Chicago Defender Charities holds grand opening at new Wellness Homes of Chicago facility
A ribbon cutting was done at the new facility, which is a partnership between Chicago Defender Charities and Wellness Homes of Chicago and is located at 1823 West 47th Street, in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the city's Southwest Side.
Decades of memories come alive at James Ward Elementary School's 150th anniversary celebration
The facility provides primary care, behavioral health and preventative services, and it also includes a pharmacy.
Dr. Maurice 'Mo' Brownlee, CEO of Wellness Homes of Chicago, says the new facility is specifically tailored to meet the needs of community members in and around Back of the Yards.
Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines
'You have a person who's working at McDonald's who cannot get off in time. So we open late. A person who needs weekend hours, we provide those services,' Brownlee said. 'We want people to live longer in this zip code. It is unfair that … your life expectancy is 5% less (in this) zip code.
'That stops today, and it stops today with the Wellness Home at Back of the Yards.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
More than country roads: How Rich Rodriguez made his way back to West Virginia, and made up with most (not all) of the fan base
GRANT TOWN, W. Va. — In January, at the request of the townsfolk here, Charlie Rosic found himself digging for a street sign in the city's storage room. Buried beneath some boxes and covered in dust from more than a decade of abandonment, the town's mayor successfully unearthed the relic. The sign is simple and small, about only 18 inches across. In green font against a white backdrop, four words scrawl across its face. HOME OF RICH RODRIGUEZ No picture. No message. Not even a punctuation or nifty design. Perhaps it is more than enough that the sign has reappeared at all. In 2007, after Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia for Michigan, the folks here vandalized the original, more grandiose sign that marks his birthplace. 'They tore it down and destroyed it. We don't know who did it or where it is,' Rosic said. 'When Mr. Rodriguez left in his midnight runaway, there was a bunch of people mad at him.' Earlier this year, Rosic, like any good mayor, followed the instruction of his constituents: They wanted the smaller sign restored to its rightful place upon the rehiring of Rodriguez last December in Morgantown. Now, at the town's eastern entrance, along Paw Paw Creek Road, is a reminder of this tiny municipality's most famous native son. And, yes, Rich Rodriguez himself has heard the news. 'They took that son of a bitch down,' he says with a laugh, 'and then they put it back up!' Welcome home, Rich Rod. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] He's back, returning to a place he left some 17 years ago in a messy divorce that featured dueling lawsuits, hurt feelings, broken promises and, now years later, public acknowledgements of regret. Time heals wounds — at least most of them. Grant Town's restoration of that sign is emblematic of a state that has forgiven, but not forgotten — something Rodriguez has learned in the first nine months back. During spring speaking engagements and summer tours across the state, he's made clear at least one thing. 'It was a mistake to leave,' he says in an extended interview with Yahoo Sports in his office. 'I shouldn't have left.' This is a love story gone bad — a man who felt unfairly vilified by his own people; a people who felt cruelly betrayed by a man. Seventeen years later, they are reunited, both seeking the same successful results as their previous time together. 'When it works, it'll be one of the all-time great redemption stories,' athletic director Wren Baker said. Rodriguez describes his 17 years away from here as a sort-of nomadic venture, almost a tour of duty, the consequence of leaving home. Six different jobs. Six different states. The Upper Midwest. The Arizona desert. The hills of north Alabama and Mississippi, swamps of Louisiana and even a Pacific island. 'I'm like Forrest Gump,' he says with a chuckle. Rodriguez smiles and laughs through the pain. There is a deeply rooted emotional element at play here. A man lost his home state, most of the 1.8 million people in it, many of them hard-working, blue-collar country folk whose pedigree is much like his own — a father and grandfather whose coal-mining careers led to lung complications and death later in life; a shrinking hometown forever changed from mine closures. He didn't visit this state often during his time away, perhaps too busy, perhaps too difficult emotionally. 'I think it truly did hurt him,' said Tony Caridi, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Mountaineers. 'I think it was one of the reasons why he wanted to come back. 'Let me go back there and fix this thing.'' Similar to that destroyed sign in his hometown, many references to Rodriguez on campus disappeared. The head coach of the most successful stretch in school history — 32 wins and three top-10 finishes from 2005-07 — grew more difficult to find. That includes within the new football facility, says Rhett Rodriguez, Rich's son and his quarterbacks coach. 'This is the only mention of him in the entire building,' Rhett said while gesturing to some wall art with a caption that includes the coach's name. 'It's almost like he was blackballed in the state.' Rich noticed it this spring while walking recruits through the program's hall of trophies. A timeline of key WVU football moments somewhat breezed over his tenure. Says Rich: 'The recruits were like, 'So, Coach, what again did you used to do here?'' Back like he never left? Not exactly It's Taco Tuesday in the West Virginia football facility and Rich Rodriguez is loading up: four taquitos with chocolate sauce and a pair of overstuffed beef and chicken flour tortillas. A man's got to eat, after all, especially in the midst of preseason camp. Things are going about as well as expected through the first 10 days, Rodriguez says, if by well you mean that he's learning everyone's names. West Virginia has 74 new players, a whopping 50 from the transfer portal — the second-most in the FBS. The team returns two starters — two! — from last year. Often asked how he feels about the team, Rodriguez tells what he believes is the honest truth: I have no idea. 'He's building a company with nobody he knows,' said Dave Alvarez, a longtime West Virginia booster who is from the state and is close to Rodriguez. 'I think he can do it. Nobody works harder. A wheel barrel won't move unless you push it, but if you do, it'll haul a hell of a load. He knows how to push them. 'Can we win this year? S***, I don't know. I believe it won't be for a lack of hard work.' Rodriguez is 62 years old now, but he's still that fiery, demanding man who won 60 games in seven seasons here, the coach who claimed four conference titles and had the Mountaineers on the brink of playing for it all (he's still the nation's leader in all-time wins without a national championship). This time around, everyone is just a bit older; college athletics is a bit altered; and, oh yeah, there are two new traffic circles in Morgantown since Rodriguez last left, he says. For all the changes, so much around him is the same, like his secretary, Lori, equipment manager Danny and sports information director Monty. Six coaches on his staff either played or coached for him in his first stint here and two of his staff members are his children: son Rhett and daughter Raquel, who presides over the team's brand strategy and social media. Rich Rodriguez isn't so different from that guy in the early 2000s. He wants to win dirty and gritty. He preaches toughness and effort. He hates losing so much that he beats a punching bag in his coach's locker before addressing the team after losses. He still eats his steaks well-done with ketchup; enjoys soft-serve ice cream so much that he commissioned for a machine to be added to the football dining hall; and religiously each morning uncorks a two-hour workout featuring activities from a more bygone era ... the stairmaster, pushups, sit-ups and that punching bag. He refuses to put up with crap, he says, from a generation that he believes is 'soft' and entitled. He has banned TikTok. He won't be 'held hostage' by a teen or 20-year-old requesting more money (plenty who asked for raises left this spring). And he's hell-bent on teaching the entitled youths what it means to have a 'hard edge' and 'earned success' — two longtime team mottos he employs today. 'People say it's old school. People say they're getting paid now so you can't coach them. 'F*** this coaching!'' Rodriguez says. 'No, you can coach them harder because they are getting paid.' In fact, his approach to athlete revenue sharing is one of the most interesting. He's withheld a large pool of money for players who, eventually, earn a spot in the two-deep and starting rotation. He calls this 'salary restructuring.' 'We had guys that weren't starters — maybe projected to be starters — but they wanted starter money,' the coach said. 'I can't give them starter money. I haven't seen them practice or play yet.' Whether such a philosophy leads to success will be learned over time, Baker says, but 'in this era, there's something refreshing about it.' After a taco dinner on this hot camp day, the coaching staff and players gather in the main team meeting room. It's loud in here, loud enough for the laughs, the music and the jawing to be heard from down the hallway as Rodriguez approaches the room. He stops just before the entrance, purposely in eyesight of the players. A hush hits the room. The music stops. No more talking. No more jawing. The old coach takes the stage to assess today's practice. 'There is not one time when you are being lazy or soft that it won't be pointed out,' he tells the room. 'When you loaf,' Rodriguez asks the room, 'what does that mean?' Players, in unison, respond: 'You are a traitor!' A traitor? It's the same description that so many in this state used toward the coach years ago. Return of a legend Rich Rodriguez answered the phone to hear a familiar voice on the other end. 'Hey, Coach,' he said to Nick Saban. Saban, the now-retired Alabama head coach, is a West Virginia native himself. He still has deep connections to the state and often roots for its flagship university. On behalf of the school, Saban phoned Rodriguez a few days before his Jacksonville State team played in the Conference USA championship game last December. The goal of the call: Find out if Rodriguez would be interested in returning to West Virginia. Days later, Baker and members of his search committee visited Rodriguez's home, dined on a buffet of goodies, including wife Rita's famous nacho dip, and were convinced that a reunion could work. But this wasn't a one-man-focused exhibition. Baker interviewed 17 candidates and spoke to four finalists in person. Some figures chose to remain at their current place of employment, such as Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. Though Baker declined to comment on specific names, many believe that Rodriguez and Army head coach Jeff Monken were the last two men standing. 'I wasn't inclined to hire Rich for nostalgia purposes,' Baker said in an interview with Yahoo Sports this week. 'We weren't doing this to get the band back together.' Rodriguez's honesty and approach to his messy exit 17 years ago was a critical determining factor in the hire. During the interview process — a Zoom call and the in-person meeting — Baker asked Rodriguez three different times about his final days at West Virginia. In the in-person visit, Rodriguez delivered a lengthy, emotional answer. 'I thought he did a really good job of articulating what he'd done differently and the regrets he had,' Baker said. 'I was envisioning the press conference as he was answering. 'If you can answer that question at the podium, with the emotion and the authenticity that you just did, you will win a good portion of people back.' 'And that's what he did.' So what happened all of those years ago? 'Rich didn't get what he was promised,' said Dusty Rutledge, Rodriguez's chief of staff, a longtime confidant and a man with firsthand knowledge of the coach's decision to leave his alma mater. Years ago, Rodriguez opened up about the decision, alleging to have three times caught university administrators misappropriating donations meant for football. Late on the night of Dec. 15, a day after interviewing for the job in Ann Arbor and a day before accepting it, the coach held a heated conversation with then-West Virginia president Mike Garrison at the president's mansion. Rutledge drove the coach to that meeting. Garrison greeted the men at the door in house slippers, pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, 'Well,' the president said, 'I guess we have to meet.' The coach was searching for reasons to stay. He got none. 'Rich brought up things that were supposed to happen that hadn't happened,' Rutledge recalled. 'The tone of the other side was, 'We've done enough.'' Garrison lasted just 14 months as WVU's president. His office was consumed with controversies of favoritism, and in the spring of 2008, the faculty voted to call for his resignation, which he gave that June. At the center of Rodriguez's exit was the infamous 13-9 loss to rival Pitt in Morgantown to end the 2007 season — a stunning defeat at the hands of a 5-7 Panthers team who entered 28-point underdogs. Many in West Virginia conflate these two events — Rodriguez's exit to Michigan and a loss that cost the Mountaineers a chance to play in the BCS national championship game. Some even take it a step further, accusing the coach of purposely losing that game to secure the Michigan job. Rodriguez describes that game as the biggest nightmare of his professional career, one that led to him vomiting in the locker room afterward. He's offended that anyone would believe that his departure two weeks later was connected to his team's performance that night. 'It pisses me off,' he said in a previous interview. 'That is total bulls***. Bulls***.' Take me home, country roads Before the coal mine closed in 1984, Grant Town's economy boomed. The city reached more than 1,200 residents, featured at least four grocery stores and more than a dozen brothels, bars and saloons, says Rosic, in his fourth year as mayor. There was a movie theater and bowling alley, too. Forty years later, there isn't a single commercial business in the town. Its population has dropped to under 600. Several dozen towns in West Virginia have experienced similar declines. The state as a whole lost 3% of its population since 2010 (60,000 residents), the most by far of any of the 50 states. For all of its beauty — the tree-lined mountains, blue-running rivers and stunning sunsets — West Virginia is slipping away, a product of coal mine closures. Grant Town is a microcosm of a larger problem. 'Once the grade school and mine shut down in the '80s, there wasn't much opportunity left,' said Dave Mazure, a clerk with the Grant Town Water Department. While some townsfolk want a larger sign to honor the new West Virginia head coach, there isn't enough money in the coffers. The town's annual budget is $236,000, Rosic said. The city can't afford street paving and the mayor is unsure if the town will keep its municipal designation in the near future. 'We can't spend $3,000 on a sign,' Rosic said. 'Everybody knows where he's from. He got an $18 million contract, right? He can buy a bigger sign.' One of those 550 remaining residents in Grant Town is Arlene Rodriguez, Rich's 85-year-old mother. Rich hasn't visited this place since he returned as coach — he's been busy building the foundation of his new program. So, Arlene made the 40-minute drive to see her son earlier this spring. In Morgantown, she witnessed a sort-of comeback story that only the best fiction authors could write. The community is ecstatic. More than 33,000 season tickets have been sold — the highest since 2013 and a number that represents the third-largest city in the state. 'West Virginians are forgiving, particularly to one of their own,' said Michael Benson, who took over this summer as the university's new president, 'but he's got to win.' For some, there is an uneasy feeling: Can this really work? After games against Robert Morris and at Ohio, Sept. 13 serves as a litmus test. West Virginia meets Pitt in Morgantown. 'I think there are still a lot of people with one leg on the other side of the fence about the hire,' Caridi, the radio broadcaster, said. 'A lot of people are focusing on that third game. If they get it done, they'll bring that leg over to the other side.' A single game is one thing. But can a 62-year-old lead West Virginia back to where he did nearly two decades ago — atop the college football world? The athlete revenue-sharing era of college sports puts an emphasis on money more than ever. In most recent reporting figures from USA Today, WVU's athletic budget ($105 million) ranks sixth in the Big 12 and 45th among the 70-some odd power conference schools. According to Forbes' latest research, the state of West Virginia has no billionaires. For comparison, one of its border states, Ohio, has three people worth a combined $20 billion. In a college sports world increasingly dominated by revenue-generating giants in the SEC and Big Ten, can West Virginia win? 'The short answer is yes, but it's probably more difficult,' said Oliver Luck, the former West Virginia athletic director and an alum of the school. Baker says the school will compensate its athletes to the max in Year 1 of revenue share: $20.5 million, an amount reduced by $2.5 million in new scholarships. Roughly two-thirds of the $18 million is expected to come from funding outside of the athletic department, such as the university itself and foundation, some of that derived from a new student athletic fee. Rodriguez is raising cash himself. He's restarted a booster club that began during his first stint here. The '1,100 Club' has already hosted a few meetings. The name derives from the group's original goal in the early 2000s of fundraising for WVU coaches to use King Air private jets for recruiting purposes. Back then, a King Air cost $1,100 an hour to rent. While inflation has changed that figure, the club's name remains the same. The 1,100 Club is back in action with more than 200 members so far. There is money here, perhaps not the money that there is in Columbus, Ohio or Austin, Texas. But money, nonetheless. 'Are we Ohio State or Texas A&M? No,' said Alvarez, the booster and longtime friend of Rodriguez. 'But it's not all about money. You've got to establish a culture.' Luck sees what Rodriguez is doing and grows excited about the future. It's the toughness and grit he's instilling, the attention to detail, the fast-paced schematics. 'When West Virginia is good, we've punched above our weight,' Luck said. 'I think how historically we've done that is to be scrappy, to be tough and have an edge. We got away from that and we're getting back to that. That gives everybody hope that we can begin to have success.' Rodriguez knows what the fans here want. 'They want to bring that magic back,' he said with a smile. 'I wasn't brought back to play the highlights of the 2005 Sugar Bowl. I was brought back to take us to another one.' Can he really do it? He's already done something so few believed was possible. He's returned home. Mike Patrick, the former longtime college football broadcaster and West Virginia native, once joked that there were armed guards posted at the state's border to keep Rodriguez out forever. When asked if time would heal the wounds, Patrick quipped, 'We'll all be dead by then.' Mike Patrick passed away at the age of 80 this past April — four months after Rodriguez's hire.
Vogue
5 minutes ago
- Vogue
Serena Williams Opens Up About Being on a GLP-1
Greatest-athlete-of-all-time Serena Williams and I have just started talking over Zoom when everything comes to an abrupt halt. 'Are you in a car right now and don't have a seatbelt on?' Williams asks with a tone only a mother would use. Okay, yes, I don't have a seatbelt on while my Uber speeds up the West Side Highway. My cheeks flush as I click in, ashamed. 'I couldn't help myself,' the mother of two says. Now that I'm strapped in, she's ready to talk. The recent public discourse around Williams's body—online commenters noticing a change in her physique and demanding to know how, exactly, it came about—isn't anything new. 'I've heard negative comments, along with a tremendous amount of positive comments, about my body my entire life,' says the 23-time Grand Slam winner, who announced her retirement on the cover of Vogue in September 2022. 'For lack of a better way to say it, I don't really care what people are saying about my body anymore. But what is important to me is transparency.' That calling has led her to this very moment: Williams is ready to share that she's on the GLP-1 drug Zepbound, a type of medication typically prescribed for diabetes and now also used for weight management. She accessed the drug through Ro and is now partnering with the telehealth company to talk about her experience. Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, is an investor in the company and serves on its board. The athlete isn't the only person who has revealed they are on one of the many versions of semaglutide—Oprah, Kelly Clarkson, Charles Barkley, and more have also gone on the record about using the drug. 'There's a scene in my HBO documentary where you see my coach telling me, 'You have to lose weight,'' she shares. 'But it was so hard after I had [my first daughter] Olympia. I was literally on the court every day, doing nothing else. I had been the ultimate super-athlete, always in competition and being super-healthy my entire life, but I just could never get back to where I needed to be, no matter what I did.'
Forbes
5 minutes ago
- Forbes
This New York Hotel Promises A Good Night's Rest
Have a dreamy slumber at Equinox Hotel New York's Sleep Lab. Joe Thomas One of the hottest sectors in luxury travel isn't about seeking thrills but tranquility. The global sleep tourism market, valued at $74.54 billion in 2024, is poised for 12.4% annual growth through 2030, a report says. The engine behind this boom is clear: with 74% of Americans losing sleep to stress and 68% to anxiety, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the demand for a good night's rest has never been higher. The advantages of quality slumber are well-documented: a stronger immune system, an improved mood and increased energy, to name a few. Still, this knowledge often gets lost between late-night emails and early-morning alarms. But that's where Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Equinox Hotel New York steps in. The Hudson Yards hotel has joined forces with Dr. Matthew Walker, one of the world's foremost experts in sleep science, to create The Equinox Hotels Sleep Lab. This science-backed initiative transforms four of the hotel's Premier King rooms into high-tech sanctuaries for rest. With temperature-controlled mattresses, targeted spa treatments and specialized amenities, this evidence-based approach promises you'll wake up feeling well-rested. Where the restorative experience begins. Equinox Hotel New York The sleep experience starts with the king-sized bed, which consists of two conjoined mattresses, each with its own duvet to eliminate the risk of a middle-of-the-night tug-of-war over covers. Each mattress is made from layers of entirely natural materials, including horsehair and seaweed. The bed also gets a technology upgrade. Temperature-responsive sheets can be preset to align with the ideal settings for different points in the sleep cycle. The bed cools down to an optimal range of 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and gradually warms as you begin to wake up. In addition to measuring body temperature, the mattress impressively tracks metrics, such as the time it takes to fall asleep and the duration spent in each stage of the four sleep cycles, using indicators like heart rate and breathing patterns. When morning arrives, you'll find a sleep report waiting on an iPhone on the bedside table, complete with a sleep score based on the data collected. Rooms have been transformed into high-tech sanctuaries for rest. Equinox Hotel New York The Room Beyond the bed, the room is designed to help guests fall asleep easily and wake up pleasantly. Thirty minutes before your desired sleep time, the lights begin to dim slowly. In the morning, they gradually brighten to mimic the soft, amber glow of natural sunlight and the heavenly sound of melodic chimes fill the room. This gentle wake-up call is a refreshing change from the usual blaring alarm of a smartphone. The Rituals One of the unique features of The Sleep Lab by Equinox Hotels is the 15-minute AM and PM Rituals, which can be accessed through the room's Apple TV. The PM routine helps prepare the body for rest with a breathwork exercise that involves a deep four-second inhale, a seven-second hold and an eight-second exhale to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps relax your body. Additionally, shoulder, lower back and calf stretches are included to relieve any tension accumulated throughout the day. The AM Rituals start with a full-body scan and feature yoga sequences, such as sun salutations, designed to get your body moving and energy flowing. By the end of this session, you'll be shaking off any lingering morning fog. Both videos are easy to follow. All the necessary equipment, including a Manduka yoga mat, cork blocks and a foam roller, are conveniently in the RoomBar (the hotel's wellness minibar). Find snooze-specific amenities at the RoomBar. Equinox Hotel New York The RoomBar Along with the fitness equipment, guests staying in The Sleep Lab by Equinox Hotels will find snooze-specific amenities: a valerian root and L-Theanine Dream supplement; a Dream, Plz wellness patch; a sleek, ergonomic eye mask (in case the blackout shades aren't enough for you); and Equinox Hotels' exclusive line of teas. The tea selection features a calming chamomile, lavender and valerian root blend called Power Down and an invigorating Regenerate blend made with butterfly blue pea flower, ginger and lemon verbena. The steam shower is essentially a personal spa. Equinox Hotel New York The Bathroom The other suggested activations include the most spa-like element of The Sleep Lab: the in-room steam shower. It uses a custom blend of essential oils to promote sleep, giving the steam a warm, spicy aroma. When combined with the bedtime-specific body wash, which has a soothing and light citrus scent of chamomile, Tasmanian pepper and tangerine, the experience is a significant upgrade from a traditional hot bath before bed. The morning ritual also features the shower — but an icy one. It is recommended to alternate between the steam and ice shower, which drops to a chilling 46 degrees. Although it may be uncomfortable, it's a surefire way to jump-start your morning, while also reducing inflammation and boosting circulation. But if you can't handle the cold, you can still enjoy the invigorating AM body wash, which offers bright notes of sandalwood, rose and lime, along with a eucalyptus ginger body scrub. The Wave Table takes your sleep to the next level. Jesse Dittmar The Spa The bedroom isn't the only place dedicated to better sleep. Four-Star The Spa by Equinox Hotels has science-driven treatments centered on promoting rest as well. The Art + Science of Sleep package includes two cryotherapy and wave table sessions at the spa. The cryotherapy requires three minutes in a minus-150-degree chamber, which, although not necessarily the most relaxing 180 seconds, does provide numerous benefits, such as reduced cortisol (better known as the stress hormone) and less inflammation. This can help alleviate pain and minimize the tossing and turning that can disrupt restful sleep. The Wave Table, which looks like a glowing, blue waterbed on a massage table, promises to provide the equivalent of three hours of sleep in just 30 minutes. This is achieved with quantum harmonics played in headphones. The sounds, a mix of low, vibrational hums (similar to the chimes of a sound bowl) and waves crashing on a distant shore, are intended to mirror brain waves to reset circadian rhythms. The experience is a restorative one, like a great nap where you wake up fully alert. The Spa by Equinox Hotels also offers sleep-targeted add-ons to treatments. One option is the NutriSleep IV, which is administered onsite by a medical professional. This painless IV delivers a high concentration of sleep-supportive nutrients such as magnesium, glycine and taurine. Alternatively, you might consider a stint in the infrared sauna. This service is the perfect complement to cryotherapy and can help regulate sleep-wake cycles by increasing melatonin production. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes Forbes Travel Guide's 6 Best Palm Beach Hotels By Forbes Travel Guide Forbes 27 Hotels With Luxury Car Collaborations By Melinda Sheckells Forbes Forbes Travel Guide's Best Hotel Bars For 2025 By Jennifer Kester Forbes From Anguilla To Australia, Forbes Travel Guide's 2025 Star Award Winners By Jennifer Kester
