The new Orland Park budget approved this week will focus village resources on police force improvements and hiring across departments, taking steps Mayor Jim Dodge says will correct errors made by the previous administration.

The board also approved a property tax levy increase of 3.75% and signed off on a Dick’s Sporting Goods being added to the vacant Sears space at Orland Square mall.

The village expects to spend $236 million and receive $201 million in revenues in 2026. The Police Department will receive a large portion of new funding to hire eight officers and one Freedom of Information Act clerk for an increase in requests for body camera footage, according to the village budget presentation.

The department is also expected to benefit from incorporation of artificial intelligence and data analytics to predict and prevent certain crimes, and the department’s structure will be taken under review “to develop a model which meets the community’s service expectations,” officials said.

In October, Orland Park police touted its drones program, where drones are deployed to reduce emergency response teams, as well as the recruitment of therapy dog Holly to its ranks. The village budgeted for the continuation of both programs and for another therapy dog to be trained to provide emotional support to village staff, crime victims and community members.

Residents can also expect a beefed up Emergency Management Agency, renamed from the all-volunteer Emergency Services and Disaster Agency.

The agency aims to maintain a roster of 60 part-time, on-demand employees to work a minimum of 120 hours per year. In addition to being called on in emergencies, workers will help with security at events, which is now outsourced. An emergency and events staffing coordinator will be hired as the agency’s only full-time position.

The budget allows for hiring three public works maintenance employees, one parks and recreation maintenance worker, one parks program coordinator whose role will include bringing in new sponsorships, one village engineer, one village manager’s office performance analyst, one content creator/writer to help develop a new website and one development services advocate.

Several trustees questioned the need for so many new positions, though others laid blame on the previous administration for failing to invest in workers. Expenditures for the village’s 2025 budget totaled $276 million.

Orland Park Trustee William Healy, right, speaks during a Village Board meeting Dec. 1, 2025. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)

“The hiring is just way, way a lot,” Trustee William Healy said.

Healy said he understands the need for more police and development staff, but said the village should limit adding positions elsewhere.

“Health insurance and pensions just keep rising and rising,” Healy said. “I would like to take a call, an appeal to the rest of the board to cut back on payroll by half.”

Healy recommended budgeting for the same number of positions over several years, rather than hiring 18 new full-time employees in 2026.

Trustee John Lawler defended the hiring boost, saying he chose to seek a board seat earlier this year after noticing a decrease in quality services for residents.

“I also felt that we had invested some funds in the wrong places,” Lawler said. “Yes, we are hiring a lot of people, and it is a big expense and an increase, and we are going to hold staff accountable to see results.”

The budget was ultimately approved 5-2, with Healy and Trustee Cynthia Katsenes voting no.

The concert venue at Orland Park’s Centennial Park West. (Village of Orland Park)

The village plans to invest in data-driven studies to ensure resources are allocated efficiently. Village Manager George Koczwara said Centennial Park West in particular will be scrutinized, after he said it was approved without a strategic operating plan.

Dodge, before entering office, was critical of spending on the 12-acre concert venue adjacent to the larger Centennial Park that includes a 3,200-square-foot performance stage, and promised to evaluate its use.

“This is going to help us set the future for Centennial Park West,” Koczwara said.

Dick’s Sporting Goods

After creating a tax increment financing district as an incentive, the village approved an agreement with Dick’s Sporting Goods to fill the long-vacant Sears store at Orland Square.

Construction must begin construction on the retail space, which will include a climbing wall, an indoor batting cage, a golf simulator, yoga classes, a juice bar, a running track and an outdoor athletic field, by May 31, 2027.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods store at Orland Park Place shopping center in Orland Park in June 2025. (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown)

The village and Dick’s Sporting Goods must close on the deal by Feb. 27 and the House of Sports concept store must be open to the public by March 31, 2029.

The village agreed to provide $6 million for the acquisition of the existing Sears space in the mall as well as reimburse up to $800,000 through the TIF after Dick’s told officials it would need financial support to open there.

“(For) this board and prior boards, there’s always been a question about what to do with that at the mall,” Dodge said to representatives of Dick’s Sporting Goods. “The kind of success you’ve had with this format, the location, we’re all pretty optimistic about it.”

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/orland-park-budget-18-news-hires/ 

Dumb AI, Golden Yuan, & Q-Day Comes Early: Here Are Saxo’s Outrageous Prediction For 2026

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/04/2025 – 15:25

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/dumb-ai-golden-yuan-q-day-comes-early-here-are-saxos-outrageous-prediction-2026 

Lake Station City Hall is still off limits to the public six months after a faulty sprinkler system pipe burst, flooding much of the building.

Many of the portable trailers city office workers relocated to in June have been removed and most workers are back in their offices.

Inside, hallways, floors and other areas are still being painted and carpeted. Ceiling tiles are being replaced and electrical work is ongoing.

The police department was not affected by the flooding and has remained open.

Mayor Bill Carroll said Tuesday he wouldn’t be comfortable providing a timeline for a reopening because of insurance delays and back orders on carpeting, baseboard trim, and other materials.

Earlier, officials hoped the building could be reopened in November.

Lake Station Board of Works members, from left Paul Redar and Mayor Bill Carroll, along with city attorney Frank Koprcina and deputy clerk Amy Byers, discuss bills during a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Carole Carlson/For the Post-Tribune)

On Tuesday, the Board of Works sat in front of a white folding table in the clerk-treasurer’s office as wires dangled from a wall. Fire Chief Chuck Fazekas and a reporter attended the 1 p.m. meeting and a few chairs were still available, but no one from the public attended.

Typically, the board meets in the mayor’s conference room.

Mold has been removed and other environmental concerns have been rectified, Carroll said. That makes it possible for workers to return to offices while repairs are still being done.

“It’s safety first for our citizens and our employees,” he said.

Workers in the utilities office have returned and citizens can pay bills at a drive-through window.

“We didn’t charge any late fees, but it was very important for us to get the drive-through open for our citizens, so it’s easier for them to pay,” said Carroll.

Clerk-Treasurer Brenda Samuel said ceiling tiles in her office were replaced Monday and some workers have returned, but furnishings weren’t there yet.

Paint supplies sit outside the clerk-treasurer’s office Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at Lake Station City Hall. (Carole Carlson/For the Post-Tribune)

Carroll is also working out of his office. The office foyer just got a coat of new blue paint and new LED lighting.

The city council chambers, also the site of city court, is still closed.

City council meetings are being held on the second and fourth Thursdays in the community room at Edison High School. City court proceedings are also at the same site.

“Without the schools, we’d be kind of scrambling for a place to hold us,” said Carroll. “We probably could hold it at the Fire Department, but the schools are set up for it, and it suits what we need it for.

“We have a great relationship with the schools. We helped out a lot during the referendum. And we’re good community partners.”

Still, Carroll can’t wait for City Hall to be completed.

“It’s like a waiting game, and it’s frustrating because we want to get open,” he said.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/repairs-keeping-lake-station-city-hall-closed-after-pipe-burst/ 

Charles Dickens, “living” windows, craft markets, a parade, visits with Santa and carolers are all part of the 38th annual Dickens in Dundee festivities.

Set for 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, events are held throughout East Dundee and West Dundee.

East Dundee

East Dundee’s activities take place near The Depot on River Street and the surrounding downtown area, said Katherine Diehl, special events coordinator for the village.

New this year is Santa’s East Side Market, co-hosted by Huffman Vendor Fairs, which will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at The Depot. Alexis Huffman organizes the village’s summer and fall markets, and this is a new one-day addition.

Fifteen artisans will be selling their wares in a large tent in the public parking lot south of The Depot behind Duke’s Blues-N-BBQ.

“They will have very unique holiday gifts and many are handmade,” she said. “I added (a similar event) to this past Oktoberfest and it was a huge hit. It was very well attended. I’ve been wanting to add a holiday market to this event for a few years now. … If it’s a hit, we will expand the tent to a bigger size next year and have more vendors.”

Railroad Street will be closed for carriage rides so attendees should enter via Hill Street, she said. Parking is available in the village’s new public garage at 304 Hill St. or at 309 Jackson St. There is also public parking at the AT&T parking lot at the northwest corner of Jackson and Water streets, she said.

Dundee Township Park District Theater’s cast of “The Christmas Schooner” will perform Friday night as part of East Dundee’s Dickens in Dundee festivities. (Village of East Dundee)

Friday’s activities include performances by the Dundee-Crown Chamber and Varsity treble choirs at 5:30 p.m., Dundee Township Park District Theater’s cast of “The Christmas Schooner” performing at 5:45 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m. The tree lighting ceremony will be at 6 p.m. followed by Santa arriving by firetruck.

“He is brought to the front of The Depot and he steps off and sings with the kids all the way to the front door, which is amazing,” Diehl said.

Santa will be at The Depot for visits from 6 to 9 p.m. Free hot chocolate and cookies and crafts for kids are being provided by the Fox River Valley Public Library District.

The Frozen Robins Caroling Quartet performs from 6 to 9 p.m. The Frozen Fab 4 will greet guests from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and perform at 7 and 8 p.m., she said.

Those Funny Little People, dressed as toy-making elves, will entertain from 6 to 8 p.m. Free horse-drawn carriage rides will be offered.

The Living Windows featuring live actors will be in action from 6 to 8 p.m. along River and Main streets. Look for displays at Willow and Birch, Century 21 New Heritage, The House of Creativity, River Street Tavern, Vapor Haus Dundee and One Cut Above the Rest.

“We have six window scenes from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol,’” Diehl said. “We have expanded our costumes because so many people want to be a part of (displays) and I’ve had to keep adding extras to the windows. This year we have 28 Living Window participants.”

Adult beverages will sold by Eastside Cafe in the teal-colored tent, she said. Offerings include mulled wine, red and white wine, plus Irish Cream and peanut butter whiskey added to hot cocoa.

Events carry over into Saturday with the Winter Wonderland from noon to 3 p.m. at East Dundee Village Hall. There will be cookie decorating, photo ops, concessions and visits with Santa from 1 to 3 p.m.

“It really is a magical event,” Diehl said. “Downtown East Dundee really does look like a Hallmark card with all of the lights on the trees and the depot building and the carriage ride. Santa and the lighting of the tree of course. It’s just beautiful and everyone is so happy and full of joy. it’s just a really fun, great family event.”

West Dundee

“In West Dundee, we have our standard events we bring to the community each year for Dickens,” village planner Kim Tibbetts said. “The signature events are the Living Windows and the Fezziwig festivities on Friday night, and on Saturday we have our events for families in Grafelman Park.”

Events in West Dundee are set for 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday with the Living Windows and Holiday displays on Main Street between 2nd Street and the Fox River.

The Dundee Lions Club Festival of Trees will be on display Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Grafelman Park as part of West Dundee’s Dickens in Dundee festivities. (Village of West Dundee)

“We’ll have both Living Windows and painted windows that artists have prepared for the event,” Tibbetts said. “We have six windows that are painted and around the same number of living windows. We invite members of community groups to coordinate themselves to do something of their choosing. (The number of actors) can vary pretty widely. The themes also vary from year to year.”

The tree lighting is at 7 p.m. at West Dundee Village Hall, with performances from the Dundee-Crown High School Varsity Treble Chorus and Chamber Choir. Visits with Santa will be from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Village Hall. Free hot chocolate and cookies will be provided, and the Fox River Valley Public Library District’s booth will be giving away free children’s books.

The evening continues with Fezziwig’s Ball from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the VFW Post 2298, 117 S. 1st St. Local band Controlled Burn will perform and food and drinks available.

“There are a couple businesses that do things during the Living Windows,” Diehl said. One business is doing pictures with The Grinch and another is doing a hot cocoa bar, she said.

Saturday’s focus is around the Grafelman Park area, she said.

Dundee Township Historical Society’s Dickens of a Sale is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which is also offering a soup-and-sandwich lunch, bake sale and craft bazaar. Proceeds will support the FISH food pantry.

“People can come inside, get warm, do a little shopping, have lunch and the proceeds of that go back to things that help the community,” Tibbetts said.

The Dundee Lions Club Festival of Trees is Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Grafelman Park. Community groups decorate trees that will be on display for the weekend.

“It’s my favorite part,” Tibbetts said. “They’re always really beautiful. It’s so festive to see the way the groups decorate their trees.”

A Winter Wonderland event is presented by the village of West Dundee from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. It’s been moved to the Village Hall because of the cold temperatures and will include cookie decorating, concessions and visits with Santa from 1 to 3 p.m. Santa will arrives by firetruck, she said.

As she has done for more than 20 years, Victoria Wilbrandt will do a reading of “A Christmas Carol” Saturday at The Mansion Bed and Breakfast in West Dundee as part of Dickens in Dundee. (Village of West Dundee)

Retired schoolteacher Victoria Wilbrandt will do a reading of “A Christmas Carol” is at 2:30 p.m. at The Mansion Bed and Breakfast.

“It’s more than 20 that she’s been doing the reading for Dickens in Dundee. It’s an abbreviated version, but it still is about 40 minutes long,” Tibbetts said. “But it’s nice and cozy by the fireplace.”

Also at 2:30 p.m., McHenry County College professors Jim Gould and Ted Hazelgrove will present “A Christmas Carol Revisited: Scrooge’s Reclamation” at the Dundee Library in East Dundee, using uses role play and film to discuss Scrooge’s transformation.

“I think the things that people get most excited about are the Living Windows and just coming to the park,” Tibbetts said. “They may not express that it’s the trees that bring them there, but I think it’s a big draw because they’re so festive and so colorful, you can’t miss it. I really enjoy the Living Windows too … everybody is very creative about the way they go about that, deciding what idea they’re going to express and how they’re going to do it.”

Carpentersville

Winterville in the Park is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Triangle Park in Carpentersville. The village tree is lit at 4:30 p.m. followed by visits with Santa, Christmas carolers, hot cocoa and cider and a Homer Depot workstation where kids can create a make-and-take keepsake.

Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/dickens-dundee-christmas-holiday-fest/ 

Pentagon Deploys Its First Kamikaze Drone Squadron In The Middle East

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/04/2025 – 15:05

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/pentagon-deploys-its-first-kamikaze-drone-squadron-middle-east 

Good afternoon, Chicago.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias revoked an Enterprise Rent-A-Car license plate after it was swapped out by federal immigration agents, records obtained by the Tribune show.

The move follows widespread concern during Operation Midway Blitz about federal officials changing out license plates while conducting raids throughout the region. Giannoulias opened a hotline for complaints in October and sent a letter to ICE leadership warning against tampering with plates after the Tribune reported on an encounter where a federal agent told a woman, “You can record all you want. We change the plates out every day.”

Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.

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A boat passes through Chicago Harbor Lock operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the connection of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan on Oct. 1, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Federal funding cuts threaten Chicago Harbor Lock, one of the nation’s busiest

The harbor lock is one of the nation’s busiest for both commercial and recreational use, but looming federal funding cuts have become a source of worry for boaters who rely on the lock. Read more here.

More top news stories:

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration rebuts budget proposal by aldermen
Cops yet to find evidence of drink tampering following Tara Reid allegations
Charges dropped against Lakeview comedy club manager accused of assaulting federal agents

Mark Mattei, a retired Chicago bike shop owner and collector, explains the history of the 1988 Schwinn Paramount which belonged to Edward Schwinn, hanging on the wall in the attic of his Lincoln Park home on Dec. 3, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Lance Armstrong narrates documentary on the rise and fall of Chicago-based Schwinn, once America’s bike maker

The remarkable rise and fall of Schwinn is the subject of a new documentary by emerging filmmaker Daniel Clarke, tracing the history of the most iconic bike maker of the 20th century — once a brand on par with Coke or McDonald’s. Read more here.

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Rush announces major donation to help it dramatically expand clinical trials for cancer patients
State/Lake ‘L’ station to close Jan. 5 for demolition, construction

An ad for the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network on April 1, 2021, on opening day at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Will Marquee Sports Network’s cost-cutting affect the Chicago Cubs’ offseason spending plans?

According to various blogs and websites, by laying off the Marquee general manager and the content creators at the website, the Cubs were signaling another offseason of cost-cutting, which obviously would affect their spending on free agency. Read more here.

More top sports stories:

Chicago White Sox reportedly sign left-handed pitcher Anthony Kay to a 2-year deal
John Blackwell scores 26 as Wisconsin tops Northwestern 85-73 in the Big Ten opener

Christian Pursell and Vanessa Becerra perform in Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Antonio Salieri’s “Falstaff” at the Studebaker Theater on Dec. 3, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Review: ‘Falstaff’ by Chicago Opera Theater is a sunny farce that shows off the real Salieri

Director Robin Guarino transplants Shakespeare-via-Salieri’s farce to the “Windsor Resort,” a chi-chi, “White Lotus”-style hotel. Read more here.

More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:

Review: A welcome return home of the spoof musical ‘Urinetown’ at Theo Ubique Theatre
Review: Brazil’s ‘The Secret Agent’ is an intoxicating political thriller

As Congress faces a year-end deadline on Affordable Care Act subsidies, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meet with reporters about health care affordability, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 3, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Affordable Care Act premiums are set to spike. A new poll shows enrollees are already struggling.

Many Americans dependent on Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance plans are already struggling with the high cost of health care, according to a new survey from the health care research nonprofit KFF. Read more here.

More top stories from around the world:

Man accused of planting pipe bombs before Jan. 6 attack on Capitol charged with explosives offense
Pentagon knew boat attack left survivors but still launched a follow-on strike, AP sources say

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/afternoon-briefing-federal-funding-cuts-threaten-chicago-harbor-lock/ 

Tim Jones, a Park Forest police officer and the son of the Country Club Hills Police chief William Jones, died Wednesday, nearly 10 years after he was shot multiple times in a nearly deadly confrontation with an intruder in a vacant house.

Jones, then 24, and a member of the Police Department for less than one year, suffered bullet wounds to his head and his neck during an exchange of gunfire in which the trespasser, Thurman Reynolds, was killed.

Jones survived after undergoing numerous surgeries before leaving a rehab facility more than one year after the shooting.

The announcement of his death was made in an online posting Thursday morning by Park Forest police Chief Brian Rzyski who wrote that “while our hearts are broken we remain incredibly proud of the fight he gave.”

Rzyski wrote funeral arrangements were not finalized but will be shared with the community when announced.

The saga of Tim Jones almost defies belief.

Almost immediately after the shooting, Jones was flown to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn where he was put in a coma to relieve swelling on the brain; a condition for which doctors told the family that there was little or no hope.

William Jones said one doctor told them he had “never seen anyone wake up from something like this” and another opined that the odds of winning the Powerball were better than Tim living one more day.

Yet Tim Jones clung to life. Day by day, one operation after another, he gradually gained strength. After one more operation around Easter of that year, William Jones said his son’s eyes were open.

“They were staring and blinking at me,” he said.

Less than a week after the shooting, thousands of citizens and police officers jammed into a Matteson restaurant for a fundraiser for the family. For more than four hours, a long line ran from the front door to the street.

More than 100 Tim Jones T-shirts, emblazoned with his badge number, 204, were sold at a fundraiser in the weeks after he was shot in 2016. (Penny Shnay/for the Daily Southtown)

Perhaps more than 100 Tim Jones T-shirts, emblazoned with his badge number, 204, were sold in a show of community support.

The Police Department never lost sight of Jones.

In 2021, he was “promoted” to detective, and a Tim Jones street sign was hung from a light pole on Indianwood Boulevard, adjacent to Park Forest Police Department.

A police car with his badge number emblazoned on it is part of the fleet while his police locker and desk carry his name and badge number and are symbolic honors.

Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/park-forest-police-tim-jones-dies/ 

Each NFL stadium will have to install a new playing surface by the start of the 2028 season to meet standards set through lab and field testing.

NFL field director Nick Pappas on Thursday detailed the plans for the program that will provide each team “a library of approved and accredited NFL fields” before the start of next season. Teams then will have two years to install the new approved playing surfaces, whether they are grass, synthetic or a hybrid.

Pappas said the fields will have undergone extensive testing and been approved by a joint committee with the NFLPA. He compared it to the testing that has led to new standards for helmets.

“It’s sort of a red, yellow, green effect, where we’re obviously trying to phase out fields that we have determined to be less ideal than newer fields coming into the industry,” he said. “This is a big step for us.”

Pappas said fields have been tested in labs and on site using two main tools. One called the BEAST is a traction testing device that replicates the movements of an NFL player. Another called the STRIKE Impact Tester helps determine the firmness of each field.

The goal of the league is to find fields that are as consistent as possible across all 30 NFL stadiums, as well as at each stadium throughout the season. Pappas said the “key pillars” for a field are optimized playability, reducing injury risk and player feedback.

The NFL has no plans to require natural grass fields across the league with the league’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, saying there is no “statistically significant differences” in lower-extremity injuries or concussions that can be attributed to the type of playing surface or a specific surface — despite widespread preferences from players for grass fields and complaints about surfaces such as the one at MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants and Jets play.

“The surface is only one driver of these lower-extremity injuries,” Sills said. “There are a lot of other factors, including player load and previous history and fatigue and positional adaptability and cleats that are worn.

“So surfaces are a component, but it is a complex equation and so I’m excited about where we are in the work because I think we’ll get away from a very crude measurement of artificial here and the grass here, and now we can say for any individual surface, let’s look at the biophysical properties of that surface. How might those correlate with injury? And then, obviously, how do we optimize them?”

Pappas also shared plans for the Super Bowl to be held Feb. 8 at the San Francisco 49ers home at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The field has been growing at a sod farm about two hours east of the Bay Area, with Pappas making several visits over the past 18 months to monitor the field.

The league will plan to install the field around the third week in January — or later if the 49ers could be hosting playoff games.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/nfl-mandates-new-playing-surfaces/ 

University of Chicago’s John Jacob “Jay” Berwanger was named the best college football player 90 years ago.

He’s officially known as the first Heisman Memorial Trophy recipient, although the honor wasn’t called that until a year later. The trophy was named for club athletic director John W. Heisman after he died in 1936. Berwanger traveled to New York to accept “a special trophy at a luncheon,” the Tribune reported.

Berwanger, an Iowa native, was often dubbed the “one-man football team” for his ability to play offense, defense and special teams for the Maroons (the University of Chicago abandoned the sport just four seasons after Berwanger departed).

So much for Chicago’s Big Ten team: 75 years ago, the University of Chicago told the conference it wanted out

The two-time All-American, however, despised the title. “Football is a team game, calling for eleven players, and regardless of whether or not one man does stand out, he is physically incapable of doing so alone, without the help of his teammates,” Berwanger told the Tribune.

The multidiscipline athlete chose U. of C. for its academics first, then football and track second. Though he also considered Northwestern, his hometown ties convinced him to become a Maroon.

“His father has been for years a blacksmith in the shipbuilding yards at Dubuque owned by Ira Davenport, one of the greats of Maroon track history,” Charles Bartlett wrote in the Tribune in 1933. “Jay also had worked for Davenport during the summer, and since he is a good student, with a desire to enter a good medical school, it was decided to send him here.”

Though Berwanger initially considered becoming a doctor or lawyer, he earned his bachelor’s degree in business. Finances are what might have convinced the man with a blue-collar background to choose a career in sales over suiting up in the NFL. Professional football players back then earned less than a couple of hundred bucks per game (or about $3,000 in today’s dollars), according to the NFL.

In his four years at the University of Chicago, football and classes weren’t the only things that kept first Heisman Trophy recipient Jay Berwanger busy. He also worked as a server at his fraternity house and took up golf and marksmanship. (Chicago Tribune)

“There was no money in pro football back then, and very little future,” Berwanger said in 1997. “Remember, it was the Great Depression. I was offered a deal by the (Philadelphia) Eagles where I’d get $125 to $150 a game. I thought I’d have a better future by using my education, rather than my football skills.”

Though Berwanger’s iconic stiff-armed statue was once used as a doorstop by his Aunt Gussie, today it’s housed inside the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center on the university’s Chicago campus.

Here’s a look back at Berwanger’s phenomenal collegiate career and his decision to forgo the NFL — despite being the league’s first-ever draft pick.

1932-33

Coach Clark Shaughnessy and the University of Chicago football squad, circa 1933. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Berwanger arrived at the University of Chicago during famed coach Alonzo Amos Stagg’s final year of leading the Maroons, who were known as the original “Monsters of the Midway.”

After a year on the freshman team, No. 99 played every minute of every Big Ten Conference game on the Maroons’ schedule for Clark Shaughnessy, who was Stagg’s successor. In a 32-0 win against Cornell on Oct. 7, 1933, Berwanger scored four of the team’s five touchdowns. U. of C., however, finished the 1933 season with a 3-3-2 record.

Berwanger was named the team’s most valuable player and was the second sophomore to be a finalist for the Tribune’s Silver Football award. He placed third.

The popular halfback became a member of Psi Upsilon — Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens later pledged the same fraternity — and competed in track during the spring.

1934

University of Chicago football players Ewald Nyquist, from left, Ned Bartlett, Warren Skoning and Jay Berwanger in the 1930s. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Berwanger returned to the gridiron after he was presented the William Scott Bond Award for most points at the Big Ten outdoor track meet and spent his summer working as a camp counselor.

“The Dubuque iron man who was a sensation last year even with mediocre support and the confusion of performing on ‘the team of a million plays,’ is in fine shape,” the Tribune’s Edward Burns wrote. “It is said he is running even more spectacularly than he did last year, that he is passing marvelously well and that his kicking is good despite the fact that everyone he meets tries to teach him something new about kicking.”

In a 28-0 rout of Big Ten champion Michigan on Oct. 13, 1934, Berwanger scored two touchdowns. He also earned the distinction of being the only future Heisman winner tackled by a future president: Gerald Ford.

Gerald Ford is shown as he played football for the University of Michigan in 1934. (AP/U. of Michigan Sports Publicity)

“He has said he has a scar on his cheek from trying to tackle me,” Berwanger said of Ford in the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune in 1974. “I don’t know if that’s true. He may tell that to everybody, but he remembers the games I remember playing against him.”

Berwanger — called “the nucleus of the Chicago team on both offense and defense” by the Tribune — was forced to miss his first collegiate game (a 33-0 loss to Ohio State) due to a knee injury. Though the Maroons finished 4-4 that season, Berwanger carried the ball 137 times for 595 yards or 4.3 yards per try; punted 77 times for an average of 39.3 yards per kick; threw 45 passes for a total of 297 yards; returned 13 kickoffs for 347 yards; and scored eight touchdowns and 8 points after touchdowns for a total of 56 points. The 19-year-old was voted Big Ten outstanding athlete in a poll conducted by The Associated Press and was named team captain for the 1935 season.

Oct. 12, 1935

Jay Berwanger as he appeared in action when he was gaining recognition as the nation’s top football player with the University of Chicago Maroons in 1935. (Chicago Tribune archive)

“Berwanger still is Berwanger,” Tribune reporter Charles Bartlett wrote.

In a 31-6 romp of Western Michigan (then known as Western State Teachers College), 39 of 45 Maroons took the field. But the team’s captain stood out, scoring a touchdown and throwing for two more. The NCAA assembled a game-by-game review of Berwanger’s senior season.

Oct. 26, 1935

The University of Chicago beat the University of Wisconsin 13-7 on Oct. 26, 1935, at Stagg Field in Chicago. Heisman winner Jay Berwanger scored both touchdowns for the Maroons. (Chicago Tribune)

U. of C. beat Wisconsin for the first time since 1927 — thanks especially to their “one-man football team” who scored all of the Maroons’ 13 points. One of Berwanger’s most memorable runs of the entire season came on a 78-yard return of a Wisconsin kickoff.

Nov. 9, 1935

Though the University of Chicago lost to Ohio State 20-13 on Nov. 9, 1935, Maroon halfback Jay Berwanger stunned the Stagg Field crowd with a brilliant 85-yard run for a touchdown. (Chicago Tribune)

Though overmatched, Chicago nearly upset Ohio State behind Berwanger’s efforts. His 85-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the Maroons up 13-0.

“But that crazy, startling sprint took something out of the youngster,” the Tribune’s Irving Vaughan wrote. “He wasn’t much good thereafter, although he remained to complete the full sixty minutes of battling.”

Berwanger’s shoulder was also injured in the loss.

Nov. 23, 1935

University of Chicago football player Jay Berwanger in the 1930s. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Berwanger was carried out of Memorial Stadium — his final collegiate appearance — after Chicago beat Illinois 7-6.

Late in the third quarter, Berwanger received a punt and “shook off five Illinois tacklers along the route of a 49-yard run to Illinois’ one-yard line,” Tribune reporter Harvey Woodruff wrote. “Then Berwanger, who also calls the signals … vaulted high over the crouching, tangled combatants and rolled into the end zone for the tying touchdown.”

Berwanger then kicked the extra point that sealed the Maroons’ victory — and gave his team its best standing in the Big Ten since 1927.

In his final college game on Nov. 23, 1935, University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger (99) scored a touchdown and the extra point to put the Maroons up 7-6 against the University of Illinois at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. (Chicago Tribune)

The Maroons captain — who was named the team’s MVP — carried the ball 119 times during the 1935 season for 577 yards gained. Berwanger threw 67 passes — with 25 completed — for 405 yards. He also had four interceptions, five kickoffs and 60 punts for an average of 37 yards. Berwanger scored 41 total points, which included six touchdowns and 5 PATs, during his final season.

“It always will be my greatest satisfaction to know that in the classrooms of the university and on Stagg field I was able to realize my original goal of an education, together with the fullest enjoyment of my favorite sport,” Berwanger later told the Tribune.

“There couldn’t be a happier combination for a young man who does not intend to devote his entire life to athletics, and who wishes to be fully equipped for whatever opportunities other fields may offer him.”

Dec. 11, 1935

Jay Berwanger, shown here on Nov. 12, 1996, is the winner of the first Heisman Trophy and played football for the University of Chicago. (Ovie Carter/Chicago Tribune)

Berwanger was presented with the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy in New York. At the time, all college football players east of the Mississippi River were eligible. Berwanger received 84 votes. Charles “Monk” Meyer of Army placed second, with Bill Shakespeare of Notre Dame third.

“They treated us royally,” Berwanger said. “It was a very nice lunch, and we saw the Rockettes, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty.”

Dec. 22, 1935

Jay Berwanger in his study at his Oak Brook home on Sept. 3, 1999, with the Silver Football trophy he was awarded from the Chicago Tribune in 1935. (John Kringas/Chicago Tribune

The accolades continued to roll in for Berwanger, who was the 12th recipient of the Tribune’s Silver Football.

University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger was named the recipient of the Tribune’s Silver Football award, for the best player from the Big Ten Conference, in December 1935. (Chicago Tribune)

Berwanger’s vote total was the highest in the young history of the award.

Feb. 8, 1936

University of Chicago football player Jay Berwanger in 1936. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Berwanger became the No. 1 pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first-ever NFL draft that was held at Philadelphia’s Ritz-Carlton.

The next day, the Chicago Bears obtained the right to sign Berwanger — if he decided to go pro. According to the AP, the Eagles feared they couldn’t meet Berwanger’s reported demand of $1,000 per game (or about $24,000 in today’s dollars). Berwanger disputed a report he had already signed with the Bears.

Berwanger later told the Tribune he and Bears owner/coach George Halas met once — when Berwanger was on a date.

“I told George Halas the one time I saw him — it wasn’t a formal meeting or anything — that I wanted $12,500 (a year) for two years with a no-cut contract,” Berwanger said. “He just wished my date and me a bon farewell.”

According to the NFL, only 24 of the 81 players drafted signed NFL contracts.

May 21, 1936

All-American halfback Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago team in the 1930s. (Chicago Tribune archive)

After competing in decathlon events with hopes of making the U.S. Olympic team, Berwanger revealed he had accepted a job with a then-unnamed industrial company (Featheredge Rubber) in Chicago. That decision effectively ended any attempt for him to play professional football.

“You might as well begin forgetting about me,” Berwanger told the Tribune.

Berwanger, who was class president, accepted his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Chicago in June 1936, and suited up for one more gridiron game when the College All-Stars tied the Detroit Lions 7-7 on Sept. 2, 1936, at Soldier Field.

In addition to his work, Berwanger wrote a sports column for the Chicago Daily News and coached the University of Chicago freshmen football team. He became a Navy flight instructor in 1942, and was due to go overseas in 1945 when World War II ended. After the war, he started Jay Berwanger Inc. on Chicago’s South Side. He also served as a Big Ten football referee until 1953, including working the 1949 Rose Bowl between Northwestern and California.

Berwanger died in 2002.

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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/vintage-chicago-tribune-jay-berwanger-heisman/ 

Por MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKIO (AP) — La promesa de la primera ministra japonesa Sanae Takaichi de “trabajar, trabajar, trabajar, trabajar y trabajar” por su país ha sido nombrada la frase del año, reconociendo el esfuerzo que la primera mandataria mujer de Japón tuvo que hacer para llegar a la cima.

La ultraconservadora Takaichi pronunció la frase en octubre, cuando fue elegida como líder del gobernante Partido Liberal Democrático. Muchos inicialmente estaban tan preocupados por su ética de trabajo como apoyaban su entusiasmo.

En un país notorio por las largas horas de trabajo, especialmente para las mujeres trabajadoras que también están cargadas con las tareas del hogar y el cuidado, el exceso de trabajo es un tema delicado. El reconocimiento provocó una reacción mixta, y algunos lo interpretaron como sátira.

Al aceptar su premio de un comité privado esta semana, Takaichi dijo que sólo quería enfatizar su entusiasmo.

“No tengo la intención de alentar a otras personas a trabajar en exceso, ni de sugerir largas horas de trabajo como una virtud”, dijo Takaichi. “Espero que no haya malentendidos”.

A pocas semanas de asumir el cargo a finales de octubre, Takaichi provocó una disputa creciente con Beijing por su comentario sobre una posible medida militar japonesa en caso de que China ataque a Taiwán.

Como la primera mujer premier de la nación, Takaichi ha captado la atención pública por su vestimenta de trabajo, con mujeres que se apresuran a copiar su estilo, y el interés no ha disminuido.

Pero al tiempo que su sentido del vestir ha ganado admiración de mujeres más jóvenes que dicen ser “Sana-katsu”, o que apoyan a Sanae, no está claro si sus políticas conservadoras de línea dura recibirán el mismo elogio.

Takaichi busca recuperar a los partidarios de derecha después de las grandes pérdidas electorales del PLD bajo su predecesor moderado, Shigeru Ishiba.

Durante su discurso a los miembros del partido el 4 de octubre, prometió un esfuerzo total para reconstruir el partido en dificultades y recuperar el apoyo público, instando a los legisladores a “trabajar como un caballo”. Luego añadió: “Abandonaré la idea de un ‘equilibrio entre trabajo y vida’ —yo voy a trabajar, trabajar, trabajar, trabajar y trabajar”.

Repetir la palabra “trabajar” en una voz baja y decidida dejó una fuerte impresión en ese momento.

Trabajo duro —y luego un jacuzzi

Las aparentes largas horas de trabajo de Takaichi y la falta de sueño han preocupado a sus compañeros legisladores. Mantuvo una reunión con sus asistentes a las 3:00 de la mañana antes del primer día del Parlamento el 7 de noviembre, aunque no ha comenzado tan temprano desde entonces.

“Duermo unas dos horas ahora, cuatro horas como máximo”, dijo Takaichi, quien también cuida a su esposo, quien se está recuperando de un derrame cerebral, a los parlamentarios en una reunión de la comisión de presupuesto el mes pasado. “Probablemente sea malo para mi piel”.

Afirma que le gusta sumergirse en un jacuzzi por la mañana y por la noche para relajarse.

“Ese es mi momento de felicidad”, dijo.

Su estatus de ícono de estilo ha sido impulsado por su bolso negro, apodado “Bolso Sanae”, que oficialmente se llama Grace Delight Tote. Está hecho por Hamano Inc., un fabricante de bolsos con 145 años de antigüedad con sede en Tokio.

Con un precio de 136.400 yenes (875 dólares), el simple bolso de cuero es lo suficientemente grande como para contener papeles de tamaño A4. Se está vendiendo mejor desde su debut hace 30 años, según la compañía.

Takaichi llevaba el bolso cuando caminaba hacia la oficina de la primera ministra el 21 de octubre, y la escena causó inmediatamente una sensación en las redes sociales.

El portavoz de Hamano, Takanori Kobayashi, dijo que su empresa está encantada de ver a la primera mujer ministra de Japón llevando el bolso.

En pocos días, las consultas y pedidos del bolso se dispararon, y los ocho colores se han agotado. El bolso, que está cuidadosamente hecho de cuero de alta calidad, no puede producirse en masa, y aquellos que lo ordenaron ahora tienen que esperar hasta agosto, de acuerdo con Kobayashi.

Otro artículo popular es un bolígrafo rosa brillante que Takaichi usa para tomar notas; es el Jetstream 4&1 de Mitsubishi Pencil Co.

El bolígrafo, el “modelo Sanae Takaichi”, a menudo está agotado en las tiendas y sitios de compras por internet. Aquellos que han encontrado uno a menudo publican fotos con orgullo con un mensaje: “Igual que Sanae”.

Ícono de estilo, pero no feminista

La atención que Takaichi está recibiendo generalmente está reservada para estrellas del pop, atletas e influencers en Japón a quienes los fanáticos sólo tienen acceso a través de la televisión o internet.

Los seguidores de la primera ministra muestran su lealtad comprando el mismo bolso y bolígrafo que ella usa, al igual que los aficionados de atletas estrella como Shohei Ohtani compran réplicas de su uniforme para animar a los Dodgers, dicen los expertos.

Takaichi ha ganado admiración como un nuevo tipo de modelo a seguir para las mujeres que no suelen apoyar a los primeros ministros, afirma Namiko Kubo-Kawai, profesora de Psicología en la Universidad Nagoya Shukutoku.

En Japón, muchas mujeres consideradas modelos a seguir solían ser apoyadas por su feminidad, pero Takaichi es única como una política de alto poder. Su corte de pelo corto y su vestimenta de trabajo sin adornos también se destacan de los modelos femeninos convencionales.

Sin embargo, puede que no inspire a muchas feministas. Takaichi es una conservadora acérrima que defiende los valores tradicionales de género y paternalistas de Japón. Ha apoyado mantener la sucesión de la monarquía japonesa exclusivamente masculina. También se opone a cambiar una ley del siglo XIX que impide que parejas casadas tengan la opción de mantener apellidos separados.

Aun así, como la primera mujer en ser ministra, “encaja perfectamente como un modelo a seguir elegante y ha ganado admiración de muchas mujeres que han estado buscando uno, aunque probablemente nunca hayan pensado en apoyar a un primer ministro”, dijo Kubo-Kawai. “Los modelos a seguir femeninos están volviéndose más diversos”.

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La videoperiodista de The Associated Press Mayuko Ono contribuyó a este despacho.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/primera-ministra-japonesa-gana-seguidores-por-su-estilo-y-mantra-de-trabajar-trabajar-trabajar/