Chicago Sun Times

A man was fatally struck by a vehicle Friday night on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Sun-Times file photo A man was fatally struck by a vehicle Friday night on DuSable Lake Shore Drive on the South Side. About 11:50 p.m., officers responded to a domestic incident in the 3900 block of South Lake Park Avenue and as officers arrived to the scene, a man who was part of the incident left, Chicago police said. Shortly after, the man, 46, was attempting to cross the roadway in the 3800 block of South Lake Shore Drive when he was struck by a vehicle going north, police said. He died at the scene, officials said. Authorities were investigating.

A man was fatally stabbed Friday night in Little Village. Sun-Times file photo A man was fatally stabbed Friday night in Little Village on the Southwest Side. About 9:30 p.m., officers responded to reports of a person stabbed and found the man, who was between 30 and 40 years old, in the 4300 block of West 26th Street, Chicago police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with a stab wound to his leg and was pronounced dead, police said. Preliminary information indicates he was stabbed during an argument, police say. No one was in custody.

A man was charged with murder in a shooting that happened Wednesday in southwest suburban Bridgeview. A Bedford Park man was charged with allegedly shooting and killing a man in southwest suburban Bridgeview earlier this week. Anthony Calderon, 20, was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Arturo Cantu, Bridgeview police said. Cantu, 39, was walking to his car early Wednesday when he was confronted and shot.He lived at the apartment building near where he was found shot at the corner of 79th Street and Oketo Avenue, officials said.Calderon was scheduled to appear in court Saturday morning. Anthony Calderon Provided

Coach Frank Klopas and the Fire are winless in six matches.Courtesy of the Fire There are probably people out there who love the Fire as much, but nobody loves the team more than Frank Klopas. A Chicagoan whose career dates to the indoor Sting, Klopas played for the Fire during their glorious 1998 double-title season, has held roles as a coach, executive and broadcaster and is a passionate franchise ambassador.Ever an optimist, something seemed different about Klopas after the Fire’s 1-0 loss Wednesday to Charlotte FC. The Fire (2-7-4, 10 points) are winless in six matches, haven’t scored a goal at Soldier Field in 371 minutes and have plummeted to 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference.“Every loss, for me, hits more at home than anything else, and I care,” Klopas said. “So it’s not easy to come here every day, when results don’t go your way and just have to be honest. Right now, we just haven’t found the right formula, and it’s a lot on my shoulders. It’s on my shoulders to find that. And, yeah, when it’s not going right, it does sit at home more and more emotionally because of how I feel about the club.”Klopas likely would do anything the Fire asked him to do. Under sporting director Georg Heitz, he has served as interim coach twice, following the in-season dismissals of Raphael Wicky and Ezra Hendrickson. When he replaced Hendrickson last May, most assumed Klopas would finish the 2023 season before giving way to another coach.That didn’t happen. Klopas is front and center for another bad Fire team owner Joe Mansueto allowed Heitz to build.“I love the club. I came back because I felt I could help the club in this way,” Klopas said. “And it’s a difficult one also for me because I wouldn’t do this for any other team, to come back. I had opportunities; I stayed here. And it’s extremely difficult when in moments like this because I need to find solutions and I haven’t been able to do so up to now.”Defender Andrew Gutman isn’t blaming Klopas or his assistants.“The coaches can only do so much,” Gutman said. “They can give you the game plan, they can tell you the tendencies of other teams, but at the end of the day, it comes down to what we do on the field. The staff has given us good ideas, good game plans, and we have to do a better job executing it.”It’s impossible to know whether the game plan isn’t good enough or if the roster is too weak to execute it. It’s likely a combination of both. Klopas isn’t known for his tactical acumen, and Heitz has only assembled losing teams with the Fire.For better or worse, Klopas and the Fire will continue looking for solutions. They’ll need to find them fast. They host defending MLS Cup champion Columbus (4-2-6, 18 points) on Saturday.“[The] only thing I can tell you is, we have to keep trying. But right now, the [team’s] confidence level is really low,” Klopas said. “And you can just see that nothing’s really working for us. We get in good spots, we get opportunities, it just seems like nothing seems to be going in the net. It seems like they have four or five goalies in there at times. And with us, just one opportunity goes in.”

A former 7-Eleven that is now vacant, at 4116 N. Clark St. in Lake View, may become the next location for Access Contemporary Music’s school and venue.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times Seth Boustead said he’s seen the former 7-Eleven storefront at 4116 N. Clark St. sit empty for ages.But now the executive director of Access Contemporary Music wants to breathe new life into the vacant Lake View property with plans to create a space for music performances and education. The nonprofit’s mission is teaching music and making it accessible to all ages.“I think it would be perfect,” Boustead said. “For us, we hope that it solves a lot of problems.”The organization wants to change the property’s zoning so it can turn it into ACM’s fourth location, which Boustead describes as a hybrid between performance and small class education. The zoning change is still “seeking feedback,” according to the website of Ald. Angela Clay (46th), but ACM is hopeful it could open the Lake View location by the end of October. The nonprofit operates a school in Avondale, Rogers Park and Ravenswood, but Boustead said it’s always looking to expand. And the Lake View location would offer something different for visitors and students.Besides music classes, ACM often hosts concerts and festivals. It’s been harder for the organization and chamber ensembles to book venues since the pandemic, Boustead said. He also said Chicago lacks a midsize venue that’s affordable for artists.The difficulty inspired ACM to hunt for a new location that could accommodate both classes and concerts that could seat up to 60 people. The former 7-Eleven site is a perfect location, Boustead said, because it would be a linchpin in an arts corridor that has Mercury Theater Chicago and Music Box Theatre less than a mile south. The vacant building at 4116 N. Clark St., previously the site of a 7-Eleven.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times There’s ample public transit nearby, and it would “be a big boon” for other chamber ensembles. The venue could host classical, contemporary, jazz and experimental acts, and more.“This venue is so accessible,” Boustead said. “One of my big pitches to the city was that we would be creating this arts corridor. We would be the thing in the middle of it. I think that’s really exciting.”Plans by Chicago-based JDJ Architects show three practice rooms, a green room and a performance space that could seat about 50 people. The main performance space could also double as a class space, accommodating between 30 to 60 students.“We’ve been able to host small salon concerts for, like, 20 people, but we’ve never been able to do something that has a stage,” Boustead said.Performances would take place Thursday through Sunday, according to Clay, and the space would close by 10 p.m.It would also include a bar since selling drinks during concerts would help drive revenue, Boustead said, adding that it also opens the door for events like wine and concert pairings. There’s even plans to serve coffee during the day, though no hours have been set.ACM will have parking on site, but it’s unclear how many spaces. Lease negotiationsWhile ACM has big plans for the property, there’s still a lot that needs to happen before it can come to life — namely, having a lease.As of Thursday, the nonprofit hadn’t signed a lease for the building. Boustead said the hope is to move forward with a contract in June.The building is being marketed by Frontline Real Estate Partners, which didn’t immediately return a request for comment.Marketing materials for the 2,585-square-foot building lists the lease rate as $30 per square foot — “a lot,” Boustead said, and another reason why having a bar would be crucial.Property records show it’s owned by Heidner Property Management Co., which is owned by Illinois video gambling mogul Rick Heidner.“We are working with Access Contemporary Music, and we feel this would be a wonderful asset to the community,” Heidner said in a statement.Heidner and his wife, Alisa, were hit with a $5 million lien by the IRS for failing to pay that much in past-due federal income taxes, the Sun-Times reported in July 2023. At the time, representatives for the couple said they agreed to a payment plan. The lien has since been released.Residential to commercialDespite being the former home of a 7-Eleven, the property is currently zoned residential and will need to be rezoned as commercial before ACM can set up shop.Clay’s office said it had no comment on the proposed zoning change but anticipates having more to share in the coming weeks.“Ald. Clay has been nothing but supportive,” Boustead said. “She’s been amazing.”The Graceland West Community Association has also voiced support. The neighborhood group said in a news release that its members voted in favor of both changing the zoning and approving a liquor license if the tenant is ACM. The vote came after a neighborhood meeting held May 7 in the ward.If approved, the project will be funded in part through a grant from the Department of Planning and Development. The grant will cover 75% of the build-out costs, up to $250,000.Total construction costs are still unknown, but Boustead estimated it could be around $300,000.He said the project is something ACM has never done before and would be a significant step forward.“We plan to be a very good neighbor,” Boustead said. “We plan to do things that are reflective of and inclusive of the community. … We want it to be something that is a gem in the community.”