Author: staff

On one wall of the set for Terry Guest’s Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes, now in a local premiere with Story Theatre under Guest’s direction,…

In the wake of the July 4 mass shooting which claimed the lives of seven people in Highland Park, Township High School District 113 provided counseling…

Last year, Chicago Shakespeare offered We Are Out There, a digital sneak peek of Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair’s goofy musical adaptation of the 1953 Universal…

When he makes his head coaching debut in the Chicago Bulls’ first NBA Summer League game Friday, John Bryant will have one person at the front of his mind — his father, John.Bryant didn’t travel to Las Vegas with the Bulls last year for summer league. Instead, he spent the time with his father, who was battling COVID-19.Advertisement“It was the best decision of my life,” Bryant said.Bryant’s father died later that year, but Bryant said the time together was invaluable. A year later, Bryant said his father’s guidance affects the way he approaches each day as a Bulls assistant coach.Advertisement“I can hear him,” Bryant said. “I talk to him every day. He’d be so proud of me.”This summer will mark Bryant’s first outing as a head coach after being selected by head coach Billy Donovan to lead a Bulls team headlined by 2022 draftee Dalen Terry and second-year center Marko Simonović.Although Donovan has been on hand to oversee summer practices, Bryant said he has been impressed with the amount of responsibility afforded him in the role. Bryant described Donovan as a “wise old sage” — before jokingly backtracking to make sure the head coach didn’t think he was actually being called “old” — who offered only occasional advice from the sidelines.Stepping into a head coach position comes with its challenges. Bryant was a bit hoarse after his first four days of practice, gobbling down cough drops to soothe his voice.“I never talk this much — not even with my wife,” Bryant said. “I’m finding my voice.”Bryant is intent on honing the Bullsfor a strong outing in Las Vegas, but he feels his role off the court is equally important. Even though players share lives together in the locker room and on the court, Bryant believes emotional vulnerability can still be a challenge between teammates.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Each day before and after practice, he gathers players together at half court to share about themselves and one another. This includes giving out a “Warrior” award for putting in the most effort in practice, the nomination for which requires a player to explain why he admires his teammate.Bryant began this process on the first day of practice, sharing his experience with the loss of his father and how it impacted the way he viewed basketball.Advertisement“I let them into a part of my life and got real with them,” Bryant said. “And then they could be real with me. As much as I can do that, I think that to me is real coaching. “Of course, I’ve got to get paid and everyone needs to win and all that, but to me real coaching is coaching these young men to be better men to their communities, better fathers, better brothers, better cousins, better friends. I think I’m doing my best to do that every day.”Bryant and the Bulls will travel to Las Vegas on Thursday to begin the four-game first round of the summer league tournament.Although he won’t be in the stands, Bryant knows his father will be present throughout his debut.“I know he’d be proud of me,” Bryant said. “I’m trying to do it the best way that I can every day. When I played, he just was like ‘Hustle. Try your best. Do your best. Work hard.’ And I’m trying to do that for not only our players and our staff but to be a reflection of what he taught me to do. I know he’s smiling.”

Electric appliances, which emit less planet-warming carbon dioxide than those powered by natural gas, would get a boost under an ordinance proposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot…

Patrick Daley Thomspson, former 11th Ward alderman and scion of the Daley political dynasty, was sentenced Wednesday to four months in prison for tax evasion and…

Organizers of several Lake County events and festivals are evaluating their options after the July 4 Highland Park parade shooting, relying on social media and word-of-mouth…

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday with the wife of detained WNBA player Brittney Griner, who is on trial in Russia, and assured her that that he is working to win Griner’s freedom as soon as possible, the White House said.Biden’s conversation with Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, followed Brittney Griner’s personal appeal to the president in a handwritten letter from the basketball player the White House received on Monday. In the letter, Griner acknowledged her fears that she would spend forever in detention in Russia and asked Biden not “forget about me and the other American Detainees.”AdvertisementGriner has been detained for four months and is currently on trial in Russia, accused of possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.“The President called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in a statement. “He also read her a draft of the letter the President is sending to Brittney Griner today.”AdvertisementBiden offered his support to the family and committed to making sure they receive “all possible assistance” while the administration pursues steps to win Brittney Griner’s release, the White House said.Griner is in the midst of a trial in Russia that began last week after she was arrested on Feb. 17 on charges of possessing cannabis oil while returning to play for her Russian team. The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday.Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in U.S. courts, acquittals can be overturned.Cherelle Griner told “CBS Mornings” in an interview Tuesday that it was “disheartening” to her that she had yet to hear from Biden during Brittney Griner’s detention.Brittney Griner’s wife Cherelle says it is “very disheartening” that she still has not heard back from the White House — after Brittney penned a handwritten letter to Pres. Biden from a Russian prison pleading for help. pic.twitter.com/MTyQqCJIBj— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) July 5, 2022

Camae Ayewa, aka Moor Mother, has always been one to cite her sources. In addition to performing as a member of Philly-based free-jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements,…

“When we go to a skate park, we take up space, and then all of a sudden you don’t see a bunch of guys trying to…