The following items were taken from police and court reports and news releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt.

Burbank

BAR BRAWL: Two people were taken to a hospital with injuries from a Dec. 20 fight at a tavern in the 8500 block of Cicero Avenue between two groups using pool cues as weapons, stemming from a woman using several slot machines at once, police said.

Crete

BURGLARY: A Chicago man accused of breaking into a video gambling business is scheduled to appear in Will County court Jan. 30, charged with burglary and being a felon unlawfully possessing a weapon, according to police and court records online. Jahari R. Bland, 22, was arrested early Jan. 15 in the 1000 block of East Steger Road after officers recovered two guns and a stolen vehicle outside the previously burglarized business, police said.

Evergreen Park

BUS CLEARED: About 15 coughing and choking passengers fled a Pace bus Dec. 22 at 94th Street and Western Avenue after a passenger sprayed another passenger with pepper spray, police said. Chartise Wells, 41, Chicago, was subsequently ticketed for disorderly conduct, police said.

Ford Heights

SCHOOL GUN: Charles Warren, 43, 3000 block of Chicago Road, South Chicago Heights, was charged Jan. 16 with endangering the life or health of a child after Cook County sheriff’s investigators determined he had placed a 9 mm pistol with a loaded magazine into his child’s backpack, sheriff’s police said. Staff at Medgar Evers Primary Academic Center, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, discovered the weapon Jan. 15, sheriff’s police said.

Frankfort

FELONY BATTERY: Charles E. Thompson, 50, 500 block of Lincoln Lane, Frankfort, appeared in Will County court Jan. 15, charged with felony domestic battery with prior arrests on Dec. 24, according to court records online.

Homer Glen

DUI CRASH: Ian K. Knutsen, 25, 300 block of Poplar Lane, New Lenox, was arrested Jan. 17 and charged with drunken driving during a single-vehicle crash investigation at 159th Street and Cedar Road, Will County sheriff’s police said.

Homewood

SHOOTING THREAT: Michael Williams, 62, Chicago, was charged with assault Dec. 17 after threatening to shoot up a restaurant in the 17500 block of Halsted Street after he was accused of shoplifting, police said.

RETAIL THEFT: Ryan Dean, 36, 13900 block of Char Lane, Crestwood, was arrested Dec. 21 by Olympia Fields police on a warrant charging him with felony retail theft in connection with taking merchandise selling for $1,713 from a department store in the 17600 block of Halsted Street on Aug. 14, police said.

Lansing

GUN POSSESSION: Charquandra M. Walker, 30, Chicago, was charged Dec. 29 with unlawful possession of a weapon after officers recovered a 9 mm pistol stolen out of Monee with a loaded magazine while arresting her for harassment by electronic communications at a motel in 2200 block of Bernice Road, police said.

Lynwood

DOMESTIC BATTERY: Crystal Jones, 47, was arrested Jan. 12 and charged with domestic battery in the 2000 block of Lakewood Avenue, police said.

New Lenox

THEFT: Copper pipes and tubing valued at $20,000 to $40,000 were reported taken Jan. 12 from a locked construction trailer in the 2300 block of East Lincoln Highway.

Oak Lawn

AGGRAVATED BATTERY: Pierre P. Johnson, 32, 12700 block of Laflin Street, Calumet Park, is scheduled to appear in Cook County court at Bridgeview Jan. 29, charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, resisting arrest and obstruction, according to police and jail records online. Johnson grappled with officers during an arrest after a Jan. 1 traffic stop at 103rd Street and Tripp Avenue, police said.

Orland Park

DUI CRASH: Michael P. Hardek, 45, 16400 block of Paw Paw Avenue, Orland Park, was arrested Dec. 16 and charged with drunken driving, failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision, improper turning at an intersection, illegally transporting alcohol and failure to provide proof of insurance during a two-vehicle crash investigation at 169th Place and LaGrange Road, police said.

STUN GUN POSSESSION: Jennie N. Common, 55, Chicago, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon after officers recovered a stun gun from her vehicle during a Dec. 23 retail theft arrest at a prescription eyewear store at Orland Square mall, police said.

Palos Heights

DUI: Arafat Hassouna, 34, Chicago, was charged with drunken driving, improper lane use, illegal transportation of alcohol and no taillights Jan. 11 after an officer stopped him in the 12000 block of Harlem Avenue for driving in the oncoming lanes, police said.

DUI: Nelly Angel, 23, 5700 block of 128th Street, Crestwood, was charged with drunken driving Jan. 17 after an officer found her asleep at the wheel in the 13400 block of 76th Avenue, police said.

Palos Hills

AGGRAVATED DUI: Wladyslaw Zubek, 49, Orland Park was arrested Jan. 6 and charged with aggravated drunken driving and driving on a revoked license during a stop in the 10100 block of Roberts Road, police said.

DUI CRASH: Jan Gubala, 56, Palos Hills, was arrested Jan. 6 for drunken driving during a crash investigation in the 8600 block of 111th Street, police said.

Park Forest

GUN POSSESSION: Keoni F. Ellis, 26, Gary, Indiana, is scheduled to appear in Will County court Jan. 29, charged with possessing a firearm with defaced serial number, illegally possessing ammunition, fleeing, resisting and trespassing, according court records online. The charge stems from a Dec. 22 break-in at an apartment in the first block of Arbor Trail that led to a chase involving a drone, police said.

Posen

GUN POSSESSION: Johnny V. Williams, 25, 14500 block of Richmond Avenue, was arrested Jan. 8 and subsequently charged with being a felon on parole in possession of a firearm after officers recovered a defaced .40 caliber handgun with a loaded magazine during an investigation in that block and determined he lacked the required gun permits, police said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/southland-crime-gun-ford-heights-school/ 

The Wieners Circle was more of a cathartic, broken hearts club on Tuesday evening when it hosted a Caleb Williams look-alike contest as a love-letter to the Chicago Bears quarterback, despite a gutting end to the season.

Men’s nails were manicured and painted in a plethora of colors.

Iced matcha lattes were a necessity.

And wired headphones added the final flourish.

If there ever was a fandom to dust off Sunday’s divisional playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams and show up in 18-degree weather because the Clark Street hot dog stand said so, “it’s in Chicago,” said Regan Eggert, one of the staff members at the notoriously surly Wieners Circle.

“We were not going to cancel this. We love the Bears, we love Ben Johnson, we still love Caleb — s−−− happens,” Eggert said. “He got us this far and everyone is still super hyped. I mean, we beat the Packers twice. That was our Super Bowl. We can only go up from here.”

The Wieners Circle garnered national attention during the Bears’ regular season, when it offered free hot dogs on two occasions. Once, when the Bears quarterback threw four touchdown passes, and again because head coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off after a win.

It was only fitting that the hot dog stand had one final say.

Around 6 p.m., Eggert started passing out name tags to the few lookalikes waiting in the small space opposite the service counter. By 6:30 p.m., she’d given out 15 and the crowd had shifted to the back of the restaurant space.

Each tag Eggert was handing to a “Caleb” had a witty descriptor like “zesty Caleb,” “Boystown Caleb,” “Caleb from the hood,” “dreadhead Caleb,” “Caleb Bleu” (he looked more like actor Corbin Bleu from “High School Musical”), “white [expletive] Caleb” and more.

“[Expletive], I said no white people and no kids,” Eggert quipped.

But when Trenton Harrison walked in, Eggert joyously jotted down: “the real Caleb.” An hour later, she officially crowned him the winner.

Harrison was wearing a regular Bears puffer jacket and a navy blue beanie, with wired headphones tucked into his left pocket. The getup didn’t exactly scream Caleb Williams, but his wife, Kaylee, said she was confident he’d pull it off with his teeth, cheeks and the “little indent between his eyebrows and the forehead.”

Contestants gather for the Caleb Williams look alike contest at The Wiener’s Circle hot dog stand in Chicago on Jan. 20, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Trenton Harrison, of Bourbonnais, holds the trophy he won in the Caleb Williams look alike contest at The Wiener’s Circle in Chicago on Jan. 20, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

“I knew he was going to win,” she said, laughing that their trek from Bourbonnais for the contest was worth it. “About a year ago, I had to do a double-take at the TV, because I was like, ‘Wait, hold on… you look like (Caleb).’ And then after that, everyone just started saying how much he looked like him.”

Harrison had fewer words, but admitted that people had stopped to tell him the same thing. As for where he sits post-brutal-playoff-loss, he had more to say.

“I know it’s hard to keep watching that one touchdown and then not be able to bring it home… It’s frustrating, but I’m hopeful for the future,” he said. “Caleb is one of the best in the league, hard not to be excited.”

What others lacked in facial resemblance, they made up for by curating some quintessential Williams looks, many using the quarterback’s Instagram as a point of reference.

Thomas McDonald, otherwise known as “Boystown Caleb,” copied Williams’ outfit from the Bears’ win over the Packers on Jan. 10, in an all-black blazer/T-shirt combo, with black pants, black shoes and a long black overcoat.

Bears fans watch the Caleb Williams look alike contest at The Wiener’s Circle hot dog stand in Chicago on Jan. 20, 2026. Contestants were evaluated on how much they resemble the Chicago Bears quarterback. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Another guy also came dressed in head-to-toe black, but had a “security guard” escorting him around the comically tiny space.

And Amit Chopra, a Hyde Park resident, contributed only a drink and his orange-and-blue nails, which his girlfriend had already painted for Sunday’s game.

“I’m coming at it with a bit of a genetic disadvantage, so I had to do the iced matcha,” said Chopra, who Eggert simply reduced to “Indian Caleb.”

Eggert said the contest was her idea of an ode to Williams and to the city. And the growing trend of lookalike contests that have swept in-person spaces over the last several months was encouraging, she said. Earlier this month, dozens turned out for a Ben Johnson lookalike contest in south suburban Bedford Park. Chicago also hosted a Jeremy Allen White contest in November, when lookalikes of the actor from “The Bear” descended on Humboldt Park to compete for $50 and a pack of Marlboro. The prize is not why people participate in these contests, Eggert said with a laugh.

On Tuesday, Harrison took home a small “Caleb Williams Wannabe” trophy, a $20 Wieners Circle gift card, a venti Starbucks iced matcha and some store merchandise.

The Wiener’s Circle hot dog stand on North Clark Street in Chicago held a Caleb Williams look-alike contest on Jan. 20, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

But some onlookers hoped the crowd could have been more involved in picking the winner, as is generally the case with lookalike contests. Yazmine Valencia from Rogers Park said each “Caleb” should have individually walked on a “runway” through the crowd.

“I think in a good lookalike competition, the winner is always based on the loudest cheer from the audience,” Valencia said. “There were so many of us who came to watch, but we could barely see or hear anything.”

She said she may not have cheered for Harrison, the winner, and instead gone with “Caleb Bleu” or the tall guy with security for his creativity.

Meanwhile, Ken Robinson, dubbed as “Ice boy Caleb,” was dressed in a blue No. 18 jersey, jeans and a headband. He mostly came for the camaraderie.

“I’m still depressed,” Robinson said. “But I was like, you know what’s going to make me happy is showing up as Caleb today. We’re all here, we all witnessed (the loss) but we have so much to look forward to. We live and we die by them.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/wieners-circle-caleb-williams-lookalike/ 

The following items were taken from Naperville police reports and press releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt:

A 35-year-old Aurora man was arrested on a warrant at 12:10 p.m. Jan. 16 in the 3200 block of Wolf’s Crossing Road.
A 57-year-old man from Calumet City was arrested on a warrant and on a charge of obstructing identification at 4:04 p.m. Jan. 16 at East Interstate 88 and North Route 59.
A 19-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on charges of failure to signal when required, driving without a license/never issued and driving without a valid registration at 6:42 p.m. Jan. 16 at North Route 59 and West Diehl Road.
A 46-year-old woman from Naperville was arrested on a warrant at 10:39 p.m. Jan. 16 in the 100 block of Foxcroft Road.
A 32-year-old woman from Aurora was arrested on charges of speeding 35 mph or more over the limit and driving under the influence of alcohol at 2:14 a.m. Jan. 17 at West Ogden Avenue and South Route 59.
A 42-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on a charge of driving on a suspended license at 11:15 a.m. Jan. 17 at Benedetti Drive and Royal St. George Drive.
A 41-year-old man from Chicago was arrested on a charge of retail theft at 11:15 a.m. Jan. 17 at the Cook County Jail in Chicago.
A 56-year-old man from Salt Lake City, Utah, was arrested on a charge of retail theft at 2:50 p.m. Jan. 17 in the 800 block of South Route 59.
A 45-year-old woman from Elgin was arrested on charges of driving too fast for conditions, leaving the scene of an accident, improper lane usage and driving under the influence of alcohol at 9:07 p.m. Jan. 17 at West Ogden Avenue and Aurora Avenue.
A 32-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct/false crime report and attempted aggravated assault on an officer at 10:42 p.m. Jan. 17 in the 700 block of Inland Circle.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/naperville-police-arrests-blotter-january-6/ 

Libertyville returns to the top of the rankings behind Lily Fisher, who is the player of the week.

TOP 10

With records through Tuesday and previous rankings in parentheses.

1. Libertyville 17-4 (2)

Jenna Stowe earns more playing time for the North Suburban Conference leader, averaging 8.7 points on 47% shooting in her past three games.

2. Carmel 17-7 (1)

Maliyah Mays’ contributions for the Corsairs at both ends of the floor often get overlooked on a team with Liv Johnson and Josie Hartman.

3. Lake Zurich 14-8 (3)

Addison Leonard sparks the Bears with her double-figure scoring after missing the first half of the season.

4. Mundelein 14-9 (5)

Freshman Gabby Macapinlac proves to be a strong ball handler and a quality defender for the Mustangs.

5. Vernon Hills 16-5 (6)

Deerfield transfer Eve Engler scores 17 points as the Cougars end Wauconda’s 17-game winning streak.

6. Wauconda 17-1 (4)

Isabela Campdesuner makes the most of limited minutes to contribute in multiple ways for the Bulldogs, including scoring 10 points against North Chicago.

7. Waukegan 14-7 (7)

Alliaya Cade is doing it all for the Bulldogs, handling the ball, spreading it around to different teammates and anchoring the defense.

8. Highland Park 11-8 (9)

Known as an elite defender, Lea Wilhelmsen scores in double figures in three straight games for the Giants.

9. Grayslake Central 10-9 (8)

Mosey Drevline steps up her scoring, averaging 9.3 points over three games for the Rams, as she continues to run the offense and play tough defense.

10. Lake Forest 10-10 (NR)

Hallie Bodine scores in double figures in three straight games to raise her season average to nearly 12 points.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Libertyville junior guard Lily Fisher averages 23.3 points over four games as she becomes the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/lake-county-high-school-girls-basketball-rankings-player-of-the-week-2/ 

Pilot Attitudes

Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/21/2026 – 11:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/pilot-attitudes 

On a cold winter’s day, with the sun dipping in and out of the clouds, we walked the neighborhood to admire what many people call pines, trees that are green year-round.

Actually, those evergreens aren’t all pines. Likely, you have pines, spruces, cedars, and, to a lesser extent, firs in your neighborhood. They are all conifers, trees with needle-like or scale-like leaves, that bear cones holding seeds. Some trees, like tamarack and bald cypress, are deciduous conifers that bear cones but lose their leaves in winter.

Conifers have grown on Earth for at least 150 million years, when dinosaurs roamed the land. Brachiosaurus, the dinosaur that stood more than 50 feet tall, likely ate conifer and tree fern needles.

These were not the same conifer species we find in our northern Illinois landscapes today, but it’s fascinating to think about how long this group of plants has been on Earth. One such species, the Wollemi pine, which grew during dinosaur days, was thought to be extinct until it was recently discovered growing in a canyon near Sydney, Australia.

I’d love to see that tree, and indeed some dinosaurs that munched on its needles, but in the 21st century, I must be content with walking the neighborhood viewing red pine, Colorado blue spruce, white spruce, Norway spruce, eastern red cedar and white cedar.

We found all these conifers just a block away from home, where various evergreens served as the main landscape of someone’s yard. Later, we found a few eastern white pines, one of the few pine species native to northern Illinois, the other two being jack and red pines, both very rare in their natural habitat.

Red pine cones. (Steven D. Bailey/For the Lake County News-Sun)

White Pines State Forest in Ogle County, hosts the largest natural stand of white pines in the state. I’ve been there, and it’s lovely to walk among the white pines with their long, soft needles.

A pine has slender needles that vary from fairly short to very long in bundles of two, three or five. Spruces and firs don’t have this arrangement, plus the needles tend to be much shorter than pines.

I learned in a tree-identification class long ago that red pines have bundles of two needles and white pines have five.

To differentiate between fir and spruce, pull off a needle and roll it between your fingers. “If it feels flat and doesn’t roll easily, it’s a fir. If the needle has four sides and, thus, rolls easily between your fingers, it’s a spruce,” writes blogger Steve Aitkin, a former editor of “Fine Gardening” magazine.

Red pine catkins. (Steven D. Bailey/For the Lake County News-Sun)

I took a needle off our Norway spruce and another off a blue spruce and easily rolled it between my fingers. The needles on my neighbor’s balsam fir were too high for me to reach, so I couldn’t test that theory.

Firs often have softer needles than spruces, and when I touched the tip of a Colorado blue spruce, ouch!

White cedars have short needles in dense clusters, while eastern red cedars have flatter leaves.
Cone shapes and sizes also offer identity clues. Pines have woody cone scales and feel rigid and unbreakable. Spruce cones have papery scales and are flexible. Cedar cones are small and fragile and stand upright on branches as opposed to pine cones, which mostly hang downward.

In eastern red cedar, the female cones are just a quarter-inch long and dark blue with a gin-like fragrance. The female parts of evergreens are called the cones, while the male parts of the tree are called catkins, which look like smaller bundled cones.

Norway spruce cones. (Steven D. Bailey/For the Lake County News-Sun)

Norway and Colorado blue spruces are fairly common in our neighborhood, and though they aren’t native, they are popular trees to plant in cities and suburbs. Over time, I’ve grown less fond of the blue spruces. I’m more partial to Norway spruces because they attract two of my favorite birds, Cape May warblers in spring and red-breasted nuthatches, boreal forest dwellers, in winter.

One activity I enjoy while standing next to a conifer is to rub my fingers across the needles, inhale the fragrance, and close my eyes. Then I am transported to the great north woods, where many more of these evergreens flourish.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/outdoors-column-evergreens/ 

Markets Shrug After EU Freezes US Trade Deal Approval (Over Greenland Threat)

Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/21/2026 – 10:44

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/markets-shrug-after-eu-freezes-us-trade-deal-approval-over-greenland-threat 

A federal jury is expected to hear testimony Wednesday from a government informant who said a Chicago man passed along a bounty from the Latin Kings street gang calling for the murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino at the height of Operation Midway Blitz.

The informant, who will be testifying under his full name per orders of the judge, is expected to take the witness stand following opening statements in the trial of Juan Espinoza Martinez.

A jury of six men and six women, plus two alternates, was sworn in Tuesday afternoon to hear the case, which has garnered national headlines. The trial is expected to end by Friday.

Espinoza Martinez, who has lived in Chicago for years but is not a U.S. citizen, is charged in an indictment with a single count of solicitation of murder for hire, which carries up to 10 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, Espinoza Martinez told a law enforcement source after an immigration agent shot a woman in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood on Oct. 4 “that he had dispatched members of the Latin Kings” to the area of 39th Street and Kedzie Avenue in response to the shooting.

The law enforcement source shared Snapchat messages that Espinoza Martinez had sent him saying, “2k on information when you get him” and “10k if u take him down,” according to the complaint.

A message also stated, “LK on him,” which was a reference to the Latin Kings, the complaint alleged. Included in the message was a photo of Bovino.

Though limited in scope, the case is expected to offer an important litmus test as immigration-enforcement operations continue to roil Chicago and other Democrat-led cities long targeted by President Donald Trump, including Minneapolis, where the killing of a U.S. citizen by an immigration agent earlier this month has sparked nationwide protests.

The jurors were empaneled Tuesday after filling out questionnaires about their backgrounds and ability to serve, including any opinions they might have about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies.

Few details on each of the jurors were discussed in open court. One is a man who said he works as a contracted truck driver. Another man takes care of an elderly family member. One juror, a woman, said she once served on a jury in California. Another male juror told the judge he’d just landed a second interview for a new job.

At least three members of the panel have Hispanic surnames.

The case was held up by top Department of Homeland Security officials as an example of the violence and threats immigration agents were facing from gang members and even international drug cartels.

In the months since, however, evidence of Espinoza Martinez’s supposed gang affiliations has not materialized. Prosecutors vastly toned down that aspect of the case, first dropping mention of gang affiliation in the indictment handed up by a grand jury, then saying in a pretrial hearing they only intended to prove Espinoza Martinez had an “affinity” for the Latin Kings.

On Tuesday, the defense objected to prosecutors introducing a text string where Espinoza Martinez told an unidentified contact: “It’s going down bro my guys are ready in the vill (Little Village). Saints sd and 2Six being bitches. Kings on they ass n they scared.”

Prosecutors argued the conversation showed Espinoza Martinez was disappointed other gangs weren’t fighting back.

But Lefkow sided partially with the defense, saying the comments on Little Village can be shown to the jury, but not the references to the Latin Saints or Two-Six gangs.

She also excluded later text by Espinoza Martinez about “Chapo” having the Latin Kings’ back — a reference to former Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Prosecutors also wanted to play a short video clip that Espinoza Martinez forwarded after he was asked by the cooperator what his text about the bounty on Bovino meant.

The video, which was played for Lefkow on Tuesday, showed an unidentified man standing out at 26th Street and Spauling Avenue asking where all the gangbangers were.

“Now that ICE is out here there nobody out here … it’s a (expletive) ghost town,” the person said on the video, which Espinoza Martinez was not a part of.

Prosecutors said it showed Espinoza Martinez’s motivation for sending along the Latin Kings’ bounty offer.

But Lefkow ruled the video cannot be used because prosecutors cannot show it was a statement adopted by the defendant.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/informant-expected-to-take-stand-bounty-bovino/ 

Kraft Heinz’s Top Shareholder Berkshire Plots Exit

Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/21/2026 – 10:35

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/kraft-heinzs-top-shareholder-berkshire-plots-exit 

Can listening to a musical performance conjure a color, a shape, or a scene in your mind?

Co-founder of Rendezvous Arts, Deb Stevenson, says finding an association between visual art and music has been at the center of their mission from the very beginning.

Rendezvous Arts: Latin Jazz at the Gorton Center on Friday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. kicked off a new year of partnership between Rendezvous Arts and the Gorton Center.

Rendezvous Arts: Latin Jazz — Featuring James Sanders & Conjunto offered sizzling Latin Jazz by James Sanders & Conjunto, Caribbean rhythms presented alongside the vibrant-hued and light-filled paintings of Anna Lentz, at the Gorton Center on the evening of Jan. 16. (Gina Grillo/ for the Pioneer Press)

Sizzling Latin Jazz by James Sanders & Conjunto, Caribbean rhythms presented alongside the vibrant-hued and light-filled paintings of Anna Lentz, offered a welcome winter diversion.

Sanders’s violin weaves his classical roots into the pulse of jazz improvisation. Conjunto’s lineup: Kevin O’Connell on piano, Jean-Christophe Leroy on drums and timbales, Joe Rendon on congas, José Porcayo on bass, and Steve Eisen on reeds. Together they create a sound that moves between hushed intimacy to explosive joy in a collision of Afro-roots, salsa, and jazz, according to the Gorton Center website.

“Lentz’s canvases burst with bold, saturated color, vibrate with geometric shapes and energy, making it the perfect pairing with Conjunto’s music,” Stevenson said.

Rendezvous Arts was founded six years ago by members of the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra, created as a means to connect the work of Chicago-based chamber musicians with local visual artists.

Rendezvous Arts: Latin Jazz — Featuring James Sanders & Conjunto offered sizzling Latin Jazz by James Sanders & Conjunto, Caribbean rhythms presented alongside the vibrant-hued and light-filled paintings of Anna Lentz, at the Gorton Center on the evening of Jan. 16. (Gina Grillo/ for the Pioneer Press)

Stevenson says she and the Rendezvous Arts board work to find relationships between musical genres and visual art.

“We only hire Chicagoland area professional musicians and artists, our city and suburbs are packed with talent – and those are the artists we want to introduce to our audiences,” Stevenson said.

Lentz said she often listens to music while painting, and in preparation for this show, she had Latin Jazz in mind.

“I found myself creating these abstract paintings that are colorful, spontaneous, and have their own visual rhythm,” Lentz said.

Musician James Sanders said the art adds a unique vibe to the venue, casting a spell on the listeners.

The Rendezvous Arts and Gorton Center partnership showcases six programs each year, each concert highlighting a chamber music performance paired with the work of a local visual artist.

These events become a multidimensional concert and exhibition experience, inviting the audience to participate in a dialogue between the two art forms.

According to Stevenson, each of these programs is repeated three times, presented in Lake Forest, and then at two other venues, one in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood and the other in Dixon, Illinois.

Ann Wildman, Gorton Center director of events, said the center conducted a survey a few years ago, and one of their clearest takeaways was that their patrons value interactive experiences.

“Thanks to Rendezvous Arts with their exceptional musicianship and the addition of visual arts, we can provide a rich, fully immersive experience of the arts to more people in our area,” Wildman said.

“Painted Pottery” (Courtesy of artist Anna Lentz)

Bridget Hutchen of Lake Forest attended.

“I love the intimacy of the performance, seeing the artwork all around, it adds to the holistic quality of the experience,” Hutchen said.

Rick Friedman of Cary also attended on Jan. 16.

“Experiencing this music with the backdrop of the artwork puts me in mind of a tropical beach, breeze off the water, an adult beverage in my hand,” Friedman said.

Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/gorton-center-latin-jazz-rendezvous-arts/