Thank you all for the replies thus far,
Here's more pictures of the whole tree:
It is in fact still tied to it's humble little shipping stake, hehe. I could probably free it at this point, I think, if that would help. We've seen more rain than usual this year, but it's planted in sandy loam soil with good drainage, so I don't think it's wet feet, but I could be dead wrong. It's also planted nearish to a chain link fence, but I don't think that would cause any first-year or lifelong growth problems. I could dead wrong. :r
I will say, it's certainly been miserably humid this year, and that might well be a factor. I don't know if I still have any neem oil left, but I can sure as heck get some more!
Sorry for the late reply, these months are getting busy.
Also, it looks like my other potted Chicago Hardy (the one that I didn't think would graduate from being a tiny shipped-twig to a bush) has it now.
The fun never ends.
Cheers again for the advice thus far,
-Jon