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Chicago Tribune
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Illinois lawmakers pass Prisoner Review Board reforms
Good afternoon, Chicago. Illinois lawmakers advanced a bill that would emphasize domestic violence awareness training for members of the state's Prisoner Review Board, which came under criticism after releasing a man from state custody who then allegedly attacked a former girlfriend and fatally stabbed her young son. The bill's passage came 14 months after authorities say Crosetti Brand broke into his ex-girlfriend's apartment on Chicago's North Side and attacked her before fatally stabbing her son, 11-year-old Jayden Perkins, when the boy tried to come to her rescue. The 39-year-old Brand is on trial for the attack and Jayden's family has filed a lawsuit against the review board alleging negligence in the case. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into war-torn Gaza, decrying the violence and suffering in the Middle East during his first general audience as pope today in St. Peter's Square. Read more here. More top news stories: Burton Odelson, the village attorney, told Elite Street that Dolton's recently sworn-in mayor, Jason House, made the decision to proceed with the acquisition with the consent of the Dolton Village Board. Read more here. More top business stories: Jameson Taillon (3-3) scattered one run and four hits over seven innings. The right-hander walked three and struck out two to snap a two-start losing streak. Read more here. More top sports stories: Some artworks bring the suppressed queerness of their makers or their subjects to the fore. 'The Man in Black' is a 1913 portrait of Art Institute benefactor Robert Henry Allerton by Glyn Philpot, an acclaimed British painter whose work appears throughout 'The First Homosexuals.' Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: With President Donald Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package at risk of stalling, House Speaker Mike Johnson and conservative Republican holdouts headed to the White House for the last-ditch talks to salvage the 'big, beautiful bill.' Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
Chicago Tribune
21-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Village of Dolton wants to acquire Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home, either through direct purchase or eminent domain
Although the owner of Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home in south suburban Dolton has announced plans to auction the house in mid-June, village leaders in the south suburb have decided to pursue acquiring the house on East 141st Place through either direct purchase or, failing that, through eminent domain. Village Attorney Burton Odelson told Elite Street that Dolton's recently sworn-in mayor, Jason House, made the decision to proceed with the acquisition with the consent of the Village Board. Leaders have not yet decided how the three-bedroom home would be used, however, Odelson said. Born Robert Prevost, the new pontiff is a Dolton native, as his family lived in the home from his birth until his parents sold it in 1996. Since Prevost was named the leader of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8, the house has drawn significant interest from onlookers, prompting Dolton officials to station a police car on the block, Odelson said. Homer Glen-based rehabber Pawel Radzik paid $66,000 last year for the house — before anyone knew that Prevost would become the first American-born pope — and he gave it a major haul, telling the Tribune that '80% of it is new — new flooring, new cabinets, new electrical, new kitchen.' He then listed it in January for $219,000 before cutting his asking price to $205,000 later that month and then to $199,900 in February. With the news that the new pontiff had spent many years of his youth living in the 141st Place home, Radzik decided to take the home off the market and consider his options. On May 15, he decided to place the house up for auction on June 18, working with New York auction house Paramount and listing a $250,000 reserve price, or minimum bid to be accepted. Now, those plans would seem to be at least somewhat up in the air, as Dolton officials plainly want the house. Odelson said negotiations with Radzik have not been fruitful. 'We sought to buy the house from the owner. The mayor met with the owner, and he wanted too much money for it,' Odelson said. 'So we turned out attention to the auctioneer, to let the auctioneer know that you've got to tell the prospective buyers that if they buy it, they're not going to have it for very long. Either we're going to buy it or we're going (to use) eminent domain (to acquire it).' Under eminent domain, a court ultimately could determine the amount that the village would have to pay, although the fact that the East 141st Place is the only boyhood home of the only American pope in history would present a challenge in finding any sales of comparable properties. In theory, an auction could provide a fresh, open-market value for the home that could prove useful in a court proceeding and related negotiations. Odelson dismissed any other option, such as allowing a low-profile residential buyer to own and occupy the house. 'The answer is no,' he said. 'The direction I have is to work with the archdiocese to do what they want to do with the house.' Odelson noted that he has spent three days straight working with leaders from the Archdiocese of Chicago, including its vicar general, and that they're 'very responsive' and 'very, very interested to make it special.' How the home ultimately would be used, however, remains to be determined. The village's purchase at least in part is to prevent some other buyer from attempting to commercialize a house in a residential neighborhood, even if the area's residential zoning would preclude such uses. 'You got me,' said Odelson, in answer to a question about how the house would be used. 'We're just in the first steps — we're doing a couple of first steps to declare it a historic preservation site and to get the cooperation of the archdiocese and to purchase it and protect it. We've had hourly patrols (since Prevost was named pope), and a lot of people have come with flowers, crosses and pictures, and our job is to protect the neighborhood and to protect the site. I'll tell you this — it's not going to be a (bed-and-breakfast inn). That's what we're trying to prevent. We, the Village of Dolton, want to make sure the site is preserved as a treasure, as a national historic site for people to come and do what they need to do — we do not want it to become an amusement park-type thing.' Odelson suggested that village ownership of the onetime Prevost family home actually could benefit the neighborhood. 'Speaking to the mayor today, we're going to look to improve the sidewalks and the streets, and making sure that everybody's grass is cut and that there's police protection, and it's orderly,' he said. 'That's why we're going to get (the home) — to protect the neighborhood also. When it becomes an historic site and whenever it's turned into whatever it's going to be turned into by the village and the archdiocese, it will be upgraded, with regular hours. The neighbors' houses will be more valuable.' Radzik did not respond to a request for comment. However, Odelson alluded to the controversial and recently concluded reign by Dolton's previous mayor, Tiffany Henyard, when he called the revelation that the pontiff once had lived in the community some 'divine intervention' for the troubled south suburb. 'It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and goodness, hopefully the news people will stop saying that the pope is a Chicago native and start saying that he is a Dolton native,' he said. Odelson said beyond the local historic ordinance, village officials hope to have the house listed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. He added that he didn't know what the ultimate cost would be of neighborhood infrastructure upgrades, stepped-up police protection and of the actual purchase price for the pope's onetime dwelling. 'Let me put it this way: This is something the village has to afford. Can we? We're deeply in debt, and we owe a lot of bills,' he said. 'We don't even know how much we owe. The new mayor has just taken the reins a week ago. However, there are foundations and preservation societies and grants, and I can't imagine that we wouldn't be eligible to get every single one for the American-born pope.'
Chicago Tribune
16-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home in Dolton is up for auction
The owner of Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home in Dolton has put it up for auction in June, with a minimum asking price of $250,000. Homer Glen-based home rehabber Pawel Radzik paid $66,000 last year for the modest, three-bedroom ranch-style brick house on 141st Place, and he gave it a major overhaul, saying last week that '80% of it is new — new flooring, new cabinets, new plumbing, new electrical, new kitchen.' He then listed the home in January for $219,000 before cutting his asking price to $205,000 later that month and then to $199,900 in February. With the May 8 announcement that Dolton native and Cardinal Robert Prevost was the new head of the Roman Catholic Church, word broke out that the house that Radzik had been trying to sell had been the new pontiff's boyhood home. Prevost's parents sold their longtime house for $58,000 in 1996, and it had two subsequent owners before Radzik bought it. Upon the naming of the pontiff, Radzik immediately pulled the house from the market and told Elite Street at the time that he was looking into 'what is the best option for me,' regarding the home, given its newly discovered provenance and heightened prominence. Now, Radzik and his listing agent, Steve Budzik of iCandyRealty, have teamed up with auction house Paramount, with a June 18 auction date. The house has a reserve price of $250,000, meaning that Radzik has the right to reject any offers below that amount. 'We're looking for the value of the house,' Radzik said. 'We're trying to find out the value of the house.' What a new owner would do with the home is unclear — perhaps turning it into a shrine to the new pope, or alternately restoring it to how it might have looked when the pontiff was a boy. No one disputes that the house has no real equal, as Prevost is the first American ever to become pope, and the 141st Place house is the only home Prevost ever lived in while growing up. As a result, the house is the only dwelling in history inhabited by an American-born man who went on to become pope. How many bids the home will receive remains uncertain, but one thing is certain: The auction will draw a lot more attention than the average house auction. 'The more attention, the better for me,' Radzik said.
Chicago Tribune
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Northbrook home once owned by former Chicago Bears player Jim McMahon to be listed for sale
The six-bedroom, 10,286-square-foot English manor-style mansion in Northbrook that former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon owned until 2009 is coming on the market today for $4.599 million. The now-retired McMahon, who is 65 and lives in Florida, owned the mansion from the time it was built in 1988 until selling it for $2.85 million in 2009 to a neighbor who spent more than two years renovating and updating it. That neighbor then sold it for $4.25 million in 2013. Now, the 2013 buyers, Crown Bakeries CEO Yianny Caparos, and his wife, Annette, intend to sell the Northbrook house. They haven't made significant alterations to the mansion, other than fixing the pool and redoing the patio. Annette Caparos also told Elite Street that 'there were only minor changes to the decor and nothing structural since the person who bought it from Jim had already redone it and never lived in it.' The Caparos family did once meet the famed quarterback and received a signed pair of golf shoes from McMahon, who left behind his tanning bed and goggles, Annette Caparos said. While the mansion is steeped in two decades of ownership by a legendary Bear, she noted that she actually is a Minnesota native and a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. 'So that was the big joke that we moved into a former Bear's house,' she said. Now, with the Caparos family being empty-nesters and looking to downsize, they are selling the mansion. They have purchased a condominium in Nashville to be closer to their business. 'It's going to be hard to let something this beautiful go, but we know there is a family waiting to enjoy it as we did,' Annette Caparos told Elite Street. 'Our kids loved to have friends over and we entertained a lot as this house is made for sharing with friends and family. It's a very safe neighborhood (with) great neighbors. The home is 10,000 square feet but it never felt too big. It was warm and inviting and everyone could come over and relax and enjoy.' The mansion's six bedrooms all are en-suite, including a teenage room with loft access, and the home also has nine bathrooms, a primary bedroom suite with a fireplace, dual walk-in closets and a coffee station with a built-in mini-refrigerator. Other features include a sport court with high ceilings that can be used for racquetball and basketball, a private movie theater and a spa/workout area with a dance studio, steam shower, sauna and locker rooms. 'We have a beautiful staircase and that's what sold (us on) the house,' Yianny Caparos said. 'I could envision my daughters taking pictures on their wedding day. We also hosted many high school dance pictures as well.' Outside on the 3.28-acre property are a circular driveway and a multi-level back yard with an in-ground pool, an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue spit, a putting green, a TV lounge and outdoor speakers. The mansion had a $102,985 property tax bill in the 2023 tax year.
Chicago Tribune
16-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Billionaire Ken Griffin sells his two remaining condos in a Gold Coast building for a combined $15.9M
Ken Griffin has left the building. The formerly Chicago-based billionaire on Tuesday sold his final two unfinished, full-floor condominiums in the building at 9 W. Walton Street on the Gold Coast for a combined total of $15.9 million. The sales bring to a close one of the stranger odysseys in high-end Chicago-area real estate that began in late 2017, when Griffin paid $58.75 million for four full-floor condos in the then-newly-built tower. Records show that Griffin, who never finished any of the condos in the building at 9 W. Walton, sold the 7,085-square-foot unit on the 35th floor for $7.4 million and the 7,500-square-foot 36th-floor unit for $8.5 million. Public records do not yet identify the buyers, but listing information shows that each floor's buyers were represented by different agents. That would argue for there having been two different buyers. With Griffin having sold the top two floors in the building to Gov. JB Pritzker in November for $19 million, the full magnitude of Griffin's losses at 9 W. Walton have now come into view. In total, Griffin sold the four units for a total of $34.9 million, meaning that he lost $23.85 million on the four sales. Listing agent Nancy Tassone declined to comment to Elite Street on the sales. Griffin originally wanted more for the unit on the 35th floor. He first had sought $14 million in 2022 for the 35th-floor condo, meaning he ultimately accepted little more than half of his desired amount. Meanwhile, he initially had asked $8.5 million in November for the 36th-floor unit, and that's the amount for which he sold it. Griffin's $58.75 million purchase in 2017 was a package deal, with each of the four units selling for a separate amount. Records show that Griffin paid $12.5 million in 2017 for the 35th-floor unit and $12.13 million in 2017 for the 36th-floor unit. As a result, Griffin lost a total of $8.7 million on the two units he sold on Tuesday. Griffin, who famously announced in 2022 that he would move his Citadel hedge fund firm and his own personal residence from Chicago to south Florida due to his perceptions about crime in Chicago, is not yet through with Chicago real estate. His six-bedroom, 9,250-square-foot full-floor unit on the 67th floor of the Park Tower — the building's top level — remains on the market for $15.75 million. And 9 W. Walton isn't the only place where he's seen losses on residential property. Griffin previously sold a full-floor condominium on the 66th floor for $11.2 million to billionaire retired filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, who long had owned the full-floor 65th-floor unit. Griffin paid $15 million for that 66th-floor unit, meaning he lost $3.8 million when he sold that unit to Lucas and Hobson. Griffin, however, doesn't only own real estate in south Florida, where he has made $670 million worth of home purchases and is building a 50,000-square-foot mansion. He also owns other trophy properties all over, including in Hawaii, Colorado, London and St. Tropez, France, and he owns four floors in a building on Central Park South in New York City, which he purchased in 2019 for $239.96 million — a record for the highest purchase price for a single home in the U.S.
