Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a five-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
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This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms and a high near 72. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and a low near 44. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 54.
Top story
Key figure accused of embezzling from failed Bridgeport bank lost $1 million at casinos, sources say
Since a Bridgeport bank was shut down in late 2017 over what federal authorities have described as a brazen embezzlement scheme involving the bank’s CEO, a key question has gone unanswered: Where did tens of millions of dollars in missing money go?
Now, sources tell the Sun-Times, authorities have determined that Marek Matczuk — one of the central figures charged in the ongoing criminal investigation into the failure of Washington Federal Bank for Savings — lost at least $1 million gambling at Chicago-area casinos. And they’re trying to determine whether the money he lost gambling came from the millions of dollars he never repaid the bank, the sources say.
Matczuk, 59, is a roofing contractor and handyman from Park Ridge. According to federal regulators, he had $13 million in delinquent loans from Washington Federal when suspended bank CEO John F. Gembara was found hanged in Matczuk’s bedroom shortly before the bank’s shutdown. The Park Ridge police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said Gembara died by suicide, though his wife has questioned that finding.
Matczuk has been charged with siphoning $6 million from the bank as part of what prosecutors have said was a scheme in which Washington Federal handed out loans to favored insiders with no documentation, no collateral and no expectation the money ever would be repaid.
Matczuk lost $182,000 gambling at Rivers Casino between 2011, when the Des Plaines venue opened, and 2018, soon after Washington Federal was ordered closed, plus more than $800,000 at other Chicago-area casinos, according to knowledgeable sources.
Neither Rivers nor other casino operators would talk in any detail about the case.
Tim Novak and Robert Herguth have more on the latest in the Washington Federal saga here.
More news you need
- The judge in R. Kelly’s ongoing state court case told his defense attorney today that going forward he wants Kelly in the courtroom for hearings — though he was excused from attending the next one. Our Matthew Hendrickson and Andy Grimm have more on the judge’s decision here.
- A Chicago police trainer who faced 12 felony counts for his unprovoked shooting of an unarmed man will not be sent to prison after a plea agreement with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office. Officer Kevin Bunge, 40, pleaded guilty Sept. 14 to a single count of aggravated discharge of a firearm for the off-duty 2020 shooting on the North Side.
- A man who has already admitted damaging two Chicago clinics that provide abortion services — and who has been suspected of additional attacks — now faces federal prosecution, court records show. Michael Barron, 40, is charged with one misdemeanor count alleging he damaged a Planned Parenthood Health Center in Edgewater on June 5, 2021.
- With winter approaching, Chicagoans wondering how tough the weather will be are getting one clear warning: their personal finances are liable to take a hit. The big concern is sharply higher costs for natural gas, used to heat the overwhelming majority of homes in the area, our David Roeder reports.
- Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle recently shared some good news for taxpayers and voters alike: there are no new taxes or tax hikes in her proposed $8.75 billion budget for 2023. Preckwinkle is offering bold spending plans, thanks to roughly $1 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money the county has to spend over multiple years. But she needs workers to pull those plans off, WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch explains.
- Dozens of pastors are planning to sound the same message from their pulpits his weekend. Their goal? To part the sea of stigmatization around mental health services and steer parishioners into care. Our Michael Loria has more here.
- The Second City is expanding to a third city, announcing a plan to open a New York theater to supplement its long-running locations in Chicago and Toronto. The Chicago-based comedy company said today that the new space will be located in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
- The Chicago Marathon returns Sunday with 40,000 people from 50 states and 100 countries expected to compete. Our Katelyn Haas breaks down what you need to know about watching the race, avoiding traffic and more here.
- Vacant for 25 years, a former furniture store in Auburn Gresham will soon be open for business as a community health and education center. Developers hope that besides being home to myriad businesses focused on health and prosperity, the building also will become a beacon of community, a space where everyone is welcome.
A bright one
Leftover food from set of HBO’s ‘South Side’ goes to needy; city hopes it catches on with other productions
Diallo Riddle, a co-creator of HBO’s “South Side,” has a unique understanding of the importance of food.
“I’m a father and have three growing boys. And I work on film shoots that have 150 people with cast and crew. In both worlds, you always have to have more food than you think you might need,” Riddle said.
So when he heard of a program Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office is trying to institute to collect leftover food from film shoots and get it in the hands of less fortunate Chicago residents, he didn’t hesitate.
“The second I heard about it I was like ‘Hell yes! Let’s not waste anything. This is a no-brainer,’” he said. “There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re wasting something that somebody else needs.”
Showrunners made six food donations this summer from four different film locations that totaled to 160 meals, according to Replate, a nonprofit that collects leftovers from a variety of businesses and distributes them to other nonprofits that have clients looking for a healthy meal. Replate works with many businesses in Chicago — including Boston Consulting Group, Sprout Social and Jump Trading — and the do-gooders hope the food collections from “South Side” provide an inroad into the city’s film industry.
Riddle hopes the trend will catch on in Chicago, which is home to a thriving film industry that includes movie, television and commercial shoots.
Mitch Dudek has more on Replate’s efforts here.
From the press box
- White Sox year in review: It wasn’t pretty on the South Side.
- Our experts make their Week 5 predictions for Bears vs. Vikings.
- Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy on Justin Fields’ play: “I don’t think he’s had a rough month. I think he’s gotten better every week.”
- Ahead of Week 7 of the high school football season, Mike Clark breaks down the top matchups, including Simeon vs. Kenwood, Brother Rice vs. Joliet Catholic and Geneva vs. Batavia.
Your daily question☕
How would you describe what it’s like to navigate Lower Wacker Drive to someone not from here?
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: Think about the best neighbor you’ve ever had — what made them the best?
Here’s what some of you said...
“My current neighbors are wonderful. They are friendly. They keep their property up. They are quiet and respectful of the neighborhood. They are very considerate of the other neighbors when they have a party.” — Tony Williams
“They put up with me.” — Tony Galati
“We were the best of friends. Helped each other out and watched over our houses and children. we had so much fun in the neighborhood. Became like family.” — Sandra Gooch
“Mine were four girls who lived a few houses down. We did everything together and to this day they are like my sisters.” — Melissa Goodman-Houston
“They became more than neighbors, more than friends, they became family, and after 50-plus years, the feelings are still the same.” — Tony Aiello
“His name was Stan. He and his wife were so kind and helpful to my husband and I in our first Chicago home. From lending power tools to sending over baked goods, they were the best.” — Joan Fregapane
“When we moved into our first house, we had Sophie and Dan next door. They were like grandparents to my daughter, and my next two who were born, there. When the house became too small for our family, and we had to move, it broke my heart. Stayed friends until they both passed.” — Bernadette Tomasek
“The Schlabachs. They were the very first people to welcome my family to the U.S. Mrs. Schlabach came to our door the day after we landed in the U.S. with a delicious freshly baked apple pie and a tub of vanilla ice cream. This was in the 80s and my parents, my brothers and I had just left a racially oppressive and segregated South Africa where interactions between different races ranged from unpleasant to emotionally and physically violent. Deadly even. So seeing Mrs. Schlabach at our door with a huge smile on her face was simultaneously very shocking and pleasantly surprising. It was so impactful that we talked about it for years. This was only the first of the Schlabach’s many genuinely loving and neighborly gestures towards our family. My love and appreciation for them run deep.” — Nolwazi Buthelezi
“I am surrounded by wonderful neighbors. I’m a senior who lives alone and came home from the hospital after being treated for COVID. My neighbors checked on me three times or more a day, made food for me, washed dishes and cleaned the house for me. Took care and cleaned up after my cats and snow blew my driveway. Was wonderful having company after three weeks in the hospital and three weeks in the nursing home where no one could visit.” — Sandi Spiewak Estelle
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