Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 1-4

4 Chicago Tribune Section1 CHICAGOLAND My sister Gina received her first cellphone as a birthday gift a few days ago. Until recently, Gina had insisted that a cellphone was too complicated for her, a plausible statement given how many things she finds hard. For years, she found bathing complicated, so she rarely stepped into a tub or shower. Brushing her teeth felt complicated, so her teeth went bad. Cleaning her room felt like climbing a mountain, so her room devolved into a jungle of junk with a skinny path to the unmade bed.

In the final weeks of her old life, she found it too complicated to pick up the cat feces on the carpet, so she neatly laid a paper towel over each set of droppings. When Gina was little, doctors said she had an IQ of 34, and though they were far wrong, the right diagnosis has never been clear. Mild autism. Borderline personality disorder. The verdict seems to have changed almost as often as her medications.

What is clear is that Gina is different, so she always lived with our mother and our mother lived with the question: What will happen to Gina when I die? Gina worried too. As Mama grew frail, Gina often climbed in her bed in the middle of the night to weep. my mother would soothe her, be and my siblings and unconvinced, told our mother make sure she was. In the months leading up to my death, Gina began to change. She calmed down, some.

She took pride in making morning coffee. When one of my brothers or I bathed our mother, Gina held the towels. When lift Mother off the portable commode next to the sofa where she slept, Gina was quick to say, empty But after Mama died, we braced for familiar rages. We talked about how to handle her when she burst into shrieks at the memorial. On the morning of the service, she found me while I washed my face.

you she began. you think it would be OK if go? I just. I just think the best way for me to honor Mom today is to take a shower and brush my teeth and go out on the And what she did. With clean hair, in new brown capris and shin-high socks from Target, she rode the bus from store to store that day, along a route she rides for hours almost every day just for fun. She visited with clerks and pharmacists she considers her best friends, telling them her mom was gone.

would be proud of me for being she said when she got back. In the year since, Gina has lived alone, next to one of our brothers. She has given up soft drinks, after years of a dozen a day. She has gone to the dentist, and her teeth, minus several that had to be pulled, are white again. She showers.

And now, thanks to two brothers, she is a modern woman with a cellphone. I called her on it last week. doing a lot of things I never thought be she said with a big laugh. alone! And a Itry to understand my transformation, to trust that it will last. one of the most mysterious and beautiful things ever witnessed, though maybe no more complex than this: When your greatest fear comes to pass and you survive, you discover who you really are.

Mary Schmich Troubled daughter grows up Three years later, the detective realizes she got a little too close. After years of answering calls about children who were hit and hurt or left alone, this one a baby boy wrapped in three plastic shopping bags and tossed out a third-story window just minutes after his birth had finally gotten to her. So she did what she had to she worked on the mystery that was handed to her in a manila folder on that summer morning in 2008. She took the case and figured out who did this to the newborn, who miraculously survived. But she also turned her attention tothe infant boy, who was left alone and named for the corner in Uptown near where he landed that morning.

For several weeks, Chicago police Detective Jennifer Rylevisit- ed the hospital, rocking Beacon and at times singing Got a She brought him a rosary, ablanket and toys. Three years later having lost contact with the baby she once thought adopt Ryle has started a foundation in name to provide a small measure of comfort to the abused and neglected children encountered by police officers every day. She and other officers are raising money to buy teddy bears and named that officers can give to children on calls of abuse, domestic violence or other traumatic events. The soft, brown stuffed animal may be their one constant in the rough days afterward. will say this now, looking back: I did get very, very close to this case.

I was very affected by it, said recently. and when I ever get another case like this I would do it again. I could not consciously stay away and not go there and feed him and touch him. Istill found out who did it, and I still got to give this child an opportunity to feel Beacon was found on the street at 2 a.m. that July day by a passer-by who thought he heard a cat wailing.

He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Ryle, at the time a special- victims detective who had just returned from maternity leave after giving birth to her second child, was assigned the case when she got to work that morning. She stopped by the hospital to talk to the doctors and nurses and make sure Beacon was secure. When she peeked in on him, he was connected to so many machines she even tell his race. It would take Ryle about a month to track down the teenage mother, who after delivering Beacon in her apartment, wrapped him in the shopping bags and dropped him out the window.

The teen pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was eventually sentenced to five years ofprobation, community service and mandatory counseling. Throughout her investigation, Ryle returned to the hospital every day, rocking Beacon, bringing him the gifts and making a baby book of photos, including of the nurses and doctors who took care of him during his first few weeks. But then she came for a regular visit only to discover just the bag of comfort items that she had collected for Beacon. No one had told her of the decision to take him from the hospital. was said Ryle, who has not seen Beaconagain.

Ryle left the items behind, telling the nurses to donate them, all the time wondering if Beacon would remember her. She never forgot about him the case file is still close at hand at work. But last year, after the birth of third child, Beacon flashed back to her mind. And Ryle decided to find a way to comfort the other children in crisis whom cops come into contact with, especially those who have to be forcibly removed from their homes. The assignment is gut-wrenching, a task that can make even the toughest cops shudder or tear up.

just the fear in the eyes when a stranger is taking them said Detective Kurt Kourakis, who is working on the project with Ryle. Because of the urgency and tension, there is no time to collect even a toy or blanket for the child, Ryle said. how she settled on handing out teddy bears, giving children something they can cling to and a way to remember the last time they were with their family. For now, the stuffed animals will be given to officers in two of the five police areas on the North and South sides. Ryle and Kourakis would like to raise enough money through The Bears in Blue Foundationto take the program citywide, with annual purchases of about 5,000 bears costing about $6.50 each.

A fundraiser is set for Sunday at on the Riverat 315 N. LaSalle Drive. The bears will be given to officers most likely to come in contact with children, including special-victims detectives and supervisors in the districts who typically have to respond when a child is removed from a home. Kourakis said he thinks most officers, even if a little wary at first, will figure out how much comfort the stuffed animal can offer. would tell the child everything is going to be Kourakis said.

a friend and take care of you. not Aspokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services say Friday what had happened to Beacon, but Ryle has been told that he has since been reunited with his family and is healthy and doing well. Rylehas stopped handling special-victims cases and switched to financial crimes instead. The anguish of the job became too much, she said. Custom-designed teddy bears like this one will be given to some Chicago officers who frequently respond to situations involving children.

BRENT PHOTO raise money for toys Teddy bear program inspired by appalling 2008 abandonment By Annie Sweeney Tribune reporter Thousands of Chicago Bears fans left Soldier Field disappointed Friday when the team pulled a no-show at its annual Family Fest because the turf been properly watered and was deemed unsafe for the planned team practice. The annual event, held this year aweek before the first home exhibition, features a practice session inside Soldier Field and family-friendly entertainment outside. The gates had opened by the time the announcement was made that the practicehad been canceled. smoking said David Ohlson, of Grayslake, who brought his grandchildren to the practice to introduce them to Chicago football. you manage a field, how do you expect to manage a team? Give me a Both the Bears and Soldier Field management nixed the practice portion after deeming the playing field unready, citing player safety concerns.

An apology from the team was broadcast to the crowd via loudspeaker. The evening had started with promise and excitement. Thousands of fans donned Bears jerseys, packed coolers, and braved rush-hour and Lollapalooza traffic downtown to make it to Soldier Field for the event. Many paid for parking and led kids to games that had been set up outside the stadium. Others lined up to be the first inside.

It was the first time at the stadium for many children. For some, it was a surprise treat long planned by their parents. Then a rumor began to spread through the crowd that soon was confirmed: The Bears had headed back to Bourbonnais, home of their summer camp, and would not make an appearance. After arriving at the stadium, Bears management determined that the playing surface was over the past two weeks by extreme temperatures, according to a statement by field officials. The statement explained that the heat had caused the seams of the grass to separate, which could lead to injuries on the field.

Tim LeFevour, general manager of Soldier Field, took responsibility for the condition of the playing surface. was a miscalculation on our ground part. They did not get enough water on the LeFevour said. Tickets to the event cost $7 to $12; parking ranged from $16 to $19. The Chicago Park District refunded all on-site parking when visitors left the lot, according to spokeswoman Jessica Maxey- Faulkner.

Fans were also offered complimentary food, nonalcoholic beverages and entertainment, including a planned fireworks show, she said. Ticket refund information will be available at chicagobear- s.com. The Soldier Field grass has been a problem for several years. During the 2010 season, for instance, the field had to be re-sodded twice in an 11-week period. Fans wholeft disappointed Friday saidthey understood the concerns about playing on bad turf but remained perplexed that it took so long for management to notify them.

Still, some were trying to make the most out of the inconvenience. While most people were flooding the parking lots after the announcement, Karen Vail was pushing a stroller carrying her 1-year-old daughter into the stadium. Vail, who lives in Avondale with her husband, Norm, said she and her family planned to stay for the food and fireworks. came for the Vail said. just come for the But others said there was little the Bears could do to make up for the lost time and experience.

Maria Trevino, who had bought tickets to celebrate her 12th birthday, said she took off work early and then drove her children through rush hour on the Eisenhower Expresswayto make the day special for him. Instead, Trevino said, the day consisted of waiting in traffic and waiting outside the stadium. was mad, I was really said Trevino, whose son kept his eyes on the ground as they walked back to their car. Bears are my favorite he said For Shelly Lamphear, of Burr Ridge, the practice could have been the only time for her to see her son in uniform at Soldier Field. son, Michael, was invited to training camp by the Bears, and not certain whether be on the final roster.

almost started crying when he texted that the practice going to be held, Lamphear said. Bears safety Chris Harris expressed sympathy for the fans who went home disappointed. feel very bad for the fans who fought that Lollapalooza traffic to come Harris told the Tribune. we have to do is win the Super Bowl and be Tribune reporter Deanese Williams-Harris contributed. Bear fans thrown for a loss Fans looking for a refund stand in line at a ticket window after the last-minute cancellation of Family Fest on Friday because of the poor condition of the turf at Soldier Field.

smoking one man said. CHRIS PHOTO Family Fest fizzles; thousands arrive to find players gone By Cynthia Dizikes and Vaughn McClure Tribune reporters Product: CTBroadsheet PubDate: 08-07-2011 Zone: ALL Edition: BDOG Page: MAINCHILAND1-4 User: croyer Time: Color:.