Jay Cutler often gets dogged by frustrated Bears fans, but the quarterback must have had a really ruff day March 26 when his autographed football didn't fetch a single bid at a pet-adoption charity auction.

But there's a happy ending to the story. A person, who asked to remain anonymous, called the Anti-Cruelty Society on Thursday and offered the $100 starting bid. He planned to pick up the football for his son, a Bears fan, on Friday.

The white, autographed football was one of several items auctioned on the Society's behalf at the Chosen Man's Best Friend and Factor Felines fashion show and charity event at Bloomingdale's on North Michigan Avenue. Most of the other items weren't sports-related -- theater tickets and spa treatments, for example.

The Cutler football, however, was ignored.

"When it came back, I was surprised it didn't go, but I didn't think it was because of who signed the football," said Anti-Cruelty Society president Dr. Robyn Barbiers. She added that the attendees weren't exactly "a football crowd."

The winning bidder plans to give the football to his son for his birthday, Barbiers said.

Last year, Cutler's foundation donated $15,000 to Jackie Robinson West.

Update: An earlier version of the story reported that the book on auction was about former Illinois coach Bruce Weber when in fact it was by a photographer of the same name.

plthompson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter: @_phil_thompson

Easter and Passover events, a 'Mad Men' party and more things to do this weekend in Chicago, April 3-5.

EAT

Easter Brunch

The Commons Club

203 N. Wabash Ave. 312-940-4747

The restaurant inside the new Virgin Hotels Chicago serves a family-style meal including deviled eggs, lamb chops, morel mushroom flatbread, slow-roasted ham and caramel-bourbon eclairs. 11-4 p.m. Sunday. $58. Reservations recommended: virginhotels.com

Passover Dinner

Maxwell's at the Club

500 N. Kingsbury St. 312-527-5800 ext. 301

Celebrate the Jewish holiday with a buffet of traditional fare, including matzo ball soup, gefilte fish with beet-horseradish sauce, braised brisket, charoset and chocolate-dipped matzo. Kosher wine is included. 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday. $45. Reservations recommended.

DRINK

Heaven & Hell Party

Minibar

3341 N. Halsted St. 773-871-6227

The Boystown club's annual kickoff to Easter weekend features themed decor, costumes, dancers and $3 shots of Jim Beam Kentucky Fire cinnamon-flavored bourbon. 10 p.m. Friday. No cover.

107th Annual Next Year Day

Cubby Bear

1059 W. Addison St. 773-327-1662

Celebrate the night before Cubs opening day with live music from Too White Crew, contests for worst pick-up lines and best Harry Caray impression, plus drink specials including $4 domestic tallboys and $4 sangria. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $10. Tickets: nextyearday.com

Deluxe Democracy (Free!)

Canvas

2313 W. North Ave.

A pre-Election Day party features sets from local musicians Kiings, Sylvie Grace and DJ Earn Money and drinks from Deluxe Original vodka and Revolution Brewing. 5-9 p.m. Saturday. Free. RSVP required: eventbrite.com

DO

Adult Easter Egg Hunt

Longman & Eagle

2657 N. Kedzie Ave. 773-276-7110

Teams of two search for eggs around Logan Square, with the top gatherers winning gift baskets. The benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters also features a DJ set. 11 a.m. Sunday. $5. RSVP recommended: rsvp@landandseadept.com

'Mad Men' Premiere Party

Logan Theatre

2646 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-342-5555

No Small Plans Productions celebrates the show's final season with a screening featuring cocktails, prizes for the best "Mad Men" costumes and a performance by dancer Darling Shear. 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $20-$25. Tickets: no-small-plans.com

Adopt-A-Bull (Free!)

Double Door

1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-489-3160

Meet and learn about adoptable bully breed dogs from PAWS Chicago and Chicago Animal Care and Control. Danielle Colby of History Channel's "American Pickers" hosts. Noon-3 p.m. Saturday. Free.

REDEYE TIP OF THE DAY

Don a pair of bunny ears and race in the Bunny Rock Chicago 5K Saturday at Grant Park. Register: bunnyrock5k.com

Can anyone help Jessie Ware find the suburban Chicago pizza place she visited with Kelsey Grammer, who co-starred on "Boss" with her older sister, Hannah? Or the Irish oyster and prosecco bar with the chalkboard walls? The younger Ware has no memory for these things.

Even if the 30-year-old English singer can't recall those names, it should be impossible for audiences to forget hers. Her sophomore release, "Tough Love," was one of 2014's best, most beautiful records. She co-wrote and is featured on Nicki Minaj's "The Crying Game," co-wrote the title track of Haim's "Days Are Gone" album and her "Meet Me In the Middle" appears on the "Fifty Shades of Grey" soundtrack. She also helped Chance The Rapper with his cover of "Wonderful Everyday: Arthur."

"I had such a lovely time with him when we did ["Wonderful Everyday: Arthur"] together, that was amazing," Ware said by phone from her London home, where, by the way, she has a new French bulldog puppy. "I'd like to work with Social Experiment; I think they're brilliant. Aren't they Chicago-based? Yeah, I want them all to come to my show; I love those boys."

How've things been going with your puppy?

He's all right. We're having his first training class today and I'm just-I feel like he's my son, so if he misbehaves or if he's like a little shit in front of [his teacher], which I know he won't be, but I imagine if he is, I don't want her to think that we've brought him up badly.

Oh, he's a brand-new baby; I'm sure it'll be fine.

Yeah, no, he's great, he's lovely. And, yeah, he just still loves cuddles, which is great.

Do you have to leave him behind when you go on tour?

Yeah, my husband's going to have him. I'm gonna be leaving him for a couple of weeks, and so I've actually decided to not go to Coachella as like a punishment because I want to be able to get back to my puppy. That was quite a hard pill to sort out.

When you spoke with RedEye in 2013, you talked about the idea of breaking through in the U.S. and achieving success here. How do you feel like things have gone for you since then? Have you achieved the level of success you want?

Considering I'm not an American and I haven't spent that much time there, and this'll be my first and only tour for this record, I feel like it's progressing. I'm playing bigger venues, and to put it another way, people are still coming back to listen to me. For me to have that, and to have a solid, strong fan base that hopefully is growing little by little, that's really satisfying for me because I can't really expect much more when I feel like I'm still relatively unknown in the States. I feel like I'm kind of everyone's secret a little bit, but maybe the secret's out, do you know what I mean? I like being everyone's secret.

I think there's such a power in spreading and sharing the love, and that's so flattering for me as somebody who makes music. For people to be telling their friends about it and it to be this word of mouth is so wonderful, and that's so brilliant because music is all about kind of discovering it too. There's nothing quite like discovering somebody. Like I'd heard about this name Natalie Prass. Have you heard of her?

No, I haven't.

She's American. She's from Nashville, and she's written this beautiful album, which I'd heard about but I hadn't given it any attention yet, and then I just can't stop playing it. Now I've put it on Twitter. I'm like, "Oh my God, I've fallen in love with this girl," and then somebody else writes back, "Yeah, oh my God, she's the best," and then it just kind of spreads and it's lovely. And now I want to tell you about her because she's wicked. Then through her I learned about this guy called Matthew E. White, and it's kind of a chain reaction.

What's been the proudest moment in your career so far?

Probably selling out two Brixton Academies, I think. The Brixton Academy is my local venue, and I think it's the best venue in London for going to watch music, and also to perform on the stage there is just-it was better than I ever could have thought. To play two sold-out shows there was just a dream, and it was very overwhelming. And I definitely cried on stage, which was not that cool.

What's something really embarrassing that's happened to you that you wished you could take back at the time?

Some woman in Germany asked me if I was pregnant onstage. I was in Germany, and I had given her a bit too much attention onstage because she was making me laugh and I like to chat with my crowd. And then it was the last song, and I was like, "Thank you everyone, good night, have a nice lovely evening," and she was like, "Jessie, Jessie, Jessie!" And I gave her the mic again and she said, "I think you're pregnant. You're pregnant aren't you?" I'm like, "What the [bleep], no I'm not, how dare you?"

And she was just like, "No, no, no, you look like you're glowing, you look amazing." And I was like, "Mate, I had some time for you, and you were wicked and you made me laugh, but now get the [bleep] out of my show." You never tell a girl that she's pregnant, even if she looks glowing. And I think she was very embarrassed, and it was actually hysterical and it became like a pantomime. Everyone was like, "Ooooo." It was very funny.

Jessie Ware, 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 6 at Metro. Sold out.

Cubs public address announcer Andrew Belleson leaned into his microphone, just as he does every home game.

"And now, the starting lineup for your Chicago Cubs," Belleson said, his baritone echoing throughout 101-year-old Wrigley Field.

And the fans roared.

The ballpark roared like it hadn't in years, years of frustration marrying with an offseason's worth of pent-up hope and dreams unleashed in a wave of sound from more than 35,000 of Cubs manager Joe Maddon's closest friends.

The fact that Sunday night was an evening unlike any in recent memory was not lost on the man who drew some of the evening's loudest cheers himself.

"I really am going to make a concerted effort to enjoy the moment tonight, and I've asked my players to do the same," Maddon said before the game. "Regardless of how experienced you are, you get into a really cool moment where there's a lot going on and you have a tendency to permit it to speed up. When you do that, we never really understand what just happened."

What a moment it was. It was the climax to a day unique in the history of Chicago's grand old stadium, which is undergoing a $500 million facelift. Wrigley's bleachers remain closed, but the main seating area was packed, with fans crowding the entrances before the gates opened just after 4:30 p.m.

The stars of the show, at least early on, were the sights in the outfield. The bleachers, which will have additional security during games so fans aren't tempted to sneak in over the fence, were covered with tarps bearing images of Cubs legend Ernie Banks.

Generally, when animals appear on the field, it's a bad omen for the Cubs. But fans are hoping a special visitor proves to be a sign of brighter things to come. Just after 5 p.m. while the Cubs were taking batting practice, a rabbit ran on the field, sprinting to the infield and into the ivy before disappearing, much to the delight of those who showed up early.

By 6 p.m., there was no room to move on Sheffield Avenue. And by the time Fall Out Boy played its three-song set, Wrigley was ready to rock.

Long before the Cubs and Cardinals clashed on the field at Wrigley, however, a Cubs fan and a Cardinals die-hard came together off the field.

Just before 2:30 p.m., a couple from Tupelo, Miss., in town for the opener walked in front of the Wrigley marquee. Cardinals fan Marshall Jenkins proposed to his girlfriend, Cubs fan Linsey Palmer, right then and there.

"I wanted to be right in front of the Wrigley sign here," Jenkins said. "She's been a lifelong Cubs fan and I've always favored St. Louis so it's been a house divided."

"I was very surprised," Palmer added.

Palmer had been to Wrigley before, while Jenkins was making his first trip to both Chicago and the ballpark. The couple hasn't set a date yet, but Jenkins said he's so impressed by Chicago that he's itching to come back.

"We might come up here and [get married] here [at Wrigley]," he said.

Matt Lindner is a RedEye special contributor. @mattlindner

For more RedEye sports, click here.

Five dogs in the Chicago region have died from complications of canine flu between January and March, authorities said Friday.

And a survey of local veterinarians has revealed that more than 1,000 cases of canine infectious respiratory disease have been diagnosed in recent months.

As a result, the Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control issued a warning Friday that pet owners should avoid dog parks, group dog training facilities, doggy day care businesses and other areas where dogs can congregate.

Dogs can be contagious, even if they are not showing symptoms.

"We've had a lot of calls to our office, asking, 'What is going on?'" said Dr. Donna Alexander, the county's animal control administrator. "We have veterinarians calling us saying we are seeing this."

Because of the uptick in calls, animal control sent out questionnaires to local veterinarians to try to determine how many dogs could be affected, Alexander said. The results of those surveys show there is an outbreak that could take a few weeks before it subsides.

Dogs with canine flu typically have a persistent and lingering cough, fever, runny nose and suppressed appetite. They may be lethargic or severely depressed, Alexander said. The condition is treatable, but it is more severe in dogs under the age of 1, over the age of 7, and dogs with compromised immune systems.

Although the illness is highly contagious in dogs, it cannot be transmitted to people.

"We are encouraging people to go see their veterinarian to see if they should start the canine influenza vaccine," Alexander said. "It's not effective immediately, so owners must try to keep dogs away from doggy social functions. Even dog-friendly areas: You enter at your own risk (because) there is a lot of nose-to-nose contact going on there."

On Thursday, PetSmart announced it was closing its PetsHotels in the South Loop, Lincoln Park and Evanston to protect dogs from the illness.

"Because of the highly contagious nature of canine influenza, we have made the decision to proactively close these three PetsHotels out of an abundance of caution," Dr. Robyn Jaynes, a veterinarian and director of services quality assurance for PetSmart, said in a news release. "The key to minimizing the spread of this virus is isolating and treating pets that are showing symptoms, while limiting the exposure of healthy pets to other dogs."

lbowean@tribpub.com

Twitter @lollybowean

Mayor Emanuel and his opponent Jesus "Chuy" Garcia don't have to worry about stopping at polling places on Election Day.

They voted early in Chicago and so did a total of 142,344 voters.

The early voting period ended Saturday. Now voters who want to cast a ballot in the city's runoff election will have to do it on Election Day. There will be no Election Day voter registration this election.

The polls will be open at 6 a.m. through 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Voters can cast ballots at their assigned polling places.

While it remains to be seen what the turnout will be for the runoff, officials expect it to be higher than the 34 percent-or 483,700 ballots-in the February election. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen pointed to greater voter interest and inquiries on voter registration, absentee voting and early voting.

The number of people who voted early far surpassed the 89,869 early votes cast ahead of the Feb. 24 election and the 73,268 early voting ballots ahead of the February 2011 elections, according to the city's election data.

For more RedEye news, click here.

Portable toilets will be installed at Wrigley Field for the next two months after some fans waited in line more than an hour to use restrooms during the team's home opener Sunday night.

The problem started when two of the four restrooms on the upper deck, a men's and a women's, were shut down by flooding because of a "problem with our plumbing," according to Cubs spokesman Julian Green.

That sent many fans to the lower level, where there were two regular restrooms and two "smaller, temporary" restrooms in the left field concourse and three restrooms -- one men's, two women's -- in the right field concourse, Green said.

"There were already long lines on the lower level," he said.  The plumbing problems were cleared up but, by then, the lines had grown to waits of more than an hour, Green said.

"We could've provided additional portable units and we didn't," he said.

But they will be provided for Tuesday night's game and will continue to be used until work is done on the lower level and more restrooms are available by late May, he said.  

"Once we finish the work in the lower-level concourse, we will have a total of four women and four men restrooms -- increasing by one restroom," Green said. "The full complement of restrooms will be available by late May."

The Cubs apologized for the long lines.  "Opening Day at Wrigley Field has always brought challenges with wait times and tonight was particularly extreme," Green said in the statement after the game.

Many fans took to social media to complain about the situation.

"I'm all for renovating, but I've now missed two innings trying to get into the bathroom," James Hillebrand said in a Tweet, directing it toward the Cubs' official Twitter page. "Get your act together."

Another Cubs fan, Tim Powers, encouraged people to "lay off the beer (and) avoid the restrooms."

Green acknowledged that "with 35,000 fans showing up in the ballpark tonight, we were simply not prepared to handle guests during peak periods. We have high standards for service, and we missed the mark tonight.

"We want to apologize to our fans for the inconvenience," he said.

The bathroom problems even found their way onto the mayoral campaign trail Monday morning when a diner at Ann Sather restaurant in Lake View mentioned the situation to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was there to have breakfast with volunteers.

As Emanuel was shaking hands with people in the restaurant, diner Jeff Miller, who said he attended the Cubs opening game, told the mayor that the Wrigley Field bathrooms had been a mess Sunday night.

Emanuel responded that Miller was not the first person to mention that. "I texted Tom and I said, 'You've got some work to do,'" said Emanuel, laughing, referring to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.

"With the team, as well," Miller quipped.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is in Chicago on Monday shooting an episode of his delightfully sidewinding Web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." 

Rich Moskal, who heads the Chicago Film Office, confirms that Seinfeld is filming the show in town and that his guest is Steve Harvey, who tapes episodes of his daytime talk show, "The Steve Harvey Show," in Chicago.

In February Seinfeld gave "Extra" a list of the actors and comedians he would be featuring on the show: "Coming up this spring we have Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher, Steve Harvey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus." (Both Colbert and Louis-Dreyfus cut their teeth on Chicago's sketch and improv scene.)

Harvey, who also hosts a radio show as well as the game show "Family Feud," rose to national prominence with the release of the 2000 concert film "The Original Kings of Comedy." Harvey is also the author of the relationship advice book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," which was adapted into the 2012 studio film "Think Like a Man."

No word yet which coffee shop or cafe Seinfeld and Harvey picked for their get-together.

nmetz@tribpub.com

Twitter @NinaMetzNews

It's a major statement for the makers of a product to promise to change the music industry. How often does anything come along that actually does that?

Last week, the high-profile rollout of Tidal, a fledgling, hi-fi streaming service recently purchased by Jay Z that's billed as the first "artist-owned" platform of its kind, claimed to do exactly that. Backed both financially and in lofty praise by an all-star line-up including Jack White, Beyonce, Rihanna, Arcade Fire's Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, Daft Punk, Nicki Minaj, and more, Tidal asserts its potential through high-quality streams, higher artist royalties and exclusive content. But while the big-name artists lend the service credibility and its flashy marketing campaign gives it an air of being "the new cool thing," is Tidal really going to change things?

The answer, unfortunately, is probably not.

As you probably know, unlike its competitors, Tidal does not have a free service. Where Spotify, Rdio and Pandora all allow for free streaming (usually paired with ads), Tidal gives users the option of paying $9.99 for unlimited, mp3-quality streams (the equivalent of Spotify Premium) or $19.99 for lossless hi-fi (CD-quality) streams. Considering that iTunes recently found that the average user only spends a measly $12 dollars per year on music, expecting consumers to fork over $240 a year seems questionable, to put it mildly. It's not exactly a bold prediction to think that strapped teenagers, music's most coveted demographic, aren't going to fork over the cash when they could download music illegally, stream it on YouTube or just use Spotify. In fact, when it comes to options, Spotify has over 5 million songs more than Tidal's 25 million-track library.

Besides, even if you have the cash to spare, how much better  will Tidal's higher-quality songs sound compared to standard, mp3-quality files?

Well, it depends. If you're using cheap headphones rather than fancy speakers, the difference in audio quality will be negligible at best, unless you're a veteran audiophile. When I tested out the service, I picked up the sound improvement when I used my relatively pricey home speakers but not so much on my $20 earbuds. Tidal knows that, which is why they recommend buying stereo systems from a variety of high-end partners, including Sonos. Turns out, if you're going to truly experience all of Tidal's benefits, you're going to have to fork over way more than $240.

One of Tidal's other supposed benefits is "exclusive content." Over the weekend, both Beyonce and Rihanna premiered exclusive singles on the service, "Die With You" and "American Oxygen" respectively. This is a big example of these artists proving that they actually believe in this product. They're risking exposure by not allowing their new songs to live on Spotify, YouTube or iTunes. A new track from artists this high profile is always an event, and making Tidal part of the experience is promising marketing.

Two other draws are Taylor Swift's back catalog ("1989" still is not on the service), which is a valuable entity for the remaining few who haven't bought her albums, along with another new Rihanna single "Bitch Better Have My Money." If these marquee exclusives continue and artists are set on not giving these songs to Spotify, YouTube or iTunes, consumers may have no choice but to sign up for Tidal (or miss out on the music). However, with not-so-exciting "exclusive content" like a White Stripes public access TV appearance or inessential "artist-curated" playlists like Coldplay's "Songs That Made The Band," it might be a while for consumers to buy in.

With so many streaming options, including Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, Google Play, Deezer, Apple's forthcoming Beats service, and more, it's tough to think Tidal will end up being more than just a player in this crowded field. If the service's promise of the highest possible payout for artists turns out to be game-changing, then consumers who truly value artists getting fairly compensated will jump on board. But with Tidal's general and vague platitudes, people skeptical of paying $240 a year will need more specifics before switching to the service (and likely hold their own bottom line in higher regard than that of hugely popular artists).

Of course, the idea that music has been devalued in the streaming era is a convincing one. With so much music at our fingertips and not as much in our pocketbooks, convenience almost always trumps paying. But if listeners are going to be changing their spending habits, it's not going to be because Jay Z told them to.

jterry@redeyechicago.com, @joshhterry

For more music, click here.

Maybe the second game will be better.

From the flooded, shuttered bathrooms to the increased noise levels in the neighborhood to the disappointing result on the field, realities of life at a ballpark in transition came into focus Monday in appraisals of Wrigley Field's opening night.

Many fans waited in lines snaking throughout the park for more than an hour to use the bathroom Sunday night because a plumbing problem forced the closure of two of the four upper deck restrooms. Residents who live around Wrigley Field complained that game-related noise was louder than usual, making public address announcements and organ music clearly audible more than a mile away from the ballpark.

And the Cubs stumbled 3-0 against the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

Fans bombarded social media with posts about the bathroom situation, and complaints from Wrigley Field neighbors gathered steam Monday as they flocked to online message boards and contacted aldermen and neighborhood groups, worried the increased sound levels may be the new normal.

"It was like someone was standing with a bullhorn and aiming it into my condo," said Katie Miller, who lives about two blocks from the ballpark near Seminary and Cornelia avenues. "You could hear everything. Every single word."

Take two is Tuesday night. The team and fans will seek better, cleaner and quieter results.

The Cubs said Monday they are taking steps to alleviate the opening night issues, setting up portable toilets for the next two months and adjusting the volume level on the speakers atop the new video board in left field.

A men's and women's restroom were shut down because of a "problem with our plumbing," according to Cubs spokesman Julian Green, sending many fans to the lower-level bathrooms or smaller, temporary bathrooms. Separately, according to some fans, there were people urinating into plastic cups in the corner of the concourse.

"There were already long lines on the lower level," he said. The plumbing problems were cleared up but, by then, the lines had grown to waits of more than an hour, Green said.

"We could've provided additional portable units and we didn't," he said. "We want to apologize to our fans for the inconvenience."

More restrooms should be available by late May, when an additional bathroom is scheduled to be installed, one more than before the renovation.

Green also said the team was redirecting two of the larger speakers on the left-field video board Monday to address the sound issues outside the park.

About 48 new speakers atop the board are the ballpark's primary sound system for now, but Green said the current setup will not be the permanent arrangement. Speakers in the grandstand eventually will be replaced during a later phase of the ballpark renovation project.

"We knew that the new system would increase the volumes in and around the ballpark, but last night was the first time, with the full crowd, that we were really able to understand what the impact was," Green said. "We will be adjusting the volume and we will be monitoring and adjusting as we go forward. This will be a work in progress over the next few games."

Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, whose ward includes Wrigley Field, said in a statement that many residents have complained about the increased noise levels.

"Apparently, the new system is carrying sound further than in the past," Tunney said in a statement. "We have made the Cubs aware of the complaints and are working with them to minimize the noise going into the neighborhood. We will be monitoring the sound issue during the next few games to make sure adjustments are made."

Even those who live farther away from Wrigley said the introduction of players as they stepped to the plate and the music between innings was plainly audible.

Bob Stine, who lives on West George Street, more than a dozen blocks southwest of Wrigley Field, was bothered enough by the noise that he contacted Tunney and his alderman, Scott Waguespack, 32nd.

"I heard the national anthem and thought it was a neighbor's TV, but then I went outside and I realized that was the ballpark," Stine said. "I thought, 'Whoa, this is an issue.'"

Stine, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said he has grown accustomed to the occasional snippets of sound that drift from the ballpark during games. The noise levels during the season opener, Stine and others said, were different.

"I don't think this is the end of the world or anything like that," he said. "I'm just worried it's going to be an ongoing thing."

Green said Wrigley's new sound system includes better equipment and speakers attached to the top of the video board, which may contribute to how sound flows from the ballpark.

"Our goal as we move forward with this great technology and asset that we have is to work to better understand how the sound travels and how it's moving and get the appropriate mix both inside and outside of the ballpark," he said.

Green said noise levels are "a unique challenge" for a ballpark set amid the neighborhood, and "what could be loud to one person could sound perfectly normal to another."

Miller, who has lived near the ballpark for about eight years, said crowd noise, muffled announcements and the singing of the seventh-inning stretch are par for the course, but Sunday night's noise was at a new level.

"This is absolutely not going to work," Miller said. "It's not going to be the new normal. It's a quality of life issue."

Jim Spencer, president of the East Lakeview Neighbors Association, said the new video board also made the surrounding neighborhood brighter in addition to the increased noise levels. Spencer wasn't hopeful much will change.

"I think they'll be as loud as they want," he said. "Whether it's the wind or a really loud sound system, there's really not a lot we can do about it."

Brian Schneider, who lives on Racine Avenue several blocks south of the ballpark, said he wasn't upset about the noise but is wondering if the increased volumes are here to stay.

"It's not red alert," said Schneider, a Cubs fan who started a message thread about the noise on the neighborhood site EveryBlock. "I'm just hoping we'll be able to hear the Foo Fighters when they play there this summer."

Chicago Tribune's Alexandra Chachkevitch contributed.

poconnell@tribpub.com

Twitter @pmocwriter

Editor's note: Chicago-based Pro BMX rider Brian Kachinsky is entertaining U.S. servicemen and women in the Middle East as part of the Bikes over Baghdad program. For several weeks, he will provide video and other dispatches from the other side of the globe you can find only at RedEye.

Living in the great city of Chicago is something I once took for granted. The inspiring lights, the diverse culture, the abundance of amazing food and my amazing friends and loved ones are just a fraction of the things I miss when abroad.

As I'm currently in the Middle East at an undisclosed military base, I am reminded several times per day how awesome life back home is and even chatted about our city to several Chicago natives who currently are stationed here. Most of the men and women I talked to miss their loved ones the most. A couple of them mentioned missing the pizza, the summer festivals or the skyline. None misses rush-hour traffic, but we didn't really need to discuss that. Some haven't been home in months, others in years.

Almost every time I ask one of the troops where he or she is from, chances are I react with "I visited that city once to ride BMX" or "I have a good friend who lives near there." It's crazy how quickly the world shrinks once you get to talking. I love it. I've traveled to almost every state, and it's always awesome to see the vast differences between them. There is something I love about each one and usually an awesome BMX memory to go with each. Though we might disagree on which football team is best, we agree we live in a great country. That brings us all together eventually, and I love it.

In the past 36 hours we have met amazing, hard-working servicemen and women, learned more about the turmoil in this region and about national defense, had a lot of laughs, toured classified sites, made fun of each other, helped each other and seen explosions. We also have built ramps, performed a show for the troops and even witnessed a fellow BMX rider-turned-serviceman ride a BMX bike for the first time in months. He was smiling ear to ear.

As I travel around the Middle East for the next couple of weeks with some of my best friends from across the U.S. (and one from Canada), I can't wait to see what else we learn and also what we will learn to further appreciate. Thank you to everyone who has helped us so far. More coming soon.

Brian Kachinsky is a RedEye special contributor. @bkachinsky

For more RedEye sports, click here.

Guest bartenders at The Revel Room, free stand-up comedy and more things to do in Chicago on Tuesday, April 7.

EAT

Spring Pasta-Making Class

The Winchester

1001 N. Winchester Ave. 773-698-8703

Learn how to make ricotta gnocchi with spring garlic alfredo sauce at this hands-on class led by chef Greg Bastien. Wine, cheese and a pasta dinner are included. 6:30 p.m. $44. RSVP required: parties.thewinchester@gmail.com

Wine and Wing Night

Unite Urban Grill

1450 W. Chicago Ave. 312-455-8900

The West Town restaurant's weekly deal features glazed chicken wings (normally $10) and 10 varieties of red, white and sparkling wine (normally $15-$62.50) for half price. 5:30-10 p.m.

DRINK

Holding the Reverend Ransom

Billy Sunday

3143 W. Logan Blvd. 773-661-2485

Try cocktails made using liquor from Oregon's Ransom Wines & Spirits including Whipper Snapper whiskey, Old Tom gin and Henry DuYore's bourbon. The producer's wines will also be served. 5:30-7 p.m. $35. Reservations required: jon@billy-sunday.com

The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog Takeover

The Revel Room

1566 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-278-1600

Co-founders Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry recreate classic and original Irish whiskey cocktails from the New York bar ($8) such as The Lone Oak, a blend of Jameson Black Barrel, pistachio syrup, lemon juice, Dead Rabbit bitters and curry leaf. 6 p.m. No cover.

DO

Get Up, Stand Up (Free!)

The Public House Theatre

3914 N. Clark St. 773-230-4770

The weekly stand-up comedy showcase celebrates its one-year anniversary with performances from local comics, an open mic, free pizza during the show, an afterparty and drink specials including $2 PBR cans, $3 shots of Jeppson's Malort and $4 Jameson shots. 9:30 p.m. Free.

REDEYE TIP OF THE DAY

Baconfest is already sold out for Saturday, April 18, but Friday tickets are still available: baconfestchicago.com

If you've watched any college basketball for, oh, the past six weeks at least, you've noticed the motivational T-shirts teams have worn. For example, Duke players donned the "[Insert team here] never stops" version during warmups and on the bench.

Wisconsin, the Blue Devils' opponent in Monday's NCAA tournament title game, sported "Make 'Em Believe." There's no better stage than March Madness to do so, given the gauntlet champions have to run to hoist the trophy.

In the end, Duke held off the Badgers, 68-63, in a scintillating game that saw numerous ties and lead changes throughout. Tyus Jones poured in 23 points for the Blue Devils, who won the fifth championship in school history.

As fantastic as that was, there'd be a few changes to the tournament if RedEye had its way.

Make 'Em Release a bald eagle before every major sporting event. Because that's just badass. Of course, remember to clear all small mammals from the area first. And any rodent-like mascots, just to be safe.

Make 'Em Get a haircut. Not sure what Wisconsin's Bronson Koenig was thinking with that 'do. Even if racing lines have come back into style, they shouldn't have.

Make 'Em Work on their outside shots. The big men in particular. Watching a center like the Badgers' Frank Kaminsky-a Lisle native-light it up from distance makes you appreciate the Dirk Nowitzkis of the world.

Make 'Em Study Jahlil Okafor. Not to be outdone, the Blue Devils' star center-ahem, who's from Chicago-has about 1,000 finishing moves near the basket. That kind of touch is rare for a player so young, though it doesn't have to be.

Make 'Em Design better uniforms. Looking at you, Adidas. We know your intention is to stand out from the crowd, but there has to be a better way than shorts that resemble peekaboo tighty whiteys.

Make 'Em Use the sideline camera more. You'd see that angle when one team would bring the ball up the floor, but that's about it. There has to be something more.

Make 'Em Create a Stenographer Cam. Mostly because it'd be fun to see if they rolled their eyes every time CBS analyst Bill Raftery made up a word.

Make 'Em Mic the coaches. Let's face it, the interviews with sideline reporters are useless. But what the coaches say in-game could be wildly entertaining-even if they have to show it on HBO.

Chris Sosa is RedEye's sports editor. @redeyesportschi

For more RedEye sports, click here.

Associated Press

UPDATE: Thanks to Duke's 68-63 win over Wisconsin in the NCAA men's basketball championship game Monday night, Lake Zurich sixth-grader Sam Holtz is tied atop the ESPN.com bracket challenge leaderboard. Sam - who entered the contest as user sammyholtz16 - has 1,830 points, the same as an entry from user Grant3326. There were 11.57 million entries in the ESPN contest. Sam was tied for second place before Monday's game, but correctly picked the Blue Devils to dispatch the Badgers.

The following was published Monday afternoon; go here for more updates.

When Wisconsin faces Duke for the NCAA men's basketball championship on Monday night, Sam Holtz and his family will be paying particularly close attention.

This year, Sam's picks have been so accurate that he's tied for second place in the nation - out of a whopping 11.57 million entries - in the ESPN.com bracket challenge.

If Duke wins Monday night, Sam will vault into first place ahead of the current leader and be tied for first with another user who selected Duke to win it all.

"To be honest, I didn't believe it at first when Sam told me," said Butch Holtz, Sam's father. "Sam's the kind of kid who's always looking at the newspaper, and comparing and analyzing stats as soon as he gets up every morning."

Sam selected all four Final Four teams (Kentucky, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Duke) correctly. He correctly predicted that Duke and Wisconsin would meet in Monday night's final, and selected Duke as the national champion.

"Sam couldn't wait to go to school today to tell everyone what he's done," said his older brother Joe Holtz, a freshman at Illinois Wesleyan. "The funny thing is, Sam filled out four or five brackets (there are 10 bracket entries associated with Sam Holtz's username, sammyholtz16), and told me the one that has him tied for second place was the one he thought would do the worst. ...

"Like the rest of my family, I thought he was goofing around when he told me at first, and when I went on ESPN's site, I couldn't believe my eyes."

According to ESPN's website, the entry that scores the most points will have a chance to win the grand prize of a $20,000 Best Buy gift card and a trip to the 2015 Maui Invitational. However, according to the rules on the site, the prize is only open to legal U.S. citizens who were 18 years or older as of the date of the entry. Sam is only 12 and entered the contest with his father's email address with his dad's consent.

The site also notes "the top 1 percent of entrants, based on overall points, will be entered into a random drawing" for the top prize on Thursday. It adds, "for purposes of determining the top one percent, no tiebreaker will be used."

An email to ESPN's public relations department was not returned immediately.

"We'll be rooting for Duke tonight," Butch Holtz said with a laugh. "But to be honest, deep down, part of me kind of hopes Wisconsin wins, being local and all. But then again, I want to see Sam happy and for him to win of course."

Froehlig is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

Twitter @TFroehlig

Tuesday night's game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs has been postponed due to the forecast of rain and subfreezing wind chills throughout the evening.

The make-up date will be announced later and isn't likely to be rescheduled for later this week.

Jake Arrieta was scheduled to start for the Cubs with Lance Lynn, winner of at least 15 games in each of the past three seasons, was to start for the Cardinals.

Fans are encouraged to retain their tickets from Tuesday night's postponed game to use for the rescheduled contest, which likely will be during the Cardinals' next visit in July or September.

Election officials on Tuesday asked for the removal of a campaign sign for Mayor Emanuel that was placed on a large inflatable Uncle Sam balloon outside a polling place on the Southwest Side.

The Uncle Sam, which is about two stories tall, was outside 3858 W. 68th St., which is a private residence being used as a polling place, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen said.

Investigators found the inflatable balloon was within 100 feet of the entrance to the polling place, which is considered electioneering and not allowed under Chicago election law, Allen said. Allen said the Uncle Sam was in place long before Election Day but was unsure who placed the Emanuel sign on the balloon.

Allen said officials told the owner of the inflatable balloon they could move the Uncle Sam, deflate him or remove the Emanuel sign.

"Last we heard, they were going to take down the sign," Allen said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, hours before Emanuel won a second term in office against Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.

Allen said a voter sent in a photo of the character but otherwise there were "very few complaints," on Tuesday as voters went to the polls to cast ballots in the mayor's race as well and in 18 aldermanic races across the city. Tuesday's historic runoff election came after neither Garcia nor Emanuel won the 50 percent plus 1 vote needed to declare victory; that was also true in the select aldermanic races.

Other problems resulted in the dismissal of three election judges on Tuesday morning, Chicago Board of Elections Chairman Langdon Neal said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday morning.

One judge was dismissed for "listening to music at extremely loud volume and [being] belligerent when asked to turn the volume down;" the second judge "arrived late and when questioned, used obscenity in front of other judges and voters and then abandoned duties;" while the third judge left the polling place without any other election judge present, Allen said.

"We actually have not had any drunk judges as of yet," Neal said in the morning.

Official voting numbers weren't available later in the day. 

More than 142,000 early votes were cast, Allen said Sunday. More than 31,000 absentee ballots that arrived through Saturday are also included in the count. Some absentee ballots have not yet arrived.

About 34 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the Feb. 24 general election, Allen said. As for whether Tuesday's voter totals will outpace February's totals, Allen said, "It's impossible to project right now."

The journey that led to the deaths of seven friends in a plane crash in downstate Bloomington began with a phone call and a once in a lifetime chance to see Monday's NCAA final game.

Scott Bittner, 42, was at the company he runs with his father when he got a call from Terry Stralow, 64, the owner of a popular pub near the campus of Illinois State University. Stralow had an extra ticket and wanted to know if Bittner wanted to come along.

"I'm going," Bittner later told one of his co-workers, Terry Wertz. "I might not ever go again."

Bittner offered the use of his plane, a twin-engine Cessna, and they all headed to Indianapolis: He and Stralow, two members of the ISU athletics department, two other area businessmen and a pilot with years of experience with commercial flying.

They were due back just after midnight Tuesday, but their plane dropped off radar shortly before they were to land in dense fog, officials said.  A nearly three-hour search finally discovered the wreckage in a bean field just 2 1/2 miles northeast of the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington.

All seven men were still belted in their seats in the wreckage, officials said.

Besides Bittner and Stralow, the victims were identified as Aaron Leetch, 37, ISU deputy director of athletics for external operations, and Torrey Ward, 36, associate head coach of the Redbirds men's basketball team; Thomas Hileman, 51, the pilot; Andy Butler, 40, a regional representative for Sprint; and Woodrow "Jason" Jones, 45, a senior vice president/investment officer with Secord-Jones Wealth Management Group.

Bittner ran Bittner's Meat Co., which was started by his father. Stralow was a partner in the Pub II, a bar and restaurant that's operated for more than 40 years.

Bittner was from Towanda, a small town north of Bloomington-Normal.  The others were all from Bloomington or Normal. Hileman, Leetch, Jones and Stralow were identified through dental records, according to the McLean County coroner's office.

Investigators would not speculate on a cause and said they would look at all aspects of the flight: The condition of the aircraft, the pilot's communications with controllers and the weather.

Todd Fox, an air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the pilot had been cleared for an instrument landing on Runway 20 at the airport.  "During the approach, the accident happened," he said.

The pilot had a valid flying certificate with a February medical check. He had about 12,000 hours of flight time.

All the wreckage was found "within one wingspan" of the main fuselage, he said, which should help investigators inspect the aircraft.

The plane had been in contact with air traffic control in Peoria, which handles communication with airplanes after the Central Illinois Regional Airport radio tower closes at 10 p.m., according to Carl Olson, director of the airport.

At some point "that radio contact was lost," he said. Olson did not say if the pilot indicated experiencing any trouble. The pilot did not cancel the flight plan or make any alterations in flight, he said.

The airport control tower normally closes at night, but it is common for planes to land after hours, with runway lights illuminated. Pilots also have the ability to remotely indicate they need the runway lights turned on.

The plane went down in a field north of two-lane Illinois Route 9 off a paved county road.

Fog still blanketed the area Tuesday afternoon, obscuring farmhouses, silos and the tops of the runway approach lights on a gray day with a gusty wind. A sheriff's patrol car blocked off the road to the crash site about a half-mile north of the highway, where investigators began to examine the wreckage.

Scott Barrows, Bittner's father-in-law, said the pilot "was very experienced" and he can't understand what went wrong.

"They were flying back, and I guess the weather was bad in central Illinois. It was foggy," said Barrows, a former  faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"They were supposed to land around midnight. My daughter was called at 4 a.m. There was no contact," he said.

Wertz said he has worked at Bittner's Meat Co. for 16 years and had grown close to Bittner.

"He was a great guy, do anything for you," Wertz said. "Great to work for. He always told me, 'You don't work for me, you work with me.' He's always been good to me, a heart of gold. All he's done for me."

As he left work Monday, Bittner told Wertz, "See you tomorrow."

"I told him, 'Have fun,'" Wertz said.

Bittner had two children, a boy and a girl ages 10 and 12. He grew up in Chenoa and met his wife, Carrie, at Illinois State in Bloomington-Normal. They married after she graduated.

"She's in shock, obviously," said Barrows, who was a clinical assistant professor at UIC Medical Center and currently lives in Virginia. "It's going to be tough, but we'll be there for them. I'll be there for our grandchildren."

John Rokos, co-owner of the Pub II, said he got a call around 9 a.m. telling him his partner was killed in the crash.

"He was like my little brother," Rokos said. "I'm in shock. ... This is a tragedy. It's just a terrible loss. It's shocking."

He said Stralow went "to a lot of basketball, football games when he can. Especially around the championships."

Rokos said he had last talked with Stralow last week, mostly about business and their families.

"He was my working partner," Rokos said, whom he had known since college. "He was a tremendous man, very generous to his friends. ... He was a great businessman. Tremendous."

Outside Pub II on Tuesday afternoon, employees and friends of Stralow left bouquets of flowers on the window sills and sidewalk at the front of the popular bar near downtown Normal. One woman wept and hugged friends as she added flowers to the memorial.

At ISU not far away, athletic director Larry Lyons said the "Redbird family and the Bloomington-Normal community has suffered a terrible loss today.

"Aaron Leetch was a shining star in this business. He had a gift in dealing with people and building relationships. Our external units were making incredible progress under his leadership, and he was on that trip doing what he does best.   

"Torrey Ward was a big part of the success taking place with our men's basketball program. He had a big personality, was a talented coach and recruiter, and our fans loved him.

"There is no play in the playbook for times like these," he said. "We will miss Aaron and Torrey deeply, and we will support their families in any way that we can. To honor their individual and collective legacies, we will move the Redbirds and our community forward."

Leetch leaves behind his wife, Lindsay, and daughters Avery and Emmersen. Ward is survived by his children, Torrey and Tamia, according to ISU.

Between world-class bars and a bounty of breweries, Chicago has become a craft beer destination.

Here are five essential Chicago beers that will acquaint a visitor with a city that loves its brew. 

5 Lizard (5 Rabbit Cerveceria; in Bedford Park): High-flavor, low-alcohol beer is the rage, and this tangy, lightly tart and refreshing wheat beer brewed with passion fruit is an ideal sipper on its own or with most any food. It's particularly worth finding because 5 Rabbit beer is little seen outside Chicago. 

Cane & Ebel (Two Brothers Brewing Co.; in Warrenville): Launched in 1996, Two Brothers predated the current craft beer rage, and this beer telegraphed the movement as much as any; it's the kind of interesting, yet satisfying hybrid beer -- a hoppy red ale with rye and Thai palm sugar -- that helped fire the creativity of countless brewers. 

Daisy Cutter (Half Acre Beer Co.; in Chicago): Nothing fancy here: just a spot-on hoppy pale ale from another brewery that barely distributes outside of the Chicago area. If I could drink only one Chicago beer for the next year, this might be it. 

Matilda (Goose Island Brewery; in Chicago): Matilda was a salute to (and loose copy of) legendary Belgian beer Orval when released in the mid-2000s. Though Goose Island has exported some of its beer production to Anheuser-Busch plants in New York and Colorado, Matilda is still made in Chicago, which means the freshest kegs and bottles are here. (Bonus: It's on tap at the three Tortas Frontera locations at O'Hare International Airport, so you can get it on your way in or out of town.) 

Zombie Dust (Three Floyds Brewing Co.; in Munster, Ind.): One of the most popular beers, from one of the nation's most revered breweries, this is a phenomenally clean, robust and satisfying pale ale that, had fresh, is just about perfect. Three Floyds distributes in only five states, so this is a destination beer as much as any in the city. 

jbnoel@tribpub.com
Twitter @joshbnoel

A South Carolina police officer was charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man after authorities obtained a video that showed him unleash a volley of gunfire while the victim ran away, officials said.

North Charleston Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager was charged Tuesday in the death of Walter Lamer Scott, 50. The charges were filed less than an hour after the city's mayor and police chief received a cellphone video that appears to show Scott fleeing as Slager fires at least eight shots in his direction.

The shooting will probably be the latest turn in a national discussion on police use of force and race relations, following police killings of unarmed men last year in New York, Cleveland and Ferguson, Mo. Slager is white.

"It's not about race. It's about power," attorney L. Chris Stewart, who is representing the Scott family, said in a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times. "That officer thought he could just shoot this man. He thought Mr. Scott was expendable."

If convicted, Slager could face the death penalty or life in prison.

Scott's family was quick to point out that without the video, Slager's decision to open fire might have been considered justified.

"I don't want to see anyone shot down like my brother was shot down. I've seen the video. If there wasn't a video, would we know the truth?" Anthony Scott, the victim's brother, said during a news conference Tuesday night. "We do know the truth now."

The clash between Slager and Scott followed a traffic stop Saturday. A video of the incident, made public Tuesday by the Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, S.C., appears to show Scott running when Slager opens fire. (Warning: The video is graphic and contains explicit language.)

In the video, Scott, wearing a green T-shirt, appears to drop something near the officer's feet and sprints in the opposite direction. The officer fires seven times, pauses, and then fires an eighth round as Scott slumps to the ground.

The officer then walks slowly toward Scott's prone body and begins yelling, "Put your hands behind your back," the video shows. Other officers are then seen arriving as the person behind the camera mutters the word "abuse" as well as profanities.

Scott was initially wanted on a Family Court warrant, according to the Post and Courier report.

The video differs drastically from an account Slager gave Monday. In a statement released through attorney David Aylor, Slager claimed Scott began to wrestle for control of his stun gun after a routine traffic stop.

Slager said he "felt threatened and reached for his department-issued firearm and fired his weapon."

Police reports filed after the shooting suggest Slager was chasing Scott on foot. After opening fire, Slager spoke into his police radio, announcing: "Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser," according to police documents.

North Charleston Police Chief Ed Driggers said Tuesday that Scott had been struck with a stun gun during the clash.

In a brief phone interview, Aylor told The Times that he removed himself as Slager's attorney on Tuesday. He would not say why.

Members of Scott's family broke down Tuesday after watching a video of the shooting at their Charleston home, Stewart said.

The family plans to file a wrongful death suit against the city and Police Department, Stewart said. The attorney declined to identify the person who recorded the shooting, describing him only as someone who happened to be passing by.

Stewart believes the video is the only reason Slager is facing criminal charges.

"It would have just been the standard story of a police officer giving his version and that would be the end of it," he said. "In this case, this officer gave his story, and it turned out not to be true."

It was not immediately clear how many times Scott was shot.

The FBI in South Carolina is investigating the shooting, according to a spokeswoman for the Justice Department.

It is likely the FBI investigation would concern whether Slager violated Scott's civil rights. Federal investigators launched a similar inquiry last year, after Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, in the St. Louis suburb.

Driggers, the police chief, appeared visibly upset as he discussed the shooting with reporters Tuesday.

"It's been a tragic day for many," he said.

Slager was fired Tuesday, a city spokesman told The Times. The officer had been with the department for five years.

In the statement he released Monday, Slager said he had never before faced disciplinary action.

City records show Slager had been accused once of unnecessary use of force, in September 2013. A burglary suspect accused Slager of using excessive force after the officer deployed his stun gun during a physical altercation, but the department's Internal Affairs Bureau ultimately exonerated Slager.

Although Scott's brother would not say Scott was the victim of racial profiling, he believes the shooting, taken together with other incidents where unarmed black men have been killed by police around the country, should prove a clarion call for police reform.

"Let's let the police departments reform themselves, 'cause there has to be change," he said.

Elder James Johnson, local president of the National Action Network, said late Tuesday that the department had struggled with the issue of racial profiling in the past, specifically when it comes to motor vehicle stops.

Slager was taken into custody Tuesday by agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the agency investigating the shooting. Thom Berry, an agency spokesman, said he did not know whether the dashboard camera in Slager's patrol vehicle captured the incident.

North Charleston police officers do not wear body cameras, a police spokesman said.

Slager was booked into the Charleston County Jail about 6 p.m. local time on a murder charge, according to online jail records. He was denied bond during a brief court appearance, but Berry said that decision was simply because of a procedural rule. Slager is likely to appear before a Circuit Court judge Friday.

The person who recorded the incident brought the video to Scott's family, who turned it over to state law enforcement officials, North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey told reporters.

Driggers and Summey both said North Charleston has 343 police officers, and they referred to the shooting as a mistake made by a single member of the department.

"The one does not totally throw a blanket across the many," Driggers said.

Acknowledging tension in the city, pastor Thomas Dixon urged residents to remain peaceful if they decide to take part in demonstrations.

"We're calling on the community to, in light of this revelation, to remain calm, honor the wishes of this family," Dixon said during a news conference. "The family has asked specifically that the death of this young man not be dishonored."

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) called the shooting senseless.

"After watching the video, the senseless shooting and taking of #WalterScott's life was absolutely unnecessary and avoidable," Scott said on Twitter.

"My heart aches for the family and our North Charleston community. I will be watching this case closely."

The victim was engaged to be married and worked for a trucking supply company, Stewart said. The attorney said Scott was driving a used Mercedes he had recently purchased from a neighbor and was on his way to buy parts for the car when Slager encountered him.

Scott, who served four years in the Coast Guard in the 1980s, had no arrests or convictions for violent offenses in recent years, Stewart said. He is survived by four sons, ages 16, 21, 22 and 24.

Queally reported from Los Angeles and Zucchino from Durham, N.C.

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for breaking news