Afternoon Edition: Feb. 4, 2022

Sarah Manos sits in her apartment holding a photo of her dogs Kirby, left, and Daisy, right, who were killed by a man she met online, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be cloudy with a high near 22 degrees and a 60% chance of scattered snow showers. Similar conditions will continue into tonight, giving way to patchy blowing snow and a low around 4. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with patchy blowing snow and a high near 19. Sunday will be partly sunny with a high near 32.

Top story

Man who met teacher on dating app must pay Arlington Heights woman $160K over dogs’ torture, killings

A south suburban man who was accused in a lawsuit of torturing and killing his former girlfriend’s dogs Daisy and Kirby has been ordered to pay more than $160,000 to the Arlington Heights high school teacher, whom he met on Bumble.

Cook County Judge Thomas Donnelly has ruled that Mathew Berry must pay Sarah Manos $100,000, finding that Berry violated the Illinois Human Care for Animals Act.

He also ordered Berry to pay Manos $4,662 for veterinary expenses, $1,450 for the money she spent to buy her dogs, $12,769 for mental health services she received as a result of the ordeal, $5,149 in attorney’s fees and $38,308 for inflicting emotional distress.

“I do feel like this brings me peace and absolutely a sense of justice,” Manos says.

Berry, 29, of Midlothian, couldn’t be reached after the ruling.

In an interview with us last year, he denied he was abusive to Manos or harmed her dogs.

Manos, 28, who teaches in Arlington Heights, says she met Berry in April 2020 through Bumble, the dating app, and that they connected over their interest in dogs.

According to Manos, Berry became verbally abusive to her and physically abused her dogs. In her lawsuit, she accused Berry, a driver for a medical transportation company, of injecting Daisy with medication on May 4, 2020, that made the dog “wobbly.” Daisy died later that day.

About a month later, her lawsuit says, Kirby died after Berry repeatedly abused him.

Manos says she plans to go after Berry for the monetary damages the judge has ordered him to pay.

“The civil suit was important to me because it was my way of holding him accountable, to say, ‘What you did is not OK, and I’m going to make sure you feel the consequences of that,’” she says. “I’ve had many women come forward as having been victims of abuse and relating to me and my story. They say that me sharing my story is inspirational and gives them strength and community as well.”

Frank Main has more on Manos’ story here.

More news you need

1. A woman was talking on her cellphone while driving when she fatally struck a 4-year-old girl at an elementary school playground in Harvey last September, police said today. She was charged with reckless homicide this week and released from custody after family posted her $30,000 bail.
2. The nine protesters arrested downtown yesterday while demanding federal charges against former Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke say they have no plans to stop. The group vows to keep up the fight in a “season of outrage.”
3. Small businesses, community organizations and nonprofits seeking to tap into an avalanche of federal funds not seen since the 1930s will get 25% of the money upfront, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced today. But it’s not an easy process — there’s a ton of red tape to unravel.
4. Four years ago, retired Indiana University photography professor Jeffrey Wolin decided to train his lens on Chicagoans experiencing homelessness. His goal has been to share the complex, three-dimensional stories of our neighbors in situations Wolin says “could happen to anyone.”
5. Two upcoming films — “Call Jane” and “The Janes” — are highlighting the true story of a small band of Chicago activists who risked everything to ensure abortions that were safe, affordable and illegal. The two films come near the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade — and its possible reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court.
6. Thanks to the work of four area artists — Laura Reyes, Janice Rodriguez, Catalina Diaz and Pierre Lucero — brightly colored fantastical Mexican folk art creatures alebrijes can now be seen in a mural in Aurora. The work joins 30 other murals commissioned by Aurora as part of an arts initiative last year.
7. Thirty years after its Valentine’s Day 1992 premiere, our Richard Roeper looks back at the beloved comedy “Wayne’s World.” While it’s set in Aurora, the “SNL” spinoff movie was made in California — except for some shots of kitschy landmarks all over the Chicago area, Roeper explains.

A bright one

Iman Shumpert comes home with ‘Dancing with the Stars’ tour, fond high school memories

Just days before stepping on the Rosemont Theatre stage as part of the “Dancing with the Stars: Live!” tour, reigning mirror ball champion and former NBA player Iman Shumpert decided to step onto a basketball court.

“My old high school was facing off against Lyons Township, which has always been one of our basketball rivals, so I was able to poke my head in for a little bit,” the onetime Oak Park River Forest High School star says. “It was so cool to be there.”

And, yes, OPRF did bring home the win, following in the tradition Shumpert has been living since graduating from the school in 2008.

“Dancing with the Stars” champions Daniella Karagach and Iman Shumpert (shown during a Season 30 performance) are among the cast of the “Dancing with the Stars: Live!” tour, arriving in Rosemont tomorrow night.

Shumpert has spent most of his life in the spotlight, from professional sports to starring in the E! reality show “We Got Love Teyana & Iman” to his Season 30 win on “Dancing with the Stars” last year. But staying grounded is something he learned long ago.

“I don’t think that Oak Park gets enough credit for the type of kids that are around that town,” he says. “I think that we got the best of both worlds, where we got a version of suburb life and inner-city life. It made us strong.”

That certainly helped Shumpert make his own bit of history last year as the first NBA player to win the long-running TV dance competition show. Now, he’s ready to celebrate.

Tricia Despres has more from her conversation with Shumpert here.

From the press box

• Bears pass rusher Robert Quinn spoke to our Jason Lieser about how he regained his love for the game as part of a monster 2021 season.
• With big events at Wintrust Arena and UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena tomorrow night, Joe Henricksen previews the top matchups of the weekend. You can also view the full schedule for the weekend here.
• Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz called the 2010 sexual assault scandal “old business” during his rants Wednesday. He couldn’t have been more wrong, Ben Pope writes. The team’s legal problems regarding the scandal may not be over, either.
• Chicago came to love Rocky for turning the Blackhawks into a Stanley Cup winner, but now all of that goodwill is gone, Rick Morrissey writes.

Your daily question ☕

Is it ever OK to move someone’s dibs marker? Tell us why or why not.

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: Will you be watching the Winter Olympics this year? Tell us why or why not.

Here’s what some of you said…

“Yes! I love the Olympics and feel it’s important to support the athletes. I am in awe of their skills. And I believe the IOC needs to choose countries that do not abuse human rights to host the Olympics.” — Mary Molnar

“Sure, especially waiting to see Nathan Chen win a gold medal in ice skating!” — Alyson Ann Sterzinger

“No. I never liked Winter Olympics — but I do wish all of the American athletes good luck.” — Jacalyn Horne Johnson

“Every minute. I love it and something I always look forward to.” — Iris Cherisse Louderman

“No, I won’t, with apologies to the athletes I might otherwise watch. I was born in Nazi Germany, another murderous regime, and carry that guilt with me (though I was not yet 4 when it all ended). I will not support the current (also murderous regime) in China. Or the Olympics Committee complicit with that regime. And I feel sorry for what the athletes have to endure to compete in China –—on artificial snow, no less. What a travesty!” — Brigitte Erbe

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