Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Dorothy Hernandez

Chicago Restaurant Week 2024 lineup boasts nearly 400 local eateries

2023-12-13T18:21:30.287-06:00

Chef Dominique Leach will be the host chef at First Bites Bash, the kickoff event for Chicago Restaurant Week 2024.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Food lovers in Chicago will have a lot of choices to make next month when Chicago Restaurant Week returns for its 17th year, with nearly 400 restaurants offering special menus for the multi-day culinary feast.

The food fest event kicks off on Jan. 18 with First Bites Bash at Chicago’s Field Museum where more than 50 restaurants will offer a taste of their restaurant week menus. The host chef is Dominique Leach of Lexington Betty Smokehouse, the newly crowned winner of season four Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl.”

Chicago Restaurant Week gives diners a chance to sample some of the area’s top dining destinations at a fixed price. Participating restaurants will showcase curated prix fixe menus with prices set at $25 for brunch or lunch, and $42 or $59 for dinner.

Asador Bastian — the Basque-inspired steakhouse in River North’s Gallery District — is among the restaurant newcomers participating in Chicago Restaurant Week.

Hsing Chen

Fifty-six restaurants are making their event debut this year, including Asador Bastian, an upscale steakhouse with Basque influences that was recently named one of this year’s best new restaurants across the country by Esquire magazine; Pompette, which recently garnered a 2023 Michelin Bib Gourmand nod; and Rose Mary, a popular West Loop restaurant marrying Italian and Croation flavors helmed by “Top Chef” winner Joe Flamm.

Among the restaurants returning represent a wide diversity of cuisines, such as Mima’s Taste of Cuba in Irving Park, Kizami Sushi in Lincoln Park, Rooh Chicago in the West Loop and Demera Ethiopian Restaurant in Uptown, to name a few.

“There is no better time than Chicago Restaurant Week to experience Chicago’s incomparable culinary talent and the cultural richness of our great city and its neighborhoods,” Lynn Osmond, president and CEO of Choose Chicago, the producing entity behind the annual culinary extravaganza, said in a statement.

Restaurant week gives people a chance to explore the city while celebrating local restaurants, Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said.

Powerhouse Chicago chef Dominique Leach giving it her all on Food Network’s ‘BBQ Brawl’

“Chicago Restaurant Week reflects the passion and vitality of our restaurant community,” Toia said. “Celebrations like this give diners the perfect reason to explore every single pocket of the city and finally get to that spot they’ve been wanting to try — all while bringing essential business to restaurants during Chicago’s winter season.”

For a full list of the restaurants and to make reservations, go to eatitupchicago.com.

Chicago Filipino restaurants are pushing the envelope of the cuisine

2023-12-01T14:31:59.609-06:00

Reimagined takes on traditional Filipino talong (clockwise, from bottom left), sisig and kare kare are served at Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Filipino restaurants in the city are increasingly finding themselves in the national spotlight due to their creative takes on dishes inspired by the flavors of their childhood.

Kasama in East Village, where chefs Tim Flores and Genie Kwon have a tasting menu with elevated takes on traditional Filipino dishes, has garnered plenty of national acclaim with a James Beard award and Michelin star this year.

Another Filipino restaurant sharing the spotlight is Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant, 4337 N. Western Ave., which is a 2023 Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient.

5 Chicago restaurants receive 2023 Bib Gourmand recognition

Chef and owner Joe Fontelera, who went to Kendall College and worked at restaurants like Japonais by Morimoto, and Arami, where he was executive chef before focusing on Boonie’s, wants all the dishes at Boonie’s to be “identifiably Filipino, even if the presentations are not what you’re used to, but I still want someone to look at a very neat, clean, high-speed presentation and [say] ‘that’s Filipino food!’,” he said.

An example of this would be kare kare, a rich stew typically made with peanut butter and oxtails with a spoonful or two of bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) to punctuate it with a salty note. Fontelera’s version swaps in the oxtails for braised beef tongue, soft and silky as butter left out at room temperature when you slice into it, with sunflower satti sauce and housemade bagoong.

Boonie’s version of kare kare — a traditional Filipino stew of oxtails in a peanut butter sauce — is made of braised beef tongue, sunflower satti sauce, long beans, eggplant and fermented bagoong (shrimp paste).

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Filipino food — born of a country that is made up of 7,000-plus islands — is hardly a monolith. A simple definition would be to call it “fusion” food due to the many influences from trade, colonization and occupation.

Dishes will vary from region to region; for example, adobo, a technique of braising food in vinegar, is largely considered the national dish of the Philippines but differs wildly depending on where you are in the country and even whose home you’re in. Most places use soy sauce; others do not. Some use chicken, pork, a mixture of both or neither (especially in the south where many Filipinos are Muslim and do not eat pork).

When it comes to Filipino food in the city, Fontelera said, “I feel like the bar definitely is getting a little bit higher, which I like. And I think that we’re just going to see more. I think we’re gonna see more representation from everybody.”

Boonie’s chef and owner Joe Fontelera poses at his Filipino restaurant. Behind him are photos of his family and childhood, including the house where he grew up that, coincidentally, is not too far from the North Center restaurant.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Lawrence Letrero, chef of Bayan Ko, which he owns with his wife, Raquel Quadreny, said a generation of chefs like himself and Fontelera honed their skills in other restaurants before opening their own Filipino restaurants in the city.

“The food was always excellent,” Letrero said. “There were just a few of us Filipinos that were going to culinary school who were a little younger, and we now have matured and have worked for other great restaurant groups … Now we can spread our wings and say, ‘Hey, we’re Filipinos. We’re gonna do Filipino food.’”

Chef Lawrence Letrero and his wife, Raquel Quadreny, are co-owners of Bayan Ko in Lincoln Square.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Letrero moved to Chicago in 2006 to go to culinary school and worked at restaurants like Perennial and Sable Kitchen and Bar before opening Bayan Ko, 1810 W. Montrose Ave., five years ago.

When he and Quadreny started dating, they would cook for each other, with Filipino and Cuban dishes sharing space on the table. They realized their food shared a lot of similarities such as ropa vieja, a stew with shredded beef, onions, peppers, olives and tomato sauce, much of which is also present in Filipino mechado.

The lobster fried rice served at the restaurant is an example of a dish that’s a nod to both Cuban and Filipino cultures.

“Cubans love fried rice. You go to a Cuban restaurant and it’s called arroz Chino. Then obviously Filipinos love fried rice, too,” Letrero said.

Bayan Ko’s version features tempura fried lobster tails on top of rice accentuated with longganisa (Filipino sausage), edamame, scrambled eggs and soy sesame butter.

Lobster fried rice served at Bayan Ko.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Bayan Ko reinterprets the classic bar food sisig, but instead of a large plate, Letrero makes it nigiri-style with pork belly and ear, black vinegar and quail eggs on top of sushi rice with a layer of nori.

Mano Modern Cafe, 851 N. Ashland Ave., also takes dishes that diners are familiar with and reimagines them with Filipino flair.

The best seller is breakfast, anchored by silogs, which are garlic fried rice dishes with eggs and a choice between Spam, longganisa or tocino bacon, a Mano specialty. Tocino is typically pork cured with a mixture of sugar, salt and annatto powder, and Mano puts its own twist on the breakfast meat by putting those seasonings on bacon so it gets a sweet, caramelized coating. The tocino bacon also makes an appearance on Mano’s cheeseburger.

From left, Melvin Reyes and Zandro Zafra are co-owners of Mano Modern Cafe, a casual Filipino restaurant at 851 N. Ashland Ave. in West Town.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Melvin Reyes, a chef from Cleveland who owns a Filipino restaurant with his brother and two cousins, oversees the food at Mano. He and Mano majority partner Zandro Zafra have big plans to expand the Mano concept in the Midwest.

“I want to put Filipino food on the map that’s accessible, higher quality, and pretty much dominate the Midwest. The plan is to have between 30 to 100 [restaurants] within the next five years,” Reyes said.

Mano Modern Cafe’s Tocino Bacon Cheeseburger features a twist on the traditional Filipino breakfast meat tocino.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Zafra ran Ctrl Z Coffee in Washington Park last year featuring Filipino-inspired coffee drinks like ube lattes. What the cafe didn’t have was Filipino food, giving him the idea to pair high-quality coffee drinks with equally high-quality fast food in a sit-down environment.

The ube (purple yam), pandan and White Rabbit (a creamy milk candy that is a nostalgic treat for many Filipinos) are made in house, Zafra said.

“People of our generation just want to have food that we normally eat, and remind us of our childhood and remind us of home,” said the 32-year-old.

Zandro Zafra, co-owner of Mano Modern Cafe, 851. N. Ashland Ave., holds the bestseller ube latte made with housemade syrup, espresso and milk.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Another restaurant inspired by home is Cebu, founded by a group of siblings who hail from the island of the same name in the Philippines.

Cebu’s cuisine has a lot of Chinese and Spanish influences, the latter especially prominent as it was the first island colonized in the country by the Spanish. Cebu the island is known for its lechon, pork usually slow roasted on a spit. At the restaurant, pork belly is seasoned with onion, garlic, lemon grass, star anise and a signature rub, then roasted and basted for three hours to ensure a perfectly crispy skin.

Lechon, traditionally pork from a roast pig, is a signature dish from the island of Cebu in the Philippines. Cebu the restaurant does its own take on the dish by slow roasting a Slagel Family Farm pork belly for three hours, seasoned with onion, garlic, lemongrass, star anise and a signature rub, and served with atchara (quick pickled vegetables), sauces and rice.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Another signature dish is gambas, shrimp sauteed in garlic and seasoned with banana ketchup, a Filipino staple, and oyster sauce.

“It’s a Spanish dish with Asian flavors,” said Marlon Tan, one of the partners.

Siblings (from left) Martin Tan, chef Malvin Tan and Marlon Tan are partners at Cebu in Wicker Park.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

His brother, Malvin, is the chef who draws on his knowledge of French technique to tweak dishes while staying true to the flavor of the original dish, like kinilaw, which is fish that has been “cooked” by acid, usually vinegar, and mixed with red onion and chiles. At Cebu, the dish is elevated with coconut-ginger espuma (the Spanish term for foam), bourbon barrel smoked trout roe and shio kombu.

Cocktails are also carefully constructed, such as the Smokin’ Cebu Later with La Luna Mezcal, tamarindo, Nixta Elote Calamansi and tonic water that is smoked.

Cebu is closing its Wicker Park location in December and reopening early next year in Lakeview in a larger space, allowing it to be even more creative with food and cocktails as well as add brunch, Tan said.

“The sky’s the limit in what Filipino cuisine could be in Chicago and hopefully ... Chicago will be well known for Filipino food in the U.S.,” Tan said.

“It’s a good future ahead.”

Sisig Nigiri is an elegantly plated twist on traditional Filipino sisig, served at Bayan Ko in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Cebu elevates tuna kinilaw with the addition of coconut-ginger espuma and shio kombu.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The Smokin’ Cebu Later cocktail is one of the many craft cocktails that complements Cebu’s modern regional Filipino menu.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Asador Bastian, Warlord among Esquire’s best new restaurants list

2023-11-28T17:40:36.92-06:00

The dining room at Asador Bastian is inspired by “the great asadors of the hills of the Basque region and as well as Chicago’s legendary chophouses,” according to chef and co-owner Doug Psaltis.

Hsing Chen

Esquire magazine has recognized two Chicago hot spots on its best new restaurants list, the magazine announced Tuesday.

Asador Bastian, a Chicago chophouse inspired by asadors of San Sebastián, Spain, is “one of the most exciting steak joints in America,” the website’s Kevin Sintumuang reported.

Of the restaurant, located in the Flair House — which was the longtime home of ad agency Flair Communications Inc. and its boss, Lee Flaherty, the founder of the Chicago Marathon — Sintumuang noted: “Stepping inside the elegant four-story townhouse that Asador Bastian is ensconced within feels like trespassing, but any impostor doubts subside once an ice-cold martini is handed to you in an oversized shot glass.”

Asador Bastian is a Chicago chophouse located in the Flair House at 214 W. Erie St, originally built in 1883.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time

Chef and co-owner Doug Psaltis said the townhouse location of the restaurant, which marries the classic Chicago steakhouse with a Spanish asador (or grill restaurant), gives diners the intimate experience of dining at home but not at home.

“If you’re looking to dine out, you’re able to do so in a very private way,” Psaltis said. “There’s no center bar with a huge chandelier over it or a catwalk or a crazy staircase to watch somebody enter. It’s a lot more private and you’re allowed to enjoy your space with your company.”

Specializing in “boutique beef,” the restaurant works with small farmers to source beef that is more than 40 years old, which is more than double the industry standard, Psaltis said. “We’re really able to procure some legendary things that I don’t feel are often presented in the steakhouse environment,” he said.

Some of the unique offerings include Galiciana beef imported from Australia and English Holstein that is dry aged in house for 28 days.

It’s the latest restaurant from husband-and-wife team of Psaltis and Hsing Chien, who also own Andros Taverna in Logan Square. Psaltis is a Michelin-starred chef who was a partner in several Lettuce Entertain You restaurants and co-founder of the Windy City Smokeout barbecue and country music festival. Chien is an Emmy-award winning journalist and pastry chef who has led pastry programs at high-end establishments like The French Laundry and Peninsula Hotels.

Warlord, 3198 N. Milwaukee Ave., is a late-night hot spot in Avondale where the focus is on food cooked by fire.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

At the buzzy late-night dining destination Warlord in Avondale, which doesn’t take reservations and sees long lines on a regular basis, Chefs Emily Kraszyk, John Lupton and Trevor Fleming “go to battle every night until 1:00 a.m., even on Mondays,” Omar Mamoon wrote in his Esquire report. “It’s loud. It’s packed. It’s rocking. Sit at the counter and watch the magic that happens when fire meets meat.”

There’s no sign on the restaurant and no menu posted on the website (its mystique is part of the appeal) but Warlord’s food is “focused on preservation and live fire,” according to its website.

“Order as much as you can stomach, and definitely get the foie gras — it’s basted in butter and sugar so it achieves a candylike shell, and it’s served with slices of chewy, smoky, vinegary marinated green tomato slowly dried over the hearth,” Mamoon noted.

In a statement to the Sun-Times, Fleming said, “We are humbled by the support for our expression of the craft. We are most proud of our team who show up tirelessly dedicated, knowing that there is no finish line.”

Warlord focuses on “preservation and live fire,” with the hearth a focal point at the late-night restaurant in Avondale.

Trevor Fleming

Esquire’s list includes 50 restaurants from across the country that the magazine’s staff “couldn’t stop dreaming about.”

Psaltis said he was “extremely delighted to be included in such a fantastic publication and alongside a lot of luminaries.

“For us, it’s really a great little nod and shows us some appreciation for the work that we’ve done and really sets the course for us to continue working hard to stay on par with other great restaurants.”

Trevor Fleming is one of three chefs who collaborate on Warlord in Avondale.

Sammy Faze

4 Chicago firefighters died on duty this year, the most in 25 years

2023-11-13T19:47:29.719-06:00

Chicago Fire Department personnel mourn the loss of firefighter Andrew “Drew” Price, 39. Price is the fourth firefighter to die this year in the line of duty.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Andrew “Drew” Price is the fourth Chicago firefighter to die this year, a number believed to be the most annual deaths in the department in a quarter of a century.

Both the total number and nature of Price’s death are unusual, fire officials said.

Price’s death “was due to a fall, and we haven’t had a fall injury like that in some time,” said Larry Langford, spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department.

Price was on the roof of a four-story building in the 2400 block of North Lincoln Avenue early Monday opening holes for ventilation when he fell through a skylight shaft, landing on the floor of the basement while battling an extra-alarm blaze, authorities said.

Price, 39, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died of “significant injuries,” Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said.

The fire department is still talking with other firefighters on the scene to get a better idea of what happened, but Langford said it appeared Price fell when his vision was impaired fighting the blaze.

“He just did not see where his footing was, and the visibility may have been the issue here, but everything points to the fact that it’s an accident due to not being able to see,” Langford said.

Langford said he didn’t know Price personally, but that he was known as a “funny guy” who was a “very caring, hard worker.”

“He did a lot of good at the academy, as far as an instructor is concerned. To be an instructor at the academy is going a little bit above and beyond. And he did that and served well in that capacity,” Langford said.

Different circumstances marked this year’s other line-of-duty deaths, Langford said.

Lt. Kevin Ward died in August from injuries he suffered more than two weeks earlier after he became trapped in the basement of a burning home near O’Hare International Airport.

Lt. Jan Tchoryk died of a heart attack while battling a blaze in a Gold Coast high-rise April 5 — one day after firefighter Jermaine Pelt died of smoke inhalation in a South Side fire.

According to the Illinois Fire Institute, the last time four firefighters died in one year was in 1998.

Patrick King and Anthony Lockhart, both 40, died on Feb. 13, 1998, after a fire at a tire shop in Beverly suddenly “flashed over,” according to a Sun-Times article. The fire was the deadliest for the department since February 1985, when three firefighters were killed in a Northwest Side blaze.

Firefighter Eugene Blackmon, 39, an 11-year veteran of the department, died after trying to save a man who was drowning in the Little Calumet River, according to a Sun-Times article published May 20, 1998.

And Capt. Thomas Prendergast, 56, a 31-year veteran of the department, suffered a heart attack while fighting a fire July 23, 1998, and died weeks later.

“It is very unusual to have four in-the-line-of-duty deaths in four separate fires within a year,” Langford said. “I don’t remember having four members in four separate incidents in a year [die in the line of duty]. I don’t remember that since I’ve been on the job, that’s been almost 25 years.”

“It hurts to the bone,” Langford said of the string of tragedies. “We’ve gone years and years at a time without any line-of-duty deaths or even serious injuries. [The recent deaths are] almost too much to take.”

National Association of Realtors CEO Bob Goldberg resigns, replaced by former Sun-Times CEO Nykia Wright

2023-11-02T17:51:12.275-05:00

National Association of Realtors CEO Bob Goldberg

National Association of Realtors

The National Association of Realtors’ longtime CEO Bob Goldberg is stepping down from the trade association more than a year before he was set to retire — marking an abrupt end to his 30-year career with NAR.

Goldberg had announced earlier this year he would retire when his contract expires Dec. 31, 2024. He will serve as an executive consultant during the transition, the trade association said in a statement Thursday.

“After announcing my decision to retire earlier this year, and as I reflected on my 30 years at NAR, I determined last month that now is the right time for this extraordinary organization to look to the future,” Goldberg said in the statement.

He did not specify what led him to resign now.

Goldberg “planned to announce his decision to accelerate his retirement on Tuesday but chose to hold off given the news around the outcome of the trial,” a spokesperson for NAR said Thursday, referencing a federal jury’s verdict that NAR and several large brokerages had conspired to artificially inflate commissions paid to real estate agents.

Critics have been pushing for his departure for weeks after The New York Times investigated allegations that former president Kenny Parcell, who resigned from his post in August, sexually harassed current or former employees and members of the Chicago-based organization. The NAR is also facing a series of court challenges that could upend how agents receive commissions on the sale of a home.

Nykia Wright, former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times and co-founder of SonicMessenger, has been appointed interim CEO, starting Nov. 20.

“NAR advocates for and empowers people who help families across America realize the dream of homeownership,” Wright said in a news release. “I am honored to join the organization at this important moment, when the opportunity to make a difference in the evolving real estate landscape has never been greater. I look forward to getting to work and partnering closely with NAR’s talented staff in the months ahead.”

Nykia Wright

Rich Hein/Sun-Times

Wright did not respond to requests for comment.

Wright joined the Sun-Times in 2017 as chief operating officer and became the CEO a year later. Wright, who left the newspaper in January, helped lead its transition to a nonprofit newsroom in 2022 when it joined Chicago Public Media, which operates public radio station WBEZ.

“Her deep experience driving organizational transformation positions her well to advance our strategy, vision and culture initiatives,” NAR President Tracy Kasper said in a news release.

Kasper, a Realtor from Nampa, Idaho, succeeded Parcell in August, though she wasn’t due to take over as president until 2024. At the time of her appointment, Kasper promised to “enhance the way we foster a welcoming, safe and respected workplace.”

Facing headwinds

Last month, a group organized in response to reports of sexual harassment involving the NAR called for Goldberg’s resignation, saying the CEO has swept complaints under the rug. It also called for other changes it said would protect employees and members.

Realtor Jason Haber of real estate firm Compass, who works in Florida and New York, led the effort calling for Goldberg’s ouster. He founded the NAR Accountability Project to press for reforms of what he called the association’s “toxic culture.”

Haber welcomed Thursday’s news of Wright stepping in as interim CEO.

“Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen the worst of NAR, and it’s our hope that she can bring out the best of it,” Haber said.

Chicago-based National Association of Realtors tolerates sexual harassment, alleged victims say

One of the reforms the NAR Accountability Project sought was the release of women from non-disclosure agreements that don’t involve trade secrets, and Haber said he hopes Wright will consider taking that action.

“Today’s news [of Goldberg stepping down] doesn’t change that there are a lot of women who should be able to speak their truth. And so I would encourage [Wright] as a way to change the culture at NAR, that this would be a huge step in the right direction. We know they have a toxic culture that needs to change.”

In September, the NAR announced it had retained Maggie Hickey, partner at ArentFox Schiff, to lead a task force that will review the NAR’s practices and recommend changes. The task force will help “to prevent inappropriate behavior, encourage reporting of alleged misconduct, and promote an environment of transparency and accountability,” the NAR said.

A spokesperson said Thursday NAR has also “established a new Culture Transformation Commission, which will gather insights from members, local and state association staff, and NAR staff and make recommendations on how we can transform our culture.”

Goldberg’s resignation comes two days after a federal jury ordered the NAR, HomeServices of America and Keller Williams Realty to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages after finding they artificially inflated commissions paid to real estate agents.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2019 on behalf of 500,000 home sellers in Missouri and some border towns. The verdict stated the defendants “conspired to require home sellers to pay the broker representing the buyer of their homes in violation of federal antitrust law.”

If treble damages — which allows plaintiffs to potentially receive up to three times actual or compensatory damages — are awarded, the defendants may have to pay more than $5 billion.

“This matter is not close to being final, as we will appeal the jury’s verdict,” NAR spokesperson Mantill Williams said in a statement. “In the interim, we will ask the court to reduce the damages awarded by the jury.”

Williams said it will likely be several years before the case is resolved.

The NAR has 1.5 million members who also are involved with about 1,200 local associations. It has an office in Washington, D.C., and its headquarters at 430 N. Michigan Ave. is also home to the Chicago Association of Realtors, one of its affiliates.

Contributing: David Roeder, AP

Illinois among 33 states sue Meta Platforms, alleging its business practices have harmed kids

2023-10-24T18:40:12.425-05:00

Meta Platforms’ headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

AP file

Illinois is one of 33 states joining a federal lawsuit against Meta Platforms, the company that owns the popular social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the federal district court for the Northern District of California, alleges the Menlo Park, California-based company has engaged in deceptive business practices that have “profoundly altered the psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans” and ignored the “sweeping damage” its social media platforms have had on kids.

“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens,” the complaint alleges. “Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its Social Media Platforms.”

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement Tuesday that “our children are in crisis.”

“The addictive features on Meta’s social media platforms interfere with sleep and education, enable cyberbullying, and contribute to depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm,” Raoul said. “I believe the action we are taking today against Meta is one of — if not the most — important consumer protection actions my office will take. The consequences will affect an entire generation of young people.”

Illinois is seeking an injunction to prevent violations of the Consumer Fraud Act, penalties up to $50,000 per incident of unfair or deceptive practices, and an additional $50,000 for each practice found to have been committed with the intent to defraud. The state is also seeking restitution to Illinois consumers, demanding that Meta give up profits that were illegally obtained and seeking reimbursement of its legal costs.

According to the complaint, Meta designed its social media platforms with features that keep young users on the platforms longer, such as infinite scroll, which loads content continuously. Meta violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting the personal information of children under the age of 13 without obtaining parental permission as required by that statute, the lawsuit alleges.

“We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families. We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” a Meta spokesperson said Tuesday in a statement.

Rose and Rob Bronstein said their son, Nate, is among those who have been harmed by Meta, which has “for far too long placed profits over children’s safety,” the Chicago parents said in a statement. Their son, a 15-year-old student at Latin School of Chicago, was cyberbullied by his fellow students and died by suicide in 2022.

Latin School student died by suicide after ‘increasingly cruel’ bullying ignored by adults, suit seeking $100M alleges

“These teens, blinded by the drive to get shares and views, and emboldened by features like self-deleting messages, relied on social media to send vile, threatening messages to Nate, leading to his tragic passing,” the parents said in a statement. “Reasonable people everywhere have long realized the danger that social media poses to our children, yet the unsafe features remain, and the harm continues, while the profits grow.”

Meta Platforms owns four of the biggest social media platforms, all with over 1 billion monthly active users each, according to Statista: Facebook, which has nearly 3 billion active users, WhatsApp with 2 billion, Instagram with 2 billion and Facebook Messenger with 1 billion.

According to a 2022 survey by Pew Research Center, while the number of teens who use Facebook has dropped drastically over the years, 32% of them use the platform. Instagram sees a higher percentage of young users, with 60% of teens surveyed saying they use the photo- and video-centric app.

About 35% of teens say they are using at least one of the top five online platforms: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook “almost constantly.”

The mental health impact of social media is a “serious public health issue complicating a serious mental health crisis” for children and their families, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Illinois CEO Alexa James said.

“Smartphones and social media are almost universally in every young person’s hand and have the capacity to deeply harm and exacerbate mental health challenges for young people,” James said.

Tuesday’s lawsuit stems from a bipartisan nationwide investigation launched in 2021 by Raoul and attorneys general across the country into Meta Platforms, examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk.

It’s the latest in a string of legal actions against the tech giant. Last year Meta settled a data privacy lawsuit involving Cambridge Analytica for $750 million, which came on the heels of another $650-million settlement that applied to just users in Illinois.

JFK assassination-era photos expected to fetch nearly $15K at auction

2023-10-06T05:30:00-05:00

This photo of John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting the casket carrying his slain father, President John F. Kennedy, was among the photos discovered by a Vernon Hills man who was going through his mother’s belongings while preparing for an estate sale. A pristine set of news photos is being auctioned by Christie’s.

Christie’s

A Vernon Hills man preparing for an estate sale found a trove of black-and-white prints that captured the period around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the four-day aftermath.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns, came across the binder containing the photos in his family’s garage last November after his father died.

The photos include the work of James W. Altgens. The Associated Press photographer was near Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas and captured what is believed to be one of the last professional photographs taken of Kennedy, according to Christie’s, as well as the only professional photo of the shooting as it was occurring.

The photos were part of a collection submitted for awards consideration in 1963 to Sigma Delta Chi, a journalism organization now called the Society of Professional Journalists.

The man who found the photos said he doesn’t know how the binder came into his mother’s possession, but he guessed it had something to do with her love of the president. She was a devoted supporter who volunteered on Kennedy’s 1960 election campaign. She also worked for Sigma Delta Chi, which had an office in downtown Chicago.

At first he thought it was a school project. But as he flipped through the binder, he saw high-quality black-and-white photos in “near-perfect condition” of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and of nightclub owner Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy.

There was also a typewritten document titled, “A Pictorial Presentation,” which described the photos that chronicled “the four tragic days that began when a cruelly-aimed bullet struck down the President of the United States.”

In this Associated Press photo, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shoots presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. It is among a collection of photos taken at the time of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963 in Dallas.

Christie’s

The photos are gelatin silver prints, a term to describe images created using the most common process for making black-and-white photos since the 1890s. Photos using this process have a smooth, even image surface. The Kennedy photos were printed from the negatives and are not a copy of a copy, the owner said, adding, “They’re the real deal.”

“That’s when I knew that this was something special,” the man said, and he reached out to Christie’s to find out more about their authenticity. The photos are on auction now on Christie’s website with a starting bid of $7,000 and are estimated to fetch between $10,000 and $15,000.

“I frankly found it to be a fascinating time capsule of a very tragic period in American history. And it’s a fascinating photographic record,” said Peter Klarnet, senior specialist of Americana, with Christie’s. He added that the photos include the “only professional photos of the assassination,” pointing out that these being “contemporary prints” from the original negatives that haven’t been touched up would be of particular interest to collectors.

“I’ve never seen an archive like this. And the fact that it’s submitted by the Associated Press, the best work they did on this, I think is a pretty compelling narrative,” Klarnet said.

The photo believed to be the only professional photograph of the shooting was taken after Altgens ran down the plaza toward the Elm Street overpass and captured on film the moment when Kennedy slumped forward in his seat with his hands to his throat after he was struck by the first shot.

As he prepared for his next photo, Altgens heard the next shot as another bullet hit the president, this time in his head. As the president’s limo started to race toward Parkland Memorial Hospital, Altgens photographed the moment Secret Service agent Clint Hill climbs onto the back of the car as the first lady appears to stand up. Kennedy was pronounced dead at the hospital not long after that.

Secret Service agent Clint Hill climbs onto the back of the presidential limousine as it speeds to a hospital after the shooting of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, in downtown Dallas. A high-quality print of this photo by James W. Altgens, part of the Associated Press’ submission for awards consideration, was discovered in a Vernon Hills garage in late 2022.

Christie’s

The collection also includes photos of Oswald right before Ruby fatally shot him point blank in the abdomen as Oswald was being moved to the county jail two days after the assassination. The photographer, Bob Jackson of the Associated Press, was honored with the Sigma Delta Chi award for news photography for these photos.

Other photos include one of Jacqueline Kennedy opening the door of a Navy ambulance after arriving from Dallas at Andrews Air Force Base. The president’s blood can be seen splattered on her dress and stockings. Another photo is of John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father as his casket leaves St. Matthew’s Cathedral on its way to the president’s final resting place. It was the younger Kennedy’s 3rd birthday.

These photos capture “these really poignant emotional moments, the sense of this incident,” Klarnet said.

The auction ends Oct. 19.

Britney Spears’ ‘infamous’ black Mercedes for sale for $70,000

2023-09-25T22:15:18.425-05:00

The black 2006 Mercedes Benz that Spears drove during a tumultuous period that saw her endure tabloid scandal after tabloid scandal is for sale for $69,998.

Provided

In 2007, all eyes were on Britney Spears “in the center of the ring just like a circus,” as the pop star put it on “Circus.”

And the black 2006 Mercedes Benz that Spears drove during that time is for sale. The car’s current owner, the Volo Museum in northwest suburban Volo, has listed it for $69,998.

During that tumultuous period, Spears endured tabloid scandal after tabloid scandal — including her controversial performance at the MTV Music Video Awards that drew brutal criticism at the time and bizarre incidents such as shaving her head before a judge placed the troubled singer under conservatorship.

“It’s probably one of the most photographed and videotaped cars in the world,” said Brian Grams, director of the museum, in a statement. “The car is infamous.”

Grams added: “She went through a lot, from psych holds to child custody battles and arrests. And a lot of what she went through, she went through with this car.”

Spears has since been released from conservatorship, which she was under for nearly 14 years, and is reportedly working on a comeback album.

For those looking for a piece of the star, the Mercedes boasts a 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 engine with a sleek black leather interior and low mileage at 29,268 miles. Minor damage from Spears’ accidents has been repaired.

“Of the celebrity cars we have owned,” Grams said, “this one rivals Princess Diana’s Rolls and Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Corniche. We will miss it, but look forward to making room for another new exhibit.”

Those interested may see the Mercedes at the museum, 27582 Volo Village Road, or online at volocars.com.

Black Restaurant Week highlights city’s ‘wealth of culinary talent’

2023-09-12T20:09:04.658-05:00

Donnita Flanagan began her business, Passion T Plates, during the pandemic and recently opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Auburn Gresham. She’s participating in Black Restaurant Week, a nationwide effort to support Black-owned restaurants.

Provided

During the pandemic, Donnita Flanagan, who worked as a property manager, began cooking and selling dinners out of her Auburn Gresham home while working from home to make extra money.

She would sell about 10 dinners, then 50, and sometimes lines would form down her block for people seeking her signature fried rice and pasta dishes.

When it became time to return to the office, Flanagan, 35, a self-taught cook, realized she liked working for herself and having more time at home with the kids. That’s when she decided to go all in on a food career, starting with a food truck and opening a brick-and-mortar location in June.

Fired up: Chicago pitmasters putting a culturally creative spin on barbecue

She said that before finding the spot for Passion T Plates at 3412 W. 79th St., she was often turned down when she tried to secure different locations, despite being in a solid financial position.

She felt she was seen as a risk to prospective landlords “because I’m a young minority.”

Flanagan’s challenge is what Black Restaurant Week seeks to address.

Now in its eighth year, Black Restaurant Week began in Houston as a one-week event and has expanded to about 15 different restaurant week campaigns, from the Bay Area and Southwest to the Northeast and Florida.

“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020,” Warren Luckett, founder of Black Restaurant Week, said in a statement. “Now, the price of food is soaring. From being overlooked for revitalization funds to inflation, most Black-owned culinary businesses cannot afford advertisements/PR/marketing to build awareness and attract consumers. That’s why we proudly do this for free — it’s peer-to-peer support for 10 or 14 days within each market and for the past eight years.”

Powerhouse Chicago chef Dominique Leach giving it her all on Food Network’s ‘BBQ Brawl’

Flanagan said she spends about $500 a month on advertising because that is what she is able to fit into her budget as a small business. By being a part of restaurant week, she said she’s already seen an increase in new customers, including some people from the neighborhood who didn’t even know she was there. She estimates there were about 30% new customers on Monday.

Passion T Plates’ Big Ben — a double fried Cajun fish Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a housemade sauce on a brioche toasted bun — is on special during Black Restaurant Week.

Provided

During the two-week event, Passion T Plates is offering a couple of specials for $10 each: the Big Ben, a double fried Cajun fish Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a housemade sauce on a brioche toasted bun; and Passion Rice, hibachi-style fried rice.

Chicago’s Black Restaurant Week, which began Sunday and runs until Sept. 24, features about 30 local restaurants. This year is the “largest campaign for Chicago,” Derek Robinson, the event’s managing partner, said. Over the four years it’s been in Chicago, nearly 100 restaurants have participated.

In Chicago, “there is a wealth of culinary talent,” Robinson said, noting the diversity reflected in this year’s lineup, including vegan, barbecue, soul food, Ethiopian and Jamaican.

FROM LEFT: Black Restaurant Week managing partners Derek Robinson and Falayn Ferrell and founder Warren Luckett.

Provided

While there are other Black restaurant weeks, including one in Chicago held in February, Robinson said that what sets this initiative apart is its nationwide reach and mission to go beyond the week or two the event is held.

After traveling to the various cities and noticing systemic challenges that minority-owned business faced, organizers established Feed the Soul Foundation. According to the National Restaurant Association, about 9% of restaurants are Black-owned. Restaurants that are part of the restaurant week can seek to be a part of a six-month program that provides business development support in the form of $10,000 to put toward marketing, human resources or franchising, Robinson said. Through the foundation, nearly $100,000 has gone to Chicago restaurants that are a part of the program.

“When we see there’s opportunities and resources for advocacy, grants, things of that nature, we’ve definitely tried to reach out to these restaurants as quickly as possible to make sure they are able to apply for those opportunities and also be able to participate in those activities as well,” Robinson said.

For Flanagan, who describes herself as a foodie who would go to featured Black Restaurant Week eateries to discover hidden gems, the opportunity to participate as an owner is “a dream.”

“I’d go to the different restaurants just to try places that I’ve never heard of. So to be in the position to actually be able to participate, like I’m smiling right now because it’s just awesome that I’m in a position to do something I always wanted to do.”

Chicago restaurants participating in Black Restaurant Week:

Bell Heirs BBQ, 704 W. 47th St.

Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat, 1143 N. Wells St.

Frontier, 1072 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Ina Mae Tavern & Packaged Goods, 1415 N. Wood St.

Kathryn’s Soul, 131 N. Clinton St.

Koto Hibachi, 258 W. 31st St.

Luella’s Southern Kitchen, 4609 N. Lincoln Ave.

Passion T Plates, 3412 W. 79th St.

Phlavz, 717 W. Maxwell St.

Rylon’s Smokehouse, 67 E Cermak Rd.

The SoulFood Lounge, 3804 W. 16th St.

Taylor’s Tacos, 1512 W. Taylor St.

Windy City Ribs & Whiskey, 67 E. Cermak Rd.

Yashicas Treats So Divine LLC, 1440 W. Taylor St.

For more information, go to: https://blackrestaurantweeks.com/midwest-black-restaurant-week/

Analyzing how White Sox, United Center handled shooting, Lil Durk gun sighting

2023-09-08T17:51:47.335-05:00

Two incidents seemingly involving guns in large public gatherings. Two different responses. Two different outcomes. But unanswered questions for both.

Near the end of his set on Aug. 12 at United Center, Lil Durk left the stage after his personal security team said it had spotted two people with weapons, according to police.

Not long after that, unconfirmed reports of a shooting swept through the center, sending more than 11,000 panicked fans rushing for the exits, yelling and fighting as they tried to leave.

“It was a stampede,” Christina Holt, who was injured in the melee, told the Sun-Times. “We were stepped on, walked on and knocked down.”

Christina Holt sits with her sprained leg a couple of days after the Lil Durk concert at United Center last month. Holt was injured protecting her nephews from a stampede after false reports of an active shooter panicked concertgoers at the show.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

No gun or shooter was found.

Two weeks later, two women were struck by bullets on Aug. 25 near section 161 of Guaranteed Rate Field during the White Sox game against the Oakland Athletics.

One woman, 42, suffered two gunshot wounds to the right leg, while another woman, 26, was grazed by a bullet in her lower abdomen.

Theories and rumors and unconfirmed reports have circulated on social media, but officials have released virtually no details about the shooting, including whether the bullets came from inside or outside of the stadium.

Stray bullet theory pushed by White Sox has 73-year history in nation’s ballparks

But regardless of how the two incidents unfolded, questions arose in both cases about how officials responded and what information, if any, should have been shared during the events.

Despite knowing two women had been shot at the White Sox game, officials didn’t alert the crowd or the players, and the game continued, although a post-game concert by Vanilla Ice was canceled. At the United Center, Lil Durk left the stage but there was apparently no announcement from stadium officials as to what happened or whether fans should leave; video from the scene showed one police officer with a long gun telling people in a concourse to clear out.

Part 2 😳 it’s bustin

Unconfirmed reports of a shooting/active shooter at the United Center during the WGCI Summer Jam/ Lil Durk 2nd show in Chicago .

CHECK ON YOUR PEOPLE 😳#chicago #lildurk #concert #fights #shooting #brawl #riot #bustin #explore #fyp pic.twitter.com/0iperUoo2z
— Boss Blaze (@BossBlaze1) August 13, 2023

Security experts contacted by the Sun-Times said while it’s difficult to evaluate the response to both incidents, they both raised further questions, including how officials quickly determined there was no active threat at the White Sox game and whether staff was prepared to handle the large number of fans fleeing the United Center.

“The ultimate and most important question to answer right now is for the police and the security to answer the question of, how did this happen?” said Art Lurigio, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University and a professor of criminal justice and psychology, who said the incidents at both venues were “very disturbing.”

Officials with both the White Sox and the United Center said security was a top priority, but declined to go into specifics on their protocols in these situations.

What we know — and don’t — about the White Sox game shooting

‘Lack of transparency’ cause for concern

With virtually no answers having surfaced in the more than two weeks since the shooting at the White Sox game, Lurigio said police have operated under a “shroud of uncertainty.”

“I am concerned with what appears to be an utter lack of transparency in the Guaranteed Rate shooting,” Lurigio said. He also said the explanation by White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf that shots came from outside the ballpark is “completely implausible.”

He said there are many variables that would affect the security response to a shooter, or reports of one.

“If you’ve identified a shooter, and you remove them from the scene, there’s no reason to stop the game and to instill more fear. The same is true about the [Lil Durk] concert. But if you don’t have a shooter in custody, the best practice is get out or hunker down.”

Steven Adelman, vice president of Event Safety Alliance, an international nonprofit that helps live event productions implement effective safety measures, said security guards should be trained to get everyone’s attention and position themselves by exit doors to let people out if they know an evacuation is going to happen.

He said the situation at the United Center was an “unscheduled self-evacuation” — which is logical because people will flee if they think they’re in mortal danger.

Adelman doesn’t fault the crowd for fleeing or the security team for how things initially unfolded.

But he does have questions for whether the stadium was prepared for a mass exit and how staff handled the crowd, included whether guards steered the crowd toward exits or less densely congested areas where people were safer. “Were there enough guest service staff, security guards or law enforcement officers who could help direct the crowd?” Adelman asked.

“ ... Did you have security guards standing there trying to attract the attention of the crowd so that the crowd would go out the doors as opposed to just standing there in stunned horror, or whatever people were doing?... Did you do those things?”

‘If it’s an obvious threat to life and limb, the game should be stopped’

According to police reports, police had requested to stop the White Sox game, but officials determined there was no immediate threat.

Lurigio said, “if there’s a public safety imperative, the police’s orders should supersede the decision making of the MLB or any other authority that has to do with a sport being played in the venue.”

He added, “If it’s an obvious threat to life and limb, the game should be stopped and the stadium should be cleared.”

But since the White Sox incident was a “highly ambiguous” situation, he questioned how officials concluded there was no active threat — as did Adelman.

Chicago police officers stand outside Guaranteed Rate Field on Aug. 25, 2023. Several weeks after the shooting, there are still few answers on how two women were shot during a game and where the shots came from.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere, AP Photos

“How was the determination made that there was no ongoing threat if they still didn’t know where the bullets came from?” he said.

If there truly was no ongoing threat, it’s understandable that they only emptied the section where the bullets hit and opted not to evacuate the entire ballpark, Adelman said, so as not to “invite the United Center scenario.”

Chicago teams give few details on security protocols

It’s unclear whether security crews in either incident followed protocols since neither the White Sox nor the United Center would give specifics on their security procedures.

“The White Sox work directly with Major League Baseball and law enforcement agencies to create response scenarios for a variety of possible events at the ballpark to maximize preparedness and the safety of our fans,” White Sox spokesman Scott Reifert said.

Officials with the United Center said in a statement that the venue “has plans in place for security related matters. These plans are constantly evaluated and evolve as needed to ensure the safety and security of our players, employees, and guests at the United Center, which is our top priority.”

White Sox players at the time said they were unaware of the shooting while the game was being played and said it was terrifying to think a gun might have made it past security. But left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who along with center fielder Luis Robert and pitchers in the left field bullpen were the players nearest to the scene, said he does not fear for his safety in the wake of the incident.

“I do feel safe,” Benintendi said Tuesday. “I mean, it never even crossed my mind that that would happen with the amount of security we have there.”

Other Chicago sports team said they also have safety plans in place but offered few specifics.

Officials with the Bears, whose home opener will bring more than 60,000 fans to Soldier Field Sunday, said they have protocols for different scenarios that may occur at the stadium.

Quinn Harris, Getty

Officials with the Bears, whose home opener will bring more than 60,000 fans to Soldier Field Sunday, said while they have protocols for different scenarios that may occur at the stadium, including gun violence, “it is our club policy not to discuss or disclose security measures or protocol.”

Defensive tackle Justin Jones said that he had “complete faith in our operation” to “keep stuff like that from happening,” but was shaken by what happened during the White Sox game, especially if it’s determined a gun was brought inside.

“You have to look at that operation over there, and see ... how that fell short,” he said late last month. “Because at that point, you are not only failing the fans, you are failing the players.”

Cubs left fielder Ian Happ told the Sun-Times “we have guys who travel with us and protect our families. Never had an issue at Wrigley, and I feel really comfortable about the people that we have around us.”

The Cubs do have plans in place at Wrigley Field in case of an active shooter, Cubs spokesperson Julian Green said. The security team also goes through exercises every year “to simulate threats and test protocols and procedures.”

Wintrust Arena utilizes the private security firm Monterrey Security in addition to uniform and undercover Chicago police officers in and around the building during every Sky game. Monterrey and the CPD have plans and protocols in place and have conducted active shooter drills.

Can teams learn from incident?

Still, any team that wanted to learn from the shooting at Guaranteed Rate Field would need clarity on the incident since the conflicting information stirs confusion over where the breakdown in security may have occurred.

Lurigio said the recent incidents don’t necessarily mean going to public events has become more dangerous but “it’s cause for concern because it’s going to create fear and fear is going to diminish the quality of life of residents in the city.”

The threat of a shooting at these events, or even the thought one could happen, has been made worse by the proliferation of guns in the U.S., Adelman said.

“If there weren’t so many guns in so many people’s hands, there would be fewer incidents, certainly like the one that happened at the United Center where there wasn’t even a gun,” Adelman said.

“But there’s such widespread belief that there could be. And it’s so top of mind for so many people.”

Contributing: Anne Costabile, Patrick Finley, Maddie Lee, Ben Pope, Daryl Van Schouwen