It's "Play Ball!" Time, But There's Trouble on the Horizon

Opinion by John T. "Red" Ryan

SO NOW, TIME really does move along when you're having a good time here on Planet Earth! We find ourselves in the backwash of St. Patrick's Day, the arrival of Robin Red-Breast and (of course) BASEBALL !!

IT SEEMS NOT so long ago that we were greeting the 2016 Season; a year's pennant chase that started out strong on both sides of town. As we all found out after about two months, the White Sox fell off; but it was definitely "next Year" for the Cubs, who handily went the distance. They skillfully and without any hesitation took all; convincingly putting to rest all of the "Lovable Loosers" jokes and references to the 1908 Baseball Season.

SO, LET'S ONCE again, get out and pull for not only our team, but for both in their respective Leagues. The ideal and ultimately desired result would be an All Chicago, "Subway" Series ! We can hope, can't we ?

BUT THERE NOW appears on the Baseball horizon an ominous and threatening menace that threatens to change our National Pastime in both in a fundamental sense and remove some of the tension that is what makes our game such a great and serious alternate life that it is. W e're talking about a proposal that we'll call, just for sake of identification, "the Automatic Intentional Walk." 

THIS WAS RUDELY brought to our immediate attention this past week when we heard a news item as part of our car radio's news on the hour. It was then that, while the announcer was doing some sports items, that it hit us. The announcement said something like: "The Major League Baseball Players Association (union) had agreed to the implementing a rule that would reduce the Intentional Walk from an actual physical act of purposely throwing 4 wide ones up to the Plate; to the mere saying that the batter was walked. It would require no pitches, no control, nothing but a say so by the team which was out on the field. The purpose of such an implementation of such a rule is supposedly to speed up the game.

THE IDEA HAS been kicked around before; but has never been taken seriously. We recall that when the White Sox were bought from Bill Veeck by Jerry Reinsdorf's group in 1981, his partner, the Late Eddie Einhorn (1936-2016), made such a proposal in an interview. When I asked our two Grade School, Jenn (9 years) and Michelle (then 6), about what they thought about the idea, they quickly came up with some very astute observations. "Why the pitcher could throw a wild pitch.", ""He could balk in his delivery.", "The batter could still hit a pitch that wasn't too far outside." (We do recall seeing NY Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra do that very thing!) 

BASEBALL HAS GONE through many changes over the years. We've seen the adoption of the Infield Fly Rule (1895),  Radio (and later Television) broadcasting, Night Games ("under the lights") in the 1930's, implementation of Divisional Play (1969), the creation of the Designated Hitter  (1973) and the use of Video Instant Replay in tough calls more recently. The game was little affected by these developments; and even benefited in most cases.

BUT WE MUST object to the removal of an actual, integral part of the game (pitching to the batter), even if the object is to put him on. It is said that the idea is to save time and speed things up. Well, it wouldn't save enough to justify this diluting of the intentional walk to a "say so!" Let's hope that good judgement prevails and they find some other way to save time.

FOR EVEN WITH with an intentional walk, the hitter is still earning his way on base.

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John T. “Red” Ryan is a retired Chicago police officer and Garfield Ridge resident.    

Garfield Ridge Dad Fighting Back From West Nile; Seeks Help From Community

By Joan Hadac
Southwest Chicago Post
Editor and Publisher

For nearly 30 years, Jeff Walls was known as a union

Jeff and Marisa Walls

carpenter who never turned down an extra shift.

For the last seven months, the tradesman has been flat on his back, felled by a mosquito bite that gave him West Nile encephalitis and left him completely paralyzed in a hospital bed set up in his Garfield Ridge home.

“My dad has always been an active man,” said his daughter, Ariana, 25, who along with her sister, Lindsey, 22, brother, Nick, 28, and mother, Marisa, provide care and hope for Jeff Walls. “Even after work, he’d use his skills to build things for himself and for others.”

Back in August, he came home from work more tired than usual and chalked it up to the summer heat. The next day, he went to work but came home early. In the days after that, his energy level continued to fall. He started experiencing double vision, was feverish and sweating and seemed to take a long time to formulate answers to questions.

Trips to the emergency room, as well as multiple blood tests, did not yield a diagnosis of West Nile Virus infection, Ariana said.

Doctors put him into a coma for his own protection. He lay

there for three months, coming out “super slow” in the fall, his daughter recalled, saying that her dad’s case is one of the worst cases of West Nile-related disease ever documented in Illinois.

Encephalitis is a dangerous inflammation of the brain. It is a rare complication of West Nile Virus infection.

While there is no way to prove exactly where Jeff was bitten by a West Nile-infected mosquito—it could have been as close as his back yard or as far away a carpentry job on the other side of the city—his family took action that may have saved other people’s health or even lives. They called their local alderman and demanded that the City of Chicago spray insecticide in the neighborhood, which it had not yet done in 2016.

A limited amount of spraying was done in some sections of Garfield Ridge and Clearing in September.

Home at last about three weeks ago, Jeff is currently unable to perform even the simplest tasks that most people take for granted, including eating. He breathes with the assistance of a ventilator.

“He hates this,” Ariana said of her dad’s predicament. “It’s killing him that he is so inactive.”

Hired attendants typically work in the home 12 hours a day, with family members taking over the other half.

Medical bills have piled up and continue to do so, Ariana noted, with insurance covering only a portion.

In response, the family has launched a GoFundMe page that has raised about $22,000—with a goal of $100,000.

The family is hoping that publicity in and around Garfield Ridge—a part of Chicago known for its neighbor-to-neighbor generosity—will bring in more monetary donations online.

In addition to the immediate online appeal, the family is planning a face-to-face fundraiser for July at a restaurant or banquet hall. Details will be announced in the weeks ahead.

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Developer hoping for 2019 opening for two biz traveler hotels at 53rd and Cicero

By Joan Hadac
Editor and Publisher
Southwest Chicago Post

After a year of hearing rumors about how a Florida-based developer may bring the long-vacant property at 5301 S. Cicero back to life, Archer Heights neighbors finally heard from the developer himself.

Charles Everhardt, principal of Lockwood Development

An Archer Heights neighbor (left) chats with Charles Everhardt.

Partners, spoke to about two dozen men and women at a recent meeting at St. Richard Church. The public gathering was organized by the Archer Heights Civic Association, which has long advocated for the improvement of the site.

Plans call for construction of two high-end, limited-service hotels geared to business travelers using nearby Midway Airport. One is a four-story, SpringHill Suites by Marriott that would front Cicero Avenue. The other, immediately east, is set to be a six-story Cambria Hotels & Suites.

With a price tag of about $80 million, the hotels should have a total of about 285 rooms, as well as a multi-story parking structure, on the nearly three-acre parcel.

Everhardt said that if all goes according to plan, ground will be broken in late summer, with the hotels opening for business 18 months later, in early 2019.

A view of the proposed complex, looking southeast from 53rd and Cicero.

“This can’t happen soon enough,” said AHCA President Thomas S. Baliga, who likened Everhardt to a “white knight” riding in to save the property. He expressed a hope that the new hotel complex will “serve as an anchor for the re-development of Cicero Avenue all the way north to the Stevenson Expressway.”

A handful of men and women who live immediately east of the planned development peppered Everhardt with questions, mostly seeking and receiving assurances that hotel traffic—both autos and shuttle buses—will be carefully channeled in and out of Cicero Avenue and not disrupt traffic on 53rd Street, Keating or Kilpatrick.

For months before this week’s meeting, both the AHCA and 23rd Ward Ald. Michael R. Zalewski have worked with Everhardt to address traffic-flow and other concerns—resulting in, among other things, a separate lane on hotel property, specifically for shuttle buses.

Another key to the development is a first-ever traffic light to be installed at 53rd and Cicero. The Chicago Department of Transportation has approved the idea. The next step is getting the green light from the Illinois Department of Transportation, since Cicero Avenue is a state road.
A light at 53rd and Cicero “would be welcome for us all,” said AHCA member Juanita Beltran, who has lived in the immediate area for nearly 17 years. “Right now, it’s just about impossible to drive west on 53rd Street and then make a left to go south on Cicero. It’s too dangerous. A stop light would change all that.” 

If the hotels are built and prosper, it will end years of ups and downs for the property. Two decades ago, the site was home to a new American National Bank building. When the bank folded, the space was taken over by then-City Clerk James J. Laski Jr. and turned into a service center that dispensed city vehicle stickers and more.

When those operations moved out after Laski left office, just a few medical offices remained. From about 2008-11 the building was vacant and the subject of a fair amount of back-and-forth in court before it was demolished.

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St. Laurence Hosts NCAA Final Four Fun

St. Laurence High School hosts its 17th annual Final Four

Extravaganza, the place for action and entertainment on Saturday, April 1.

This year’s event--held at the school, 5556 W. 77th St., Burbank--features a big Super Raffle with many cash prizes, including a $5,000 grand prize* to one lucky winner. Tickets are $60 in advance, $70 at the door the night of the event, and include free food and drink throughout the evening.

The “Evening of Baskets and Bucks” offers Las Vegas-style gaming amidst the excitement of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The event will also feature a large craft-beer tasting area. 

Supporters of the school are invited to attend and renew acquaintances with friends, faculty, and alumni. Proceeds will directly benefit the students at the Catholic, college-preparatory school.

“As always, we truly look forward to welcoming all of those who share the spirit and the enthusiasm of our St. Laurence community,” said Joe Martinez, school president.

The Final Four Extravaganza includes areas dedicated to casino games, food and beverage service, a big raffle, craft-beer tasting, and basketball viewing on large television screens. These activities are open from 4 p.m. until midnight.

The event is sponsored by St. Laurence High School, in cooperation with the Fathers’ Club and Mothers’ Club. 

To purchase tickets, or for additional information about St. Laurence’s Final Four Extravaganza, call (708) 458-6900, ext. 237, or visit www.stlaurence.com, and click on the Alumni page. Link: stlfinalfour2017.eventbrite.com

*Exact grand prize determined by number of tickets sold; grand prize may be prorated.

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GRNW Sell-A-Bration Coming; Like a Big, Fun Garage Sale at Kennedy HS

Those wishing to sell rummage items are invited to reserve

space at the upcoming Sell-A-Bration hosted by the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, set for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 29 in the west parking lot of Kennedy High School, 56th and Narragansett.

The Sell-A-Bration will include a basket raffle. Proceeds from the raffle and space rentals at the event will help fund the GRNW’s various neighborhood initiatives.

Information on space reservations may be obtained by calling Arlene at  (773) 229-1993 or sending an email to email@garfieldridgenw.com.

Additionally, donations of empty baskets, as well as gift items to fill them, are needed.

Rain date for the event is Sunday, April 30.

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Two Men Charged in Clearing Drug Raid

Two men were charged with felony possession of a

Miguel Diaz

controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of cannabis after police raided their home in the 5900 block of South Massasoit at 5:50 p.m. Friday, March 3.

Ricardo Serrano and Miguel Diaz, both age 21, were arrested at the residence.

They were due in bond court on Saturday.

Ricardo Serrano

Police executing a search warrant at the home said they found 100 grams of cannabis and two ounces of cocaine, among other items.

Items seized/Chicago Police Department photo

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Crime News Update

Editor's note: The crime news reported by the Southwest Chicago Post---taken directly from Chicago Police Department incident reports---is not by any means an exhaustive catalogue of all crime reported in the Chicago Lawn (8th) District. For example, it typically does not include news of crimes committed in the eastern and southern sectors of the district---because the Southwest Chicago Post's coverage area is primarily the neighborhoods that border Midway Airport and secondarily because including the relatively large volume of crime news from elsewhere in the district would be a logistical challenge. We make this note to offer a little helpful perspective and remind everyone that while crime is definitely a concern in all parts of the district (as it always has been), crime remains relatively low overall in the western section of the district. May all of us work together diligently to keep it that way. May all of us also remember that a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Man shot and killed near 51st Street
A 20-year-old Ashburn man was shot in the “lower body” and killed near 51st and Ridgeway

Giovanni Lopez

just before 4:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23. Giovanni Lopez, of the 3600 block of West 81st Place, was pronounced dead at the scene, at 4:41 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Area Central detectives are investigating, police added. A GoFundMe page has helped raise nearly $4,000 in 10 days for his family.







Basketball brawl ends with Kennedy player beaten
A 19-year-old West Elsdon man, a player on Kennedy High School’s basketball team, was beaten in the ribs with a tire iron shortly after a game at Hubbard High School, 62nd and Hamlin, at 7:52 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. Witnesses told police that although the game was a rout, with the host Greyhounds defeating the Crusaders 98-59, the game was hard-fought, with one Hubbard player ejected from the game and the building. After the game, as the Kennedy team left the building, some of the players became separated from their teammates, witnesses said. Four teens, described by witnesses only as black and Hispanic males, exited a dark-colored Ford Explorer with a “Hispanic decal” on the back window and began arguing with the victim. A punch to the face dropped him, and one offender hit him repeatedly in the torso with a tire iron. They all fled in the vehicle west on 62nd Street, and the victim was transported by CFD ambulance to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was initially listed in stable condition with possibly broken ribs.

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Want to work directly with Chicago Police to prevent crime in your neighborhood? If you live in Beat 812 (see map), come to Clearing Branch Library at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 8 and attend your monthly CAPS meeting. Hear updates on crime in your neighborhood and learn how you can work with neighbors and police to make the community safer and better for all.

Swung knife in pharmacy, police say
A 40-year-old Northwest Side man was arrested and charged with armed robbery after

Carlos Felix

he allegedly swung a pocket knife at a manager at CVS pharmacy, 6315 S. Pulaski, at 3:13 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. Carlos Felix, of the 4800 block of West Armitage, allegedly stole a six-pack of Ivory bar soap and boarded a southbound CTA bus. Police curbed the bus near 75th Street, and Felix allegedly ditched the soap on the bus, got off quickly and dropped the knife on the street before fleeing. He was apprehended by police and was positively identified by CVS employees, according to the police report. Bond was set at $100,000, and Felix was due in court yesterday at 51st and Wentworth.

Boost Mobile robbed at knifepoint
The Boost Mobile store at 5643 W. 63rd St. was robbed at knifepoint at 2:10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16. A clerk told police that a masked man walked in, flashed a knife and said, “Give me the money.” The clerk put $273 in a white plastic bag and handed it to him. The robber then ran away east on 63rd Street. He was described as a white man about 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds, with brown hair. He wore a dark blue jacket, gray sweatpants, and black gym shoes with white soles.

5643 West 63rd Street.

Curie student apprehended in sidewalk robbery, beating
A 16-year-old South Side boy--a student at Curie High School--was arrested after he and another juvenile punched and stole a cell phone from a 15-year-old girl walking home from school at 55th and Springfield at 3:18 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20. The girl told police that after the offenders snatched her phone away, she chased them west on 55h Street. When she caught up with them, one punched her in the head, knocking her to the ground. A passerby stopped and lent her a cell phone so she call 911 and her father, a 44-year-old man, who arrived on scene and apprehended the 16-year-old. The girl refused medical attention and had no visible injuries, police said.

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Girl robbed on Pulaski sidewalk
A 16-year-old Scottsdale girl was robbed of her cell phone as she stood on a sidewalk in front of 6302 S. Pulaski at 4:50 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. The girl said that two boys or men walked and demanded her phone. When she replied that she did not have a phone, one of the robbers saw a bulge in her pocket and said, “I see it right there. Give it to me.” They then snatched it from her, pushed her to the pavement and ran away south. They were described as black males age 15-19, about 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds, with brown eyes and medium complexions. They both wore dark-colored pants. One wore a red hoody, and the other wore a blue hoody. The girl was not injured and refused medical attention, police said.

Repo men attacked as they take back Lexus
Two repo men—38 and 22 years of age—told police that four men in a silver Lexus chased them shortly after they repossessed a car from the 3600 block of West 81st Street at 2:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 20. The offenders, described only as black men, pulled alongside a company car driven by the 38-year-old victim and smashed the rear passenger window with an aluminum baseball bat, shouting, “Give us the car back!” The victims fled south into Evergreen Park, where they flagged down a police officer. The offenders fled.

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Want to work directly with Chicago Police to prevent crime in your neighborhood? If you live in Beat 814 (see map), come to the Vittum Park Field House at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 9 and attend your monthly CAPS meeting. Hear updates on crime in your neighborhood and learn how you can work with neighbors and police to make the community safer and better for all.

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Cops on gang patrol find knives on teen boys
A 17-year-old Archer Heights boy and a 16-year-old West Elsdon boy were charged with unlawful use of a weapon after police found each to be carrying a knife. Police on “gang suppression” patrol at 10:37 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 said they spotted the teens walking west on a sidewalk in front of 4902 W. 49th St., accompanied by two girls. Making a routine stop and a pat-down, police discovered and confiscated the weapons. They also learned that the 17-year-old was wanted on a warrant. Both were taken to the Chicago Lawn (8th) District Police Station for processing.

New homeowners victimized by burglars
Burglars broke into a vacant house in the 3800 block of West 66th Place and stole a furnace and a hot-water tank. The crime was discovered by the victims, a 39-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man--both of Chicago Lawn--at 8 a.m. Friday, Jan. 20. The victims told police they had recently bought the home but had not yet moved in, while a remodeler was installing appliances.

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Computers, cash, jewelry swiped from home
Burglars broke into a home in the 6600 block of West 59th Street and stole a computer, an iPad, two watches, two neck chains and $480 cash. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 48-year-old man, at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20.

Side window is burglary entry point
Burglars pried open the side window of a home in the 6300 block of South Latrobe and stole assorted jewelry and $90 cash. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 31-year-old woman, at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20.

TV, wallet missing after burglary
Burglars entered a home in the 5600 block of South Sayre and stole a TV and a wallet. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 36-year-old man, at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18. The victim said he had left the side door of his house unlocked.

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