It is not my usual practice to review a book that is (as of this writing) almost a year old, but “Hey You A**holes” by Kyle Seibel is not a usual book.

The first unusual thing is the title, which cannot be printed in its full form in a family newspaper like the Tribune, but is proudly front and center on the book’s actual cover. It’s a title that could be read as a direct, profane address to the potential audience, a provocative and intriguing choice.

The title itself is a window into the humor and humanity that Seibel infuses throughout this collection of 32 short stories (some of them very short) about the overlooked, somewhat downtrodden, but not wholly defeated members of society.

Seibel’s figures are the fast-food workers, the salvage workers, the half-employed, andthe stories explore the ways life visits indignities upon them because they have been consigned to a kind of semi-invisible underclass. This description makes the stories sound like kind of a drag, but it’s really the opposite. These stories are funny, ironic and arch, and Seibel writes in a colloquial and free-spirited style that I could not get enough of.

A significant part of the stories’ power comes from Seibel’s great facility with an opening line. You can almost pick a story at random and immediately experience the spark of energy that animates his work.

From a story titled “Cullen”: “As a defensive measure, Cullen taped garbage bags to his windows. Black One. Double-layered. He’d been awake since Tuesday. Hadn’t left the house since Friday.”

From a story titled “Mr. Dubecki’s Secret Menu”: “Mr. Dubekci is the first person I tell about the people humping in the men’s restroom because he is the franchise owner slash store manager for one thing, but also because he’s the only other person here after Greg went home sick and Rocky’s brother picked him up early and the new girl who’s training on the window would only get in the way so she got cut and Mr. Dubecki came by to help me close.”

The story is set in a Taco Bell. The narrator is a good, but maybe disengaged kid, the kind of person we’re expected to take no notice of and one who puts little stock in himself. But in fewer than 2,000 words, Seibel manages to bring to life not just the narrator, but Mr. Dubecki too, while also shedding a light on the way the world seems designed to thwart our attempts at connection and happiness.

Again, I’m making it sound like a drag, but Seibel is working in the tradition of writers like George Saunders, Etgar Keret, Arthur Bradford and the late Gabe Hudson, other writers who deploy irony and a jaundiced eye in the service of dark, but not pitch black, humor. These stories are fun.

There are a couple of additional reasons why I am late in covering this very worthy book. For one, it is published by Clash Books (slogan: We put the lit in literary), a small, independent publisher. Even those of us who try to stay on top of books off the beaten path cannot keep track of everything, but they are on my radar now.

For two, work like Seibel’s is best read piecemeal, a story or two a day at most. Before reading, take a breath, slow your mind and then give yourself over to the experience entirely for the handful of minutes it takes to read to completion.

Let these characters rattle through your head and see if you don’t return with a fresh sense of the world the next day.

Book recommendations from the Biblioracle

John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.

1. “The Detective Up Late” by Adrian McKinty

2. “The Doorman” by Chris Pavone

3. “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann

4. “The Demon of Unrest” by Erik Larson

5. “Long Island Compromise” by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

— Samuel P., Lincolnwood

Samuel is a great candidate for a deeply underappreciated crime writer, Charlie Huston. I’m recommending his novel, “The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death.”

1. “James” by Percival Everett

2. “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney

3. “Purity” by Jonathan Franzen

4. “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt

5. “The Tiger’s Wife” by Téa Obreht

— Blair M., Chicago

An excellent roundup of contemporary literary fiction published over the last 10 to 15 years. That is why I’m going to go further back, more than 45 years, for Penelope Fitzgerald’s “Offshore.”

1. “The Director” by Daniel Kehlmann

2. “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr

3. “The Rest of Our Lives” by Benjamin Markovits

4. “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” by Olga Tokarczuk

5. “On the Calculation of Volume (Book II)” by Solvej Balle

— Mary M., River Forest

Not afraid of some challenge here. Alrighty then, George Saunders’ “Lincoln in the Bardo” it is, then.

Get a reading from the Biblioracle

Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com.

John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/biblioracle-kyle-seibel/ 

Columnist Christopher Borrelli hit the nail on the head (“Bad Bunny’s halftime show was close to art,” Feb. 10) — Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show “was close to art”! I don’t speak Spanish, so I didn’t understand a single word of any of his songs, but the show was such an exuberant, wonderful celebration of Latin culture and its kind, hardworking people, I couldn’t help but love it.

No one needed to know the language to understand its underlying message of goodwill toward others.

— Dianne Casuto, Lake Forest

Entirely enjoyable show

Not being a football fan, I normally would only tune in periodically as the Super Bowl proceeded, and I never watched the halftime show.

However, with all the hoopla over this year’s show, I did make it a point to watch it.

I have to give a thank you to the president and his MAGA followers. Without them, I wouldn’t have had any idea who Bad Bunny was and would have missed an entirely enjoyable halftime show. Although I do not speak or understand Spanish, I thoroughly enjoyed the music and the dancers.

I also heard Bad Bunny say “God bless America” while he was flourishing the Stars and Stripes. And, on the football he spiked at the end of the performance were the words: “Together we are America.” That seems very patriotic to me!

— Frank W. Tedesso, Harwood Heights

Reflective of changes

Super Bowl LX showed that it isn’t just a game anymore — it’s a data-driven mirror of where America is headed.

​While the “culture war” headlines focus on the uproar over Bad Bunny’s halftime show, the real story is in the demographics. This year, the NFL made a strategic bet on the future of its audience, and the numbers back them up.

​A recent study from Hofstra University confirms we’ve hit a historic demographic turning point: For the first time, minority births now make up the majority in the U.S. (with white births dipping to 49.6%).

​Why this matters for business:

Hispanic births now exceed 27% of the U.S. total. Hispanics make up nearly 30% of Chicago’s population, making them the city’s second-largest ethnic group after non-Hispanic white residents.
Latino fans are projected to contribute one-third of all U.S. sports industry growth by 2035.
Bad Bunny — a global superstar and natural-born U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico — made history with the first all-Spanish performance, proving that “global” and “domestic” markets are now one and the same.

Major brands and platforms such as the Super Bowl aren’t “going woke” — they are following the growth. They are using a multicultural lens to engage a younger, more diverse and more digitally active fan base that represents the next 50 years of revenue.

​I didn’t have skin in the game (go, Chicago Bears!), but from a strategy perspective, the NFL won, and millions of people from around the world are still talking about Bad Bunny’s most watched halftime performance.

— Glenn Eden, Chicago

Chicago Bears unite us

What a great piece by Erendira Rendon (“My immigrant family and I became Bears fans this season. The joy was beautiful,” Feb. 8) about our football team bringing the joy of community! Go, Erendira! Go, Bears! Go, Chicago!

— Roger Becker, Chicago

A surprise in Boston

In a recent letter (“Hawks fans’ hospitality,” Feb. 7), Richard Sawyer describes his son Michael’s positive experience with Blackhawks fans.

My family and I had a similar experience several years ago while in Boston for a Blackhawks game. The Hawks played a particularly rough game and were shut out. Afterward, we walked into a local Boston bar still wearing our Blackhawks gear. As we entered, a man who was at least 6-foot-4 and dressed in Boston colors gave us what I can only describe as the evil eye as we made our way to our table.

A few minutes later, he slowly walked toward us. I remember thinking, “This is going to get ugly real fast.” He had a menacing look, and we braced ourselves for an uncomfortable encounter.

Instead, when he reached our table, he broke into a huge smile, stuck out his hand, offered his condolences for how poorly the Hawks had played and insisted on buying our group a round of drinks. He and his friends invited us to join them at their table.

We spent the next four hours enjoying a great time with our new Boston friends.

— Steven Sapyta, Brookfield, Wisconsin

2 sports stars inspire

Living in Bloomington, Indiana, I’ve had the good fortune to witness firsthand the rise of two extraordinary athletes, one here at home and another just up the road in Indianapolis. WNBA player Caitlin Clark and Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza are not only exceptional competitors but also remarkable people.

Clark’s generosity toward fans is well known. She signs autographs for anyone, including supporters of opposing teams, and treats every interaction with warmth and respect. Mendoza, the humble Heisman winner, consistently credits his teammates before himself and expresses sincere gratitude to fans after every victory. His humility and authenticity are qualities that cannot be manufactured.

This Valentine’s Day, I simply want to express my appreciation for these two young stars, who stand out not only as once-in-a-generation athletes but also as individuals who embody the best qualities of sportsmanship and character.

Over the years, my enthusiasm for sports had faded. Watching these two emerge has rekindled my interest and reminded me why sports can still inspire.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Caitlin and Fernando.

— Scott Thompson, Bloomington, Indiana

Valentines for friends

For me, Valentine’s Day is the day I remember family, of course, but also my wonderful lifelong friends. Some of these friends, treasured as they may be, I wouldn’t know if they walked in the door because we have always lived great distances from each other. Nevertheless, our bygone days of carefree youth, joy and fun live on in happy memory.

Marilyn was in the fourth grade when I was a first grader in a small Nebraska school. Now we are both in our late 80s, and we still exchange valentine cards. Claudette was the girl assigned by the nun to be my “guardian angel” when I entered a new grade school in Colorado. We exchange valentines to this day.

Connie was the rascal I teamed up with in high school. Elaine was our dear friend who tried to bring some sense to the two of us. Both received my yearly valentine cards until they went to their heavenly reward late in life.

Mark is the young man, a complete stranger, who from a distance saw a mysterious plume of smoke rising from the roof of my parents’ home and drove straight there to help. A yearly valentine for him is a must.

Later in life, I had Billy in my fourth grade class, and after somehow reconnecting later in life, we now exchange Valentine’s cards every year. He must be in his 70s by now.

I love dining out with Mary, Lois, Jean, Bev, Nancy and Pat, where the waiters at our favorite restaurant on Harlem Avenue always remember us. These friends probably have received their valentines by now.

My grateful heart never forgets.

— Kathleen Melia, Niles

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/letters-021426/ 

I am thinking about buying an amaryllis bulb to add some color to my apartment this winter and would like some tips on how to grow it. I generally do not have good luck with flowering plants.

— Amanda Grimes, Chicago

An amaryllis bulb is a great choice for your home. I have had success growing amaryllis at home with minimal effort. The flowers are large and dramatic, which is a big bonus for the winter months. Though I like winter, I do miss the color of the growing season in the garden and amaryllis make a great show. The hybrid amaryllis (Hippeastrum) is a tender bulb with large, showy flowers that can be grown easily indoors in a container. Most amaryllis are Dutch or African hybrids selected for flower size, color and ease of forcing. The usual flowering season is from February to April. Choose a standard-size flowerpot so that the large bulb has approximately 1 to 2 inches around the sides and at the bottom. These bulbs do not need much space for their roots. Use a well-drained potting mix to plant the bulbs and position the bulb so the top third or so of the bulb sticks up out of the soil. The final level of the growing medium should be approximately ½-inch below the rim of the pot to facilitate watering. Your container should have a hole in the bottom for drainage. There is no need to put a layer of gravel at the bottom of the pot.

Place the container where the temperature remains above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. My two pots of amaryllis are in the kitchen near a west-facing window. The warmer the temperature (with 70 to 75 degrees for day and night being ideal), the faster the bulb will begin growing. Providing bottom heat by setting the pot on a propagation mat or on top of a refrigerator may help stimulate growth. I have never found this step to be necessary for success. Water the bulb in thoroughly after planting so that water comes out of the bottom of the container and then water only when the top inch or so of the potting mix is dry to the touch. It is better to err on the side of watering less frequently until roots have developed, since watering too much can cause the bulb to rot. If the pot is covered with Spanish moss, lift the moss and pour water directly on the growing medium.

You will generally see growth begin in two to six weeks, with flowers developing in another six to eight weeks. Certain varieties of amaryllis may take more time to sprout. I had a slow starter once that I nearly gave up on. As long as your bulb remains firm, be patient and be careful not to overwater. Once the bulb sprouts, it is important to move it to a bright location such as a south-facing window with lots of sunlight. It is helpful to apply a balanced fertilizer at intervals of 10 to 14 days after the new growth has emerged. Rotate the pot every two to three days to prevent the flower stalks from leaning toward the light. The flower stalks may require support to keep them from toppling over, although I have not had to add support to my amaryllis.

For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/amaryllis-color-winter/ 

A former Joliet Township resident accused of killing his wife in 1988 will remain out of jail as he awaits trial in a mystery that has spanned nearly 40 years.

Will County Judge Art Smigielski this week denied a motion to detain Gilbert Bernal Sr. until his trial. However, the 82-year-old man, who moved to Michigan in the years since his wife’s passing, will have to remain in Illinois on 24-hour electronic monitoring.

Bernal was arrested in January on charges that he murdered his wife, Joan Bernal, in their Joliet Township home following an argument as the couple prepared for a trip to Texas. It is the second time Bernal has faced charges accusing him of killing his spouse.

He has repeatedly denied any involvement in her disappearance.

Bernal was initially charged in his wife’s death in 1993, but the case was dropped when two people came forward claiming they had seen Joan Bernal alive.

Bernal has not been heard from since Dec. 9, 1988, and her body has never been found.

Joan Bernal’s daughter, Sarita Woerheide, was visibly upset as Smigielski issued his ruling, finding Bernal did not pose a flight risk and his criminal history was “insignificant.” While Smigielski noted there was “significant” social history — including Bernal’s own statements — of violence between the 1970s and early 2000s, he noted Bernal has had no criminal history in the last 20 years.

“The judge made a very difficult, but right, decision,” said Bernal’s attorney, David Carlson, noting the state’s pre-trial fairness act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act, requires certain conditions be met for pre-trial detention.

Bernal turned in his passport Wednesday and provided authorities with the address of the home in Illinois where he will be staying. His current wife and other family members who are supporting him have declined comment.

“There’s really no physical evidence; there’s nothing to establish that a crime was committed,” Carlson said.

Woerheide, who started a Facebook page titled “Help Us Find Joan Bernal” in 2017, has described her father as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The only child of Joan and Gilbert Bernal, Woerheide was 2 when her mother, then 34, disappeared.

“In times like these, when we don’t get the outcome we hoped for — we must lean into our resilience and just keep fighting,” Woerheide wrote in a post on the Help Us Find Joan Bernal Facebook group a day after Smigielski’s decision. “Yes, we lost a big battle, but the war isn’t over.”

Joan Bernal had a son and daughter from a previous marriage who were 11 and 6 years old at the time she disappeared, according to court documents. Gilbert Sr. had two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage who were then 11, 10 and 7 years old.

Joan Bernal of Joliet went missing in 1988 and has not been seen since. Her husband, Gilbert Bernal Sr., is facing murder charges. (Will County Sheriff’s Office)

Woerheide and the couple’s other children were in court for Smigielski’s ruling. They declined comment for this story.

Joan Bernal’s disappearance captured the attention of the podcast “The Vanished” in 2020. Last year, her story was the subject of “Cold Justice” on the Oxygen network, which contacted the Will County Sheriff’s Office in 2023. In October 2025, crews from the show and the sheriff’s office excavated the yard of the Zarley Road home the couple once shared, but nothing was found.

Though no new physical evidence has been discovered, Will County Sheriff Sgt. Mike Earnest said one of the two people who claimed to have seen Joan Bernal alive has since recanted that statement. The other witness is now deceased, according to court records.

Court documents also show that Gilbert Sr.’s son, Gilbert Jr., remains steadfast in his statement as a child that he heard his father and Joan arguing the day they were to leave for their trip.

In a statement as a child, Gilbert Jr. said he saw his father grab Joan by the neck and hair and jerk her head back and forth. In a 2024 statement, Gilbert Jr. said he could not recall his father yanking Joan’s head back and forth, but he maintained earlier statements that he saw his father drag Joan’s limp body toward the back of the house.

Gilbert Sr. has steadfastly denied those claims, saying that after he dropped off his children with his ex-wife, he and Joan decided to take the trip to Texas with their daughter, Sarita. He said that when they reached Oklahoma, Joan had a change of heart and wanted to return to Illinois to get her other children.

He told investigators he gave her money for a flight to Texas and dropped her off at a bus terminal in McAlester, Texas. He maintained that is the last time he heard from her.

Earnest said he questions how Joan, whose life was controlled by Gilbert Sr., could start a new life without any resources or even a car.

“She hasn’t been seen alive since she went missing,” Earnest said. “She has not contacted her kids in the last 37 years, she hasn’t been seen by anyone and she’s not talked to her mom or sisters. There’s no way that she’s still just wandering around.”

Alicia Fabbre is a freelancer. 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/missing-wife-murder-joliet-bernal/ 

Happy Valentine’s Day, Chicago!

Love was in the air at the Milan Cortina Games, where an American athlete got engaged days after winning gold and husband-and-wife U.S. ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates took home the silver medal.

In more Olympic news, the injured skier everyone was rooting for, Lindsey Vonn, crashed Sunday and then underwent surgery for a fractured tibia, ending her time at the Games. But speedskater Jordan Stolz and the U.S. figure skating team won gold, snowboarder Chloe Kim finished with silver in the women’s halfpipe and “Quad God” Ilia Malinin failed to podium after falling twice in the men’s free skate. See all the medalists for Team USA so far, here.

The Seattle Seahawks took home a prize of their own this week: the Lombardi Trophy. Quarterback Sam Darnold and a ferocious Seattle defense led the Seahawks to a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday night. But for many, Bad Bunny’s halftime performance was the real highlight. 

Chicago’s football team was also in the news as two Midwestern states, Indiana and Iowa, made new pitches to lure the Bears across state lines. In Illinois, Arlington Heights officials and state legislators rallied Wednesday in an attempt to shore up support for a Mega Projects bill that could get the Bears to stay in-state. Illinois lawmakers also turned their attention to new legislation that would protect utility ratepayers from seeing bill hikes due to data centers.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s administration announced more federal funding cuts this week, revoking $100 million in Illinois transportation funds and another $600 million in federal health care grants for Illinois, California, Colorado and Minnesota. In a victory for the four Democratic-run states, a judge temporarily blocked the grant cuts from taking effect Thursday afternoon.

Also Thursday, the Trump administration announced the end of its immigration operation in Minnesota, which started just two months ago and led to massive protests, thousands of arrests and two fatal shootings at the hands of federal agents. The outcry from Minnesota’s crackdown and the president’s mass deportation campaign more broadly has poured onto Chicago’s streets, with a flurry of student-organized walkouts on Wednesday and Friday.

Relatedly, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday that his office will not send alleged cases of misconduct by immigration agents to the Cook County state’s attorney following pushback from the top prosecutor’s office. Later that day, investigative materials from Marimar Martínez’s case were made public. The files showed Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum and his colleagues joking via text about Exum shooting Martínez five times.

Plus, political endorsements for the upcoming midterms kept rolling in this week. Gov. JB Pritzker endorsed state Rep. Margaret Croke in her Democratic primary race for Illinois comptroller, and the Tribune reported that Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle didn’t seek the Chicago Teachers Union’s endorsement. Three candidates for the Illinois GOP Senate primary race, meanwhile, debated Wednesday night and all avoided criticizing the president. Here’s what else to know before the March 17 election — and catch up on the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements, here, including in the Illinois House and Senate races.

Oh, and we almost forgot! If you’re still figuring out what to do with your Valentine (or Galentines) this weekend, the Tribune has you covered with a slew of themed events and restaurant specials around Chicago. Whether you’re still able to get a reservation, however, is another thing.

Now for the fun stuff! Think you know who said what this week? Take the Tribune’s Quotes of the Week quiz to find out.

Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/quotes-quiz-february-14/ 

Katie Kraus was wearing a dirndl when she met her now-husband. For her, the traditional German dress with a tight-fitting bodice and apron couldn’t have been more “embarrassing.”

It was 2003 and she was waitressing during German Fest at Chicago Brauhaus, a Lincoln Square staple. She snuck glances at a “really cute” man who showed up that night with his friends. She’d seen him around the neighborhood before since he worked across the street at his family’s clothing store, Martin’s Big & Tall.

Katie got the feeling that the man, Jason Kraus, was checking her out too. They even both mentioned each other to another waitress, who helped make the introduction, she said. 

“He was on his way out the door, and (the other waitress) literally put her hand on his shoulder, and said, ‘Where do you think you’re going? You’re not leaving without meeting Katie,’” she said. “So he turned around, came and introduced himself and the rest is history.” 

Though the Brauhaus is now closed, they are still together decades later, recently celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. Katie, the associate director at the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, wondered how many other love stories started at local small businesses.

Valentine’s Day seemed like the perfect time to find out. 

For the past two years, the chamber has asked neighbors to submit tales of meet-cutes and first dates, which they share on social media. More than 30 couples have answered, Katie said. Three of them, including one who bonded on the dance floor at a holiday party at Hazel’s clothing story and another who reconnected at Daily Bar & Grill, shared their stories with the Tribune for the holiday.

“February is a blah kind of a month, and I think it gives people a little bit of entertainment and a little awe factor,” Katie said. 

Making the first move

When a new sales associate walked into Hazel in 2014, Allison Tuley Garza first thought he was a customer. It was her manager that introduced her to the new hire, Mario Garza, and he instantly made an impression. Tuley Garza had already been working at the apparel store for about a year at that point. 

“We chatted a little bit, and I think I made a sarcastic joke,” she said. “He left, and I said to my manager, ‘Oh, my gosh, he smelled so good.’ And she was like, ‘Oh, really now.’” 

Mario easily fit into the “family vibe” at Hazel, and hung out regularly with Tuley Garza and her friends. As the months went by, she said she “caught feelings.” He had good fashion sense and was a “kind, sweet” person, she said. 

But she wasn’t sure what he thought. Tuley Garza waited for him to make a move when they spent New Year’s Eve together, for example, but he never did. 

About a month later, at the Hazel holiday party, Tuley Garza was fueled by some “liquid courage” and told her co-workers about her crush. They told her that Mario liked her, too. They then ended up together on the dance floor at Roscoe’s Tavern and she decided to make the first move instead, something she’d never done before. 

“We were pretty much inseparable ever since,” Tuley Garza said. “He showed back up at Hazel the next day and was like, ‘We’re hanging out tonight, right?’” 

David Vail, Hazel’s owner, called their romance a “lasting legacy” for the store. He said he could tell that there was a “spark” at the holiday party. Tuley Garza, 35, still works at Hazel, running its social media accounts. Mario works at his family’s beauty supply store.

Tuley Garza said she learned later that her now-husband — the couple got married in 2022 — hadn’t been in a relationship in a long time so he was acting extra cautious. But he’s since told her that he felt sparks when she helped him write an email. 

“He found that really attractive, that I could just just handle that,” she said. “Like he felt like I was smart and knew what I was talking about, and he respected my opinion.” 

Sitting at the bar

Kerry Slone and her husband, John Slone, have a tradition that whenever they go out to a local restaurant in Lincoln Square or Ravenswood, they sit at the bar side by side. 

It all started during their first date at the Daily Bar & Grill. The couple went to high school together and reconnected in 2003 when John moved back to Illinois. After walking in the snow, they sat at the restaurant’s bar, eating burgers and drinking Bell’s Amber Ale. They never ran out of things to talk about, she said. 

Slone, 49, said John spent more and more time at her place and in that neighborhood. They went to local spots for 10-cent wings and trivia, and ultimately decided to make the neighborhood their home. They got married in 2008 and have a daughter. 

“It’s just one of those things, you just connect over the things that you like,” Slone said, adding “Within a month I remember telling my mom ‘I don’t think I’m ever breaking up with this guy. This is it.’”

‘Don’t take things too seriously’

In order to seal the deal, Jason said he had to make a few more stops at Chicago Brauhaus after he briefly met Katie during German Fest. He joked that part of the reason was after a few too many drinks he wasn’t in a state to “speak any sort of eloquent words.” 

But he made a point to remember that the waitress who was “super smiley” and had a cute ponytail was named Katie. Jason, 49, then decided to come in the next night with a friend — who later would be the best man at their wedding. 

Jason and Katie Kraus sit in their home in Lincoln Square, Feb. 10, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

“We stood there all night and I tried again talking to Katie, where she was sober and I was not,” he said. “So I think I was trying to be smart and just enjoy myself and let her work.” 

Two days later, he tried again — this time with no drinks. He said he nervously introduced himself, and she agreed to go on a date, which he described as “epic.” Katie found out later that he also brought his mom to the restaurant on that third visit, although she didn’t meet her future mother-in-law then. 

“I was wondering if she was gonna say that,” Jason laughed. “Hindsight 20/20 I would regret that, but it did happen … But I definitely did ask (my mom) to be my date to dinner so if anything did go awry I wouldn’t be there by myself.”  

The couple still frequent neighborhood restaurants, although Katie said they gravitate more toward “family-friendly” eateries with their two children. Some of their favorites are Gideon Welles and Jerry’s Sandwiches. For Valentine’s Day she makes a “special, nice” dinner at home, Katie said. 

After more than 20 years of marriage, she also shared some relationship advice for the holiday. 

“Don’t take things too seriously, and always be there for each other,” she said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/valentines-day-lincoln-square-ravenswood-love-stories/ 

Today is Friday, Feb. 14, the 45th day of 2025. There are 320 days left in the year. This is Valentine’s Day.

Today in history:

On Feb. 14, 2018, a gunman identified as a former student opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people in the nation’s deadliest school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack in Newtown, Connecticut, more than five years earlier. (Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to murder in October 2021 and was sentenced in November 2022 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)

Also on this date:

In 1779, English explorer James Cook was killed on the island of Hawai’i during a melee following Cook’s attempt to kidnap Hawaiian monarch Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who was to be used as leverage for the return of a boat stolen from one of Cook’s ships.

In 1876, inventors Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray applied separately for patents related to the telephone. (The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled Bell the rightful inventor.)

In 1929, the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” took place in a Chicago garage as seven rivals of Al Capone’s gang were gunned down.

In 1984, 6-year-old Stormie Jones became the world’s first heart-liver transplant recipient when the surgery was performed at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

In 1989, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling on Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of “The Satanic Verses,” a novel the Ayatollah condemned as blasphemous against Islam.

In 2013, double-amputee Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home in Pretoria, South Africa; he was later convicted of murder and served nearly nine years of a sentence of 13 years and five months before being released from prison in January 2024.

In 2017, a former store clerk, Pedro Hernandez, was convicted in New York of murder in one of the nation’s most haunting missing-child cases, nearly 38 years after 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared while on the way to a school bus stop.

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In 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that more than 35,000 people died in Turkey as a result of an earthquake on Feb. 6, making it the deadliest such disaster since the country’s founding 100 years earlier. (The combined death toll in Turkey and neighboring Syria would surpass 50,000 people).

Today’s birthdays: Businessman-politician Michael Bloomberg is 83. Saxophonist Maceo Parker is 82. Journalist Carl Bernstein is 81. Magician Teller (Penn and Teller) is 77. Journalist-radio host Terry Gross is 74. Actor Ken Wahl is 68. Opera singer Renée Fleming is 66. Actor Meg Tilly is 65. Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly is 65. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is 58. Actor Simon Pegg is 55. Rock singer Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty) is 53. Former NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe is 53. Actor Danai Gurira is 47. Actor Freddie Highmore is 33.

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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 14, according to the Tribune’s archives.

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.

Valentine’s Day in Chicago: The warmest, coldest, snowiest and wettest weather since 1871

Front page flashback: Feb. 15, 2008

Five people died after a shooter dressed in black stormed the auditorium stage of an oceanography class inside Cole Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb on Feb. 14, 2008. The gunman, later identified as a former graduate student, then killed himself. (Chicago Tribune)

2008: A former student dressed in black walked onto the stage of a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University and opened fire on a packed class; Steven Kazmierczak killed five students before committing suicide.

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

High temperature: 62 degrees (1954)
Low temperature: Minus 11 degrees (1905)
Precipitation: 0.94 inches (1950)
Snowfall: 8.3 inches (1990)

1920: The League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago; its first president was Maud Wood Park.

Women get the vote

Seven men were gunned down in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago in 1929, a hit believed ordered by Al Capone in an attempt to wipe out rival George “Bugs” Moran. (Chicago Tribune archive)

1929: Seven men, suspected to be members of George “Bugs” Moran’s gang, were lined up against the wall of a garage on Clark Street, the gang’s headquarters, and killed by rivals’ machine guns in what became known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

It became the most infamous of all gangland slayings in America, and it savagely achieved its purpose — the elimination of the last challenge to Al Capone for the mantle of crime boss in Chicago.

It took Sugar Ray Robinson 13 rounds to beat Jake LaMotta to claim the world middle weight title in front of more than 14,000 fans at Chicago Stadium on Feb. 14, 1951. (Chicago Tribune archive)

1951: “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre II.” Sugar Ray Robinson won the middleweight championship from “Raging Bull” Jake LaMotta on a 13th-round TKO at Chicago Stadium. LaMotta, who had never been knocked down, preserved that record.

LaMotta won only one of his six fights with Robinson and once observed, “I fought Sugar Ray so many times it’s a wonder I didn’t get diabetes.”

Striking firefighters keep to their picket lines around the city’s 120 firehouses on Feb. 14, 1980. (Armando Villa/Chicago Tribune)

1980: City firefighters went on strike for the first and only time as the department’s first female recruit — Lauren Howard — began her career.

Chicago Streets and Sanitation trucks were hampered by heavily congested traffic during a snowstorm on Feb. 14, 1990, that had snowfall of up to 1 inch per hour in some places. (Chicago Tribune)

1990: Snow began falling in the early afternoon and quickly increased in intensity, with visibility dropping to near zero. It peaked during the evening commute as northeast winds reached more than 20 mph.

Normal one-hour commutes turned into ordeals lasting hours longer. O’Hare airport closed at 7:30 p.m. after a jet slid off a runway while attempting departure.

Mayor Richard M. Daley received criticism after the 10-inch snowfall was met with a slow response by the city’s snow removal crews.

“I don’t think this is going to cost me my job,” Daley said, adding, “I’m not going to run and hide. I’m the mayor of Chicago, and I accept responsibility.”

Vintage Chicago Tribune: Michael Jordan — 23 stories about No. 23

Also in 1990: Michael Jordan wore No. 12 after his No. 23 jersey was believed to be stolen. He scored 49 points in an overtime loss to the Orlando Magic.

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Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com

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