Author: staff

BARCELONA, Spain — Camp Nou broke its own world record for a women’s soccer match Friday when more than 91,600 fans reveled in Barcelona’s 5-1 rout of Wolfsburg in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semifinal.The 91,648 spectators counted by club officials surpassed the 91,553 who turned out to see Barcelona beat Real Madrid last month. Previously, the record for a women’s game was 90,185 for the 1999 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl.AdvertisementAlexia Putellas led Barcelona with a brace. The Ballon d’Or winner was one of four goal-scorers for Barcelona in the first half before she earned and converted a late penalty to give her a competition-leading 10 goals.“We are very happy not just for the result but also for the atmosphere at the stadium. It is spectacular that we have set a new record,” Barcelona midfielder Patricia Guijarro said. “What happened today and a month ago has left us speechless. As the days, or the years go by, we will understand better what has happened. Right now we have not completely grasped the magnitude of this experience.”AdvertisementThe German visitors were stunned from the start when Aitana Bonmatí latched onto a long pass and scored just two minutes after kickoff.Barcelona players celebrate after winning the Women’s Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort) (Joan Monfort/AP)Caroline Graham Hansen doubled the advantage in the 10th when she used a sleek change of foot to dodge the sliding tackle of the last defender before curling a left-footed shot inside the far post.Jennifer Hermoso made it 3-0 in the 33rd after finishing off a gorgeous team buildup.It was then Putellas’ turn after she was played through by Guijaro. Goalkeeper Almuth Schult deflected her shot but it bounced off the post and rolled over the line.Jill Roord pulled one back for Wolfsburg in the 73rd when Tabea Wassmuth set her up.Schult dove the wrong way when Putellas took her spot kick in the 84th after she was fouled in the box by Dominique Janssen.The second leg is in Germany on April 30.Lyon hosts Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday in the first leg of the other semifinal.AdvertisementBarcelona is seeking to repeat its treble from last season. It has already clinched the Spanish league and is in the Copa de la Reina semifinals.

Alex Caruso didn’t need the ball in his hands to deliver the final blow to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of a first-round playoff series Wednesday night. All he needed to do was keep his arms up straight.With the Chicago Bulls clinging to a five-point lead and five seconds on the clock at Fiserv Form, the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo snatched a rebound over Caruso’s head and attempted to bully the guard for a basket.AdvertisementAntetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP, held nearly every visible advantage — 7 inches taller, nearly 60 pounds heavier. Caruso didn’t care. He bellied up to the Bucks star and braced for the impending impact.When Antetokounmpo barreled into him a half-second later, Caruso crashed to the court, drawing the charge that closed the door on the Bucks’ last gasp and evened the series.AdvertisementBulls guard Alex Caruso (6) is congratulated by teammates late in the second half of Game 2 of a first-round playoff series against the Bucks on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Game 3 is Friday night at the United Center.“I think it’s pretty obvious,” Caruso said after the win. “You don’t have a chance against these guys if you don’t play defense.”It made sense that the clinching play of the Bulls’ Game 2 win didn’t come on offense. And it made sense that Caruso — who had one of the most important performances of the night despite scoring only nine points — was the one to deliver.The defensive specialist has been a game changer since signing with the Bulls last summer. Caruso has become the heart of the team’s renewed defensive effort in this series, holding the third-best offense in the league to 101.5 points per game — 14 below their season average.“He’s the anchor to our defense,” DeMar DeRozan said. “I lean off him for his energy defensively. He’s a leader when it comes to that. He gets me going sometimes, even if he’s not talking to me directly, him just speaking there’s a lot I take from him.”[ [Don’t miss] Nikola Vučević taking a bigger scoring role gives the Chicago Bulls a boost in playoff series with Milwaukee Bucks ]Caruso’s importance to the Bulls defense was apparent during each of his injury absences. The guard finished the regular season at a fraction of his typical intensity while playing through back spasms, which Caruso is still monitoring.In Game 2, Caruso warned Billy Donovan that he was losing steam in the fourth quarter. He didn’t want to come out of the game, but Caruso was honest with his coach — if he didn’t take a few minutes on the bench, he wouldn’t be able to close the game.Donovan said communication will be vital to managing Caruso’s back pain through the rest of the series, but he’s not worried about the veteran hesitating to speak up when he’s in pain.AdvertisementExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 53Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, center, is surrounded by teammates after hitting a shot over Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo late in the second half of Game 2 of a first-round playoff series on April 20, 2022, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“He will not shortcut or rest on the court,” Donovan said. “He’s going to give everything he has — and he knows when he needs to come out. … He’s really smart. He knows what he’s got to do physically (and) defensively for our team and he gives you everything he has, but he also understands when he’s run out of fuel.”Whether he’s on the court or the bench, Caruso’s leadership is key as one of the few players on the Bulls roster with major experience in a deep playoff run — he was with the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA title in 2020. Donovan credited Caruso for helping young players learn to shake off errors and move on to the next play quickly, a mental hurdle that often tripped the Bulls during the season.[ [Don’t miss] Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton to miss the rest of their series vs. the Chicago Bulls with a sprained MCL ]As a defender, Caruso can’t linger on mistakes. That’s the thing about guarding great players such as Antetokounmpo — they’re going to score one way or another. The goal isn’t to shut those players down; it’s to force them into attempting difficult shots and making poor passes to diminish their impact just enough to gain an edge. “I try to be a leader in that aspect,” Caruso said. “That’s something that I have done … since I was a kid. The team has adopted that mindset. Sometimes you get a bad call, turnover, miscommunication and you can’t do anything to fix it. You’ve got to go to the next play.”One constant of any Bulls game is the sound of Caruso’s voice. Even when he was sidelined with injuries, Caruso spent more time on his feet than any coach except Donovan, pointing to spots on the court where he wanted teammates to run to and shouting encouragement during dead-ball huddles.[ [Don’t miss] Column: Chicago Bulls’ gritty effort in Game 2 win gives the Milwaukee Bucks something to worry about ]For his teammates — even veterans such as DeRozan — Caruso has become a galvanizing force to dig in deeper on defense.Advertisement“I try to take on that challenge,” DeRozan said. “Especially when you see him going out there competing against whoever it is, you want to match that same intensity.”

The body of woman who washed up on the shore of the Chicago River on the South Side Friday morning marks the fourth person, and third woman, dead in the waters of the city’s river and lake in a week.The unidentified woman was found in the South Branch of the Chicago River off the 2600 block of South Damen Avenue about 7:50 a.m., according to Officer Roberto Garduno.AdvertisementShe was dead on the scene after police Marine Unit officers pulled her from the water, Garduno said.On Sunday, a man’s body was recovered from Lake Michigan in the 3000 block of South Fort Dearborn Drive, the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.AdvertisementThe man was also dead on the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.The bodies of two women — one of whom was 80 — were pulled from the Chicago River in the West Loop and the South Side on Saturday at 10:40 a.m. and about 11:15 a.m.A cause of death was not immediately known for any of the victims, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and it was not clear if police thought any of the deaths were connected.rsobol@chicagotribune.com

Disheveled journalists may no longer haunt the halls of the historic Tribune Tower, but a new Foxtrot market just opened at The Shops at Tribune Tower.The upscale cafe and corner store concept is based in Chicago. The 13th location in the city opened on Wednesday, April 20. It’s tiny, just two aisles wide, but with a soaring double-height storefront nearly directly under the landmark Chicago Tribune sign on the south side of the building.AdvertisementThe market is the first business open to the public in the historic tower. After deep reconstruction, the building is now filled with luxury residences and private amenities, like an indoor lap pool, instead of cluttered journalists desks.The Museum of Ice Cream was the first retail tenant announced, but it’s not yet open, but signage is up next door to Foxtrot.AdvertisementIt’s not a substitute for the Whole Foods just east, but rather a beautiful alternative to the Walgreens food in the Wrigley Building across the street. You can order colorful coffees, including a seasonal pink ombre cherry blossom latte, or breakfast tacos before noon. Or grab and go anytime The Chicago Farm Salad, seasonal and locally sourced, now with Mick Klug Farm asparagus and a Green Goddess dressing. You’re a Cookie founder and pastry chef Angela Diaz supplies vegan chocolate chip cookies from her wholesale bakery in the Avondale neighborhood.A small outdoor patio faces Pioneer Court for a secretive oasis just steps off the Magnificent Mile. Nearly all of the shade trees have been cleared for the replanted public plaza though.Foxtrot also dropped Wilco collaboration snacks and merch at a pop-up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Market at its Old Town shop on Tuesday, open until May 1. The company plans to open two more locations in Chicago this year, at Willis Tower in May and Wrigleyville by early summer.Foxtrot Tribune Tower, 429 N. Michigan Ave., 312-496-3050, foxtrotco.comBig screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.

A City Council ally of Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised Friday to introduce a series of ethics reforms that would have a broad impact across city government in the wake of multiple criminal investigations at City Hall and spats over conflicts of interest among Chicago elected officials.The ethics package being proposed by Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, follows the introduction just one month ago of a similar but smaller series of ethics proposals from a key aldermanic critic of Lightfoot that so far has found little support among council members.AdvertisementSmith, one of Lightfoot’s hand-picked committee chairs, said she will debut the legislation at Wednesday’s City Council meeting in the hopes it will “significantly strengthen Chicago’s ethics laws.” The provisions Smith highlighted include upping the maximum fine for ethics violations from $5,000 to $20,000 as well as banning former council members from lobbying the City Council.The proposal also calls for broadening what is deemed a “conflict of interest” for city officials or employees, Smith said. Under her proposal it would be a conflict if any “administrative, legislative action or decision” could benefit relatives or partners of city officials or employees. The current conflict-of-interest provisions only apply when it comes to contracted firms of city employees or relatives.AdvertisementSign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.Smith’s proposal comes as the City Council is once again being hit by federal criminal convictions and indictments tied to allegations of corruption.Just in February, then-11th Ward Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson was convicted of felony tax fraud and ordered to vacate his seat, while current 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin was indicted on bribery charges last year and Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, the longest-serving alderman in city history, was charged with racketeering and other counts in 2019. The latter two have pleaded not guilty.Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, talks to colleagues on March 23, 2022, during a Chicago City Council meeting at City Hall. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)“Our city is grappling with its historic legacy of corruption as various high-profile criminal cases work their way through the judicial system,” Smith said in a statement, adding that she hopes her package helps end the “‘I got a guy at City Hall’ mentality and move to fair representation of all in our city business.”In March, Southwest Side Ald. Silvana Tabares, 23rd, introduced a smaller ethics package aimed at prohibiting spouses, partners or immediate family members who live with city elected officials from lobbying aldermen, the mayor or other city officials or employees.Tabares said her proposal was a response to reports that City Clerk Anna Valencia, who’s running for Illinois secretary of state, had failed to report her husband’s lobbying work at City Hall as required under ethics rules. Tabares has endorsed Valencia’s top opponent in the secretary of state’s race, former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, though Tabares said she would have introduced the ordinance whether Valencia was running for the statewide office or not.Unlike Smith, Tabares is not a Lightfoot ally on the council.After Tabares introduced her ordinance in March, Valencia stood with Lightfoot at a news conference and called the proposal an attempted distraction by Giannoulias. The problems with her ethics forms related to her husband’s lobbying were “a human error,” Valencia said, that she corrected when she found out there had been a mistake. Lightfoot has not made any endorsements in the secretary of state’s race.Advertisement“My husband and I have very different careers,” she said. “He has his own thing. I have my own. We support each other in different ways, so we’re already following the Board of Ethics rules and will continue to do that.”Tabares’ legislation was later sent to the City Council’s Rules Committee, where ordinances the mayor opposes sometimes die from inactivity. Smith, who chairs the council Ethics Committee, may have a better shot at passing her package, which also has the backing of the Chicago Board of Ethics and the nonprofit Better Government Association.Lightfoot has made ethics reform a cornerstone of her political campaigns but so far hasn’t seen passage of major reforms, such as eliminating aldermanic prerogative.In 2019, she tried to deliver on one campaign promise focused on the City Council when her own ethics reform package sailed through the body with no debate. It gave the city inspector general more powers and tightened rules on outside jobs and City Hall lobbying.But the Chicago ethics board had proposed a much heftier maximum fine for ethics code violations — the $20,000 in Smith’s ordinance — that Lightfoot declined to include that year. Instead, she increased the ceiling for fines from $2,000 to $5,000.ayin@chicagotribune.comAdvertisementjebyrne@chicagotribune.com

Two Illinois brothers and their cousin pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally entering the U.S. Capitol through a broken window during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.Anthony Carollo, 23, his brother, Jeremiah Carollo, 45, and their cousin, Cody Vollan, 31, were all charged in January with misdemeanor counts of unlawfully entering a restricted government building and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds.AdvertisementThey pleaded guilty to a superseding information on Thursday during a telephone hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta set separate sentencing hearings for all three on Sept. 13.A criminal complaint filed in January included photos of the three men standing amid the mob outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. They later could be seen filing past a man in a gas mask and bicycle helmet. Another photo shows the defendants walking single-file through the Capitol rotunda.AdvertisementThe men were identified through Google records and surveillance images, according to court records. Anthony Carollo and Vollan were arrested in the Lockport area, while Jeremiah Carollo was arrested near his home in downstate Glen Carbon.As part of their guilty pleas, the men admitted they entered the building through a broken window adjacent to the Senate wing door around 2:22 p.m. and wandered near the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before leaving after about 15 minutes.At least 27 Illinoisans have been charged so far in the Capitol breach, an ongoing investigation that has been described by prosecutors as the largest criminal investigation in the country’s history.Most of the Illinois cases have involved simple trespassing and disorderly conduct, rather than allegations of violence.In December, however, James Robert Elliott, 24, of Aurora, was charged with felony counts alleging he used a flagpole to assault officers while illegally on the Capitol grounds. He has pleaded not guilty and his case is pending.Nationwide, nearly 800 people have been arrested as of this month in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on charges stemming from the Capitol breach, according to the U.S. Justice Department.jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

An Indiana steelmaker has agreed to pay $3 million, upgrade plant equipment, and donate 127 acres of land to the Indiana Dunes National Park after it caused a chemical spill leading into Burns Waterway that killed 3,000 fish in 2019.The proposed consent decree would have to be approved by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court in Hammond. At the time, the Burns Harbor steel mill was owned by ArcelorMittal, which sold the majority of its American assets to Cleveland Cliffs in 2020.Advertisement“This is a big victory for protecting Lake Michigan, safe clean water, and Northwest Indiana communities,” Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center Executive Director Howard Learner said in a release. “The consent decree holds Cleveland-Cliffs accountable for its excessive pollution and Clean Water Act permit violations, and it underscores the value of citizen enforcement lawsuits.”A representative for Cleveland Cliffs was not immediately available for comment.AdvertisementLearner’s group and Indianapolis-based Hoosier Environmental Council were plaintiffs in the citizen lawsuit under the federal Clean Water Act that led to the tentative settlement with Cleveland Cliffs, the EPA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management.“We’re heartened by this consent decree and we’re very hopeful that it will safeguard the extraordinary ecological treasure that is Lake Michigan from another toxic industrial spill, and elevate environmental protection across Northwest Indiana, which has several communities that have borne a special burden of environmental injustice for far too long,” Hoosier Environmental Council Executive Director Jesse Kharbanda said.Days after a slew of dead fish emerged, ArcelorMittal admitted a failure in a blast furnace wastewater recycling system on Aug. 11, 2019, led to the discharge of cyanide and ammonia into Burns Waterway. The delay angered local communities and public officials in Indiana and Chicago.Local beaches closed for days as a precaution and Indiana American Water temporarily idled its Ogden Dunes water treatment plant.The agreement calls for the $3 million to be split between the federal and state government. The steelmaker is required to upgrade equipment to prevent future cyanide and ammonia spills and up its water monitoring in summer 2022 and 2023. It would also set up “improved” public notification plans to avoid the delay seen in 2019.The steelmaker also would donate 127 acres north of North Boo Road and west of Indiana 149 in Burns Harbor — a mix of woodlands and former farm land — to the Shirley Heinze Land Trust for restoration purposes. An environmental assessment would be conducted first, according to the agreement.The land would ultimately be given to the Indiana Dunes National Park.

Chicago’s downtown almost looks normal some days, especially during the middle of the week when office workers pack themselves onto trains and the streets bustle with pedestrians. But downtown restaurant owners say they see something different when tallying weekly sales.Even the busiest lunch hours rarely hit pre-pandemic levels, and Mondays and Fridays are even worse.Advertisement“We’re questioning whether it even makes sense to be open on these days,” said Scott Weiner, co-owner of Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, which operates more than a dozen establishments across Chicago, including West Town Bakery and 90th Meridian, both on LaSalle Street in the financial district.And with many downtown firms planning to bring back their employees for just two or three days a week, restaurants could permanently lose several days of lunchtime business. That would be another heavy blow to an industry buffeted for two years by shutdowns, rising food prices and labor shortages, perhaps putting off real recovery for years.AdvertisementIt’s not just a problem for restaurant owners. The health of the local restaurant scene will play a key role in determining the vibrancy of downtown as it emerges from the pandemic.Downtown Chicago provides a greater variety of food options than any suburb or city neighborhood, from places to grab a quick sandwich to pricey establishments where businesses entertain out-of-town clients. Like Millennium Park or the lakefront, restaurants make downtown appealing. But if the industry continues to suffer, restaurant owners may decide it’s not worth it to reopen the many locations closed during the pandemic. Some say landlords may eventually have to agree to lower rental payments if they want to keep the restaurant scene healthy.On Wednesdays, hungry theatergoers attending afternoon matinees crowd into The Dearborn, a 225-seat restaurant at 145 N. Dearborn St., according to proprietor Clodagh Lawless. But it’s a different story on other days.“Wednesdays are just a delight,” she said. “Everything about Wednesday is perfect, but our Friday lunch is now very quiet, and that’s a problem, because we had a business model when we signed a lease which relied on a five-day workweek from our business clientele.”Two patrons at The Dearborn sit in the bar area of the restaurant in Chicago’s Loop during the lunch hour. With many downtown firms planning to bring back their employees for just two or three days a week, restaurants could permanently lose several days of lunchtime business. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)“The Loop is still in dire straits,” Weiner said. “We need the city and the people who call the shots at big companies to get people back to the office.”Weiner estimates lunchtime business is down between 60% and 70% on Mondays and Fridays, and on the other weekdays it’s down about 20%.The lingering uncertainty helps make it difficult to justify reopening Fifty/50 Restaurant Group’s Steadfast at The Gray, a Central Loop restaurant at 120 West Monroe St., in the same building as the Kimpton Gray Hotel. It was shuttered during the pandemic as business travel dried up and hotel occupancy plunged.Average hotel occupancy in downtown Chicago was 59% for the week ending April 9, according to hospitality data firm STR. It was 89.1% for the comparable week in April 2019.Advertisement“We’re not in any hurry to reopen Steadfast,” Weiner said.Lawless, who runs The Dearborn in partnership with her sister Amy Lawless, said they’ve survived the two years of turmoil brought on by COVID-19, and are determined to meet whatever challenges remain. She learned the business while growing up in Ireland from her parents, who ran restaurants and a small hotel, and switching careers isn’t an option.“It’s in our blood,” she said. “We know nothing else, but the restaurant industry, which I adore, right now is a bleak landscape.”People eat lunch at The Dearborn downtown on April 21, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)The pandemic squeeze may hit restaurants, which typically have small profit margins, harder than other businesses, according to Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, an industry lobbying group.“Between 95 and 97 cents of every dollar goes toward labor costs, produce costs and fixed costs, Toia said. “And that’s in the good times.”Some downtown landlords have been willing to cut deals with restaurants during the crisis, allowing them to pay reduced rent while business was slow, he added.AdvertisementWeiner said if hybrid work schedules remain in place and restaurants can’t generate the revenue they once did, he’s optimistic landlords will negotiate the deals needed to keep these key businesses afloat, perhaps including lower rental rates.“The smart landlords are going to figure out ways to keep the restaurants in their buildings open, because if they don’t, they could lose their (office) tenants,” Weiner said.It’s not just upscale restaurants feeling the pinch. Fast-food operators have also noticed slowdowns.“Pre-pandemic Mondays and Fridays were softer days for us, averaging slightly lower than our Tuesday-Thursday business,” Potbelly Sandwich Shop COO Adam Noyes told the Tribune in a statement. “That gap has become a bit more pronounced in 2022, likely due to the hybrid office policies.”“We believe that these market condition pressures should definitely be considered by landlords to ensure that shops are able to be profitable,” he added. “We have found a number of landlords to be accommodating in supporting us through this recovery.”Michael Klein, managing principal of Glenstar, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade Building downtown, home of Ceres Café, said he agreed that if downtown businesses stick with short workweeks long term, restaurants will suffer. But he also cautions that the recovery is in its early stages, and office workers may still flood back downtown in the coming months.Advertisement“If we get to the point where 50% of the people are coming back to work, others may start to feel that they’re missing out on something, perhaps not getting that plum assignment,” Klein said.It’s difficult to measure in real time exactly how many downtown workers have returned. According to Kastle Systems, a security firm that tracks office entries, office occupancy in the Chicago metro area stood at 37.8% the week of April 13, the same as the week before, but the company doesn’t provide a separate breakout for the central business district.Klein added that tourists have returned in greater numbers than office workers, so restaurants near tourist-heavy areas like Michigan Avenue or Willis Tower should recover faster.“If you’re across from the Art Institute and go into Chick-fil-A, it may already feel normal because it’s filled up at lunchtime, but two or three blocks away in the Central Loop, restaurants are much quieter,” Klein said. “So, when people do come back, there are going to be discussions about what restaurant rents should be, but they’re going to be block by block, location by location decisions.”Weiner said he believes the old real estate adage, “location, location, location,” will be even more important to the downtown restaurant sector. Even though Fifty/50 Restaurant Group is keeping Steadfast closed for now, it’s already confident enough in the Chicago market to launch later this year one of its biggest projects yet, a two-story restaurant in Willis Tower called Kindling.Starting this fall, the 16,000-square-foot location’s chef will serve diners food cooked in a wood-fire rotisserie oven. Weiner said he expects many of the customers will be out-of-towners.Advertisement“Willis Tower is one of the top tourist destinations in Illinois, let alone Chicago, so it’s a totally different business model,” he said.Some Loop restaurants have advantages that should keep business humming no matter what happens.Gina Capitanini’s family has owned Italian Village Restaurants since 1927, a brand name that keeps customers returning to the landmark The Village at 71 W. Monroe St. Like The Dearborn, it also draws big crowds of theatergoers. Unlike most of their competitors, the family owns the property, thereby avoiding the astronomically high rents of downtown.“It’s a lot better than it was six months ago, so we’re surviving and even doing better than I expected at this point,” Capitanini said.A person walks by The Village restaurant on Chicago’s West Monroe Street on April 18, 2022. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune)The week before Easter was particularly rewarding.“I probably had two or three of the best days that I’ve had in the past two years,” she said. “I probably need more new employees than I need new customers.”AdvertisementBut the pandemic did force Capitanini to close both La Cantina and Vivere, the two other restaurants in the building. She currently has no plans to reopen either.Toia said more restaurants could go under even as more employees return to their workplaces unless Congress replenishes the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The fund’s $28.6 billion in initial funding ran out last summer as thousands of restaurants nationwide rushed to secure relief.The House of Representatives approved this month $42 billion in grants for food service businesses, but according to an April 21 report in Roll Call, an aid package in the Senate faces headwinds after attracting little Republican support.About 177,000 restaurants were approved for grants through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in 2021 but did not receive any funds, according to the National Restaurant Association.Gerardo Castillo, left, speaks to customer Jerry Boruch at The Village, one of Italian Village Restaurants’ three restaurants, on April 18, 2022. Boruch has been a regular customer since the beginning of the pandemic and dines at Italian Village Restaurants when he is downtown for business. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune)The Dearborn was one of the unlucky ones, Lawless said. She and her sister spent the past two years without help, paying rent and enduring several shutdowns, as well as the rising costs for food and labor.“In January, when omicron began surging, it was desolate downtown,” Lawless said. “I mean, it was literally tumbleweeds. So, our choice was, do we open for January and February and lose a ton of money, or stay closed and lose a ton of money? We chose to open so we could keep our team together.”AdvertisementIf Congress does replenish the relief fund, Lawless said The Dearborn could use the money to stock up on supplies and avoid any future supply chain disruptions, pay staff more, or perhaps give the restaurant’s interior a face-lift.No matter what happens with that legislation, Lawless said she sees hopeful signs. A full slate of conventions has returned to McCormick Place for 2022, and even though attendance so far is still significantly lower than 2019, groups attending these events are already making reservations weeks in advance.“Before this, our margins were tight, and now it’s even tougher,” she said. “But there’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel, the only question is, how long is this tunnel?”

Chicago’s downtown almost looks normal some days, especially during the middle of the week when office workers pack themselves onto trains and the streets bustle with pedestrians. But downtown restaurant owners say they see something different when tallying weekly sales.Even the busiest lunch hours rarely hit pre-pandemic levels, and Mondays and Fridays are even worse.Advertisement“We’re questioning whether it even makes sense to be open on these days,” said Scott Weiner, co-owner of Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, which operates more than a dozen establishments across Chicago, including West Town Bakery and 90th Meridian, both on LaSalle Street in the financial district.And with many downtown firms planning to bring back their employees for just two or three days a week, restaurants could permanently lose several days of lunchtime business. That would be another heavy blow to an industry buffeted for two years by shutdowns, rising food prices and labor shortages, perhaps putting off real recovery for years.AdvertisementIt’s not just a problem for restaurant owners. The health of the local restaurant scene will play a key role in determining the vibrancy of downtown as it emerges from the pandemic.Downtown Chicago provides a greater variety of food options than any suburb or city neighborhood, from places to grab a quick sandwich to pricey establishments where businesses entertain out-of-town clients. Like Millennium Park or the lakefront, restaurants make downtown appealing. But if the industry continues to suffer, restaurant owners may decide it’s not worth it to reopen the many locations closed during the pandemic. Some say landlords may eventually have to agree to lower rental payments if they want to keep the restaurant scene healthy.On Wednesdays, hungry theatergoers attending afternoon matinees crowd into The Dearborn, a 225-seat restaurant at 145 N. Dearborn St., according to proprietor Clodagh Lawless. But it’s a different story on other days.“Wednesdays are just a delight,” she said. “Everything about Wednesday is perfect, but our Friday lunch is now very quiet, and that’s a problem, because we had a business model when we signed a lease which relied on a five-day workweek from our business clientele.”Two patrons at The Dearborn sit in the bar area of the restaurant in Chicago’s Loop during the lunch hour. With many downtown firms planning to bring back their employees for just two or three days a week, restaurants could permanently lose several days of lunchtime business. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)“The Loop is still in dire straits,” Weiner said. “We need the city and the people who call the shots at big companies to get people back to the office.”Weiner estimates lunchtime business is down between 60% and 70% on Mondays and Fridays, and on the other weekdays it’s down about 20%.The lingering uncertainty helps make it difficult to justify reopening Fifty/50 Restaurant Group’s Steadfast at The Gray, a Central Loop restaurant at 120 West Monroe St., in the same building as the Kimpton Gray Hotel. It was shuttered during the pandemic as business travel dried up and hotel occupancy plunged.Average hotel occupancy in downtown Chicago was 59% for the week ending April 9, according to hospitality data firm STR. It was 89.1% for the comparable week in April 2019.Advertisement“We’re not in any hurry to reopen Steadfast,” Weiner said.Lawless, who runs The Dearborn in partnership with her sister Amy Lawless, said they’ve survived the two years of turmoil brought on by COVID-19, and are determined to meet whatever challenges remain. She learned the business while growing up in Ireland from her parents, who ran restaurants and a small hotel, and switching careers isn’t an option.“It’s in our blood,” she said. “We know nothing else, but the restaurant industry, which I adore, right now is a bleak landscape.”People eat lunch at The Dearborn downtown on April 21, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)The pandemic squeeze may hit restaurants, which typically have small profit margins, harder than other businesses, according to Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, an industry lobbying group.“Between 95 and 97 cents of every dollar goes toward labor costs, produce costs and fixed costs, Toia said. “And that’s in the good times.”Some downtown landlords have been willing to cut deals with restaurants during the crisis, allowing them to pay reduced rent while business was slow, he added.AdvertisementWeiner said if hybrid work schedules remain in place and restaurants can’t generate the revenue they once did, he’s optimistic landlords will negotiate the deals needed to keep these key businesses afloat, perhaps including lower rental rates.“The smart landlords are going to figure out ways to keep the restaurants in their buildings open, because if they don’t, they could lose their (office) tenants,” Weiner said.It’s not just upscale restaurants feeling the pinch. Fast-food operators have also noticed slowdowns.“Pre-pandemic Mondays and Fridays were softer days for us, averaging slightly lower than our Tuesday-Thursday business,” Potbelly Sandwich Shop COO Adam Noyes told the Tribune in a statement. “That gap has become a bit more pronounced in 2022, likely due to the hybrid office policies.”“We believe that these market condition pressures should definitely be considered by landlords to ensure that shops are able to be profitable,” he added. “We have found a number of landlords to be accommodating in supporting us through this recovery.”Michael Klein, managing principal of Glenstar, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade Building downtown, home of Ceres Café, said he agreed that if downtown businesses stick with short workweeks long term, restaurants will suffer. But he also cautions that the recovery is in its early stages, and office workers may still flood back downtown in the coming months.Advertisement“If we get to the point where 50% of the people are coming back to work, others may start to feel that they’re missing out on something, perhaps not getting that plum assignment,” Klein said.It’s difficult to measure in real time exactly how many downtown workers have returned. According to Kastle Systems, a security firm that tracks office entries, office occupancy in the Chicago metro area stood at 37.8% the week of April 13, the same as the week before, but the company doesn’t provide a separate breakout for the central business district.Klein added that tourists have returned in greater numbers than office workers, so restaurants near tourist-heavy areas like Michigan Avenue or Willis Tower should recover faster.“If you’re across from the Art Institute and go into Chick-fil-A, it may already feel normal because it’s filled up at lunchtime, but two or three blocks away in the Central Loop, restaurants are much quieter,” Klein said. “So, when people do come back, there are going to be discussions about what restaurant rents should be, but they’re going to be block by block, location by location decisions.”Weiner said he believes the old real estate adage, “location, location, location,” will be even more important to the downtown restaurant sector. Even though Fifty/50 Restaurant Group is keeping Steadfast closed for now, it’s already confident enough in the Chicago market to launch later this year one of its biggest projects yet, a two-story restaurant in Willis Tower called Kindling.Starting this fall, the 16,000-square-foot location’s chef will serve diners food cooked in a wood-fire rotisserie oven. Weiner said he expects many of the customers will be out-of-towners.Advertisement“Willis Tower is one of the top tourist destinations in Illinois, let alone Chicago, so it’s a totally different business model,” he said.Some Loop restaurants have advantages that should keep business humming no matter what happens.Gina Capitanini’s family has owned Italian Village Restaurants since 1927, a brand name that keeps customers returning to the landmark The Village at 71 W. Monroe St. Like The Dearborn, it also draws big crowds of theatergoers. Unlike most of their competitors, the family owns the property, thereby avoiding the astronomically high rents of downtown.“It’s a lot better than it was six months ago, so we’re surviving and even doing better than I expected at this point,” Capitanini said.A person walks by The Village restaurant on Chicago’s West Monroe Street on April 18, 2022. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune)The week before Easter was particularly rewarding.“I probably had two or three of the best days that I’ve had in the past two years,” she said. “I probably need more new employees than I need new customers.”AdvertisementBut the pandemic did force Capitanini to close both La Cantina and Vivere, the two other restaurants in the building. She currently has no plans to reopen either.Toia said more restaurants could go under even as more employees return to their workplaces unless Congress replenishes the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The fund’s $28.6 billion in initial funding ran out last summer as thousands of restaurants nationwide rushed to secure relief.The House of Representatives approved this month $42 billion in grants for food service businesses, but according to an April 21 report in Roll Call, an aid package in the Senate faces headwinds after attracting little Republican support.About 177,000 restaurants were approved for grants through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in 2021 but did not receive any funds, according to the National Restaurant Association.Gerardo Castillo, left, speaks to customer Jerry Boruch at The Village, one of Italian Village Restaurants’ three restaurants, on April 18, 2022. Boruch has been a regular customer since the beginning of the pandemic and dines at Italian Village Restaurants when he is downtown for business. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune)The Dearborn was one of the unlucky ones, Lawless said. She and her sister spent the past two years without help, paying rent and enduring several shutdowns, as well as the rising costs for food and labor.“In January, when omicron began surging, it was desolate downtown,” Lawless said. “I mean, it was literally tumbleweeds. So, our choice was, do we open for January and February and lose a ton of money, or stay closed and lose a ton of money? We chose to open so we could keep our team together.”AdvertisementIf Congress does replenish the relief fund, Lawless said The Dearborn could use the money to stock up on supplies and avoid any future supply chain disruptions, pay staff more, or perhaps give the restaurant’s interior a face-lift.No matter what happens with that legislation, Lawless said she sees hopeful signs. A full slate of conventions has returned to McCormick Place for 2022, and even though attendance so far is still significantly lower than 2019, groups attending these events are already making reservations weeks in advance.“Before this, our margins were tight, and now it’s even tougher,” she said. “But there’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel, the only question is, how long is this tunnel?”

The Chicago Blackhawks will have a season’s worth of rough moments to pore over at some point, but it seemed they had a particularly taxing time Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.They slogged through the second half of a back-to-back in which were outshot 36-16 and starting goalie Collin Delia left in the third period because of cramping.AdvertisementAll told, the Hawks gave up four goals — two of them 15 seconds apart in the third period — in a 4-1 loss at Crypto.com Arena.“We knew they were going to come hard, we just couldn’t find the energy,” coach Derek King said. “We looked tired physically. We looked tired mentally. We were getting frustrated. Hats off to them, they played a good game.”AdvertisementIf there’s an upside, the loss Hawks didn’t further jeopardize their chances in Tuesday’s draft lottery, which they’re not likely to win anyway.Heading into Friday’s matchups, the Hawks place sixth, meaning they have a 7.5% chance of winning the first draw. They have to win the first or second slot to keep their first-round pick, otherwise it goes to the Columbus Blue Jackets.But good fortune hasn’t exactly been their hallmark lately.Here are three takeaways.Chicago Blackhawks left wing Dominik Kubalík (8) skates against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period, April 21, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)You know who cares about the Hawks playing the Kings in the tail end of a late-night West Coast back-to-back?The Vegas Golden Knights, who trail the Kings in the Pacific Division and are on outside looking in at the wild-card spot.Every team faces tough stretches, but the league should look at how it schedules matchups this late in the season knowing they could have playoff implications.In the Hawks’ case, it’s not like last month’s Anaheim Ducks-Kings back-to-back in the same metro area. Instead, they played the Arizona Coyotes then flew to L.A. for the Kings, and their Midwestern body clocks were set to 9 and 9:30 p.m. CT puck drops, respectively.Advertisement“Tough schedule against L.A. this year, both times going in here back-to-back, pretty late night,” forward Dylan Strome said. “They jumped on us early and shots were pretty heavily favoring them.”Said King:“We just had no energy, we had no emotion in the game. You could see we were frustrated.”Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Collin Delia, left, stops a shot from Los Angeles Kings left wing Viktor Arvidsson, right, during the second period, April 21, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., native’s only win this season came March 24 in Los Angeles, and he was hoping to recreate that magic Thursday.Delia kept it 2-1 through two periods and the Hawks made 24 blocks, but they were just overwhelmed. The Kings held a 70% Corsi-for share, indicating how much they dominated the puck.After giving up goals 15 seconds apart in the third, Delia was slow getting up from the ice and gingerly skated off the ice.“He just was cramping up,” King said. “He’s done that before. I think it was his first NHL game he actually cramped up, if I’m not mistaken.”AdvertisementKing is correct. It was March 29, 2018, against the Winnipeg Jets, and Delia was famously relieved by emergency goalie Scott Foster, an accountant by day.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“Playing out here, hot, and facing all those shots I’m sure wasn’t easy for him,” King said of Delia. “I thought he played well. He just could not stop cramping up.”Toews started his shift with 3:22 remaining in the second period. Later he was stripped of the puck in the defensive zone and the Kings kept the Hawks hemmed in.By the time Toews could skate off, hunched over in exhaustion, it was 2 seconds before the intermission. He slammed his stick against the wall and appeared to say some choice words on the bench.“He was upset — everybody was upset,” King said. Dominik Kubalík was on the ice for 3:02.Advertisement“We got caught out there,” King said. “You want to stay out and take that extra go-at-it and maybe create something and then it turns over and you get back in your D-zone, and now you’re in there (for three minutes).“We were just not sharp, we turned pucks over. It’s one of those games where I’m just going to try to push it aside and try to forget about it.”