A Hint At Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana Starting First 2 Games Of NLDS? Jed Hoyer Calls Recent Form ‘Important Factor’

(CBS) As the Cubs continue to debate how to configure their pitching rotation against the Nationals in the National League Division Series, general manager Jed Hoyer acknowledged that recent form is a crucial factor.

That would hint at right-hander Kyle Hendricks and left-hander Jose Quintana throwing the first two games against in Washington D.C. Game 1 is next Friday, and manager Joe Maddon has already all but ruled out right-hander Jake Arrieta from pitching in the first two games as he recovers from a hamstring strain. Left-hander Jon Lester also hasn’t been in top form and dealt with shoulder fatigue in August.

“That’s a fairly important factor,” Hoyer said of recent form in an interview with Danny Parkins and Matt Spiegel and 670 The Score on Friday. “I think when you think about it, like I said, we’ve got a group of guys that could all start Game 1. I think when you look at what these guys have done, I thought Quintana’s performance against the Brewers on Sunday was unbelievable in a big spot. Kyle Hendricks, incredible, a guy who started Game 6 (of the NLCS) last year, was one of the best pitching performances I’ve seen. He started Game 7 of the World Series and threw well. And obviously, Lester and Arrieta have pitched Game 1 in the past.

“How you’re pitching now does have to be a factor, thinking about the last month or two of the season.”

Hoyer called a pitcher’s past history against a foe “a middle factor, not huge” in deciding a playoff rotation. He also added the Cubs trust the makeup and character of all their starters to handle a big start.

As for how the tough decisions on the fringe of the roster are made? There are many factors there too.

“When you get down to those 23, 24, 25th guys, you’re trying to think about different games situations, maybe even look at the opponent and think about what their bullpen looks like or what things their manager might do,” Hoyer said.

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2kbnkOu

State Of The Art Facilities Unveiled At Three Chicago Schools

Chicago (CBS) — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and school officials presented three new state-of-the-art facilities within the system.

At Audubon Elementary, it was a new elementary park. The entire campus is new at the Mansueto College Prep High School in Brighton Park. That’s where Mayor Emanuel helped cut the ribbon.

“This is a gorgeous building. And what’s gorgeous about it is not just its architecture,” said Emanuel. “What’s gorgeous is the futures that are going to be built here.”

“We are going to do everything we possibly can, every single staff member in this building, to ensure that every single child has the absolute best instruction that this city has to offer,” said Darko Simunovic, principal at Mansueto High School.

Also new are modular classrooms at Dawes Elementary School.

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2k9FU9L

Bears Place Safety Quintin Demps On Injured Reserve

(CBS) Another Chicago Bear is on injured reserve.

The Bears on Friday placed safety Quintin Demps on IR, five days after he suffered a fractured arm in a win against the Steelers on Sunday. Demps didn’t play in Chicago’s 35-14 loss at Green Bay on Thursday night, as Adrian Amos returned to a starting safety role.

The Bears haven’t given a timeline for how long Demps will be out, though it’s believed he could be a candidate to return later in the season. Teams are allowed to bring two players off IR.

Demps has 12 tackles in three games this season.

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2k8Sp5K

Man With Purple Wig Robs Suburban Bank: FBI

GLEN ELLYN (CBS) — A Bank of America branch was robbed Friday morning in the western suburbs.

The non-takeover robbery happened at 9:23 a.m. at the Bank of America branch at 600 Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn, according to FBI spokesman Garrett H. Croon.

The man entered the bank, announced a robbery and demanded money from the teller, according to Glen Ellyn police.

This suspect — described as a man wearing a purple wig — held up a suburban bank. (FBI)

After leaving the bank, he ran east, police said. Officers searched the area, but didn’t find anyone matching the suspect’s description.

He was described as a white man in his late 30s or early 40s, standing about 5-foot-8 with a medium build, authorities said. He was wearing a gray winter hat, a purple shoulder-length wig, a blue sweatshirt and light-colored plaid pants.

He wasn’t suspected to be a serial bank robber, according to Croon, but he was considered to be armed and dangerous.

Authorities were offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, the FBI said.

Anyone with information about the bank robbery was asked to call the FBI’s Chicago office at (312) 421-6700 or police at (630) 469-1187.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire copy; Chicago Sun-Times 2017. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2xHHyCD

Levine: Cubs Could Include All 5 Starters On NLDS Roster

By Bruce Levine–

CHICAGO (CBS) — It’s rare to see five starting pitchers included on a team’s 25-man roster for a playoff series, but the Cubs find themselves in a unique situation that might necessitate it.

With the playoffs starting next week, the Cubs’ top two pitchers aren’t anywhere near top form. Left-hander Jon Lester hit the disabled list in mid-August with shoulder fatigue and has struggled for much of the second half. Right-hander Jake Arrieta strained his right hamstring in early September and has in his second start since returning looked tentative in only going three innings in a loss Tuesday. Arrieta’s schedule start Sunday has been cancelled in favor of a simulated game and more rest.

Because of that, the Cubs are considering including all five of their rotation members — specifically No. 5 starter John Lackey — on the National League Division Series roster. Normally, teams include four starters.

“It is possible,” manager Joe Maddon said Friday. “It is definitely possible to see all of them involved. Of course, somebody would have to be a part of the bullpen, but it is possible.”

Maddon, pitching coach Chris Bosio and executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer will meet Monday to determine a rotation configuration. The smart money is on right-hander Kyle Hendricks starting Game 1 against the Nationals next Friday and left-hander Jose Quintana following in Game 2. That would buck conventional wisdom, which would have veterans and big-game performers in Lester and Arrieta getting the ball early in the series.

This doesn’t seem like that kind of year, though. Lester and Arrieta have issues to work through and haven’t proved to be as reliable as Hendricks and Quintana lately. And this is no time for sentimentality. Hendricks has a 2.19 ERA in the second half of the season, while Quintana had a 1.63 ERA in September before his start against the Reds at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon.

Lackey will also have a decent shot of being on the NLDS roster. The Cubs were 12-2 in his last 14 starts of the regular season, and he could come out of the bullpen as a long reliever — and also serve as insurance should Arrieta have a setback for any reason. Still, there’s some doubt surrounding the effectiveness of Lackey coming out of the bullpen and being fully warmed up. After Maddon utilized Lackey out of the bullpen in the 2016 season, Lackey hit the DL with a sore shoulder.

Left-hander Mike Montgomery was a lifesaver for the Cubs in the 2016 playoffs, and he’ll be ready for any role this October.

“I have not thrown two consecutive days very often this season,” Montgomery said. “I will be ready for whatever they ask me to do. My arm feels fine.”

Wade Davis, Carl Edwards Jr., Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon, Brian Duensing and Montgomery are locks to be in the Cubs bullpen. Lefty reliever Justin Wilson is on the bubble but will be in if the Cubs want three left-handers. If Lackey is included, righty reliever Justin Grimm would most likely be the odd man out.

If Arrieta is healthy, the rotation could look like this, in order; Hendricks, Quintana, Arrieta and then Lester. That would put Hendricks in line to start a win-or-go-home Game 5 with Lackey on standby status for the whole series.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2xE3nFO

Parole Eligible Murderer, Ripper Crew Member Denied Release

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois authorities refused Friday to release a parole-eligible convicted murderer who is suspected of being part of the notorious “Ripper Crew” that brutally killed as many as 20 women in the 1980s, determining that he lacks an approved place to live.

Thomas Kokoraleis was scheduled to be released on parole after serving 35 years in prison for the 1982 slaying of a suburban Chicago woman. The Illinois Department of Corrections’ website still lists Friday as his release day.

Prisoners who are released on parole must have what is called an “approved host site,” meaning an address where parole officers can regularly find him. The Chicago Tribune reported Kokoraleis’ older brother said he will not be living with him or anyone else in the family.

Officials won’t be able to hold Kokoraleis indefinitely, even if he is unable to find a place to live. Sept. 30, 2020, is his discharge date, meaning the day he is no longer the responsibility of the corrections department or under the control of a parole office. And, just as his 70-year sentence was cut in half due to good behavior, his time on parole also could be reduced.

“When they are discharged we don’t oversee them,” said Dede Short, a spokeswoman for the department. “We don’t have any jurisdiction over where they go, where they live.”

Some prisoners have chosen to remain in prison until their discharge date for the simple reason that when they do walk out, they don’t want the state to have any control over where they go. Kokoraleis hasn’t suggested that is his plan.

“People have made that choice because conditions of parole are so onerous and there is so much stress that no matter what you do you can be picked up (on a parole violation),” said Sheila Bedi, a clinical professor of law at Northwestern University, who is not involved with the case.

Kokoraleis’ name may have faded from memory, but in the early 1980s he was part of a widely publicized sensational crime story. He was one of four Chicago-area men accused of being part of a satanic cult that abducted, tortured, mutilated and killed women. Two others were convicted in the killings, including Kokoraleis’ brother, Andrew, who was executed in 1999 — the last execution in Illinois before the state put a moratorium on the death penalty. A fourth man was sentenced to 120 years for raping and mutilating a teenager and remains in prison.

Kokoraleis originally was sentenced to life but after an appellate court ordered a new trial, prosecutors instead allowed him to plead guilty in exchange for a 70-year prison sentence. Under sentencing guidelines in place at the time, that meant if he behaved in prison he would be released in 35 years.

News of Korkoraleis’ pending release sparked a push by the relatives of the woman he was convicted of killing to try to keep him locked up. State officials are examining the case to see if they can file a petition to keep him incarcerated as a sexually violent predator.

To be committed, a person must be convicted of a sexually violent crime and prosecutors must prove that the person, if freed, is likely to commit future sexually violent crimes.

In a statement, Maura Possley, spokeswoman for Attorney General Lisa Madigan, would only say the office is “still looking at the case.”

(TM and © Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2yeynNo

John Fox, Bears Won’t Commit To Starting Quarterback

By Chris Emma–

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) — For the first time since signing Mike Glennon in March, the Bears on Friday wouldn’t commit to him as their starting quarterback.

About 15 hours after an ugly 35-14 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field in which Glennon doomed his team’s chances with four turnovers, Bears coach John Fox punted on the opportunity to name a starter.

“I’m not really trying to be clear,” Fox replied when asked for clarity on the quarterback situation. “Actually, probably quite the opposite.”

In responding to multiple inquiries on the quarterback situation, Fox did hint that the Bears will use the long weekend to re-evaluate who the starter will be moving forward. The team returns to work Tuesday at Halas Hall before hosting the Vikings on Oct. 9, a Monday night game.

The 27-year-old veteran Glennon was named the Bears’ starter at quarterback after being signed to a three-year deal in March. After the team selected Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft, the team still backed Glennon as its starter.

Trubisky has ascended in practice, earning his way to the backup role in short time. Glennon hasn’t done much to maintain his job. Glennon has gone 90-of-140 for four touchdowns and five interceptions on the season and also lost three fumbles. Most importantly, the Bears are 1-3, and his play is largely to blame.

“I’m not giving our team a chance to win when you turn the ball over like that,” Glennon said after the loss in Green Bay.

Fox did say that all personnel decisions are made in conjunction with general manager Ryan Pace. The Bears deemed Trubisky ready enough to come off the bench as the backup, which would seemingly mean they’re comfortable with him stepping in as the starter. Glennon’s play would ultimately determine how soon it would be for Trubisky’s time.

That could finally come next week after Fox and the Bears spend the weekend re-evaluating the team and its most important position.

Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 and like his Facebook page.

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2fz4FY6