Le Journal

Renowned poet and educator Mayda Alexandra del Valle will serve as Chicago’s second poet laureate, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events said Wednesday.Born and raised on the South Side, Del Valle is an interdisciplinary artist with a rich cultural history of the city.Del Valle, 47, will serve a two-year term as poet laureate and receive $70,000 to commission new works. The poet laureate also serves as an ambassador for Chicago’s literary and creative communities and creates initiatives for youth, students and community members across the city.Del Valle’s previous work includes the poetry collections, “A South Side Girl’s Guide to Love and Sex” and “The University of Hip-Hop.” In 2016 she won the Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize from Northwestern University Press.In 2001, she launched her career at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York, where she became the Grand Slam champion. She’s appeared on six episodes of HBO’s “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry” and was a writer and cast member of the Tony Award-winning “Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam” on Broadway.The first official appearance for Del Valle as poet laureate will be Jan. 14 at the Chicago Cultural Center. The free event will feature live performances and a conversation.Del Valle succeeds inaugural Chicago Poet Laureate, avery r. Young. His signature project, “Chicago Soul Poem: A City That Writes Together,” showcased at Millennium Park’s summer film and concert series last summer.Chicago is one of only 16 US cities that have official poet laureates, according to a 2018 survey by the Academy of American Poets.

El martes en la Panadería Nuevo León en Pilsen, una fila constante de clientes esperaba para comprar una rosca, el pan dulce conocido como rosca de reyes que las familias latinas consumen para celebrar el Día de Reyes.El aroma recibió a los clientes incluso antes de que pusieran un pie dentro. El personal de la panadería se movía rápidamente, tratando de atender la mayor cantidad de pedidos lo antes posible. La pequeña panadería no podía albergar a muchos clientes a la vez.La Fiesta de la Epifanía, también conocida como Día de Reyes, se celebra el 6 de enero de cada año, mientras las familias celebran la historia de los Reyes Magos que visitaron al Niño Jesús. La Voz Chicago WhatsAppEncuentra más noticias en nuestro canal de WhatsApp. Síguenos. También es uno de los días más concurridos del año para muchas panaderías mexicanas en Chicago. Un panadero prepara rosca de reyes en bandejas de hornear en la Panadería Nuevo León. La panadería está tratando de mantener los precios bajos, a pesar de que los costos de canela, leche, azúcar, huevos y otros ingredientes han aumentado debido a los aranceles y la inflación.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Pero este año, el aumento de las ventas fue bienvenido después de que los recientes operativos de inmigración en la ciudad llevaron a una disminución del tráfico de clientes.“Estaré aquí todo el día hasta la hora de cierre a las 8 p.m. Es un día largo, pero la adrenalina me mantiene en pie”, dijo Dora Arellano al Sun-Times.Arellano, quien despachaba los pedidos a medida que llegaban, ha trabajado en la panadería durante más de 10 años. No pasaba mucho tiempo antes de que alguien del fondo de la panadería apareciera sosteniendo coronas de pan calientes y decoradas coloridamente.Panadería Nuevo León es un pilar de la comunidad de Pilsen. Abel Sauceda Hernández, el dueño de la panadería, asumió el negocio en 1973. Hernández, originario de Monterrey, México, ha vendido pan mexicano tradicional desde entonces. Abel Sauceda Hernández, de 90 años de edad, propietario de Panadería Nuevo León, dirige la panadería con sus hijas y yernos. La tienda venderá alrededor de 700 roscas de reyes este año.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times A los 90 años de edad, ahora dirige el negocio con una de sus dos hijas y sus dos yernos.Jeffrey Nix, quien supervisa el aspecto comercial de la panadería, dijo que las ventas han disminuido aproximadamente un 40% desde que comenzaron los operativos de inmigración incrementados en Chicago el septiembre pasado.“Ha sido difícil para todos”, comentó. “Nos preocupa la gente en general, no sólo el negocio. Si eres documentado o indocumentado, están deteniendo a la gente sin importar qué, sólo por el color de tu piel”.Además de contar con menos clientes, la panadería ha enfrentado el aumento de los costos de los ingredientes. La leche y los huevos son más caros y los aranceles han afectado algunos suministros. El precio de la canela se ha duplicado. Aun así, Sauceda Hernández no desea aumentar los precios para los clientes.Nix estimó que la panadería venderá alrededor de 700 roscas de reyes este año. Para prepararse ante la demanda, la panadería aumentó sus pedidos de huevos. Los panaderos comenzaron a preparar la masa hace cinco días.“Pasamos por seis cajas de huevos, seis, en una semana”, dijo. “Normalmente, usamos entre seis y ocho cajas. Desde el viernes por la tarde, hemos usado al menos dos cajas al día, además de todos los demás ingredientes”.Cada caja contiene 30 docenas de huevos, comentó Nix.Mientras los clientes esperaban pacientemente sus pedidos, los trabajadores envolvían las roscas en celofán y las decoraban con lazos dorados. El personal a menudo les dice a los clientes que no pueden sellar completamente el envoltorio porque el pan todavía está caliente del horno.A nadie parecía importarle.Dora Treviño estaba entre quienes esperaban en la fila por una rosca. Dijo que es tradición darle a su hija un regalo en el Día de Reyes y compartir el pan con la familia. Eligió la…

Bears top wide receiver Rome Odunze is progressing toward a return and was limited in practice Wednesday. Odunze is working through multiple issues in his foot and has been out since November.He said after practice he is "planning" to play Saturday in the playoff game against the Packers.He played through what appeared to be plantar fasciitis for much of the season, but developed a stress fracture as well. The team thought it would get him back for the Dec. 14 game against the Browns, but he aggravated the injury in pre-game warmups and was scratched shortly before kickoff. Odunze led the Bears with 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns before being shelved. They’ve averaged 25.6 points per game in his absence and quarterback Caleb Williams had a 94.6 passer rating during that stretch. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said Wednesday that while Odunze’s return would help, “You don’t want to be giving him way too much,” coming off a long layoff.Beyond Odunze, nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon was limited as he looks to come off injured reserve after a groin injury. Left tackle Ozzy Trapilo (quad) was limited as well, as was wide receiver DJ Moore (knee)Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (rest), nickel cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson (concussion), linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (concussion) and defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (concussion) did not practice.

Portraying Chicago as a “city in crisis,” U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley said Wednesday he’s running for mayor and will stay in the race no matter who jumps in — so that he can make the tough choices he says Mayor Brandon Johnson has avoided.From closing half-empty schools and right-sizing a bloated city government to confronting Chicago's $36 billion pension crisis, Quigley described himself as the tough love leader the city needs.He also acknowledged being a Green Bay Packers fan who'll be rooting for Jordan Love and the men in green when the Packers square off against the Bears Saturday at Soldier Field in the first round of NFL playoffs.“I grew up with my father being a Vince Lombardi fan, and you got to stay loyal,” Quigley said. “You have to be honest with yourself and the public. We are what we are, in large part, because of our parents and our family. ... If I was to tell you something otherwise, I’d lose respect for myself and from others as well.”Quigley considers that kind of bluntness part of his appeal. He said the “quintessential problem” with politics is that it’s filled with people who “don’t want to offend.”“For decades now, mayors have kicked the can. They have said, 'I don’t want to deal with this issue.’ That’s how we got pension holidays. ... We sold assets. Stupid mistakes because leaders were so worried about just getting elected and reelected,” he said. “With all the tough powers I’ve taken on, I was honest. ... I’m going to tell people the truth.”Quigley applied that same candor to the myriad problems facing city government. He vowed to demand the union concessions needed to stave off bankruptcy at all four city employee pension funds, and reduce a city workforce that “exploded” with the avalanche of pandemic relief funds.“Everything from picking up garbage to how police respond and how they’re appropriated across the city — if we could start over, what’s the most efficient way to do that?” he asked.Quigley also offered to work with the city's elected school board and community leaders to sensitively close "wildly underpopulated" Chicago public schools.“When you’re talking about a high school that has ... a hundred students — it would be cheaper to have those students go to a private high school,” Quigley said.“What the school board’s going to have to do is approach those communities and talk. ... There’s a way to balance those resources. That means that some of those schools aren’t used in the way they are now. They’re used in a way that’s productive and efficient.”Quigley said his courage and candor makes him the antithesis of Johnson.“This is a mayor who’s frankly been afraid to lead and doesn’t want to make choices. ... That’s the bottom line,” Quigley said. “Our toughest choices are our fiscal ones. He doesn’t want to make those tough choices. The example ... is the most recent city budget where the City Council had to grasp the rein and do it virtually on their own. Pass it over his objections.”Until now, Quigley has been the Hamlet of Chicago politics. He has flirted with the idea of running for mayor for the last three or four cycles, but he never pulled the trigger. This time, Quigley said he’s in it to win it — even if Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias uses the $6.2 million in his campaign war chest to enter the race and retiring state Comptroller Susana Mendoza also runs.“I raised $250,000 in just about a month and a half. ... I’m going to run. I’m in this race. I’m fully committed,” Quigley said.“When I ran for County Board, I ran in a crowded field. I didn’t have the most money, and I won. When I ran in a special election for Congress [in] a very crowded field, I was outspent 10-to-1, and I won. ... I’m the best campaigner of people who are thinking about running for mayor. The No. 1 vote-getter among members of Congress in general elections. I’m ready to roll.”During a City Hall news conference Wednesday, Johnson refused to discuss the race for mayor. Nor would he even say…

Please send scores and corrections to preps@suntimes.com. Schedule provided by Jack Gleason. Send schedule updates to hsbballjg@gmail.com.Wednesday, January 7, 2026WHITE CENTRALLongwood at Kennedy, 6:30CHICAGO PREPWestmont at Ida Crown, 7:00FOX VALLEYBurlington Central at Cary-Grove, 7:00Crystal Lake South at Hampshire, 7:00Huntley at Dundee-Crown, 7:00Jacobs at McHenry, 7:00Prairie Ridge at Crystal Lake Central, 7:00INDEPENDENTLatin at Lake Forest Academy, 6:30KISHWAUKEE RIVERWoodstock North at Richmond-Burton, 6:45LAKE SHOREBeacon at Roycemore, 4:30Christian Heritage at Horizon-McKinley, 6:30Intrinsic-Downtown at British School, 6:30Lycee at Wolcott, 6:30Morgan Park Academy at Waldorf, 5:00NOBLE GOLDRauner at Johnson, 7:00UIC Prep at Hansberry, 7:00NORTHERN LAKE COUNTYGrayslake Central at Antioch, 7:00Grayslake North at Round Lake, 7:00Lakes at North Chicago, 7:00Wauconda at Grant, 7:00NONCONFERENCECalvary Christian at Hinsdale Adventist, 4:30Chesterton at McNamara, 6:30Crete-Monee at Joliet Central, 6:30Hope Academy at St. Viator, 7:00Horizon-Belmont at Eisenhower, 6:30Jones at Holy Trinity, 7:00Juarez at Raby, 5:00Lombard CPSA at Walther Christian, 6:00Marengo at Stillman Valley, 6:45Minooka at East Aurora, 6:30Noble Street at Cristo Rey, 7:00North Boone at Johnsburg, 7:00Northridge at IC Catholic, 7:30Roosevelt at Von Steuben, 5:00Somonauk at Woodland, 7:00Sycamore at Woodstock, 6:45Winnebago at Kaneland, 7:00Yeshiva at North Shore, 7:30