The Chicago Bears are adding veteran experience to the quarterback room.
The team signed quarterback Case Keenum on Friday. ESPN reported
the deal is for one year and $3 million.
The move adds an experienced voice for starting quarterback Caleb Williams and backup Tyson Bagent. Keenum, 37, spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans as a mentor for young QB C.J. Stroud.
The Bears will be Keenum’s eighth NFL franchise since entering the league as an undrafted rookie in 2012. He has appeared in 80 games, including 66 starts. Keenum started two games for the Texans in 2023 but primarily spent his time as the third-string QB behind Stroud and backup Davis Mills.
It’s a notable addition to coach Ben Johnson’s roster. A year ago, the Bears worked hard to surround Williams with veteran coaches who had worked with the quarterback position. The players on the roster, however, were relatively inexperienced.
Bagent, in his second year, was the primary backup in 2024. The only other QB with the team was practice squad player Austin Reed, who was an undrafted rookie. Bagent was the most experienced NFL quarterback of the trio.
Keenum, on the other hand, has been playing in the NFL since before any of those three was in high school. In Houston, he was a mentor for Stroud, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft who went on to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
The Bears could have a similar role in mind for Keenum. Adding the veteran will give Williams someone to lean on in the locker room.
The goal is for all of those moves to make life easier for Williams. As for Keenum, the Bears hope he will make an impact of a different sort for last year’s No. 1 pick.
A federal judge blocked
President Trump’s takeover of a federal agency that invests in Latin America and the Caribbean, finding Friday that he likely went beyond his authority.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ordered the administration indefinitely reinstate Sara Aviel, the ousted president of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), and stop various other efforts to gut the foundation as her lawsuit proceeds.
“Because accepting Defendants’ arguments would leave parts of the Constitution in tatters, Ms. Aviel has shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits,”said AliKhan, an appointee of former President Biden.
Established by Congress in 1969 as a nonprofit corporation, the IAF funds efforts to combat poverty, migration and instability in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The administration began efforts to gut the agency on Feb. 19, when Trump signed an order
directing the IAF and several other groups be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
Within days of Trump’s directive, the administration removed Aviel and the IAF board as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) injected itself into the foundation. At a court hearing Wednesday, the government said IAF now only has one employee and one active grant remaining.
Trump appointed Peter Marocco, a State Department official who has played a central role in the administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, as IAF’s sole acting board member.
The judge’s order Friday effectively reverses Marocco’s takeover of the agency, blocking him from serving on the board and unwinding all actions he has taken, including any grants that were frozen.
The Justice Department had insisted both Aviel’s termination and Marocco’s appointment were legal, part of a broader theory advanced by the administration that the president has expansive authority to hire and fire officials across the federal bureaucracy.
In her ruling, AliKhan called the logical extension of the argument “frightening.”
“Then the President could appoint an ‘acting’ board member indefinitely without ever needing to seek the advice and consent of the Senate,” AliKhan wrote. “That reading eviscerates the Appointments Clause. When the court pressed Defendants’ counsel for a limiting principle at oral argument, Defendants had no response — convincing or otherwise.”
The government also asserted Aviel wasn’t entitled to an injunction at the early stage of the case because she hadn’t made the necessary showing of irreparable harm, pointing to two recentappeals rulings
that cleared the way for Trump to fire other federal agency leaders. The judge rejected that argument, too.
Build a Bouquet event planned for Mother’s Day weekend
The Build a Bouquet event is returning to downtown Naperville on Saturday, May 10, organizers announced.
Participants visit downtown businesses to pick up fresh flowers as well as treats, gifts and other special surprises at each stop. Ticket-holders check in at staggered start times beginning at 10 a.m. at the Naperville Woman’s Club, 14 S. Washington St., where they will receive a map and instructions for the day.
Tickets are $50 and are only needed for the mom participating and not others in her group. The Mother’s Day-themed event is expected to sell out, organizers said.
Naperville Park District open houses for ADA plan Tuesday
The Naperville Park District is seeking community feedback on its updated Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan at open house events to be held at 1 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at the Fort Hill Activity Center, 20 Fort Hill Drive.
Information will be provided, but no formal presentation given at the events, which will help ensure the district identifies and addresses accessibility issues throughout the park system. The plan was created in 1992 and last updated in 2014.
Residents who cannot attend an open house can offer feedback on the district’s website, www.napervilleparks.org
, from April 9 to 25.
Cradles to Crayons drop-off site at Bank of America on Ogden
The Bank of America at 1301 E. Ogden Ave. in Naperville has set up a donation unit in its parking lot to collect clothing for Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit that donates clothing for children in need throughout the Chicago area.
Its “2025 Spring Greening Initiative” reduces textile waste and repurposes clothes to help fight clothing insecurity, a news release said. The initiative will be availabel through the month of April.
The bank asks that no large toys or furniture be placed in or near the donation box. Community members should not leave donations outside of the unit, the release said.
The Naperville bank is one of about 40 drop-off locations throughout the Chicago area. This year Cradles to Crayons will distribute one million packages of clothing, shoes, diapers and other essentials to families and children across its network, the release said.
The organization is also seeking volunteers to help sort, inspect and package donations for distribution and is in need of monetary donations.
Temple Grandin, seen here autographing a books before an event at Fermilab in Batavia, will speak about her autism journey on April 12 at Benedictine University. (Beacon-News file photo)
Autism advocate Temple Grandin to speak at Benedictine
Temple Grandin, a renowned autism advocate, will speak about her autism journey at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at Benedictine University’s Goodwin Auditorium, 5700 College Road, Lisle.
The event includes a question-and-answer session and is open to the public. A book signing will follow at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and available at bit.ly/3E68yT3
.
Proceeds from the event benefit Lisle-based Giant Steps’ students and young adults with autism by supporting specialized programs and services such, including individualized education, therapy, job training and family support, a news release said.
The event is part of Giant Steps’ Denim & Diamonds Gala, where Grandin will be headlining speaker. It will be held from 6 to 10:30 p.m. April 12 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton, 1823 Abriter Court, Naperville.
