The daybook has an entry (yesterday) which reads “Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs hosts 30 children from the Chicago Housing Authority for a holiday shopping spree."‚ Does that mean 30 kids are running rampant in Target unsupervised, ripping Wiis, Xbox’s and Playstations off of the display stands? Or do they sedate the kids first and wheel them in to prevent a riot? Because the phrase “shopping spree” means the sky’s the limit, right? It turns out that 200 students living in public housing who got good grades were eligible to submit essays to the CHA. The best 30 essayists were award a $200 Target gift card to buy things, untaxed (paid for with the proceeds of his September Jock N’ Bowl Charity Bowling tournament). While the rest of the media literally let Briggs pose for shots with kids, I set out to see who was actually keeping the chaos in check. Chaperones escorted the students around Target, but as you could imagine, some of them had their hands full. I spoke to Alison Grimmer, a CHA employee who was one of 22 chaperones (not including police, security guards, and Target employees) trying to maintain order.
Daybook Obscura: Lance Briggs hosts a shopping spree for CHA kids.
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