Afternoon Edition: Oct. 13, 2021

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with a high near 72 degrees as showers are likely. Tonight will also be mostly cloudy with a low around 63 and 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Tomorrow will be cloudy with a high near 70 and a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Top story

Timuel Black, historian, civil rights activist, dies at 102

Activist, educator, historian Timuel Black, the revered elder statesman and griot of Chicago’s Black community, was active in just about every major movement of any notable American era and spent the latter half of his life telling stories from our nation’s blueprint — in oral and literary form.

“I consider Dec. 7, 1918, a famous day in history,” the lifelong labor, political and civil rights activist said of his birth date as he reflected on his storied life at a celebration when he turned 100.

A retired sociology and anthropology professor with City Colleges of Chicago, a former Chicago Public Schools high school history teacher and a pioneer in the independent Black political movement who coined the phrase “plantation politics,” Mr. Black died Wednesday.

“I just can’t imagine life without him. He’s been so supportive and has been my protector, my confidante. I miss him already,” said Zenobia Johnson-Black, his wife of 40 years.

“Tim left his mark on this city, on his friends who knew him and on those who knew of him, and he would like for his legacy to be an inspiration to people who are trying to make this world a better place, because that’s all he tried to do,” his wife said.

The revered community leader and scholar was 102.

Maudlyne Ihejirika has more on the life and legacy of Timuel Black here.

More news you need

1. A 14-year-old girl shot and seriously wounded at a Bronzeville high school is recovering today in an intensive care unit, where she thanked well-wishers and called on the shooter to turn himself in. The gunman was waiting outside Wendell Phillips Academy and opened fire as a security guard opened a door to let students out yesterday afternoon.
2. Chicago Police Supt. David Brown has moved to fire an officer who allegedly threatened a man and used a racial slur during an arrest in 2019, records show. At the time of the incident, the officer was already embroiled in a lawsuit accusing him of tackling and beating a 15-year-old boy in 2018.
3. A newly unsealed federal racketeering indictment charges five alleged members of the O-Block street gang with the August 2020 Gold Coast murder of Chicago rapper “FBG Duck.” The 26-year-old artist — real name Carlton Weekly — was shot dead and two others were wounded in a targeted afternoon attack.
4. The family of Michael A. Craig, who was killed by a Chicago police officer during a domestic call last week, demanded yesterday that authorities turn over police video of the shooting. Serious questions remain about the deadly shooting, including whether Craig was even holding a weapon or threatening police, the family’s attorney said.
5. The federal criminal trial of Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson is on hold after a family member of the lead prosecutor in the case was hospitalized. Thompson had been scheduled to go to trial Monday, less than six months after a federal grand jury charged him with filing false tax returns and lying to the FDIC.
6. First Lady Jill Biden said she felt “right at home” today on day two of her Chicago visit, stopping at a West Side community college to learn about some of the programs offered and to talk about Latino identity. Her visit was part of events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends Friday.
7. Electric scooters will become a permanent part of Chicago’s transportation system — with “sidewalk detection” technology to protect pedestrians — under a two-year plan advanced today. An ordinance set for a City Council vote tomorrow allows the city’s transportation department to issue up to three licenses to scooter-sharing companies that could each deploy up to 2,000 scooters per day.
8. In other transportation news, officials today proposed to put a Metra platform east of Ashland Avenue in the Fulton Market area. The new station would improve connectivity to the Illinois Medical District, Kinzie Industrial Corridor, Fulton Market, the United Center and educational institutions.
9. The Portillo’s restaurant chain plans to raise up to $405.4 million in an initial public offering of its shares, the company said in a regulatory filing posted yesterday. Shareholders are being offered a 28% stake in a business that has grown during the pandemic.

A bright one

Chicago card game will punish trivia also-rans with a mean shot of Malört

A new trivia drinking game, The Chicago Handshake, arrived in area stores last week, and it’s designed to test your Chicago knowledge while punishing friends and family who lack the Chi-town guts to hold their own when it comes to all things Chicago.

The loser of each game has to down a Chicago Handshake — the nickname for a Chicago tallboy-style beer and a shot of Malört, the infamous liqueur that has been “weeding out the weak since 1933,” the company’s tagline says.

“There are some people who know they like the taste of Malört more than others, and for some, you’ll get that ‘Malört face,’” said Kyle John Hollings, the game’s art director. “The endgame is the funniest, because we all have our opinions of ‘Malört,’ and it’s always a great way to welcome people to the city.”

Daniel E. Bell/Transit Tees

The game features a “bartender” who serves as a judge during the game and can dole out drinks to players of their choosing.

When a player can’t remember the answer to a trivia question, which can range on everything from Chicago architecture to old Chicagoland commercial jingles, they receive a “fine” of one or two tokens. The first player to reach seven tokens must drink a Chicago Handshake.

The game also features various other times players must drink, and includes challenges like doing your best Chicago “super fan” impression or pontificating about your favorite slice of deep dish pizza.

Transit Tees, located in Wicker Park, produces a slew of Chicago-inspired products, including a CTA-themed board game and various city-themed puzzles.

Jason Beeferman has more on da game here.

From the press box

• Before the Blackhawks take on the Avalanche at 9 p.m. CT on TNT, hockey fans might want to tune into the network’s first pregame show as Charles Barkley will join the broadcast alongside Wayne Gretzky, Anson Carter, Rick Tocchet, Paul Bissonnette and host Liam McHugh.
• Annie Costabile on Sky guard Allie Quigley’s WNBA journey of resilience
• Tony La Russa says he wants to manage again in 2022.
• How did White Sox fans react to the disappointing end to the season? Madeline Kenney spoke to fans at the stadium yesterday.

Your daily question ☕

What is most underrated about your neighborhood?

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: Can a Cubs fan cheer for the White Sox or vice versa? Here’s what some of you said…

“Absolutely! We have enough to divide us. Growing up as kids, we played sports that taught teamwork and admiration for talent. The Sox bowed out this year, but they will be a contender for a long time. I look in the stands and see smiles. Need more of that in everyday life. Go White Sox.” — Dan Becker

“I for one cannot cheer for the Sox. I am a Cub fan through and through. I think the main reason I feel this way is because I have so many relatives who are Sox fans and they have been terrible through the years. My mom was a Cubs fan and I’m proud to follow in her footsteps. I am a Cubs fan not a Chicago fan!” — Jan Stammis

“Never. Like ‘Friday Night Lights’ — North Side vs. South Side. We weren’t even allowed to watch the White Sox on TV.” — Bob Allen

“Our teams are our teams but our home is our home and we support our own! Just like a family we protect our own and encourage our own, our home is our blood. We are all family first in this city!” — John J. Harnicker IV

“No! You’re talking about a city that trips out if somebody says they’re from Chicago and they live in Evanston. You’re expecting the North Side to cheer for a whole different team. I can’t wait to see people trip out when the Bears are playing in Arlington Heights and they called themselves the Chicago Bears.” — Chris McKellar

“A Chicagoan should cheer for all Chicago teams regardless. I’m a Chicago fan. I cheer for all of our teams to do well. Yes, I have preferences, but they don’t matter when a hometown team teaches the pinnacle of success.” — Sandra Ann

“Never. Any Cubs fan would never cheer for the Sox. Just saying.” — Rob Loureiro

“Nope. Not this Cubs fan. My loyalty is to the North Side. Never cheered for the Sox, never will.” — Nick Bacoulis

“Yes because it’s the same city and that’s whom the sports are really for. A fan of the game will have his team but can still cheer on another if their team is eliminated because they love the game.” — Muhammad Skinnard

“Longtime Sox fan here, but I am married to a longtime Cubs fan. Yes, Lori cheers for the Sox when they’re not playing the Cubs. She says she considers herself biSoxual.” — Dan Palmer

“If you’re John Cusack, who played Buck Weaver in ‘Eight Men Out,’ yes. If you’re just a fan who can’t stomach your favorite team losing, so you need to hop on your rival’s bandwagon, it’s just corny.” — Matt Rago

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