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Jawad Fakroune isn’t a dangerous extortionist — despite FBI video and audio recordings that show him punching and threatening to murder a Chicago restaurant owner, his lawyer told jurors Tuesday.Fakroune, 46, is standing trial in federal court in the first of two criminal cases he’s facing. Prosecutors say the Moroccan national threatened to kill restaurateur Adolfo Garcia and his family in November 2024 unless he forked over $1.5 million.To bolster his tough-guy reputation, Fakroune told people he was a son of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug kingpin who died in 1993, prosecutors say.Assistant U.S. attorney Richard Rothblatt gave jurors a glimpse of the threats Fakroune was making while he was beating Garcia inside a now-closed restaurant, Yours Truly in River North, all captured on the restaurant's video cameras.“I’m going to bury you. I’m going to kill you and your kids, I promise you. I’m going to f—- your wife and your children. I’m going to murder you before they get me," said a transcript that Rothblatt read to jurors.Fakroune's attorney Damon Cheronis acknowledged his client's threats and violence against Garcia, but insisted Fakroune was a business partner with Garcia, not a thug trying to collect on an loan.Cheronis described Garcia as a liar, pointing out he originally told federal agents he had no business dealings with Fakroune. Cheronis said Garcia actually was stealing from Fakroune and sharing the money with other partners."This was a toxic business relationship that blew up in the ugliest way possible," Cheronis told jurors."You are going to learn that the restaurant industry in Chicago is cutthroat," Cheronis said. "And Adolfo Garcia lives in the middle of that." Adolfo Garcia at the opening of the now-closed Pearl Tavern oyster bar at 180 N. Wacker Drive on Jan. 18, 2014.Sun-Times file. Garcia is a former partner of one of Chicago’s biggest restaurateurs, Phil Stefani, who introduced Garcia to Fakroune in the spring of 2021, Cheronis said.Stefani has operated many of Chicago's busiest, high-end restaurants including Tavern on Rush, Stefani Prime and Riva Crab House, the Navy Pier establishment that ceased operations in 2021 after 25 years.Cheronis pointed out that Garcia had operated a string of failed restaurants when he and Fakroune became business partners.Garcia is expected to testify Wednesday when he will have to come face to face with Fakroune, who's been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center following his arrest in January 2025.Fakroune was financially connected to Lisa Duarte, a lobbyist and former high-level aide to Gov. JB Pritzker. She paid the property taxes on an estate Fakroune owned in Lemont, records show.Duarte told the Chicago Sun-Times she was a victim and was cooperating with federal authorities. Lobbyist Lisa Duarte speaks with Kevin Warren, the Bears president and chief executive officer, last September at The Economic Club of Chicago.Christopher Placek / Daily Herald According to prosecutors, Fakroune also is tied to a Chicago police officer whose guns were seized in late 2024 in an FBI raid of a New York home where Fakroune was staying. Fakroune escaped capture, running barefoot down the streets of Manhattan clothed only in a plastic garbage bag.In court papers, Cheronis described the unidentified cop as a drunk and a liar. Chicago police officials said last year that they opened an inquiry into the officer’s story.In January 2025, federal agents arrested Fakroune at a remote Michigan City, Indiana house where they say he was hiding out. Agents said they seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash they found during the raids of the New York and Indiana homes where Fakroune was living.At the heart of his extortion case, Fakroune is accused of going to Yours Truly — a now-shuttered oyster and martini bar on North Wells Street — where he pushed the owner, Garcia, against a brick pillar, kicked him in the leg and punched him in the face, according to an FBI affidavit,…

Chicago’s legendary jazz scene is preparing to shine on the world’s stage in April, when the city hosts the UNESCO International Jazz Day 2026 for the first timeGov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson joined other elected officials on Tuesday to announce the lineup, an announcement that also featured music legends Herbie Hancock and Kurt Elling. Green Room Newsletter You’re subscribed!Please check your inbox for your confirmation. Stay ahead of what’s hitting Chicago stages, galleries, museums and more with Green Room, WBEZ’s weekly arts & culture newsletter! Sorry, there was an error registering your email. Email Sign Up By subscribing, you agree with WBEZ’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy The global event will kick off April 1 with weeks of educational programming, master classes and special performances to the city. The month will culminate in the All-Star Global Concert on April 30 at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House. It will feature more than 40 international artists, including Hancock, Elling, Dianne Reeves, Ernest Dawkins, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Terence Blanchard.Most events will be free and open to the public, with online registration opening on March 1 at chicagojazzalliance.org.“Chicago's always been a city of innovation, creativity, and most of all, we just bring joy to the world. The evolution of jazz music is proof positive of our city's unique spirit, what I like to refer to as the soul of Chicago,” Johnson said. “We are ready to showcase that spirit and our soul with the world as we host the International Jazz Day of 2026.” Herbie Hancock, the legendary jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, helped found International Jazz Day and chairs the event.Amy Harris/Invision/AP Hancock, the legendary jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, helped found International Jazz Day and chairs the event, the world's largest celebration of the genre. This year’s iteration will highlight Chicago's contributions to jazz, blues and global music. The event aligns with both the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary jazz performer Miles Davis, who was born and raised in Illinois.“Throughout our history, Chicago and Illinois have been hubs of jazz music. From Chicago legends like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole and Cab Calloway to Miles Davis in East St Louis, and of course, the great Herbie Hancock, jazz runs deep around here,” said Pritzker. “In 100 days, we're going to be putting that legacy on display to the world as we welcome visitors far and wide for this historic event on April 30.”Additional confirmed artists include Melissa Aldana, John Beasley, Till Brönner, Terri Lyne Carrington, James Carter, Jacob Collier, Béla Fleck, Renée Fleming, James Genus, Robert Glasper, Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, Gregory Porter, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Bobby Watson and Lizz Wright. Additional confirmed Chicago performers include Bobby Broom, Marquis Hill, Joel Ross and Jahari Stampley.Hancock and Elling will serve as co-artistic directors for the April 30 concert. Hancock joined Tuesday’s announcement via video from Los Angeles, where he was set to appear later in the day at a celebration for the late architect Frank Gehry.“It was at my high school, Hyde Park Academy, that I first discovered jazz. I was sitting in an auditorium watching a talent show, and something clicked for me. That moment changed my life,” Hancock said. “Jazz opened doors for me to creativity, to self-expression and to freedom, and that is exactly why we celebrate International Jazz Day. My hope is that International Jazz Day 2026 will inspire young artists and audiences the same way the city inspired me.” Gov. JB Pritzker credited concerts and music festivals with attracting visitors to Illinois. “And thanks to major events like the International Jazz day, those numbers are going to continue to grow,” he said.Candace Dane Chambers/Chicago Sun-Times Pritzker credited concerts and music festivals with attracting…

Federal prosecutors in Chicago are preparing to deliver opening statements Wednesday in the first trial tied to “Operation Midway Blitz,” but they’re doing so after a judge barred more key evidence of an alleged murder plot aimed at U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.A jury made up of eight men and six women, which includes two alternates, has been chosen to hear the case against Juan Espinoza Martinez, the man accused of offering $10,000 for Bovino’s murder.Prosecutors pressed forward with the trial Tuesday after a damaging ruling last week from U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow. She barred any attempt to tie Espinoza Martinez to the Latin Kings street gang after the feds acknowledged they wouldn’t try to prove his membership in it. Related Chicago’s first Midway Blitz trial could center on feds’ Bovino murder-for-hire claim The judge went further Tuesday, barring text messages in which Espinoza Martinez allegedly wrote “saints, sds, and 2six being b----es,” “Chapo has our back bro. if they they take one its gunna be bad,” and “sinaloa dont f--- around.”The jury will be allowed to see other alleged texts from Espinoza Martinez that say, “my guys are ready in the vill,” “they havent teken non from the vill … n they wont” and “Kings on they a-- n theu scared.”Prosecutors had previously told the judge, “we absolutely have to have evidence of what [Espinoza Martinez’s] affinity and his relationship to the Latin Kings was.”Lefkow also barred portions of Espinoza Martinez’s interview with law enforcement, as well as a video that Espinoza Martinez allegedly passed along to explain his offer of $10,000.In audio of the video played in court, a man can be heard saying “got reports that ICE is out here doing some bullsh--. … Now that ICE is out here taking our people, ain’t nobody out here.”Defense attorney Dena Singer made clear to the judge that Espinoza Martinez “is not in the video.” She said, “he is not a speaker, he is not seen, he is not the taker.”Lefkow said she was “skeptical” of the video and eventually rejected it completely. She called it a “cover” for “trying to make it look like [Espinoza Martinez] is adopting what’s being said in the video.” Related Judge in Bovino murder-plot case warned of threats to judiciary after her family members were killed in 2005 The judge and lawyers managed to choose a jury by about 3 p.m. But Lefkow agreed to put off opening statements until Wednesday to give prosecutors a chance to adjust to her rulings.The jury includes a truck driver, a teacher, and a man who said he had a second interview for a job scheduled Tuesday.The case is a major test for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office. The feds have yet to secure a conviction for a non-immigration crime tied to the Trump administration’s deportation campaign, despite repeated claims of violence against immigration agents.Lefkow spent a significant amount of time Tuesday speaking to potential jurors at sidebar — and out of earshot of the public. Near the end of the day, she agreed to excuse a candidate who told the lawyers he didn’t agree with federal immigration policy and whose friends were apparently hit with tear gas.However, the judge only agreed to excuse him from the trial after he said it could disrupt his work plans and cost him a “good chunk of money.” Related Bovino murder-for-hire case on thin ice after judge bars gang evidence from trial The case hinges on the testimony of an anonymous “source of information.” Prosecutors say Espinoza Martinez sent that person a picture of Bovino via Snapchat in early October. A message allegedly followed that said, “2K on info cuando lo agarren,” “10k if u take him down,” and “LK … on him.”Authorities say that meant Espinoza Martinez had offered a $2,000 reward for information about Bovino, as well as a $10,000 reward for his murder, while indicating the Latin Kings were involved.Though prosecutors have kept their “source of information” anonymous, that person is expected to take the stand…

Ben Johnson agreed to become the Bears’ head coach a year ago Tuesday. That seems like forever ago, but it’s not because the Bears just went 11-6 and advanced further in the playoffs than they had in the last 15 years.The dysfunction that Johnson inherited — and that forced the Bears to make their first in-season firing of a head coach in their history last season — has been replaced by a culture shift that extends beyond the field.‘‘He’s been the catalyst for us,’’ quarterback Caleb Williams said Monday. ‘‘To be able to lead us, to be able to stand strong in tough moments and good moments, to be able to show emotion, be able to be who he is and be consistent with that and do what he said he was going to do, he’s been everything that Chicago’s needed as a coach.’’Williams showed his affection for Johnson on Tuesday on Instagram, posting a carousel of pictures that included him fist-bumping Johnson when he was introduced as the Bears’ coach. On that day, Johnson laid out what to expect — one sentence after he famously said he enjoyed beating Packers coach Matt LaFleur twice a year. View this post on Instagram ‘‘I do have a message here for the players: Get comfortable being uncomfortable,’’ he said then. ‘‘The bar has been set higher than it’s ever been set before. The only way for this team and for you as individual players to reach your potential is to be pushed and to be challenged. That’s exactly what I and my staff plan on doing.’’Johnson insisted on doing things his way, stopping practice during the offseason program if players made mistakes. To paraphrase wide receiver DJ Moore, players quickly decided it was better to go along with him than to get screamed at.Johnson’s mood doesn’t swing wildly, however. Players who craved consistency from the previous coaching staff learned right away that Johnson was the same person every day.‘‘I learned from the first time he stepped into the building who he was,’’ wide receiver Rome Odunze said. ‘‘And I learned who he wasn’t.’’Johnson is intense, direct and whip-smart. He values toughness on the field and off. He ran a training-camp practice that most of his players considered to be the most violent of their careers. Around the same time, he held a team meeting highlighting the Patriots’ comeback from a 28-3 deficit to win the Super Bowl against the Falcons.He reminded his players about both all season, including when they trailed the rival Packers by 18 points at halftime of their NFC wild-card game. Leading up to their Week 4 game in Las Vegas, he told the Bears that their reputation for years was one of a team that folded when the game got close. Then the Bears rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit a whopping seven times in their next 15 games.‘‘His impact on this team has been great,’’ safety Jaquan Brisker said. ‘‘The way he changed the culture, the way he has been a player’s coach. That’s why you see the players go out and play for him every single time. You’re willing to die on the field for a coach like that and a staff like this.’’It took a proof of concept for the Bears to buy in. They won 11 of 13 games between losing their first and last two.‘‘We found a good process of playing with effort and focus and playing physical and detailed football,’’ center Drew Dalman said.Johnson helped turn Williams into the Bears’ single-season passing leader in their first season together. Guard Jonah Jackson spent last season with the Rams and saw a similar dynamic between coach Sean McVay and presumptive MVP Matthew Stafford. Like the Rams’ pairing, the Bears’ duo has the ‘‘ability to make magic happen when things are needed,’’ Jackson said.A season that began with Williams questioning whether Johnson even liked him ended with him wearing Johnson’s high school football jersey and handing him a game ball after an emotional playoff victory.‘‘I’m excited that we’re going to be together,’’ Williams said. ‘‘I’m excited about our future. I’m excited about getting back here with him and…

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday City Hall has dropped out of the competition to take back Chicago parking meters after determining that the $3 billion asking price “would have made a bad deal even worse.”“The price is too high and requires debt service payments that extend too far and impose too much risk. Chicagoans would most likely end up footing the bill, yet again… The more we looked into it, the more problems emerged,” Johnson said Tuesday.“The City would have been required to debt-finance the entire purchase," Johnson continued. "This would eliminate the flexibility to… remove parking meters to make way for pedestrian ways and bike lanes. Instead, we would be locked into ever rising debt payments that would require City Council to consistently vote to raise parking rates year after year.”Johnson said it “would have been deeply irresponsible” not to “run the numbers and look at every variation of a potential deal” for the 57 years that remain on the parking deal that Chicagoans love to hate.The window opened last summer when Morgan Stanley, Allianz Capital Partners and the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Abu Dhabi signaled their desire to unload Chicago parking meters and started inviting potential bids.But after submitting an undisclosed bid, the mayor quickly learned that the asking price would have been nearly triple the $1.15 billion that Chicago received from the 75-year lease in 2008. Johnson decided that the risk wasn’t worth the reward, either financially or politically.The leveraged buyout would have pledged parking meter revenues as collateral, requiring a steep schedule of rate hikes even higher than the ones built into the lopsided deal signed in 2008 by former Mayor Richard M. Daley.Whether the math even worked would have depended on the interest rate on the borrowing, and the annual growth in parking meter revenues amid a fast-changing landscape for parking demand that includes everything from self-driving vehicles and robot deliveries to congestion fees that discourage people from driving downtown.“If for whatever reason parking habits shifted and revenues were significantly reduced due to changes in user behavior, the City would still be responsible for 100% of the debt repayments. That represents an even greater level of risk than what we face with the current contract,” the mayor said.Ald. Bill Conway (34th), vice chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee, was relieved that Johnson ultimately decided not to reopen the political can of worms.“If we were to have bid $3.4 billion, that would have been a bad choice, a bad investment for the taxpayers of Chicago,” said Conway, a former investment banker who still teaches college finance.“At a time when we face billion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, a $40 billion unfunded pension liability and $25 billion in debt, we cannot afford to make a terrible financial decision or make what is already a disastrous deal for the taxpayers even a bigger disaster by throwing good money after bad.”Conway urged Johnson to use the required city approval of an ownership transfer to exact changes benefiting the city, like reclaiming control of city streets and reducing payments due investors when meters are taken out of service.Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel similarly managed to make the best of a bad situation by reducing the city’s liability via increasing the hours and days motorists pay for parking.“When Mayor Emanuel faced this exact same situation in 2013, the contract got amended… We were able to make the deal a little bit better for the city,” Conway said. “We do have a bit of leverage here. And I hope that more rigorous analysis is done into how to negotiate that leverage as opposed to the initial bid we put in.”Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) cast one of only five “no” votes against the parking meter deal in 2008.As much as he would like to use the required city approval of an ownership transfer to exact changes benefiting the city, Waguespack said he does not…