Latest news with #then-Chicago
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Joel Quenneville to be named coach of Anaheim Ducks: Sources
Joel Quenneville will be hired as head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, league sources told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on Thursday. Quenneville, a three-time Stanley Cup champion as a head coach, has been out of the NHL since 2021, when the league determined Quenneville had an 'inadequate response' to allegations of sexual assault within the Chicago Blackhawks when he was coach of the team. Advertisement Quenneville, 66, ranks second all-time among NHL coaches with 969 regular-season victories. He most recently coached the Florida Panthers from 2019-21 but resigned after a meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman regarding his role in the Blackhawks scandal, in which former player Kyle Beach alleged he had been sexually assaulted by Chicago video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010. A report from a law firm later detailed how the Chicago organization failed to properly address the allegations. Bettman subsequently announced that Quenneville, then Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and then-Chicago executive Al MacIsaac — all of whom left their roles in 2021 — would have to meet with him before returning to the NHL. All three were reinstated last July 1, and Bowman was hired as GM of the Edmonton Oilers that month but Quenneville has remained on the sidelines. Per league sources, the Ducks conducted 'an extensive review over the past two weeks of the Kyle Beach case' and will address their findings later Thursday when the hire is officially announced. The Ducks were in search of a replacement for Greg Cronin, whom they fired this month after two seasons. The Ducks made a 21-point improvement in the standings this season but missed the playoffs for a seventh consecutive year. Quenneville brings a long record of coaching success, which came after a 13-year career as an NHL defenseman. After he won the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, Quenneville became head coach in St. Louis and led the Blues to the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons. After being fired in 2004, Quenneville returned to Colorado as head coach for three seasons. Quenneville's biggest success came in Chicago. Hired in 2008, he coached the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup championship in his second season, then again in 2013 and 2015. After the Blackhawks lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2016 and 2017, and missed the playoffs in 2017-18, Quenneville was fired 15 games into the 2018-19 season. He then moved to the Florida Panthers, with whom he spent parts of three seasons before his 2021 resignation.
Chicago Tribune
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Clarence Page: Let's take advantage of the crime downturn to learn what's gone right
Will Donald Trump have Chicago to kick around anymore? That question, an update of Richard Nixon's memorable farewell to news reporters as he dropped out of the California governor's race in 1962, came to mind on the heels of some unusually welcome news about violent crime in Chicago. The city finished April with 20 reported homicides, the lowest count of any April since 1962, according to a WBEZ analysis. Also, the public radio station found that the city's '116 murders through this year's first four months mark the lowest January-through-April tally since 2014.' Even as the city braces for its usual summertime surge in violent crimes, Chicago still appears to be on pace to hit Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2025 goal of having fewer than 500 homicides for the first time in a decade. Meanwhile, is Washington tuned in to the good news — and how we can have more of it? Trump's historic blizzard of executive orders in the first 100 days of his second term in office poked his presidential nose back into Chicago's affairs at the very moment when good news is happening without him. Three of his executive orders in particular seemed to be aimed at Chicago. One seeks to end all federal consent decrees governing police reform efforts. That would include Chicago's agreement, which dates back to the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, 17, by then-Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke in October 2014. McDonald died after Van Dyke pumped 16 9 mm bullets into him. In 400 pages of reports, police had claimed that McDonald was acting 'crazed' while walking down the street and had lunged at officers after refusing to drop a knife, leading department supervisors to rule the homicide justifiable. Video of the incident released later showed that McDonald was walking away. Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder, and Chicago and the U.S. Department of Justice signed a consent decree to address the underlying civil rights issues of the case. A second executive order by Trump calls on state and federal officials, as WBEZ reported, to 'publish lists of jurisdictions often called sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with federal officials' attempts to arrest immigrants who are in the country illegally.' That sounds like Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance. First declared by Mayor Harold Washington in 1985 via executive order, it aims to ensure undocumented residents are not prosecuted 'on the basis of immigration status.' Yet another order signed by Trump would increase access to excess military equipment by state and local officials. It would also increase legal support for officers accused of wrongdoing while on official duty. Although I believe in supporting law enforcement, the use of military equipment by local departments opens up another long-running debate about the wisdom and effectiveness of militarizing local police, as it could lead to unnecessary use of excessive force on, for example, political protesters. Finally, Trump signed an order reinforcing an existing federal law that requires English-language proficiency for commercial motor drivers. That doesn't sound too drastic, but I'm curious about how a Republican president whose party usually emphasizes local solutions for local problems is so eager to stick Washington's nose into this one. Amid these executive orders, will Trump and his MAGA movement notice the good news happening on Chicago streets and other big cities? Is it possible that Trump and MAGA have drawn so much political mileage out of the crime-ridden-hellhole narrative about Chicago to be deterred by mere facts? 'Chicago is a shooting disaster,' Trump tweeted way back in August 2013. 'They should immediately go to STOP AND FRISK. They have no choice, hundreds of lives would be saved!' Stop-and-frisk policies also are very controversial, yet popular among those who first hear about it. Which reminds me of a wise saying of H.L. Mencken that Ronald Reagan loved to quote: 'For every problem, there's a solution that's neat, plausible and wrong.' Trump's tireless tweeting often brings that to mind. To find real solutions requires more careful examination than you are likely to hear from the next bar stool. My years of covering crime and other problems in Chicago's communities have shown me how a lot of street-savvy and dedicated professionals and volunteers at the grassroots neighborhood level have been the unsung heroes that lead to safe and peaceful communities, if we give them a chance. We can learn a lot from such apparent successes as community violence intervention, or CVI, programs. They hire ex-offenders to mediate gang conflicts and steer high-risk individuals to social services and jobs. Such programs won't end all of our urban crime problems, but I've seen a promising number of examples that have produced positive results. Can the answers to our urban crime problems be found on the same streets that produced them? It's worth a try. Either way, it's better than turning our neighborhoods, whose residents want to live in peace and safety, into an escalating combat zone.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State senator in red light probe: ‘Raise me five grand – that'd be good'
CHICAGO — An Illinois state senator was recorded discussing campaign contributions and a job for an intern in exchange for changes to legislation to protect the red light camera ticketing network operating in many suburbs, according to a new filing from federal prosecutors. State Sen. Emil Jones, III (D-Chicago) is charged with bribery, making a false statement to the FBI and use of email in aid of racketeering. 'You can raise me five grand. That'd be good,' Jones was allegedly recorded telling a SafeSpeed executive during a 2019 dinner. Prosecutors say the two then discussed ways to conceal the potential money. Jones didn't know the SafeSpeed executive he was talking to, Omar Maani, was cooperating with the FBI. 'We have reporting requirements and everything, and I just don't want to go down that path,' Maani told Jones, according to the government filing. 'I get it,' Jones allegedly replied. Jones is also said to have asked Maani for help finding a job for one of his interns. 'I will help 100 percent. And like I said before, if you could just help me out with the, ah, the study, to make it to Chicago,' Maani allegedly said. Prosecutors say Jones responded: 'You're good.' Jones is scheduled to stand trial April 1. The Chicago Tribune, which was first to report on the new filings, says it will be the first trial of a sitting elected official since then-Chicago alderman Patrick Daley Thompson's case in 2021. Jones replaced his father in the Illinois General Assembly. Emil Jones, Jr. was a powerful figure in democratic politics and served as president of the Illinois senate until his retirement in 2009. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud SafeSpeed cameras continue to operate in the suburbs despite evidence the former executive bribed local elected officials and at least two state legislators to grease the wheels. Prosecutors say Maani and SafeSpeed were concerned about a bill that would have required the Illinois Department of Transportation to study the effectiveness of the cameras. SafeSpeed only operates cameras in the suburbs. 'If I do file that bill, it will only be for Chicago,' prosecutors alleged Jones told Maani. SafeSpeed spokesperson Noelle Gaffney tells WGN Investigates, 'Maani was working for the FBI, not SafeSpeed, when he had such conversations. SafeSpeed didn't know about it. Didn't and wouldn't authorize it. SafeSpeed severed ties with Maani as soon as it became aware.' The company has previously claimed it had no knowledge its executive was bribing elected officials. Previous Coverage: Crestwood mayor resigns, pleads guilty in red light camera bribery case In 2021, WGN Investigates reported 21 suburbs continued to partner with SafeSpeed collecting more than $18 millions since the first indictments were handed down in 2020. Crestwood mayor Lou Presta pled guilty in a federal bribery case involving SafeSpeed in 2021 after being accused of accepting a $5,000 bribe from Maani. He was sentenced to a year in prison and released in 2022. The mayor of Oak Brook Terrace also pled guilty to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from a SafeSpeed executive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
27-01-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Heat to sit Jimmy Butler another 5 games minimum for leaving shootaround
Jimmy Butler was back from suspension. Again. And then Butler got suspended by the Miami Heat. Again. Butler has been suspended for the third time this month by the Heat, this one starting basically just as the second one was ending. The team said Monday that Butler left Monday's shootaround early, in advance of a game against the Orlando Magic. He is expected to miss at least five games. Butler was expected to come back from his second suspension on Monday. only to be suspended for a third time, after something apparently went wrong during the shootaround. He was suspended for Miami's most recent two games after missing a team flight to Milwaukee last week. Butler has missed 14 of Miami's last 19 games entering Monday, including nine of the last 12 because of the suspensions - the first a seven-game ban for conduct that the team deemed detrimental, followed by the two-game suspension. Butler's role going forward, starter or non-starter, was in some question even before the latest suspension was announced Monday. Butler hasn't come off the bench in a game since Jan. 27, 2017, exactly eight years ago Monday in a game ironically, against Miami, when he and then-Chicago teammate Dwyane Wade criticized how the Bulls were playing. Including playoffs, Butler has started in each of his last 560 appearances. "It kind of feels normal now at this point," Heat guard Tyler Herro said Monday morning at shootaround when asked what it's like to have Butler available again after a suspension — those words coming a few hours before the latest suspension was announced. "Kind of is what it is, but nothing's guaranteed. We've just got to be ready to roll with whatever cards we're dealt tonight. We've just got to be ready to go." Saga to come to a head soon? Butler wants a trade, and Miami is trying to comply. But moving Butler and his $48.8 million salary this season is likely going to be more complicated that it would have been in past seasons, largely because of the league's aprons — salary levels installed as part of the new collective bargaining agreement that restrict the ways bigger-spending teams can make certain moves. It has been a saga that has lasted now for nearly two months and figures to come to a head, one way or another, over the next week and a half. The NBA's trade deadline is Feb. 6, which meant Monday could have been one of the final times Butler plays a home game in Miami. The Heat next play at home on Wednesday against Cleveland. After that, they leave for a four-game road trip to San Antonio, Chicago, Philadelphia and Brooklyn — that Nets game getting played on Feb. 7, one day after the deadline. Butler has said repeatedly throughout this process that he still loves Miami, in the off-the-court sense. "I love this city with everything that I have," he said this weekend while appearing at a padel tournament that he co-chaired. The issue, for him, is with the team. Butler became eligible last summer for a two-year, $113 million extension that the Heat have not offered him. Heat president Pat Riley said after last season that the team had reservations about such a deal since Butler has missed about one of every four Miami games since he joined the team. Butler entered the season saying he was not upset about the extension not getting done. It appears that stance changed in recent weeks, and the team announced earlier this month that Butler asked for a trade, something he cannot do publicly by league rule. Butler is averaging 17 points per game this season. He had one of the best statistical games in Heat history against Detroit on Dec. 16 — 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. In six appearances entering Monday since then, including one where he departed in the first quarter with an illness, Butler is averaging 9.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
The Guardian
27-01-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Miami Heat suspend Jimmy Butler again after player walks out of practice
Jimmy Butler has been suspended for the third time this month by the Miami Heat as he appears to attempt to force his way out of the team. The Heat said that Butler left Monday's morning shootaround practice early, as they prepared for an upcoming game against the Orlando Magic. The suspension is indefinite for now, with the team saying it will last at least five games. Butler was expected to come back from his second suspension on Monday – only to be suspended for a third time. Butler, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, was told during the shootaround that he was not going to be back in the starting lineup for Monday's game. He left the shootaround not long afterward, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not release details of the episode publicly. The 35-year-old was suspended for Miami's most recent two games after missing a team flight to Milwaukee last week. Butler had missed 14 of Miami's last 19 games entering Monday, including nine of the last 12 because of the suspensions – the first a seven-game ban for conduct that the team deemed detrimental, followed by the two-game suspension. Butler's role going forward was in some question even before the latest suspension was announced. Butler hasn't come off the bench in a game since January 2017, exactly eight years ago Monday in a game against Miami, ironically, when he and then-Chicago teammate Dwyane Wade criticized how the Bulls were playing. Including playoffs, Butler has started in each of his last 560 appearances. 'It kind of feels normal now at this point,' Heat guard Tyler Herro said on Monday morning when asked what it's like to have Butler available again after a suspension. Those words came a few hours before the latest suspension was announced. 'Kind of is what it is, but nothing's guaranteed. We've just got to be ready to roll with whatever cards we're dealt tonight. We've just got to be ready to go.' Butler wants a trade, and Miami are trying to comply. But moving Butler and his $48.8m salary this season is likely to be more complicated than it would have been in past seasons, largely because of the league's aprons – salary levels installed as part of the new collective bargaining agreement that restrict how bigger-spending teams can make certain moves. The Butler saga has lasted for almost two months and will come to a head – one way or another – over the next week and a half. The NBA's trade deadline is 6 February, which meant Monday could have been one of the final times Butler plays a home game in Miami. Including Monday, there are only six games left for Miami before the trade deadline, raising the possibility that Butler will not play for the team again. Butler, a six-time All-Star, has said repeatedly throughout this process that he still loves the city of Miami. 'I love this city with everything that I have,' he said this weekend while appearing at a padel tournament that he co-chaired. The issue, for him, is with the team. Butler became eligible last summer for a two-year, $113m extension that the Heat have not offered him. Heat president Pat Riley said after last season that the team had reservations about such a deal because Butler has missed about one of every four Miami games since he joined the team. Butler entered the season saying he was not upset about the lack of an extension. It appears that stance changed in recent weeks, and the team announced earlier this month that Butler asked for a trade – something he cannot do publicly by league rule. Butler is averaging 17 points per game this season. He had one of the best statistical games in Heat history against Detroit in December – 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. In his six appearances since then, including one where he departed in the first quarter with an illness, Butler is averaging 9.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He has also lost at least $3m in salary since then because of the suspensions, a figure that the National Basketball Players Association plans to appeal.
