dailyheraldchicago--2020-11-30--Biden to nominate Yellen, highlights diversity on econ team

WILMINGTON , Del .
-- President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced his senior economic team , including his plans to nominate the first woman to head the Treasury Department as well as several liberal economists and policy specialists who established their credentials during the previous two Democratic administrations .
In a statement , Biden said he would nominate Janet Yellen , the former Federal Reserve chair , to lead the Treasury Department , and former Clinton and Obama adviser Neera Tanden to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget .
He also named Wally Adeyemo , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEO of the former president 's nonprofit foundation , as his nominee for deputy treasury secretary .
He also unveiled his White House economic team , consisting of economists Cecilia Rouse , Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey .
Biden , who has placed a premium on diversity in his selection of Cabinet nominees and key advisers , is looking to notch a few firsts with his economic team selections .
Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department and Adeyemo the first Black deputy secretary .
Tanden would be the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Rouse the first woman of color to chair the Council of Economic Advisers .
`` As we get to work to control the virus , this is the team that will deliver immediate economic relief for the American people during this economic crisis and help us build our economy back better than ever , '' Biden said in a statement .
Yellen became Federal Reserve chair in 2014 when the economy was still recovering from the devastating Great Recession .
In the late 1990s , she was President Bill Clinton 's top @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Under Biden she would lead the Treasury Department with the economy in the grip of a surging pandemic .
If confirmed , Yellen would become the first woman to lead the Treasury Department in its nearly 232-year history .
She would inherit an economy with still-high unemployment , escalating threats to small businesses and signs that consumers are retrenching as the pandemic restricts or discourages spending .
Tanden , the president and CEO of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress , has been tapped to serve as the director of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign , but she first made her mark in the Clinton orbit .
She served as policy director for Hillary Clinton 's 2008 presidential campaign .
Before that , she served as legislative director in Clinton 's Senate office and deputy campaign manager and issues director for Clinton 's 2000 Senate campaign .
Tanden was a senior policy adviser in the Bill Clinton administration .
If confirmed , she would be the first woman of color and the first South Asian woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that oversees the federal budget .
But Senate Republicans are signaling they 'll oppose confirmation .
Late Sunday a spokesman for GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas tweeted that Tanden `` stands zero chance of being confirmed . ''
And Josh Holmes , a political adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , tweeted that confirmation was likely doomed .
Republicans hold the edge in the current Senate , although next year 's majority wo n't be decided until Jan. 5 runoffs in two races involving GOP incumbents in Georgia .
Brian Deese @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Obama administration and now the managing director and global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock , is expected to be named director of the White House National Economic Council , according to a person familiar with transition plans who was not authorized to speak on the matter .
Deese worked on the auto bailout and environmental issues in the Obama White House , where he held the title of deputy director of both the NEC and the OMB Cecilia Rouse , a labor economist and head of Princeton University 's School of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's pick to serve as chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers .
She served on the CEA from 2009 to 2011 , and served on the NEC from 1998 to 1999 in the Clinton administration .
Notably , she organized a letter earlier this year signed by more than 100 economists calling for more government action to mitigate the fallout for Americans caused by the coronavirus pandemic .
Rouse , who is Black , would be the first woman of color to chair the CEA .
Biden also named Heather Boushey , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center for Equitable Growth , and Jared Bernstein , who served as an economic adviser to Biden during the Obama administration , to serve on the council .
Both Boushey and Bernstein advised Biden during the presidential campaign .
Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe , Christopher Rugaber and Michael Balsamo contributed to this report .

Biden to nominate Yellen, highlights diversity on econ team
WILMINGTON, Del. -- President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced his senior economic team, including his plans to nominate the first woman to head the Treasury Department as well as several liberal economists and policy specialists who established their credentials during the previous two Democratic administrations.
In a statement, Biden said he would nominate Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair, to lead the Treasury Department, and former Clinton and Obama adviser Neera Tanden to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also named Wally Adeyemo, a former Obama administration official and the first CEO of the former president's nonprofit foundation, as his nominee for deputy treasury secretary. He also unveiled his White House economic team, consisting of economists Cecilia Rouse, Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey.
Biden, who has placed a premium on diversity in his selection of Cabinet nominees and key advisers, is looking to notch a few firsts with his economic team selections. Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department and Adeyemo the first Black deputy secretary. Tanden would be the first woman of color to lead OMB and Rouse the first woman of color to chair the Council of Economic Advisers.
"As we get to work to control the virus, this is the team that will deliver immediate economic relief for the American people during this economic crisis and help us build our economy back better than ever," Biden said in a statement.
Yellen became Federal Reserve chair in 2014 when the economy was still recovering from the devastating Great Recession. In the late 1990s, she was President Bill Clinton's top economic adviser during the Asian financial crisis. Under Biden she would lead the Treasury Department with the economy in the grip of a surging pandemic.
If confirmed, Yellen would become the first woman to lead the Treasury Department in its nearly 232-year history. She would inherit an economy with still-high unemployment, escalating threats to small businesses and signs that consumers are retrenching as the pandemic restricts or discourages spending.
Tanden, the president and CEO of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, has been tapped to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. She was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign, but she first made her mark in the Clinton orbit.
She served as policy director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Before that, she served as legislative director in Clinton's Senate office and deputy campaign manager and issues director for Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign. Tanden was a senior policy adviser in the Bill Clinton administration.
If confirmed, she would be the first woman of color and the first South Asian woman to lead the OMB, the agency that oversees the federal budget.
But Senate Republicans are signaling they'll oppose confirmation. Late Sunday a spokesman for GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas tweeted that Tanden "stands zero chance of being confirmed." And Josh Holmes, a political adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, tweeted that confirmation was likely doomed. Republicans hold the edge in the current Senate, although next year's majority won't be decided until Jan. 5 runoffs in two races involving GOP incumbents in Georgia.
Brian Deese, a former senior economic adviser in the Obama administration and now the managing director and global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock, is expected to be named director of the White House National Economic Council, according to a person familiar with transition plans who was not authorized to speak on the matter.
Deese worked on the auto bailout and environmental issues in the Obama White House, where he held the title of deputy director of both the NEC and the OMB
Cecilia Rouse, a labor economist and head of Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs, is Biden's pick to serve as chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers. She served on the CEA from 2009 to 2011, and served on the NEC from 1998 to 1999 in the Clinton administration.
Notably, she organized a letter earlier this year signed by more than 100 economists calling for more government action to mitigate the fallout for Americans caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Rouse, who is Black, would be the first woman of color to chair the CEA.
Biden also named Heather Boushey, the president and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, and Jared Bernstein, who served as an economic adviser to Biden during the Obama administration, to serve on the council. Both Boushey and Bernstein advised Biden during the presidential campaign.
Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Christopher Rugaber and Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-11-30--Merriam-Webster's top word of 2020 not a shocker: pandemic

NEW YORK -- If you were to choose a word that rose above most in 2020 , which word would it be ?
Ding , ding , ding : Merriam-Webster on Monday announced `` pandemic '' as its 2020 word of the year .
`` That probably is n't a big shock , '' Peter Sokolowski , editor at large for Merriam-Webster , told The Associated Press .
`` Often the big news story has a technical word that 's associated with it and in this case , the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ we 'll refer to this period in the future , '' he said .
The word took on urgent specificity in March , when the coronavirus crisis was designated a pandemic , but it started to trend up on Merriam-Webster.com as early January and again in February when the first U.S. deaths and outbreaks on cruise ships occurred .
On March 11 , when the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic , lookups on the site for pandemic spiked hugely .
Site interest for the word has remained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
By huge , Sokolowski means searches for pandemic on March 11 were 115,806 % higher than lookups experienced on the same date last year .
Pandemic , with roots in Latin and Greek , is a combination of `` pan , '' for all , and `` demos , '' for people or population .
The latter is the same root of `` democracy , '' Sokolowski noted .
The word pandemic dates to the mid-1600s , used broadly for `` universal '' and more specifically to disease in a medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That was after the plagues of the Middle Ages , Sokolowski said .
He attributes the lookup traffic for pandemic not entirely to searchers who did n't know what it meant but also to those on the hunt for more detail , or for inspiration or comfort .
`` We see that the word love is looked up around Valentine 's Day and the word cornucopia is looked up at Thanksgiving , '' Sokolowski said .
`` We see a word like surreal spiking when a moment of national tragedy or shock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dictionaries being the beginning of putting your thoughts in order . ''
Merriam-Webster acted quickly in March to add and update entries on its site for words related to the pandemic .
While `` coronavirus '' had been in the dictionary for decades , `` COVID-19 '' was coined in February .
Thirty-four days later , Merriam-Webster had it up online , along with a couple dozen other entries that were revised to reflect the health emergency .
`` That 's the shortest period of time we 've ever seen a word go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` The word had this urgency . ''
Coronavirus was among runners up for word of the year as it jumped into the mainstream .
Quarantine , asymptomatic , mamba , kraken , defund , antebellum , irregardless , icon , schadenfreude and malarkey were also runners up based on lookup spikes around specific events .
Particularly interesting to word nerds like Sokolowski , a lexicographer , is quarantine .
With Italian roots , it was used during the Black Death of the 1300s for the period of time a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wait outside a city to prevent disease .
The `` quar '' in quarantine derives from 40 , for the 40 days required .
Spikes for mamba occurred after the January death of Kobe Bryant , whose nickname was the Black Mamba .
A mass of lookups occurred for kraken in July after Seattle 's new National Hockey League franchise chose the mythical sea monster as its name , urged along by fans .
Country group Lady Antebellum 's name change to Lady A drove dictionary interest in June , while malarkey got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who 's fond of using the word .
Icon was front and center in headlines after the deaths of U.S. Rep. John Lewis and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg .
The Merriam-Webster site has about 40 million unique monthly users and about 100 million monthly page views .

Merriam-Webster's top word of 2020 not a shocker: pandemic
Merriam-Webster on Monday announced "pandemic" as its 2020 word of the year. Associated Press
NEW YORK -- If you were to choose a word that rose above most in 2020, which word would it be?
Ding, ding, ding: Merriam-Webster on Monday announced "pandemic" as its 2020 word of the year.
"That probably isn't a big shock," Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster, told The Associated Press.
"Often the big news story has a technical word that's associated with it and in this case, the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general. It's probably the word by which we'll refer to this period in the future," he said.
The word took on urgent specificity in March, when the coronavirus crisis was designated a pandemic, but it started to trend up on Merriam-Webster.com as early January and again in February when the first U.S. deaths and outbreaks on cruise ships occurred.
On March 11, when the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, lookups on the site for pandemic spiked hugely. Site interest for the word has remained significantly high through the year, Sokolowski said.
By huge, Sokolowski means searches for pandemic on March 11 were 115,806% higher than lookups experienced on the same date last year.
Pandemic, with roots in Latin and Greek, is a combination of "pan," for all, and "demos," for people or population. The latter is the same root of "democracy," Sokolowski noted. The word pandemic dates to the mid-1600s, used broadly for "universal" and more specifically to disease in a medical text in the 1660s, he said.
That was after the plagues of the Middle Ages, Sokolowski said.
He attributes the lookup traffic for pandemic not entirely to searchers who didn't know what it meant but also to those on the hunt for more detail, or for inspiration or comfort.
"We see that the word love is looked up around Valentine's Day and the word cornucopia is looked up at Thanksgiving," Sokolowski said. "We see a word like surreal spiking when a moment of national tragedy or shock occurs. It's the idea of dictionaries being the beginning of putting your thoughts in order."
Merriam-Webster acted quickly in March to add and update entries on its site for words related to the pandemic. While "coronavirus" had been in the dictionary for decades, "COVID-19" was coined in February. Thirty-four days later, Merriam-Webster had it up online, along with a couple dozen other entries that were revised to reflect the health emergency.
"That's the shortest period of time we've ever seen a word go from coinage to entry," Sokolowski said. "The word had this urgency."
Coronavirus was among runners up for word of the year as it jumped into the mainstream. Quarantine, asymptomatic, mamba, kraken, defund, antebellum, irregardless, icon, schadenfreude and malarkey were also runners up based on lookup spikes around specific events.
Particularly interesting to word nerds like Sokolowski, a lexicographer, is quarantine. With Italian roots, it was used during the Black Death of the 1300s for the period of time a new ship coming into port would have to wait outside a city to prevent disease. The "quar" in quarantine derives from 40, for the 40 days required.
Spikes for mamba occurred after the January death of Kobe Bryant, whose nickname was the Black Mamba. A mass of lookups occurred for kraken in July after Seattle's new National Hockey League franchise chose the mythical sea monster as its name, urged along by fans.
Country group Lady Antebellum's name change to Lady A drove dictionary interest in June, while malarkey got a boost from President-elect Joe Biden, who's fond of using the word. Icon was front and center in headlines after the deaths of U.S. Rep. John Lewis and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The Merriam-Webster site has about 40 million unique monthly users and about 100 million monthly page views.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-11-30--With Minnesota game canceled, Northwestern shifts gears

Northwestern has managed to stay away from COVID-19 positives this season , but it ca n't control what happens with other Big Ten teams .
Shortly before meeting reporters on his weekly Zoom call Monday , Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald found out Saturday 's game at Minnesota has been canceled .
It was n't a surprise , though , since the Gophers did n't play Wisconsin last week either , due to a coronavirus outbreak .
`` My focus and our staff 's focus , up until a couple of minutes before I got on with you has been all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` We 've got to obviously change gears . ''
Northwestern suffered its first loss of the season at Michigan State 29-20 on Saturday .
It was a game the Wildcats fell behind 17-0 , came back to take the lead early in the fourth quarter , then had two late turnovers that led to the tying and go-ahead field goals .
The cancellation against Minnesota might have clinched the Big Ten West title for Northwestern , but no one really knows for sure .
Even if the Wildcats ( 5-1 ) were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they still own the head-to-head tiebreaker against Iowa ( 4-2 ) , while Wisconsin ( 2-1 ) has n't played enough games to be eligible to play in the title game .
Before the season , the Big Ten released a set of rules that said teams would have to play a minimum of six games to be eligible to play in the Big Ten championship -- unless the average number of games played by all teams drops to six or less .
That became a concern in the East division because undefeated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Saturday , its second lost contest of the fall .
Every team in the Big Ten that has experienced a COVID outbreak ( Wisconsin , Maryland , Minnesota ) has skipped two games .
If OSU follows that lead and cancels at Michigan State this week , the Buckeyes will be down to five games played and ineligible for the conference championship , according to the original rules .
As it stands today , Northwestern would be playing Ohio State for the Big Ten title .
But maybe the opponent will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had time to think about it , '' Fitzgerald said .
`` I 'll leave that to Commissioner ( Kevin ) Warren and his staff .
I remember back before the season started , I shared an email of the policies and procedures .
It 's 2020 , I guess we change things whenever we want .
Maybe they 'll change it , maybe they wo n't .
I do n't care .
`` We 've just got to control what we can control and that 's getting healthy this week , getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to watch everybody else ( mix ) it up . ''
Fitzgerald said there has n't been a single positive COVID test in the Northwestern football program since training camp began in the summer .
Wide receiver Riley Lees , a Libertyville native , talked about what the players have endured this fall .
`` We 've just had the mindset of go to football , go home , '' Lees said .
`` We talked about all offseason that the most important thing to this season is going to be to healthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms of holding people accountable , I think it 's more of a trust factor .
We 're not texting people like , 'What are you doing right now ? '
It 's more of we believe everyone 's on the same page and we all have the same goal in mind .
It 's a lot of trust here . ''
A weekend with no game brings another set of concerns , since players will have more free time .
Like most campuses across the country , Northwestern is basically empty since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thanksgiving break .
`` It sounds to me , talking to my colleagues around the country , most if not all of the issues they 've had with COVID positives have happened in social decisions with weekend nights off , '' Fitzgerald said .
`` If I were them , I would have been playing Sega ...
I 'd be eating a lot of food and enjoying watching a lot of football this week .
`` Our guys have finals too .
So they 've got to knock their finals out , dominate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week and then we 'll get ready for our rival next week . ''

With Minnesota game canceled, Northwestern shifts gears
Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald said Monday the Wildcats will have to change gears since their scheduled game against Minnesota this weekend has been canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Minnesota. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald said Monday the Wildcats will have to change gears since their scheduled game against Minnesota this weekend has been canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Minnesota. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northwestern has managed to stay away from COVID-19 positives this season, but it can't control what happens with other Big Ten teams.
Shortly before meeting reporters on his weekly Zoom call Monday, Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald found out Saturday's game at Minnesota has been canceled. It wasn't a surprise, though, since the Gophers didn't play Wisconsin last week either, due to a coronavirus outbreak.
"My focus and our staff's focus, up until a couple of minutes before I got on with you has been all about Minnesota," Fitzgerald said. "We've got to obviously change gears."
Northwestern suffered its first loss of the season at Michigan State 29-20 on Saturday. It was a game the Wildcats fell behind 17-0, came back to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, then had two late turnovers that led to the tying and go-ahead field goals.
The cancellation against Minnesota might have clinched the Big Ten West title for Northwestern, but no one really knows for sure. Even if the Wildcats (5-1) were to lose next week against Illinois, they still own the head-to-head tiebreaker against Iowa (4-2), while Wisconsin (2-1) hasn't played enough games to be eligible to play in the title game.
Before the season, the Big Ten released a set of rules that said teams would have to play a minimum of six games to be eligible to play in the Big Ten championship -- unless the average number of games played by all teams drops to six or less.
That became a concern in the East division because undefeated Ohio State canceled the game at Illinois on Saturday, its second lost contest of the fall. Every team in the Big Ten that has experienced a COVID outbreak (Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota) has skipped two games. If OSU follows that lead and cancels at Michigan State this week, the Buckeyes will be down to five games played and ineligible for the conference championship, according to the original rules.
As it stands today, Northwestern would be playing Ohio State for the Big Ten title. But maybe the opponent will be second-place Indiana.
"I wish I had time to think about it," Fitzgerald said. "I'll leave that to Commissioner (Kevin) Warren and his staff. I remember back before the season started, I shared an email of the policies and procedures. It's 2020, I guess we change things whenever we want. Maybe they'll change it, maybe they won't. I don't care.
"We've just got to control what we can control and that's getting healthy this week, getting better fundamentally and then taking a weekend to watch everybody else (mix) it up."
Fitzgerald said there hasn't been a single positive COVID test in the Northwestern football program since training camp began in the summer. Wide receiver Riley Lees, a Libertyville native, talked about what the players have endured this fall.
"We've just had the mindset of go to football, go home," Lees said. "We talked about all offseason that the most important thing to this season is going to be to healthy and to avoid social interaction. In terms of holding people accountable, I think it's more of a trust factor. We're not texting people like, 'What are you doing right now?' It's more of we believe everyone's on the same page and we all have the same goal in mind. It's a lot of trust here."
A weekend with no game brings another set of concerns, since players will have more free time. Like most campuses across the country, Northwestern is basically empty since schools told students to stay home after Thanksgiving break.
"It sounds to me, talking to my colleagues around the country, most if not all of the issues they've had with COVID positives have happened in social decisions with weekend nights off," Fitzgerald said. "If I were them, I would have been playing Sega ... I'd be eating a lot of food and enjoying watching a lot of football this week.
"Our guys have finals too. So they've got to knock their finals out, dominate there, go 1-0 in finals this week and then we'll get ready for our rival next week."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--'You can't sit by and do nothing': Lawmaker challenges Madigan's House leadership

State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit says lawmakers should n't have to `` grovel '' before Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to move bills forward for a vote , including those on property tax reform .
The Oswego Democrat is lobbying to take Madigan 's job if he fails to muster enough votes from House Democrats to remain as speaker , a title he 's held for 35 years .
`` You ca n't sit by and do nothing , '' Kifowit told the Daily Herald editorial board Monday regarding a corruption scandal tightening around Madigan .
`` He 's shown conduct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kifowit said Madigan treats lawmakers like minions , failing to hold regular meetings and burying the bills of uncooperative members .
Madigan engages in `` calendar stacking , '' she said , or letting bills stagnate early in the year , then allowing a few per lawmaker to be voted on at the last minute .
`` I think the governor is very committed to move the state forward , '' Kifowit said .
But `` I 've seen proposal after proposal for property tax reform just get squashed in the House .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ committees `` should not linger '' but move on to the House for a vote within three days , she said .
`` You have to go and grovel for a bill to be called .
It 's ridiculous , '' she said .
She said Madigan 's attitude is , `` 'you have to come to me .
You are just a lowly representative . '
'' In July , ComEd pleaded guilty to giving jobs and contracts to firms and people connected with an official identified as Madigan in exchange for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he 's done nothing wrong and federal prosecutors have not charged him with any crimes .
Several Madigan associates face charges of bribery along with former ComEd executives .
`` The people are ready for a change .
They want to be able to trust government and be proud of Illinois again , '' said Kifowit , the first lawmaker to challenge Madigan for House speaker .
`` This investigation has been used as a political weapon by those who seek to have me step down , '' Madigan said in a Nov. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pick a speaker next year and some legislators predict Madigan wo n't reach that as influential Democrats like Pritzker are turning up the pressure on him to answer the allegations or step down .
Changing the culture of patronage in Springfield starts with ending Madigan 's ability to be both speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party , which gives him enormous control over candidate funding , Kifowit said .
Severing the two jobs `` would do amazing things .
We had members that told the speaker they were n't voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result , campaign support was cut off , she said .
Kifowit noted she has the cellphone numbers of former and current Senate presidents John Cullerton and Don Harmon .
With Madigan , `` I have to go through five different channels and then get a scheduled time for a call back . ''
She also hopes for less partisanship , adding , `` I have a good relationship with many Republicans . ''
One example she said she 'd deliver is reintroducing votes on revenue estimates .
`` I think that 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republicans have asked for . ''
But a skirmish with a Republican during debate on a bill capping lawsuit damages related to a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires ' disease at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy caused controversy for Kifowit in November 2018 .
Kifowit , a U.S. Marine Corps .
veteran , opposed the cap and told former GOP Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard `` I would like to make him a broth of legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one so that they can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time she was outraged at the harm done to veterans .
On Monday she explained , `` it 's a comment not meant to be taken literally .
Many people came up to me after that and said , 'we know exactly what you mean .
Thank you for standing up for our veterans . '
''

'You can't sit by and do nothing': Lawmaker challenges Madigan's House leadership
Speaker Michael Madigan looks out over the House floor at the state Capitol in Springfield on Aug. 28, 2017. Associated Press
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit says lawmakers shouldn't have to "grovel" before Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to move bills forward for a vote, including those on property tax reform.
The Oswego Democrat is lobbying to take Madigan's job if he fails to muster enough votes from House Democrats to remain as speaker, a title he's held for 35 years.
"You can't sit by and do nothing," Kifowit told the Daily Herald editorial board Monday regarding a corruption scandal tightening around Madigan. "He's shown conduct unbecoming of a public official."
Kifowit said Madigan treats lawmakers like minions, failing to hold regular meetings and burying the bills of uncooperative members.
Madigan engages in "calendar stacking," she said, or letting bills stagnate early in the year, then allowing a few per lawmaker to be voted on at the last minute.
That includes property tax reforms supported by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
"I think the governor is very committed to move the state forward," Kifowit said. But "I've seen proposal after proposal for property tax reform just get squashed in the House."
Legislation that properly passes through House committees "should not linger" but move on to the House for a vote within three days, she said.
"You have to go and grovel for a bill to be called. It's ridiculous," she said. She said Madigan's attitude is, "'you have to come to me. You are just a lowly representative.'"
In July, ComEd pleaded guilty to giving jobs and contracts to firms and people connected with an official identified as Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation. The Chicago Democrat says he's done nothing wrong and federal prosecutors have not charged him with any crimes. Several Madigan associates face charges of bribery along with former ComEd executives.
"The people are ready for a change. They want to be able to trust government and be proud of Illinois again," said Kifowit, the first lawmaker to challenge Madigan for House speaker.
"This investigation has been used as a political weapon by those who seek to have me step down," Madigan said in a Nov. 19 statement. Sixty votes are required to pick a speaker next year and some legislators predict Madigan won't reach that as influential Democrats like Pritzker are turning up the pressure on him to answer the allegations or step down.
Changing the culture of patronage in Springfield starts with ending Madigan's ability to be both speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, which gives him enormous control over candidate funding, Kifowit said.
Severing the two jobs "would do amazing things. We had members that told the speaker they weren't voting for him," and as a result, campaign support was cut off, she said.
Kifowit noted she has the cellphone numbers of former and current Senate presidents John Cullerton and Don Harmon. With Madigan, "I have to go through five different channels and then get a scheduled time for a call back."
She also hopes for less partisanship, adding, "I have a good relationship with many Republicans." One example she said she'd deliver is reintroducing votes on revenue estimates. "I think that's an easy compromise. It's something the Republicans have asked for."
But a skirmish with a Republican during debate on a bill capping lawsuit damages related to a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy caused controversy for Kifowit in November 2018.
Kifowit, a U.S. Marine Corps. veteran, opposed the cap and told former GOP Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard "I would like to make him a broth of legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one so that they can be infected."
Kifowit apologized and said at the time she was outraged at the harm done to veterans.
On Monday she explained, "it's a comment not meant to be taken literally. Many people came up to me after that and said, 'we know exactly what you mean. Thank you for standing up for our veterans.'"


dailyheraldchicago--2020-11-30--Constable: Even marathoners have hit pandemic wall, but they press on

In March I got myself a face mask , learned how to spell `` coronavirus , '' and was actually looking forward to spending a week -- maybe two -- working from home .
Nine months later , as we limp into December , I 've hit the wall .
What I thought was going to be a simple spring 5K to a healthy and happy nation has morphed into a grim winter marathon with more than 266,000 dead Americans in its wake .
I enjoy more time exercising , walking , bicycling , and reading .
But I also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everything from `` Tiger King '' to `` The Queen 's Gambit . ''
I appreciate not having to commute , but I miss the newsroom .
I vacillate between loving home and going stir-crazy .
`` Oh , my God , I hear you .
It 's the Corona Coaster .
Some days are fine , and other days , I 'm having gin on my Cheerios , '' says Marcia Cleveland , 56 , a legendary long-distance swimmer and suburban instructor who knows what it is like to hit a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ English Channel , the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland , Japan 's Tsugaru Strait , the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim , California 's Catalina Channel Swim , the 26-mile Chicago Skyline Swim and more .
`` You go into something in good faith and all these obstacles keep coming , and it 's up to you if you want to continue to go and go and go , '' says Cleveland , who has overcome choppy waves , bitter cold , seaweed and jellyfish , and now grapples with the hardships created @ @ @ @ @ @ @ City ceremony inducting her into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2020 has been pushed into May 2021 , and that 's not set in stone .
`` How much longer is this going to last ? ''
wonders Cleveland , a mother of two who lives with her husband in Winnetka .
Lisle native Peter Krzywosz ran seven marathons in seven days in September 2019 to raise money to support families going through treatment for pediatric cancer .
But finishing this single pandemic is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like we 're chasing this immortal finish line that keeps getting pushed back , '' says Krzywosz , 26 , an account executive with Becker 's Healthcare , where he works on business development and is a leader in charity efforts .
`` It 's hard .
I experience the same symptoms everyone else experiences .
I 'm trying to control the controllables and let everything else play out , '' he says .
`` Developing a routine is the best thing to get me through this daily grind we 're all going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got to do summer races .
`` Everything was canceled for the summer , and now I ca n't believe it 's getting worse .
There 's a lot of different opinions and there 's just no leadership , '' says Cleveland .
She walked a marathon course to fill the void , and Krzywosz has added more strength training to his regimen .
But Cleveland , whose book , `` Dover Solo , '' has become required reading for English Channel hopefuls and aspiring marathon swimmers , found a way to encourage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cardwell , who grew up in Wheaton , to cancel her ambitious plan to swim across Lake Michigan .
But Cleveland helped Cardwell complete a 24-hour swim in Lake Michigan along Gillson Beach in Wilmette to raise funds for Type 1 diabetes .
Cleveland also helped friend and Northwestern University chemistry professor Will Dichtel make up for the cancellation of his English Channel attempt by coaching him to a Chicago Skyline Swim time that broke a record Cleveland had held .
`` Over the summer , a huge community of open-water swimmers connected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knew each other got to know each other .
That definitely held me together , '' says Cleveland , who cooked up another challenge for the winter .
`` The 'ice mile , ' '' she says , explaining how she and a few other dedicated swimmers , who do n't wear wet suits , have been swimming a mile in Lake Michigan in water that is 41 degrees or colder .
`` Those connections are so , so important , '' says Cleveland , who wears a two-piece swimsuit and goggles during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does a week .
`` Some days are still really , really hard . ''
But Cleveland , Krzywosz and others continue to strive toward their goals .
`` That 's what counts in these weird times , '' Cleveland says .
`` We have to hang in there .
We have to keep moving forward . ''

Constable: Even marathoners have hit pandemic wall, but they press on
Lisle native Peter Krzywosz paused for reflection after finishing his seventh 26.2-mile marathon in seven days last September to raise more than $11,000 for a charity that helps kids with cancer. Now he's coping with the usual pandemic issues. Courtesy of Andrew Glatt
A swim instructor at Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Northbrook until it closed this fall, Marcia Cleveland has been swimming lately in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Daily Herald file photo
With the pandemic canceling events and postponing her International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Marcia Cleveland, center, has encouraged others to join her in swimming an "ice mile" in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Courtesy of Marcia Cleveland
Having competed in three marathons in his life, 26-year-old Lisle native Peter Krzywosz ran seven marathons in seven days in September of 2019 to raise money in the fight against pediatric cancer. Courtesy of Andrew Glatt
A member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, Marcia Cleveland saw her induction and several swimming events canceled this year due to the pandemic. Now she's swimming an "ice mile" several times a week in frigid Lake Michigan. Courtesy of Marcia Cleveland
In March I got myself a face mask, learned how to spell "coronavirus," and was actually looking forward to spending a week -- maybe two -- working from home.
Nine months later, as we limp into December, I've hit the wall. What I thought was going to be a simple spring 5K to a healthy and happy nation has morphed into a grim winter marathon with more than 266,000 dead Americans in its wake.
I enjoy more time exercising, walking, bicycling, and reading. But I also drop anchor on the couch to binge-watch everything from "Tiger King" to "The Queen's Gambit."
I gain weight. I lose weight.
I appreciate not having to commute, but I miss the newsroom. I vacillate between loving home and going stir-crazy.
"Oh, my God, I hear you. It's the Corona Coaster. Some days are fine, and other days, I'm having gin on my Cheerios," says Marcia Cleveland, 56, a legendary long-distance swimmer and suburban instructor who knows what it is like to hit a few walls.
Her accomplishments include swimming the English Channel, the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, Japan's Tsugaru Strait, the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, California's Catalina Channel Swim, the 26-mile Chicago Skyline Swim and more.
"You go into something in good faith and all these obstacles keep coming, and it's up to you if you want to continue to go and go and go," says Cleveland, who has overcome choppy waves, bitter cold, seaweed and jellyfish, and now grapples with the hardships created by this pandemic.
The New York City ceremony inducting her into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2020 has been pushed into May 2021, and that's not set in stone.
"How much longer is this going to last?" wonders Cleveland, a mother of two who lives with her husband in Winnetka.
Lisle native Peter Krzywosz ran seven marathons in seven days in September 2019 to raise money to support families going through treatment for pediatric cancer. But finishing this single pandemic is a different animal.
"It seems like we're chasing this immortal finish line that keeps getting pushed back," says Krzywosz, 26, an account executive with Becker's Healthcare, where he works on business development and is a leader in charity efforts.
"It's hard. I experience the same symptoms everyone else experiences. I'm trying to control the controllables and let everything else play out," he says. "Developing a routine is the best thing to get me through this daily grind we're all going through."
Neither Krzywosz nor Cleveland got to do summer races.
"Everything was canceled for the summer, and now I can't believe it's getting worse. There's a lot of different opinions and there's just no leadership," says Cleveland. She walked a marathon course to fill the void, and Krzywosz has added more strength training to his regimen.
But Cleveland, whose book, "Dover Solo," has become required reading for English Channel hopefuls and aspiring marathon swimmers, found a way to encourage friends at home. COVID-19 forced Marian Cardwell, who grew up in Wheaton, to cancel her ambitious plan to swim across Lake Michigan. But Cleveland helped Cardwell complete a 24-hour swim in Lake Michigan along Gillson Beach in Wilmette to raise funds for Type 1 diabetes. Cleveland also helped friend and Northwestern University chemistry professor Will Dichtel make up for the cancellation of his English Channel attempt by coaching him to a Chicago Skyline Swim time that broke a record Cleveland had held.
"Over the summer, a huge community of open-water swimmers connected with each other. People who never knew each other got to know each other. That definitely held me together," says Cleveland, who cooked up another challenge for the winter.
"The 'ice mile,'" she says, explaining how she and a few other dedicated swimmers, who don't wear wet suits, have been swimming a mile in Lake Michigan in water that is 41 degrees or colder.
"Those connections are so, so important," says Cleveland, who wears a two-piece swimsuit and goggles during the four or five lake swims she does a week. "Some days are still really, really hard."
But Cleveland, Krzywosz and others continue to strive toward their goals.
"That's what counts in these weird times," Cleveland says. "We have to hang in there. We have to keep moving forward."


dailyheraldchicago--2020-11-30--'We all need a break from screens': Barrington school librarian gets creative to deliver books

If students ca n't go to the library , the library will go to the students .
That was the thinking of Taryn Parise , a teacher librarian at Hough Street Elementary in Barrington , who about two weeks ago started a `` mini bookmobile '' of sorts .
Parise loads a small wagon with books from the school library and pulls it through the school 's neighborhood , so kids learning from home can pick up reading material .
`` I had been feeling bad that I have not been able to get books in the kids ' hands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... but really there is nothing quite like the experience of holding a book , '' she said .
`` Plus , we all need a break from screens . ''
Parise borrowed the wagon from a teacher who normally uses it to keep lunchboxes .
She fills it up with about 120 books along a computer and scanner .
`` I can tell you it 's awfully heavy going uphill , '' she said , chuckling .
So far Parise has done it twice since mid-November : The first time four kids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their parents -- and the second time a whopping 30+ kids showed up .
`` That was amazing .
I could n't believe it , '' she said .
The location of her stops is announced via schoolwide emails .
Parise 's goal is to continue doing it twice a week unless it 's raining , snowy or too cold .
Other teachers have volunteered to join her , she added .
Parent John Haradon , who accompanied his young daughters to pick up books from Parise , called it `` a pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't gone to our own ( public ) library from the concern of going anywhere in person , '' he said .
`` To have the school step up and bring the books to the kids is pretty exciting . ''
His daughters agreed .
`` I liked the books that the librarian brought .
I like how she got books for all ages , '' said Cecilia , a third-grader .
`` It was cool that our librarian was in our neighborhood , '' added her sister , Genevieve , who 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who lives in Elgin , has been a teacher for 16 years .
She is in her first year at Hough Street Elementary , whose principal , Zach Ernst , praised her initiative .
`` She 's constantly thinking about how she can go above and beyond , and outside the typical role and responsibility of a teacher librarian , '' he said .
If book requests continue to grow , he might explore ways to broaden staff participation .
`` We 've been struggling to get books in the kids ' hands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to being an easy opportunity to so many kids , '' he said .
Parise said she relishes the chance to see students face to face -- with masks and social distancing -- during the pandemic .
`` It 's definitely a highlight of my day . ''

'We all need a break from screens': Barrington school librarian gets creative to deliver books
Taryn Parise, a teacher librarian at Hough Street Elementary School in Barrington, started a "mini bookmobile." It's a way to get books in the hands of students learning from home. Courtesy of Barrington Area Unit District 220
If students can't go to the library, the library will go to the students.
That was the thinking of Taryn Parise, a teacher librarian at Hough Street Elementary in Barrington, who about two weeks ago started a "mini bookmobile" of sorts. Parise loads a small wagon with books from the school library and pulls it through the school's neighborhood, so kids learning from home can pick up reading material.
"I had been feeling bad that I have not been able to get books in the kids' hands. I know that they have iPads ... but really there is nothing quite like the experience of holding a book," she said. "Plus, we all need a break from screens."
Parise borrowed the wagon from a teacher who normally uses it to keep lunchboxes. She fills it up with about 120 books along a computer and scanner.
"I can tell you it's awfully heavy going uphill," she said, chuckling.
So far Parise has done it twice since mid-November: The first time four kids came by -- either alone or with their parents -- and the second time a whopping 30+ kids showed up.
"That was amazing. I couldn't believe it," she said.
The location of her stops is announced via schoolwide emails. Parise's goal is to continue doing it twice a week unless it's raining, snowy or too cold. Other teachers have volunteered to join her, she added.
Parent John Haradon, who accompanied his young daughters to pick up books from Parise, called it "a pretty smart idea."
"We haven't gone to our own (public) library from the concern of going anywhere in person," he said. "To have the school step up and bring the books to the kids is pretty exciting."
His daughters agreed. "I liked the books that the librarian brought. I like how she got books for all ages," said Cecilia, a third-grader.
"It was cool that our librarian was in our neighborhood," added her sister, Genevieve, who's in the first grade.
Parise, who lives in Elgin, has been a teacher for 16 years. She is in her first year at Hough Street Elementary, whose principal, Zach Ernst, praised her initiative.
"She's constantly thinking about how she can go above and beyond, and outside the typical role and responsibility of a teacher librarian," he said.
If book requests continue to grow, he might explore ways to broaden staff participation.
"We've been struggling to get books in the kids' hands, and this lent itself so well to being an easy opportunity to so many kids," he said.
Parise said she relishes the chance to see students face to face -- with masks and social distancing -- during the pandemic. "It's definitely a highlight of my day."


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--County deals setback for Willow Creek Wheaton to build megachurch near Cantigny Park

Willow Creek Wheaton has been dealt a setback in its plans to construct a new megachurch in unincorporated DuPage County .
In a 9-to-8 vote Nov. 24 , the DuPage County Board denied the church 's request to build its own private well and septic system known as a `` membrane bioreactor . ''
A 2011 county code requires that places of assembly operate using public water and sewer connections .
The church 's proposed location would have been along the west side of Winfield Road near the entrance of Cantigny Park , and would have accommodated up to 1,200 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wheaton Academy .
Scott Reed , the campus pastor of Willow Creek Wheaton , declined to comment beyond saying the church does not know what its next steps are for a permanent home at this time .
The DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-to-2 on Oct. 1 to recommend approval of Willow Creek Wheaton 's proposed well water and septic system , but the county board 's development committee was split 3-to-3 on the matter in a Nov. 17 vote .
`` It has a system that has been vetted by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committee chairman Sam Tornatore of Roselle , who stressed that other places of worship in the county have greater numbers of people and operate with well and septic systems .
But board member Mary Fitzgerald Ozog of Glen Ellyn was skeptical of Willow Creek Wheaton 's `` hardship and practical difficulties '' in its request for a county code variance .
Ozog cited discussions with Winfield Village President Erik Spande , who has been critical of Wheaton Willow Creek for breaking off infrastructure discussions in 2018 .
She said Spande also pointed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under construction with public sewer and water at the southwest corner of Winfield and Roosevelt roads .
`` Winfield water is not that far away , '' Ozog said .
`` Do we allow this large structure with an assembly purpose to go against our own code ? ''
Board member James Zay of Carol Stream echoed Ozog 's concerns , and cited how West Chicago-based Wheaton Bible Church came to an agreement to get its public water and sewer from Carol Stream .
Zay also hinted that Willow Creek Wheaton might want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not running for reelection in 2021 .

County deals setback for Willow Creek Wheaton to build megachurch near Cantigny Park
Willow Creek Wheaton has been dealt a setback in its plans to construct a new megachurch in unincorporated DuPage County.
In a 9-to-8 vote Nov. 24, the DuPage County Board denied the church's request to build its own private well and septic system known as a "membrane bioreactor." A 2011 county code requires that places of assembly operate using public water and sewer connections.
The church's proposed location would have been along the west side of Winfield Road near the entrance of Cantigny Park, and would have accommodated up to 1,200 parishioners. The church currently meets at Wheaton Academy.
Scott Reed, the campus pastor of Willow Creek Wheaton, declined to comment beyond saying the church does not know what its next steps are for a permanent home at this time.
The DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-to-2 on Oct. 1 to recommend approval of Willow Creek Wheaton's proposed well water and septic system, but the county board's development committee was split 3-to-3 on the matter in a Nov. 17 vote.
"It has a system that has been vetted by the health department," said development committee chairman Sam Tornatore of Roselle, who stressed that other places of worship in the county have greater numbers of people and operate with well and septic systems.
But board member Mary Fitzgerald Ozog of Glen Ellyn was skeptical of Willow Creek Wheaton's "hardship and practical difficulties" in its request for a county code variance.
Ozog cited discussions with Winfield Village President Erik Spande, who has been critical of Wheaton Willow Creek for breaking off infrastructure discussions in 2018. She said Spande also pointed to a Bucky's convenience store that is under construction with public sewer and water at the southwest corner of Winfield and Roosevelt roads.
"Winfield water is not that far away," Ozog said. "Do we allow this large structure with an assembly purpose to go against our own code?"
Board member James Zay of Carol Stream echoed Ozog's concerns, and cited how West Chicago-based Wheaton Bible Church came to an agreement to get its public water and sewer from Carol Stream.
Zay also hinted that Willow Creek Wheaton might want to re-enter negotiations with Winfield since Spande is not running for reelection in 2021.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--Feder: Newsman John Dempsey announces retirement from WLS Radio

You wo n't find a more solid and reliable newsman in all of Chicago radio than John Dempsey .
Now @ @ @ @ @ as news director and afternoon news anchor at WLS 890-AM , Robert Feder writes .
@ @ @ @ @ Monday he 's retiring after 38 years in broadcast journalism , including the last 13 @ @ @ @ @ station .
His final day on the air with afternoon host Big John Howell will @ @ @ @ @ My career in news has been one of the highlights of my life , one @ @ @ @ @ cover thousands of stories and meet people from every walk of life , '' Dempsey @ @ @ @ @ colleagues .
`` The entire experience has made me a better person and enriched my @ @ @ @ @ have imagined , but now I want to step aside to give myself more time @ @ @ @ @ chapter . ''
Get the full report , and more Chicago media news , at @ @

Feder: Newsman John Dempsey announces retirement from WLS Radio
You won't find a more solid and reliable newsman in all of Chicago radio than John Dempsey. Now he's voluntarily stepping down as news director and afternoon news anchor at WLS 890-AM, Robert Feder writes.
Dempsey, 60, announced Monday he's retiring after 38 years in broadcast journalism, including the last 13 at the Cumulus Media news/talk station.
His final day on the air with afternoon host Big John Howell will be December 23.
"My career in news has been one of the highlights of my life, one that has allowed me to cover thousands of stories and meet people from every walk of life," Dempsey wrote in an email to colleagues. "The entire experience has made me a better person and enriched my life beyond anything I could have imagined, but now I want to step aside to give myself more time to think about my next chapter."
Get the full report, and more Chicago media news, at robertfeder.com.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-11-30--Arlington Heights couple marks 73rd wedding anniversary with drive-by celebration

Two days after Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary , an Arlington Heights couple marked the same milestone .
Bob and Kathryn Schafer , who are 97 and 96 respectively , enjoyed a drive-by celebration from their apartment at Luther Village in Arlington Heights .
Four generations took part , including the couple 's five children , 14 grandchildren , 21 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren .
`` They called us Elizabeth and Philip when we married , '' said Kathryn , 96 , with a laugh , acknowledging the similarity .
`` They 've been married @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Though their weddings took place two days apart back in 1947 , they were vastly different .
While the royal couple married in Westminster Abbey amid a countrywide celebration , the Schafers were wed at St. Ignatius Church in Chicago .
The bride wore a borrowed dress and the couple celebrated with family and friends afterward at a reception that included punch and cookies .
Yet , the day was filled with great joy .
They had become engaged on D-Day , Kathryn explains , when Bob had been home on leave .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Kathryn says .
`` But it was so strange .
Here we were so happy , but everyone else was praying . ''
The couple met in first grade at St. Hilary 's School in Chicago .
Kathryn remembers that he was very smart and that she , being a year younger than her classmates , was allowed to stay only because she knew how to read .
That nugget would come full circle 30 years later when Kathryn was one of the first lay teachers hired by St. Alphonsus School @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to teach first grade , and right from the start she shared her love of reading with her first class of 45 students .
Another seed planted in her grammar school years was a love of acting .
She remembers in eighth grade when she was cast as Mrs. Ruggles in a student production of `` The Birds ' Christmas Carol . ''
`` I had to learn 18 pages of dialogue , '' Kathryn remembers .
`` I did n't think I could do it , but I did . ''
Fast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when her daughter , Kate , auditioned for a part in the musical at St. Viator High School .
She earned the role and would go on to earn her master 's in theater at Northwestern .
Kate Schafer Costello would return to her roots , sharing her love of performance with students first at Buffalo Grove High School and then at St. Viator , where she taught theater and directed plays for 20 years before retiring last spring .
Costello 's parents started dating in high school , and Bob enlisted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He served in the Philippines and later in the Pacific , ultimately achieving the rank of Aviation Radioman , Second Rank .
`` We wrote every day , '' Kathryn says .
`` Oh , how I looked forward to those letters . ''
After they married , the couple lived with family in Chicago .
By the time they had three children , they moved out to the Northwest suburbs , moving in 1953 to Des Plaines , in 1955 to Mount Prospect and , ultimately , in 1968 to Arlington Heights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own agency in Arlington Heights before moonlighting as a bus driver for Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 .
Kathryn began teaching in 1960 , and would stay at St. Alphonsus for the next 26 years , most of them teaching first grade .
Their five children still live in the Northwest suburbs .
Oldest son Bob and his wife , Tricia , live in Richmond , while daughter Mary , as well as Costello and her husband , Jim , and their brother Jim and his wife Mary Wu all live in Arlington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kmipp , and her husband Steve live in Lake Zurich .
`` I think it 's a tribute to Kathryn and Bob that every single one of their children understood that a good life starts with a good marriage , and that a good marriage takes work , '' says their son-in-law , Jim Costello .
Kathryn agrees .
She bristles at such popular TV shows as `` The Bachelor '' and `` The Bachelorette , '' not to mention `` Married at First Sight . ''
`` A loving marriage takes a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , `` with lots of forgiving and overlooking the little things that happen .
We never thought about divorce .
You talk about things that happen .
I guess we 've been pretty lucky . ''

Arlington Heights couple marks 73rd wedding anniversary with drive-by celebration
Kathryn and Bob Schafer of Arlington Heights watch as four generations of family celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary with a drive-by parade on Nov. 21. Courtesy of Bob Schafer
Kathryn and Bob Schafer stand at the window in Luther Village while watching four generations of family celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary with a drive-by parade. Courtesy of Bob Schafer
Two days after Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary, an Arlington Heights couple marked the same milestone.
Bob and Kathryn Schafer, who are 97 and 96 respectively, enjoyed a drive-by celebration from their apartment at Luther Village in Arlington Heights. Four generations took part, including the couple's five children, 14 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.
Bob Schafer home on leave during World War II with his soon-to-be bride, Kathryn. The couple, who wed in 1947, recently celebrated their 73rd anniversary. - Courtesy of Bob Schafer
"They called us Elizabeth and Philip when we married," said Kathryn, 96, with a laugh, acknowledging the similarity. "They've been married a long time, too."
Though their weddings took place two days apart back in 1947, they were vastly different. While the royal couple married in Westminster Abbey amid a countrywide celebration, the Schafers were wed at St. Ignatius Church in Chicago.
The bride wore a borrowed dress and the couple celebrated with family and friends afterward at a reception that included punch and cookies. Yet, the day was filled with great joy.
They had become engaged on D-Day, Kathryn explains, when Bob had been home on leave.
"It was at the Palmer House," Kathryn says. "But it was so strange. Here we were so happy, but everyone else was praying."
Bob and Kathryn Schafer raised their family in the Northwest suburbs and now reside in Luther Village in Arlington Heights. - Courtesy of Bob Schafer
The couple met in first grade at St. Hilary's School in Chicago. Kathryn remembers that he was very smart and that she, being a year younger than her classmates, was allowed to stay only because she knew how to read.
That nugget would come full circle 30 years later when Kathryn was one of the first lay teachers hired by St. Alphonsus School in Prospect Heights. She was assigned to teach first grade, and right from the start she shared her love of reading with her first class of 45 students.
Another seed planted in her grammar school years was a love of acting. She remembers in eighth grade when she was cast as Mrs. Ruggles in a student production of "The Birds' Christmas Carol."
"I had to learn 18 pages of dialogue," Kathryn remembers. "I didn't think I could do it, but I did."
Grandson Jack Costello and great-grandchildren Elise and James Costello bring balloons for the drive-by celebration of Bob and Kathryn Schafer's 73rd anniversary. - Courtesy of Bob Schafer
Fast forward another 30 years, to 1966, when her daughter, Kate, auditioned for a part in the musical at St. Viator High School. She earned the role and would go on to earn her master's in theater at Northwestern.
Kate Schafer Costello would return to her roots, sharing her love of performance with students first at Buffalo Grove High School and then at St. Viator, where she taught theater and directed plays for 20 years before retiring last spring.
Costello's parents started dating in high school, and Bob enlisted in the Navy after Pearl Harbor. He served in the Philippines and later in the Pacific, ultimately achieving the rank of Aviation Radioman, Second Rank.
"We wrote every day," Kathryn says. "Oh, how I looked forward to those letters."
Kathryn and Bob Schafer married on Nov. 22, 1947, at St. Ignatius Church in Chicago. Four generations of their family held a drive-by celebration of their 73rd anniversary on Nov. 21. - Courtesy of Bob Schafer
After they married, the couple lived with family in Chicago. By the time they had three children, they moved out to the Northwest suburbs, moving in 1953 to Des Plaines, in 1955 to Mount Prospect and, ultimately, in 1968 to Arlington Heights.
Bob sold insurance and had his own agency in Arlington Heights before moonlighting as a bus driver for Wheeling Township Elementary District 21. Kathryn began teaching in 1960, and would stay at St. Alphonsus for the next 26 years, most of them teaching first grade.
Their five children still live in the Northwest suburbs. Oldest son Bob and his wife, Tricia, live in Richmond, while daughter Mary, as well as Costello and her husband, Jim, and their brother Jim and his wife Mary Wu all live in Arlington Heights. Their youngest daughter, Ann Kmipp, and her husband Steve live in Lake Zurich.
"I think it's a tribute to Kathryn and Bob that every single one of their children understood that a good life starts with a good marriage, and that a good marriage takes work," says their son-in-law, Jim Costello.
Kathryn agrees. She bristles at such popular TV shows as "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," not to mention "Married at First Sight."
"A loving marriage takes a lot of communication," she says, "with lots of forgiving and overlooking the little things that happen. We never thought about divorce. You talk about things that happen. I guess we've been pretty lucky."


US-Pres-Sum,100

Needed to win : 270 of the 538 electoral votes ( ev ) from the 50 states and the District @ @ @

US-Pres-Sum,100
Trump 73,965,176 - 47 percent
Has won 25 states with 232 ev.
Leads in 0 states with 0 ev.
Others 2,687,918 - 2 percent
Has won 0 states with 0 ev.
Leads in 0 states with 0 ev.
Needed to win: 270 of the 538 electoral votes (ev) from
the 50 states and the District of Columbia.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations more than doubled in November

COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations more than doubled from October to November , state data showed Tuesday , as officials reported Illinois health care workers could start getting virus vaccines as soon as the third week of December .
If approved by the Centers for Disease Control , Illinois could receive about 109,000 doses of vaccines this month from Pfizer or Moderna that would vaccinate 54,500 people because two shots are required .
`` Those vaccines , because of the limited numbers , will go ... to health care workers and , if there 's enough , to those in long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Gov .
J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday at a briefing .
`` Our anticipation at the moment , is those numbers are small enough they wo n't go beyond those two populations -- it may not even get to all health care workers even in that very first shipment . ''
The vaccine news comes as new cases of COVID-19 spiked by 12,542 Tuesday -- the highest since Nov. 20 with 13,012 infections -- and 125 more people died of the respiratory disease , the Illinois Department of Public Health reported .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections and testing .
From Friday through Monday , new cases averaged 7,204 a day , and the number of tests averaged 71,476 .
In comparison , Illinois labs processed 116,081 tests in the last 24 hours .
`` We know that we are n't gong to see the bulk of the impact from Thanksgiving in our data quite yet , '' Pritzker said , `` just as it took time to see the impact of the Fourth of July and Labor Day celebrations . ''
Virus deaths rose by 136 % from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average of 35.6 people per day in October to 84 per day last month .
Hospitalizations also escalated , shifting from an average of nearly 2,166 people in October to about 5,280 in November , a 143.8 % increase .
Cases catapulted upward by 182 % month over month , but that data also includes the state 's new practice , which started in mid-November , of including possible COVID-19 infections with totals .
Daily cases grew from an average 3,637.5 in October to 10,277 in November , indicative of a fall surge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In a separate briefing , Chicago Department of Public Health leaders reported the city expects to start dispensing an initial allocation of 20,000 to 25,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to health care workers as soon as the third week of December .
There are many unknowns about the efficacy of the vaccines and the willingness of the public to be inoculated , city health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said .
But `` probably once we 're into the second half of the year , we 're hopeful there will be wide availability of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said .
In Chicago , after distributions to health care workers , nursing homes , essential workers and those at higher risk of COVID-19 , the rest of the population should be able to be vaccinated at outpatient clinics , private practices , federally qualified health centers and pharmacies , including their own doctors , Arwady said .
Pritzker noted vaccines coming this month are for adults only .
The state 's virus positivity rate stands at 10.4 % based on a seven-day average , the highest since Nov. 25 , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported 5,835 COVID-19 patients Monday night .
That 's lower than the seven-day average of 5,901.6 but still surpasses peaks in the spring as health experts warn that hospitals might reach capacity .
The total infections in Illinois since the pandemic began has reached 738,846 and deaths total 12,403 .

COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations more than doubled in November
COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations more than doubled from October to November, state data showed Tuesday, as officials reported Illinois health care workers could start getting virus vaccines as soon as the third week of December.
If approved by the Centers for Disease Control, Illinois could receive about 109,000 doses of vaccines this month from Pfizer or Moderna that would vaccinate 54,500 people because two shots are required.
"Those vaccines, because of the limited numbers, will go ... to health care workers and, if there's enough, to those in long-term care facilities -- the staff and residents," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday at a briefing.
"Our anticipation at the moment, is those numbers are small enough they won't go beyond those two populations -- it may not even get to all health care workers even in that very first shipment."
The vaccine news comes as new cases of COVID-19 spiked by 12,542 Tuesday -- the highest since Nov. 20 with 13,012 infections -- and 125 more people died of the respiratory disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.
The increase comes after Thanksgiving-related lows of infections and testing. From Friday through Monday, new cases averaged 7,204 a day, and the number of tests averaged 71,476. In comparison, Illinois labs processed 116,081 tests in the last 24 hours.
"We know that we aren't gong to see the bulk of the impact from Thanksgiving in our data quite yet," Pritzker said, "just as it took time to see the impact of the Fourth of July and Labor Day celebrations."
Virus deaths rose by 136% from Oct. 30 to Nov. 30, from average of 35.6 people per day in October to 84 per day last month.
Hospitalizations also escalated, shifting from an average of nearly 2,166 people in October to about 5,280 in November, a 143.8% increase.
Cases catapulted upward by 182% month over month, but that data also includes the state's new practice, which started in mid-November, of including possible COVID-19 infections with totals. Daily cases grew from an average 3,637.5 in October to 10,277 in November, indicative of a fall surge experts predict will continue into winter.
In a separate briefing, Chicago Department of Public Health leaders reported the city expects to start dispensing an initial allocation of 20,000 to 25,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to health care workers as soon as the third week of December.
There are many unknowns about the efficacy of the vaccines and the willingness of the public to be inoculated, city health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. But "probably once we're into the second half of the year, we're hopeful there will be wide availability of the vaccine in many settings," she said.
In Chicago, after distributions to health care workers, nursing homes, essential workers and those at higher risk of COVID-19, the rest of the population should be able to be vaccinated at outpatient clinics, private practices, federally qualified health centers and pharmacies, including their own doctors, Arwady said.
Pritzker noted vaccines coming this month are for adults only.
The state's virus positivity rate stands at 10.4% based on a seven-day average, the highest since Nov. 25, when it hit 10.6%.
Illinois hospitals reported 5,835 COVID-19 patients Monday night. That's lower than the seven-day average of 5,901.6 but still surpasses peaks in the spring as health experts warn that hospitals might reach capacity.
The total infections in Illinois since the pandemic began has reached 738,846 and deaths total 12,403.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--Willis breaks ranks with Madigan

Willis breaks ranks with Madigan

The chair of the House Democratic Caucus said Tuesday she wo n't vote for Michael Madigan to retain the speaker @ @ @ @ @ the 19th House Democrat -- and the first member of party leadership -- to break @ @ @ @ @ legislative leader .
State Rep. Kathleen Willis said in a statement to her fellow Democratic @ @ @ @ @ decision to oppose Madigan 's bid to be speaker in the next General Assembly after @ @ @ @ @ and discussion with my family . ''
The Addison Democrat pointedly did not use the @ @ @ @ @ for nearly four decades , referring to the man known in Springfield as `` Mr. @ @ @ @ @ Representative Madigan . ''

Willis says she won't vote for Madigan to be speaker
House Speaker Michael Madigan has been implicated in the ComEd bribery scheme but has not been charged. He denies any wrongdoing. Capitol News Illinois, 2019
Rep. Kathleen Willis, an Addison Democrat, is the first member of her party's leadership to publicly oppose Michael Madigan's bid for another term as speaker. BlueRoomStream, 2019
The chair of the House Democratic Caucus said Tuesday she won't vote for Michael Madigan to retain the speaker's gavel, making her the 19th House Democrat -- and the first member of party leadership -- to break ranks with the besieged veteran legislative leader.
State Rep. Kathleen Willis said in a statement to her fellow Democratic legislators that she made the decision to oppose Madigan's bid to be speaker in the next General Assembly after "a lot of thought and discussion with my family."
The Addison Democrat pointedly did not use the title that Madigan has held for nearly four decades, referring to the man known in Springfield as "Mr. Speaker" as simply "Representative Madigan."
• For the full story, visit chicago.suntimes.com.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--Truck driver killed in rollover crash near Antioch

A 72-year-old man was killed Monday when the semitrailer truck he was driving veered off Route 173 in northern Lake County and rolled over , spilling tons of granular sludge , authorities said .
Lake County Sheriff 's police said the crash occurred at about noon at Route 173 and Converse Road in Antioch Township .
Deputies called to the scene arrived to find a truck and the trailer it was pulling partially jackknifed and with major damage .
Preliminary investigation shows that the 1990 Peterbilt truck was traveling west on Route 173 when it angled to the left for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The truck crossed into the eastbound lanes , struck a guardrail on the south side of the road then continued west until the trailer filled with approximately 25 tons of granular sludge rolled over .
The Woodstock man driving the truck was extricated from the cab by paramedics and taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital in McHenry , where he later was pronounced deceased , according to the sheriff 's office .
The man 's identity has not been disclosed , and the McHenry County Coroner 's Office is scheduling an autopsy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Lake County Sheriff 's Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit .

Truck driver killed in rollover crash near Antioch
A 72-year-old man was killed Monday when the semitrailer truck he was driving veered off Route 173 in northern Lake County and rolled over, spilling tons of granular sludge, authorities said.
Lake County Sheriff's police said the crash occurred at about noon at Route 173 and Converse Road in Antioch Township. Deputies called to the scene arrived to find a truck and the trailer it was pulling partially jackknifed and with major damage.
Preliminary investigation shows that the 1990 Peterbilt truck was traveling west on Route 173 when it angled to the left for unknown reasons, sheriff's police said. The truck crossed into the eastbound lanes, struck a guardrail on the south side of the road then continued west until the trailer filled with approximately 25 tons of granular sludge rolled over.
The Woodstock man driving the truck was extricated from the cab by paramedics and taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital in McHenry, where he later was pronounced deceased, according to the sheriff's office. The man's identity has not been disclosed, and the McHenry County Coroner's Office is scheduling an autopsy.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--Holly Days brings focus to downtown Elgin businesses

With Elgin 's annual Winter Wonderland event canceled , the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin has launched a new monthlong campaign to try to make up for the loss in foot traffic .
Winter Wonderland was expected to draw more than 1,000 people to downtown for the day , many of whom spend time shopping and dining before the annual tree lighting .
`` Obviously the pandemic put a wrinkle in that plan , '' said Jennifer Fukala , the association 's executive director .
`` Our goal was to come up with some sort of campaign to keep the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holiday season in a safe way over the course of the month , rather than having an event that brings down a bunch of people at one time congregating , '' Fukala said .
What they came up with is `` Holly Days , '' which kicked off last weekend for Small Business Saturday .
The campaign will feature a steady stream of events that will be announced throughout the month , Fukala said .
Some will be live and some will be virtual , but they 're all done in the hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to offer , she said .
A scavenger hunt is in the works , as is an opportunity to Zoom with Santa .
The association will also put up inflatable holiday backdrops for people to use for family photos .
A contest featuring holiday window art is underway , with 14 businesses showcasing windows decorated by Elgin-area artists .
Visitors will be able to vote for their favorite windows .
Fukala said they 've created an online holiday gift guide and are using several advertising options .
`` COVID has advanced the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support small businesses , '' she said .
`` We 've been trying to convey that for several years now , but it seems to have really resonated this year about the importance of supporting these businesses and business owners that live in our home community and are supporting our local economy . ''
She said the Small Business Saturday turnout was `` really encouraging . ''
`` It felt like a comparable level of foot traffic to previous years , '' she said .
`` There seems to be a much higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
More information about the events and contests will be posted at www.downtownelgin.com/hollydays/ as they are announced .

Holly Days brings focus to downtown Elgin businesses
With Elgin's annual Winter Wonderland event canceled, the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin has launched a new monthlong campaign to try to make up for the loss in foot traffic.
Winter Wonderland was expected to draw more than 1,000 people to downtown for the day, many of whom spend time shopping and dining before the annual tree lighting.
"Obviously the pandemic put a wrinkle in that plan," said Jennifer Fukala, the association's executive director.
"Our goal was to come up with some sort of campaign to keep the focus on the downtown businesses throughout the holiday season in a safe way over the course of the month, rather than having an event that brings down a bunch of people at one time congregating," Fukala said.
What they came up with is "Holly Days," which kicked off last weekend for Small Business Saturday.
The campaign will feature a steady stream of events that will be announced throughout the month, Fukala said. Some will be live and some will be virtual, but they're all done in the hope of bringing awareness to what downtown businesses have to offer, she said.
- Rick West | Staff Photographer Blue Box Cafe is among 14 downtown Elgin businesses that had their windows decorated by Elgin-area artists as part of the Downtown Neighborhood Association's monthlong Holly Days campaign.
A scavenger hunt is in the works, as is an opportunity to Zoom with Santa. The association will also put up inflatable holiday backdrops for people to use for family photos.
A contest featuring holiday window art is underway, with 14 businesses showcasing windows decorated by Elgin-area artists. Visitors will be able to vote for their favorite windows.
Fukala said they've created an online holiday gift guide and are using several advertising options.
"COVID has advanced the conversation about how important it is to support small businesses," she said. "We've been trying to convey that for several years now, but it seems to have really resonated this year about the importance of supporting these businesses and business owners that live in our home community and are supporting our local economy."
She said the Small Business Saturday turnout was "really encouraging."
"It felt like a comparable level of foot traffic to previous years," she said. "There seems to be a much higher awareness and that's encouraging to see."
More information about the events and contests will be posted at www.downtownelgin.com/hollydays/ as they are announced.


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--Barr: No evidence of fraud that would change election outcome

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election .
His comments come despite President Donald Trump 's repeated claims that the election was stolen , and his refusal to concede his loss to President-Elect Joe Biden .
In an interview with The Associated Press , Barr said U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they 've received , but they 've uncovered no evidence that would change the outcome of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election , '' Barr told the AP .
The comments are especially direct coming from Barr , who has been one of the president 's most ardent allies .
Before the election , he had repeatedly raised the notion that mail-in voter fraud could be especially vulnerable to fraud during the coronavirus pandemic as Americans feared going to polls and instead chose to vote by mail .
Last month , Barr issued a directive to U.S. attorneys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any `` substantial allegations '' of voting irregularities , if they existed , before the 2020 presidential election was certified , despite no evidence at that time of widespread fraud .
That memorandum gave prosecutors the ability to go around long-standing Justice Department policy that normally would prohibit such overt actions before the election was certified .
Soon after it was issued , the department 's top elections crime official announced he would step aside from that position because of the memo .
The Trump campaign team led by Rudy Giuliani has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dump millions of illegal votes into the system with no evidence .
They have filed multiple lawsuits in battleground states alleging that partisan poll watchers did n't have a clear enough view at polling sites in some locations and therefore something illegal must have happened .
The claims have been repeatedly dismissed including by Republican judges who have ruled the suits lacked evidence .
Local Republicans in some battleground states have followed Trump in making similar unsupported claims .
Trump has railed against the election in tweets and in interviews though his own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most secure ever .
Trump recently allowed his administration to begin the transition over to Biden , but has still refused to admit he lost .
The issues Trump 's campaign and its allies have pointed to are typical in every election : Problems with signatures , secrecy envelopes and postal marks on mail-in ballots , as well as the potential for a small number of ballots miscast or lost .
But they 've also requested federal probes into the claims .
Attorney Sidney Powell has spun fictional tales of election systems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting information and election software created in Venezuela `` at the direction of Hugo Chavez , '' -- the late Venezuelan president who died in 2013 .
Powell has since been removed from the legal team after an interview she gave where she threatened to `` blow up '' Georgia with a `` biblical '' court filing .
Barr did n't name Powell specifically but said : `` There 's been one assertion that would be systemic fraud and that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have looked into that , and so far , we have n't seen anything to substantiate that , '' Barr said .
He said people were confusing the use of the federal criminal justice system with allegations that should be made in lawsuits .
He said such a remedy for those complaints would be a top-down audit conducted by state or local officials , not the U.S. Justice Department .
`` There 's a growing tendency to use the criminal justice system as sort of a default fix-all , and people do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice to come in and 'investigate , ' '' Barr said .
He said first of all there must be a basis to believe there is a crime to investigate .
`` Most claims of fraud are very particularized to a particular set of circumstances or actors or conduct .
They are not systemic allegations and .
And those have been run down ; they are being run down , '' Barr said .
`` Some have been broad and potentially cover a few thousand votes .
They have been followed up on @ @

Barr: No evidence of fraud that would change election outcome
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
His comments come despite President Donald Trump's repeated claims that the election was stolen, and his refusal to concede his loss to President-Elect Joe Biden.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Barr said U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they've received, but they've uncovered no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.
"To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election," Barr told the AP.
The comments are especially direct coming from Barr, who has been one of the president's most ardent allies. Before the election, he had repeatedly raised the notion that mail-in voter fraud could be especially vulnerable to fraud during the coronavirus pandemic as Americans feared going to polls and instead chose to vote by mail.
Last month, Barr issued a directive to U.S. attorneys across the country allowing them to pursue any "substantial allegations" of voting irregularities, if they existed, before the 2020 presidential election was certified, despite no evidence at that time of widespread fraud. That memorandum gave prosecutors the ability to go around long-standing Justice Department policy that normally would prohibit such overt actions before the election was certified. Soon after it was issued, the department's top elections crime official announced he would step aside from that position because of the memo.
The Trump campaign team led by Rudy Giuliani has been alleging a widespread conspiracy by Democrats to dump millions of illegal votes into the system with no evidence. They have filed multiple lawsuits in battleground states alleging that partisan poll watchers didn't have a clear enough view at polling sites in some locations and therefore something illegal must have happened. The claims have been repeatedly dismissed including by Republican judges who have ruled the suits lacked evidence. Local Republicans in some battleground states have followed Trump in making similar unsupported claims.
Trump has railed against the election in tweets and in interviews though his own administration has said the 2020 election was the most secure ever. Trump recently allowed his administration to begin the transition over to Biden, but has still refused to admit he lost.
The issues Trump's campaign and its allies have pointed to are typical in every election: Problems with signatures, secrecy envelopes and postal marks on mail-in ballots, as well as the potential for a small number of ballots miscast or lost.
But they've also requested federal probes into the claims. Attorney Sidney Powell has spun fictional tales of election systems flipping votes, German servers storing U.S. voting information and election software created in Venezuela "at the direction of Hugo Chavez," -- the late Venezuelan president who died in 2013. Powell has since been removed from the legal team after an interview she gave where she threatened to "blow up" Georgia with a "biblical" court filing.
Barr didn't name Powell specifically but said: "There's been one assertion that would be systemic fraud and that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election results. And the DHS and DOJ have looked into that, and so far, we haven't seen anything to substantiate that," Barr said.
He said people were confusing the use of the federal criminal justice system with allegations that should be made in lawsuits. He said such a remedy for those complaints would be a top-down audit conducted by state or local officials, not the U.S. Justice Department.
"There's a growing tendency to use the criminal justice system as sort of a default fix-all, and people don't like something they want the Department of Justice to come in and 'investigate,'" Barr said.
He said first of all there must be a basis to believe there is a crime to investigate.
"Most claims of fraud are very particularized to a particular set of circumstances or actors or conduct. They are not systemic allegations and. And those have been run down; they are being run down," Barr said. "Some have been broad and potentially cover a few thousand votes. They have been followed up on."


dailyheraldchicago--2020-12-01--Cook County homicides top 900 mark in 2020: What's happened in Northwest suburbs

Cook County has recorded 902 homicides this year , marking the first time since 2016 and just the second time in nearly a quarter-century that the 900 mark has been reached .
A handful of those cases were in the Northwest suburbs .
The vast majority of the homicides were in Chicago , where the police department on Tuesday announced that the 58 homicides in November had brought the total for the year to 716 , leaving 186 in Cook County suburbs .
The medical examiner 's office did not break down counts by suburb in its news release .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Des Plaines , Elk Grove Village , Hanover Park , Hoffman Estates , Wheeling and Glenview .
The medical examiner 's office said that as of Nov. 30 there were 902 confirmed homicides between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 , compared to 675 homicides in the county in all of 2019 .
Gun violence has continued to plague Chicago in recent years , with far more gun deaths in the city than any other city in the U.S .
Shooting incidents account for 810 of the Cook County homicides .
Shootings happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fall .
A homicide victim found in a Hoffman Estates home by police in October died from a gunshot wound to the face .
A 17-year-old boy who knew the 20-year-old slain man faces first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery charges in that case .
A Dolton man faces murder and other charges in the Aug. 11 shooting of a 26-year-old South Holland man in Hanover Park , which police describe as a domestic altercation that became a gunfight .
Jason D. Williams , 34 , was charged with one count each of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And a Tennessee man was charged with murder and home invasion in connection with an Arlington Heights break-in that left another man dead in April .
Prosecutors say Bradley J. Finnan , 39 , of Chattanooga and the Larry D. Brodacz , 58 , of Buffalo Grove pushed their way into the home and threatened the family living there at gunpoint , in what police called a robbery attempt .
Amid the ensuing struggles , a homeowner fatally shot Brodacz .
Finnan is charged with that death .
The Northwest suburbs saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 45-year-old Des Plaines man was found stabbed to death behind an Elk Grove Village business in June .
Prosecutors say Jonas Villafuerte-Vega , 39 , of Des Plaines was angry over his wife 's affair with the victim .
And a 16-year-old boy surrendered to Glenview police and ultimately was put on house arrest as he was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the Aug. 5 stabbing death of Elias Valdez , a rising sophomore at Glenbrook South High School .
In another suburban case , an SUV was the weapon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 38 , of Wheeling is charged with first-degree murder in the May 20 death of another Wheeling man .
Police say Zavala-Hernandez struck the victim with a Toyota SUV that then crashed through the front of a house on Equestrian Drive in Wheeling .
That followed a May 17 domestic violence case in which Zavala-Hernandez is accused of assaulting his wife ; the crash victim 's involvement was unclear .
One Northwest suburban homicide came in a January DUI case .
A 33-year-old Florida man was charged with reckless homicide , accused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ injuring his teenage son in a crash near Elmhurst and Golf roads in Des Plaines .
Not surprising in the total Cook County figures , given that the vast majority of homicides in Chicago have occurred in predominantly minority communities , the medical examiner 's office reported that 78 % of the county 's homicide victims were Black and 16 % were Latino .
Nearly 3,800 people were shot in Chicago this year through the end of November , compared with about 2,400 shooting victims in the same period last year -- a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cook County saw 921 homicides .
Before that , homicides numbered more than 900 in the mid-1990s : 959 in 1996 , 987 in 1995 , and 1,141 .

Cook County homicides top 900 mark in 2020: What's happened in Northwest suburbs
Cook County has recorded 902 homicides this year, marking the first time since 2016 and just the second time in nearly a quarter-century that the 900 mark has been reached. A handful of those cases were in the Northwest suburbs.
The vast majority of the homicides were in Chicago, where the police department on Tuesday announced that the 58 homicides in November had brought the total for the year to 716, leaving 186 in Cook County suburbs.
The medical examiner's office did not break down counts by suburb in its news release. But there were homicides in Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Wheeling and Glenview.
The medical examiner's office said that as of Nov. 30 there were 902 confirmed homicides between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, compared to 675 homicides in the county in all of 2019.
Gun violence has continued to plague Chicago in recent years, with far more gun deaths in the city than any other city in the U.S. Shooting incidents account for 810 of the Cook County homicides.
Shootings happened in the Northwest suburbs most recently this fall. A homicide victim found in a Hoffman Estates home by police in October died from a gunshot wound to the face. A 17-year-old boy who knew the 20-year-old slain man faces first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery charges in that case.
A Dolton man faces murder and other charges in the Aug. 11 shooting of a 26-year-old South Holland man in Hanover Park, which police describe as a domestic altercation that became a gunfight. Jason D. Williams, 34, was charged with one count each of murder, attempted murder and other charges.
And a Tennessee man was charged with murder and home invasion in connection with an Arlington Heights break-in that left another man dead in April. Prosecutors say Bradley J. Finnan, 39, of Chattanooga and the Larry D. Brodacz, 58, of Buffalo Grove pushed their way into the home and threatened the family living there at gunpoint, in what police called a robbery attempt. Amid the ensuing struggles, a homeowner fatally shot Brodacz. Finnan is charged with that death.
The Northwest suburbs saw a couple of fatal stabbings. A 45-year-old Des Plaines man was found stabbed to death behind an Elk Grove Village business in June. Prosecutors say Jonas Villafuerte-Vega, 39, of Des Plaines was angry over his wife's affair with the victim.
And a 16-year-old boy surrendered to Glenview police and ultimately was put on house arrest as he was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the Aug. 5 stabbing death of Elias Valdez, a rising sophomore at Glenbrook South High School.
In another suburban case, an SUV was the weapon, according to authorities. Jose Fermin Zavala-Hernandez, 38, of Wheeling is charged with first-degree murder in the May 20 death of another Wheeling man. Police say Zavala-Hernandez struck the victim with a Toyota SUV that then crashed through the front of a house on Equestrian Drive in Wheeling. That followed a May 17 domestic violence case in which Zavala-Hernandez is accused of assaulting his wife; the crash victim's involvement was unclear.
One Northwest suburban homicide came in a January DUI case. A 33-year-old Florida man was charged with reckless homicide, accused of killing a Des Plaines father and injuring his teenage son in a crash near Elmhurst and Golf roads in Des Plaines.
Not surprising in the total Cook County figures, given that the vast majority of homicides in Chicago have occurred in predominantly minority communities, the medical examiner's office reported that 78% of the county's homicide victims were Black and 16% were Latino.
Nearly 3,800 people were shot in Chicago this year through the end of November, compared with about 2,400 shooting victims in the same period last year -- a 58% increase.
In 2016, Cook County saw 921 homicides. Before that, homicides numbered more than 900 in the mid-1990s: 959 in 1996, 987 in 1995, and 1,141.