Bridgeport

White Sox

White Sox fans keep Opening Day traditions alive: 'Something that'll last me a lifetime'

Fans, some in costume, tailgate in the parking lots of Guaranteed Rate Field hours before the White Sox and Detroit Tigers kick off the 2024 seasons Thursday afternoon. Some weigh in on the proposed South Loop stadium.

By Mohammad Samra

Crime

Ex-boyfriend of daughter of failed Chicago bank executive guilty in death of her fiancee in San Diego

Amy Gembara’s ex-boyfriend was convicted this week in the 2021 killing of her fiancee. Amy’s father, John Gembara, the late CEO and president of Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Bridgeport, was found dead in 2017, shortly before the bank failed.

By Kade Heather

Patricia Daley Martino and Peter Martino

Obituaries

Patricia Daley Martino, oldest member of Chicago's storied Daley family, dies at 86

The oldest child of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley and sister of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, Mrs. Martino, 86, died Saturday, according to a death notice.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

Transportation

CTA to spend $6.5M on spring cleaning for rail and bus stations

The CTA plans to repair and improve 13 rail stations and three bus turnarounds this spring as part of the Refresh & Renew program. Advocates worry the program doesn’t go far enough.

By Audrey Hettleman

Kaylee Huang (center), who is in the seventh grade at Robert Healy Elementary School, performs with Janet Mei (right), a sixth grader, during a Lunar New Year celebration at Robert Healy Elementary School in the Bridgeport neighborhood, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024.

Education

Chinese traditions kept alive in CPS’ annual Lunar New Year performance

The Lunar New Year performances at Robert Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport — held annually for at least 30 years — are so popular that parents come back even after their children leave for high school.

By David Struett

White Sox

Here’s what a new White Sox ballpark in the South Loop could look like

New details have emerged of the plan for a new South Loop stadium, as well as what the team’s current Bridgeport home, Guaranteed Rate Field, would look like if converted to a soccer stadium.

By Fran Spielman

This overpass along Webster Avenue on the Kennedy Expressway was built in 1958.

How Chicago’s expressways were born — and furthered segregation

By Susy Schultz, Richard Cahan, and 1 more

William “Billy” Mahon walks in to the Dirksen Federal Building ahead of his sentencing Wednesday for his role in the collapse of Washington Federal Bank for Savings.

William Mahon, City Hall insider under 3 Chicago mayors, gets 18 months in prison in crooked Bridgeport bank scandal

By Tim Novak

William Mahon walking out of the Dirksen Federal Building after pleading guilty Aug. 7 to charges in connection with the failure of Washington Federal Bank for Savings.

In crooked Bridgeport bank failure case, City Hall insider under 3 mayors faces a reckoning

By Tim Novak

White Sox

White Sox ‘give back to the kids’ at Boys & Girls Club in Bridgeport

Chicago White Sox Charities has a long relationship with the organization. “I wanted to stay up there longer and hang out with them,” Sox shortstop Paul DeJong said.

By Daryl Van Schouwen

The 78, an undeveloped parcel of land at Clark Street and Roosevelt Road, just south of downtown Chicago.

White Sox

South Loop would get more than a new White Sox stadium — think residences, a hotel, restaurants and more

Ald. Nicole Lee’s 11th Ward includes Bridgeport, where the Sox have played for more than a century. But after she was briefed Friday night, she said the plans for The 78 looked too good to pass up, though “it breaks my heart to think that the team could go anywhere but stay on 35th Street.”

By Fran Spielman and David Roeder

Brian Boonstra wears a yellow plaid winter jacket as he asks his reddish curly-haired dog to turn around while they walk through snow at Cotton Tail Park on Jan. 18, 2024.

White Sox

South Loop mostly optimistic about prospect of White Sox moving in

Some balk at the idea of introducing more traffic and congestion; others are thrilled the long-empty lot known as The 78 could be filled to breathe new life into the neighborhood.

By David Struett and Mohammad Samra

White Sox

White Sox in ‘serious’ talks to build stadium in South Loop’s ‘The 78’

The team is considering building a stadium at the Clark Street-Roosevelt Road site, sources say. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf would say only, “We met to discuss the historic partnership between the team and Chicago and the team’s ideas for remaining competitive in Chicago in perpetuity.”

By Fran Spielman, Tim Novak, and 1 more

Jermaine Anderson, executive director of I Am A Gentleman, shakes hands with James Soto. Soto and his cousin, David Ayala, second from right, served 42 years in prison for a double slaying that they did not commit. I Am A Gentleman provides clothing and grooming services for high school seniors and men who are reentering the workforce.

News

Exonerated after 42 years in prison, two cousins look forward to fresh start in 2024

David Ayala and James Soto, wrongfully convicted of a 1981 double slaying in Little Village, get new suits from Project Gentlemen Image & Grooming Studio in Bridgeport.

By Phyllis Cha

Crime

Man killed in Bridgeport wreck after crime spree involving sexual assault, robbing 5 people at knifepoint

The suspect held three victims at knifepoint, kidnapped them and robbed a store before crashing a car, police said.

By Mary Norkol and Violet Miller

Crime

Body found in trunk of burning car in Bridgeport identified as 15-year-old boy

The teen died from a gunshot wound to his neck and chest, and his death was ruled a homicide, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. No one is in custody.

By Sun-Times Wire

Entertainment and Culture

Renovated Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport to reopen with New Year’s Eve dance party

The former movie palace is set for its public debut after an upgrade that cost nearly $40 million.

By Mitch Dudek

A Brackenbox dumpster on North Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park.

In crooked Bridgeport bank case, investigators are looking into longtime city contractor

By Tim Novak

Cerrado durante casi 40 años, el sitio en 3520 S. Halsted St. primero abrió sus puertas en 1929 como un ornamentado cine de una sola pantalla.

Entertainment and Culture

Quincy Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper new owners of Bridgeport’s Ramova Theatre

“My mother always taught us to take care of home first, so to support the rehabilitation of this extraordinary theater with such a rich history in Chicago means more to me than one could imagine,” Hudson said.

By Miriam Di Nunzio

Edward H. Gobbo outside his home. His bankruptcy saw him get out of having to pay $4 million he owned on loans from Washington Federal Bank for Savings. One month after getting out of bankruptcy, Gobbo again was getting the first of what ultimately was millions of dollars more in loans from the Bridgeport bank that ended up being shut down for fraud.

Client of crooked Bridgeport bank got out of $4 million owed by going bankrupt, then got millions more in loans

By Tim Novak and Robert Herguth