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The Chicago Sky have named Jeff Pagliocca as their general manager, the organization announced Tuesday.

The announcement comes after the hiring of head coach Teresa Weatherspoon earlier this month. Weatherspoon and Pagliocca replace James Wade, who served as the organization's head coach and GM from 2019 until July 1, when he announced he was leaving for an assistant coaching role with the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

Pagliocca -- the first standalone GM in Sky history -- had assisted with player development and advising the head coach for the past four seasons, including most recently serving as director of skill development in 2023. He also owns a company in the Chicago area that trains top high school, college, WNBA and NBA players.

"We are delighted to welcome Jeff Pagliocca as the Chicago Sky's new General Manager to identify and build the roster that will be a model for sustained success," Sky president and CEO Adam Fox said in a statement. "Jeff's expertise in player development and data driven talent evaluation, sophisticated basketball IQ, and his incredible relationships with players make him the perfect choice to complement Coach Weatherspoon as we strive for another championship in Chicago."

"I am beyond grateful to be named the new General Manager of the Chicago Sky," Pagliocca added. "I'm very proud to partner with Coach Weatherspoon and the Sky front office to shape a championship-caliber roster. With a strong background in strategy, player development, and tenure with this team, I am eager to build upon our tradition of excellence, hard work, and winning, in this energizing new chapter of Sky basketball. Expect us to bring unmatched toughness, grit, and relentless competitive spirit to Chicago."

The Sky have Kahleah Copper, Marina Mabrey, Elizabeth Williams, Isabelle Harrison and Dana Evans under contract for next season, but do not have a 2024 first-round pick. The team gave pick-swap rights to the Dallas Wings for their 2025 first-rounder in the trade Wade orchestrated in February that brought Mabrey to Chicago.

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools won’t provide busing to general education students for the rest of the school year, officials said Thursday.

In a letter to parents, the district said a driver shortage persists and is preventing it from providing busing to general education students — largely those in magnet and selective enrollment programs. The district will continue to provide free CTA cards, valued at $35, to those roughly 5,500 families; about one-third of those children are using the passes, according to a CPS spokesperson.

“We fully understand how frustrating this news will be for many of our families, and sincerely empathize with the challenges and inconvenience that this situation has caused,” the letter said.

The update comes after the district announced in late September that it couldn’t provide busing to general education students this semester but would share an update with families before winter break regarding the second half of the school year. In November, the district cast doubt that it would be able to expand bus service this year.

Citing a driver shortage, the district announced in late July that it would limit busing to students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs, call for transportation, as well as students who are homeless. Both student groups are legally entitled to transportation — and the district is on state watch to improve commute times for students with disabilities.

The district left open the possibility that general education students could get busing later in the year.

The district is currently busing 8,133 students with disabilities and another 146 students who are homeless, according to a CPS spokesperson.

Thursday’s busing update comes a week after the school board passed a resolution saying it wants to bolster neighborhood schools and move away from a system of choice where families travel outside their neighborhood for school. Asked if the district’s desire to move away from school choice informed their decision to sever busing for general education students, a spokesperson said the district is following state law and board policy by prioritizing students with disabilities for transportation.

Parents of children in selective enrollment and magnet programs have repeatedly shared frustrations with the Board of Education about the difficulties they’ve faced without busing to schools that are far from their homes, including difficulties balancing the school commute with their work schedules. Some parents have transferred their children to other schools.

Aria Haque, a sixth grader at Keller Regional Gifted Center in Mt. Greenwood, lives 20 miles from her school, and transferred to her neighborhood school after “so many hurdles and almost no time” to figure out the commute, Haque told the board at its meeting earlier this month. Her new school, however, was teaching material she said she’d learned two years ago.

Haque decided to re-enroll at Keller “even with the killer commute.” Her father now drives Aria and another Keller student whose family doesn’t have a car and lives 15 miles away from the school.

“That has been our routine ever since: An hour-and-a-half on the road for me, which isn’t bad, but over three hours for my dad, which is horrible,” Haque said.

Natasha Haque, Aria’s mother, said she’s been advocating with a group of parents to get busing reinstated for general education students in magnet and selective enrollment schools. She worries that students from low-income families at Aria’s school, Keller, will lose out on the chance to attend a great school. Roughly a third of Keller’s students were from low-income families last year.

“If the message to families is: ‘You cannot rely on us to transport your child to a selective enrollment school,’ it’s the lower income families that will be the first to say, ‘Yeah, I cannot afford to take my child to school. I cannot quit my job,’” Natasha Haque said Thursday after the letter to parents was sent out.

Limited busing has also helped the district comply with a state corrective action plan to keep commutes under an hour each way for students with disabilities. Last school year, about 3,000 students with disabilities were on routes longer than an hour. As of October, the district was busing an average of 7 students with disabilities per route, a Chalkbeat analysis found.

Commute times had improved this year as the district has limited busing, but have worsened in recent months: In August, 47 students with disabilities were on routes longer than an hour; that’s grown to 111 students as of Thursday, a slight dip from late November, according to the district.

CPS said another 115 students with disabilities are in the process of getting bus routes. The district has received 4,649 requests since the start of the school year, close to 900 more requests than last year. It is also continuing to hold job fairs to hire more bus drivers.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

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LOGAN SQUARE — Award-winning pizzeria Paulie Gee’s in Logan Square, 2451 N. Milwaukee Ave., suffered a fire in September. The restaurant had to be shut down for two weeks, resulting in lost wages for its staff members.

Paulie Gee’s owner and chef Derrick Tung decided to throw a staff support night Tuesday night, in which all proceeds went straight to Paulie Gee’s employees.

“This has put our staff in a tough financial position for a lot of them,” Tung said in an email. “Service charge and tips will go to the staff working that evening, taxes will go to government (of course) and all sales will go to staff relative to the hours they’ve lost during our closure.”

There is also a GoFundMe effort taking donations for the staff until Friday.

Other local businesses also chipped in. Vegan, women-owned Planty Scoops offered every dine-in customer Tuesday at Paulie Gee’s one free ice cream scoop. Umamicue donated sales of its Wagyu hala burgers at Spilt Milk Tavern, 2758 W. Fullerton Ave., as well.

“Staff are the lifeblood of any restaurant, and I hope tonight will help ease some of the burden they have faced this year,” Tung said.

Paulie Gee’s wood-fired Detroit-style pizza won the U.S. Pizza Cup in 2018 with Tung’s “Hellboy” creation. The restaurant also has a location in Wicker Park as well as in Brooklyn, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio.

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As the Bears prepare for their final two regular-season contests – at home versus the Falcons on Sunday and in Green Bay against the Packers in Week 18 – quarterback Justin Fields laid out the offense's main goal.

"We have one every game," Fields told reporters Wednesday. "We try to put up at least 28 points a game. That usually gets it done for our defense. Usually you put up 28 points, take care of the ball, and execute on third down and gold zone, and you should win a game. Of course, you don't want to put a cap on however many points you can score or want to score. But yeah, we go into every game with the goal to score 28 points."

The Bears neared that goal last Sunday, putting up 27 points against the Cardinals on Christmas Eve. Still, the third-year pro wasn't satisfied with the unit's performance after the Bears jumped out to a 21-7 lead at halftime before scoring just six points in the second half.

Fields pointed to his lone turnover — an interception in the fourth quarter on a ball intended for running back Khalil Herbert in the end zone — as an opportunity to have surpassed the 28-point goal.

"I feel like we could have scored more if I would have thrown a better ball to Khalil on that pick," Fields said. "I mean, that was a potential touchdown there. Twenty-one points in the first half, you've got to score more than six points in the whole second half, so we left more out there. So just cleaning up those details and focusing on sustaining that hot start throughout the whole game."

Eberflus continues to preach consistency

Coach Matt Eberflus also discussed what he's looking to see in the next two games, highlighting Fields' consistency since he returned from a thumb injury Nov. 19.

"With him it's just about being consistent, about the good things he has done," Eberflus said. "What has he done the last five or six games is, the sack total has been cut in half. That's been really good. Interceptions are down. He has one if you take out the two end-of-half, end-of-game interceptions that he had in Cleveland.

"So that's really good, too. And then him being able to evade the rush and look down the field to create some momentum plays going forward. His rhythm and timing is improving, too."

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Fields noted that before he returned to game action. Eberflus "gave me a thing that said '200,' which is two touchdowns, no sacks, no turnovers" which serves as his goal for each game.

While Fields' improvement is apparent, he continues to be adamant about making more corrections and reaching new levels of his game.

"I mean like I've always said, I can always improve in areas," Fields said. "I'm not perfect at anything. To be honest, I have a lot of work to do. That work's gonna be put in. It's gonna be done. I'm excited for this Sunday, this matchup we have against Atlanta, going against a talented defense. Everybody's getting ready for it, so it'll be fun."

Injury Update

Receiver Darnell Mooney missed Wednesday's practice and is in concussion protocol. Eberflus said that Mooney came in Monday after the game and "self-reported having concussion-like symptoms."

Tight end Cole Kmet (knee) and Lucas Patrick (knee) also did not practice Wednesday. Kmet sustained a knee injury during Sunday's game and missed the entire second half.

"He'll get treatment throughout the day and into tomorrow and we'll see where that goes," Eberflus said. "No further update from there."

"Lucas Patrick will also be out of practice today," Eberflus added. "But he will be doing the walkthroughs, engaged with meetings, and will be out there with the group."

Offensive lineman Teven Jenkins remains in concussion protocol but was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. Running back D'Onta Foreman also returned to practice; he was inactive for Sunday's game after missing last Thursday's practice and being limited Friday due to a personal issue.

Linebacker Noah Sewell (knee) and receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (pectoral), neither of whom played against the Cardinals, also returned to practice as full participants.

I’m sure most of you saw this tweet when it hit social media Wednesday morning:

24 teams have added a big league free agent this offseason. 5 other teams have added a big leaguer via trade. The one remaining team that has done neither? The Chicago Cubs https://t.co/GM3PieIfGf

— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) December 27, 2023

So I’m of two minds here, and some of you eagle-eyed readers have noticed that I’ve written both of these things:

Obviously, the Chicago Cubs as currently constituted have some major holes compared to the 2023 team that won 83 games (and per its runs scored/allowed totals, could have won as many as 90).

One of those holes was created by the departure of Cody Bellinger as a free agent. And, obviously, it could be filled by signing Cody Bellinger to return to the team.

Another was created by the departure of starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, even though Stroman’s second half was downright awful. Not only did he post an 8.29 ERA over his last 11 appearances, but the Cubs won only three of those games, after going 10-6 over Stroman’s first 16 starts.

I don’t think a Cubs/Stroman reunion will happen, nor do I want that.

But I’m here to post the names of what I think would be a useful, if not ideal, Cubs offseason of signings. I’ve mentioned these names before.

Obviously, Bellinger is first on the list. I’d also like to see the Cubs sign Jordan Montgomery, or if he’s unavailable, go for Shoto Imanaga from NPB. Or, make a crosstown trade and acquire Dylan Cease.

Lastly, the Cubs need bullpen help and Robert Stephenson would fit the bill as a solid setup man.

That would shore up the positions vacated after 2023 and help the bullpen — and the bullpen, let’s face it, was one of the primary reasons for the September collapse.

The point of this post is to throw the floor open to you, the BCB reader. What would make an ideal offseason for you, given the players still available?

Have at it.

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The Chicago Bears are the overwhelming favorite to land the top pick in the 2024 NFL draft, according to projections by ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI). The Bears received their selection from the Carolina Panthers in an offseason trade that gave the Panthers the first pick in the 2023 draft.

There already have been three trades involving first-round picks for April's draft. The Houston Texans own the Cleveland Browns' pick, while the Arizona Cardinals are also in line to have two selections in Round 1. The 2024 pick the Green Bay Packers received from the New York Jets in their offseason trade for Aaron Rodgers will be a second-round selection, not a first-rounder, because Rodgers (who is out with a torn Achilles) will not play 65% of the team's snaps this season.

Every week during the season, the FPI projects the draft order by simulating the remainder of the season 10,000 times. Game probabilities are based largely on the model's ratings for individual teams in addition to game locations. The order is based on the records the model believes the teams will have after 17 games and each team's average draft position in the simulations.

Check out the full 1-32 projection for the 2024 NFL draft (updated Dec. 26):

1. Chicago Bears (via 2-13 CAR)

Average draft position: 1.1 FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 95.9% FPI chance to earn top-five pick: greater than 99.9%

2. Arizona Cardinals (3-12)

Average draft position: 2.6 FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 3.4% FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 96.9%

3. Washington Commanders (4-11)

Average draft position: 3.1 FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 0.4% FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 97.8%

4. New England Patriots (4-11)

Average draft position: 3.7 FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 0.3% FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 94.5%

5. New York Giants (5-10)

Average draft position: 5.2 FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: less than 0.1% FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 72.8%

6. Los Angeles Chargers (5-10)

Average draft position: 6.7 FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 18.3% FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 96.7%

7. Tennessee Titans (5-10)

Average draft position: 6.9 FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 15.5% FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 96.8%

8. Chicago Bears (6-9)

Average draft position: 8.7 FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 3.5% FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 80.2%

9. New York Jets (6-9)

Average draft position: 9.7 FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 0.7% FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 70.4%

10. Atlanta Falcons (7-8)

Average draft position: 11.9 FPI chance to earn top-five pick: less than 0.1% FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 40.3%

11. New Orleans Saints (7-8)

Average draft position: 12.6 FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 28.9%

12. Las Vegas Raiders (7-8)

Average draft position: 12.9 FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 28.9%

13. Denver Broncos (7-8)

Average draft position: 13.9 FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 15.9%

14. Minnesota Vikings (7-8)

Average draft position: 14.1 FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 20.2%

15. Green Bay Packers (7-8)

Average draft position: 14.2 FPI chance to earn top-10 pick: 21.7%

16. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)

Average draft position: 16.9

17. Arizona Cardinals (via 8-7 HOU)

Average draft position: 17.7

18. Cincinnati Bengals (8-7)

Average draft position: 17.9

19. Indianapolis Colts (8-7)

Average draft position: 18.6

20. Seattle Seahawks (8-7)

Average draft position: 20.6

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7)

Average draft position: 20.9

22. Los Angeles Rams (8-7)

Average draft position: 21.3

23. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7)

Average draft position: 22.7

24. Houston Texans (via 10-5 CLE)

Average draft position: 25.0

25. Buffalo Bills (9-6)

Average draft position: 25.1

26. Kansas City Chiefs (9-6)

Average draft position: 25.4

27. Detroit Lions (11-4)

Average draft position: 26.7

28. Dallas Cowboys (10-5)

Average draft position: 27.0

29. Miami Dolphins (11-4)

Average draft position: 27.5

30. Philadelphia Eagles (11-4)

Average draft position: 27.7

31. Baltimore Ravens (12-3)

Average draft position: 29.8

32. San Francisco 49ers (11-4)

Average draft position: 29.9