Michael Jordan regained the right to the use of his name when U.S. District Court Judge James Moran ruled today that Gene and Joseph Silverberg, Jordan’s partners in an eponymously-named eatery, breached their contract with the retired Chicago Bulls star.
Moran agreed with Jordan that the Silverberg’s had violated the contract, which gave them exclusive right’s to Jordan’s name.
“There is something incongruous about a celebrity restaurant trashing the celebrity and then expecting him to appear and the restaurant to prosper,” Moran said.
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‘Incredibly talented’ cartoonist dies
Tribune cartoonist Jeff MacNelly, a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize (in 1972, 1978 and 1985) and the creator of the comic strip “Shoe,” died early today at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. MacNelly, 52, was admitted last Friday for emergency surgery at the hospital, where he had been treated for lymphoma as an outpatient since late last year.
Tribune Editor Howard A. Tyner today praised MacNelly as “an incredibly talented political cartoonist” whose work was “absolutely remarkable.” Tyner told WGN-AM 720 that reviewing MacNelly’s work annually to assemble Pulitzer Prize entries was one of the highlights of his staff’s year.
“By the time we’d made our selections, everybody was practically in tears. When you put all this work together, it’s just hysterically funny.”
Fellow Pulitzer winner Dave Barry, whose syndicated column MacNelly illustrated, said, “He was a hell of an artist. … a guy who never drew attention to himself except to make fun of himself, a guy who could have run with the media elite but was much happier having a beer with his plumber. This world has lost a quiet genius.”
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* Gallery of MacNelly cartoons
Critics charge Chicago secretly planned O’Hare growth
A mountain of documents that were expected to be filed today in DuPage County Circuit Court suggest that Chicago officials were secretly developing plans to expand O’Hare International Airport, even while they insisted publicly that they had no such plans.
Assembled by suburban opponents of O’Hare noise, the documents indicate that, since 1987, Chicago’s own consultants have privately insisted that O’Hare needs new runways to handle potential passenger demand; and that the only alternative is a third airport.
* From this morning’s paper
Frat house fire kills one in Decatur
A fire early this morning at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house near the campus of Millikin University killed one student, according to a Decatur Fire Department official.
Mark Hansen, a battalion chief with the fire department, said another student was rescued from the house with no reports of other injuries.
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Kids’ haven debuts near Taylor Homes
Taking a bow today in one of Chicago’s most troubled neighborhoods: a model new day care facility designed by one of the city’s most renowned architects.
Architect Stanley Tigerman’s $4 million Educare Center at 5044 S. Wabash Ave. — across State Street from the high rises of the Robert Taylor Homes housing project — is a colorful haven for children from 6 weeks to 5 years old, with a design that puts the playground in a courtyard, protecting kids from violent outsiders.
That approach added about $750,000 to the cost, but Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin calls the payoff priceless. And although he says the building can seem Disneyesque, he praises it as “a humanistic model … for improving day care,” noting that Jane Fonda has signaled her plan to open a similar facility in Atlanta.
* From this morning’s paper
Calm before the storm
The Cubs and the Sox have the day off, bracing for the Friday start of their three-day series at Comiskey Park. Full schedule in ChicagoSports.com.
They enter the fray armed with sweeps of their previous opponents Wednesday — the Sox 6-4 over Cincinnati; and the Cubs 9-4 over Arizona — despite the continuing tension between Cubs manager Don Baylor and slugger Sammy Sosa.
Coming up …
The 17th annual Chicago Blues Festival takes over Grant Park through Sunday. Mix in the Old Town and Wells Street art fairs, the Cubs-Sox series, and the continuing draw of the Sue exhibit at the Field Museum, and you have the recipe for another Chicago Department of Transportation weekend travel advisory; leave your cars at home and take a bus or a train. … Buddy Guy’s Legends features music through the weekend to complement a Blues Fest visit. … Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band play House of Blues, 9 p.m. … Bailiwick Arts Center stages a comedy about the relationship between a Jewish mother and her gay son, “MotherSON,” through July 2. … Shubas hosts Shannon Wright, 9 p.m. … Ravinia Festival presents the Joffrey Ballet, tonight and Friday.
Farewell, Margot
Today’s edition of Daywatch features the final contribution of departing Tribune staff writer Margot McGraw, who, since this column’s debut more than a year ago, has done a great job of keeping tabs on events around Chicago for our “Coming up” section. As she pursues the Internet life elsewhere in Chicago, we wish her the best.
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News tips, comments or suggestions for Daywatch? Write us: Daywatch@tribune.com
