High earners in pricey cities like NYC, Chicago and San Francisco — where tax rates are high and the cost of living is steep — could see their earnings go a lot further by moving to more affordable parts of the US.

To show how much NYC, Chicago and San Francisco’s high income earners — those on a salary between $150,000 and $650,000 — could save by making the move to Miami, SmartAsset compared tax rates and the cost of living in the four cities.

Key Findings:

• The difference in tax and living expenses will be most drastic for those moving to Miami from NYC, where workers on a high salary could save almost $200,000 annually. Thanks to Miami’s cheaper living and lower tax rates, someone earning $650,000 in Manhattan could save more than $195,000 by moving.

• People working in San Francisco would also benefit from significantly reduced living costs by making the move — while the California city’s cost of living is 83 percent higher than the US average, Miami’s is just 23 percent higher. The cost of living is also incredibly high in Manhattan, sitting 137 percent higher than the country’s average.

• San Franciscans on a $650,000 salary could enjoy savings of just over $150,000 every year if they relocated to Miami.

• The move to Miami isn’t really worth it for Chicagoans. High earners in Chicago would only gain around one percent of their salary by relocating, and their city’s cost of living is already five points lower than Miami’s.

Via SmartAsset.

[Image credit: Lance Asper]

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• 140, mostly elderly black Evanston residents will receive $25,000 in reparations
• Chicago committed to $10 million over the next 10 years on local reparations
• Payments can come in either vouchers or cash and are funded by marijuana and real-estate transfer taxes. The program will be a ‘test run for the whole country’

A city in Illinois is expected to pay 140 mostly elderly black residents $25,000 each in reparations by the end of the year in what it is calling a ‘test run for the whole country.’

In 2019, Evanston, a city of 75,000 people north of Chicago, committed to paying $10 million over the next 10 years in local reparations and it has started to deliver on that promise nearly four years later.

First approved in March of 2021, the program will benefit black residents if they, or their ancestors, lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 or if they can show they suffered housing discrimination due to the city’s policies. 

It comes as black communities across the U.S. have rallied to help compensate for the legacy of slavery and discrimination they believe has become entrenched within society.

Robin Simmons (pictured), the then-city council member representing the fifth ward, paved the road to reparations in 2019 – four years later the city is delivering on its promise

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Louis Weathers – a recipient of the $25,000 – recalled the first experience he faced with racial prejudice. 

The 88-year-old retired postal worker and Korean War veteran claimed the white teacher at his integrated junior high school would make it difficult for black students to show up their white peers.

‘Every time we raised our hand, she wouldn’t call on us, but when we didn’t raise our hands, she would — to make you look like a dummy,’ Weathers said. 

‘We got onto that, though. When we didn’t know the answer, we raised our hands.’

Weathers will be among the first to benefit from the program which seeks to pay residents for discrimination and housing – but also works to address gaps in education and economic development.

The payments, which come in either vouchers or cash, are funded by marijuana and real-estate transfer taxes and are expected to lead the country, according to supporters.

‘I see it as like a test run for the whole country,’ Justin Hansford, a leading advocate for reparations at the federal and local level and head of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University told the outlet.

Apart from his time in junior high, Weathers claims he was discriminated in many aspects of his life.

He recalls being excluded from the YMCA, living most his life in the historically black fifth ward – only being allowed to move to a predominantly white neighborhood in 1969 when the laws changed.

Kenneth Wideman, 77, and his sister Shelia Wideman, 75, were among 16 of the first recipients of the program

And when hoping to purchase a home in a white neighborhood, he was forced to threaten a complaint to the real-estate board if the agent didn’t allow him to purchase the home.

Weathers said that he gave his $25,000 to his son, who put it towards debt reduction and upgrades to his condo.

Last month, a task force in California recommended spending billions on reparations as proposals for the rest of the country sit idle.

Meanwhile, a federal bill introduced every year since 1989 that would establish a similar task force at the national level has never been voted on in the House of Representatives.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss told the Wall Street Journal that this hasn’t affected the city’s momentum on the issue.

‘Our job here is just to move forward and to continue being that example, to continue illustrating that a small municipality can make real tangible progress,’ he said.

Robin Simmons, the then-city council member representing the fifth ward, paved the road to reparations. 

The fifth ward has historically faced challenges concerning distribution of resources in the City of Evanston, according to the city’s website.

A majority of the population within the ward identify as people of color, while 12 percent of the population of the city is black. 

Simmons mostly considered reparations a national issue dealing directly with slavery but later realized local policies such as zoning undermined predominantly black neighborhoods like the fifth ward.

‘We’ve done all forms of affirmative action and equity work that has been really good, but we have not repaired the past harm by the municipal government,’ she told the publication. 

The program will benefit black residents if they, or their ancestors, lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 or if they can show they suffered housing discrimination due to the city’s policies Federal reparations efforts have stalled for decades, but cities, counties, school districts and universities have taken up the cause

In November 2019, the city passed its plan to spend $10 million on reparations with more than 670 residents having applied.

In 2021, 16 people were chosen at random with the use of a bingo cage but it remains unclear when the first payments were made.

Siblings, Kenneth Wideman, 77, and Shelia Wideman, 75, were among the 16 – but while others received their reparations in a timely manner, the Widemans were somewhat left in the lurch – due to program architects’ decision to forgo direct payouts in lieu of grants to address diminished black homeownership at the time.

Since the siblings didn’t own any property, they did not qualify for two of three of the repayment options – to use the $25,000 either on mortgage payments, or home repairs.

The third option was a down payment for a new home – a choice the siblings flouted in favor of cash. 

For months, they besieged members of the committee and city to reconsider their stipulations, leading them to toss them in May. 

Evanston voted to allow the siblings to get cash payments of $25,000, making them the first in the US to receive direct money.

Wideman told the Wall Street Journal ‘we have not received real reparations, the 40 acres and a mule’ that were promised after the Civil War.

‘I wish people behind me would get that and more than what I got.’

Simmons said the new cash option has reduced the amount of staff work need to disburse the funds. 

It has however questioned the affect it may have on recipients ability for other aid programs – an issue the committee are currently working through.

The committee is currently in the process of verifying more than 500 direct descendants of the initial 140 recipients.

Ramona Burton, 74, said she would use her $25,000 voucher for new windows, a new roof, chimney repairs and an updated electric system for her home.

‘I think it’s a good start,’ she said of Evanston’s program. ‘It’s better than a blank.’

Federal reparations efforts have stalled for decades, but cities, counties, school districts and universities have taken up the cause.

An advisory group in San Francisco recommended that qualifying black adults receive a $5 million lump-sum, guaranteed annual income of at least $97,000 and personal debt forgiveness.

San Francisco supervisors are supposed to take up the proposals later this year. But it is currently battling a separate set of problems, including an exodus of businesses in the downtown area amid crime, homelessness and drug abuse.

New York may soon follow in California by creating a commission to examine the state’s involvement in slavery and consider addressing present-day economic and educational disparities experienced by black people.

An advisory group in San Francisco recommended that qualifying black adults receive a $5 million lump-sum, guaranteed annual income of at least $97,000 and personal debt forgiveness Earlier this week, Native American groups joined the call for reparations centuries after hundreds of tribes had land taken from them by ‘land-grab universities and colleges’

In California, the state’s Reparations Task Force – which released its 1,100-page final report and recommendations to the public on 29 June – and a University of California, Los Angeles study found that roughly two-thirds of Californians are in favor of some form of reparations, though residents are divided on what they should be. 

Roughly two-thirds of Americans oppose the idea of reparations, according to 2021 polling from the University of Massachusetts.

The Pew Research Center found that more than 80 percent of black respondents support some kind of compensation for the descendants of slaves, while a similar majority of white respondents opposed, 2022 polling found.

Earlier this week, Native American groups joined the call for reparations centuries after hundreds of tribes had land taken from them by ‘land-grab universities and colleges.’

An estimated 10.7 million acres of land was taken from 250 tribes following the signing of the Morrill Act by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

This law converted tribal lands into initial sites for land-grant higher education institutions in many states.

Now, as several states and cities consider reparations for black Americans, the movement is serving as the impetus for Native American tribes who also believe they also deserve payment for the stolen land. 

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles envisions more explosive plays from a revamped offense and…

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles envisions more explosive plays from a revamped offense and a retooled defense creating turnovers more often.

A busy offseason has him thinking his team is positioned to make a jump. Considering the Bears finished with the worst record in the NFL last year, there seems to be nowhere to go but up.

“I really believe this team is set up to elevate and really go to the next level, which we’re all excited for,” Poles said Wednesday.

The Bears made some big moves after going 3-14 and setting a franchise record for losses, with Poles estimating they filled 75% to 80% of their holes. They’ll start to find out if the changes paid off when they open the season at Green Bay on Sept. 10.

The Bears swung a major trade for a playmaking receiver when they dealt the No. 1 overall draft pick to Carolina for DJ Moore and a package of draft picks. They added to their offensive line by drafting tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick and signing guard Nate Davis. They also brought in help for their defense, signing two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, linebacker T.J. Edwards and veteran edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

“At the end of the day, like when the lights come on and we play a real game, the energy levels differ, the speed is different,” Poles said. “We’ll be able to evaluate that as we go through the season. But I feel good again. Just on paper, I feel good about the progress and I feel we took a chunk out of what we needed to.”

The Bears are counting on Justin Fields to improve as a passer in his third season after he dazzled with his legs last year. The former Ohio State star threw for just 2,242 yards and was sacked 55 times, tying Russell Wilson for the most in the league.

“Obviously we need to see that number change,” Poles said. “It’s a relationship, right? Where protection’s gotta be better, and I feel better about our setup in terms of the guys in front of him, and the tackles, with Braxton going into Year 2. Darnell’s doing a good job. That alone should help us. And then Justin’s ability to execute our offense more efficiently and get the ball out quicker too. All of that should run together and that number should drop.”

The Bears figure to be down one key blocker to start the season. Poles said left guard Teven Jenkins (leg) will open on injured reserve with a designation to return, meaning he will miss at least the first four games.

Chicago is also thin behind Fields. The team’s only other quarterback is rookie Tyson Bagent, who went undrafted after a record-setting career at Division II Shepherd University.

“He’s got this moxie, he has this confidence about him,” assistant general manager Ian Cunningham said.

Whether Bagent will be the No. 2 QB for the season opener or the Bears add a veteran remains to be seen.

“It’s hard to answer that question right now,” Poles said.

Poles had no update on contract extension talks with receiver Darnell Mooney and cornerback Jaylon Johnson, saying “We’re taking that kind of week by week.”

“I really don’t want to get into it,” he added. “It kind of creates a distraction for the entire year. We like those guys. We’d love to have them here long-term, so we’ll just kind of stick with our plan.”

He smirked and — unprompted — said he “never thought about or had any conversations about trading Mooney.” He also insisted defensive end Trevis Gipson never requested a trade before the Bears waived him on Tuesday. Gipson, who had seven sacks in 2021, ultimately lost out in a roster battle to Dominique Robinson and Terrell Lewis behind starters Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker and backup Rasheem Green.

The Bears added veteran Trent Taylor on Wednesday to be their punt returner, with Velus Jones Jr. struggling in the preseason following a rough rookie season. Taylor spent the past two years with Cincinnati after playing from 2017 to 2020 for San Francisco, where he worked with Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.

“Consistency,” Poles said. “That’s the biggest thing. You know, when the ball gets punted you can go grab a snack and go to the bathroom and come back and you feel confident about it. That’s the big part.”

___

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As a weekend-plan White Sox season ticket holder, my stomach dropped when I read about the rumor that the White Sox could be sold, or possibly moved to Nashville. The reason for my anxiety is well-founded: Major League Baseball has a history of moving teams. 

The current top two teams in the National League, the Braves and the Dodgers, were each founded in a different city. The Oakland A’s are moving to Las Vegas; in fact the A’s used to be The Kansas City A’s, and before that the Philadelphia A’s. Moving cities isn’t bad either for success on the field, the Braves, Dodgers and A’s all had success after changing cities. 

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The Giants, the Expos (Nats), the Rangers, the Twins, the Orioles, are all franchises that have moved around and either kept or changed their names. When the league was smaller it was common for major cities to have two teams. Boston and Philadelphia each had two teams, and for a time, New York had three. With the A’s move to Las Vegas, only New York and Chicago remain as cities where the same public transportation can be used to get to games. (It’s a stretch to consider the Dodgers/Angels and the Nationals/Orioles in the same city and/or metropolitan area.)

But having two teams in one city isn’t good for Major League Baseball. Like any business, MLB survives by branching out and spreading its footprint. MLB doesn’t care that a city or state isn’t paying for a new stadium. That’s just an excuse, MLB wants to expand its footprint. 

With MLB expanding inter-league play and adding the designated hitter, the differences between the leagues has diminished to the point where the intra-metropolitan rivalries are not what they once were: games between two unique styles of play, and games that were rare. MLB doesn’t gain any additional value from these rivalries anymore.

If history and the nature of business are reliable guides, then my anxiety is justified. The White Sox are likely to move. 

Joshua Richards, South Loop

Republicans have changed for the worse

Imagine how the Republicans would be reacting if Donald Trump and his sheeple political puppets were Democrats. Inciting a riot in our most beloved building of historic democracy. Indictment after indictment. Lying about a stolen election even though several courts of his own party found no foul play. Unfounded conspiracies. Threatening Supreme Court judges and ballot-counters. There would be cries of “unpatriotic traitors,” “American terrorists,” and fraud.

This isn’t about right and wrong. It’s about being a Republican, and even though that used to mean something great, it doesn’t seem to anymore as they uphold anti-American sentiments such as these. I think you could picture it quite clearly if the shoe was on the other foot.

Thomas Bajorek, Burbank

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Evanston’s city council approved a cash option to its Housing Restorative Program. (Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP/Getty Images / File via CNN)

(CNN) — As a child, Robin Rue Simmons didn’t know the Evanston neighborhood she called home was an area where Black families were once forced to live.

Rue Simmons grew up just north of Chicago in Evanston’s 5th Ward, where banks refused to give mortgage loans to Black families until 1969.

In Evanston, Black people were restricted to a certain portion of the 5th Ward and excluded from other parts of the city.

The area “was disinvested in, stripped of a neighborhood school and access to health care,” Rue Simmons told CNN.

“There were specific anti-black zoning laws and housing practices that are responsible for our racial segregation — not only our physical segregation, but our wealth gaps and home ownership gaps and all other racial gaps that we have here in Evanston,” she said.

Those discriminatory housing policies led Rue Simmons, a former alderwoman, to push for reparations. Under Rue Simmons’ leadership, Evanston became the first city in the United States to pass a reparations resolution in 2019 for Black residents who qualified.

“It is a $25,000 direct benefit to build wealth through home equity,” Rue Simmons said. “Black Residents that lived in Evanston during the period of harm, which was 1919-1969, or their direct descendants are eligible.”

In March 2021, officials voted to release the first batch of funds in that program, and the first recipients were awarded grants in 2022.

Initially, the grants of up to $25,000 were restricted to mortgage assistance, renovations or a down payment on a home. Earlier this month, the Reparations Committee unanimously recommended the inclusion of a fourth option for beneficiaries receiving payment through the housing program: a direct cash payment to beneficiaries.

On Monday night, the Evanston City Council approved a cash option to its Housing Restorative Program. The meeting lasted three hours and it took the council three seconds to approve the cash option. Now, the program includes direct cash benefits for those who qualify.

There was no discussion because it was listed on the consent agenda. Council member Devon Reid told CNN by phone after the vote, “the items on the consent agenda are non-controversial items.”

At the end of the meeting, Reid appeared via Zoom with his camera off and spoke about the change.

“I just want to highlight how special Evanston is. Tonight, we passed what I believe is a historic amendment to our reparations program. It was just on the consent agenda and there’s no fuss, no folks coming out, you know protesting. No dissent amongst the council,” Reid said.

He added this will allow Evanston to move forward swiftly.

“This will allow us to get funding to our ancestors in a much more expedient fashion. We will be able to get that money out to folks and be able to provide some repair to our Black community and to the harmed community who has suffered from uh housing discrimination,” Reid said.

So far, the city has only spent $326,836 of the $10 million promised.

Tasheik Kerr, an assistant to the city manager, told CNN 124 people are still on a waiting list to receive money. Six who were eligible died before receiving payment.

Overall, Kerr said 650 residents have applied. The city is still sorting through applications and at least six people who qualified have died while waiting for their grant.

“We have stalled because of complications,” Rue Simmons said. “It has taken longer than we expected. And some of those challenges have been really underestimating, operationally, the work.”

From Asheville, North Carolina, to Detroit, Michigan, cities across the country are trying to repair harms caused by institutional racism. In San Francisco, a reparations committee is seeking payments proposed of $5 million to every eligible Black resident. A final report that includes board feedback is due in June, according to the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee.

The complications Evanston has seen with funding and distributing funds will come up across the US, Rue Simmons said. “We’ve had challenges, but we have found solutions,” she said. Those struggles were highlighted in the 2023 documentary “The Big Payback,” by Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow.

Funding for a repair of this magnitude is a tough hurdle to clear, Rue Simmons said. While she and her team worked on reparations in Evanston, the state of Illinois approved recreational marijuana, which went into effect in 2020 — and that provided the initial funding for Evanston’s reparations initiative.

“It is one thing to identify a harm and prescribe a remedy,” Rue Simmons said. “In the case of Evanston …we have been led to understand and appreciate that home rule taxes are our most viable way to fund reparations being that they’re within our purview.”

Some recipients hesitant about cash option

Ramona Burton is among the 14 people who have received the $25,000 grant so far. The 74-year-old woman has lived in Evanston her entire life but was born in Chicago. Back then, the city didn’t allow “the birth of Black” babies in certain hospitals, she said.

Burton said she used the money to purchase a new roof, install eight new windows and a privacy fence, as well as repair her chimney.

“I wasn’t planning on buying a new home at my age and my home is paid off. So, I used it for renovations,” the 74-year-old told CNN. “I was so excited when I found out. We didn’t get the money in our hands. We never see the money. The city paid the contractors for the work.”

That’s what 88-year-old Louis Weathers, another grant recipient, said he wants to remain in place. He is not in favor of the cash option the council approved Monday.

“I don’t think they should do that. They should have some stipulations that will help the city in housing. Something that will help the value of my property stay stable or go up,” he said. “Giving people cash isn’t a good idea unless you put it in a trust, and you can only get so much each year.”

Kimberly Holmes-Ross is among 124 approved residents but is still waiting to begin her project.

Her father, she said, migrated to Evanston from the South following the Korean War. Like Rue Simmons, she was raised in the 5th Ward with her parents but has since moved to the city’s 2nd Ward.

“My parents weren’t even shown houses in this ward in 1962 — everything was over in the 5th Ward. That is what they were shown and allowed to buy,” she said, standing in the neat yard of her home. “We’re looking to either build another house or add on to our garage.”

Holmes-Ross expressed some hesitation about the cash option and said there must be checks and balances.

“I hope it doesn’t stray too far from the original plan, where they could prove the harm. The harm was in housing and in redlining,” she said.

The-CNN-Wire & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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CHICAGO (CBS) – For three years, Chicago Police officer Erin Kreho has documented filthy conditions inside rooms she was told to use when she needed to pump breast milk. She faced unsanitary conditions and a lack of privacy after having her children. Kreho also has filed formal complaints about the state and federal violations. Despite that, she says the Chicago Police Department has failed to fix the problems.

“It shouldn’t involve cleaning a room or asking to use a place that your coworkers can’t see you… in a state of undress,” said Kreho. “Or worrying about the contaminants that are, you know, obviously falling into the milk.”

Kreho said she would have to use wipes to clean very dirty spaces and chairs she used before pumping.

Erin Kreho

Kreho has had two children while on the force, but after returning to her job as a Chicago police officer, she faced difficult and degrading challenges to using her breast pump.

“My face was so red the entire time, and I was just crying it was just humiliating,” said Kreho about one of many embarrassing moments, including other officers walking in while she was pumping. “I’d be undressed in front of my coworkers and pumping milk.”

Erin Kreho

Federal and state statutes require employers to provide lactating women with a clean room to pump with a locking door lock for privacy. It can’t be a bathroom. Kreho says the department, entrusted with upholding the law, has been breaking it. She began collecting evidence, photos and videos to document the poor conditions for the past three years.

Erin Kreho

“If you wouldn’t have lunch there, I really shouldn’t be pumping milk for a baby and I was,” said Kreho . 

She said she was sent to bathrooms to pump and had to drag in chairs and sit near the outlets she could find.

“I’m putting my bag on the floor. The pump would go on my lap, and yes, I’m very close to a urinal,” said Kreho. “I was frustrated, I was really anxious. I would come home nauseous about it.”

Erin Kreho

She says her career as a Chicago police officer started off great. Her image was even used on a recruitment poster.

Erin Kreho

But all that changed when she had a baby in 2020 and returned to work facing problems over where she could pump.

“That was one of the worst times just emotionally for me,” said Kreho. “I was initially told to pump in the backseat of the squad car.”  

She says had to pump in all kinds of unacceptable conditions – in dirty bathrooms, locker, and storage rooms.

She filed two complaints, in 2021, with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. Each one detailed the poor conditions.

“Illinois Department of Human Rights agreed with me on some of the instances of discrimination and disagreed with me on other ones,” said Kreho.

She is not the only one experiencing issues. Jessica Lee, a senior attorney at the Center for WorkLife Law in San Francisco, said Kreho’s case is overwhelmingly common among women working for police and fire departments around the country.

“Since 2022, we found that of all the lactation discrimination cases decided under those federal sex discrimination laws, 41% were from first responders,” said Lee. “So even though only a small segment of the population are woman working in those fields, they really dominate the legal cases, and that’s a terrible trend when these are the people tasked with upholding the law and protecting our communities.”

She says employers in male-dominated industries have been failing to treat women fairly for ages. There have been other similar lawsuits against the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Fire Department, along with police departments in New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

“It’s definitely still a macho culture amongst police officers, firefighters, other first responders,” said Lee. “A lot of women who filed discrimination cases have said they didn’t quite fit in. And as soon as they expressed they needed to go pump milk or were breast feeding, all of a sudden feeling a torrent of harassment.”

Lee reiterated Illinois workers have a right to break time for pumping in clean private spaces that are not bathrooms.

“I did not expect that it would be this hard,” Kreho said about her attempts to get a clean room for pumping. “There have been several occasions that I had to dispose of the milk that I pumped – if the room was particularly dirty.”

She says after her first two complaints, the problem was not getting fixed. She was told to use a filthy storage room. It was filled with discarded office equipment, boxes, and other supplies.

Erin Kreho

It also was covered with white specks of material.

Erin Kreho

“It was falling from the ceiling. It was all over the room and it was falling continuously,” said Kreho. “Which I worried about contaminating the milk.”

Kreho then filed another complaint this summer. This one is with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She is frustrated and discouraged about how this is impacting her job and children. She fears retribution too.

“I’ve been treated differently for complaining, I would say for sure,” said Kreho. “It’s really hard to advocate for yourself over, and over, and over again and just not get any result.”

Her complaint triggered a Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs investigation. It was opened in July 2021. Two years later – nothing has happened. Kreho is still waiting to just talk to an investigator.

The Chicago Police Department declined to comment because of pending litigation.

More from CBS News

Dave Savini

Award-winning Chicago journalist Dave Savini serves as investigative reporter for CBS2.

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When Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite return to the Chicago area for Thursday’s concert at Ravinia, it will be a homecoming of sorts. 

Both musicians lived in Chicago in the early 1960s, an era when they were developing their craft by observing blues titans like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Big Joe Williams. 

Bishop, 80, and Musselwhite, 79, are now members of the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame. 

Bishop, who sings and plays guitar, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Musselwhite is recognized as one of the world’s greatest harmonica players, with a style that is distinctive for its emotive subtleties. 

At Ravinia, the duo will be joined by multi-instrumentalist Bob Welsh for a set featuring songs from their 2020 collaborative album “100 Years of Blues.” Released by the Chicago label Alligator Records, the album topped the Billboard blues album chart and received a Grammy nomination. 

The lyrics to the autobiographical title track include references to Pepper’s Lounge and Silvio’s, two long-gone Chicago blues clubs that served as the musicians’ training grounds. Bishop and Musselwhite made the leap from fan to performer, fueled by invitations to sit in with bands that played long past midnight. 

“With all the different bands happening, it was a great scene for a young musician who was ambitious and wanted to develop a little bit,” Bishop said in an interview from his recording studio in Lagunitas, California. 

Elvin Bishop (left) and Charlie Musselwhite.

“You’d go around to all these clubs, and it was to your advantage to know everybody’s tunes that you went to see,” Bishop said.

“I don’t care how famous you were, when it gets to be about 2 or 3 in the morning, you’ll be glad to see any kind of help you can get. So you tried to learn the tunes and make as good a showing as you could because that was like putting in your resume or a job application. So, if a vacancy popped up, they’d think of you.”

Musselwhite had a similar experience. When a friend told Muddy Waters about Musselwhite’s harmonica skills, the blues icon asked the young man to sit in with his band. That led to more gigs and groundbreaking recording sessions for Musselwhite as a sideman and leader.

“I wasn’t hungering to be in the spotlight,” Musselwhite said from his home in Clarksdale, Mississippi. “I loved the music, and I just played it for myself. I wasn’t thinking about a career in music. Having me sit in wasn’t really unusual because [Waters] had people sitting in all the time. [Bands] would play till 4 in the morning, except Saturday nights, when they played till 5. That’s a lot of time to kill. So Muddy was happy to have people sitting in.” 

“!00 Years of Blues” album cover.

The duo’s “front-porch” style of stripped-down blues is a great fit for Ravinia’s outdoor Carousel Stage, where the duo is likely to play material from Musselwhite’s 2022 solo album “Mississippi Son,” which features his original tune “Blues Gave Me a Ride.”

The harmonica wizard has one exceptionally famous fan: former President Barack Obama. Musselwhite said he has had two conversations with Obama — one at a campaign fundraiser in San Francisco, the other during a 2013 White House performance.

Musselwhite said of the Bay Area interaction: “I gave Obama a harmonica, and I said, ‘I’ve heard that you like blues, and, if you’re interested, I could give you a few tips on how to play it.’ And he said, ‘Well, that’s really nice, Charlie. But I’m pretty busy right now.’” 

Bishop’s early years were spent in an Iowa farmhouse that didn’t have electricity or indoor plumbing. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Bishop earned a National Merit Scholarship and enrolled at the University of Chicago. 

Bishop’s family didn’t have much income, and he was the first one in the family to attend college. He still has vivid memories of his family’s struggles.

“My dad stayed unemployed quite a bit,” Bishop said. “I remember I was in Chicago, and I got a letter from my mom, and it was typed on paper towels. My dad had got a job as a janitor, so he’d bring the rolls of paper towels home.”

Musselwhite was raised by a single mother in Memphis, Tennessee. Seeking a good job, as a young adult he moved to Chicago, where he found factory work. He also served as an exterminator’s assistant, spraying for roaches and dispensing rat poison.

Reflecting on his journey from youthful apprentice to elder statesman, Musselwhite said, “I don’t know how I got this old so fast.”

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The South Siders are looking to claim victory after yesterday’s wild finish

• From
  
  Hannah LaMotta
  

• on June 4, 2023 12:48 p.m

Have a beautiful Sunday! It’s been a beautiful weekend for baseball with some nice (or not so nice) wins and the Chicago White Sox will be looking to defeat the Detroit Tigers with Michael Kopech on the mound this afternoon.

The team meets left-handed Matthew Boyd, a veteran Tigers pitcher whom they’ve hit hard in the past. He played most of his career in Detroit until he signed with the San Francisco Giants last season but never played due to surgery and then switched to the Seattle Mariners. He made a direct return to the Tigers in the offseason and is now 3-4 with a 5.96 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. His last game was against the Texas Rangers, where he had five hits, five runs, four walks and five strikeouts. He relies on five throws and uses his fastball most often at 38.6%. He follows with his slider (28.9%), changeup (18%), curveball (8.2%) and sinker (6.3%).

Michael Kopech is back on the mound after a great month of May, but he’s still trying to clean up his stats as he sits at 3-5 with a 4.52 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He had a string of great games, but his most recent appearance against the Los Angeles Angels wasn’t the best, as he only went 4 1⁄3 innings with five hits, four runs, two walks and ten strikeouts. Definitely an interesting stat line. There’s no doubt that it has what it takes, as we can tell by the number of strikeouts, but his main concern now seems to be his control, which leads to walks and a high number of pitches, as well as home runs that are usually on his Fastball straight down pass the middle. Hopefully he can learn from his last outing today and get back on track.

Tim Anderson (enjoying Boyd) will take the lead, followed by Jake Burger as DH and Luis Robert Jr. back in midfield. Eloy Jiménez is on the right, Andrew Vaughn is first and Yasmani Grandal catches. Clint Frazier is in left field while Romy González is in second place and Elvis Andrus slips to third. It seems like Sunday was a new day off or something set by Andrew Benintendi and Yoán Moncada has that day off too.

Game time is at 1:10 p.m. CT on NBCSCHI and you can listen on ESPN 1000.

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Business: GM Dance & Fitness

Address: 631 E. Ogden Ave., Naperville

Phone/Website: 331-226-6905, www.gvdancefit.com

Owner: Genevieve Garcia, 35, of Downers Grove

Years in business: Three months

What does your company do? “We offer dance and fitness courses for young people and adults. We’re more like a traditional dance studio. We have ballet, jazz, hip hop. We will be offering Irish dancing soon. … The goal is to get great teachers and keep kids moving. Our focus is definitely on youth. The adult side of it will grow,” Garcia said.

Where does fitness come into play? “On the adult side, fitness and wellness is a great passion of mine. I previously ran the fitness program and dance program simultaneously in Oak Park’s Park District. There’s so much overlap. It’s mostly about moving your body and caring for your mental, emotional well-being around the music. With that in the center I wanted to offer fitness classes for adults. I have an adult hip hop class running. Ballet for adults. We have pilates, yoga.”

How many teachers work here? “Right now it’s just me. I’m talking to Irish dance teachers and a ballet teacher about when they will start.”

Dancing is a lifelong passion for Genevieve Garcia, whose new dance studio, GV Dance & Fitness, opened in Naperville in March. (Steve Metsch / Naperville Sun)

what is your background “I grew up dancing. I worked in studios. I grew up with a single mother, not much money. I love dancing, obviously. The only way to get into dance classes was to work in the studio. So I did that as a kid. Attended Northwestern College of Dance. I graduated in Dance with a minor in Global Health in 2009. … After college, I performed with a student group called Boomshaka. … I had three jobs. I fought my way through college. The Northwest is not cheap.”

What did you do after college? “I had my own dance company. Performed in Mexico City, New York, Chicago, San Francisco. I knew I liked organizing things. I would direct shows.”

Is dancing worth it? “Dance professionally? Usually not, no. It’s rare to finance your whole life with it. You walk in and you think, “What else am I supposed to do?” It wasn’t a lesson for me at the time. So I did other things. Discovered that I like running companies and learned a lot from them. As soon as I had a daughter, I wanted to do something more. I want to give more to the world. That’s when I started working in the Park District in Oak Park. …I was running the programs there and I was like, ‘Wait, I’m good at this. Why don’t I try it for myself?’”

Why are you in Naperville? “I wanted to be in a church that has a broad spectrum of socioeconomic families so I can minister to a broad spectrum. … They support local businesses. That’s important to me.”

What is special about dancing? “I love to move. I think that all people need physical activity to keep their lives balanced in order to live happily. And i love music. If I can share that with others, especially with children, that’s the best I can give them.”

What about pricing? “The more you buy, the less. It’s usually around $16 per class. I want it to be sensible.”

What is your goal? “Creating artists and athletes because I think you can really have both. Create a community of connections within which children and families can connect and grow together. The ‘dance mom atmosphere’ is not necessary. We want. ‘Hey, your kid did great.’”

When children come, what happens? “They’re usually running around all the time, so they’re pretty athletic when they’re a kid. My 5 year old can outrun me. … It’s about teaching them technique, using their bodies, letting them be creative and having teachers show them things about posture, alignment and coordination. That can serve you forever.”

What do you like the most? “Having a positive presence in the community, especially for the youth.”

Any negatives? “We are at the beginning, the hardest chapter.”

What prejudices do people have? “They think it’s all ballet or it’s just something for girls, which isn’t the case.”

Any challenges? “Spread the word.”

Any favorite stories? “One mom reached out and said, ‘(My daughter) literally loves your classes so much she talks about them all week.’ It feels like I’m covered in gold.”

What is your advice to someone starting a business? “Do you know exactly why you want to start the company. It can’t just be about money. The money will come when the value is there.”

If you know of a company that you would like to see featured in Down to Business, contact Steve Metsch at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.

Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

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The Chicago White Sox have been in town long enough to unpack, get a nice meal, serve up 13 home runs to the San Francisco Giants, give infielder Hanser Alberto two relief appearances and embarrassingly lose two games in front of their fans.

After the shortest homestand, the Sox packed up after a 16-6 loss to the Giants and boarded a plane to Pittsburgh to begin a six-game trip.

If the Sox were a dating app, they’d be a quick swipe right. And if the first impression is lasting, this team is in big trouble.

We’ve watched this homestand enough to discover that manager Pedro Grifol has no problem sticking with starters or sending the same player up the mound twice in three days to save his bullpen.

We saw Andrew Vaughn and Tim Anderson chirp Giants pitchers who had the audacity to pull them back. We learned that Anderson, who was ejected early in Wednesday’s game, was okay for Grifol because he showed “passion” and that Thursday starter Lance Lynn was a “warrior” because he was trying to get through the fifth on a bad day inning to come.

“It’s a long season,” Anderson said. “This is only the second season. So we just have to move on and not sit in the moment. Embrace it and learn from it.”

Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores (41) celebrates his home run with first baseman Joc Pederson while White Sox catcher Seby Zavala, right, looks on during the sixth inning Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune)

The Sox can mitigate the damage with a strong performance in Pittsburgh and Minnesota. If not, it could be a really long season.

Catcher Seby Zavala said, “A bad streak doesn’t mean we’re done” and that “panic” isn’t a word for anyone to think of.

“If we panic, we’ll just shoot ourselves in the foot,” Zavala said.

The Sox can’t afford any more injuries, especially to their feet.

The 13 homers in a three-game streak equaled a Giants franchise record set in Milwaukee in 1961. The 15 homers allowed in the first seven games set a Sox franchise record.

Grifol repeatedly said Lynn “fought” and “gave us everything he had”. Maybe Lynn deserves a snow cone after the game. He gave up eight carries on nine hits over 4⅓ innings and allowed three of the Giants’ five home runs.

“I wasn’t good,” Lynn said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it. All in all it was a poor day.”

After giving up three singles and a walk during the fourth run, Lynn was sent back for fifth deficit, 6-3. Grifol said he knows his bullpen options are limited, adding, “At that point you start thinking about using a positional player.”

That would be Alberto, who set a major league record with 10 appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season and is on track at 46 appearances.

White Sox third baseman Hanser Alberto delivers in the ninth inning against the Giants Thursday at guaranteed rate field. It was Alberto’s second pitching appearance of the short season. (Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune)

“I don’t know if they are or if they came here hot,” Grifol said of the Giants’ punches. “We’ll find out.”

We’ll also find out if Eloy Jiménez’s off-season training program can keep him on the field after his first hamstring injury. The headline of an article in Thursday’s Sox game notes read, “Best Ability Is Availability.” The article noted that Lynn, Anderson, Jiménez, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. “all missed a significant time in 1922.”

But Jiménez was already on the 10-day injury list and Moncada was not in the line-up against left-hander Alex Wood. Moncada was one of the league’s hottest hitters but got the day off. Grifol said it was to keep Moncada “fresh and healthy”.

[ [Don’t miss] Eloy Jiménez feels “pretty normal” as the Chicago White Sox OF/DH recover from a minor hamstring strain ]

“You could play four days in a row and have a light workload,” he said. “Or they could play three days in a row and have a very heavy workload. So that’s what it’s about. We watch things like this and we think it will prove to be a very effective way of keeping these guys on the field and that’s how we’re going to do it.

The Sox need Moncada and Jiménez to have great years and Anderson to avoid being locked out of games. His first kick of the season didn’t bother Grifol.

“Tim Anderson is a passionate player, an exciting player, and part of that passion comes with a little bite and that’s how he’s responded,” Grifol said. “Tim is a smart boy, he knows what he’s doing. I have no problem with that.

“That’s how he plays the game. This is how I want him to play the game. As an organization, we want to bring that into this team. Personally, I have no problem with that.”

Anderson agreed.

“Yes, we always try to find something positive,” he said. “We always compete. Competing at a high level is something I always want to do and just keep going.”

Anderson was not in the batter’s box Wednesday when Logan Webb knocked him out. He was ejected moments later for complaining to Webb about pitching quickly. Webb didn’t think Anderson should have been sacked, but it’s too late to matter.

Anderson declined to revisit the incident, saying that anyone watching understands what happened.

“You saw what happened, you see what I said,” he said. “You have all the resources you need to understand the situation. We should just go on and on and not really make it an issue. It was a topic (Wednesday). I’m just about moving forward and trying to find the positivity.

Moving forward is the only option for these White Sox who can’t afford to look back.

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