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Illinois city sparks complaints, petition by limiting Hanukkah menorah display to just a few hours

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Illinois city sparks complaints, petition by limiting Hanukkah menorah display to just a few hours

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A city in Illinois sparked controversy by limiting a Hanukkah menorah display to a few hours instead of the full eight days. 

As of Tuesday, more than 6,500 people have signed a Change.org petition demanding Lake Forest allow a menorah display at its Market Square shopping center for the duration of the holiday. 

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“The City is pleased to support Chabad of Lake Forest’s Menorah Lighting and Chanukah Ceremony in Market Square on Sunday, December 29, 2024, at 4 p.m. Mayor Stanford Tack will participate by lighting the middle candle of the Menorah and other local elected officials are expected to attend,” the city, which is located north of Chicago, said in a statement. 

“While the ceremony is a valued community event, the menorah will not remain in Market Square unattended after the event this year,” it added. “Based on legal guidance from the City’s attorneys, the City must either allow all requests for extended displays by private groups on public property or deny them entirely to ensure safe public access and consistency in the use of public spaces.” 

HOW HANUKKAH STARTING ON CHRISTMAS CAN BRING INTERFAITH FAMILIES CLOSER 

A Hanukkah menorah is lit in Lake Forest, Ill., in December 2023. (Chabad of Lake Forest)

“Since granting all such requests could lead to challenges in managing public spaces, the City has chosen to allow only time-limited displays as part of organized special events by community groups,” it also said. 

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The Change.org petition, authored by a self-described local “interfaith family,” said last year’s menorah display in Market Square was up for all eight days and “brought great joy to us and was well-received by our community.” 

“However, to our dismay, we learned that this year the city will only allow the menorah to be displayed for a few hours on the evening of December 29th. This decision undermines the inclusive spirit our city showed last year and deeply disheartens us as well as many other families who appreciated the menorah display’s representation of our community’s diversity,” it added. 

“Let us push for the reinstatement of the menorah at Market Square, not just for one night, but for all the eight nights of Hanukkah, continuing the practice of honoring and showcasing the rich cultural and religious diversity within Lake Forest,” it concluded. 

EASY RECIPE FOR DONUTS THIS HANUKKAH 

A menorah lighting event was held by Chabad of Lake Forest in December 2023. (Chabad of Lake Forest)

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Rabbi Moshe Spalter of Chabad of Lake Forest told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that 2023 was the “first time that we actually had the event there, and it was the first time we had the menorah up there for the whole eight days of Chanukah.” 

“They were excited about the idea last year but this year I guess they put some more thought into it and changed their mind,” he said. 

Spalter said he would prefer a menorah to be allowed to stay up in the city for the full eight days of Hanukkah. 

Last year, the menorah at Market Square in Lake Forest, Ill., was allowed to remain for the duration of Hanukkah, according to Rabbi Moshe Spalter. (Chabad of Lake Forest)

 

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“We have been trying to get the city to do it, it’s not so simple and at this point that it’s so close to Hanukkah we are just hoping that over the next year we will start to get to work on it right away and hopefully by next year they will be able to allow it,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“I encourage everybody to come and show up and make this event a memorable one to the City of Lake Forest,” Spalter also said. “It’s a nice event and especially with all the noise that has been going on I think it’s great for the community to get together and come and celebrate all of us.” 

The City of Lake Forest did not immediately respond Tuesday to an inquiry from Fox News Digital. 

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Detroit, MI

Would Detroit Lions Salary Cap Be Wrecked If Terrion Arnold Gets Cut?

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Would Detroit Lions Salary Cap Be Wrecked If Terrion Arnold Gets Cut?


The Detroit Lions are facing a significant dilemma regarding a player selected in the first-round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Cornerback Terrion Arnold is facing multiple felony charges stemming from an alleged robbery and kidnapping plot in Florida.

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When drafted, the former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back signed a four-year, $14,343,710 contract. The agreement included a $7,251,788 signing bonus and an average salary of $3,585,928 annually.

So at this point, Arnold has been paid more than half of his contract.

This year, Arnold was set to earn a base salary of $1,273,974, which included a roster bonus of $825,000. His cap hit is $3,911,921 this year and has dead cap hit of $9,127,816.

If the Lions decide to cut the 23-year-old, they would be on the hook for dead cap costs, but could in the future recoup monies based on the league’s conduct policy.

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According to Spotrac, “Lions Terrion Arnold has 2-years, $4.8 M (guaranteed) remaining on his rookie contract, plus a potential 5th-year option for the 2028 season. Any suspension stemming from a violation of the league’s conduct polict would void the guarantees.”

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In the short term, cutting Arnold is not significantly beneficial. The organization could save money in the future depending on if his decisions are deemed to have breech the clauses in his first NFL contract.

Detroit has options at the cornerback position if Arnold is no longer a part of the organization. Nick Whiteside, Rock Ya-Sin, Keith Abney and Ennis Rakestraw are all in the mix to earn playing time opposite of veteran D.J. Reed.

“It’s just the depth. Like, you’ve got guys that have played in games and that’s what you want. It’s not like you’re guessing on what you’re getting. You know what you’re going to get from those guys and so another year in the system, another year competing, he’s (Whiteside) going to be better,” said defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend. “And just that’s the thing about the NFL, you got to have guys who go out there and compete and he’s another one that’s capable of playing and it’s going to push everybody else in the room.”

Currently, the team has $19,338,873 (17th) available in cap space, based on the top-51 players on the roster.

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Milwaukee, WI

Preparing for move, museum has already packed more than 600,000 items

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Preparing for move, museum has already packed more than 600,000 items


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The Milwaukee Public Museum has now packed 600,000 items from its collection of 4 million as the staff prepares to move them into their new home: The Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin at 1310 N. 6th St.

The staff could still be working through 2027 to move the remaining items, said Collections Move Project Manager Sara Podejko on June 24.

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“We will continue packing here even after the future museum opens,” Podejko said.

According to the museum’s June report to the County Board’s committee on parks and culture, construction continues to move along on track, and the new site is expected to open mid-way through 2027.

About half of the total collection has already been inventoried, a painstaking process that has given the museum the opportunity to streamline its electronic storage system.

“There’s been a lot of work ongoing in the collections departments prior to digitize their material, but not everything was. And so, a real upside to this move is that we are able to not only inventory, but barcode all of our specimens,” Podejko said.

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That barcode allows collection move technicians to easily input items into an inventory spreadsheet and immediately relocate them.

“It kind of eliminates some human error, which is really important when you’re dealing with four million things,” Podejko said.

Twenty-nine staff members are facilitating the move, including the technicians who were hired and trained specifically to move the artifacts.

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“Every time they pack an object, they first assess it for its condition, weaknesses, areas of stability, and then they adapt the pack to that object itself,” Podejko said.

Many of the technicians are also recent graduates and early professionals looking to break into the museum collections scene.

“Collections can be difficult to get into and a job like this kind of gives them (a) foot in the door,” Podejko said.

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The public museum’s current facility has continued to face structural challenges amid the move. In January, a passenger elevator failed and was out of service for two months. The only elevator was a small one for wheelchairs, which led to wait times as long as 30 minutes. During that time, an escalator was also taken out of service for repairs.

The museum’s 350-ton water-cooled chiller is also close to failure and needs bearing replacement to keep it functioning throughout the summer.



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Minneapolis, MN

MN weather: Pleasant Thursday before major heat arrives

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MN weather: Pleasant Thursday before major heat arrives


Sunshine and comfortable temperatures return Thursday before a weekend warm-up sends highs into the 90s. Heat index values could reach the triple digits early next week. FOX 9 meteorologist Jared Piepenburg has the forecast.

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