Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Earlier today, LaSheena Weekly, mother of the slain artist known as FBG Duck, filed a lawsuit naming major players in Chicago’s rap scene.
The suit alleges that superstar Lil Durk, his late protege King Von and a handful of high-profile record labels “monetized the killing of FBG Duck” in August 2020.
In today’s newsletter, we’re taking a look at this explosive lawsuit.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on tech upgrades for suburban voters, an ode to a Polish rock ‘n’ roll club and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Rapper FBG Duck’s mom sues Lil Durk, King Von’s estate over son’s brazen Gold Coast killing
Reporting by Andy Grimm
The lede: The mother of rapper FBG Duck filed an explosive lawsuit today in Cook County court that implicates rap superstar Lil Durk and his slain protege King Von in her son’s gang-related killing in the Gold Coast.
Key context: FBG Duck, whose real name is Carlton Weekly, was gunned down by a group of masked men as he waited to enter the Dolce & Gabbana store in August 2020. His girlfriend, Cashae Williams, and another man, Davon Brinson, were also wounded in the attack and named as plaintiffs in the suit. Duck’s murder stemmed from a bitter feud between O Block and Duck’s Tookaville faction of the Gangster Disciples, which was memorialized in a series of violent rap songs, including scathing disses between Duck and Von.
The defendants: The wide-ranging suit names Derrick “Lil Durk” Banks and the estate of Dayvon “King Von” Bennett; their high-profile record labels; the city of Chicago; Dolce & Gabbana; two private security firms; and the six members and associates of the O Block faction of the Black Disciples who were convicted in Duck’s slaying earlier this year.
The allegations: Piggybacking largely on evidence laid bare at trial, the lawsuit holds that Durk’s record label, Only The Family, was a criminal enterprise. The label, which included Von as a signee, has held contracts with the media giant Sony and other larger labels, which allegedly welcomed artists engaged in criminal activity.
Bottom line: Durk and the labels knew Von “had a vendetta against FBG Duck … and consistently sought to build a brand of violence and reality rap, based on committing real acts of violence on FBG Duck and the public at large,” according to the lawsuit.
Key quote: “They understood that reality rap, violence, controversy, beefs and notoriety were good for driving increased record sales, streams and views, for building a brand and profiting from a violent image,” the suit states.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Remembering Harry Chappas: The former White Sox shortstop, whose 5-foot-5 frame generated national media attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, died Sept. 15 at 66. Mr. Chappas famously brushed off his skeptics, saying, “Size never meant anything to me, other than it made me play harder.”
License plates revoked: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has revoked the personalized license plates of five Illinois drivers who ordered variations of the date “Oct. 7,” drawing complaints against the apparent nod to the Hamas attacks on Israel last year.
Top 10 Chicago startups: LinkedIn has released its inaugural list of Chicago’s top 10 startups, including companies that make software and chocolate bars, run mini-golf courses and offer mental health therapy.
Voting tech upgrade: Suburban voters can now more easily update their signatures with the Cook County Clerk’s office, an upgrade in technology that officials hope will cause fewer headaches when verifying voters at polling places.
Holy Salt Shed bats?!: The Chicago Department of Public Health warns that concertgoers at the Sept. 12 Goose show at the Salt Shed could have been exposed to bats with rabies. Those who had contact with bats, whose bites are notoriously hard to detect, are urged to get tested and treated.
Relativity new: Relativity, a maker of software for the legal industry, unveiled its renovated office inside an “architectural icon” in the Loop with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, about a year after it announced plans to make over the space.
CHICAGO HISTORY
Cardinal Club was Polish rock ‘n’ roll heaven in Chicago
Reporting by Andrew Gill | WBEZ
When Andrzej “Andy” Dylewski arrived in Chicago from Poland in 1986, he thought it would only be for a few months. He’d come for a short-term gig playing drums in the house band at a place called the Cardinal Club. It was a Polish bar that had live music every weekend, in the heart of the area the Polish community calls “Jackowo” on Chicago’s northwest side.
Dylewski was part of a wave of Polish immigrants that came to Chicago during the 1980s, referred to as “Solidarity” immigration. After martial law was imposed from 1981 to 1983, people left Poland as the country struggled to end communism and bring democracy to the Polish Republic.
Some came alone to earn enough money to send back to their families. A salve for homesickness was often the Cardinal Club, which Dylewski said drew the biggest celebrities from Poland. It was like watching Bruce Springsteen at a small venue and then having a drink with him at the bar.
“You couldn’t find this level of musicianship as in this club,” Dylewski said.
The club’s red and black walls with zebra stripe accents captured lightning in a bottle, and for a time it became Polish rock ‘n’ roll heaven. Though it had a stronghold on the Polish community, there were political, economic and technological reasons it wouldn’t last.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
For Loyola’s Drew Valentine, coaching daughter Hayden is the greatest gig of all
Reporting by Steve Greenberg
Hayden Valentine is a little baller. Roll one onto the floor of her dad’s office, and she’ll clamber after it with instant delight. Before long, an impish grin on her adorable mug, she’ll send it scooting across a large coffee table toward him while he’s in the middle of an interview with a reporter.
A bit later, out in the cool grass, her mama will kneel behind her, supporting her at the hips, while she alternates between catching gentle underhand passes and gleefully redirecting the basketball with volleyball spikes.
After all, Taylor Valentine was a standout volleyball player at Michigan State. Husband Drew is the men’s basketball coach at Loyola. Their 3-year-old daughter is already putting in the work.
“It feels like this is kind of what we lived our lives doing, going to practice,” Taylor says. “For Hayden, it’s going to therapy and medical appointments, stretching in the mornings. But it’s really taking care of your body and taking pride in taking care of your body. That’s all we’ve ever known.”
Hayden has spastic triplegic cerebral palsy, a neurodisability that affects both her legs and her left arm. There’s more to it than the high muscle tone (hypertonia) that makes her legs and arm tight and stiff, affecting her movements and posture, but that’s the gist.
“All I want to do is raise awareness and make people feel welcomed, supported and loved,” Drew says. “To use the platform that we have to let people know that, one, this is a possibility of what could happen and that, if it happens to you, you can find a way to make it work and give your child the best support you can. And it’s not a negative. It’s still a blessing, even if your child has any sort of disability, that your child is with you.”
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Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Esther Bergdahl
Copy editor: Angie Myers