone in an unidentified dark sedan opened fire. A 19-year-old man was shot in the foot, while a second 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old man were both shot multiple times in the legs. All three were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition, according to police. A 17-year-old was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition with multiple gunshot wounds to the legs, authorities said.
• Police said that at around 10:45 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was dropped off at Community First Medical Center with gunshot wounds to the right leg. He was not able to give a location or area where the shooting occurred, authorities said, and was transferred to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in fair condition.
• A 28-year-old man told police that at around 11:30 p.m., he was standing outside in the 2800 block of South Kedvale when he heard several shots and felt pain. He was shot once in the left forearm and taken to Saint Anthony Hospital in good condition, officials said.

Monday –

• At around 2:51 a.m., a 22-year-old man was driving eastbound in the 2400 block of West 53rd Street when he heard several shots, according to police. He later noticed that he had suffered a graze wound to the back of his head and took himself to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was in stable condition, officials said.
• Two people were shot at around 3:44 a.m. in the 5700 block of West Grand Avenue, according to police. Authorities said two men, ages 31 and 33, were standing outside when they were approached by an unidentified male who asking them “what gang they were in.” Police said the two men responded that they were not involved with a gang, at which point the offender pulled out a gun and shot them. The younger man was shot once in the leg and listed in good condition at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, while the older man was taken to the same hospital, where he was listed in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the arm and torso.
• At around 10:48 a.m., police say a 32-year-old was standing in the sidewalk in the 8700 block of South Houston when someone in a light-colored SUV opened fire. The victim was shot in the left hip and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition, according to police.
• Just before 2 p.m., a 44-year-old man was shot while standing on a sidewalk in the 7800 block of South Hermitage. The man was shot in the right arm and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in stable condition, police said. Area Two detectives are investigating.
• At around 5:43 p.m. in the 7700 block of South Racine, a 20-year-old man was shot when someone walked up to him and opened fire, police said. The man was shot in the back and taken to University of Chicago Hospital where he was reportedly in good condition, police said.

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Illinois Coronavirus Updates: Memorial Day Vaccinations in Chicago, 50% of Adults Vaccinated

More than half of all adult residents of Illinois are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the state said Sunday.

Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has planned vaccination clinics at two beaches on Memorial Day, along with several other sites that will be open on the holiday.

Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic across Illinois today:

COVID-19 Vaccinations Offered at Multiple Chicago Sites on Memorial Day

Continuing its effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations among Chicagoans, the city’s Department of Public Health has planned Memorial Day vaccination clinics at two city beaches.

The clinics at North Avenue Beach and 31st Street Beach will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Doses of both the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be available, health officials said.

Registration isn’t required at either site, according to CDPH.

The following Chicago vaccination sites are also open on Memorial Day:

• 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. – United Center drive-thru site – 1724 W. Madison St.
• 12 to 5 p.m. – 95th Street CTA Station at the Dan Ryan Expressway
• 1 to 4 p.m. – Humboldt Park – 1301 N. Humboldt Park Dr.
• 12 to 6 p.m. – Chicago State University – 9501 S. King Dr.
• 12 to 6 p.m. – Loretto Hospital – 645 S. Central Ave.

All locations except the Loretto Hospital site, which caters to Austin residents, are available to anyone and accept walk-ins.

More Than Half of Illinois Adults Now Fully Vaccinated for COVID

More than half of Illinois adults have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, public health officials announced Sunday.

Overall 11.2 million vaccines have been administered in the state, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Health officials said about 67% of all adults have received at least one vaccine dose.

The news comes as the number of coronavirus cases has been declining in the state. Health officials on Sunday reported 602 new coronavirus cases and 18 additional deaths. The seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests is 1.7%.

Nearly 8,300 Illinois COVID Cases Linked to Variant Strains, Officials Say

Health officials in Illinois have confirmed nearly 8,300 cases of coronavirus caused by variant strains of the virus, including more than 5,500 caused by a strain that originated in the United Kingdom.

According to the latest data published by the Illinois Department of Public Health, a total of 8,282 cases of coronavirus have been linked to five different variant strains that have been detected in the state during the pandemic.

Of those cases, 5,575 have been linked to the B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the United Kingdom and was first detected in the United States in Dec. 2020. The variant has been revealed to spread more quickly and easily than other variants, and UK researchers believe that it could cause an increased risk of death, although IDPH officials say those findings still require further verification.

Officials say that 2,101 cases of COVID have been linked to the P.1 variant, which emerged in Brazil in January. The variant’s mutations could make it more difficult for antibodies to fight it, according to researchers, and it was first detected in the U.S. in the same month.

COVID Hospitalizations in Illinois Hit New Low as Cases Continue to Drop

Coronavirus hospitalization numbers in Illinois continued their downward trend on Sunday, hitting their lowest levels since the COVD pandemic exploded last spring.

According to the latest figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, a total of 1,078 patients are currently hospitalized in the state of Illinois due to coronavirus complications, marking the lowest number recorded since publicly-available data was released by IDPH on April 14, 2020.

This comes after a brief spike in hospitalizations in late March and early April, with the high-point of 2,288 patients coming on April 19, according to IDPH data.

Since then, vaccination numbers have continued to climb in the state, and both COVID cases and hospitalizations have continued to decline even as coronavirus mitigation rules have been pared back.

Now, the state is set to potentially roll into Phase Five of its COVID reopening plan on June 11, which would mean an elimination of all mitigation rules, including occupancy limits and other strategies.

Illinois Phase 5: What Will Change Statewide and When

Barring a significant rise in COVID-19 metrics, Illinois could lift all capacity limitations and fully reopening its economy as soon as June 11.

But what exactly will it look like, and what changes will be put into place?

Phase 5 will remove capacity limits and restrictions on all sectors of the economy, with “businesses, schools and recreation resuming normal operations with new safety guidance and procedures,” according to state officials.

Conventions, festivals and large events will also be able to resume, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

On Wednesday, the city of Chicago announced it will no longer require masks for fully vaccinated people in most settings following similar changes from the state of Illinois and revised guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coronavirus in Illinois: 602 New COVID Cases, 18 Deaths, 39K Vaccinations

Health officials in Illinois have recorded 602 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus on Sunday, along with 18 additional deaths and more than 39,000 COVID vaccination doses administered.

According to the latest figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, a total of 1,381,665 cases of coronavirus have now been reported in the state since the pandemic began last year.

In all, 22,794 deaths are now linked to coronavirus, with 2,391 fatalities currently listed as “probable” COVID-19 deaths, according to state officials.

In the last 24 hours, a total of 38,607 test specimens have been returned to state laboratories. Those new test results bring the state to nearly 24.6 million tests performed during the pandemic.

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Vets Return to Memorial Day Traditions as Pandemic Eases

A pair of military vets navigate the hilly, meandering paths in a historic cemetery in Boston, searching out soldiers’ graves and planting American flags in front of them.

About 10 miles away, scores of other vets and volunteers do the same, placing more than 37,000 small flags on the downtown Boston Common — a sea of red, white and blue meant to symbolize all the Massachusetts soldiers killed in battle since the Revolutionary War. It’s an annual tradition that returns in full this yearafter being significantly scaled back in 2020 because of the pandemic.

In Boston and elsewhere, this holiday weekend will feel something closer to Memorial Days of old, as COVID-19 restrictions are fully lifted in many places.

“This Memorial Day almost has a different, better feeling to it,” said Craig DeOld, a 50-year-old retired captain in the Army Reserve, as he took a breather from his flag duties at the Fairview Cemetery earlier this week. “We’re breathing a sigh of relief that we’ve overcome another struggle, but we’re also now able to return to what this holiday is all about — remembering our fallen comrades.”

Around the nation, Americans will be able to pay tribute to fallen troops in ways that were impossible last year, when virus restrictions were in effect in many places. It will also be a time to remember the tens of thousands of veterans who died from COVID-19 and recommit to vaccinating those who remain reluctant.

Art delaCruz, a 53-year-old retired Navy commander in Los Angeles leads the Veterans Coalition for Vaccination, said his group has been encouraging inoculated veterans to volunteer at vaccine sites to dispel myths and help assuage concerns, many of which are also shared by current service members.

“We understand it’s a personal choice, so we try to meet people where they are,” said delaCruz, who is also president of Team Rubicon, a disaster-response nonprofit made up of military veterans.

There’s no definitive tally for coronavirus deaths or vaccinations among American military vets, but Department of Veterans Affairs data shows more than 12,000 have died and more than 2.5 million have been inoculated against COVID-19 out of the roughly 9 million veterans enrolled in the agency’s programs.

The isolation of the pandemic has also been particularly hard on veterans, many of whom depend on kinship with fellow service members to cope with wartime trauma, says Jeremy Butler, a 47-year-old Navy Reserve officer in New York who heads the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

“We’re reuniting now, but it’s been an extremely challenging year,” he said. “To have those connections cut off — the counseling sessions, the VA appointments, social events with other vets — those are so important to maintaining mental health.”

But for the families of veterans who survived the horrors of war, only to be felled by COVID-19, Memorial Day can reopen barely healed wounds.

In western Massachusetts, Susan Kenney says the death of her 78-year-old father last April from the virus still remains raw.

Charles Lowell, an Air Force veteran who served during the Vietnam War, was among 76 residents of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home who died in one of America’sdeadliest coronavirus outbreaks last year in a long-term care facility. A memorial service was held at the home earlier this week, and the names of residents who died over the past calendar year were read aloud.

Kenney, who has been a vocal advocate for reforming the troubled home, says there are still lingering questions about who else should be held accountable, even as top officials at the state-run facility face criminal negligence and abuse charges and federal and state agencies launch investigations.

“I’ve been reliving this for a whole year,” she said. “At every milestone. Veterans Day. His birthday. His death anniversary. Everything is a constant reminder of what happened. It’s so painful to think about.”

For other families, Memorial Day will be as it ever was, a day to remember loved ones killed in war.

In Virginia, Willie Ransom, a 74-year-old Vietnam War vet, said his family will hold a modest service at the grave of his youngest son.

Air Force Maj. Charles Ransom was among eight U.S. airmen killed in Afghanistan when an Afghan military pilot opened fire at the Kabul airport in 2011. The American Legion post in Midlothian, Virginia, that the elder Ransom once helped lead is now named in his honor.

The Powhatan resident says a silver lining this year is that the country is poised to end the war that claimed his 31-year-old son and the lives of more than 2,200 other American fighters. President Joe Biden has promised to end the nation’s longest conflict by Sept. 11, the anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks that launched the war.

“It’s the best decision we could make,” Ransom said. “It’s become like Vietnam. They don’t want us there. We should have been out of there years ago.”

Back in Boston, DeOld will be thinking about his father, an Army vet wounded in a grenade attack in Vietnam.

Louis DeOld returned home with a Purple Heart and went on to become a police officer in New Jersey, but the physical and mental scars of war persisted long after, his son said. He died in 2017 at the age of 70.

On Memorial Day, DeOld will gather with fellow vets at the VFW post in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood that he commands.

They will lay a wreath by the American flag out front and then grill burgers out back. It will be the first large social event hosted by the post since the pandemic virtually shuttered the hall more than a year ago.

“I hope it’s nice,” DeOld said. “I hope folks linger. Families and friends gather. Good camaraderie. The way it should be.”

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No body found in excavation of Northbrook backyard following tip in 1982 cold case

A tent was erected in the yard of a Northbrook home where authorities searched for remains of Linda Seymour. | Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times

Authorities began digging last Tuesday, down to a depth of 9 feet, in their renewed search for Linda Seymour, who went missing in the suburb.

No human remains were found during the excavation of a Northbrook backyard following a tip in a nearly 40-year-old cold case.

Authorities began digging last Tuesday in their renewed search for Linda Seymour, who went missing in the suburb in the winter of 1982. The North Regional Major Crimes Task Force dug to a depth of 9 feet.

“Seymour’s family has been notified that no remains were found. Following the results of this effort, there are no other investigative avenues at this time,” police said in a statement Sunday.

Police said interviews conducted by Northbrook police detectives led investigators to dig up a section of the yard at the home in the 1400 block of Orchard Lane. Investigators removed a wooden shed and dug where it had been.

Linda Seymour lived in the home before she went missing at age 35. Her son James Seymour Jr. lives in the home now.

Neighbors said Linda’s husband, James Seymour Sr., lived at the home until he died in 2009. The couple had two sons together. James Seymour Sr. later remarried and had more children.

Linda Seymour’s disappearance was known among neighbors, most of whom moved in well after she went missing. What was behind her disappearance was a mystery to them, but they hadn’t assumed foul play.

Contributing: Mitch Dudek

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5 Facts About Memorial Day's History and Meaning

Throughout the U.S., many will be hosting Memorial Day celebrations this weekend and spending time with family and friends to commemorate the patriotic holiday.

But what does Memorial Day mean for Americans?

Here are some facts to brush up on the meaning of this Monday’s nationwide day of remembrance:

Memorial Day Was Originally Named ‘Decoration Day’

In 1869, the head of an organization of Union veterans Maj. Gen. John A. Logan established Decoration Day as a way for the nation to honor the graves of those who died in the Civil War with flowers, according to the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department.

This is a portion of the official order written by Logan:

The 30th day of May, 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

May 30 Was Chosen as the Observation Day Because Flowers Are in Bloom

Logan was believed to have chosen May 30 as the day to observe Decoration Day because flowers would be in bloom nationwide, the VA website wrote.

Though there were future conversations over the official day for Memorial Day, by the end of the 19th century, state legislatures passed proclamations naming May 30 as the holiday.

Memorial Day Was Declared a National Holiday in 1971

In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday, placing it as the last Monday in May. According to the VA, the day was expanded to honor all those who have died in American wars.

Congress in December 2000 passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” to ensure those who sacrificed their lives for the country were not forgotten.

The Official Birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York

There are debates over which city was the origin of Memorial Day, although the first large observation was held at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. for a crowd of about 5,000 in 1868.

In 1966, former President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York the official “birthplace” of the holiday, according to the VA.

The National Moment of Remembrance is at 3 p.m. Monday

The National Moment of Remembrance, which asks that Americans pause in silence to honor those who have died serving the U.S., takes place at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day.

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For Biden, a Deeply Personal Memorial Day Weekend Observance

President Joe Biden marked his first Memorial Day weekend as commander in chief by honoring the nation’s sacrifices in a deeply personal manner as he paid tribute Sunday to those lost while remembering his late son Beau, a veteran who died six years ago to the day.

As a cold rain fell, Biden made his annual appearance at the commemoration in New Castle, not far from his Wilmington home, a day before he planned to do the same at Arlington National Cemetery on the official observance.

The death of his son from brain cancer at age 46 is ever-present for the elder Biden, with the loss defining so much of his worldview, dotting his speeches and stirring his empathy for others in pain.

The Memorial Day weekend, long an important moment for Biden, took on added poignancy this year as the president spoke frequently and emotionally of his own loss while expressing the gratitude of a nation for the sacrifices of others.

“I can’t thank you enough for the continued service for the country,” said Biden, addressing a crowd of Gold Star military families and other veterans in a ceremony at War Memorial Plaza in the shadow of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. “I know how much the loss hurts.”

“They’re the guardians of us and we’re the guardians of their legacy,” Biden said of those who served in the armed forces. “Despite all the pain, I know the pride you feel in the loved one you have lost.”

Though a tent was overhead, the cold wind whipped the rain onto the guests as they watched a lone military trumpeter play taps at a memorial to Delaware’s fallen troops. Biden appeared to pay the chill no mind, remaining for the entirety of the 75-minute ceremony and mouthing the words to the closing rendition of “God Bless America.” When it was time, he snapped a salute to the wreath laid at the memorial.

Biden had attended the ceremony nearly every year for decades, and it was at last year’s event when he emerged for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, spotted with a mask while laying a wreath.

Hours before Sunday’s ceremony, the president, first lady Jill Biden and other family members attended a memorial Mass for Beau Biden at their local church. After the service, the Bidens greeted well-wishers outside the church and, for the first time in more than a year, were able to receive warm hugs and handshakes at their home parish.

The Bidens walked to Beau’s grave, which is on the property of St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine, and left flowers amid several American flags that had been placed on the well-manicured lawn next to the marker.

More on Memorial Day:

Memorial Day 16 hours ago

Vets Return to Memorial Day Traditions as Pandemic Eases

Memorial Day Weekend May 29

Travel Numbers Climb as Americans Hit the Road for Memorial Day

Beau Biden served two terms as Delaware’s attorney general before declaring a run for governor, and many saw in him the same aspirations that brought his father to the White House. Beau Biden also served in Delaware’s National Guard and, when sent to Iraq, received permission to wear a uniform emblazoned with a different last name so as not to receive special treatment.

That story, which Biden told Friday at a Virginia air force base, was one of the many moments in which Biden’s son defined the Memorial Day weekend. After beginning with an emotional remembrance of his late son, Biden acknowledged the unheralded sacrifices made by the service members and their families.

“You are the very best of what America has to offer,” Biden said then.

Biden also underscored his recent decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan later this year, expressing gratitude to service members who took multiple tours of duty in America’s longest war.

He largely avoided the particulars of international affairs on Sunday, though he pledged to press Russia’s Vladimir Putin on human rights during their summit in Geneva next month and said that the moment was right to show the world, and namely China, that the United States was ready to lead again after four years of a largely inward-looking foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

“It’s time to remind everybody who we are,” he said.

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