Le Journal

MINNEAPOLIS — At last check, every Bulls guard was accounted for after the game against the Timberwolves on Thursday.No one was left behind.But one might be wearing Timberwolves blue by the Feb. 5 trade deadline, especially with rumors circulating about the teams being in talks. For now, however, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Tre Jones were on the team flight.That’s good news for coach Billy Donovan because, as he reminded the media, he needed all of them.The Bulls don’t have an elite talent a la Anthony Edwards. They don’t even have a Julius Randle. But when everyone is healthy, they have a system that uses depth to try to shrink the talent gap. That system worked against Minnesota in a 120-115 victory.“We’ve got to rely on each other,” Donovan said. “For our group, the whole has to be greater than the individual parts. If we can move the ball on offense, space correctly, generate really good shots, make really good decisions, take care of the ball, can we control the backboard defensively? Can we stay true to who we are identity-wise and still stay afloat by playing to that identity and style?”And maybe that’s just one of the issues with this team. A lot of boxes have to be checked on a nightly basis rather than simply having that superstar who can be given the ball and can simply take over.“The mentality has to be we all need each other,” Donovan said. “We have to accept that if we have six to eight guys every night in double figures, if we can share the basketball, there is not one primary guy that teams are trying to stop.”To underline that point, seven Bulls scored in double figures, led by White with 22 points.But it wasn’t easy. With a little more than six minutes left against the T-wolves, the Bulls (22-22) were down a point in the back-and-forth affair.Rudy Gobert scored on a put-back and was fouled — no check for the “control the backboard defensively” box.Nikola Vucevic put up an errant midrange shot. There went the “generate really good shots” strategy.Josh Giddey committed a turnover on a pass to Vucevic. Go ahead and uncheck the “take care of the ball” box.All the good things Donovan saw from his players throughout the game all but disappeared in a two-minute stretch in which Minnesota took a five-point lead.It’s a good thing for the Bulls that this isn’t the same Timberwolves team that went to the Western Conference finals last season. The roster is mostly the same, but the product has been off. That’s why they’ve been discussing adding a guard from the Bulls.The Sun-Times reported in early December that White was on their radar, but the free agent-to-be’s insistence on shopping in July became a stumbling block.The other guard that caught Minnesota’s attention was Jones, and he helped his cause with a driving layup with 31.1 seconds left that gave the Bulls a one-point lead. After two free throws by Jalen Smith, Edwards missed a three-pointer from the corner.White iced the game from the foul line.“We’re feeling good; we like where we’re at,” Giddey said of the Bulls’ third consecutive victory.“We’re at .500 now. This was a really tough test for us. They were pretty whole right now, no real injuries, and a really great win for us on the road against a good team. It gives us momentum moving forward.”

Federal authorities slapped all kinds of sinister labels on Chicago’s Juan Espinoza Martinez when they arrested him last fall, and they did it for all the world to hear.They called him a “high-ranking member of the Latin Kings.” They called him “depraved.” They even called him a “thug” as they accused him of offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.But Thursday, a federal jury called Espinoza Martinez “not guilty.” In doing so, it put an end to one of the most contentious prosecutions to result from “Operation Midway Blitz.” Related Bovino murder-for-hire trial moving fast at federal courthouse, where it’ll soon be in jurors’ hands The group of regular citizens, led by a teacher who served as the foreperson, answered a call from defense attorney Dena Singer. She urged them in closing arguments to “stand up to the overreaching government.”“You have the power here,” she told them. “Your words now matter. You have the power to stop the overreaching government. … Don’t let them bully. Use your voice. And while the agents and the government did not want to listen to Juan’s voice, they will listen to yours.”After deliberating for about three hours, the jury acquitted Espinoza Martinez of one count of murder-for-hire, which carried a maximum of 10 years in prison. They did so after hearing how Bovino last fall became the face of immigration enforcement in Chicago.Espinoza Martinez, 37, sat stoically in his chair after the verdict was read, but he appeared to be holding back emotions as he briefly lifted his eyes to the ceiling. When the jury left the courtroom, he shared big hugs with Singer and her co-counsel, Jonathan Bedi.Still, his future remains uncertain. His lawyers have acknowledged an immigration detainer exists, telling a judge it’s likely to be acted upon. The question was not addressed Thursday after the verdict, and Bedi and Singer left the Dirksen Federal Courthouse without commenting. Dirksen Federal Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St. | Rich Hein/Sun-TimesSun-Times Media Several jurors also declined to speak to a Chicago Sun-Times reporter as they hustled out of the building.U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office did not comment. But Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff and an architect of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation campaign, reacted to the news on social media by insisting that “leftist judges and juries are empowering violent insurrection against the government in an effort to stop ICE from removing criminal alien invaders.”Espinoza Martinez is one of 31 known defendants charged in Chicago’s federal court with non-immigration crimes tied to the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign last fall. With Thursday’s acquittal of Espinoza Martinez, 15 of them have now been cleared. At least three of those dismissals resulted from so-called "no bills," where a grand jury found insufficient evidence or probable cause to return an indictment. That was virtually unheard of until recently.Charges against the remaining 11 defendants were dropped for various other reasons. None of the cases have led to a conviction, so far.Espinoza Martinez is the first defendant prosecutors have taken to trial, though. The case against him evolved drastically after criminal charges were first filed in October, when Bedi and Singer insisted on a speedy trial. Prosecutors pressed forward even after U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow ruled crucial evidence couldn’t be seen by the jury. Related Chicago’s first Midway Blitz trial could center on feds’ Bovino murder-for-hire claim The original criminal complaint cited a “source of information,” now known to be 44-year-old Adrian Jimenez, who called Espinoza Martinez a “ranking member of the Latin Kings.” A Homeland Security press release also called Espinoza Martinez a “Latin Kings gang member.”But earlier this month, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Minje Shin…

The Chicago area is bracing for a level of cold that hasn't been felt in more than three years.Temperatures are expected to drop below zero Thursday night and remain near zero until Saturday while wind chills are projected to drop as low as minus 35 Friday and stay below zero into next week, according to the National Weather Service. Zachary Yack, a meteorologist with the weather service, said temperatures are expected to stay below normal through the rest of next week."The cold looks like it's going to stick around," Yack said.Along with the bitterly cold conditions, snow from a winter storm, expected to hit a large strip of the United States, could bring 1 to 4 inches of snow Saturday night into Sunday. "The tricky part of this system is we're kind of on the northern fringe of it, so there's a little bit of uncertainty of how much snow we actually get," Yack said. No matter how much snow falls during the cold snap, Yack warns that the precipitation will freeze quickly and create slick roads. "Some slippery travel is to be expected," Yack said. A number of government offices and businesses across the city announced closures for Friday, including the 19th Ward office, 40th Ward office, 44th Ward office, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community and the Beverly Arts Center. Chicago Public Schools is one of nearly 200 area districts that are canceling classes due to the weather.The Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum and Alder Planetarium will close Friday and reopen to the public Saturday, according to a news release from the Museum Campus cultural organizations. Those who had already purchased tickets for either location will have the option to rebook for a different day.The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago will also close Friday.Outside Chicago, the Secretary of State's four senior centers — located in Evanston, Westchester, Bridgeview and Calumet Park — as well as Waukegan Township's town offices were also set to be closed. And in spite of those brave enough to tough out the cold in nature, DuPage Forest Preserve District was closing its headquarters and six of its education centers: Danada Equestrian Center in Wheaton, Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center in Oak Brook, Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago, Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, St. James Farm in Warrenville and DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center in Glen Ellyn.

There are questions surrounding the death of Colts owner Jim Irsay ... to the point where the matter is now reportedly under FBI investigation. The documents, obtained by The Washington Post, revealed a federal grand jury subpoena was issued…