Bears Ink Suburban Land Deal + Obama Talks Guns + $50 Sushi Roll

It's Wednesday, Chicago. Happy 100th birthday, Mama Brooks.

President Joe Biden cancelled today’s planned trip to Chicago to promote vaccine mandates, sparing city drivers from being stuck in snarling traffic that's inevitable when the president comes to town.

Thanks, Joe.

Alright, let's not get distracted by reports that the Bears inched closer to trading Sundays at Soldier Field for a stadium in the north suburbs. We should still be talking about why the Bears' should be making deals for a new coach after Sunday's horrific loss Sunday, writes Patch's Jeff Arnold.

Jeff Arnold on Sports: Nagy's 'Offense Isn't Working,' But Some Things Never Change

First, today's weather:

Perfectly autumnal. High: 76 Low: 62

Chicago Patch Top 5

• Would you root for the Arlington Heights Bears? (Go ahead, take the Patch poll) The Athletic broke the news that the Bears have inked a deal to purchase the former Arlington International Racecourse property. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she's willing to negotiate with the Bears to keep the team playing in Soldier Field on Sundays. (The Athletic)
• Former President Barack Obama talked about Chicago's nagging problem with gun violence on the day ceremonial shovels broke ground on his controversial, long-delayed presidential center in Jackson Park. He told Good Morning America on Tuesday: "Something I wanted to get done that I couldn’t get done was get smarter, common-sense gun safety measures in place through Congress. But what we can do is potentially give young people the sense that there’s another way for them to empower themselves. … Those young people matter." (Patch)

• Could a "twindemic" be the perfect storm that brings back pandemic-style lockdowns to Chicago? The city's top doc says that's a real possibility if a combination of coronavirus and flu cases threatens the city's health care system. Or "if we had a new variant come in ... where the vaccine was no longer protective against the virus.” (WBEZ)
• Once every three days this month, there was a shooting on Chicago expressways. So far this year, there have been 150 expressway shootings on city expressways, according to the Illinois State Police. (Fox32)
• There's a new sushi joint in the Gold Coast that challenges the "sushi bro culture." Sushi Boutique aims to appeal to women who want to socialize while noshing on $25 "Bougie Tartar" — or a $50 rolls packed with botan ebi, king crab, shiso, uni, truffle, caviar — and be left alone. (Eater)

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Today in Chicago:

• Soccer Mommy at Thalia Hall (7 p.m.)
• Ravenswood Farmers Market (4 p.m.)
• Music Box Theatre Movies At Gallagher Way (7 p.m.)
• Chicago Fire vs. New York City FC at SeatGeek Stadium (7 p.m.)
• Little Big Town at Chicago Theater (7 p.m.)

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Chicago Patch Notebook

• Portillo's is going public, with plans to add 600 restaurants nationwide in 25 years. (Twitter)
• A fatal crash left an infant seriously injured on the South Side. (Patch)
• Vandals busted windows and scrawled racist and anti-vax graffiti on Trader Todd's in Lincoln Park (Block Club)
• PHOTOS: This week in Hyde Park. (Hyde Park Herald)
• Never forget: There's still a reward for information on pregnant postal worker Kierra Coles, who disappeared in 2018. (Sixth Ward)
• "It's Been Challenging": An update on shot Chicago police officer Carlos Yanez Jr.'s recovery. (NBC Chicago)

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— Mark Konkol

Twitter: @konkolskorner