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Will COunTy
Crest Hill sports Huddle goes unbeaten in pandemic By maRK gRegORy editorial director
@Hear_The_Beard mark@buglenewspapers.com In 2020, it seems the only clear-cut winner of anything has been COVID-19, as the pandemic and subsequent lockdown by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has wiped out everything from summer vacations to high school athletics — while claiming jobs and small businesses along the way. In Crest Hill, however, a group of 11 young men found a way to beat the virus and 19 of its opponents and post a 19-0-2 undefeated season — the two ties coming because of time limits on games. Sports Huddle, the lone Pony Division team this season for Crest Hill baseball was led by catcher Jonah Linko and shortstop Niko Frcek. Linko paced the team in several offensive categories, posting a .600 batting average with 24 singles, eight doubles, four triples and 20 hits with runners in scoring position. He recorded a team-best 34 RBI. Linko tied Chase Manegold for fewest strikeouts with only five on the season.
He also pitched 12 innings, posting a 0.32 Earned Run Average, and 16 strikeouts. “This was a unique season,” Linko said. “It was one of the better ones for me. I made friends and I played the best I ever played. Being able to play baseball this year was just a great feeling.” Frcek, the team’s shortstop, lead the team runs scored (42), home runs (3), on base percentage (.649), batting average with runners in scoring position (.750), runs created (43.11) and stolen bases (17). “I really didn’t think that we would play this year, but I was trying to stay positive,” Frcek said. “It was a fun season. It was worth going through everything we did and going out with no losses was a great way to end the season.” Chase Manegold paced the team on the mound, posting five wins to go with a 0.24 ERA, racking up 64 strikeouts, an average of 14.97 per game. He threw one no hitter on his own, combined for another no hitter and tossed three one hitters on the season and lead the team with four shutout. On the season, opponents batted just
.640 against him. When not on the mound, Manegold played first base and centerfield and posted a .451 average on the season. When the season was pushed back, Manegold almost did not play because of a basketball commitment. “We started in the spring in the batting cages and they were talking about COVID this and that and use hand sanitizer and then the next week, we were done,” he said. “I was very surprised. I was actually in a basketball league and coach Joe (Marshall) called be back and I decided to finish the season with him. “I was given these chances I probably shouldn’t have had and I am very appreciative of this team.” Posting a season with no losses is something this year’s Sports Huddle team can remember as a positive from a whirlwind 2020 campaign, it will also be remembered as the first undefeated season in the 41-year coaching tenure of Marshall. “Last year we were 28-1 and lost one game, 3-2,” Marshall said. Last season, Crest Hill had teams in both the DuPage River Conference
and the Crossroads of MidAmerica Conference, both coached by Marshall, and both won championships. Of the players on this season’s team, John O’Brien and Luke Nolan played on the one-loss DuPage River Conference team a season ago and finished their Sports Huddle careers with a record of 47-1-2 — the best two-year run by any players under Marshall in four-plus decades. This season’s team almost looked a lot different than it did, however, as COVID-19 threatened to leave the team without key players. “We started practicing in late June, but when the season was pushed to July 31, Niko and Will (Richardson) were not going to play because of football at Lockport,” Marshall said. “Will decided to try and do both, but on July 29 when they announced there would be no football, so he came to practice. “Then when we announced when we were going to play, Chase wasn’t going to play because he had basketball and he is our best pitcher. I told him whatever we needed to do to work with him, I would, because this may be my last year — I still don’t know.”
Once the season started, leagues had teams shut down for COVID-19, including lower level teams at Crest Hill. “It was like a roller coaster,” Marshall said. “We were dodging bullets.” When the team finally opened the season with only 11 players, two of them 12-year-olds playing a level up, there was no guarantee how the players would mesh. “This team really came together all year,” Manegold said. “Our communication was on point, we have two 12 year olds and they got better every game. I am so proud that we did what we did this year.” The 12-year-olds were Damian Herrera, nicknamed Cub Fan, hit .227 on the season in his first year in organized baseball. “He is one of the best bunters on the team and has a great attitude,” Marshall said. “The 14 year olds that used a (particular) blue bat signed the bat and gave it to him after the game. That is what they think of him.” He was joined by fellow 12-year-old Gordie Kairis, who batted .116 on the
see ‘unBeaTen’ page 3
W e d n es day, O C TO B E R 7, 2 0 2 0 | b u g l e n e w spap e r s. co m | pag e 3 ‘unbeaten’ from page 2 season, while making one of the top defensive plays of the season. The tandem of two-year players, O’Brien and Nolan contributed this season. O’Brien batted .456, while going 4-0 on the bump with a 0.32 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He threw one no hitter, recording 40 strikeouts in 30.33 innings. Nolan hit .457 and was second on team with 24 RBI. He led the team with six wins on the mound and posted an ERA of 0.92, throwing a perfect game against Channahon. Also contributing to the undefeated team was Austin Woosley, who hit .404 and threw out four runners at first base from right field. Ben Leroy picked up three wins and one save on the mound, posting a 0.81 ERA. He hit .302. Richardson batted .357., while Johnny Filipiak hit .366.
Chase Manegold and Crest Hill Sports Hubble posted a 19-0-2 record on the seaosn.
photo by mark gregory
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Will COunTy
Bobcats caught on Forest Preserve game camera Forest Preserve District of Will County game cameras recently captured some rare and exciting photos of bobcats, possibly a mother and her kittens, walking through a small open area in Kankakee Sands Preserve in Custer Township. The cameras, which are triggered by motion, are used in the preserves to document animal numbers and movements. The information obtained by the cameras helps guide the Forest Preserve
District’s land management strategies. Photos of bobcats in the preserves are rare, said Becky Blankenship, the Forest Preserve’s wildlife biologist. So, capturing photos of the creatures was noteworthy because it happens only every couple of years, she said. “The cameras are set up to take a three-photo burst when they detect motion,” she explained. “Then they have a 10-15 second delay before taking another burst if there is still movement in front of the camera.” Blankenship said the photos recorded what appears to be a mother and at least two kittens. Females can reach sexual maturity a year after birth, so the mother is at least a year old, and the kittens were likely born this spring, she said. Bobcats, which are twice the size of a common house cat, have been detected in the Forest Preserve’s Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve, Evans-Judge Preserve, Sugar Creek Preserve and now Kankakee Sands Preserve. Blankenship said bobcats are typically only active at twilight or just before sunrise and they are well camouflaged and avoid people, so that is why they are a rare sight. “I have only seen a wild bobcat once, and the black-and-white photos do not do them justice,” she said. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources habi-
tat changes and overharvesting of bobcats caused populations to decline severely enough to be listed as threatened in Illinois from 19771999. Since then, bobcat populations have responded so well to protection and habitat management that a very restricted hunting and trapping season has been in place since 2016. (Hunting is not allowed in the Forest Preserve District of Will County preserves.) IDNR estimates that there may be up to 5,000 bobcats in Illinois now, and their numbers are still on the rise. The Forest Preserve District uses game cameras to observe species without needing to be present, Blankenship explained. “The most common animals caught on camera are deer, squirrels, a variety of birds and raccoons,” she said. It’s important to know what kinds of animals live in a preserve to better manage the environment to help them, she added. “The history of the bobcat in Illinois shows us the importance of managing habitat for the species that depend on it,” Blankenship said. “Knowing what species occupy our preserves helps guide our habitat management practices.” For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Will County and its land management practices, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.
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COlleCTiBles
Chicago Bulls six-time NBA champions bobblehead unveiled The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed bobblehead commemorating the six-time NBA champion Chicago Bulls. The bobblehead, which features beloved mascot “Benny the Bull,” includes replica trophies for each title and a commemorative backing with the championship years. The bobbleheads are being produced exclusively for the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum by FOCO, an official licensee and manufacturer of Chicago Bulls and NBA merchandise. The limited-edition bobbleheads are individually numbered to only 1,998 to coincide with the Bulls’ last title year. The bobbleheads are $45 each with a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. They are only available through the Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store and are expected to ship in December.
The Bulls played a major part in popularizing the NBA worldwide in the 1990s when they won six championships in eight years with two “three-peats”. Led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on the court and Coach Phil Jackson on the sidelines, the Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships while never losing an NBA Finals series in their history. The Bulls’ dynasty was chronicled in the popular 10-part documentary “The Last Dance”, which debuted on April 19, 2020. After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons, the Bulls broke through with their first NBA title in 1991 as they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. They won the franchise’s second and third titles in 1992 and 1993, respectively. The Bulls returned to championship form the following season.
Joined by future Hall of Famer and rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, the 1995-96 Bulls’ squad is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of basketball. The Bulls won 72 games during the regular season, becoming the first team in NBA history two win 70 games or more in a single season. They culminated the campaign by beating the Seattle SuperSonics for their fourth title. The Bulls captured their final two titles in 1997 and 1998 with victories over the Utah Jazz. “We are excited to release this bobblehead celebrating the Chicago Bulls and their dominance in the 1990s,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “With six NBA titles in eight years, the Bulls were must-see TV for basketball fans throughout the world during their reign.”
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sTaTe neWs
State gambling revenues plummet during pandemic By peTeR HanCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
Revenues flowing into state coffers from legalized gambling operations plummeted during the fiscal year that ended June 30 as casinos, racetracks and other video gambling venues were forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people also slowed down on buying lottery tickets, according to a new report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or CoGFA, which said total state tax revenues generated through legalized gambling fell 13.4 percent, or about $200 million, compared to the previous fiscal year. “This decline is in large part due to the suspension of video gaming and casino operations between March 16 and June 30, which thereby prevented any revenues from being generated from these sources during this time period,” the report stated. “Although this suspension has been since lifted, gaming has only returned on a limited basis and it remains unclear how long these limitations will last. Even with the resumption of wagering, it is expected that the ramifications of the pandemic on public confidence will persist for some time.” The report noted that casinos suffered the biggest declines, with adjusted gross receipts falling by 30 percent, or more than $400 million, compared to the previous year. That included a $119 million drop in receipts at the state’s largest casino, Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, but all other casinos reported significant declines as well. The Illinois Gaming Board allowed casinos to reopen on July 1 with capacity limits, social distancing requirements and other public health measures intended to slow the spread of the virus. Since then, however, the state has reimposed mitigation measures in the Metro East region outside St. Louis and, most recently, in northwest Illinois where the COVID-19 testing positivity rates have continued to exceed state limits. In those regions, food and beverage service at casinos and video gam-
bling locations has been suspended and gambling operations have been limited to the hours of 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The report also noted that casinos in Illinois have been on a long downward trend for the last several years as video gambling, which the state legalized in 2009, has taken over a larger share of the gambling market. As of June 30, more than 36,000 video gambling terminals were in operation in Illinois, the equivalent of 30 full-size casinos. Since 2012, according to the report, adjusted gross receipts for all casinos in the state have fallen 42.5 percent, or nearly $700 million, while the combined total of casino and video gambling revenues has grown 32 percent. Revenues from sports gambling, which was legalized in 2019 legislation, were virtually nonexistent for fiscal year 2020, according to the report, as the NCAA basketball tournament was canceled and the NBA playoffs and Major League Baseball season were delayed. “Because of this, very little tax revenues ($12,224 to be exact) were reported to be received from the sports wagering tax in FY 2020,” according to the report. Despite the rapid growth of video gambling in recent years, the report noted that the Illinois Lottery continues to be the largest source of state gambling revenues, and it has also suffered setbacks since the onset of the pandemic. Preliminary numbers indicate lottery ticket sales fell 5.8 percent, or $172.5 million, during the fiscal year. “The COVID-19 pandemic likely hurt lottery sales as customers were more likely to stay at home and some retailers may not have been open, making the lottery less available,” the report stated. The report also noted that lottery sales have been relatively stagnant in recent years, growing only 4.8 percent over the past six fiscal years. That has been especially disappointing, the report stated, because officials had hoped for more rapid growth after it placed day-to-day management of
the lottery in the hands of a private company. In 2010, Illinois hired the firm Northstar Lottery Group to manage the lottery, but after disappointing results the state changed contractors in 2018 when it hired Camelot Illinois. “The virus-related disruptions have made it difficult to gauge whether lottery performance has improved since this change has taken place,” the report stated.State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) is encouraging people who lost work during the ongoing public health crisis to take advantage of jobs brought to the 49th District by an $825,000 economic recovery grant. “The COVID-19 pandemic put people throughout the state and Will County out of work, and many of
those people have been struggling to find new jobs for months,” BertinoTarrant said. “Dozens of jobs have now opened up in Will County that will benefit not only the people who are hired, but the county as a whole. I encourage anyone who is seeking a steady job to apply immediately.” Will County Northeast was awarded $825,000 in economic recovery grants to train and hire workers to fill high-demand positions and assist local disaster relief programs. The money – totaling $16.6 million for the state – comes to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Security (DCEO) from the National Dislocated Worker Program. The state distributed the funds to 12 Local Workforce Innovation Areas to expand education and training
opportunities throughout Illinois. DCEO will partner with local workforce agency partners to assist with filling high-need, temporary roles to help mitigate COVID-19 in communities, including contact tracers, COVID-19 protocol workers, building sanitization workers, temperature screeners, and food preparation and distribution workers. Training and hiring for new workforce programs are expected to begin this fall. Local workforce agencies will prioritize applicants who have been laid off or otherwise lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis at the time of their application. A full list of available training and hiring opportunities is available on Get Hired Illinois.
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sTaTe neWs
More than 2 million mail-in ballots requested By JeRRy nOWiCKi
Capitol News Illinois
More than 2 million Illinois voters have requested vote-by-mail ballots and more than 26,000 such ballots have already been returned, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. That means about a quarter of the state’s registered voters had requested vote-by-mail ballots as of Wednesday afternoon. ISBE reported that 2,077,594 ballots were requested, with 26,872 returned and 55,751 persons having voted early. The number continues to grow as public health guidance advises against congregating in indoor places due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a law requiring election authorities to send applications for vote-by-mail ballots to registered voters who voted in recent elections. Applications must be sent back to the election authority to receive a mail-in ballot. Many of the applications have already been distributed to voters, and vote-by-mail and early voting periods began last week. Once the ballot is received, it must be sent back to the election authority to be counted. While the new law for the 2020 election allows an election authority to install drop boxes for the return of ballots, a spokesperson said only 54 of the state’s 108 election jurisdictions have such a drop box. Those who have requested mail ballots but change their minds and would like to vote in person instead have avenues to do so, according to ISBE spokesperson Matt Dietrich,
who said there are safeguards in place to ensure no double voting occurs. A voter who received a mail ballot but wishes to cast a ballot in person must surrender the ballot at an early voting location or polling place on Election Day and will be given a regular ballot. A voter who does not surrender the ballot must cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are not counted until all the mail ballots have been processed and it is assured that the voter’s ballot is not
among them. According to Dietrich, if someone has requested but not yet received their mail ballot and wants to vote in person, the voter can sign an affidavit at the polling place or early voting location attesting that they have not received a mail ballot. The voter will then be given a regular ballot. “This happens most frequently with voters who request their mail ballot very late in the process and don’t receive it as of Election Day, though a voter can do this anytime as long as they haven’t received the
ballot,” he said. Voters using this method are instructed to discard the mail ballot if it arrives, but if they do sign and return it for voting, they’re committing vote fraud and are subject to Class 3 felony charges, Dietrich said. Gov. JB Pritzker was asked at a virtual news conference Wednesday if he had any concerns about rhetoric from President Donald Trump in Tuesday night’s presidential debate in which Trump continued to raise questions about the validity of a November election that has already
smashed mail-in voting records in many states. Pritzker said he would feel “confident in the system we have” if he were voting anywhere in the state, noting that the new law has made the process “safer and easier.” “We’ve had vote-by-mail in Illinois for some number of years,” he said. “And so there’s, I think, a reasonable high confidence level of people who have done it have done so successfully. We have not had situations of voter fraud in Illinois caused by vote by mail.”
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