Latest news with #Canty
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago Bears' stadium efforts run out of time in Springfield but suburban lawmaker says deal was close and talks will continue
SPRINGFIELD — While the Illinois General Assembly didn't end up passing legislation this session that helped or hurt the Chicago Bears' stadium efforts, one suburban lawmaker said the legislature got close to a deal on property tax legislation — a measure widely seen as a way to ease a team move to Arlington Heights. 'We were super close and just ran out of time,' state Rep. Mary Beth Canty, a Democrat who represents the northwest suburb and surrounding areas, said Sunday. The team in mid-May announced it was shifting its focus away from building a new lakefront stadium in Chicago to Arlington Heights, where it purchased the former Arlington International Racecourse property two years ago. Though the spring legislative session ended as the calendar turned to June on Saturday night, legislators will likely get another chance to pass legislation in the fall. Still, state Rep. Kam Buckner pushed back on the idea that any agreement was close, as no deal was ever actually introduced in the legislature. 'The Bears have made it clear — they no longer want to be in Chicago. That's their decision,' Buckner, a Chicago Democrat whose district includes Soldier Field, said in a text message Sunday. 'But if they want to leave and use state dollars or ask for special tax protections to do it, they'll have to come through Springfield. And in Springfield, that means facing the Chicago delegation directly.' Lawmakers this session introduced multiple bills proposing changes to state laws that would better enable so-called megaprojects, like a new Bears stadium, to be built. But compromise language that received some support was never introduced, Canty acknowledged. The potential changes would give local control to taxing districts statewide, and not simply be a boost to the Bears' prospects of moving to a specific suburb, she said. 'We're going to keep working all through the summer. I don't like to jinx anything and I also don't like to predict what — where everybody will be' by the fall veto session, Canty said, referring to the next time lawmakers are expected to consider bills. A Bears spokesperson on Sunday reiterated the team's statement that it has made progress with the leaders in Arlington Heights. The dream of a new domed stadium in Chicago has faced enormous headwinds in Springfield since the Bears unveiled a proposal last year asking the state to take on $900 million in new debt and spend $1.5 billion on infrastructure improvements. The franchise likely has a smoother path to move to Arlington Heights, but one of the holdups there was a dispute with the village and local school districts over property taxes. Language discussed behind closed doors in the waning days of session would have allowed 'a weighted vote' of all local taxing bodies to set a property tax payment amount for development projects, while also implementing guardrails from the state on issues like the length of time the agreements could last, Canty said. Gov. JB Pritzker has made clear that while he personally would like to see the Bears stay in Chicago, he is skeptical of providing taxpayer funds to help a private business build a new stadium. Buckner said members of the Chicago delegation in both the House and Senate were 'all very vigilant in the last days of session, expecting the Bears to try to sneak language through the legislature.' 'I don't care how many other lawmakers they talk to — there will be no chicanery, no shortcuts, and no sidestepping the people of Chicago,' he wrote. Asked on Sunday about the prospects for legislation benefiting the Bears, Pritzker said he generally supported options like STAR bonds, a mechanism for local governments to finance big projects, though he emphasized that idea was not specific to the Bears. The discussion on STAR bonds was separate from the megaprojects proposal discussed in the final days of session, Canty said.
The Age
14-05-2025
- The Age
Tip manager tells Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial of dehydrator found in e-waste bin
'He then called me back and sent me a photo. He said it kind of looked like a microwave dehydrator, but wasn't quite sure because he did not get it out of the bin,' Canty said. Photographs shown to the court showed a black Sunbeam dehydrator inside an e-waste bin. Canty said a search of the site's business records had shown the e-waste deposit was paid for at 11.35am using eftpos. Erin Patterson is accused of murdering her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them poisonous mushrooms in a beef Wellington she cooked at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. The Pattersons and Heather Wilkinson died in the days after the meal from the effects of mushroom poisoning. Heather's husband, Ian, survived after weeks in hospital. Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder. Her lawyers have said the deaths were a terrible accident. No evidence Erin Patterson suffered cancer or poisoning: doctor The final witness on Wednesday afternoon was Professor Andrew Bersten, an intensive care specialist. Bersten told the court he had examined Erin Patterson's medical records, including those from during her time at Leongatha and Monash hospitals in late July and early August 2023. He found that her presentation was consistent with someone having a diarrheal illness. He said he had not been shown any evidence that showed she had suffered from toxic poisoning, or cancer, during this same time. When examining the results of the accused woman's fecal specimen taken on July 31, 2023, he found no pathogens were detected. The court heard Erin Patterson was released from hospital about 2.45pm on August 1, 2023. Expert kept leftovers in home fridge after testing meal, court told Earlier on Wednesday, a fungi expert from Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens said she had kept the leftovers from the beef Wellington meal in her refrigerator at home after testing the food for toxic mushrooms. Mycologist Camille Truong told the court she had been working at the Royal Botanic Gardens when she had received a call to help identify mushrooms in the leftovers. Truong said that on July 31, 2023, she received an email from toxicologist Laura Muldoon at Monash Health but was unable to identify the type of mushroom from the attached pictures, which were also shown to the jury. 'Usually with toxicologists when we discuss the case, we ask several questions that can help us identify the mushroom based on where it was found. So I asked her if she knew what the source of the mushroom was, where it was found, if the person who cooked it remembers the colour before it was cooked,' she told the jury. 'I then told her that based on this photograph, I wouldn't be able to give her an identification. '[Muldoon] said they had been bought from a supermarket. And a Chinese shop, I believe. 'I did indicate to her if the mushrooms were coming from a shop or supermarket, it's … impossible to be death cap mushrooms, as they only grow in the wild.' Due to a misunderstanding, the court heard that Truong had left work early for the day before receiving a message from a receptionist telling her that a parcel of leftovers had arrived for her at her office. She then asked a colleague to drop the leftovers at her home. Truong said the leftovers had been in a large zip-lock bag when they arrived at her home, and she set up a small microscope in her house to look at the meal. She said she did not see any death cap mushrooms inside, and she put the lunch leftovers in her fridge at home. She took the leftovers back to her workplace and tested them again later the next day. She told the jury the only mushrooms she could identify were field mushrooms, typically found in supermarkets. 'I was told all the mushrooms were coming from … a shop or supermarket. No foraging activity,' she said. The leftovers were then collected by the Department of Health about 1pm on August 2, 2023, she said. Dried death caps emit 'very unpleasant' smell: expert Identifying specific mushroom species is a difficult process and can often be confirmed only in a laboratory rather than out in the field, a mushroom expert told the trial. On Wednesday morning, mushroom expert Tom May was asked about an article he had co-authored about the accuracy of mushroom identification tools. While under cross-examination by defence barrister Sophie Stafford, the mycologist agreed that accurately identifying fungi was a challenging process that often required testing under a microscope. He said there was no obvious odour from death cap mushrooms when they were freshly picked, although they did emanate a strong smell when dried. 'My experience with death cap mushrooms is when they are first collected, there's no particular smell, slightly sweet perhaps. I have dried death caps on a number of occasions, and I find the smell to be very unpleasant,' May said. May agreed that in an article Stafford was asking about, he had written that only 62 of the 78 mushroom photographs he had analysed as part of his report could be confidently identified as a particular species. He agreed there was a possibility the 62 could also have been identified by error as the study looked at photographs of mushrooms supplied to the poisons hotline, and not captured by the authors live in the wild. May was taken through a series of photographs of mushrooms that had grown in Victoria, including in Gippsland. He was also taken through screenshots of other mushroom images uploaded on the iNaturalist website, the state's most popular citizen scientist website of its kind. The images were shown to the jury on Wednesday as May was asked questions from the defence about identifying different types of mushrooms using features including the top, stem and gills of fungi. He agreed some posts to the page were 'research-grade' verified – where a number of people have supported the identification – while others, including some from the Gippsland area, were unverified observations. In another post shown to the jury, a suspected Oudemansiella gigaspora was posted in Narbethong, north-east of Melbourne. May agreed it had similar features to death cap mushrooms – brownish and with a smooth cap, white stem and gills. He also agreed Oudemansiella gigaspora was known to grow in the Gippsland area and not known to be poisonous to humans. The court heard that in May 2024, a woman died in Victoria after consuming death cap mushrooms she had picked from her front garden and cooked into a meal with her son. May agreed the coroner's office later recommended additional public awareness about the dangers of eating wild mushrooms.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Spartans to host high-level in-state OL prospect for official visit in June
Michigan State football will reportedly host one of the top in-state prospects for an official visit in June. Khalief Canty of Detroit will reportedly take an official visit to Michigan State in June. Rivals recruiting insider Greg Smith reported on Wednesday that Canty will visit Michigan State on June 13. Advertisement Canty is a three-star offensive lineman prospect on 247Sports. He currently holds a rating of 88 on the recruiting service's site. Canty ranks as the No. 33 interior offensive lineman in 247Sports' rankings for the 2026 class. He is also listed as the No. 7 player from Michigan in the class. Michigan State is one of 20 programs to extend an offer to Canty, according to 247Sports. Other notable schools showing interest in Canty with an offer includes Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Michigan State is the first official visit that Canty has scheduled for the upcoming summer, according to 247Sports. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5. This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Detroit Cass Tech OL Khalief Canty to take official visit to MSU
USA Today
02-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Spartans to host high-level in-state OL prospect for official visit in June
Spartans to host high-level in-state OL prospect for official visit in June Khalief Canty of Detroit Cass Tech will reportedly take an official visit to Michigan State in June Michigan State football will reportedly host one of the top in-state prospects for an official visit in June. Khalief Canty of Detroit will reportedly take an official visit to Michigan State in June. Rivals recruiting insider Greg Smith reported on Wednesday that Canty will visit Michigan State on June 13. Canty is a three-star offensive lineman prospect on 247Sports. He currently holds a rating of 88 on the recruiting service's site. Canty ranks as the No. 33 interior offensive lineman in 247Sports' rankings for the 2026 class. He is also listed as the No. 7 player from Michigan in the class. Michigan State is one of 20 programs to extend an offer to Canty, according to 247Sports. Other notable schools showing interest in Canty with an offer includes Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Michigan State is the first official visit that Canty has scheduled for the upcoming summer, according to 247Sports. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
USA Today
09-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
'Not a serious franchise': Will the Steelers get aggressive in free agency?
'Not a serious franchise': Will the Steelers get aggressive in free agency? Show Caption Hide Caption Will Myles Garrett stay a Brown or wear a different jersey next year? NFL players on Radio Row are asked where they think Myles Garrett will play next a comment from Myles Garrett himself! Sports Seriously ESPN's Chris Canty, co-host of the show 'Unsportsmanlike,' recently said something about the Pittsburgh Steelers that caught my attention. Yes, it was inflammatory. But hear him out. Listen carefully. What he says about the Steelers is important because the organization, historically one of the best in all of sports, will be among the most watched teams when the tampering period for free agency begins at noon ET on Monday. Canty isn't a flamethrower. If you watch the show regularly you know his takes are opinionated but also smart and measured. He also brings the perspective of a former NFL player. He's someone you should listen to. The Steelers, by any measure of success, haven't struggled over the course of their existence. Obviously, it's been the opposite. There have been moments when the team's dominance was staggering. But that has changed. Coach Mike Tomlin has lost six straight playoff games with another one-and-done postseason. The Steelers have not won a playoff game since January 2017. Again, the Steelers make the playoffs a lot. It's that once they get there, they falter. The Browns would love this type of futility. But the Steelers? Nah, nope, no way. It's not who they are or, better put, it's not what the organization is supposed to be. This was the point Canty was making. "The Pittsburgh Steelers, it's been a decade and a half since they've been in a Super Bowl,' Canty said on the show. 'So the standard, the excellence that we've seen in that franchise, essentially excellence personified, that has now lost a little bit of its luster and it continues to do so with each passing year where they have early exit after early exit in the postseason. 'And so, I don't know what the move is, but clearly they need to be more aggressive than they have in years past because they're sitting on (their) hands, and doing business as usual hasn't gotten them to where the organization prides itself on being in terms of one of the teams that is constantly in the chase for championships." He added, in part, one last thing: "They got a championship-level coach, but their roster is not championship caliber, and their quarterback play certainly has been anything but, post-Ben Roethlisberger. So yeah, it's hard for me, and I can't believe I'm saying this because the Pittsburgh Steelers seem like they are as buttoned up, as functional, as any franchise in the NFL. But the Pittsburgh Steelers, they're not a serious franchise. They're just not. I don't take them seriously." Not a serious franchise. Is that true? Maybe that's harsh. But Canty isn't alone thinking that. If you want to say Canty said those things because he's a former Baltimore Raven and the two franchises hate each other, well, you'd be wrong. He also played for the Giants and Cowboys. Canty is simply stating things that some across the NFL are saying privately. The Steelers have lost some of that air of greatness that has surrounded the organization for decades. It's still an outstanding franchise. It still has a great head coach in Tomlin. But, for now at least, it's not those Steelers any longer. The organization could change the direction of the franchise with a significant move. Go get wide receiver DK Metcalf. Be aggressive in the draft. Something. At some point the Steelers will have to enter the 21st century when it comes to free agency and big moves. It's OK, Steelers. We got rocket ships. Flying cars are on the way. Modern football isn't going to bite. Promise.
