Afternoon Edition: Jan. 27, 2022

Ginger Lane a survivor of the Holocaust holds up a photo of her family when they arrived in New York City on May 20th, 2946, while she sits in her Lake View apartment on Monday. | 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 31 degrees and a chance of flurries. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 9, wind chill values as low as minus-3 and possible snow. A winter storm watch is in effect from late tonight through tomorrow morning. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 18 degrees and chance of snow showers.

Top story

Ginger Lane, a Chicago Holocaust survivor urges, ‘Never be a bystander’

It’s Berlin, 1943.

Ginger Lane, born Bela Weber on Nov. 27, 1939, is the youngest of seven children. Her Jewish mother, Lina, is from Hungary. Her father, Alexander Weber, raised Catholic, converted to Judaism to marry her mother.

Her mother, who worked for the underground, disappeared. She was arrested by the Gestapo and deported to Auschwitz in March. After that, her father was jailed for a month. The children were arrested and released. Out of necessity, they were baptized Catholic. With forced transport to Auschwitz looming, they needed a safe haven.

In April 1943, “Herr Schmidt took us out to his fruit orchard,” Lane said.

A friend of Lane’s father, Arthur Schmidt, and his wife, Paula, hid the Jewish children, risking their lives if the Nazis caught them.

Lina was murdered in Auschwitz on Dec. 1, 1943.

Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day today, our Lynn Sweet interviewed Lane, who opened up about her life, survival and journey to Chicago.

Lane said her message to younger generations is to “never be a bystander … do not put up with bullying or taunting. … Learn your history, to not be put off by Holocaust denial.”

And be aware “that one person can make a difference.”

More on Lane’s life here.

More news you need

1. After Chicago cocaine kingpins Pedro Flores and Margarito Flores were arrested in 2008 for their dealings with Sinaloa drug cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, their wives took lavish trips to the Caribbean and Europe. Funding those trips were bundles of suspected drug cash the wives got in the mail, a federal postal inspector said in an affidavit for a 2019 search warrant that’s only now been made public.
2. A teenager accused of killing an 8-year-old girl who was tragically caught in a gang-related shooting last weekend and a man accused of aiding him were each denied bail today. The two both face charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shooting that left Melissa Ortega dead as she walked with her mother in Little Village.
3. An 11-year-old boy has been charged with an armed carjacking in Mount Greenwood last November. He was identified as one of the people who stole a car at gunpoint from two women, police said.
4. Surveillance video of a police shooting on Lower Wacker Drive in the Loop last night shows two officers firing into a stolen car, glass flying as bullets smashed through the windshield. One of the passengers in the car, a 25-year-old, was shot several times and seriously wounded.
5. A new, two-part documentary airing this weekend dives into the legacy of pop star Janet Jackson, charting her trajectory from Gary through the peaks and valleys of her career. Richard Roeper has more in his three-star review of the doc here.

A bright one

Chicagoan dethrones ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Amy Schneider

“Jeopardy!” has a new champion.

And he’s Chicago’s very own.

Rhone Talsma, whose victory on “Jeopardy!” yesterday broke the 40-game streak of the seemingly invincible Amy Schneider, has called Chicago home for the past 11 years.

Chicago Ridge librarian Rhone Talsma defeated long-running “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider yesterday.

Talsma, a multimedia librarian at the Chicago Ridge Public Library, racked up $29,600 on yesterday’s episode to top Schneider’s $19,600.

The 31-year-old Talsma, who grew up in south suburban Plainfield, graduated from Plainfield Central High School and DePaul University, and completed his Master of Library & Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said being a contestant on “Jeopardy!” is “living out his dream come true.” Beating Schneider is almost surreal.

As for his winnings (Talsma could not reveal how long he will be featured on the show, nor the total amount of cash), Talsma said, “Pandemic pending, [he and his partner Isaac Garcia] plan to travel across Europe this summer. I’ve never been outside the U.S.”

Miriam Di Nunzio has more on Talsma and his “Jeopardy” journey here.

From the press box

• The Bears hired their next head coach: Matt Eberflus, previously the defensive coordinator for the Colts. It will be the 51-year-old’s first head coaching job at any level after spending the past four years running the Indianapolis defense.
• Rick Morrissey doesn’t love the hire, writing that, like GM Ryan Poles, he’s going to give Eberflus the benefit of the doubt, “but he had better find a genius for an offensive coordinator.”
• Who could be the man for the OC job? Patrick Finley looks at several names to watch for as Eberflus fills out his coaching staff.
• Here’s a timeline of the Bears’ coaching search moves that led them to Eberflus.
• In other prominent job news, the Blackhawks have interviews scheduled with GM candidates starting this week with an eye on having someone hired for the position before the March 21 trade deadline.
• The Sky and center Stefanie Dolson appear on track to part ways after five seasons. Our Annie Costabile reported today that the free agent is down to two choices for her next team and neither of them is the Sky.
• The Chicago Fire, thwarted in its plan to build a training and practice center on the Northwest Side, said today it has begun discussions with the city about putting it on the Near West Side instead.

Your daily question ☕

What do you think of the Bears’ new hire for head coach?

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: Dibs season is in full swing. Aside from the classic chair, what other items have you seen — or used — to stake your claim?

Here’s what some of you said…

“Metal bed frame in Pilsen in the 1980s.” — Liz Strause

“I saw someone use frozen pants.” — Jennifer Payton

“I just removed a toddler chair and random crate from in front of my house so that I could park. People are out of their minds! There was barely any snow.” — Melissa Dobert

“I saw somebody tell their kid ‘Stand in my spot while I go to the gas station right quick’” — Aaron Benjamin

“An old refrigerator. I am not kidding.” — Vicki Trinidad

“I used the orange traffic cones — I’m bougie. My neighbor across the street used a doll house!” — Angela Cobb

“I’ve seen a statue of the Virgin Mary.” — Kathy Boyer Deutsch

“I have a confession: if I’m home bored I like to take people’s dibs and watch someone else park there.” — Guillermo Bonilla

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