The ensemble at the Congo Square Theatre has unanimously decided to refuse to participate in any theater programming for the 2025 season until the head of the theater’s board has been removed.
Dawn Frances Reese, the current board chair, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Charles Montorio-Archer, who has served as interim executive director of the Black theater company since October, told the Sun-Times Thursday: “We have a respect for the ensemble’s professional pivot … if they’re deciding to not be a part of Congo Square Theatre Company, we respect their decision.”
Asked if he’d seek to have a different ensemble, Montorio-Archer said that he only found out on Wednesday about the ensemble’s intention to not participate in programming until Reese was removed and there hadn’t been “any full decision” about what next steps will be taken.
He said the board supports Reese.
“The board fully supports its leadership and remains committed to working with all stakeholders to continue our work which we find to be meaningful and transformative for the community that we serve,” Montorio-Archer said.
No date has been set for the board to meet with the ensemble, Montorio-Archer said.
Ensemble members, in a statement, said they have requested a meeting with the entire board acting as a neutral mediator to find a way forward, “but to no avail.”
“It is our hope that we can find a resolution and will continue to advocate for a productive and collaborative work environment so we can get back to the business of producing work that reflects the complexities of Black culture,” read the statement, which offered no specifics on why they wanted to oust Reese.
Congo has seen several departures this year, including the exit of Charlique C. Rolle as executive at the end of February.
Ericka Ratcliff stepped down from her role as artistic director in October, though she is still a member of the ensemble, which has 19 members, according to Congo Square’s website.
The ensemble had chosen two as-yet-unannounced plays for the upcoming season. The theater company does not have a home theater but performs at various theaters around the city.
The Cook County Department of Public Health’s new doula program aims to address maternal mortality and birth complications. While this goal is commendable, the implementation strategy overlooks a crucial resource: the existing network of experienced doulas serving local communities.
The stakes are high. The U.S. maternal mortality rate stood at 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births as of 2022. In Illinois, Black individuals face a maternal morbidity rate exceeding 1 per 100 live births — more than double the rate for white individuals. Birth justice-focused, culturally competent care is literally lifesaving.
Cook County plans to spend about $1 million annually through 2027 on a contract with Prism Health Care Services to hire 10 doulas. The selection of a suburban medical equipment provider without clear expertise in birth care or serving Black and Brown communities raises concerns about program effectiveness. The training approach for new doulas remains unclear, particularly regarding cultural competency and birth justice principles, and the choice of Prism Health Care bypasses numerous established nonprofit birth justice agencies and independent doula practitioners who have spent years building trust within marginalized communities.
The timing is particularly problematic as Illinois implements statewide Medicaid coverage for doula services. Rather than aligning with this initiative, Cook County’s separate program risks creating unnecessary administrative complexity and potential service gaps.
The path forward requires meaningful collaboration with established doula communities, directing resources to support existing programs and practitioners, and integration with the state Medicaid program. This program must build up, not bypass, the existing infrastructure of experience and trust in the Black birthing community.
SEND LETTERS TO: [email protected]. To be considered for publication, letters must include your full name, your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should be a maximum of approximately 375 words.
By partnering with established doula networks and providing sustainable funding to expand their reach, Cook County can create a more effective, culturally competent system of care that truly serves all birthing individuals equitably.
Mekazin Whitfield Alexander, co-founder and executive director of BA NIA Inc.; Star August Ali, founder and executive director of Black Midwifery Collective; Sonia Collins, co-founder and executive director of Sokana Collective
Sign of the times
It is a glaring example of the decline of American values that while Columbia College is scrapping its American Sign Language interpretation program, it is adding an online “beauty management program” to its offerings.
Richard Wetzel, Old Town
Trump keeps showing who he is
How interesting that now Donald Trump doesn’t have any problem abolishing the debt ceiling. Just one more example in the continuing list to demonstrate that this person has no principles other than what furthers his ego or wealth.
The horror of the next four years will only continue to grow. Too bad it will affect all of us and not just those who voted for him.
Peter Felitti, Ravenswood
Christmas isn’t about ostentatious displays
Honestly, I can’t think of anything that sums up the spirit of Christmas more than spending thousands of dollars on lights for your house.
Isn’t that what the holidays are all about? Showing how much more you can spend than a neighbor? Pathetic.
Mark Weiher, Chicago
Sending positive vibes to Chance
Sorry to see that Chance the Rapper and his wife couldn’t keep their marriage together, but the good news is that the parting seems to be amicable. Also, as Chance once observed as he hosted Saturday Night Live, “Sometimes the second-best is better than the first.”
Jim Bruton, Avondale
Who Trump values
Wait until Donald Trump’s supporters finally realize the people he intends to serve as president are the white and the wealthy. If you are not both, you’re nobody.
What is one supposed to do with the news that Sammy Sosa has finally, sort of, well, not really fessed up to being a juicer during his career?
One could celebrate it, patting him on the back for a better-late-than-never admission that many of the home runs he entertained Cubs fans with could have been, might have been, but possibly were not fueled by performance-enhancing drugs.
One could carry out a commemorative head-in-the-sand burial and continue to live in the comfortable fog that says Sosa and fellow cheater Mark McGwire “saved baseball’’ with their home-run race in 1998.
Or one could ask what a man always looking out for No. 1 wants from the statement he released Thursday, which acknowledged vague sins that would get rejected in any confessional booth for a lack of substance.
The answer to what Sosa wants can be found in the Cubs’ response to his statement.
“We appreciate Sammy releasing his statement and for reaching out,’’ they said in their statement. “No one played harder or wanted to win more. Nobody’s perfect but we never doubted his passion for the game and the Cubs.
“It is an understatement to say that Sammy is a fan favorite. We plan on inviting him to the 2025 Cubs Convention and, while it is short notice, we hope that he can attend. We are all ready to move forward together.”
Nobody loved the limelight more than Sosa did as a player, and nobody lived for the sound of cheering more than he did. The need for applause likely led him to PEDs in the first place, and it certainly led to Thursday’s statement. Love is what he’s after, though without strings of accountability attached.
“There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games,’’ he said in his statement. “I never broke any laws, but in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.’’
Judging by his outrageous home run totals from 1998 to 2003 – 66, 63, 50, 64, 49 and 40, respectively – he must have been “recovering’’ from injuries really, really hard. He says he never broke any laws during his career, so what is apologizing for, exactly? Steroids weren’t banned by Major League Baseball for part of his career, but they certainly were illegal on the street without a prescription.
During his heyday, when he and others were being scrutinized for out-of-whack homer totals, he joked that he took Flintstones vitamins. He’s still winking at us, folks. He’s saying he made mistakes, without saying exactly what those mistakes were. That’s vintage Sammy, too proud to go all the way with an apology, lest someone think him less than a god.
That stubbornness kept him and his 609 career home runs far, far away from the Hall of Fame.
The agreement to allow Sosa to attend the Cubs Convention feels like the result of a negotiation, as if lawyers on both sides argued about the threshold that would allow him back into the good graces of the franchise. I picture the Cubs opening the talks with the need for a steroids confession, and Sosa’s team countering with an offer of regret.
Done! say the Cubs, who don’t own property on the moral high ground.
Here is a player and an organization that deserve each other.
There is no doubt that Sammy was the show for the Cubs in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a star who lit up Wrigley Field like no one has since – and that includes the star-studded roster that won the World Series in 2016. When he sprinted to his right-field spot and saluted his fans, he had the attention of most everyone in the ballpark, including opposing players. When he came to the plate and took those mighty cuts, fans marveled at the distance the ball traveled when he hit it or at how much energy was expended when he missed it.
But it was all based on a lie. You had to suspend rational thought to believe that the tape-measure home runs were natural, and many people did. Now here we are, being asked to accept a low-carb apology. If the genius behind a Ponzi scheme admitted “mistakes were made” after claiming his innocence for 20 years behind bars, it would look something like this. Maybe a better comparison would be a bank robber who thrilled the public with his daring escapes suddenly confessing to an addiction to adrenaline but not to any crime.
Let’s remember Sammy for what he was.
When he was caught corking his bat in 2003, he said it was a big misunderstanding.
When he walked out on his team during the last game of the 2004 season, he said it was with manager Dusty Baker’s blessing.
When he appeared at a 2005 congressional hearing on PED use in baseball, he conveniently forgot how to speak English.
And now this.
That’s our Sammy. Remember that during the standing ovation for him at the Cubs Convention in January. The Ricketts family will be the first on their feet.
Nick Fuentes, a far-right streamer known for his racist, sexist and antisemitic views, claimed Thursday that he was the target of a “would-be assassin” who was fatally shot by police near his home in Berwyn after allegedly killing three people downstate.
Fuentes made the jarring claim shortly after his first hearing on a battery charge that stems from a bizarre confrontation last month outside the home, which had become a target for his critics after his address was leaked online in response to a controversial social media post he made.
The killer parked his car in front of my house and approached my door with his pistol drawn and what appears to be a crossbow. I was livestreaming at the time.
“Last night an armed killer made an attempt on my life at my home, which was recently doxed on this platform,” Fuentes wrote on the social media platform X. “The gunman carried a pistol, crossbow, and incendiary devices. I believe he intended to kill me. He is now dead. I am okay!”
Fuentes shared videos from a surveilance camera on his home’s porch that showed a person wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying what appeared to be a handgun and a crossbow. Fuentes said he was home at the time.
Citing police, Fuentes said “the would-be assassin committed a triple homicide in southern Illinois early yesterday before he arrived at my doorstep with his pistol drawn, calling my name.”
Fuentes’ account aligns with a statement released by Berwyn police saying officers responded to Fuentes’ block about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday for a call of a person with a gun. The gunman then ran into a home in another block, killed two dogs and ran into a yard in Fuentes’ block.
After the gunman disobeyed commands and began shooting at police, officers returned fire and killed him, police said. He was identified as John R. Lyons, a 24-year-old man from Westchester.
Lyons was wanted for a triple homicide in Mahomet, about 11 miles northwest of Champaign, Berywn police said. The earlier shooting happened about 9:40 p.m. at a home in the 1100 block of Riverside Drive, according to Mahomet police. The victims have been identified as Janis, Sara and Caleb Mason.
‘I’m not a white supremacist’
The troubling incident near Fuentes’ home came just a day before he was set to appear in court for the first time in a pending criminal case involving an alleged attack on another person who showed up at his door.
Fuentes, 26, faces a single misdemeanor charge for allegedly pepper-spraying 57-year-old Marla Rose when she went to confront him on Nov. 10 about a controversial social media post he made days earlier, according to court records and the victim.
“Your body, my choice. Forever,” Fuentes wrote on the social media platform X, an apparent reference to the “My body, my choice” slogan used by abortion rights supporters.
Fuentes’ home address was subsequently posted online, a move that he said put his safety at risk.
In a video that Rose recorded on her cellphone, Fuentes allegedly opened the door to his home after she rang a doorbell and immediately sprayed her with a substance believed to be pepper spray, then took her phone inside. Berwyn police later retrieved the phone.
Nick Fuentes in the doorway of his home. Marla Rose claims Fuentes pepper sprayed her and then pushed her down his front stairs.
Police body camera footage shows that Rose called Fuentes “a white supremacist” as she described the alleged attack to a responding officer. She also claimed that Fuentes pushed her down his front steps — an account that was backed up by a witness who also decried Fuentes’ views.
Fuentes later told the officer that he had been the victim of a dayslong harassment campaign over the online post, which he described as “a joke.” When the officer asked whether he was in fact “a white supremacist,” Fuentes flatly said no.
“I’m not a white supremacist,” he said. “I’m Mexican, my last name’s Fuentes.”
The officer appeared to caution Fuentes to tread lightly with his rhetoric, noting the current political climate. “Especially right now after Trump won,” the officer said, referring to the re-election of President-elect Donald Trump, who was slammed for inviting Fuentes to dinner with the musician Kanye West in November 2022.
“We also live in a free country where you can speak without people showing up and trying to hurt you,” Fuentes shot back. “I’m in fear for my life, people have been posting my address online for the past three days telling me they’re coming to kill me, they’re coming to rape me.”
During the interview, Fuentes declined to discuss the incident and said “no comment” when he was asked whether he pepper-sprayed or shoved Rose. However, he acknowledged in a prior 911 call that he had pushed her down his steps, insisting again that he had been facing harassment and death threats.
Rose filed a complaint with police and Fuentes was arrested and charged on Nov. 27. He was released on his own recognizance with a summons to appear in court on the charge Thursday. Fuentes, his attorney and Rose each appeared for the brief hearing via the live-streaming service Zoom before Judge Shawnte Raines-Welch at the Fourth District courthouse in Maywood.
The judge informed Fuentes of his rights and the standard conditions of his pretrial release, including that he not commit any new offenses and that he appear for each subsequent hearing.
The judge further ordered Fuentes and Rose not to have contact with each other while the case is pending. A status hearing for Jan. 16 was set for prosecutors to provide Fuentes’ attorney with discovery. Simple battery, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine.
A small group of demonstrators who appeared to be holding homemade signs critical of Fuentes were seen outside the courthouse, but they left before the hearing took place after learning Fuentes would not appear in person.
A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said Fuentes was allowed to appear remotely after Berwyn police told the sheriff’s office about “potential security concerns surrounding Mr. Fuentes’ in-person hearing.”
After the hearing, Fuentes decried having his home address leaked and said he would now have to move. He asked for donations in cryptocurrency to help him pay for private security and build a new studio for online streaming.
“This nihilistic lynch mob behavior must end before anyone else is killed,” said Fuentes.
Star wide receiver Davante Adams hasn’t been part of the Bears-Packers rivalry in years, but the vitriol is still there.
Adams, who was reunited with ex-Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the Jets this season, scorched the Bears this week on an appearance on the “Up & Adams” show and said he’d rather retire than play for them.
“On my last days in this league, after all I’ve been blessed with, I will not be going to Chicago,” he said. “I respect everyone I play, but I’m not playing for the Bears, no.”
Adams is a three-time All-Pro who built most of his Hall of Fame-worthy career with the Packers from 2014 through ’21. The Packers went 14-2 against the Bears in that stretch, and Adams lit them up with 81 catches for 1,024 yards and 10 touchdowns in those games.
He’s still laughing about it.
“Playing the Bears, we didn’t worry, ‘Are we going to win the game?’” Adams said. “We were thinking about how crazy we were going to go: ‘Can I set a record? Can I score twice?’ It was like that type of feel.
“Not to be disrespectful, but it’s just naturally, as a Packers player, you hate the Bears. We have respect for every team you play. You just don’t respect them to the level of they’re a top-tier team that can compete with us. We went in to it ready to steamroll them and hopefully have the best game of the year.”
He also pointed out that the Packers, who are closing in on their 13th playoff appearance in 16 seasons, have long been “a winning organization, and the Bears haven’t. They’ve been on the other side of that for so long.”
The Bears are 4-10 heading into their game against the Lions on Sunday and haven’t had a winning season since 2018.
I won’t say you’ll never again taste the knee-weakening pleasures of a gooey Philly masala cheesesteak after Monday, but it might be a long time before you get another chance. And this is from the source, so don’t say you weren’t warned: right after Christmas Sheal Patel is embarking on a heroic two-and-a-half-week cook’s tour […]
The post It’s bon voyage for Dhuaan Barbecue Company at the next Monday Night Foodball appeared first on Chicago Reader.
For Christmas, why not give the gift of summer music festival anticipation?
Tickets go on sale Friday for Riot Fest, the annual concert-carnival combo that’s now back at its longtime home in Douglass Park.
Sales begin at 10 a.m. at riotfest.tixr.com/riotfest2025. Three-day general admission passes start at $249.98, and pricier packages include such perks as expedited entry, premium viewing areas and shaded seating.
No acts have been announced for the 20th anniversary festival, set for Sept. 19-21, 2025. Riot Fest is known for its band reunions, its Ferris wheel and wedding chapel and its obsession with John Stamos.
Tickets have yet to go on sale for Chicago’s biggest summer fest, Lollapalooza, and none will be offered for the long-running Pitchfork Music Festival, which last month announced it was pulling the plug on the 2025 event.
Once upon a time, the Bears’ offense seemed invigorated when Brown was promoted to offensive coordinator after Shane Waldron was fired following a dreadful 142-yard offensive performance in a 19-3 loss to the Patriots on Nov. 10.
In NFC North games against the Packers, Vikings and Lions, the Bears averaged 363 yards per game and 5.5 yards per play. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, whose performance regressed in the final three games under Waldron — 50.5% completions, 156 passing yards per game and a 64.7 passer rating, was much improved. He completed 64.1% of his passes for 275.7 yards per game and a 99.2 passer rating in three games under Brown.
The offense’s reaction to Brown’s promotion likely encouraged the Bears to name Brown the interim head coach when Matt Eberflus was fired following the 23-20 loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.
The Bears as a team have not responded with Brown in charge — outscored 24-0 in the first half in a 38-13 loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium; and outscored 13-0 in the first half in a 30-12 loss to the Vikings on Monday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
But the offense has declined as well in two games with Brown calling plays from the sideline as head coach instead of in the coach’s booth as the offensive coordinator. The Bears are averaging 223 yards per game and 3.9 yards per play against the 49ers and Vikings. They were 1 for 12 on third-down conversions against the Vikings.
“I couldn’t tell you if it was a correlation,” Williams said when asked about the downturn coinciding with Brown’s added responsibilities and move to the sideline. “I think he’s calling the game the same way as he would then. I think he’s still getting the plays in fast. Still calling the same plays he would’ve called. I think we just have to execute.”
The Bears will get an opportunity to regain that early Brown groove against a depleted Lions defense Sunday at Soldier Field. The Lions have six Week 1 starters on injured reserve after defensive tackle Alim McNeil and cornerback Carlton Davis were injured in a 48-42 loss to the Bills on Sunday at Ford Field.
The Lions still are ranked seventh in the NFL in points allowed, but they were second when they faced the Bears on Thanksgiving. Since then, they’ve allowed 23 points in the second half against the Bears, 31 points against the Packers and 48 against the Bills. The Lions, in fact, have allowed 13 touchdowns in 25 drives in that span. They had allowed no touchdowns in 30 drives over their previous 12 quarters.
It remains to be seen if the Bears can take advantage of that dramatic downturn. But they know they’ll very likely have to. The Lions lead the NFL in scoring (32.8 points per game) and scored 34 points against the Packers and 42 against the Bills since playing the Bears at Ford Field.
“Obviously you’re going to have to score points, because they lead the league in points, so you can’t dig yourself a hole,” interim offensive coordinator Chris Beatty said. “They’ve got some personnel issues over there. So we’ve got to figure that out quickly … and get our guys in position to play fast at the start of the game.”
NOTE: Running back Roschon Johnson cleared concussion protocol and had full participation in practice Thursday. Left tackle Braxton Jones (concussion) also had full participation, but has not cleared protocol. Defensive end Darrell Taylor (shoulder) had full participation.
Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter (knee), left guard Teven Jenkins (calf) and guard/center Ryan Bates (concussion) did not practice.
Proponents of moving Connor Bedard to the wing usually circle back to one crucial argument: He’s unacceptably bad at faceoffs.
On the other hand, Bedard is most comfortable at center and able to impact the game most at center. Considering he’s the Blackhawks’ best player, they want him to impact the game as much as possible.
So Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen has implemented a relatively simple solution: Keep Bedard at center, but have his wingers take the majority of the faceoffs. In those cases, Bedard lines up as a winger but functions as the center once play begins.
Ex-coach Luke Richardson also experimented with that approach, but Sorensen — who emphasized Thursday that he “really likes [Bedard] in the middle” — has committed to it. Removing most of Bedard’s faceoff responsibilities allows him to play more freely elsewhere, captain Nick Foligno said.
“Center is a lot to manage as a young player, and then on top of that [are] the faceoffs,” Foligno said. “Bedard is learning on the go, and he’s done a great job. He’s had to process a lot, not just faceoffs but [also] the best teams’ defensive guys against him every night.
“We’re trying to handle the workload as best we can. As he gets up to speed on faceoffs and things like that, I’m sure more responsibility will come to him.”
Faceoffs are unquestionably Bedard’s biggest weakness. Entering Thursday’s game against the Kraken, his 30.0% faceoff percentage ranked last out of 166 forwards league-wide — by a margin of nearly five percentage points.
Bedard pointed out many young players struggle with faceoffs, and to his point, even the NHL’s top two draw-takers this year — Claude Giroux and Aleksander Barkov — were below 50% early in their careers. Meanwhile, Ducks center Leo Carlsson (drafted the pick after Bedard two years ago) and Devils center Jack Hughes (whom Bedard is often compared to) are also both in the bottom 10.
But the fact Bedard has actually gotten worse in the circle since last season, when he won 38.9% of his faceoffs, is strange and concerning. Sorensen is correct about faceoffs being a team-wide problem, too. The Hawks ranked 31st in the NHL at 43.1% entering Thursday.
Since the coaching change, Bedard has gone from 8.0 to 5.5 faceoffs per game. In terms of defensive-zone faceoffs — the most high-leverage type — he has gone from 2.7 to 1.2 per game. At this point, he generally only takes draws on the right side — his strong side as a right-handed shot — in the offensive and neutral zones.
Bedard’s current linemates, Foligno and Ryan Donato, now largely handle left-side and defensive-zone faceoffs for him, with Jason Dickinson also occasionally coming on specifically to take draws in the defensive zone. Foligno and Donato are both left-handed and have won 51.7% and 45.1% of their faceoffs this season, respectively.
That strategy worked to perfection Sunday against the Islanders; Donato won a left-side offensive-zone faceoff with 1:05 left and Bedard scored the game-winning goal 11 seconds later.
When Bedard does line up for a faceoff, the Hawks encourage him to maneuver aggressively toward favorable positions before the linesman drops the puck. Foligno has told Bedard to “cheat like crazy” because it’s not a problem if he gets tossed and Foligno or Donato has to take it instead.
“That’s a big part of faceoffs: Whoever is cheating more has the advantage,” Bedard said with a chuckle. “If I get kicked out, it’s not like it’s a huge deal.”
This situation might sound complicated, but it gives Bedard specifically less to worry about, allowing him to focus on developing as a center in other regards. And he has indeed looked more effective and dangerous in recent weeks, racking up seven points in six games under Sorensen so far.
Jason Lieser and Mark Potash break down how it all went so wrong for the Bears, what to do about Tyrique Stevenson in 2025 and more. Plus, a look ahead to the Bears-Lions game Sunday at Soldier Field.
New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify and Pandora.
Johnson called Williams talented, but the same can be said of the 38-year-old coordinator whose offense has scored the most points in the NFL.
The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ home game Sunday against the Lions (noon, Fox 32).
One key question for their defense is whether it can force Lions QB Jared Goff into bad decisions, which didn’t happen when they met at Ford Field last month.
